Well, here it is at last. SAM's answer to AMOS, going by the distinctly unhealthy sounding acronym of SCADS.

The 'System' comprises one disk and a very smart-looking two hundred and eight page A5 ring-bound manual. On the disk are a few demo programs, which, I have to say, do look quite impressive - and then there's the development system itself, split into two distinct parts, the Designer and the Supervisor.

THE DESIGNER

Basically, the Designer lets you make up your game sprites, rooms, animation sequences, sound effects, and so on (although you can import graphics from Flash! if you wish). The Designer is actually very good at what it does - the sound FX generator, for instance, manages to overcome the lack of sound chip support in SAM BASIC rather admirably, and the features are well thought out. It's all WIMP controlled and very nicely presented, and I actually enjoyed using it, to a point - that point being when you develop beyond the new user'stage, and the performance of a relatively simple task like undoing a mistake involves negotiating hundreds of menus (well, at least three) when a keypress should suffice.

In general, the menu system suffers from a badly thought-out design - for example, the confirmation 'Are You Sure? Y/N' tend to be situated on the far side of the screen from the current menu, which, when you're trying to get some serious work done, is not helpful. A bit of a rethink is needed for version two. I think. Let's not end on a bad note, though - the designer is actually a very good, very powerful program, just let down slightly by the menu system. Moving on...

THE SUPERVISOR

Once you've designed all your graphics, sound, rooms, etc, it's time to move on to the real bones of the program, the supervisor. This is essentially SAM BASIC with the extra commands thrown in, although admittedly the new commands are extremely powerful and there are plenty of them, but you do still have to know how to use BASIC, as you'll need a fair sprinkling of DO...LOOPs and your IF...THENs to make the thing work. This is, unfortunately, where all the nice front end WIMP business stops. Let's face it, if you were restricted to fixed menu options all the way through, you wouldn't get versatility, and versatility really has to be SCADS middle name if it's going to enjoy anything like the success of AMOS.

There's no escaping the fact that you have to learn a language, however high-level, before you can program games. On the other hand, SCADS extended BASIC is very powerful, and provided you've got an elementary grasp of SAM BASIC, you shouldn't have much trouble using it. I did feel that the manual skipped over this, the most important section, a bit though - a few more tutorials would have gone down a treat, instead of having to depend solely upon the glossary at the end.

FINAL VERDICT TIME

Having pointed out most of my personal quarrels with the program, I really ought to finish off by saying that SCADS is a very powerful games designer. One which anyone with enough unquenchable enthusiasm could use to create their own games, with only a fraction of the hassle that the other, more conventional languages provide.

The fact that this is the first version, though, does show. Badly thought-out menus, lack of Supervisor documentation, and several unforgivable glitches in the manual (all you need is a proof reader!) all go to show that it needed a bit more polish.

At present, there are no plans (as far as I know) for a second version, although there is a SCADS Compiler in the offing. This will convert your games into machine code, allowing anyone to play them, because at present you have to own a copy of SCADS to play SCADS-created games, so that's good news. My advice to you is, buy if you think you've got a long enough concentration span to cope with the rough edges. My advice to Glenco is get the compiler out ASAP, take a long hard look at SCADS and release an improved version with a discount for existing users. Judgement has been passed. Thank you and goodnight.

Aha! SU Towers hass been bombarded by tons of SAM software ever since Big Al' said he'd give it coverage if anything decentarrived along. Well it did. An arcade game creation package and a WP. Don't rely on others for your games - check out SCADs, and write your own. And while you're on the job why not get down to a bit of word processing. The pen is mightier than the sword but the computer keyboard is... (oh shut up and get on with it...) New kid on the block and McDonalds Happy Meal fancier Tom Guise checks out the story.

BY: Glenco Software
PRICE: £24.99
ADDRESS: 15 Ashford Lane, Whitehouse Farm, Stocton, Cleveland, TS19 0QP

Developed by Glenco Software in Cleveland, the SCADs system is, as the name suggests, a piece of software aimed at allowing home computer users to develop their own arcade quality games. Basically it's a revised, revamped, rehash of the old Sprites Alive development system which graced the Amstrad CPC 6128, although it has to be said that this package is far superior to the aforementioned, not totally undue to the fact that the SAM is not only a faster machine with a far better capabilities but it also has much greater memory capacity and floppy disk access.

Using an extended form of SAM BASIC known as SCADs BASIC, this package aims to allow any person, even those with a limited or even non-existent knowledge of programming to produce at least some form of animated, interactive game in a short space of time. With the proper attention and mental investment, the creators hope that anyone can yield amazing results, even to the point of saleable arcade quality achievements, with the aid of this development system.

Thrown in with the package are a number of basic demonstration programs which give you a small taster of exactly what can be achieved. These demos range from basic graphical displays and simple sprite movement programs, to small maze platform games and space games. The listings of these programs also allow you to see exactly how these gaming tricks are performed and if need be, they can be 'lifted' for use within your own creation.

Another useful application of SCADs is it's simplification of the use of the SAM's sound chip. A simplification that doesn't actually limit the use of the chip in any way. In fact, if anything, it will allow you to get more, sonically, from your machine. Using the Game Supervisor facility you should be able to create an infinite amount of sprite automatic sounds such as explosions, bouncing noises and firing effects. Excellent dudes!

Most important of all though in any arcade style game, is the sprite. It's more than fortunate then, that SCADs allows you to create 255 different sprite images and up to 64 different animation sequences. A daunting prospect for most people to comprehend, but SCADs makes the whole pill easier to swallow by categorising the various sprites into performing set tasks. Thus there are various, different sprites like door sprites or unpassable objects, platform sprites, permanent sprites, for example, blocks or items to pick up and even the accursed missile sprites. It may be hard to believe, but all these difficult programming tricks are made that much easier to perform by both SCADs BASIC and the thorough, reader friendly manual which explains it all down the most obvious things, in a concise and yet non-patronising manner.

The manual is not just a dictionary of command definitions, but a step by step guide to maRing your own game. With perseverance and the aid of this manual, complicated sprite animation, to the extent of cartoon style jumping, complimented by attractive scenery can be generated.

The SAM is a very powerful and versatile machine capable of handling and creating, to a certain standard, arcade quality software. This package certainly allows the machine to produce some pretty stunning computer games and since it's good, old-fashioned playability that counts, who knows what results can be produced. What's more, in an age where most people are turning to 'ready to play' consoles, it's sad to see that home computer programming may end up dead and buried.

In the old days, many a good game was developed by people sitting in front of their computers at home and producing personally crafted gems. Hopefully, this will allow so many of those people who've always wanted to produce a game of their own, but thought those days were gone on 8-Bit, to actually make something of their ideas. It's also especially nice to see programmers realising the capabilities of the SAM and allowing these capabilities to fall into the hands of the non-technical user (me and Big Al' included). Unless you're a bit of a programming wiz you can end up just having Spectrum games for your machine without realising its potential as a versatile and different machine.

With this package, you'll no longer be able to whinge and whine about what your, machine 'could' be capable of, you've been given a chance to produce the games you've always wanted to see and play. Go for it.

All in all, a thoroughly impressive package that even the most computer illiterate among us can use. If you've ever wanted to produce your own games, but were never able to, this might just do the trick. Hell, even if you haven't, SCADs just might make you want to start!