VOLUME 13 BASIC-E/CBASIC AND MICROSOFT BASIC PROGRAMS A VERY MIXED BUNCH. ZOSO LAMENTS ABOUT THE QUALITY IN HIS CHRISTMAS PLAY, COMPLETE WITH GREEK CHORUS. THIS DISKETTE IS A MUST FOR ANYONE WHO MUST HAVE A COPY OF EVERYTHING. UNFORTUNATELY A FEW JEWELS HERE MAY BE MISSED BECAUSE OF THE COMPANY IT KEEPS IN THIS VOLUME THE *.ASC ARE MICROSOFT, THE *.BAS WILL (SOMETIMES) COMPILE ON BASIC-E/CBASIC. MANY ARE COMPATIBLE. ALL CAN BE SWITCHED WITH SYNTACTICAL SYNCHRONIZATION (WHO SAID THAT??) (MY LIPS DIDN'T MOVE) NUMBER SIZE NAME COMMENTS CATALOG.13 CONTENTS OF CP/M VOLUME 13 13.1 7K 15/PUZ.ASC PROGRAM IN MICROSOFT BASIC 13.2 7K 1500.ASC PROGRAM IN MICROSOFT BASIC 13.3 2K 23MATCH.BAS PROGRAM IN BASIC-E/CBASIC 13.4 3K BAGELS.BAS PROGRAM IN BASIC-E/CBASIC 13.5 4K BIORYME.ASC PROGRAM IN MICROSOFT BASIC 13.6 6K BLACKJAC.BAS PROGRAM IN BASIC-E/CBASIC 13.7 1K BULLSEYE.BAS PROGRAM IN BASIC-E/CBASIC 13.8 6K CHECKERS.BAS PROGRAM IN BASIC-E/CBASIC 13.9 2K CHIEF.BAS PROGRAM IN BASIC-E/CBASIC 13.10 2K CONVERT.BAS PROGRAM IN BASIC-E/CBASIC 13.11 7K DICE.BAS PROGRAM IN BASIC-E/CBASIC 13.12 7K KINGDOM.BAS PROGRAM IN BASIC-E/CBASIC 13.13 DELETED 13.14 15K NFL.BAS PROGRAM IN BASIC-E/CBASIC 13.15 4K ROCKET.BAS PROGRAM IN BASIC-E/CBASIC 13.16 1K RUSSIAN.BAS PROGRAM IN BASIC-E/CBASIC 13.17 16K SWARMS.BAS PROGRAM IN BASIC-E/CBASIC 13.18 16K SWARMS2.ASC PROGRAM IN MICROSOFT BASIC 13.19 2K TRAP.BAS PROGRAM IN BASIC-E/CBASIC 13.20 6K WUMPAS.BAS PROGRAM IN BASIC-E/CBASIC 13.21 23K ZOSO.2 WHEN THE REVIEW IS ABOUT TWICE AS LONG AS ANY OF THE PROGRAMS, I GUESS THE REVIEWER HAS SOMETHING ON HER/HIS MIND AND NOW ON TO THE SOFTWARE REVIEW... BIORYME.BAS APPEARS TO BE A SINE WAVE SIMULATOR CAPABLE OF CONTROLLING THREE OF THE LITTLE MONSTERS... THERE APPEARS TO BE SOME LINES SUGGESTING INPUT/OUTPUT. MIGHT BE INTERFACEABLE TO A CONSOLE OR LIST DEVICE. THIS IS NOT THAT WONDERFUL IMPROVEMENT YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN EXPECTING. WOE BE UNTO THOSE WHO TRY TO FEED THIS TO ANY OF YOUR COMPILER-BASICS; [TRY MITS BASIC... IF YOU MUST]. (P.S. THIS APPEARS TO BE A MITS BASIC PROGRAM AFTER FAULTY RECOVERY THROUGH A LIST32 PROGRAM OF SOME ILK. AFTER ADDING A FEW MISSING PARENTHESES, THIS PROGRAM PERFORMS QUITE WELL AS A MICROSOFT [I.E. TYPE.ASC] PROGRAM AND HAS BEEN RE- NAMED AS SUCH. SHAME ON ZOSO FOR NOT PERSEVERING!!! A.R.G) SHAME ON ZOSO, INDEED !!! RUN THIS TURKEY AND DECIDE FOR YOURSELVES !!! Z. BAGELS3.BAS IF YOU RECALL, LAST TIME THERE WERE TWO VERSIONS OF THIS GAME, AND I REALLY LIKED THEM BOTH. SAME APPLIES HERE!!! KEEP ALL THREE VERSIONS! USE THEM ALL! THEY ARE ALL GOOD, AND EACH HAS ITS OWN SPECIAL 'STYLE'. REALLY GOOD !! BLACKJAC.BAS I HAVE MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT THIS ONE. IT IS AN EXCELLENT!!!! BLACKJACK SIMULATOR, HOWEVER THE GRAPHIC OUTPUT IS AWKWARD AND CONFUSING. TIED FOR WINNER THIS TIME AROUND. WHY DOESN'T SOMEONE GET THIS TO 'PRETTY-PRINT' AND SEND IT TO TONY. DICE.BAS THIS IS A VERY GOOD CRAPS SIMULATOR. THE IDENTICAL COMMENTS APPLY TO THIS AS TO BLACKJAC.BAS EXCEPT THIS ONE ISN'T TIED FOR WINNER. SEND THOSE GRAPHIC UPGRADES TO TONY. ROCKET.BAS [NAMED SOMETHING ELSE FOR LAST RELEASE] YOU'VE SEEN THIS BEFORE, BELIEVE ME ! THIS ISN'T AS GOOD AS THE EARLIER ONE (FROM FIRST DISTRIBUTION), AND FURTHERMORE IT EXHIBITS THE ALARMING TREND OF BEING ACCEPTABLE ONLY TO CERTAIN SPECIAL COMPILER/RUN VERSIONS. SELL THIS, AND THEN SELL THE PURCHASER THE EARLIER ONE AS A COSTLY UPGRADE. CONVERT.BAS THE SUSPENSE IS OVER !! THIS IS THE CO-WINNER. THIS ALLOWS C-BASIC USERS TO TAKE A FULLY LINE-NUMBERED PROGRAM, AND GET RID OF ALL THE UNNECESSARY LINE NUMBERS. AS YOU C-BASIC SORTS MAY HAVE INFERRED, I AM NOT REALLY YOUR MOST ARDENT DISCIPLE; YET THIS IS A POWERFUL SOFTWARE ITEM FOR YOU, IT WORKS, AND IT IS CLEVER ! (P.S. DON'T BOTHER TO TRY IT ON A BASIC-E SET OF COMPILER AND RUN-TIME INTERPRETER. IN FACT, SINCE C-BASIC DOES'T ACTUALLY OBJECT TO EXTRA LINE NUMBERS, WHY TRY IT AT ALL???. A.R.G) ANSWER - TO FURTHER OBFUSCATE PROGRAMS WRITTEN IN THAT LANGUAGE... Z. WUMPAS.BAS LAST TIME ROUND I URGED THE GUILLOTINING OF THE PERPETRATOR OF SOME PROGRAM CALLED WUMPUS.BAS... TO THE CONTRIBUTER: IF IT LOOKS LIKE A DOG, SMELLS LIKE A DOG AND BARKS LIKE A DOG...WHAT NEXT ? WUMPIS.BAS, WUMPOS.BAS...OH GOD !!! DON'T ANYONE DARE SEND ME ANY WUMPES.BAS EITHER. THIS DOES HAVE ONE MAJOR ENHANCEMENT OVER THE LAST 'WUMPUS' I DIDN'T LIKE: THIS ONE DOESN'T WORK RIGHT. A GOOD PROJECT FOR THE TIME YOU HAVE TO SPEND IN RENO WAITING FOR YOUR DIVORCE TO FINALLY HAPPEN. KINGDOM.BAS I'VE TRIED THIS COMPILER-SENSITIVE ITEM A FEW TIMES. MERCIFULLY THE GAMES HAVE BEEN SHORT. YOU HOLD TOTAL SWAY OVER [LOYAL] SUBJECTS, ALLOCATE YOUR RESOURCES, AND DECIDE HOW TO BEST SPEND THE COIN OF THE REALM, 'RALLODS', [FIGURE THAT ONE OUT YOU CRYPTOGRAPHIC-WHIZZES]. THE APPARENT MASTERY OF THIS GAME INVOLVES EMBEZZLING ALL THE 'RALLODS' YOU CAN, AND ALLOWING ALL OF YOUR SUBJECTS TO PERISH BEFORE THEY CAN DISCOVER YOUR AVARICE. SWARMS.BAS THE ATTACK OF THE KILLER BEES... GET ME MY HEART MEDICINE... I GROW FAINT...!! THIS ONE DIDN'T WORK EITHER, BUT IT LOOKED LIKE IT MIGHT BE GOOD, SO I REWROTE IT A BIT FOR MICROSOFT DISK BASIC. MAYBE, IF YOU SEE A FILE SWARMS2.ASC, I'LL HAVE DECIDED TO INCLUDE IT. THIS IS A VERY!! COMPREHENSIVE GAME WITH A LOT OF OPTIONS. IT QUICKLY BECOMES CONFUSING AND BORING !!! THE PSYCHOLOGISTS AMONGST YOU WILL FIND THIS GAME A MOST INTERESTING DIAGNOSTIC TOOL!! WHEN I GOT THIS ONE RUNNING, ABOUT A DOZEN PEOPLE TRIED IT... EVERY SINGLE ONE, BY THE SECOND ATTEMPT, DID NOTHING BUT 'NUKE' UNEVACUATED AMERICAN CITIES, MYSELF IN- CLUDED. I THINK, IN FAIRNESS, HUMAN NATURE IS LESS AT FAULT THAN THIS MONUMENT TO FUTILITY... REMEMBER THAT PINBALL MACHINE WHICH YIELDED A FREE GAME EVERY THOUSAND TRIES...? THIS GAME OFFERS THE SAME LIKELIHOOD OF VICTORY AS THAT VERY SAME MACHINE WITH ONLY 2 BALLS AND INOPERATIVE FLIPPERS... THE 'STING' ? RUSSIAN.BAS WHEN WILL YOU PARENTAL TYPES LEARN... UNLESS YOU TEACH YOUR 'RETARDATE' TO SIGN HIS PROGRAMS WITH SOMETHING CUTE LIKE 'LITTLE JOHNNY DOE AGE 7 1/2', SOMEBODY MAY MISTAKENLY THINK THAT YOU SUBMITTED THEM. YOU WOULDN'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN, WOULD YOU ? FOR THE RECORD, THIS IS RUSSIAN-ROULETTE: THE ONE YOU'VE ALWAYS AVOIDED. THE OUTPUT OF THIS OPUS-MAGNUS CONSISTS OF THE WORDS, 'CLICK' AND 'POW'. THE LATTER INDICATES THAT YOUR BRAINS HAVE BEEN SPATTERED ACROSS THAT PAYROLL PROGRAM YOU WERE PREPARING FOR THE ESKIMO FREEZER SALESMAN. I AM WRITING THIS A WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS, BUT I CANNOT REFRAIN FROM WISHING THAT THE AUTHOR HAD DEBUGGED THIS ITEM WITH A [REAL] .357 MAGNUM. BY THE WAY, IF YOU MUST PLAY THIS (AND I EARNESTLY HOPE YOU DON'T), YOU WILL MOST LIKELY BE RISKING YOUR LIFE WITH A SINGLE-SHOT ANTIQUE OR A SEVEN SHOT 'HYBRID' GUN. IT SEEMS THAT THE CALL TO RND (RANDOM-NUMBER) SEVERELY AFFECTS THE OTHER MISTAKES IN THIS PROGRAM. I'M NEW AT THIS BUSINESS, BUT I HOPE TO GAIN YOUR CONFIDENCE BY CALLING THEM AS I SEE THEM,... THIS IS THE VERY WORST PROGRAM THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN !!! I HAVE NEVER ELIMINATED ALL COPIES OF A FILE FROM MY ARCHIVES BEFORE. THIS TIME, I JUST MIGHT...CLICK-CLICK-POW !!! TRAP.BAS THE OBJECT OF THIS GAME IS TO TRAP A [RANDOM] NUMBER FROM 1 TO 100 BETWEEN TWO ADJOINING NUMBERS IN SIX OR LESS TRYS. FOR EXAMPLE, IF THE SECRET NUMBER IS 46 THEN THE WINNING 'MOVE' WOULD BE: 45,47. THIS GAME IS SIMPLE, BUT AN HONEST EFFORT WHICH IS FUN TO PLAY. ALSO, IT COMPILED WITHOUT ERRORS WHICH MAKES IT A 'RARA AVIS' FOR THIS GROUP OF PROGRAMS. CHECKERS.BAS THIS PLAYS CHECKERS MINUS THE MULTIPLE JUMPS. IT'S A NICE PROGRAM, WELL WRITTEN ETC... THIS ONE COULD ALSO USE A GRAPHIC TOUCH-UP (SEND 'EM TO TONY). CHIEF.BAS REMEMBER THIS...? YOU THINK OF A NUMBER, PERFORM SOME DUMB ARITHMETIC, AND YOU ARRIVE AT ANOTHER NUMBER, WHICH YOU REVEAL TO THE CRASHING BORE WHO'S DOING THIS TO YOU, AND THAT PERSON WILL DEDUCE THE NUMBER YOU STARTED WITH...; WELL SOMEONE HAS COMPUTERIZED IT ALL AND BLAMED THE POOR INDIANS. I MUST CONFESS THAT I REFUSED TO RUN THIS OFTEN ENOUGH TO DETERMINE IF IT WORKS OR NOT. THE GAME(?) ENDS WITH A BIG LIGHTNING BOLT!! PERHAPS IT WOULD BE BEST FOR SOMEONE TO REMOVE THE ARITHMETIC AND THE INDIAN CHIEF, THEN TO TAKE WHAT'S LEFT AND RENAME IT 'LITENING.BAS'... BE HONEST, ANONYMOUS AUTHOR, ARE WE EXPECTED TO USE ANY NUMBER OTHER THAN 22 ONCE WE MASTER THE TRIBAL RULES ? (P.S. I TRIED IT, AND IT DOES WORK. NOT SURE THAT YOU NATIVE AMERICANS WILL APPRECIATE THE STEREOTYPE. I HEAR THAT THIS WAS THE MAJOR FUNDING PROJECT BY B.I.A. IN 1977. A.R.G) 23MATCH.BAS THIS ONE PLAYS '23-MATCH NIM'. YOU ALWAYS GO FIRST. THE SLY COMPUTER ALWAYS GOES SECOND. GUESS WHO (OR WHAT) WINS... YAWN ! (P.S. I DIDN'T EXPERIENCE ZOSO'S PROBLEM, AND FOUND I COULD BEAT THE MACHINE 10 TIMES OUT OF TEN. FOR YOU MATHS TYPES, THE CORRECT STRATEGY IS TO LEAVE THE MACHINE TO DEAL WITH A QUANTITY ONE GREATER THAT A MULTIPLE OF FOUR - IE START BY TAKING TWO AND LEAVING 21 (5*4+1). A.R.G) NFL.BAS AFTER SOME CONSIDERABLE 'TWEAKING', I GOT THIS ONE TO RUN. THIS IS WHAT I GOT: AN NFL FOOTBALL SIMULATOR. THIS IS HOW IT WORKS... 1) ONE TEAM KICKS OFF. 2) IT'S 'HALFTIME' (YOU'VE GOT TO SEE THIS !!!). 3) THE OTHER TEAM KICKS OFF (AN 'ON-SIDES' KICK AT THAT). 4) THE GAME IS OVER. SINCE NEITHER KICK WAS RUN BACK, THE SCORE IS (CORRECTLY) REPORTED AS A 0-0 TIE. MAYBE THIS WON'T ANNOY SOME OF YOU, BUT IT SURE AS HELL MAKES IT HARD TO ESTABLISH A POINT SPREAD. BULLSEYE.BAS EXAMINE THE SOURCE CODE... IF ANY AMONGST YOU GET THIS ONE TO WORK (AS IS) WITH ANY EXISTING COMPUTER LANGUAGE, YOU ARE NO DOUBT THE 'MESSIAH' SO MANY HAVE AWAITED. RECALL MY COMMENTS IN-RE 'RUSSIAN ROULETTE'. DILUTE THAT SEN- TIMENT BY 1/10 OF 1 PERCENT, SO AS TO SPARE ME WRITING MORE ABOUT SUCH TRIVIA. (P.S. LOOKS LIKE WE'VE LOST MOST OF THE SOURCE OF THIS ONE. CAN ANYONE LET US SEE WHAT'S MISSING? A.R.G.) GIVEN, HOWEVER I MUST NOT NEGLECT TO MENTION THAT THE 'OTHELLO' WHICH ARRIVED TOO LATE FOR LAST TIME, AND TOO EARLY FOR THIS TIME, IS MAYBE THE BEST OF THE LOT,(TRY IT !)(*). IN AN ATTEMPT TO BROWN-NOSE THE BOSS, IN HOPES OF GETTING TO BE REVIEWER FOR THAT OTHER 'BASIC', I WILL INCLUDE A GRATUITOUS REVIEW OF TWO SUCH LAST-MINUTE ITEMS... 1500.ASC A NICE LITTLE GAME THAT IS RELIABLE ENOUGH TO SERVE AS AN ACTUAL GAMBLING DEVICE FOR SOME OF US DECADENT NEW-YORKERS. A WINNER !!! THIS GAME (AND THE OTHER ONE) INCLUDE IN SEVERAL PLACES THE COMMAND:, 'WAIT 0,1,1', IF YOUR HARDWARE DOES NOT SUPPORT THIS CONSTRUCT, BEST CHANGE THESE, OR NOTHING WILL WORK... SOME OF YOUR CRT'S WILL NOT BLANK WITH THE COMMAND: 'PRINT CHR$(26)'; THE MOST COMMON FIX IS: 'PRINT CHR$(12)'. A GAME ESSENTIALLY FOR THOSE 4800 + BAUD CRT'S ONLY. 15/PUZ.ASC THE FAMOUS '15 PUZZLE', BORING AS EVER, BUT QUITE NICELY WRITTEN. ALL OF THE TECHNICAL STUFF FROM ABOVE PROGRAM APPLIES HERE ALSO (EXCEPT FOR THIS ONE, 4800 BAUD WOULD BE TOO SLOW) (*) NOTE: OTHELLO.BAS AND THE COMPREHENSIVE INSTRUCTIONS FOR SAID GAME CAN BE FOUND AS FILES 5.14 AND 5.15 RESPECTIVELY, ON VOLUME 5. GOOD CHEER, FROM WHAT WE'VE SEEN, A VAST IMPROVEMENT. Z.