News:

Printed Amstrad Addict magazine announced, check it out here!

Main Menu

Interesting/peculiar CPC apps?

Started by cwpab, 22:44, 09 February 24

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

cwpab

What are the most interesting and peculiar Amstrad CPC apps? There are thousands of them, and they serve much more diverse and original purposes than word processing, file copying, drawing and spreadsheeting.

Gryzor

Route planner? Pretty awesome for the platform... 

Nich

I've had a look at the NVG archive and have come across a few interesting and unusual applications:

Commercial releases


Freeware and PD releases

  • Ghoul's Writer - create intros and letters with demo-like effects. I had a lot of fun using this when I was swapping discs by post back in the mid-1990s.
  • Retro-Loadsheet - calculate weight and balance data for loading aircraft; developed by @skylas on this forum
  • Run VT! - create video titles

Type-in listings

  • Digiglobe - a 3D atlas. Enter a city and the program will display it on a 3D globe. This was published as a type-in listing in PC Amstrad International, and the magazine ran a competition to develop an improved version. The winner of this competition was WinGlobe, which introduced a graphical user interface.
  • The Drumming CPC - play digitised drum sequences; no additional hardware required (although it is intended to be used with the Digiblaster)
  • Écriture Arabe - type Arabic and Latin text to the screen. Unfortunately it isn't a proper word processor as it only writes the text to the screen and doesn't store it anywhere else in memory, but I've never seen any other program on the CPC that lets you use Arabic (although I don't understand any of it!).
  • Lathe - design 3D models. More limited than Model Universe and Vectoria 3D, but I enjoyed playing with this back in the early 1990s.
  • Routard - plan journeys across France, similar to Routeplanner which @Gryzor has already suggested.

skylas

#3
Really interesting topic! And thanks for the mention for my Retro-loadsheet.
To be honest, it was the most difficult program for me to make. Although I knew that very few will understand the calculations, it was a self goal to create it due to my work at the airport in a similar job.
I had on my hardcopy files some complicated charts for trimsheet (like this https://www.flygp.se/products/load-and-trim.html ) , by which I was trying to export data by using a ruler and counting millimetres, and then transform lines into mathematical calculations.
Web: https://amstradsakis.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmstradSakis
My programs (only BASIC):
RETRO-LOADSHEET!, PENALTY KICKS!, CAPITAL QUIZ!, CAPITAL QUIZ 2! (Reverse edition), HEADS OR TAILS (ΚΟΡΩΝΑ/ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΑ), HEART CHASER 1,2,3!, BARBOUTI!, STROOPIE!, AMSTABOO!
TEXT ADVENTURES:
BUDRUMI!, ART WAR!, BATTLE OF LENINGRAD!, RODOLFO SKYLARRIENTE 1 and 2!

Nich

I've discovered another one - The Real You? It invites you to conduct some tests to discover your personality.

Gryzor

Quote from: Nich on 11:59, 11 February 24I've discovered another one - The Real You? It invites you to conduct some tests to discover your personality.
That's interesting. Reminded me of another old such title which the developer continued evolving and it got a mobile release a few years ago. It was very very interesting (and pretty grim), but can't remember the name damnit.

It was different though, essentially you took decisions at different crossroads in your life (including in the womb😁)

cwpab


skylas

Quote from: Nich on 11:59, 11 February 24I've discovered another one - The Real You? It invites you to conduct some tests to discover your personality.
Thanks!
This reminded me a personality test in Greek:
https://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=16391
Web: https://amstradsakis.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmstradSakis
My programs (only BASIC):
RETRO-LOADSHEET!, PENALTY KICKS!, CAPITAL QUIZ!, CAPITAL QUIZ 2! (Reverse edition), HEADS OR TAILS (ΚΟΡΩΝΑ/ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΑ), HEART CHASER 1,2,3!, BARBOUTI!, STROOPIE!, AMSTABOO!
TEXT ADVENTURES:
BUDRUMI!, ART WAR!, BATTLE OF LENINGRAD!, RODOLFO SKYLARRIENTE 1 and 2!

Bryce

There were a few "Biorhythm" and Horoscope programs around. I also wrote an IC Database at one time that gave you the specs, pinout (as a picture), function, etc of all 74 series, 4000 series and a few analogue IC's.

Bryce. 

zhulien

It's not a perculiar app as such, but the name to me is very weird... so the name itself I am curious why is it called... Bonzo Doo-Dah.  Actually searching that, it comes up with a band, not the CPC program for most hits - is it named after the band?

Gryzor

Quote from: zhulien on 12:53, 27 February 24It's not a perculiar app as such, but the name to me is very weird... so the name itself I am curious why is it called... Bonzo Doo-Dah.  Actually searching that, it comes up with a band, not the CPC program for most hits - is it named after the band?

Here you go:

https://cpcrulez.fr/applications_crack-bonzo_doo_dah_AA.htm

GUNHED

Well, from all the applications I programmed, the one to be mentioned would be ROManager, because it supports 99% of the ROM/Flash/M4 etc. expansions, has lot of nice features and even supports do deal with ROMs for CP/M Plus.  :)

In general there are lots of 'forgotten' applications (because they are older) which really are very powerful. 
http://futureos.de --> Get the revolutionary FutureOS (Update: 2023.11.30)
http://futureos.cpc-live.com/files/LambdaSpeak_RSX_by_TFM.zip --> Get the RSX-ROM for LambdaSpeak :-) (Updated: 2021.12.26)

zhulien


eto

Quote from: cwpab on 22:44, 09 February 24What are the most interesting and peculiar Amstrad CPC apps? There are thousands of them, and they serve much more diverse and original purposes than word processing, file copying, drawing and spreadsheeting.

I don't remember a lot of them. I think there was a text editor "Context" which I used once in a while to make my homework for school or write a letter. Also I remember some DTP program but since I had no clip-arts that was not very useful. 

Sure, there were some great tools/utilities, but I would not call them applications. To me, if it's something that makes my CPC experience better/easier, it's a utility. If it's something that I use to create some (creative) output, it's an application. 

Btw: I just recognized that on the CPC I mostly remember games and the creative/serious part was mostly BASIC programming - then on the Atari STe I mostly remember the applications and how I used it for creative purposes - but there are only a few games that I can remember at all. 

GUNHED

http://futureos.de --> Get the revolutionary FutureOS (Update: 2023.11.30)
http://futureos.cpc-live.com/files/LambdaSpeak_RSX_by_TFM.zip --> Get the RSX-ROM for LambdaSpeak :-) (Updated: 2021.12.26)

zhulien

I have a disc here, I am hoping it has the original content (if not, i will try find the orignal content and put it there)...

Something from a company called RPA Systems Inc, on one side is Climatoligia and the other side is Demografia.

Anyone heard of these before?

There is a page here:  https://cpcrulez.fr/GamesTest/demografia_y_climatologia.htm

but seems the actual software isn't there - let's hope its on my disc.

Nich

Quote from: zhulien on 11:50, 17 March 24I have a disc here, I am hoping it has the original content (if not, i will try find the orignal content and put it there)...

Something from a company called RPA Systems Inc, on one side is Climatoligia and the other side is Demografia.

Anyone heard of these before?

There is a page here:  https://cpcrulez.fr/GamesTest/demografia_y_climatologia.htm

but seems the actual software isn't there - let's hope its on my disc.
The disc images are already available on CPC-POWER.

Powered by SMFPacks Menu Editor Mod