Amstrad Action TYPE-IN PROJECT

[AMSDOS]

Issue 100 is now on the wiki.

That leaves 21 issues to go!

However I've just looked at AA56 and the scan of the type ins pages is not brilliant quality (sorry, it's from the download section of the website - the torrent from retropdfs) so it's going to take a while to type and debug it. May have to switch to a clearer issue and put this one to the back of the queue.

I can help with the scans. There was a small typo in the mastermind game which a correction was posted and the accounts program also had some additions added to it which were published in the forum.

[robbarton]

@ AMSDOS: thank you! I've emailed you so I'm looking forward to being able to type these ones in.

It's a shame as I used to have AA issues from 18 to 98, just missing 20, 21, 23 [blame it on moving house] and 25 [birthday issue, probably too expensive for my Dad]. We stopped after 98 in 1993 because we were feeling the bite of the recession at the time and all had to make sacrifices, mine was AA 

If I'd kept them I would have been able to read the pages more easily... well hindsight is a wonderful thing!

[AMSDOS]

@ AMSDOS: thank you! I've emailed you so I'm looking forward to being able to type these ones in.

It's a shame as I used to have AA issues from 18 to 98, just missing 20, 21, 23 [blame it on moving house] and 25 [birthday issue, probably too expensive for my Dad]. We stopped after 98 in 1993 because we were feeling the bite of the recession at the time and all had to make sacrifices, mine was AA 

If I'd kept them I would have been able to read the pages more easily... well hindsight is a wonderful thing!

That's a bummer, around that time I was gifted with a nicely varnished Wooden Chest, which is still home to many of the Amstrad Magazines I collected, out of Sight means out of mind, even the guests never queried what was in it. I remember the recession your referring too, Aust. PM at the time Paul Keating at the time said "It was the recession we had to have". By then I was on student income and was able to get AA, ACU & TAU had folded, I was able to collect up to 115, but because Aust. was behind receiving AA 116 & 117 didn't make it here. Still it was good to finally have a look at those.

[Zoe Robinson]

I've got some spare time today on account of how I'm laid up ill, so I'll give AA56 a try and see what I can do with it.


EDIT: I missed the bit where AMSDOS was sending you scans for that issue, so I'll leave it for now.

[Gryzor]

Well, get well

[Zoe Robinson]

Thanks. I decided to give AA99 a go. That Untitled demo is really interesting.


I hope the guy who wrote it isn't too annoyed that I corrected his spelling & grammar in it though; since he asks people to not alter his code.

[Zoe Robinson]

The type-ins for Amstrad Action issue 99 are now online.


I have to say that while the As Yet Untitled demo is rather good, the code for Areas could have been tightened immensely. I think it would have been possible to remove all the unnecessary duplication and render that whole thing in about a third of the code with hardly any effort whatsoever but oh well, what's done is done.

[zeropolis79]

If I supply a couple of 3" discs and return postage, could someone be kind to transfer these to real discs for me please?

Many thanks

[TFM]

The type-ins for Amstrad Action issue 99 are now online.


I have to say that while the As Yet Untitled demo is rather good, the code for Areas could have been tightened immensely. I think it would have been possible to remove all the unnecessary duplication and render that whole thing in about a third of the code with hardly any effort whatsoever but oh well, what's done is done.

Great idea, can you provide the new code? Would be interesting to see how you did it. 

[Zoe Robinson]

Yeah, I think I'll give it a go - after I've finished my reworking of that Star Dodger game from the Xmas type-ins booklet.

[AMSDOS]

The type-ins for Amstrad Action issue 99 are now online.


I have to say that while the As Yet Untitled demo is rather good, the code for Areas could have been tightened immensely. I think it would have been possible to remove all the unnecessary duplication and render that whole thing in about a third of the code with hardly any effort whatsoever but oh well, what's done is done.

Gee that brings back memories and it was something to relax to after frantically playing Stormlord! 

[robbarton]

The type-ins for Amstrad Action issue 99 are now online.


I have to say that while the As Yet Untitled demo is rather good, the code for Areas could have been tightened immensely. I think it would have been possible to remove all the unnecessary duplication and render that whole thing in about a third of the code with hardly any effort whatsoever but oh well, what's done is done.

Thank you for that  , saves me an issue and keeps me on track to competing the job by the end of November (about 2 issues a week to the end of September and then one a week in Oct-Nov).

Get well soon!

[AMSDOS]

I've made some changes to the AA57 (July 1990) Type-ins page, after working out how to turn off the tune after it's played a musical sequence. I've added a new category "Tips" and placed it between Notes & Download, which I hope is okay, otherwise it seems inappropriate having it anywhere else and it seems to be a good way of recording any current day suggestions while using these old programs. I wasn't sure if there was other Type-ins pages though which had a Tips Section, I had a look around, but didn't find any, in later AAs (around the time Monthly Covertapes were the norm), the Forum was subject to Top Tips, which occasionally involved the odd type-in with Suggestion or Patch, which normally improved the program.

[robbarton]

Yes the corrections to some of the type ins were often scattered around the magazine; sometimes in the type ins section itself, or the letters page, or the forum, or top tips, or problem attic, etc.

I used the notes section to try and keep some of the instructions for the programs in a sensible place, so the tips can be like you say for modern suggestions or something beyond the original program.

[robbarton]

Almost completed AA56 but I am stuck with an error in Masterword. It's beginning to drive me bonkers 

In line 1330 I keep getting a syntax error.

The line I have typed in is:

Code Select Expand

1330 IF MID$(z$,a%,1)=MID$(w$,a%,1) THEN righ%=righ%+1:PEN 2:LOCATE 11+a%,l%:PRINT MID$(z$,a%,1);:SOUND 1,2000(a%*250),9,1,1:w$=MID$(w$,1,a%-1)+" "+MID$(w$,a%+1):d(a%)=0

Note there is a lowercase L% in there after the locate command

I've attached a scan of the page (thanks AMSDOS) in case someone else can work out where I am going wrong.

[attach=2]

If it helps I get the "typerighter" code {HvFl} which is close but not a match to {KkFl}, I think this means I have the right number of characters in the line but one or more is substituted.

Thanks in advance

[Zoe Robinson]

Are you sure that's an l% and not a 1%? The "l" looks a hell of a lot like a "1" to me. It's almost certainly supposed to be an "l", sure, but it does look like a 1 in the text.


Also (and I may be mis-remembering BASIC here) but shouldn't there be a * between 2000 and (a%*250)? I don't recall being able to write multiplication just as a(b*c) on a CPC.

[AMSDOS]

In line 1330 I keep getting a syntax error.

The line I have typed in is:

Code Select Expand

1330 IF MID$(z$,a%,1)=MID$(w$,a%,1) THEN righ%=righ%+1:PEN 2:LOCATE 11+a%,l%:PRINT MID$(z$,a%,1);:SOUND 1,2000(a%*250),9,1,1:w$=MID$(w$,1,a%-1)+" "+MID$(w$,a%+1):d(a%)=0

Yes that's the line which had A typo in it, a solution was posted in the AA59 forum I think. But what it was I think was the sound command was missing a minus sign "-" between the 2000 and (a%*250), so it should have 2000-(a%*250).

[CanonMan]

I think it's the SOUND command. There should be a plus sign between the 2000 and the open bracket.

[Nich]

I think it's the SOUND command. There should be a plus sign between the 2000 and the open bracket.

AMSDOS is correct. It should be a minus sign, i.e. 2000-(a%*250). If you do this, the correct Type-Writer code {KkFl} will be generated.

[robbarton]

@Zoe and @CanonMan : you are right with the syntax, there was indeed a missing operator after SOUND. And those flaming l's and 1's and I's, I wish programmers at the time had avoided using them as AA suggested!

AMSDOS was correct with it being a missing minus sign (now tell me how you remembered that after 25 years!)  I read the AA59 letters page which was basically of no use and suggested that the correspondent examine his typing, which was sad in a way as AA was not yet on the decline and a bit of proofreading of the line and checking against source would have revealed there was indeed an error.

The relief at getting the correct typerighter code was palpable believe me - I'll upload AA56 later this week as I am aiming to get AA58 done at the same time.

@ Nich: you just posted this as I was typing! Thanks anyway.

[AMSDOS]

@robbarton I got lucky? 

[AMSDOS]

I've been doing some more playing around with the Tunegen program from AA57, thought it best to post it here, rather than on the AA57 Type-ins page. The Data in Lines 200-230 holds the Tone Periods, which begins at C in Octave 1, proceeding through the Notes in Octave 0, I've kept those first twelve notes, but altered the Second 12 to a higher Period, to produce some moodier tunes between the regular notes and more base, so the top half of the screen uses the regular notes with the second half of the screen using the deeper notes in Octave -4). The information is just from the Manual Chaper 7, Part 5 of the 6128 Manual.


Here's the adjustments I made:

Code Select Expand

200 DATA 119,127,134,142,150,159,169
210 DATA 179,190,201,213,225,1911,2025
220 DATA 2145,2273,2408,2551,2703,2863,3034
230 DATA 3214,3405,3608

[robbarton]

Today I uploaded type ins for AA56, AA58 and AA59. That completes 1990!

So now just 1991 (9 issues) and 1993 (8 issues) to complete. I make that 17 issues to go  , bang on schedule to finish before Christmas.

Thanks everyone for the support as I go through these. I've learned plenty of things e.g.
- how to handle a project like this (pacing, scheduling, organising the work into copy/paste, correct, import, checksum, compress dsk, edit the wiki etc.)
- some BASIC commands (I only learned today that you can LIST 150- to restart listing from that line; previously I've always started from the beginning when verifying the checksums  )
- how to spot a machine code loader

As an adult I've got a lot from reading the type-ins; when I was younger it was all about the games whereas now the type-in games aren't so exciting but there are some useful tools (e.g. AA59's Poke-It Multiface replacement; might seem useless on an emulator but on the real machine with no Multiface it's ideal).

Anyway enough rambling, I'm going to relax for the rest of my day off!

[Gryzor]

- some BASIC commands (I only learned today that you can LIST 150- to restart listing from that line; previously I've always started from the beginning when verifying the checksums  )

Heheheh But this was in the manual, wasn't it?


Thanks for the great work, both in terms of quantity and quality...

[zeropolis79]

Sounds great!