On-Line #17 31 декабря 1995

Mosaic - how to access the drive through "direct programming VG93. On the electronic newspaper "Dl News". About the picture format of PCX.

                 MOSAIC


MDM 496-8508; 12:00 / 21:00

   Dmitriy@oldman.msk.ru


   Hi all! And a Happy New Year! Today I have a very good mood, 
confident that you, too. Therefore I will depart from its 
customary roles, "grumpy uncle, always dissatisfied with all 
USERami, programmers, writers, destiny, life ... 

                ° ° ° °


   Finally! Hooray! My quest (rubrics "WANTED" and "Mosaic")
failed! So far I have forwarded only two fugitives
game. The first - "2112 A.D." shook me Yuri Vasin, known to you
on articles in the "stuck?", the second - "KAT TRAP" sent
Andrew ... (On the joys, I forgot to ask how the name and phone 
number). Despite the lack of cover images, games fully 
functional. But because they were not interested in me, I'm 
willing to give them to anyone who wants to make a normal 
version. 

                ° ° ° °


   Another happy (I hope) news for you. Coming soon restored 
version of the game "CAPTAIN BLOOD" with all podzagruzkami. I 
think this game should not be. Those interested can learn about 
it from the 15 th issue of the journal "SPECTROFON". I handled 
the game, INTRODUCTION wrote KSA SOFTWARE. Game performance on 
computers with memory 48k and 128k. Implemented two independent 
loading conditions on the disk, and users can enjoy a 128k car 
AY-music written specially for this game KSA SOFTWARE, some 
good special effects (written by me, of course) and also enjoy, 
in addition to shipments to a floppy, two shipments of memory 
and the possibility of restarting the game in memory (and then 
understand why it is needed). Work on the game is almost over, 
but still makes it possible for postponed New Year (you know 
why ...). Edition of the game is scheduled at the very 
beginning of the year, most likely, we will have time to finish 
it for release "SPECTROFON" N 17, where it appears. Freaky 
game, honestly! So far, it has no man has gone! 

                ° ° ° °


   NIKO SOFT (BBS NEWS) threw me the other day a bunch of 
numbers "ZX-Revue" and "ZX-FORUM". Frankly, I've long these 
logs are not read it, because after that panky, what's 
published in early 90, I have developed aversion to this 
edition. It turns out, in vain. Now, despite the support of 
dubious hardware and software developments (... had promised 
the same do not swear ... see, I was not correct), there are 
many interesting things. Articles devoted adventyurnym and 
role-playing games have been written exclusively professional! 
Expert analyzes games - the best I have ever seen (although, in 
the "ON-LINE" no worse, if not better!). Notes addressed to 
novice programmers can indeed help them (yeah let's be honest, 
I myself, at one time, a lot of them picked up) and, although 
an experienced coder to look for them there is almost nothing, 
so I dug into them: 


   Now very common ways to refer to the drive through
"Direct programming" VG93. Through # 3D13 virtually nobody 
works. I'm not talking about the TURBO-LOADERah who have 
already become a standard device. But almost all such 
procedures apply to the floppy drive A. And where there is 
realized an appeal to any drive, such nakrucheno ... Meanwhile, 
all ingenious is simple. Try to explain it so that I understood 
not only by those who even fills in the text of articles TASMe, 
but those who use procedures, pulled out of other people's boot.



   So, in any such procedure is a periodic setting of the disc 
by zasylaniya to register # FF controller number # 2C and # 3C. 
So, if these numbers are, and # 2D # 3D, then the appeal will 
to drive B! In other words, bits 1 and 0, the above constants 
are responsible for the number of the drive. When it comes to 
boot for games, it is enough when you first start to initialize 
the constants with respect to cell # 5D16, established 
TR-DOSom. 


   Yes ... I looked at the previous paragraph, and realized 
that I hardly ever anything I can not explain the hacker. Well, 
okay, smart enough.



   I'll be back, perhaps to the "ZX-REVIEW." Can me someone say
what kind of team: INK HL, pictured on the cover of magazines 
for 1995?


                ° ° ° °


   Finally, I want to say hello to DrLongman'u! DLNews - really 
interesnoya newspaper. But now it goes about it, and file 
"IBMgraph", issued by him. I would like to share my information 
about the format of PCX. I want to share in the pages of 
"ON-LINE", because I think it will be too many are interested. 


   Unfortunately, I only know about black and white PCX ... As
already understood by those who dug it - the image is stored in 
the compressed form. Header has a length of # 80 bytes. There 
is nothing interesting, except # 42 bytes, which stores the 
string length in bayytah. Discard the header and checks the 
first byte. If 6 and 7 bits set, then reset them and get the 
number of repeat the next byte. If the bits are reset, then 
just send the byte and move to the next. Naturally, when number 
of bytes written exceeds the length of the string, go to line 
down. 


   In fairness, I note that this information podcherpnul in
one of the Kharkov demonstrations and have not tested it 
myself, so I it seems logical that a single byte is considered 
not only when 6 and 7 bits are reset, but if not set at least 
one of these bits. So, please: DrLongman, when tested and get 
results, call me, if not difficult. 

                    MDM 496-8508; 12:00 / 21:00
                       Dmitriy@oldman.msk.ru