ZX-News #25 01 апреля 1997

Letters - Letter from the X-Trade about sore.

                  LETTERS



  We bring to your attention a great article, a letter from 
team X-TRADE. 



                      (C) DANGEROUS '<LD>

                          X-TRADE GROUP


   Mental anguish in the field Spectrum.


  Grieved. Recently, the situation on the
Spectrum market seems utterly miserable,
masses of the people of dumps on the PC, leaving behind
a trail of unfinished projects, advertising newspapers are full 
of ads like "Buy SPECTRUM + disk ...", and the phrase" I I 
SPECTRUM! "sounds quite different, as say, two years ago. 
Today's pioneers and will not hear that SPECTRUM has become 
their the first machine. "It is not DOOM", - they will say, 
naively thinking that any machine - it's first well-publicized 
game plan, "Kill them all!", and then everything else. "We need 
IBM!", - They will scream, waving a newspaper, "Computer price 
"and the harassment of parents for" The Sasha IBM, and Vasey 
IBM, I also want to IBM, give me a lot of money !!!".



  Even today sinkleristy tease
software vendors for the Spectrum with the question: "
when will DOOM, eh? ". This indoctrinate the younger generation 
games above plan results in a total Degradation of mind and 
views on the world of computing and SPECTRUM in particular. 
Recall a time in our becoming SPECCY country - it attracted all 
the beautiful (for those years), toys, toys for the follow

attempts to immortalize, and then write
something his own, to show it to others and even make money on 
money. And now this: we are traders, standing on the other side 
of the stalls in the market, see the crazy faces crazed 
PC-lamer asking questions like: "Give me this, this and this, 
that I was packed for a week! ". In practice it turns out that 
he bought three or four collections of several hundred games, 
and a week later we see him at the same counter with the same 
expression on his face again with the intention to buy three or 
four collections. You can ask you sweetheart, it really you 
last week shoveled Hundreds of those three games, without 
dismounting from his "one hundred thirty-third hemp? Darling 
did not reply - just quietly shook his price list ... 


  Generally speaking, each PCshnik often
played in two or three to your favorite games, ever "live" on 
his hard drive, all other games he buys just before

Heap, for unknown reasons, he himself.
Nobody does anything and does not intend to do (this is 
essentially meaningless - your, say, the game will drown in the 
flow of imported games of mediocre quality). 


  But in the world SPECTRUM your product will be
In any case noticed and appreciated, but only under one 
condition: the speed of its creation must be somewhat higher 
than the rate of development of the plot in the Mexican TV 
series. Sometimes the speed of realization in the lives of 
individual projects falls so that the captive question about 
their ambulance death ...



  "The memory untimely death will forever remain in our hearts 
...", - said in his obituary.



  These metaphors are very sad, but all
as it should be remembered that the projects - it is not
people, and theoretically they can be inhaled
life, so here's where to find a doctor? It seems
all doctors have already piled up on PC and treated, patients 
treated with mad - behind the counters CD-ROMs.



  Of course, there are in this world of smart people
having the same notorious PC or AMIGA, but
do not throw SPECCY, and make their
powerful machines "shestachit on Spectrum. About
Examples guess yourself - full of them.


  So where is the exit? At Segond Development
Spectrum prevent a lack of advanced graphics capabilities, 
virtually everything else he has (and how many need something - 
the hard drive, mouse, modem, keyboard, sound, speed, although 
the latter - moot, since great program

possible on computers that are not very high speed, a living 
example of that - AMIGA).



  People who say that the connection of various external 
devices that empower SPECTRUMa in various directions, turning 
the car in the not-SPECTRUM, and is ruining the main platform. 


  Try to imagine a platform
kotroraya not extended to additional
hardware every six months ... (Under the iron in the
this case is understood that the "shove" in the slots 
corresponding platform - graphics accelerators, musical cards, 
all kinds of controllers ...) 


  In other words, the iron to make SPECCY
necessary, the only question is, who will
do.


  Unfortunately, the concept is built SPECCY
so that the iron there stuff is not very
simply, and as VIDEO-extensions
it is not easy. In addition, elevated
VIDEO-features require some increase in speed of CPU, the extent
possible on this platform. Naturally,
I suppose that the full expansion
not be "monsters" made in the form
3D-structures entangled MGTFom and soldered to each other 
chips. Expansion to be just normal cars made in the form of 
"MAMA + slot. These are the SCORPION and KAY, and possibly 
PROFI. Outraged DEMOMAKERy exclaim: "How so? A vremyanka?". At 
that answer - keep PENTAGON as a prefix to your ability to 
write demos, but if you want to insert into the machine hard 
drive, mouse, modem, sound, and possibly a video card

Stay away from the "machine" type PENTAGON - something one can 
connect to it, but not all at once (in theory, it will work, 
but structurally it is deposit fees will be wrapped in 
polyethylene bags and tapered rezinochkoy, for greater 
reliability). Ideal option for demomeykerov - SCORPION / KAY 
from makeshift PENTAGONa, but there is still a conglomerate 
only two copies, ie if worth two cars side by side; for other 
users will approach simply SCORPION / KAY. 


  Theoretically possible to create active
video card, but there are big doubts
that the level of programming is insufficient to
the creation of a shell (OS), without which
average user will not be able to evaluate and
use the resources of the card.


  With this type of work can cope
Only a very skilled programmer. The programmer also has created 
five dem or two or three DIZZY-like toys, for

support the iron is rather weak in the knees. AND
More - one of professionalism little need
still not able to score for the project in mid-
its development, which, unfortunately, happened
with many large and medium projects
on SPECCY.


  Seen by following this path: TURBO mode becomes the standard 
for written SPECTRUMa ND (do not interrupt!) - Writing Window

interfaces, system software and strategic toys, as well as 
those fragments programs that do not require speed,

many times faster, even though everything else
still written in assembly language. It is no secret that this 
is the rest, as a rule, written most quickly, and the bulk of 
the time of writing the complete program devoured windows, 
menus, etc. 


  In this case, a rapid progress in the field of writing 
finished, repeat, complete program, and possibly recovery of 
the corpses, an obituary which has long been signed.



  Lying on his death (dying) bed
We believe projects:


    ADVENTURE Koloboks

    Guess the melody

    Winnie the Pooh 2

    Star Heritage 2

    LAND OF DRAGONS

    WALKER

    CITY

    WARCRAFT

    SPECIAL FORCES

    All versions of DOOM

    TIME COP

    LEGEND OF KYRANDIA

    MYTH-2

    PARADISE LOST

    MORTAL COMBAT

    HEADBALL

    DUNE 2

    RED REFRIGERATOR

    OS PINK FLOYD


  Remarkable immunity to the "unfinished" possess all the 
projects of Fame Mednonogova, including his latest project 
(BEST!). 


  But! In addition to UFOs and the small number of
unpretentious logic of toys in recent years from domestic games 
nothing Timeout. Sad, is not it?



  In such a situation, the outflow of users
on the PC is inevitable.


  If you're dying to play DOOM
and others heaped up toys, do not necessarily get off with 
Spectrum, and instead notorious PC buy yourself, say, SONY

PLAY STATION or NINTENDO ULTRA 64 - all
PCshniki flourish with envy, and cost
it is much cheaper ...


  You can feel sorry for people whose familiarity with
the world of computers began with the IBM PC, too
program in assembly language they do not exactly
learn and will realize their miserable algorithms on high-level 
languages relying on the CPU and

generating a gnarled monster type WINDOWS'95.


  Repeat, SPECCY we only
platform on which your SOFT someone needed and someone will use 
it and enjoy life with you. Remember that here you are - an 
encoder, and there (on PC) you - lamer and lamer, and will 
remain - there is not back ...




  Nice to get clever letters and articles.
The only thing I disagree with the authors, so it is with 
"saksovostyu" wind, with the fact that Mortal Kombat and 
HeadBall lie on "Dying bed, as well as the fact that

"There will not be returned." Back, too
Believe me. Examples of this - more than enough, when a man, 
play with mesyatsok on the quadruple (I'm not talking about 
three rubles, kopeck piece, x-Tishkov and other crap) returned 
to the Speck. After all, back here - at all does not mean 
"throw the PC in the trash." Both companies can live side by 
sosushestvovat by side on a table - there is a will ...



  Coy finished with the words:


       ... And if you suddenly get tired of your gentle light,

           You can find a place with us,

           Rain will be enough for everyone ...


        __________________________