Spectrum Progress #02 19 января 1997

Софт

Toolkit - The article on the instrumental system for Spectrum "THE GRAPHIC ADVENTURE CREATOR".

  On all computer platforms can be found among a small group of 
software tools programs, referred to as instrumentation 
systems, and allow you to create software without any knowledge 
of programming languages. 

  In a similar way on the Spectrum is

     THE GRAPHIC ADVENTURE CREATOR (GAC)

  You have the opportunity to learn to use
this interesting instrumentation system.



  (C) Andrey Morozov, 1997.



      THE GRAPHIC ADVENTURE CREATOR (GAC)

  Anyway - MAKER GRAPHIC ADVENTYURY.


  This useful product, the British company INCENTIVE SOFTWARE 
appeared in its final form in 1986 and was intended to create

illustrated text adventyur.


  Hundreds of people in the west used to GAC
put their scripts, but this instrumental system, like any 
other, has a certain (lamersky ;-) imprint on emerging from 
under her game. 

  Places, if not call for help his
fantasy and imaginative use of the system, without which such 
artefacts are not cause of interest. Probably for that reason 
to us came so mizirnoe number created, and

known can only be called a demo
toy RANSOM, included in the package GAC.



  One way or another, but, having got into our country without
descriptions and concocted the mass games, CREATOR not
able to gain popularity among domestic
users.

  Trying to fill the information INFORKOMA
vacuum around the system and "to line" its readers to write 
their own adventyur failed only half: writing game started, but

only ... in squalid ABS. Of the games written in
GAC, I can name only APPOLO, and even then, the system is used 
partially, and graphics generally imagined, it seems, in ART 
STUDIO. 


  In short, CREATOR continued to be the thing in
themselves. Obvious difficulty caused English
language. In the sense that not only the English system, but 
emerges from under her game will also be broadcast in from 
England. Write a text on game English ... br-r ... :-(. It was 
necessary to fully Russify system that was made back in 96th 
year, and the latter Russification version appeared as early as 
this. 

  Tested the usability of the system
spurred the imagination and, behold, there were already 
thinking about a more interesting use of a GAC-than planing 
toys. 


  Using CREATOR you can create a pictorial guides, tutorials,
expert systems, fashionable today, psychological tests, other 
psevdointellektualnye programs that can fit in the 21K and do 
not require constant updating of information. 

  Become better acquainted with the GAC-th you will be able to 
determine the scope of this system, since its advantage is 
universality within its capabilities. 


  Talking about the opportunities we start on today's lesson, 
the first of the proposed cycle sessions on this instrumental 
system. 

  But first, a few words about the version of GAC-a,
offer readers SPECTRUM PROGRESS.


  Russification was chosen for the disk version
system, once published in the journal
SPECTROFON. The keyboard layout corresponds to
slozhivshimusya standard YAVERTY.


               1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0

   s / shift + E ui U V W Z


               Q W E R T Y U I O P

                I V E R T S U P & O


   c / lock A S D F G H J K L

                A C D F G J K L X


                  Z X C V B N M

                   W L U M B N M


  This allows the use of letters of Russian alphabet instead of 
the lowercase English. Thus, it can work in a system in 
Russian, and English will be required only for input

commands that specify the logic of events.

  The annex to the magazine you will find Russified GAC, 
consisting of three files: 


         GAC_R  - loader

         r.fnt  - loadable font

         syst  - actually GAC


  Written in the submitted CREATOR-e program will need to 
connect to them Russian font, which is attained by slight 
change of boot: in the last line should be replaced by the file 
name "syst" the name under which your program is.



  Still, probably worth saying that this version of the GAC-but 
does not work with the printer, so that from main menu system, 
this mode is not invoked. 


  Perhaps, for users who already worked with
CREATOR-ohm, said quite enough, and those
who would like to learn this system and free
understand it, to invite the first lesson
which will begin as soon as you turn to
next article in this magazine.


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