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ANALYSIS OF AUTHOR'S PROGRAMS
DISTRIBUTED BY "INFORCOM" COMPANY.
System programs:
1. STS v2.6 & v3.3 (Stalker, Kharkov).
These masterpieces are distributed by "INFORCOM".
If you haven't heard about them yet, let's say:
they work just fine with the port
#7FFD. Not only does the author have no understanding
information about port decryption (full and incomplete)
noy), so he also dictates to us his conventions
Viya: "...You will have to change the scheme
(usually one switch and that's it!), or
do not use STS Mobitor. "
Why not buy a new computer?
Imagine this phrase: "... our
The program runs on computers no lower than IBM
486 and works only with cache memory, for
normal operation the rest of the memory
must be disabled. If you don't have it
turns off,then put it in your
IBM computer one small switch
Tel, or do not use our program -
mi. Thank you for your attention. Buy our
programs, the best and the cheapest."
Doesn’t it sound great?
And you, dear hacker fighters,
are these programs running? No? Well then, you need to
sorry for the expression, go to hell
"copyright" Dima Stalker (author
STS), change 31 bytes (if interested, you can
we can indicate which ones) in the program and
work with "STS named after yourself" (i.e. on
"hacked" version by you) on ANY computer
tere.
In addition, STS (like many other
program) does not work correctly with disk-
home (normal operation guaranteed
only with imported ones), due to the lack of
support for disk promotion.
As you probably already understood, you can’t see
these "legal" copyright programs
right But"INFORCOM" didn't even bother
ask the author to make it more marketable
view STS. Or maybe they just have pirated ones
copies?["OBERON": we have now made two standard
Small versions of this program: STS 2.61D and
STS 2.7, do not confuse them with the author's ones. When
their debugging revealed still a lot of shortcomings -
the author's work, in particular "glitches" when working
bot with a disk, so what about their distribution?
It’s too early to say.]
2. TASM128 v3.0 (Rst7, Kharkov).
Apart from the “standard” incorrect
correct operation withport #7FFD(to correct
which needs to be changed in total 13
bytes), then this editor can be called non-
bad. But for serious work with it,
It’s useful to know not only commands and keys,
but also the memory card it occupies and
(or) uses. Unfortunately, the author does not
felt it necessary to tell us about it. How
they say, guess for yourself. True,
It also has one more "glitch", but INFORCOM
on the pages of his ZX-REVIEW No. 5, 1995
hurried to tell us how to fix it ourselves
fix this "glitch", thank him very much.["OBERON": this program also "recovers"
Lena", now it has the number 3.1s. ]
3. FWORD FOR GENS v1.0 (A. Demidov, Os-
trov).
Read the price list "INFORCOM" and and
You'll lick your fingers. And IBM format, and
Is-EDITOR-format understands, and many windows
you can open it, and it works at 48K , here it is
He just doesn’t know how to iron or wash. Otherwise,
that nothing is longer than a running line program
you can’t do anything in it (loading modules from
disk increases the broadcast time and
there is a memory that is not there) you will find out
when you spend 12 thousand on its purchase.
Probably the author thought it was festive
design is more important than functionality
news And "INFORCOM", to put it mildly,
I don’t care anymore, just to get it from the purchase
tel money.
And here's another thing: GENS relocating, andFWORDno (moreover, it needs GENS to be
in a strictly defined place)!
P.S. After waiting a month for the floppy disk, we
apparently you will have to “roll up your sleeves” and do
own screen editor for GENS.A
what to do, you need to write programs, and
I want to do this in comfortable conditions.
P.P.S. The editor has already started. He
will be less colorful, but relocatable,
using the overlay principle (in
128/256K) and more compact (4-5 KB,
instead of 9 KB FWORD) .
["OBERON": currently the first version
our editor is being tested
ki, unfortunately due to errors of GENS itself
(MOA version, 1991: yes, yes, exactly, in
there is a version already well known to us
error) the editor remains until it is reloc-
configurable, but everything else is implemented: he
really better thanFWORD,although less
it is colorful, and most importantly, it occupies
total4K (and it is built using an overlay
muprinciple and can calmly increase
your size up to12K - the size of theGENS,
in place of which it will be "overlaid").]
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Game programs:
1. VIRUS, VIRUS2 (S. Kukovyakin, N-Tali-
tsy).
Here, unfortunately, there were some
treachery SPECTROFONa and its advertising
(you can't call it otherwise) the company."For the first time! Not-
deterministic game! We naturally
bought it and ordered it fromINFORCOMse-
without a floppy disk with it. Do you want to know what we're talking about?
do we think about her? Firstly, what does “week-
terminated" ? This is a typical representation
tel of games-type-Life, according to the name of the first
such a “non-deterministic” game - mathematics -
tic game "Life",almost invented
twenty years ago the American mathematician
com John Conway. Non-deterministic -
means without a clearly defined goal,
but in "Life" there is such a goal - research
study of evolutionary processes using mathematics
ical models. Okay, in the end it's
just a question of terminology.
But as for the programs themselves. B
program VIRUS we
bots with it found several crude algorithms
mic errors:
- unacceptable for the author's program
system for recognizing situations that arise
when working with a disk (that, space on the disk
worker not enough?):
- disgusting processing of border (edges)
ev) arrow conditions (go to DESIGN and
try to “pick up” a cell located -
at the edge of the field or in the lower corners):
- incorrect virus processing algorithm
during battle: first FULL treatment
1st virus, then 2nd, 3rd, 4th: in re-
As a result, the virus with a lower number
has a huge advantage (try
pitting 2 completely identical viruses -
The virus with the smaller but - will ALWAYS win
measure), to create equal conditions
(not counting the location of the virus on
field) processingALL viruses must occur
walk AT THE SAME TIME (as, by the way, the stipulation
reno in the rules "Life"),and consist of
phases: reproduction, combat, aging, etc.:
- too “buggy” development rules, for example
example, if you change the duration
life of cells, then, according to the laws of biology,
the frequency of replacement of glue must change
current, but no one knows what is changing.
Now consider VIRUS2. All of the above
numerical errors were not only not corrected,
Lena, but new ones were added to them:
- rather vulgar music, through
how many minutes does it take to turn into a set of different
"obscene" sounds:
- keyboard chatter cannot be eliminated:
- when performing any action by the shooter
returns to original condition
(apparently the author was so carried away by adding anecdotes)
pillboxes into the program (they can be read "by
clicking" on the racks, in the main menu-car-
Tinka), that for normal processing of arrows -
I just didn't have enough imagination):
- even more disgusting edge processing
new conditions in the main picture menu.
It remains to add that we do not have any
be pirated versions, or branded ones,"INFOR-
KOM"ovskie.
Every self-respecting programmer should
look attheir creations from the point of view
user and do not start distributing them
opinion without prior thorough
testing.
Okay, if Mr.Kukovyakinhad thought of it himself
before the idea VIRUS, but we are afraid that he “blown away”
idea from Thomas C. Ray, an article about the research
research institute of "artificial life" which can be
find in the magazine "Technology for Youth" No. 5 for
1993, it is called: "To Live and Die"
on the computer!" .
And you, dear SPECTROFON, should not
It’s okay to announceVirus Championshipwithout playing
in VIRUS at least a few hours.
By the way, "about children" (SPECTROFON No15, "C
THE WORLD BY BIT", criticism of OLDMANa). Look-
Look carefully at the menu picture in VIRUS2!
Better yet, enter command input mode:
you can enter words from the same area
swear, but the computer will understand them!Can you imagine what fun it is for the "concerned"
new teenagers?
["OBERON": further "digging" into these
programs gave us so much grief
we believe that as soon as we "get to this
hands" we will make our ownVIRUS-game,
we already have a lot of ideas for this
du. In the meantime, to warm up, you can pamper yourself
get involved with these programs, and “feel-
get a taste" for genetic engineering.
Yes, about children. We found that program
ramma, because of which I got so “infuriated”
"SPECTROFON". Do you know why? Because
some hacker group familiarly said
hall to another hacker (sitting in the editorial office)
that his"SPECTROFON"is very good.
We agree that at the end of the ticker
there is complete obscenity, read which
it's just disgusting, but this is an isolated case and
let's talk about it separately, and not at the same time
sew everything in one pile.]
2. THE REGENERS: Somewhere ib Research
Cebter. (A. Martynov, D. Privaltsev, Moscow).
Another "duck" INFORCOM:
".. New non-deterministic game...
has a developed plot, a well-developed graphic
fiku and musical accompaniment for AY.."
Let's give credit to the authors, the game is actionable
really beautifully made and voiced. On our
Looks like there are only two flaws in her (but not
errors): too many irrelevant
game background information and pretty
small size of the playing field, which does not allow
carry out serious research form-
tions.
The only depressing thing is how this game is presented to us.
brought INFORCOM.After reading the price list, we
naively believed that they had found a game in which
which we will “drive” during the course of the
how many months? But, having loaded REGENERS, we
saw ... painfully familiar "Life", pri-
than in its original form, i.e. prog-
framework, which contains the rules for ma-
thematic modeling of the evolution of colo-
cell research and nothing more. Play
"Life", in the traditional sense of the word
va,impossible at all, with the help of mathematics
and lovers of mathematical games can only
carry out the above studies,
but we were hoping for a “traditional” game
with elements "Life", as described in
price list! And such games exist
for example "SIMULIFE", "GENETIC WARS" for
IBM, which are a mixture of "Life"and
strategies. That's it.
["OBERON": the only program according to
water to which we have nothing more to add:
its "proprietary" version can be purchased from
with a clear conscience.]
That's all for now. See you again. Zag-
go to the shops of "ZX-Club". Write,
what programs are you interested in?
For SPECTRUMa fans, we speculate the addresses of the store
zines ZX-Club :
- store "Dumas" - corner of Maslennikov Ave.
andPodshipnikova street (indoors
fashion studio):
- store "Ear" - corner of Chernorechenskaya street
and Klinicheskaya street (in the area of the university
Versama"Michurinsky"):
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