Member List / Cracking Workshop Part 5 - 128K Programs

Member List (Only those who have no objections to publication)

In response to the request for a member list, I have decided to print it here. Everyone who did not wish their addresses to be printed and everyone who "forgot" to pay their dues for '97 are excluded from this.

• Arne Nielsen, Chr X's vej 10st, DK-8260 Viby 7, Dänemark
• Dave Fountain, 11 Camel Rd., Silvertown, London E16 2DE, GB
• Guido Schell, Auf dem Stocke 37, D-32584 Löhne, Deutschland
• Johan Koning, Mieden 6, 9866 TM Lutjegast, Holland
• Lothar Ebelshäuser, Graseggerstr. 49, D-50737 Köln, Deutschland
• Manfred Messerschmidt, Wildtaubenweg 64, D-71334 Waiblingen, Deutschland
• Martyn Sherwood (Prism), 13 Rodney Close, Bilton, Rugby CV22 7HJ, Great Britain
• Peter Rennefeld, Genhodder 19, D-41179 Mönchengladbach, Deutschland
• R. P. Roggeveen, Waterlustlaan 87, 2804 KX Gouda, Niederlande
• Ronald Raaijen, Hazepad 5, 8309 AX Tollebeek, Holland
• Thomas Eberle (SUC), Reinäckerstr. 4, D-70794 Filderstadt, Deutschland
• Wolfgang & Monika Haller (SPC), Penningsfelder Weg 98 A, D-51069 Köln, Deutschland

Cracking Workshop Part 5 - 128K Programs

Yes, it has been a long time since I last dealt with cracking, but since I haven't touched upon the 128K chapter so far, I'll catch up on that now. In principle, everything said for 48K also applies here, but there are some very specific aspects. In this part of the Cracking Workshop, I will only deal with the rather minor question of how crackers fit their 128K games/demos into just a few files.

What a budding cracker needs to know about the memory layout of the 128K is the following: There are a total of eight memory banks, all of which start at address 49152 and are 16384 bytes long. Two of the banks (2 and 5, or according to my calculation system, 18 and 21) are always present (from 16384 and from 32768) and can also be paged into 49152. The last bank (7 or 23) can be used as an alternative screen, thus enabling effects like interlace or multicolor.

Practically speaking, you have the following memory areas free for programs: 16384-49151 and 49152-65535 in the following banks: 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, and parts of bank 23. All of these areas can be used by programs and should, if they are actually intended to be used, be saved and packed individually. For individual tricks, you should read Cracking Workshops 1-4. In any case, you should have the main code file starting at address 25000; if the code file starts at 23296 (rare with 128K programs), you have to load the code file 23296,1704 somewhere else and copy it back to its original place (using LDIR) when the program starts.

After paging (OUT 32765,Bank:POKE 23388,Bank), all packed banks are likewise copied to the correct location with LDIR and unpacked, all neatly in sequence, even if you have to reload some banks. By the way, only one bank may reside above 49152, so the correct memory page should be paged in when the whole code part is loaded.

Only at the very end is the main code part loaded with bank 16, unpacked, and started. If anyone wants to trace the whole process on a demo: this is also the way I packed BRAG in the last issue. Well, actually it was only similar, because that demo didn't have a main code part at all. Why don't you analyze the BASIC part! Try loading it in 48K mode.

You can also get Daley Thompson's Supertest 128 and Neverending Story 128 from me if you can prove that you own the original. Both games were packed using this method. The advantage is the shorter loading time, especially on +D Disk, better utilization of the directory space on +D, and more.

If you submit 128K programs for SCENE+, please send them packed like this if possible; if they aren't, I will have to do it myself. Very special cases among 128K programs are those long-load files that switch banks on the fly while loading and thus load the full 128K all at once, but these programs really aren't easy to crack—you have to spend a lot of time rewriting the loader for that.

Well, that's it for now. Tiger's Claw wishes you lots of fun with your 128K cracks/demos!

Test: Pendragon 64

The English manufacturer Rocksoft, who previously stood out from the crowd with character generator software and hardware for the C64 and Spectrum, has released a new interface for the Spectrum. The name of this miracle device is Pendragon 64, and it unleashes its full power only with a toy called Nintendo 64.

I was sent the first test version this month and was able to test it thoroughly. My verdict is: I am thrilled. What exactly is this 50-pound interface? It contains 8 multiplexers, a 256Kb EPROM, 1 Mb RAM (expandable to 16 Mb with SIMMs), Z80 DMA, and several other chips. The device is connected to the Nintendo 64 cartridge slot via a ribbon cable and takes full control over it.

Naturally, the monitor must then be connected to the Nintendo, as the Spectrum screen would only show nonsense; the screen memory is used for the input and output addresses.

Inside the EPROM is a fast, powerful extended BASIC that is superior in speed and scope to AMOS on the Amiga. It is roughly 50 times faster than AMOS; after compilation, it can be an extra 10-20 times faster. The commands for 3D rendering allow phenomenal things, as proven by the included games.

Standard effects are: zooming bitmaps, rotating on and around all axes, morphing, accounting for light incidence, anti-aliasing, and much more. Unfortunately, Nintendo hasn't documented all effects, but with a bit of patience and willingness to experiment, you can figure everything out. I myself figured out the code for wave effects.

In total, all Sinclair commands are present, plus about 500 extra commands for sound, graphics, and procedures. To rotate a textured cube on screen, for example, this simple program is enough:

DEFINE FIG 1 AT 400
DEFTEX FIG 1,1 TO 6,AT 4100
KAMERA 45,90,90
Rotation: WAIT VBL
ROTATE FIG 1,2,0,0
GOTO Rotation

Beforehand, the texture data must be stored with GET from 4100 onwards, and a cube created with the object editor must be saved from 400 onwards. Object definition via program code is also possible, however.

Since the analog joystick can also be queried accordingly, games can be controlled with extreme precision using this tool, which is especially noticeable in the included programs. Yes, several programs are included, one of which is an extended ELITE, where you think you are looking at raytraced graphics; you can even land on planets, and all of that in BASIC! A built-in compiler makes the game run even slightly faster—you simply have to see it. The 3D effects in hyperspace are indescribably beautiful; you can even spot pilots inside the cockpits of enemy ships if you get close enough to them. Everything runs smoother and looks nicer than it ever would on a Pentium, even a Pentium II at 300 MHz.

Since the Spectrum's expansion port is pass-through, you can connect the +D without any issues; the Pendragon's EPROM can work together with that of the +D because it doesn't shadow the Spectrum's ROM, but overlays it at all times.

As mentioned, one cassette and three disks are included with the Pendragon. The disks contain the two games ELITE +64 and MECHWARRIORS +64, as well as the 3D application SCULPT 5D for real-time animation sequences that come very close to raytracing. The cassette contains the cut-down versions, which don't have as many textures. That makes sense, because textures take up the most space.

More games are already in development, including a fantastic role-playing game of which I received a demo; you just have to see the heroes walking around this futuristic city shooting aliens, or traveling to other planets aboard a giant battleship.

The title of this RPG: RETURN OF THE ANCIENTS. Story: The ancient gods return, and they are not at all pleased with how Earth has developed. Without further ado, they decide to unleash a race of bloodthirsty aliens upon us and have a splendid time watching. But the hero of the story has found out what he must do to drive away the gods and their "lapdogs."

The game will be released later this month and cost approx. 20 pounds.

Pendragon 64 has been available since 01/04/97 from:
Rocksoft c/o Anthony Rook
Lirpastreet 1/4 Graytown Liverpool HA14 97HA England

Well, did anyone spot our April Fools' joke in this issue?