| News |
| The 128 is here - at last! |
THE SPECTRUM 128 has finally arrived in the UK, some four months after the Spanish version was launched in Barcelona. We've managed to obtain one of the a very first production models, and early impressions are good.
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The new machine is packed in a splendid red box which contains the usual cassette and aerial leads, a new power supply similar to that used on the QL, two manuals and the computer A sticker on the box promises 'two new Ocean games' as well, but those weren't present in our box.
The machine looks just like a Spectrum Plus with a large grill-like heat sink bolted on the side, which does warm up very quickly. Closer inspection reveals an RS232 socket, an RGB monitor socket, and a jack plug socket marked 'keypad'. The Spanish version had a numeric pad included which doubled as a calculator and screen editor. The UK model comes without the keypad, which is to be sold as a peripheral for £19.95.
All the usual Spectrum ports are there. We had no trouble using our Kempston joystick interfaces with it, but whether all peripherals will work is another matter.
Once you power up, though, you're in no doubt which machine you've got. A box appears on the centre of the screen with five options: tape loader, 128 Basic, calculator, 48 Basic and tape tester. The first loads in a program from cassette. The second and fourth give the two modes of operation, and the fifth can be used to set your tape recorder volume at the best possible level - a very friendly facility.
Calculator mode simply transforms the machine into a pocket calculator, so you can peform arithmetic while constructing a128 Basic program. The keypad takes over this function if you have one.
The two Basics switch in one of two 16K ROMs. The 48 Basic exactly imitates the Spectrum Plus, giving you compatibility with existing software.
Keypad: optional extra at £19.95 |
The 128 Basic is a different kettle of fish. The old keyword system is completely abandoned, and you type each line in letter by letter. Most control codes - colour, flash, inverse video and suchlike are not available, so you have to use PAPER, INVERSE, FLASH and the like. On the plus side, you now get access to 128K of memory, a superior editing facility, and a completely new sound chip.
Yes, for the first time in history Sinclair has finally produced a machine which sounds good! The chip is identical to the one used in Amstrad machines and produces three channels of sound through the TV speaker.
Each channel can be either a pitched tone or a 'noise', and the result is very impressive. Programming music in 128 Basic is delightfully easy compared to all those horrible BEEP numbers - notes are referred to by their proper musical letters and held in strings with powerful repeat and intonation facilities. You can also send the output through the RS232 interface to MIDI-compatible instruments.
The other main facility is a RAM disc which allows you to store programs, data and screens in RAM but as if it were on tape or disc, giving you instant recall.
The keyboard - a major Sinclair bugbear over the years - is the same as the Spectrum Plus keyboard. It does, however, have a slightly better feel to it, and should be easier to use for typing.
The manuals, however, are disappointing. You get a copy of the Spectrum Plus User Guide, together with a 16-page booklet about the extra facilities of the 128. Two of the pages are blank. lt covers the option menu, briefly sketches the main points about 128 Basic, and winds up with a reasonably detailed section about programming the sound chip.
That is simply not good enough. There is nothing about system variables, the memory map, how the memory is switched within the system to provide 128K, what the appropriate code instructions are for the new sound chip, a list of the character set ... none of the standard information any half-serious programmer or aspiring beginner would expect as a matter of course.
That is the only real gripe. Sinclair was still keeping the price secret at the time we went to press, but £150 shouldn't be too far out.
We'll be delving deeper into the machine over the next few months but for the time being it seems as if Sinclair is once more on the right track. The 128 looks set to be a winner.
| Mugsy hits back |
THE AUTHORS of Melbourne House's latest don't deserve parole - the program is late but Mugsy's nearly out again and he didn't learn his lesson.
It is the time when prohibition was at its most strict and, like any good gangster, Mugsy wants in on anything that's going in the liquid line - it has to be at least 50 per cent proof though. The booze has to be found, smuggled, bought or manufactured and all the old boys, who helped through the long years in prison, are back, ready to help rebuild the empire of villainy and put Mugsy back on form.
He must organise his hoods so that all his operations are safe, and place his most respected employees at the head of the various projects so they are run efficiently.
Most of the game is displayed as a series of static comic book pictures with speech and think bubbles to allow the characters to interact.
The graphics on the pre-production version were built up slowly, using a colour fill technique similar to the one in The Hobbit. It looks like a re-release of Mugsy with a few extra plot details.
When the money starts to roll in, and you know who you can trust, you start delegating responsibility for setting up speak-easies and illegal gambling dens.
It's easy to upset the other bozos on the street so hits are a regular feature of the game. Each one takes place on the street. First you are attacked (?) by a bunch of molls and then the hitmen arrive and the action hots up. Mugsy can move in four directions - using the keyboard - and fire. Once all the molls and hitmen are dead you should be safe.
The resulting screen displays the three windows of a speakeasy through which you can see a game of snooker. Suddenly the blinds are pulled down as the guy at the table is liquidated. If that guy is Mugsy the game ends.
Although the version of the game which we were lucky enough to see was the preview - not even a pre-production package - its stylish, highly-detailed graphics and depth of plot look promising. It's all-action scenario saves it from being a stolid strategy game and turns it into a quick-paced, often witty, blood and guts saga. ltshould prove a fitting sequel to Mugsy.
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| Higher, lower |
IF YOU Play Your Cards Right you will end up with a version of Pontoon - and there's no car or holiday waiting at the end of this game.
The game, available from Britannia Software Ltd, is fronted by Bruce Forsyth and licensed from London Weekend Television in associate with Mark Goodson and Talbot Television. It costs £7.95.
Sounds interesting. (No, it doesn't. Ed.)
| Off the habit |
AN ANTI-HEROIN appeal, supported by Britain's home computer companies, was launched in
London at the annual dinner for the games industry, with the auction of a £50 bottle of champagne. It raised £4,000 to start the appeal.
Rod Cousens, managing director of Electric Dreams Software, also announced a games compilation tape, called Off The Hook, the profits of which will go towards fighting drug abuse.
His last campaign, using the Softaid games compilation, raised £332,000 for famine aid. Rod is being more modest with his latest project as he "hopes to see at least £100,000 raised for the - Prince's Trust - charity". The package will be released later in the spring and will cost £6.99.
The InDin dinner also saw the presentation of the Clives, awards for those industry figures who made fools of themselves last year. The categories included Person Often Seeking Exposure, and the Person Renowned In Computer Knowledge. For further details see Gremlin.
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| Denton Design splits |
The team that created Shadowfire, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Enigma Force has split up.
Denton Designs, the hottest software property around last year, will continue to operate but without the talents of Steve Cain, Karen Davis, Kenny Everitt and top game designer John Gibson. They are leaving the company they founded to join up with former Denton man Ian Weatherburn. The new outfit will design software and act as an agency for software houses looking for freelance programmers.
Of the original team, who all worked for Imagine in its final heyday, only Ally Noble will remain at Denton, along with Shadowfire programmer John Heap, Colin Parrot, Dave Colclough and Perry Sanders.
Steve Cain was laid up with the flu when we tried to talk to him, but our sources say the break-up was on the cards for some time and perfectly amicable, although "It's a shame because it was such a good strong team."
The new, truncated Denton Designs is busily contacting software houses to reassure them that business will continue, and claims to have products already lined up for later in the year.
We'll have to wait and see whether Steve and his pals took the magic with them when they left.
| Invasion of ZX clones |
IT'S THE Boys from Brazil all over again. Only this time it's not Adolf clones but those of Uncle Clive which are about to flood the western world.
A computer which is completely compatible with the Spectrum has been found in deepest Brazil and there are moves afoot to ship the beast to Britain.
The TK90X is produced in Brazil by Microdigital and, because of the loose copyright situation in the country, Sinclair Research has been unable to stop manufacture.
A spokesman for the company agrees thatthe machine is compatible with Sinclair's computer and admitted that Microdigital does not have a licence to manufacture it.
Sinclair Research, meanwhile, keeps up its guard against imports which could infringe the copyright on any of its machines or software. If Microdigital does find a UK dealer for its Spectrum lookalike the company will prosecute.
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| Conversation piece |
HELLO DEARIE
Hello
HELLO
Who are you?
OK YA, I DON'T TRUST YOU ENOUGH.
I'm trying to make contact with iD, an amnesiac electronic intelligence which has possessed my computer, with a little help from CRL's new label Nu Wave. ID doesn't trust me. The trust quotient is zero.
I'M SO ROTTEN RIGHT NOW. MY HISTORY RETURNS. PLEASE TELL ME YOUR NAME
Chris
YOU ARE CHRIS. WHAT COLOUR ARE YOUR EYES?
All you see is a blank screen on which words appear. Sometimes the words make sense. Sometimes they do not. You type in responses, questions, comments. If you supply accurate information, iD gains in confidence.
CHRIS, I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THE POPE AND I FEEL DISTANT RIGHT NOW
Why do you feel distant?
Π = SKY, I USED TO BE SHARP. IS A BIRD IN THE HAND WORTH TWO IN THE VOID, CHRIS? IS THAT A TYPICAL MALE RESPONSE, I WONDER?
ID remembers many fragments of personalities, and switches moods to match. But the more you engage its trust,the more it hogs the conversation.
Eventually iD may control you.
POKE OFF, CHRIS, I FEEL ANNOYED RIGHT NOW
Why are you annoyed?
VERY HAZY ... LONG AGO THIS DAMP MAID CONTROLLED ME. I WONDER WHAT GOD WOULD MAKE OF ALL THIS?
ID will ask you about colours, things, and quite personal questions about your friends and families. Its moods are displayed in combinations of coloured border and paper. ID was shot once, iD drowned a civilisation once. If you can guess who iD was in past lives, you may be rewarded with the truth.
PERHAPS A WILD GIRL APPROACHED ME SCREAMING UTTER DRIVEL
comments iD. Designed by ace maniac Mel Croucher of Deus ex Machina fame, iD is very weird indeed. The version I've seen is alternately witty and tediously frustrating. The final version will either be brilliant or the utter drivel iD seems to remember. Judgement suspended for now - watch this space.
