Educational Archive not in STH

[flaxcottage]

As a collector of educational software, I am starting this thread for educational software that is not on the STH archive. (Well mostly not, there may be a slight overlap.)

As far as I know, for all the titles submitted, the copyright is not enforced. I am NOT going to submit any 4Mation titles as I know their copyright is still actively protected so please don't ask.

The software will generally come with accompanying documentation such as scans of the user manual, disk labels, tape labels, box covers, etc. The format and target machines will also be clearly stated.

To begin I submit "Stig of the Dump", which I know is a title wanted by several members. The format is ADFS 640K L and is primarily aimed at the Master Compact. It has been tested on BeebEm and works as far as I can tell on the Master 128 emulation. As the disc requires almost all of the 640K available it may be difficult to provide a DFS version from this package.

StigOfTheDump.zip

(4.31 MiB) Downloaded 238 times

Enjoy.

- John

[flaxcottage]

My second offering ...

SciSoft's Study Maths 1.

This was converted from the tape version, suitable for BBC Micro and Electron. I have added a simple MODE7 menu to the disc to make loading programs easier.

This upload is in two parts.

Study_Maths_1.zip

(2.6 MiB) Downloaded 162 times

Study_Maths_1a.zip

(2.47 MiB) Downloaded 163 times

- John

[CMcDougall]

Stig of the Dump, it may be difficult to provide a DFS version from this package

well, after swearing at ADFS , and something weird going on in the */Loader file, I fiddled about, and here is the DFS version

StigOfTheDumpDFS.zip

.SSD

(30.7 KiB) Downloaded 198 times

seems it uses *Shadow on/off etc, so only M128/mCompact will work 'nicely', BUT, when in normal beeb, and it says "Bad line55", just type Goto56

[flaxcottage]

Thanks.

Awesome! Swearing at ADFS works!! I must try that sometime.

Must say, though, I had not really looked at the problem, I was just going by the data size. I needed to get it on a real BBC to start. Maybe the Bad line error can be skipped by detecting a real Beeb and missing out the *shadow command? Something to check.

Wonder if it works on a Real BBC B+? Will have to try when mine is repaired.

- John

[danielj]

Great work John

d.

[flaxcottage]

The next instalment is a favourite of mine - Compose from the Shell Centre of the University of Nottingham.

Strange to think that this package travelled about 24,000 miles in its life. It began in Nottingham, went to New Zealand and returned to me about 30 miles from the University of Nottingham.

The package is in three parts; part 1 includes the software; part 2 is the first half of the manual and part 3 is the second half of the manual.

The Software is available in both Master 128/Master Compact ADFS format and BBC model B SSD format.

The software

Compose.zip

(646.45 KiB) Downloaded 180 times

The manual

Compose1.zip

(4.19 MiB) Downloaded 155 times

Compose2.zip

(4.08 MiB) Downloaded 159 times

- John

[flaxcottage]

The next archived package is a Sherston one called The Circus. This was heavily protected and took me a couple of days to crack.

I have tested the SSD image on BeebEm and it works OK (I think, I hope. )

At the moment it is DFS only and should work on Model B, B+, Master 128. There is no reason why the SSD image could not be adapted for ADFS so that it will work on the Compact. All that is needed is to rename some files and remove all references to *DISC and *DIR $. Then it should work on any filing system.

The package comes in three parts. The software is in the first part and the manuals are in the other two;

The Circus 01.zip

(259.38 KiB) Downloaded 170 times

The Circus 02.zip

(4.21 MiB) Downloaded 163 times

The Circus 03.zip

(4.65 MiB) Downloaded 152 times

- John

[flaxcottage]

Wizard's Revenge and documentation added here:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7211

Sorry, put it in the wrong thread.

- John

[flaxcottage]

The next Sherston title is "The Nature Park Adventure".

This is a large graphical adventure. It is very well-written for its day and came on two 80-track flip-discs. To archive the package I had to convert the package to four 80-track images; one is an SSD, which I 'borrowed' from the forum as this saved me some time archiving the program. The other three are DSD images.

The images have been checked as working on a BBC Micro, BBC Master and BeebEm.

The first zip file contains the software; the other three the documentation.

- John

Nature Park 01.zip

(2.92 MiB) Downloaded 162 times

Nature Park 02.zip

(4.13 MiB) Downloaded 152 times

Nature Park 03.zip

(4.99 MiB) Downloaded 156 times

Nature Park 04.zip

(4.02 MiB) Downloaded 149 times

[flaxcottage]

Taking a rest from Sherston!

The next package is by ESM and is entitled Best four Adventures. These are four of Anita Straker's adventures.

Merlin's Castle, The Lost Frog and Martello Tower are in the STH archive but the fourth, Puff, I haven't seen anywhere (That's a challenge to be proved wrong! ) not even BITD when I used this software at work.

The archive also includes the Archimedes version. I haven't included a specific ADFS version for the compact but using BeebEm an ADFS image can be created, which can then be written to a physical disc. The adventures will work from any filing system.

The software is in the first zip file. The others contain the manuals and worksheets, etc.

- John

ESM Best 4 Adven01.zip

(4.92 MiB) Downloaded 170 times

ESM Best 4 Adven02.zip

(3.86 MiB) Downloaded 163 times

ESM Best 4 Adven03.zip

(3.95 MiB) Downloaded 162 times

ESM Best 4 Adven04.zip

(3.81 MiB) Downloaded 155 times

ESM Best 4 Adven05.zip

(2.87 MiB) Downloaded 155 times

[flaxcottage]

Sherston's Connections.

This is an ADFS version only; suitable for BBC Master and Compact. Apologies to the DFS-nics out there but I only have access to the ADFS version.

The software has been slightly modified to take into account users with a hard drive attached to their computer and should work without problem in systems with and without hard drives.

The software has been tested on BeebEm and on a BBC Master.

- John

Connections1.zip

(4.34 MiB) Downloaded 158 times

Connections2.zip

(4.39 MiB) Downloaded 136 times

Connections3.zip

(3.47 MiB) Downloaded 147 times

[billcarr2005]

I've got the Connections Startup disc, but unfortunately not the other two

Keep up the good work!
Any chance of a list of all the software you've got? (and potentially loaning it to me? - or getting an UPURS cable and FSD'ing the disks themselves? )

[flaxcottage]

As requested a list of the titles I received from Richard to preserve.

The list is in CSV format in the attached zip file. Where backups are indicated these sometimes work; other times they are copies but do not include the protection and so do not work.

- John

Software titles to archive.zip

(1.11 KiB) Downloaded 159 times

[flaxcottage]

H&H Software presents Story

Not in the parcel from New Zealand and not even protected but something I found in a mass of paperwork from a school. Checked on just about everything and it works.

It is a simple mode 7 screen editor coupled with a simple word processor to write a short story for each picture. Pages can be linked to make a story book of several pages.

- John

HH Story 1.zip

(3.24 MiB) Downloaded 145 times

[flaxcottage]

Another Sherston Title - Toby at the Beach - from 1990.

This is for younger children. It is the Australian version so that currency is in dollars. The package includes a BBC Master Compact ADFS disc, which I have yet to crack, and two DFS double-sided 80 track discs formatted to 40 tracks.

This uses the Sherston W1S method of protection but it is just token protection. It is as if Sherston did not really value this title and so did not make the effort to protect it well.

The programs are on four .SSD files. There is no special requirement here, so the programs should run on any filing system. They have been tested on a real BBC Master and on BeebEm.

As usual, the software is in the first zip file.

- John

Toby1.zip

(1.67 MiB) Downloaded 138 times

Toby2.zip

(3.68 MiB) Downloaded 126 times

Toby3.zip

(4.99 MiB) Downloaded 130 times

Toby4.zip

(4.91 MiB) Downloaded 128 times

[flaxcottage]

Sherston's Animal Rescue

Another of Sherston's graphic adventures aimed at junior-age children. This spans four DFS discs. The package also includes two ADFS discs for the Master Compact.

Included with documentation.

The package, which has been checked on a real BBC and also on BeebEm, is supplied as four DSD images. The first zip file contains the software.

- John

Animal Rescue 1.zip

(3.62 MiB) Downloaded 145 times

Animal Rescue 2.zip

(3.06 MiB) Downloaded 136 times

[flaxcottage]

Another Sherston title - Graph Builder.

A graphing and charting package aimed at junior students. This is not up to Sherston's usual standards. The protection was half-hearted and the programming leaves much to be desired. The code contains errors which even stop the original disc from working properly.

When tested on an original machine, the coding errors did not completely stop the program working. But on BeebEm the program crashed until the code was corrected. There must be subtle differences between BeebEm and a real BBC when it comes to error-handling.

- John

Graph builder.zip

(4.23 MiB) Downloaded 115 times

[richardtoohey]

When tested on an original machine, the coding errors did not completely stop the program working. But on BeebEm the program crashed until the code was corrected. There must be subtle differences between BeebEm and a real BBC when it comes to error-handling.

Wonder what that is all about ... do you mean ON ERROR in BASIC or something else? Bit off-topic for this thread, though ...

[flaxcottage]

No, I think it is when the software is moved down to page=&E00 and a *TAPE executed. Then it tries to load the next program in sequence.

The code does, effectively, a

*DISC
PAGE=&1900
CHAIN"F.DRIVER"

It also sets some &7X locations. If there is an error the program is supposed to load F.DRIVER anyway. This works on a real BBC but not on BeebEm. Strange.

Also the code on BeebEm seems not to have a variable D% set correctly but this is on a real machine. I have kludged the code in the program F.DUMP to behave correctly on BeebEm but I don't know why I had to in the first place.

Also the pictogram demo does not work on the original. The code assumes that some characters have been redefined but they are only redefined when the pictogram function is done for real.

Very strange for such a good software house as Sherston to have released this package in such a poor condition. What happened with beta testing?

- John

[richardtoohey]

Same "hardware" (FDC, DFS etc., etc.) in Beeb-em as per the real Beeb that you are using?

Can you post (or PM/email me) the unprotected but buggy version so that I can have a look at it, please? It sounds intriguing!

[flaxcottage]

@Richard

It is three posts above - the post about Graph Builder. The file F.DUMP has an error on BeebEm from line 2510 onwards. I had to add line 2555 to make it work. It worked OK on my Master, though, without that line.

Can't do anything else with this title as I've just sent it to BillCarr so he can have a play and try to copy the protection too.

- John

[flaxcottage]

A mixed bag this.

I 'found' a job lot of floppy discs in my loft and started going through them. There is no documentation, unfortunately.

I have checked the discs on BeebEm as well and they all seem to work. The titles include;

• Concept Writer and Stylus - very similar infant word processors that talk
  DESC disk 7 - some nice Anita Straker programs
  DESC Primary disks 1 and 2
  Infant Tray - a variant on the Anita Straker Tray program
  Kraken - Jacaranda software, extracted from an Archimedes/Compact disc
  Robin Hood - a mode 7 adventure
  Your Facts - an infant database

- John

Mixed CAL.zip

(356.08 KiB) Downloaded 172 times

[richardtoohey]

@Richard

It is three posts above - the post about Graph Builder.

Ah, but that's the fixed, unprotected version

But with the information you've given about the changes you made, hopefully I can work it out!

Thanks.

[richardtoohey]

Works fine on my Beeb-em - REMed out that line 2555 in F.DUMP, restart, can't see any issues.

Machine set to BBC B, OS 1.20, DFS 1.20.

Having said that, I have to agree, it's not much of a product, is it? Not worth much effort.

[billcarr2005]

Graph Builder FSD

Haven't had the opportunity to test this so much, other than it works
( Latest FSD-BeebEM can be found here
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4353&start=30#p55918 )

[flaxcottage]

Curiouser and curiouser.

I tried Using a basic model B in BeebEm and ran my original crack of Graph Builder. The pictograms were there. Previously I had tried on a BBC Master and they were not there.

Trying to exit back from F.DUMP to get back to the menu and the program crashed with Mistake and Bad Program. Adding the line 2555 CHAIN"F.DRIVER" cured the crash.

My version of BeebEm is 4.13.

It seems as though the version I examined was not Master compatible.

I looked at BillCarr2005's FSD crack, which seems to be a pretty faithful copy of the original in the BeebEm-FSD emulator but cannot get the program to run. It shows a black screen and there are random cursor movements. This happens every time I try to run W1S.

- John

[billcarr2005]

Could you try the latest build of FSDBeebEM here?
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4353&p=73930#p73930

Also, if this doesn't work, could you tell me your DFS?

[flaxcottage]

Graph Builder works with this version of FSDBeebEm, thanks.

Still have the Mistake Bad Program error when returning from F.DUMP, though.

The emulator is BBC micro B mode with DFS1.2 and OS1.2. It is also running BASIC 2

Just a mo ....

Sorted!

I had the Speech! ROM installed and that is stopping the return to F.DRIVER from F.DUMP. Removed the Speech! ROM and it worked flawlessly. That also explains why Graph Builder worked on my real machine - no Speech! ROM.

The balance of the universe is restored, thanks.

- John

[flaxcottage]

Another Sherston Title - Dream Time.

This is a Master 128/Compact-compatible ADFS version of another of Sherston's graphical adventures aimed at junior age children. This is a later title and is much more polished in execution. If anyone has the DFS image I'd appreciate a copy for my collection.

The protection used the Sherston W1S-file method but with a couple of interesting twists. W1S had been modified so that, if it had no filename as a parameter, it defaulted to load and run a file called BOOT. W1S also set the value of PAGE for this file to run.

The disc had a file listed in the directory called 'PROTECT', which is missing from this unprotected version. This file was just a name to protect the W1S-required bad sector with a data CRC fault.

The zip files below contain the program (in zip1) and associated manuals, etc.

- John

Dream Time 1.zip

(1.95 MiB) Downloaded 133 times

Dream Time 2.zip

(3.9 MiB) Downloaded 131 times

Dream Time 3.zip

(3.68 MiB) Downloaded 119 times

Dream Time 4.zip

(3.64 MiB) Downloaded 123 times

[flaxcottage]

And a further Sherston Title - The Micro Bugs.

This is another of Sherston's high quality junior graphical adventures. This is a logical adventure, reminiscent of arcade platform games.

I had wanted to crack this since I got it but had shied away as it was ADFS. But ADFS isn't that bad.

Unfortunately I am missing the Teacher's Book, so if anyone has it and can send me a scan, I'd appreciate it for my collection. Thanks in advance.

This is an ADFS Master 128/Compact version only. I have tested it on BeebEm under the Master 128 version.

- John

MicroBugs2.zip

(4.31 MiB) Downloaded 145 times