Games with problems

[roganjosh]

The latest interesting case I've come across is Giant Killer. Though the program works on a Model B, and of course that may fulfil all your criteria, the code was written with Master compatibility in mind. If it detects a Model B it chains a file called "GIANT" whereas if it detects a Master then a file called "GIANTM" is chained. However, the file GIANTM is not provided in the ssd. Though it's trivial to have the Master use GIANT it would be good if the correct file was given half a chance to work. I fear that this title may have been a hacked version, however if you do have the GIANTM file somewhere within your repository then I'd be grateful for it.

Alan

[billcarr2005]

This is a known "issue" with the bbcmicro.co.uk archive, see

By Fair Means Or Foul
viewtopic.php?f=51&t=17616&p=244302

and also Stryker's Run
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=17852&p=247353#p247311

which were initially omitted...

[roganjosh]

Thanks for that.

[leenew]

I have uploaded the disc provided by BillC above...
Cheers!

Lee.

[roganjosh]

I have uploaded the disc provided by BillC above...
Cheers!

Lee.

Ta. The loader file still needs a few adjustments to work properly on a Master but the newly uploaded file is a great improvement.

Alan

[billcarr2005]

Ta. The loader file still needs a few adjustments to work properly on a Master but the newly uploaded file is a great improvement.

Alan

The uploaded file was a completely untouched original, so it must not have worked correctly out of the box?!

[roganjosh]

The uploaded file was a completely untouched original, so it must not have worked correctly out of the box?!

I guess that must be true then. The handling of shadow screen RAM is incorrect. An obvious consequence is that the bottom of the screen gets corrupted as the title page displays fee, fie, foe, fum.

Alan

[vanekp]

Hi Mick, I no longer have the original cassette but I believe Dave E (should he be reading) does, so perhaps you could ask him if he'd be willing to create WAVs for Col or Peter Van Ek to look into converting to CSW > UEF. Then we'd need to find a hacker to convert each version to SSD!

Certainly has perk my Interest as it sounds like its a copy protected tape, be glad to have a look if we can get hold of a wave file of the BBC and Electron version.

[roganjosh]

International Megasports is the next misbehaving title.

Under, at least, the following circumstances it crashes with an "at line" error.
a) Press space bar to get through to "World Records"
b) Press '1' to start
c) Press 's' thrice to get past the player name screen (with name "AAA")
d) Press 'N' at the "Coming next... 100m" screen
e) Press 'Y' at the subsequent Skeet Shooting screen.
f) Wait

I've had a similar crash at some point on the 100m screen once but haven't been able to reproduce it.

Alan

[Michael Brown]

Hi,
Yes that's strange, it has happened to me now.
Not noticed it before.

As far as I remember this game was only available on tape and came with Genesis Probe and I think it was also on a Audiogenic compilation, but again only on tape.
There is however, a disc version in STH that has different filenames and different file lengths from the tape version I used for the version on D080.
It may be worth loading and playing through that version to see what happens.
If that version works, then it should be possible to copy that version.
Again, not sure where this disc version came from as I believe Audiogenic did not release it on disc, unless they did and I simply never had that copy BITD.

Anyone got any info on if a disc version was ever released.

I can tell you that the tape version *LOADs a few files at &E00 which wipes the disc drive. A *DISC command is then entered to reactivate the drive to load the next part. *DTRAP is needed for Datacentre users. I also think some DFS chips may have issues with this routine.

Mick.

[Pernod]

Again, not sure where this disc version came from as I believe Audiogenic did not release it on disc, unless they did and I simply never had that copy BITD.

I also believe it was a tape only release. The version I transferred to disc required an E00 DFS, there were just too many files to move around to preserve normal disc access.

[leenew]

Are we any closer to finding an original "Fantasia Diamond"? I don't want this to be forgotten...

Lee

[mr-macrisc]

SIM

Electron version speed of the 3 channel 4 symbols compared to you isn’t consistent with bbc version. So on bbc you can get past the 4 symbols on electron you cant cos your too slow compared to them.

[lurkio]

Can anyone confirm this report of a possible bug in 3D Terror Chase on bbcmicro.co.uk?:

https://twitter.com/sassquad/status/119 ... 59042?s=20



EDIT: I can confirm that you die immediately -- as soon as the game starts, from a cold boot -- in both 3D Terror Chase and Haunted House (which I think is the same game under a different title). Once you've died you can press Escape and then play what I presume is a "normal" game where you don't die straight away. But it's still annoying that a player's first impression of the game will be insta-death!

[Michael Brown]

Now sorted Megasports

It was my fault. I caused the problem with Skeet.
Code is stored at &900 in the SPORTS file, but this got broke when I added inlay instructions and never tested it past the first game.
I have now redone the SPORTS file to load the code first from TOP then print the instructions avoiding any corruption to the process.

Disc080 now reposted.

Mick.

[roganjosh]

"Johnny" is showing some minor consequences of tape to disc conversion. First, the instruction screen disappears too quickly. Secondly the 'SAVE' command gives the option of "Tape or Memory" whereas disc is the permanent storage medium used. Thirdly, the save to disc bombs out owing to write protection.

Good to hear about International Megasports.

Alan

[lurkio]

"Johnny" is showing some minor consequences of tape to disc conversion. First, the instruction screen disappears too quickly.

In file $.J1 add *FX21 to line 810 and insert a new line 815 as follows:

Code: Select all

810PRINT''"     Have fun!"''STRING$(39,"_"):*FX21
815TIME=0:REPEATUNTILTIME>1500ORINKEY0<>-1

[leenew]

Can anyone confirm this report of a possible bug in 3D Terror Chase on bbcmicro.co.uk?:


64AB7ED4-0445-47BE-81CD-938EFEF954B6.jpeg
https://twitter.com/sassquad/status/119 ... 59042?s=20



EDIT: I can confirm that you die immediately -- as soon as the game starts, from a cold boot -- in both 3D Terror Chase and Haunted House (which I think is the same game under a different title). Once you've died you can press Escape and then play what I presume is a "normal" game where you don't die straight away. But it's still annoying that a player's first impression of the game will be insta-death!

I don't think there is anything wrong.
It is a harsh game, and you *can* die straight away, but you can also avoid the ghosts and win.

Lee.

[leenew]

"Johnny" is showing some minor consequences of tape to disc conversion. First, the instruction screen disappears too quickly.

In file $.J1 add *FX21 to line 810 and insert a new line 815 as follows:

Code: Select all

810PRINT''"     Have fun!"''STRING$(39,"_"):*FX21
815TIME=0:REPEATUNTILTIME>1500ORINKEY0<>-1

Altered the image on bbcmicro.co.uk
http://www.bbcmicro.co.uk/game.php?id=2141

Lee.

[lurkio]

We've had a bug report about one of the versions of Lords Of Time on bbcmicro.co.uk. The version in question is derived from Mick's Disc 98. Here it is on bbcmicro.co.uk:

• http://bbcmicro.co.uk/game.php?id=1752

Here's the bug report:

You have two versions of Lords of Time (Level 9 computing) but one of them doesn't work. I played this game years ago and wanted to wander round it again, but one of the first tools you need to collect on Level1 (the country cottage) wasn't there. After leaving the clock you need to head north and find a couple of short planks and a pick, but I went north and found nothing but a dead end where the road ‘shimmers and fades away’ – no planks.

I know that I can play the original version, which is the other one on your website, but it's a bit confusing having two versions and it's very frustrating getting stymied right at the beginning.

You can reproduce the bug by following the CASA walkthrough. (After you DROP HOURGLASS you have to TURN COG 1 and then PUSH PENDULUM.)


The bug doesn't affect the other version of the game on bbcmicro.co.uk, which is derived from BillCarr's deprotected 8271 version:

• http://bbcmicro.co.uk/game.php?id=2295

The bug also doesn't affect the version of the game on the Stairway To Hell GAMES DISC LV1_r1:

• https://www.stairwaytohell.com/bbc/inde ... collection

What was the source of the buggy version of the game on Mick's Disc 98?

[Michael Brown]

The buggy version was from the tape.
I have now copied data from the STH disc hack over it and it now works.

Not sure why my version got broke, but now sorted.

thanks,
Mick.

[roganjosh]

Lazer Cycle is showing a couple of things that appear wrong. First, there seems to be no way of skipping the painfully slow-scrolling intro text (pressing Escape just starts the scrolling from the beginning). Secondly, the main game seems to be particularly unresponsive to key presses, though I could be missing something non-intuitative about the game play. I've not tried it on a real B but it seems true using BeebEm (either B or Master emulation) or the play option on the website.

Alan

[roganjosh]

Leapfrog (IJK): After a nice long patch of not finding any problems I find two titles in a row. This one isn't severe though. When run the program displays "PART ONE HAS NOW LOADED PRESS ANY KEY". At that point it is very unresponsive to key presses except, unusually for a commercial title, for the Escape key which terminates the program. Elsewhere in the game the key responsiveness looks fine.

Alan

[leenew]

Lazer Cycle is showing a couple of things that appear wrong. First, there seems to be no way of skipping the painfully slow-scrolling intro text (pressing Escape just starts the scrolling from the beginning). Secondly, the main game seems to be particularly unresponsive to key presses, though I could be missing something non-intuitative about the game play. I've not tried it on a real B but it seems true using BeebEm (either B or Master emulation) or the play option on the website.

Alan

Hi Alan,
Yeah, that text scrolling is painful!!
Luckily it is an easy fix to allow Escape to work once again.
The gameplay is quite frustrating but I believe it is correct. The key is to have your finger firmly pressed on the direction you want the "cycle" to take, before it gets to the junction on the grid. If you let go, it seems to go in a random direction. It is more like "Painter" or "Amidar" than a "Tron" clone so I will alter the Genre too.

Thanks!

Lee.

[leenew]

Leapfrog (IJK): After a nice long patch of not finding any problems I find two titles in a row. This one isn't severe though. When run the program displays "PART ONE HAS NOW LOADED PRESS ANY KEY". At that point it is very unresponsive to key presses except, unusually for a commercial title, for the Escape key which terminates the program. Elsewhere in the game the key responsiveness looks fine.

Alan

I can't replicate this.
Escape does probably need disabling here, but the "Press any key" seems responsive enough to me?

Lee.

[Michael Brown]

Don't forget that Leap Frog plays a tune after pressing any key before asking if you want instructions. If your sound is low or off you may miss the tune and wonder why nothing is happening while it plays.

hope this helps
Mick.

[Michael Brown]

Lazer Cycles is a funny game. It asks you to PRESS RETURN and then prints those scrolling instructions. What it doesn't tell you (and it should) is that if you press SPACE then you can skip to to the Enter Skill level part.
Also you can press ESCAPE to abort them and start again.
A demo is given if no key pressed after some time.

Mick.

[roganjosh]

Thanks Lee & Mick,

Mea culpa. I had the sound off - it seemed a shame to disturb the hound while she's happily snoring away. I suppose a pedant might say that the prompt should disappear once a key is pressed but that would seem like stupidly trying to justify my error.

I'll take your word about Lazer Cycle. I'm happy as long as you're happy, particularly as that game requires no Master conversion so it's another one ticked off the list.

Incidentally, while I remember, did the 'play' website option ever work with Edge or has it recently stopped? Firefox is fine.

Alan

[Michael Brown]

Adding "OR PRESS SPACE" to Lazer Cycles is no problem, but is that changing the game or should the author/software house have included that anyway.

Mick.

[Michael Brown]

Hi Alan,
Every Game Going now has full instructions for Lazer Cycle.
It included the text featured in the game, but also tells you to press space to avoid and how to press the keys during play.
When I get time, I will create some brand new instructions including this so the actual game then won't need altering.

Mick.