Your Spectrum 21 - Frontlines & Hacking Away

Your Spectrum
Issue 21, December 1985 - Frontlines & Hacking Away

	*Spend a day on the bleach with Gerry the Germ.*
SHAGGY'S DOG STORY	DAYLIGHT ROBINRY	IT'S GRRRREAT!
Remember Scoooby Doooby Doo, that cuddly canine of Hanna Barbera (Who she? Ed) cartoon fame? Well he's back with a vengeance to star in his very own computer game, Scooby Doo in the Castle Mystery. Elite describes the game as "the first ever computer cartoon". It features those daredevil detectives Velma, Daphne and Fred, the evil Mrs McUrloch and that creepy coward, Shaggy. There's also a special guest appearance by Sam Shark of Jaws fame. Elite reckons they've started a new craze in computer games (hope that's not a shaggy dog story) and Sales Director Steve Wilcox says, "the best comparison we can draw is with laser disk games." If you wanna sniff out more details give Elite a buzz on 0922 55852.	Someone's taking the mickey! A new adventure game from Silversoft called Robin of Sherlock is due for release in November - and it's not all it appears to be, funnily enough. It's a multi-quest parody that falls somewhere between Melbourne House's and Adventure International's - and aims to have you falling about with laughter. If you want to find out what's next on Silversoft's spoof list give 'em a ring on nn-nnn nnnn. The Hampstead Hobbit? Watson your screen? Hood of thought it's Robin?	Gremlin Monty Mole Graphics has snapped up the license for the new adventure role- playing books, The Way of the Tiger. Apparently, Gremlin wasn't the only software house with its eye on the tiger but authors Mark Smith and Jamie Thompson finally succumbed. For those of you not in the know about The Way of the Tiger, the books follow the toils of Avenger, a Ninja warrior, in his constant battle against the forces of evil (I know the feeling. Ed). If you want a few more clues phone the Gremlins on (nnnn) nnnnnn.
P A P E R D A T A	Advanced Z80 Machine Code Programming by William Nitschke Interface Publications / £12.95 Them are Z80 books and there are Z80 books. And when it comes to Interface Publications there are even more Z80 books. Even as the public is drowning in the deluge of Z80 books, Interface has thrown in another one to observe the Archimedes bath-tub effect to the marketplace. In fact, Interface has been churning out Z80 books since the ZX80 warmed its first egg on its heatsink. Talking of which, William Nitschke must have started on his rather unoriginal task about the same time Uncle Clive reasoned that a home computer for under a ton would probably buy nice digs in Cambridge. For this book is not just out-dated - it's positively archaic. Most of the examples deal with the TRS80 model 1 and the short- lived Laser 200 (cor, I bet Nitschke was one of the few that bought one!) The somewhat more successful Spectrum is mentioned once or twice but not in detail. This book does have some useful information in it but it's also got a lot ot noddy stuff as well. Take the section on writing commercial games - I'd be embarrassed to see 2D and 3D mazes in block graphics in the pages of YS let alone sitting on dealers' shelves. For the foolhardy, you can buy this book from most WH Smiths or even send a £12.95 cheque to Interface at 9-11 Kensington High Street, London W8. But if you really want to know about Advanced Z80 machine language, you'd be better off waiting until it's serialised on the back of your cornflakes packet! Tony Samuels
ONE STEP BEYOND	GERM WARFARE
This is gonna be some Christmas for the Speccy! Latest to confess what it's up to is Beyond Software. Enigma Force is the sequel to Shadowfire. It's not Zoff-en that you get the chance to carry on after you've completed a game but now you can join a four man Enigma team in a fight against the tyrant of a warring planet. Enigma Force carries a £9.95 tag. Bounces, at £9.95, is a martial arts game that gives the player the choice of eight characters - funny ol' name for a karate game! Finally, we have received a secret dossier on the new Spy vs Spy game. It takes place on a deserted volcanic island inhabited only by that famous pair of two- tone undercover agents. The man who can reveal the rest of Beyond's secrets is Victor Wheeler on nn-nnn nnnn.	Pour yourself a cup of Domestos and settle down for an evening with Gerry the Germ. He's the cute little killer who features in Firebird's new game of that name. Your task is to guide Gerry round all the squidgy bits inside a human body with the final goal of killing his host. But don't expect your knowledge of biology to see you through - these are some mighty interesting intestines. Gerry has to row a boat across the bladder, he takes a train from the pancreas (Saints alive! Ed), and the kidneys are set in a lavatory. The emphasis in Gerry the Germ is very much on fun and fantasy - there are no high scores and no time limits.	Gerry is one of four new games from Firebird due for release at the end of November that come into a new category - Hot games. The other three in this initial Gang of Four are: Rasputin, an amazing Ultimate-like 3D arcade adventure (Of which much more later! Ed); Runestone, which made a brief appearance once before from Games Workshop; and Costa Capers, in the tradition of Technician Ted. They'll all cost £7.95 and you'll soon spot the Hot boxes 'cos they're red. For more red hot news from Firebird phone Phil Pratt on nn-nnn nnnn.

YOUR NEW SPECTRUM
As we predicted a couple of issues back, the new 128K Spectrum has been launched this side of Christmas but on the other side of the Channel - in Spain. The surprise appearance came at the Sonimag exhibition in Barcelona at the end of September. The new machine has been released by Investronica, Sinclair's Spanish distributors, who were closely involved in its development. At first sight, the 128 looks very like the Spectrum+, with the same keyboard we've come to know and curse! Underneath though there are a few changes. The microphone and ear sockets have been shifted round from the back to the left hand side. And there sitting next to them is a RS232 socket. Now, at the back, you'll find a built in RGB socket for connecting the computer straight to a colour monitor.	The 128K Speccy ... in the UK soon? But the big surprise is the separate calculator keypad attached by a lead to the computer. There can be few people	who would've predicted its appearance with the new machine - and perhaps not many more who'll find a good use for it! So, when will the 128 make its appearance over here? Sinclair Research is only saying that it won't be this year. But then again, its very existence has been denied right up until its appearance. Mind you, there are still an awful lot of 48K Spectrum+'s sitting around waiting for Santa to sack 'em up. And now for all those other burning questions about the 128. Is it 100 per cent software compatible? Is it faster than the 48K Speccy? Do you need an Interface 1? Is the new three channel sound chip inside? To find out, turn to page 14 and read how Max Phillips overcame the temptations of the Sangria and Spanish sun to bring you the first full hands-on review of the Speccy 128.
NEW YOUR SPECTRUM
You've read about the new Spectrum, now read about the new Your Spectrum. Your favourite magazine (Yes, this one - what did you think? Ed) is changing. From next month you'll find more of everything that's made YS so successful. For you, there'll be more pages of editorial - almost double the number that you're used to. There'll be more games reviews, more programming, more of just about everything, in fact. (And if you're really lucky there may even be more Ed's comments! Ed). Plus there'll be games maps, cartoons and a few surprises thrown in. For us, there'll be late nights, working all weekend, sore fingers from all the extra typing, (And probably a cut in wages to pay for the extra pages if you don't stop moaning! Ed) ... And just so you don't miss us on the shelves next month, there'll be a game cassette stuck slap bang on the front cover	of the new look YS. That's right, a free demo version of Rasputin which promises to be the hottest game this Chrissie. How can you turn down a chance like that? The big question, of course, is why we're changing a magazine that's as close to perfection as you can possibly get. OK, who's the wise guy who said it's 'cos we're all big heads! Well, it's all down to you - or it is if you filled in the readers' survey in issue 17. The great cry that came out was for more of everything - and that's just what you're gonna get! An awful lot of you got the Ed worried by saying that you wanted to see him sacked but there ain't a hope in hell of that happening - not, we might add, that we'd want it, of course, and anyone who spreads rumours about street parties and the rest of us going on month long hols, is telling whoppers, honest ... sir. (Glad to hear it. Ed)	And now the moment you've all been waiting for - the winner of the Sinclair pocket TV for the best suggestion. A slight hitch occurred 'cos every time we asked the Ed to choose one, he kept coming up with the creepy crawlers who said they'd double his salary. (Well, I thought it was a very sensible suggestion! Ed). In the end we plumped for Michael Sellar of Edinburgh who said that if he was the Editor he'd make the mag bigger both in pages and content. So sensible was his suggestion in fact, that we're going ahead with it from the next issue. So, from the January issue make sure you look out for a bigger, better YS. You'll find full details of all the changes further on. Oh, and we nearly forgot. There's one rather special change we haven't mentioned yet - the new look YS will be called ... Well, turn those pages fast!


OPERATION CARETAKER ... Feel like bashing your head against a brick wall when your copy of Jet Set Willy II has failed to load for the umpteenth time? Well bash no longer 'cos Global Software claims to have the answer.		improve. All hi-tech stuff! Programs like Operation Caretaker are a relatively new idea though Speccy users have been adjusting their azimuths for years. In fact it's so simple, even the Ed could do it! All you need to do is listen to your loading signal and twiddle with the azimuth screw until the signal improves. But having used the 'twiddle method' myself for some time, I must admit that I found Operation Caretaker consistently more reliable. The only doubt I have about Operation Caretaker is the cost. £9.95 isn't particularly expensive but it's the sort of program you're only going to need now and then. So, unless you have more trouble than most, the best thing to do is persuade your local computer club to buy one so it can be loaned to members as the need arises. Alternatively, keep twiddling! Tony Samuels
Global's new package, Operation Caretaker promises to solve all your problems - apart from a pounding headache. In case you haven't already guessed, it's an azimuth head alignment system. And for those of you that don't know, azimuth is just a posh way of referring to the position of the head in your cassette recorder. The ideal head position for reliable loading and saving is at right angles to the tape and an azimuth alignment system lets you set the heads as close to this as possible. Operation Caretaker contains a cleaning and demagnetising tape, a	small screwdriver and of course a natty little piece of code. The program works by listening to a pre-recorded signal on the tape. It already knows exactly how the signal should sound, so a few calculations are all that's needed to determine whether the tape is running at the correct speed, or if the clarity of the signal is good enough for a successful LOAD. Using both graphics and text, the screen shows the tape speed and the quality of the signal - if it's not giving a good reading you'll need to adjust the azimuth with the screwdriver provided until the readings

hacking away
*It's just not Fairlight* ... well, not any more it isn't as Chris Wood presents more hundred percent hacks and guaranteed no-joke POKEs.**		For Glug Glug, MERGE in the Basic loader, add POKE 23316,201 before the PRINT USR and run it. The game will load and stop; you can enter any of the POKEs below and use RANDOMIZE USR 34349 to start playing: POKE 33430, lives (from 1 to 11) POKE 34139,0 (infinite lives) POKE 31288,0 (unstoppable bullets) POKE 31482,0 (permadeath for nasties) And for Empire, wind past the first loader on the tape and run this one instead: 10 CLEAR 23999: LOAD "" CODE: POKE 23309,251: POKE 23310,201: LOAD "" CODE: RANDOMIZE USR 23296 This will load the game and then stop. Enter POKE 53322,0 and RANDOMIZE USR 28500 to start playing. When you hit Fire on the moons level, you'll find the screen sticks on red and you just keep getting that energy ... If you don't feel up to POKEing and you play Mikro-Gen's Herbert's Dummy Run, you're in for a treat ... oops cheat! Pop into the room with the ropes to the left of the starting room and make sure Herb is facing left. Hold down the keys 'C', 'H', 'E', 'A' and 'T' (wonder why they picked those keys?) and you can watch the magic happen. You've now got infinite Herberts. Talking of infinite, the viability POKE for Gyron, given last month is much more viable if you POKE 29952 and not 299552! Maybe I need a POKE for infinite accuracy ... Finally, a desperate plea from R Hollinson of West Yorkshire for any POKEs for Quicksilva's Glass, I'd dig them up myself but I haven't had a chance to buy the game yet - is anyone out there ahead of me? Send your hacks, however humble, to Hacking Away, YS, 14 Rathbone Place, London W1P 1DE.

Let's be modest and not admit that we're going to start with a crack-hack. Remember the Fairlight review last month? You may have noticed that Dave Nicholls did not give any POKEs for the game. To spare his blushes, cracking Fairlight is not a trivial task. The actual protection isn't that hard but the tactic is to wear you out long before you make it - there's a total of 140 stages of decryption from you hitting LOAD to the game starting! First it decrypts itself 20 times just to turbo-load the second turbo-loader which then decrypts itself before loading the actual game. As the routines are cumulative, It should be impossible to pop in any POKEs as the game loads. Enter ZZKJ (whose full name is so long we had to leave It out last month even though he supplied the Gyron stuff) and the impossible is a short program away. Run ZZ's program and you'll get infinite lives, the ability to carry as much as you like, five barrels and the ability to open any previously locked doors! If you don't want all of these options then just miss out the relevant DATA lines, being careful not to omit line 400. When you run it, you will not see the Fairlight loading screen although its attributes will load and the program will run as normal. Remember you saw it first in YS! Next please! Here's a short and sweet one from Martin Barrio of Wales. Type this in, wind the tape past the first loader and then enter RUN and press PLAY to give you infinite lives in Pheenix. 10 CLEAR 24500: LOAD "p2" CODE 24532 20 POKE 29375,0: LOAD "p3" CODE: RANDOMIZE USR 30105 Which reminds me - if you send in single POKEs, and it's not immediately obvious how to get them	in, please please provide a small program to do the work. I mean, some people have sent in single POKEs for Alien 8 and Knight Lore! You might like to see your name in print but the people who try them are going to think you're a right Anorak (see YS issue 18, page 15) when they don't work. End of soapbox spot. Meanwhile if you enjoyed looking at the unused sprites in Jet Set Willy using the little program in issue 16, Christian Keane of Liverpool suggests you try some of these numbers instead of the 512: 300, 350, 10, 170. Jumping Jack is our next victim courtesy of Hakan Strom from Sweden. For infinite lives run the following program and then delete it by typing 10 'Enter' and 20 'Enter': 10 FOR f=23296 TO 23311: READ a: POKE f,a: NEXT f 20 DATA 175, 1, 141, 117, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 62, 24, 3, 2, 195, 66, 111 MERGE in the first program on the Jumping Jack tape and then enter: POKE 26034,0: POKE 26035,0: RANDOMIZE USR 26030 Start the tape again to load and run the game. Simon Grice from Chorley has mastered the facts of life - well at least he's sussed the POKEs for the Birds and the Bees. MERGE in the Basic loader and insert the following POKEs before the USR command and then RUN it: POKE 37852, lives POKE 37664, start screen number-2 POKE 37088, number of flowers to visit5* Keg Davies from Lancashire has supplied a set of POKEs for Glug Glug and Empire Strikes Back.
1 REM FAIRLIGHT POKEING PROG 10 LET t=0: FOR n=18000 TO 18175: READ a: LET t=t+a: POKE n,a: NEXT n: READ a: IF t<>a THEN PRINT "CHECKSUM ERROR": STOP 20 FOR n=20000 TO 1e9: READ a: IF a<999 THEN POKE n,a: NEXT n 30 RANDOMIZE USR 18000 100 DATA 221, 33, 203, 92, 17, 93, 5, 62, 255, 55, 205, 86, 5, 48, 241, 6 110 DATA 20, 33, 130, 94, 243, 49, 0, 91, 205, 195, 70, 33, 86, 96, 17, 21 120 DATA 209, 1, 153, 1, 237, 176, 33, 40, 209, 17, 40, 145, 1, 19, 1, 237 130 DATA 176, 235, 54, 201, 6, 9, 38, 145, 17, 186, 70, 26, 111, 203, 182, 19 140 DATA 16, 249, 205, 40, 145, 33, 174, 210, 6, 120, 62, 56, 50, 176, 92, 205 150 DATA 195, 70, 62, 195, 50, 198, 220, 33, 181, 70, 34, 199, 220, 62, 55, 50 160 DATA 233, 218, 195, 223, 218, 237, 176, 195, 32, 78, 141, 197, 200, 221 170 DATA 224, 229, 232, 235, 247, 197, 229, 62, 32, 237, 177, 182, 242, 197, 70, 35, 209, 237 180 DATA 82, 235, 66, 75, 17, 246, 70, 237, 176, 229, 235, 54, 237, 35, 54, 95 190 DATA 35, 54, 201, 205, 238, 70, 50, 239, 70, 225, 193, 16, 214, 201, 62 200 DATA 58, 61, 61, 230, 127, 237, 79, 184, 146, 147, 129, 129, 236, 244, 225, 247, 208, 22741 320 DATA 175, 50, 232, 241: REM Infinite Lives 330 DATA 62, 24, 50, 110, 245: REM No More Weight Limit 340 DATA 62, 24, 50, 23, 248: REM No More Locked Doors 350 DATA 201, 999: REM Data End Marker