Games Computing Magazine
Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 2:40 pm
Hi,
Here are the Atari listings from the "Games Computing" magazine. There is no checksum on these, and printing wasn't always easy; I've tried to keep things as authentic as possible (including many typos in the listings!) - but in a few places where a quick bit of code was necessary to make the game playable, I've noted where I've done it.
The original listings I found at http://flaxcottage.com/GamesComputing/default.asp
All the front covers are also here: http://www.videogamemags.com/magazines/ ... covers.htm
Jan 1984: LASER PRACTICE (LASER.BAS) by E. H. Beresford, p60-61 - Kind of, race the dot to your opponent and shoot them.
Feb 1984: SIMON SAYS (SIMONSY.BAS) by S. M. HILLEN, p26-29 - including an animation of a urinating dog.
Mar 1984: Nothing for Atari.
Apr 1984: Nothing for Atari
May 1984: COLLISION COURSE (COLLISON.BAS - as it's often mis-spelt that way in the text...) p76-77 by E. H. Beresford - quite a fun multi-screen sort of "avoid the things coming to get you"
Jun 1984: THE ARG WARS (ARGSWARS.BAS) - p38-40 - author not given. It's a full strategy wargame in BASIC, quite slow - and afraid I don't have enough patience to run it in much detail.
Also Jun 1984: FROG PRINCE (FROGPR.BAS) - p42-44 - S. M. HILLEN - you sort of trace the shape of a key, and it draws a picture of a frog. I have changed line 6330 from GOTO 95, to GOTO 6330 - seeing as the previous line says, "press system reset" - and otherwise you don't get to see the picture of the frog...
ALSO Jun 1984! It's either called "ON THE PISTE", or in the code "SKI-RUN" - by Paul Wagstaff. p78-81. I've called it "THEPISTE.BAS" - a downhill ski-ing game.
Jul 1984 - the issue is missing from flaxcottage.com - but the front cover on videomags doesn't mention anything Atari.
Aug 1984 - "HUNTER KILLER" - (or in the code it is just called "SUB HUNT" - I called it SUBHUNT.BAS) - by David Moore p54-57 - drop bombs on moving subs...
Sept 1984 - "HOT PURSUIT" by N. Pearce, p39-40. (HOTPUR.BAS) - race to the flashing square, as the screen fills up with squares. 2-player only, and actually quite fun
Oct 1984 - "THE RUINS" - or perhaps just "RUIN" by Michael Kempster (RUINS.BAS), p34-36 single screen maze game with variations - collect the stuff and don't get caught.
Also Oct 1984 - "HELICOPTER PILOT" - p45-48, by Andrew Shaw - sort of like Moonlander in a helicopter with wind. (HELI.BAS)
Nov 1984 - Nothing for Atari.
Dec 1984 - CITY DESTROYER, by M. Osborne, p65-68. Hmm. This is a BLITZ-like game - and the text talks about two listings, but only one was printed. Since we have POKE 756,144 on lines 6 and 4001, but no redefining of a charset, I guess that's what listing 1 would have done. SO. I've improvised CITYDST1.BAS and chosen some sensible characters, and then CITYDEST.BAS is the original listing, to be run afterwards. ALSO, I have added HIT=0 on line 1020, otherwise your bombs misbehave if the previous one hit the ground, which is really annoying. And lastly, I added POKE 1616,0 on line 25000 to reset the DLI counter, otherwise you might get green sky and blue ground on your second game.
Jan 1985 - BOOT ERROR, by Andrew Shaw, designed by Kenneth Shaw (BOOTERRO.BAS) p64-67. Sort of reactions/trace the line kind of game.
Feb 1985 - missing from flaxcottage - no evidence of Atari on the front cover.
Mar 1985 - Blackjack (BLACKJAK.BAS) - by S. Boxley - p46-51. On line 1120, I've changed V=14 to V=11 - otherwise your ACEs never work.
And that's the lot.
Hope that helps,
Wes
Here are the Atari listings from the "Games Computing" magazine. There is no checksum on these, and printing wasn't always easy; I've tried to keep things as authentic as possible (including many typos in the listings!) - but in a few places where a quick bit of code was necessary to make the game playable, I've noted where I've done it.
The original listings I found at http://flaxcottage.com/GamesComputing/default.asp
All the front covers are also here: http://www.videogamemags.com/magazines/ ... covers.htm
Jan 1984: LASER PRACTICE (LASER.BAS) by E. H. Beresford, p60-61 - Kind of, race the dot to your opponent and shoot them.
Feb 1984: SIMON SAYS (SIMONSY.BAS) by S. M. HILLEN, p26-29 - including an animation of a urinating dog.
Mar 1984: Nothing for Atari.
Apr 1984: Nothing for Atari
May 1984: COLLISION COURSE (COLLISON.BAS - as it's often mis-spelt that way in the text...) p76-77 by E. H. Beresford - quite a fun multi-screen sort of "avoid the things coming to get you"
Jun 1984: THE ARG WARS (ARGSWARS.BAS) - p38-40 - author not given. It's a full strategy wargame in BASIC, quite slow - and afraid I don't have enough patience to run it in much detail.
Also Jun 1984: FROG PRINCE (FROGPR.BAS) - p42-44 - S. M. HILLEN - you sort of trace the shape of a key, and it draws a picture of a frog. I have changed line 6330 from GOTO 95, to GOTO 6330 - seeing as the previous line says, "press system reset" - and otherwise you don't get to see the picture of the frog...
ALSO Jun 1984! It's either called "ON THE PISTE", or in the code "SKI-RUN" - by Paul Wagstaff. p78-81. I've called it "THEPISTE.BAS" - a downhill ski-ing game.
Jul 1984 - the issue is missing from flaxcottage.com - but the front cover on videomags doesn't mention anything Atari.
Aug 1984 - "HUNTER KILLER" - (or in the code it is just called "SUB HUNT" - I called it SUBHUNT.BAS) - by David Moore p54-57 - drop bombs on moving subs...
Sept 1984 - "HOT PURSUIT" by N. Pearce, p39-40. (HOTPUR.BAS) - race to the flashing square, as the screen fills up with squares. 2-player only, and actually quite fun
Oct 1984 - "THE RUINS" - or perhaps just "RUIN" by Michael Kempster (RUINS.BAS), p34-36 single screen maze game with variations - collect the stuff and don't get caught.
Also Oct 1984 - "HELICOPTER PILOT" - p45-48, by Andrew Shaw - sort of like Moonlander in a helicopter with wind. (HELI.BAS)
Nov 1984 - Nothing for Atari.
Dec 1984 - CITY DESTROYER, by M. Osborne, p65-68. Hmm. This is a BLITZ-like game - and the text talks about two listings, but only one was printed. Since we have POKE 756,144 on lines 6 and 4001, but no redefining of a charset, I guess that's what listing 1 would have done. SO. I've improvised CITYDST1.BAS and chosen some sensible characters, and then CITYDEST.BAS is the original listing, to be run afterwards. ALSO, I have added HIT=0 on line 1020, otherwise your bombs misbehave if the previous one hit the ground, which is really annoying. And lastly, I added POKE 1616,0 on line 25000 to reset the DLI counter, otherwise you might get green sky and blue ground on your second game.
Jan 1985 - BOOT ERROR, by Andrew Shaw, designed by Kenneth Shaw (BOOTERRO.BAS) p64-67. Sort of reactions/trace the line kind of game.
Feb 1985 - missing from flaxcottage - no evidence of Atari on the front cover.
Mar 1985 - Blackjack (BLACKJAK.BAS) - by S. Boxley - p46-51. On line 1120, I've changed V=14 to V=11 - otherwise your ACEs never work.
And that's the lot.
Hope that helps,
Wes