_______________________________________________________________________________ ST-REPORT ISSUE #2 July 4, 1987 HOT ST NEWS AND REVIEWS Publisher/Editor: Ron Kovacs A Publication of Zmagazine (c)1987 Syndicate _______________________________________________________________________________ Publisher's Page Welome to our second issue of ST-REPORT. As we stated in the last issue, we were planning on publishing once a month. Due to the massive amount of news and information we have been getting, I have changed the original plans and decided to publish this newsletter every two weeks. If you hav any information you would like to see in this publication, you can upload them to the Zmagazine Information Network at (201) 968-8148 300/1200 or send your article to: Zmagazine ST-Report, PO Box 74, Middlesex, NJ 08846-0074 _______________________________________________________________________________ ST NEWSWIRE Atari Corporation Update: The following text ctsy of Online Today. ATARI TO SELL COMPUTERS THROUGH MUSIC STORES Atari Corp. has announced it plans to sell 520ST and 1040ST personal computers through US music stores. According to J.J. Brown, vice president and general manager of Atari's US operations, the company will start signing up music dealers this weekend at the International Music and Sound Expo in Chicago. The trade show is sponsored by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM). "It's a natural fit for Atari," said Brown. "Music stores already sell music software, and the ST is rapidly becoming the computer of choice for musicians because of its low price and high performance. Another reason is that it is the only personal computer with a built-in MIDI (musical instrument digital interface). Musicians can use an ST immediately; there's no need to buy a MIDI interface board." --John Edwards ATARI MEGA ST RELEASE IS IMMINENT An Atari executive has reacted to rumors that Atari's Mega ST would not be ready until September. Atari users have been hearing rumors that the new machine would be delayed until September. The reason usually supplied was that the SLM804 aser printer was having production problems and Atari wouldn't release the MEGA without the printer. Neil Harris, Director of Marketing Communications at Atari, says that the release of the Mega ST is "imminent." Although Harris didn't comment on the laser printer's supposed problems, he did say that Atari saw "no reason to wait on the laser printers to get the Megas out the door." He also said that the SLM804 (laser printer) will be ready well in advance of September. --James Moran INTELLICREATIONS ANNOUNCES NEW PRODUCTS AND FORMATS Chatsworth, CA -- June 25, 1987. IntelliCreations, Inc. today announced the upcoming release of new formats for a number of existing products. Following the June release of Video Title Shop for the Commodore 64/128, the Atari and Apple versions will be on the market in July. Video Title Shop is a computer + VCR utility that allows the user to create text and graphics screens for use with recordings of all kinds - family occasions, holidays, school and business. The first supplemental disk, Graphics Companion I, will be released simultaneously with each system release of Video Title Shop. Alternate Reality - The Dungeon for the Commodore 64/128, which was released in early June, will be available for the Atari XL/XE and Apple II systems in July. The Dungeon, a sequel to The City, can be played with a character created in The City, or with a new character entering the mysterious world populated by beings beyond description. ltenate Reality - The City, which has been available for the Commodore 64/128, Atari, Atari ST and Apple systems, will be released for the Macintosh in June and the IBM PC in August. A Survival Handbook for players of The City was shiped in May and is available at a suggested retail price of $9.95. New product releases for the second half of 1987 include: Tomahawk, a helicopter simulation in which the player gets to pilot the Apache helicopter flown by the U.S. Army -- a machine designed to fly at speeds in excess of 200 mph, and whose sole task is to seek out and destroy anything that gets in its way. The player can select combat or training missions at four pilot-rating levels in a 3-D real world display. Features include offensive and defensive flight maneuvers; ground attack and air-to-air interception, day and night vision systems, and instruments only flying. Tomahawk will be released in August for the Atari and Commodore computers at a suggested retail price of $34.95. Force 7, an action/adventure game in which the player is the commander of a special forces unit sent to the planet Karis to rescue the humans at an Energy Fabrication plant which has been overrun by aliens. One space suit has survived the journey, so you can only teleport one crew member at a time to the planet's surface to fight the invading aliens. Force 7 will be available for the Commodore in August, and the Atari and Apple systems in September at a suggested retail price of $19.95. Additions to the war strategy game series include Bismarck - The North Sea Chase, a battleship simulation in which the player can choose to command the Royal Navy or the dreaded German battleship that sunk H.M.S. Hood in 1941. This multi-level game gives the player the opportunity to use conventional battleship weapons or take to the air in a Fairey Swordfish torpedo plane via a cockpit-perfect flight simulator. Bismarck will be available for the Atari, Commodore and Apple in September at a suggested retail price of $34.95. Tobruk - The Clash of Armour will be released in October for the Atari, Commodore and Apple at a suggested retail price of $34.95. This tank simulation, war strategy game puts the player into the role of Rommel, head of the German Afrika Korps, in his attempt to defeat the British in North Africa and move into Egypt, thus destroying the Allies hold on the southern Mediterranean. Dark Lord is an introductory graphics/text adventure in which the player has inherited his grandfather's house and all his possessions, including a journal that reveals the unbelievable discovery he claimed to have made. Dark Lord takes you into the Alterworld where you must destroy the evil wizard who has risen from his grave and enslaved the realm. Eighty screens of outstanding graphics, animation, original music, plus a self-running demo and a random relocation of objects option combine to make Dark Lord an exciting game that will be played over and over again. Dark Lord will be available in August for the Apple and Commodore systems and will be priced at $19.95. _______________________________________________________________________________ Xx Zmag User Group Of the Month JULY .....Ol' Hackers User Group..... A "BIT" OF HACKER HISTORY By Alex Pignato It started innocently enough. I read a message on a B.B.S. from another "poor soul" (Kevin Blaes) who was pleading for help so that he could upload and download with his 835 Atari modem. It had taken me six months to get a program to do this with my 1030 Atari modem, so I felt I understood his frustration. I told him to send me a disk with programs on it and I sent back the program he wanted and other public domain programs. The exchange of disks between us continued at a rapid pace, each of us trying to outdo the other. Somewhere within the next 1-1/2 years I kept addressing Kevin as "The Young Hacker," and signed notes as "The Old Hacker." He responded in kind. We also spoke on the phone frequently and in short order a friendship evolved. During this time, I was conversing with Jerry Ginsberg, an acquaintance, and found that he had an Atari, too; but no one in his family was using it. I told him about this "game" machine's ability to do countless other things. He got hooked, too, almost as deeply as me. His wife and children got into it to the point where they actually had to set up a schedule! When the Long Island Coliseum had a Computer Electronics Show, Kevin suggested we meet there in person. I brought Jerry with me and the three of us spent a great afternoon at the show. When we saw all that there was to see, we decided to have a chat over a cup of coffee. An hour later, finding it very hard to break up, Jerry suggested that we all meet again at his home in a couple of weeks. When we next met, we each brought Atari friends; and, suddenly, there were about eight men in our group. It was suggested that we start a user's group and so "THE OL' HACKERS ATARI USERS GROUP" was born in December, 1985. I was voted in as president, Kevin as vice president and Jerry was made corresponding secretary. When Jerry's house got too small, we moved over to Tom Carroll's house and took over his top floor. Tom, who is self-employed in the electronic recording field, has a studio with at least three Atari 800's (all modified), an I.B.M., and I don't know how many VCR's. We met once a month on a Saturday afternoon from 12 to 5 p.m. and had a ball at our informal meetings exchanging knowledge and data. When the group again got too large, we looked for new quarters; and, thanks to Jerry, we got permission to use our present meeting rooms at the Plainview Public Library at 999 Old Country Road, Plainview, New York. Interestingly enough, up until recently, the library was run on Atari 800's, so our group was made very welcome by the library. Our aims are similar to other Atari users groups. We exchange knowledge and information with each other and with about thirty other users clubs throughout the U.S.A., Canada and Europe. We have a few members who have technical knowledge and who are constantly looking for making modifications to the hardware. We also have members who are professional programmers for various banks as well as many amateur programmers. The members are all adults and are a cross-section of the community; there are blue and white color workers as well as many professionals. The club brings together people from all walks of life in a common interest and the results are very warm friendships and the growing enjoyment of our computers. The nicest comment we hear is that the members can't wait for the next meeting. And when we're at the meeting, we don't like to leave the library even after the meeting's end at 5 p.m. Meetings generally start at 12 noon and the first hour is spent in socializing and setting up the equipment (which many members contribute for the day). After we have an hour's business meeting, we break for coffee and cake and have a raffle contest. Then we break up into smaller groups for demo's and classes until 5 p.m. or until we are thrown out of the library! The club owns its own B.B.S. called "THE OL' HACKERS" (what else?) which runs off an Atari 130 XE, a 10 meg. hard drive, MIO, and we are using the Express B.B.S. program by Keith Ledbetter. It runs 24 hours per day, seven days a week through the courtesy of Sysop Kevin Blaes (our hard-working V.P.) and is quartered in his Lindenhurst home. We also have a network of about nine other B.B.S.'s run by our members. Of course, we also have the "OL' HACKERS NEWSLETTER" which comes out monthly and is exchanged with almost thirty other users groups around the world. Yearly dues are $25, or $2 per month if you join after January. There are many members who work very hard for the Club whose names I have not mentioned for fear that this report would become six pages long! But, we know who they are and we are very grateful to them. We are proud of our Club and what we have accomplished in a relatively short span of time. We are also proud to be picked as the "Zmagazine User Group of The Month. We also would like to thank Zmagazine for allowing The Ol' Hackers BBS, to become an official ZMagazine carrier. Listed below are those BBS's that are members of The Ol' Hackers BBS NETWORK 1 *The Ol' Hackers BBS..300/1200Baud Express BBS 516-884-4140 2 *CLEARING HOUSE.......300/1200Baud Express BBS 516-483-7845 3 *WISE BYTE............300/1200Baud Express BBS 516-349-7835 4 *GRAVEYARD............300/1200Baud Express BBS 516-783-7034 5 *BANDITS HIDEOUT.300/1200/2400Baud Express BBS 516-643-4963 6 *MISTER MESSAGE.......300/1200Baud Express BBS 516-454-7698 7 WET N' WILD......300/1200/2400Baud Southn/AMIS 516-421-4161 8 S.OF THE BORDER..300/1200/2400Baud Southn/AMIS 516-421-5489 9 *NASSAU COUNTY BBS....300/1200Baud Express BBS 516-565-3932 10*Traffic BBS..........300/1200Baud Express BBS 516-737-6179 11*ASGARD BBS...........300/1200Baud PKAMIS 516-422-5363 Look for more information in the next issue of ST_REPORT. _______________________________________________________________________________ NEW ST MAGAZINE Khalil publications is proud to announce the birth of a new Atari ST-specific computer magazine. RESET magazine will be a quarterly magazine covering the essentials of ST computing. The magazine will be of professional quality, boasting many full color layouts, professional typesetting, and high quality stock. RESET will sell for $4.95 Canadian. The premiere issue will be released for the summer of 1987, so it will be on the shelves early in May. As a quarterly, RESET offers in depth evaluations of products, priceless how-to articles, programming tutorials, and the latest in gossip within the Atari community. Here is a rundown on what you will see in Issue #1, Volume #1... Magic-Sac...a complete step-by-step guide Publishing Partner..Tips tricks + more! secrets uncovered! Degas tips..........Brush up your computer drawings... Reviews...Ogre, 10th frame, Arctic Fox, Ultima 3, High Roller...much more!!! Articles written by authorities in the field, including Stephen Couchman, Glenn Brown, Joe Cuffner, Bob Thompson... Also, RESET will feature several regular columns on: Programming New User's column Children's column ("School Bus Computing") Atari Almanac New Products Reviews, Reviews, Reviews!!! We would also like to include a question and answer type section in this first issue. Therefore, if you have any questions for RESET, or about any aspect of ST computing, please do so!!! This could be your chance to see yourself in print, in a North-American publication! If you have a questions about RESET, please feel free to inquire, we greatly appreciate your feedback. Also, anyone interested in writing articles may address Chris Karson at RESET for further information (RESET will pay for your article!). The mailing address is: RESET magazine P.O. Box 15866, Station F. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. K2C-3S7 (613) 723-0264 Dialcom 23: GPH001 Thank you. Christopher Karson, Assistant Manager, RESET Magazine... "The ST Almanac" _______________________________________________________________________________ ZMAG HARDWARE REVIEW.....QUBIE'S MODEL MODEM.... By:Alan Roseman QUBIE' SUPER MODEM 1200 EXTERNAL FROM: QUBIE 507 Calle San Pablo Camarillo, Ca. 93010 800-821-4479 Delivered Price $99.00 The QUBIE' SUPER 1200E is a standard size external modem (5"x9"), it's outter case is made of steel in a painted finish. It's face is a contrasting dark brown. The face of the QUBIE' SUPER 1200E displays a full array of informational LED's. HS-high speed, AA-auto answer, CD-carrier detected, OH-off hook, RD-receive data, SD-send data, TR-terminal ready, MR-modem ready. Immediately left of the LED's is a small slide open compartment which houses the 8 DIP switches making for easy access. The rer of the QUBIE' SUPER 1200E offers you access to it's RS-232C port, an on off switch, speaker volume control, telephone and power input. As you can probably tell from the description the QUBIE' SUPER 1200E is a very well equiped package. It has all the features we have come to appreciate in a top quality modem. Did I mention yet that it auto switches from 1200 to 300 baud on connect if necessary? Well it does that too. The QUBIE' SUPER 1200E accepts all standard HAYES commands, I have used it on all local BBS's as well as the major pay to connect information services. It has performed in an error free fashion in every case. The documentation is complete and easy to understand even for the novice. The QUBIE' SUPER 1200E comes as a bundled package with IBM software "PC TALK" making it a real bargain for big blue fans. Delivery which is via UPS is free and takes appx. six days. For about six dollars they will ship express which cuts delivery to about three days. You probably haven't heard of the QUBIE' Co. Well neither had I. I was put on to them by a friend who told me that QUBIE' doesn't advertise in the ATARI mags. They seem to stick with the PC related publications. That, I'm afraid, is a loss for both us and the QUBIE' Co. When I ordered my modem I made a point of telling the salesperson that out in the world are may varied micro users, they would only help their own cause by addressing a wider selection of us. When you are writing a product review and begin to sound like a shill for the product in question it sends out a clear message. This is a product which defies you to find fault. Whether you look at the price $99.00, or the product integrity I give QUBIE' SUPER 1200E my highest recommendation. This is an opportunity for computer users to get the best of both worlds. A great product at a great price. _______________________________________________________________________________ Xx CITADEL BBS HELP..Written by: STeven A. McWeeney..Blue Ridge Mountain BBS... A little bit about the rooms. As for the new ones I have only found two types added in the 3.0c version. They are both used for the networking functions. One has a directory and the other is for the messages only. A. First is the network with directory it looks like this. Room name<:> the ':' is the symbol. B The second is the message only room it looks like this. Room name<)> the ')' is the symbol. Thats all for the new room symbols. If you have forgotten what the others are then check the first Citadel doc found at a BBS near you. If you can't find one drop me a S.A.S.E. and I'll send you one. My address is: STeven A. McWeeney 603 Berlin Road Voorhees, N.J. 08043 The first Citadel doc's name is CITHELP.DOC ALL TO DO WITH MESSAGES: Here's another group of commands for the read function on the new version of the Citadel Boards versions 3.0c and newer. First thing you have to do is figure what Citadel you are on. To do this all you do is hit .RS (Read Status) from any room prompt. On the first line or so it will tell you what Citadel it is. If it's 3.0c or newer you may do the following commands. 1. Lets review a thing or two first you cann't forget the <.> you may use the in place of the <.> but you must use one or the other. 2. First you have is a single letter command (NO DOT) ew will let you read the New messages. 3. The second command lets you read all the old messages in the order they were written, this command is. <.RF> Read Forward 4. The third thing is a new one used in one of the NETWORK ROOMS it is used to look at messages in the room from a local board. The purpose is so you don't have to look at all the messages in the room from other areas that may not pertain to you or your needs. <.RL> Read Local 5. This is an oldie but goodie. It is used to read ALL the messages in a particular room new and old. <.RA> Read All 6. This one is good if you're forgetful. It's to read all the old messages in a particular room. <.RO> Read Old 7. Remember this one it's to be used to check what system you are on. Yes it will also tell you how many rooms are in use and how many log spaces are open and also how much message space is open for messages. Also it will tell you how you've logged in and also how many Long Distance credits you have for Networking. It will also tell you what time it is. <.RS> Read Status 8. Here stuck on two letter commands? Ok try this one. <.RN> Read New ( Same as ) 9. Here's another new one!! Ever want to respond to a message right then and there? No problem check this one out!! It works on all the messages the primary command is two letters with a third command letter. <.RM*> Read More * Type A. First is <.RMN> Read More New This will single step through the new messages. B. Second is <.RMO> Read More Old This will single step through the old messages. C. Is there another? _______________________________________________________________________________ ST SOFTWARE REVIEWS dbMAN and ZOOMRACKS II and CAPSULE REVIEWS dBMAN- A ST Relational Data Base By Don Garr dBMAN, by Versa Soft, is a tremendously powerful (D)ata (B)ase (MAN)ager with the bottom line being 'You'll never need more!'. For you folks who have experienced dBASE II or dBASE III you know what I'm talking about and you'll feel right at home with this 90+% compatible program. You data base buffs out there better wear your drool bibs for the next part of my article. dBMAN will handle 10 different data base files simultaneously with a capacity of 2 BILLION records per file (given you have the storage capacity for it). Even when filled to capacity dBMAN can find an indexed field and retrieve the record in 1-1/2 seconds. Now remember those stats: 10 data base file's with 2 BILLION records each and 1-1/2 seconds while I get to the really good part. dBMAN is TOTALLY VERSATILE!!! It does not suffer from the locked in constraints of a rigidly structured data base programmed by someone to perform only specific tasks. dBMAN is an interpreter which means it's a programming language designed to handle a data base. By writing a text command file you can instruct dBMAN to do any cotton pickin thing you can think of. The only restraint is your imagination. dBMAN is designed to be a relational data base giving you the ability to manipulate data in several different data base files with related fields. This concept may be a little difficult to grasp until you can RELATE to it. To try and explain what a relational data base can do I'll use the example of a business's cash register sales and inventory. The cashier is operating in a SALES data base when selling items. She could enter the product number for the item being sold and dBMAN could access the PRODUCT data base and automatically find the price for her. After she entered the quantity sold dBMAN could total the amount, add tax to it, record the transaction with price, quantity and product number in the SALES data base, and add the amount to her cash register balance, print a receipt and access the STOCK data base to subtract the quantity sold from the quantity on hand for that particular product number. With this procedure every item sold is automatically priced correctly, the transaction is recorded in the financial records, the inventory is automatically adjusted to be currently correct at all times and the cashiers cash register balance is automatically totaled. In my Cub Scout data base I have a main file with all the Cubs current data such as PAID, RANK, NOTES, etc... Now there is only one entry for each of these fields so after updating one how do I keep historical records of who advanced when and what were my notes on him prior to the current notes? Easy, I utilize relational data basing. I have additional data base files called RANK, PAID and NOTES and when I make a change to one of the affore mentioned fields the old data is neatly added to the appropriate file along with the Cubs first and last name. Now I have separate data bases with each Cub Scouts historical records of rank advancements, paid dates/amounts and additional notes I might want to make periodically. All the data I needed to record is filed away, not lost due to being updated, and can be recalled on any field desired like name or paid= current date. This data base is terrific and I can't imagine one being better suited to me but it's not for everyone. I really get into creating command files but you may not. If you don't like programing and aren't interested in learning then a prestructured data base may be your best bet. There are lot's of command files out there for dBMAN/dBASE II/dBASE III and the new Gem version comes with an Assist command file that will allow you to do a lot without doing any programing. But in order to get the full power of dBMAN you should be willing to learn how to program it. ZOOMRACKS II from Quickview Systems By Jack Link Of the big three productivity program types, the electronic database probably falls between word processing and the electronic spreadsheet in usefullness and popularity. The programs currently available take a myiad of forms and methods of application; from the simplicity of DB Master ONE to the complexity and power of DBman. ZOOMRACKS II for the ST from Quickview Systems is an interesting departure and deviation from your typical electronic database. In fact, Paul Heckel with Quickview will point out that ZOOMRACKS is a lot more than a just a database program. You may sometimes see it listed with word processors in software catalogs, although in my mind it has severe limitations in that application. ZOOMRACKS has replaced your typical database terms such as files, records and fields with their own versions called RACKS, QUICKCARDS and FIELDSCROLLS. You may try to think of the Rack in a similar manner as the holder of timecards next to the timeclock at work. The Rack holds a number of records or Quickcards, each with their own specific information. Each piece of information is stored in what is called a Fieldscroll. You will name or tag every Fieldscroll based on what data you wish to store in each (such as LAST_NAME, FIRST_NAME, EMPLOYEE_NO and so on). So what does ZOOMRACKS II look like and how does it function? When you run the program, you will be presented with copyright and address information for ZOOMRACKS II and Quickview Systems. Should any rack files be on the disk, their filenames (less the file extension) will be loaded into rack 0. There is a squarish mouse cursor that can be used for selecting Quickcards within the Rack or various menu options from the menu window at the bottom of the screen. This is not a program that makes use of the GEM interface. There are no drop down menus or access to the desktop accessories. You must now learn to use the cursor, arrow and function keys, and selected keyboard and ALT-keyboard keys to move around and operate the ZOOMRACKS program. This is no easy task and something that just comes about with experience. The first thing you will want to do is create a new rack and design the Quickcard template. Each Fieldscroll is given a name and placed strategically on the template. It is important to decide which will appear on the first line of the Quickcard because this is what will be seen of each when viewing the Rack. Also, every Fieldscroll has the capability of storing 250 lines of 80 column text. It took me a while to figure out how to achieve this because the data being entered did not wrap after reaching the 80th column. Eventually I found by hitting the down arrow key after filling a line, ZOOMRACKS would accept entry for line 2 and so on. This is not documented as clearly as I would have liked. Automatic work wrap would improve this feature considerably. It is possible to load into memory quite a number of racks (I had nine during one test) plus the RACK 0 (disk directory). There is a guage at the bottom of the screen telling you (relatively) how much memory is left to load data or files. It is quite easy to move about from one Rack to another by just clicking the cursor on the appropriate Rack name at the top. You can then view a desired Quickcard and zoom in on a Fieldscroll if necessary with just the click of the mouse button. Because you can see the whatever Fieldscrolls appear on the first line, it is easy to make a selection of a desired Quickcard. Should you have hundreds of records, there is a search feature that will allow you to narrow down your selection to one or just a few items. There are several cut and paste operations that are possible on Fieldscrolls, Quickcards and Racks. Macros can be built and stored that will allow the user to duplicate repetative tasks or enter frequently used text. It is also possible to perform math functions with two registers. By combining the loading of numbers from Fieldscrolls, math functions and macros, it is possible to perform some fairly complex operations with a minimum of trouble. To provide hardcopy or disk file reports, a series of form commands are available. An output form is created that can mix not only Fieldscroll data but also user entered text. The form commands give considerable flexibility for custom formatting the output. The lack of programmable filters, however, limits to some degree the power of the output reporting capability. As I stated in the beginning of this review, ZOOMRACKS II is a quite different kind of database. It has some most unusual features and capabilities. I would like to see a GEM based version so I can use my favorite desk accessories. An aut word wrap when entering multi line Fieldscrolls would also make the program more convenient. And the use of filters would greatly enhance the power of the output features. These things combined with the cu capabilities of the program could make ZOOMRACKS II one of the foremost productivity tools available for the ST computer. _______________________________________________________________________________ CAPSULE SOFTWARE REVIEWS CHESSMASTER 2000 for ATARI ST The Software Toolworks 13557 Ventura Blvd. Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 (818) 90-6789 PRICE: $40-$45 RATINGS: Overall performance: Excellent Documentation: Excellent Play system: Excellent Graphics quality: Excellent Ease of use: Easy Value for money: Excellent Not only does The Chessmaster 2000 pack in practically every feature we've run across in other chess simulators, it also incorporates a new chess algorithm that makes it a top-level player. Boasting the world's largest library of opening moves (over 71,000), this program works equally well as a tutor for beginners, an opponent for novice to expert players, and a crack analyst of your own game problems. Beginners are offered every possible aid to learn chess, including a special mode that shows where moves can be made, various play hints, and a feature that lets you replay an entire game with a move-by-move analysis. As players improve, or for experienced hands, Chessmaster shows greater and greater expertise. Great matches from history are on disk to replay, and there's a "watch the Chessmaster 2000 think" mode in which you can see the analytical functions of the program at work. The graphics are superb, with revolving 3-D and 2-D boards giving you views from the side and overhead. Above all, there's the game itself--sophisticated yet easy to play with. Chessmaster 2000 is one of the best. DONALD DUCK'S PLAYGROUND for ATARI ST Sierra On-Line, Inc. Sierra On-Line Building Coarsegold, CA 93614 (209) 683-6858 PRICE: $25-$30 RATINGS: Overall performance: Excellent Documentation: Excellent Error-handling: Excellent Graphics quality: Excellent Ease of use: Average Value for money: Excellent Donald Duck's Playground packs a lot of punch into a single package. Your goal? To help Donald build a playground for his nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. But first you need to get a job to earn some cash so you can buy playground toys. Each of four jobs is a different, fast-paced game that teaches children to recognize letter groups, handle money, make change, and match various shapes with colors and letters. You'll need joystick expertise and quick thinking. Ten-year-old Betsy and I started work at McDuck Airlines. Taking luggage from a moving conveyor and matching authentic three-letter airport codes with similarly marked baggage carts wasn't as easy as it looked. After three minutes of play, we collected a dime, a nickel, and four pennies, and decided to try our luck elsewhere. The supermarket and toy store jobs turned out to be games for matching shapes and colors, and we earned 25 cents more. Our job at the Amquack Railroad required logic, not hand-eye skills, but Betsy set the on-screen timer for ten minutes this time just to be safe. We earned three quarters by quickly figuring out where a train is supposed to be going to deliver its load, and then routing it correctly. After all four games, we set off to spend our total fortune of $1.19. At the junk store we bought a swing for a penny and a slide for 10 cents, using the joystick to select the correct coins and make change. Prices shoot up when you play the game at more advanced levels. Earning money gets harder, too, as fruits fly faster and trains come by more frequently. I was impressed with how many learning activities can be packed into one program. Betsy was impressed with how much fun she had, and we were both impressed by the wonderful graphics. Most of the activities reinforce financial and thinking skills children usually learn by the time they're seven years old, but the coordination required to play is more in line with the capabilities of children older than seven. Reviewed by TAN A. SUMMERS MEAN 18 for ATARI ST Accolade, Inc. 20813 Stevens Creek Blvd. Cupertino, CA 95014 (408) 446-5757 PRICE: $45-$50 RATINGS: Overall performance: Excellent Documentation: Excellent Play system: Excellent Graphics quality: Good Ease of use: Difficult Value for money: Good Mean 18 is the first of its kind--a golf simulation that doubles as a construction set. The basic golf program lets you play a round on your choice of courses: your "home turf" (the fictional Bush Hill Country Club) or three real and reknowned courses--St. Andrews in Scotland, Pebble Beach in California, and the Augusta National in Georgia. After learning the strokes on practice holes, a driving range, and a putting green, you can either play by yourself, as part of a foursome, or in teams. You choose from variable difficulty levels, and there's even a computer- assisted mode for novices. But it's Mean 18's architect feature--used to create the four courses that come on he disk--that sets it apart. You can start from scratch and build any size and shape golf course you desire or simply modify the existing ones. Select from six tree and bush types, various water and sand traps, and different putting greens. Move the hole, the tees, and even redraw the skyline. For touch-up work, you can "zoom" in to paint pixel by pixel. You'll probably want to save your homemade courses, and polish them by trial and error until you've created a highly playable series of golf courses. Mean 18 is a highly recommended hybrid game. Reveiwed by JAMES DELSON MUSIC STUDIO for ATARI ST Activision 2350 Bayshore Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 (415) 960-0410 PRICE: $35-$60 RATINGS: Overall performance: Excellent Documentation: Excellent Error-handling: Good Graphics quality: Excellent Ease of use: Easy Value for money: Excellent Have you ever wanted to write music, but felt that you needed to know how to play an instrument first? Or have you ever been so bogged down writing one note at a time that you forgot the tune that had been running through your head? The Music Studio solves both problems. It operates much like many popular graphics programs, with icon-based commands, several on-screen work areas, and pull-down menus for options. The main composing screen contains a grand staff in the center and all the building blocks of musical composition along the top and bottom. By using a joystick (or mouse) to move the cursor, you select key, time signature, dots, accents, triplets, tie bars, and accidentals (sharps, flats, and naturals). Yu can also mark blocks of notes in the main screen, then copy, erase, move, or insert them--just like text in a word processor. Even more, you can change instruments, lengthen or shorten the duration of notes, and transpose your music from one key to another. My favorite screen is the Music Paintbox. Here you compose music without using standard notation. Instead, you simply move little rectangles (representing lengths of time) around the staff, listening to the notes as you cross spaces and lines, then place them where you want. At any time you can play your composition back, and when you return to the main screen, your song is converted to standard musical notation. The Music Studio is fun, although my musician husband was frustrated by being unable to change time signatures part way through a piece. In general, though, there are far more pluses than minuses to this package. I felt like music was suddenly more accessible to me than it had been before. That's computing at its best--bringing you closer to your interests. Reviewed by MARLENE BUMGARNER ELTGROTH WINTER GAMES for THE ATARI ST Epyx Inc. 600 Galveston Drive Redwood City, CA 94063 (415) 366-0606 PRICE: $40 RATINGS: Overall performance: Excellent Documentation: Good Play system: Excellent Graphics quality: Excellent Ease of use: Average Value for money: Good The third in Epyx's Olympic sports/arcade series, Winter Games is as well- produced as the two summer versions. Up to eight players have unlimited practice sessions for the sometimes difficult skills required. Then you can choose which country to represent in the Games. You elect to participate in one to seven events: figure skating, free-style skating, speed skating, the biathalon (cross-country skiing interspersed with target shooting), hot-dog aerial ski jumps, traditional ski jumps, and a fast bobsled run. Each event calls on gamers to use different coordinated joystick movements. In the figure-skating event, for instance, you "choreograph" a lithe young skater to move through the program's musical accompaniment. You put her through the paces, executing seven required moves in three minutes to the strains of a classical tune. This is the first time we've seen such graceful movements in a game program. The feeling of pride I felt after accomplishing the rigorous leaps and spins was one of the high points in my gaming experiences. This superb game has beautifully detailed, lifelike graphics and a knockout play system. Winter Games' lengthy musical score is absolutely state of the art in creative use of music for gaming. Reviewed by JAMES DELSON _______________________________________________________________________________ GFA BASIC This short text file is designed to inform you of the support for GFA Basic that is located on GEnie. GFA BASIC WEEKLY CONFERENCE: Each week at 10:00PM Eastern Time and 7:00PM Pacific Time there is an informal GFA Basic conference designed to get GFA Basic Programmers together to swap ideas, and whatnot. A lot of interesting and informative ideas arise from these discussions. If ou are programming in GFA Basic and subscribe to GEnie, then you should stop by and visit us in conference! Just type in "MichTron" at the ? system propt, and then enter the RTC option. We'll all be in room 3 [The Guest Speaker Room]. Your host's will be Mr. Gordon Monnier, President of MichTron, and Mr. John B. Holder, Senior Software Engineer at Marathon Computer Press. Please stop by and voice your comments and questions about GFA Basic to us. GFA TIPS: A series of GFATIP files are being uploaded on a regular basis to the MichTron RT Library #7 [GFA Basic] in an attempt to help you to get the most out of your GFA Basic investment. Just search the library for the file prefix of GFATIPxx (the xx denotes the current number of the tip file). Some really innovative ideas are covered in the GFATIPxx series. It is asked that if you have a helpful demonstration file that you feel free to U/L it to the MichTron RT Libraries for others to benefit from, (Just name it something other than GFATIPxx, thanks.) One of the most popular series of Help files located on the RT, you'll be sure to get some great tips from D/L the files in the series. PD Libraries: Probably one of the most extensive Public Domain Support Libraries for GFA Basic in the Country exists on the MichTron RT. Example programs of all kinds can be found in the GFA Basic Area of the RT Libraries. You can learn a lot from examining the source code posted in the library written by other GFA Basic programmers. Many hours of trial and error were undoubtedly spent by GFA Basic Programmers so that you could benefit from their efforts. Late Breaking News Items: All pertinent facts about GFA Basic, and all other MichTron products can be gleaned from Press Releases posted by Mr. Gordon Monnier on the RT. For Example: It was during the second GFA Basic Conference that release details on The GFA Basic Companion were announced for the first time. So if you want to be keen to the gossip and late breaking news concerning GFA Basic, you'll want to be there to hear it all. Stop by and see us some time! GRIFJOHN _______________________________________________________________________________ NOTES Thats it for this week. We will return in 2 weeks July 18, 1987. These issues will contain information from the weekly editions of Zmagazine, However, you will not find 75% of this material in the weekly editions. Most of the articles here are too long for publication in our regular editions. The ST-Report can be found on CompuServe's ATARI16 SIG, GEnie's ST Roundtable, and on your local BBS. If your BBS doesnt carry Zmag or the ST-Report, Please leave a message to your SysOp requesting it!! We will also be part of the ST X-Press monthly disk. Look for more details soon. _______________________________________________________________________________ ST-REPORT ISSUE #2 July 4, 1987 Happy Holiday!! (c)1987 Syndicate Services A publication of Zmagazine Information Network. Assistant Publisher: Ken Kirchner/Susan Perry/Rich Decowski _______________________________________________________________________________