Magazine program listings
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Magazine program listings
Who can remember all those hours typing in the magazine listings only to find out they didn't work, were there any usefull listings that people typed in.
I remember YS had a listing, it was the code to display screens written by someone at Gremlin Graphics it done it all and was very usefull, anyone else remember it ?
I remember YS had a listing, it was the code to display screens written by someone at Gremlin Graphics it done it all and was very usefull, anyone else remember it ?
Listings never worked - Even some of the ones in the user manuals for the various computers were incorrect! 

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- Antiriad2097
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I was an avid typer-inner in my early days, it being a cheap means of entertainment for a kid on a limited budget. Its one of the things that made me love my Oric - clicky keys and single character input, unlike the Spectrum I almost ended up with.
Usually it was more fun just debugging the things than actually playing the games, invariably they were awful though there'd be an occasional gem. It taught me a lot though and probably formed my current career early on.
There were some useful bits around. I had a renumber routine that could be typed in, quite handy for making more room to fit stuff in when using a 'make it up as you go along' programming methodology. That was regularly dragged out and used.
(btw, I originally got my Oric as it was 48k and there were only 16k Spectrums left in Dixons that Christmas. Everybody knows that 48k is better than 16k, so the decision was made. Great machine the Oric, much unrecognised for its talents. Although I did later get a Spectrum+, C64 and Oric Atmos in closing down sales).
Usually it was more fun just debugging the things than actually playing the games, invariably they were awful though there'd be an occasional gem. It taught me a lot though and probably formed my current career early on.
There were some useful bits around. I had a renumber routine that could be typed in, quite handy for making more room to fit stuff in when using a 'make it up as you go along' programming methodology. That was regularly dragged out and used.
(btw, I originally got my Oric as it was 48k and there were only 16k Spectrums left in Dixons that Christmas. Everybody knows that 48k is better than 16k, so the decision was made. Great machine the Oric, much unrecognised for its talents. Although I did later get a Spectrum+, C64 and Oric Atmos in closing down sales).
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Retrocanteen, home of the unfairly banned
Tom_Baker wrote:I just finished watching a film about Stockholm syndrome. It started out terrible but by the end I really liked it.
I liked some of the early type-ins I have for my Vic20, good way to learn new tricks and pokes early on. Simple things like learning how to redefine the character set make a world of difference when you had previously been limited to the Commodore graphics set 

Andy H
HEWCO (Vic 20 games)
https://hewco.uk -- https://hewco64.itch.io
ovine by design
http://www.ovine.net
HEWCO (Vic 20 games)
https://hewco.uk -- https://hewco64.itch.io
ovine by design
http://www.ovine.net
- Dizrythmia
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Re:
Er..you are joking, right?Dizrythmia wrote:Didn't some people ask for type ins in the old Retrogamer? That would be pretty cool to see

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- Randall Flagg
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In my BBC Micro days I used to get Beebug subscription magazine. It came either as a magazine, a magazine with tape of type ins already typed in or on disc for the very rich.
Being not too well off I got the magazine only version and typed in the games myself and not one of the games ever worked. Unfortunately my richer schoolmate got it on tape which had all the games pre typed in and saved and they worked fine meaning that the fact that the type ins didn't work were probably a lot more to do with my typing in skills rather than the listing itself!
As for doing type ins now........Who'd bother??!
Being not too well off I got the magazine only version and typed in the games myself and not one of the games ever worked. Unfortunately my richer schoolmate got it on tape which had all the games pre typed in and saved and they worked fine meaning that the fact that the type ins didn't work were probably a lot more to do with my typing in skills rather than the listing itself!
As for doing type ins now........Who'd bother??!

Retrotechy.
Zapp Brannigan Quote - You remind me of a younger me Fry, Not much younger mind, Perhaps even a little older...
Zapp Brannigan Quote - You remind me of a younger me Fry, Not much younger mind, Perhaps even a little older...

- Antiriad2097
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Well, tbh I've always had a hankering to finally see the 'Spaceman' text adventure that was in an issue of Oric Owner. I tried a few times to type it in, but it spanned several pages and every time I'd be near the end and the electricity meter would run out. After the 3rd time I gave it up as jinxed.Randall Flagg wrote: As for doing type ins now........Who'd bother??!
I was going to dig it out and give it another go, but it appears to be lost in the detritus of my mother's loft

Don't suppose anyone has a full set of Oric Owner mags?
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Retrocanteen, home of the unfairly banned
Tom_Baker wrote:I just finished watching a film about Stockholm syndrome. It started out terrible but by the end I really liked it.
- andy vaisey
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LeeT wrote:Listings never worked - Even some of the ones in the user manuals for the various computers were incorrect!

When I dug out my C64 user manual again a few years ago, I noticed all the corrections I had made to the listings! Ah the memories!
And to think, when my parents first bought the computer for me for christmas and tried some of the listings, the fact that they didn't work meant my parents thought the C64 was broken.

- Randall Flagg
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I take it back....Antiriad2097 wrote:Well, tbh I've always had a hankering to finally see the 'Spaceman' text adventure that was in an issue of Oric Owner. I tried a few times to type it in, but it spanned several pages and every time I'd be near the end and the electricity meter would run out. After the 3rd time I gave it up as jinxed.Randall Flagg wrote: As for doing type ins now........Who'd bother??!
I was going to dig it out and give it another go, but it appears to be lost in the detritus of my mother's loft
Don't suppose anyone has a full set of Oric Owner mags?
Retrotechy.
Zapp Brannigan Quote - You remind me of a younger me Fry, Not much younger mind, Perhaps even a little older...
Zapp Brannigan Quote - You remind me of a younger me Fry, Not much younger mind, Perhaps even a little older...

I attempted two type ins.
First was a Maze game on the Vic20 out of Commodore user i think.
Took me days only to find out it was pure crap and not worth the wait.
Second was on the Spectrum, a golf game that turned out to be a TEXT golf game..." You are 10 feet from the hole. Select club." ! AHHHH!
If only i could tell what the code was going to do back then, i wouldn't have started if i knew there was going to be no graphics.!
I never tried again..
Regards
RIK
First was a Maze game on the Vic20 out of Commodore user i think.
Took me days only to find out it was pure crap and not worth the wait.
Second was on the Spectrum, a golf game that turned out to be a TEXT golf game..." You are 10 feet from the hole. Select club." ! AHHHH!
If only i could tell what the code was going to do back then, i wouldn't have started if i knew there was going to be no graphics.!

I never tried again..
Regards
RIK
- Antiriad2097
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Re:
I had those for my Oric. Might even have been the same ones as I used to convert stuff between BASICs, especially the ones that weren't full of weird graphic controls. Was the maze thing like an FPS view, but moving in blocks and rotating 90 degrees at a time? I had a lot of fun with that, fiddling about to add new things to the maze, changing the sizes and whatnot.RetroRik wrote:I attempted two type ins.
First was a Maze game on the Vic20 out of Commodore user i think.
Took me days only to find out it was pure crap and not worth the wait.
Second was on the Spectrum, a golf game that turned out to be a TEXT golf game..." You are 10 feet from the hole. Select club." ! AHHHH!
If only i could tell what the code was going to do back then, i wouldn't have started if i knew there was going to be no graphics.!![]()
I never tried again..
Regards
RIK
Text golf admittedly isn't a whole lot of fun, but its got more scope than 'guess the number'...
The Retro League - Where skill isn't an obstacle
Retrocanteen, home of the unfairly banned
Retrocanteen, home of the unfairly banned
Tom_Baker wrote:I just finished watching a film about Stockholm syndrome. It started out terrible but by the end I really liked it.
- miner2049er
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I witnessed the most savage beating I ever saw anyone get after a type in session.
My mate and I spent most of the day typing into the C64 an especially long programme when his brother came into the room and caught the plug with his foot and ripped it out of the wall.
My mate and I spent most of the day typing into the C64 an especially long programme when his brother came into the room and caught the plug with his foot and ripped it out of the wall.
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Now I just need an amusing tag line.
Now I just need an amusing tag line.
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