Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Syndicate ZMagazine Issue 008
_____________________^^^___________
Zmag/A\zine
HOT Atari News and Reviews
Editor Clinton Smith July 15,1986
Asst.Editor Jim Dobleski
___________________________________
Publisher:Clinton Smith
Asst.Publishers:Jim Dobleski and
The Wizard
Columnists:Clinton Smith and Rune
Master
XxIn this Issue
*Atari Report from Generic BBS and
S.C.A.T.
*BBS Etiquette(Part 1)by Gerry Feid
*Rune Reviews-Carrier War from SSI
*Z-Bits
*Basically
*Zmag Messages
*Zmag Update
*Zmag Notes
XxAtari Report from Generic and SCAT
NEW 8-BIT SOFTWARE/HARDWARE REPORT
07/05/86
COMPOSED BY GENERIC BBS,
312-275-2894,
USING THE S.C.A.T. NEWSLETTER AS
REFERENCE FOR THIS REPORT.
MY THANKS TO S.C.A.T. (SUBURBAN
CHICAGO ATARIANS) FOR THEIR GREAT
EFFORTS IN THE SUPPORT OF SUCH A
FINE MACHINE AS THE ATARI...
THIS REPORT WAS GENERATED BECAUSE
OF THE ENTHUSIASM I HAVE FOR THE
8-BIT COMPUTERS AND THE HOPE THAT
I HAVE THAT THE 8-BITTERS WILL
CONTINUE TO BE SUPPORTED BY THE
MAJOR SOFTWARE/HARDWARE PRODUCERS.
I CONSIDER THE ST STATE OF THE
ART BUT I HOLD A SOFT SPOT FOR A
MACHINE THAT HAS OPENED UP A WORLD
OF NEW FRIENDS AND HAS ALSO BECOME
A VERY ENJOYABLE HOBBY.....
NOW, IN NO CERTAIN ORDER, LET ME
GIVE YOU THE VIEWS AND COMMENTS ON
SOFTWARE AS PRESENTED IN THE
S.C.A.T. NEWSLETTER OF JULY 1986.
THE MUSIC STUDIO-OUT NOW FROM
ACTIVISION USING THE MIDI PORT..
A BRIDGE GAME IS BEING PRODUCED
BY ARTWORX FOR ALL YOU BRIDGE
FANATICS..
PEGGAMMON BY ARTWORX-A GOOD
TAKEOFF OF THE CONVENTIONAL
BACKGAMMON GAME WHICH ALSO ALLOWS
ONE PLAYER AGAINST THE COMPUTER..
PERSONAL ACOUNTANT- FROM SOFTSYNC.
THIS SHOULD HELP TO KEEP TRACK OF
ALL YOUR FINANCES..
TYPING TUTOR AND WORD INVADERS-
FROM ACADEMY SOFTWARE..
GET RICH- FROM HABA ARRAYS. A
FINANCIAL PLANNING PACKAGE..
PAPERCLIP W/SPELLPACK- BY
BATTERIES INCLUDED. AN UPGRADED
WORD/DATA PROCESSOR..
VOICE MASTER- FROM COVOX. NEW
VOICE RECOGNITION SOFTWARE..
BIG PICTURE AND ARTIST UNLEASHED-
FROM MTS. BOTH GRAPHICS PROGRAMS
THAT ARE BEING DESIGNED TO BE USED
WITH 'THE RAT' A MOUSE CONTROLLER.
(MORE ON THIS LATER)
THE PAWN- FROM FIREBIRD LICENSES.
A SUCCESSFUL GRAPHICS/ADVENTURE
GAME ON THE ST IS BEING CONVERTED
FOR THE 8-BIT 800XL AND 130XE.THIS
VERSION WILL INCLUDE POSTAGE SIZE
GRAPHICS TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF
YOUR WHEREABOUTS..
SEVERAL NEW GAMES ARE EXPECTED
FROM DATASOFT WITHIN THE COMING
MONTHS. AMONG THEM ARE:
YIE AR KUNG-FU- A NEW KUNG-FU
GAME THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE AROUND
CHRISTMAS.
FIGHT- A BATTLE AGAINST
INCREASINGLY SKILLFUL WARRIORS.SURE
TO CHALLENGE YOUR ABILITIES..
221B BAKER STREET- A SHERLOCK
HOLMES TYPE GRAPHICS ADEVENTURE FOR
UP TO 4 PLAYERS. THE GAME DISK
CONTAINS 30 CASES WITH ADDITIONAL
CASE DISKS TO BE AVAILABLE IN THE
FUTURE..
MERCENARY- MAP AND WANDER THE
DIMENSIONAL ROOMS IN THIS 3-D GAME
USING VECTOR GRAPHICS. WHEN ON THE
PLANET SURFACE THIS ONE TURNS INTO
A FLIGHT SIMULATION TYPE GAME..
GUNSLINGER- A GRAPHICS/TEXT GAME
WITH A WESTERN THEME..
NEVER-ENDING STORY- ANOTHER
TEXT/GRAPHICS ADVENTURE BASED ON
THE MOVIE WITH THE SAME NAME..
THE DUNGEON- AN ADDITIONAL DISK
TO THE WELL DONE ADVENTURE,
ALTERNATE REALITIES. THIS SHOULD
BE AVAILABLE AROUND SEPTEMBER..
TRINITY- FROM INFOCOM. A TEXT
ADVENTURE THAT PUTS YOU IN
HISTORICALLY RECREATED SIMULATIONS
WHERE NUCLEAR BOMBS HAVE EXPLODED
IN THE PAST..
MOONMIST- COMPANY UNKNOWN. A
BEGINNER LEVEL 'ROMANTIC HAUNTED
CASTLE MYSTERY' GAME FOR THE FEMALE
COMPUTER USER..
HARDBALL- BY ACCOLADE. A REALLY
GOOD BASEBALL GAME WITH GOOD
PLAYABILITY AND SOME GREAT
3-DIMENSIONAL GRAPHICS..
FIGHT NIGHT- ALSO FROM ACCOLADE. A
FIGHT GAME TO BE AVAILABLE THIS
MONTH..
SPITFIRE 40- FROM AVALON HILL. A
GAME AND FLIGHT SIMULATOR TO BE
AVAILABLE IN SEPTEMBER..
MISSION ON THUNDERHEAD- ANOTHER
FROM AVALON HILL. AN ARCADE
ADVENTURE THAT IS AVAILABLE NOW..
GUARDIAN- AND STILL ANOTHER FROM
AVALON HILL. A STRATEGY GAME TO BE
AVAILABLE IN SEPTEMBER..
INFILTRATOR- BY MINDSCAPE.
DESCRIBED AS A STRATEGY ADVENTURE
ALTHOUGH THE OBJECT OF THE GAME IS
TO FLY YOUR HELICOPTER (AS CAPTAIN
JOHNNY 'JIMBO-BABY' MCGIBBITS)THRU
HOSTILE ENEMY AIR SPACE. NO RELEASE
DATE IS GIVEN..
RUBBER STAMP AND PAGE DESIGNER-
FROM XLENT SOFTWARE. AN UPGRADED
VERSON ABLE TO BE USED ON THE NEW
ATARI XMM801 PRINTER. ALSO COMING,
A TRANSLATOR PROGRAM FOR THE XMM801
TO MAKE THE ATARI 'THINK' IT IS
TALKING TO AN EPSON PRINTER..
NINJA, SPEED KING, ELECTRA GLIDE
AND ACTION BIKER- FROM MASTRONIC
INTERNATIONAL. FULL DISK GAMES
AVAILABLE FROM A LONDON-BASED
SOFTWARE COMPANY AT GREAT PRICES!!
($9.99!!) SOME AVAILABLE NOW..
CARDWARE, PARTYWARE AND HEARTWARE-
FROM HI-TECH EXPRESSIONS. LIKE
PRINTSHOP PROGRAMS WITH IN-COMPUTER
ANIMATION PRESENTATIONS. CARDWARE
FOR GREETING CARDS, PARTYWARE FOR
PLACEMATS AND INVITATIONS AND
HEARTWARE FOR ALL THE MUSHY STUFF..
SPACE GAMES, ADVENTURE PAK AND
MIND MAZES- FROM KEYPUNCH SOFTWARE.
EACH DISK IS A COLLECTION OF 3 TO 4
GAMES AND RETAILS OR $6.99!!..
AT THIS TIME, I WOULD LIKE TO
MENTION SOME OF THE OTHER COMPANIES
THAT HAVE OR WILL HAVE ADDITIONAL
PROGRAMS FOR THE 8-BIT LINE IN THE
COMING MONTHS..
SPINNAKER WITH ADVENTURE AND
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS..
AMERICAN EDUCATONAL WITH A SERIES
OF EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE..
OSS WITH NEW PROGRAMMER TOOLS..
SSI WITH AN EVERGROWING COLLECTION
OF ADVENTURE-TYPE SIMULATIONS..
REEVES SOFTWARE WITH A BUSINESS
MANAGEMENT PROGRAM USING THE NEWLY
DEVELOPED 'MOUSE' CONTROLLER. (YES,
THE ALAN REEVES FROM S.C.A.T.)
THERE WAS NUMEROUS MENTION OF
OTHER COMPANIES' SOFTWARE BUT AT
THIS TIME I DID NOT HAVE ALL THE
INFO NEEDED TO DETERMINE IF THIS
SOFTWARE IS OR WILL BE AVAILABLE
FOR THE 8-BITTERS.
AND NOW THE NEW HARDWARE MUST BE
MENTIONED AS SOME OF THIS NEW
EQUIPMENT IS SURE TO BE ON YOUR
FUTURE WISHLIST..
XEP 80- FROM ATARI. AN 80 COLUMN
ADAPTER THAT ALSO CONTAINS A
STANDARD CENTRONICS PARALLEL
PRINTER PORT, A RCA MONITOR INPUT
AND A CORD THAT WILL ATTACH TO
EITHER JOYSTICK PORT. THIS UNIT
HAS SOME VERY NICE FEATURES WITH
ITS BUILT-IN SOFTWARE THAT
SUPPORTS CALLS TO THE E: OR P:.
THIS SHOULD BE AVAILABLE AROUND
LATE FALL FOR UNDER $80.00..
XMM801 PRINTER- FROM ATARI. THIS
DOT-MATRIX PRINTER IS COMPATIBLE
WITH THE EPSON MEDIUM-GRAPHICS MODE
AND IS ALSO FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH
THE EARLIER ATARI 825 PRINTER. THIS
UNIT CONTAINS A BUILT-IN INTERFACE
AND IS SOLD FOR ONLY $219.95..
STRAIGHT-CONNECT MODEM CABLE- FROM
ICD. SOLD FOR UNDER $15.00..
THE P: R: CONNECTION- ALSO FROM
ICD. THIS TAKES THE PLACE OF THE
ORIGINAL 850 INTERFACE AND CONTAINS
ONE PRINTER PORT AND TWO MODEM
PORTS AND IS POWERED BY THE
COMPUTER. ASKING PRICE, $89.95..
ICD MULTI I/O BOARD- YES, ANOTHER
FROM ICD. THIS LITTLE GEM IS REALLY
SOMETHING I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR!
THIS UNIT WORKS ON THE 130XE
COMPUTERS THRU THE PARALLEL PORT
AND CAN BE BOUGHT AS EITHER A 256K
OR 1 MEG VERSION. INCLUDED WITH IT
IS A PARALLEL PRINTER INTERFACE, A
SERIAL/MODEM INTERFACE, A PRINTER
SPOOLER AND A HARD DISK INTERFACE.
THE UNIT IS SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO
BE USED WITH EITHER A SASI OR SCSI
CONTROLLER CARD AND A STANDARD
HARD DRIVE. SUPRA'S HARD DRIVE IS
ALSO SUPPORTED. ICD HAD A DISPLAY
AT THE JUNE ELECTRONICS SHOW, IN
CHICAGO, THAT WAS CONFIGURED WITH
TWO HARD DRIVES AND ONE FLOPPY.
WITH BUILT-IN SOFTWARE WHICH
ALLOWED SEGMENTING, THEIR SCREEN
DISPLAYED FOUR HARD DISKS AT 260K,
10MB, 9MB AND 3MB, PLUS THREE
RAMDISKS AT 192K, 256K AND 512K;
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THE ONE
FLOPPY. AH YES, FORGOT TO MENTION
THE 64K PRINTER SPOOLER!! TO ALL
THIS ADD THE FACT THAT IT IS
COMPATIBLE WITH ANY DOS..WHAT AN
AWESOME ADDITION TO AN ALREADY
GREAT COMPUTER!!
THE RAT- BY ZOBIAN SOFTWARE. A
MOUSE CONTROLLER LIKE THE MOUSE
USED ON THE ST COMPUTER. THE
PRODUCER HOPES TO GAIN SUPPORT
FROM OTHER SOFTWARE MANUFACTURERS
IN THE USE OF THIS PRODUCT.SOFTWARE
IS ALREADY AVAILABLE FOR THIS
PRODUCT (SEE ABOVE) AND IF ALL GOES
AS PLANNED THIS COULD BECOME THE
NEW TOOL OF THE FUTURE FOR THE
8-BITTERS..
THIS REPORT WAS CREATED USING THE
P/D VERSION OF SPEEDSCRIPT COPIES
OF WHICH ARE AVAILABLE ON GENERIC
BBS 312/275-2894 ALONG WITH LENGTHY
DOCS..
AGAIN I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE
PEOPLE OF S.C.A.T. FOR THE USE OF
THEIR NEWSLETTER FOR THE CREATION
OF THIS REPORT. ANY FURTHER INFO ON
S.C.A.T. THAT YOU MAY REQUIRE CAN
BE OBTAINED EITHER BY WRITING TO:
SCAT
PO BOX 72266
ROSELLE, ILL.
60172
OR THRU S.C.A.T. BBS AT:
312/462-9844
THE KEEPER OF GENERIC......
312/275-2894
XxBBS Etiquette(Part 1)by Gerry Feid
BULLETIN BOARD ETIQUETTE
or, Some Do's and Don'ts of the
Electronic World.
by Gerry Feid-Sysop, Blue Moon BBS
There is a whole different world
out there in the electronic jungle,
but a lot of the rules that should
be followed are the same as they
are in the every day world.
Things like 'Watch what you are
doing', and the golden rule of 'Do
unto others as you would have them
do unto you' are perfect examples.
It seems, however, that when a
person can hide behind a modem,we
see some normal, average people
turn into the types of people our
parents warned us about when we
were kids.
I have only been running a
bulletin board for about 15 or 16
months, but it has never ceased to
amaze me that a normally sane adult,
or normally regular kid, can turn
into an absolute jerk when they
think you can't find them. Don't
get me wrong - 98% of BBS users
are really great people. This
article is about that other 2%,and
a couple things that we other 98%
may occasionally slip and do by
accident.To get along in this
electronic world is really very
simple, once you keep those two old
catch-phrases in mind.Many people
don't ever realize that when they
call a BBS,they are literally
calling someone elses home, and
should act accordingly. They never
catch on that the Sysops' are
literally extending the hospitality
of their abode, and don't want
people who abuse that privilege.
And it is surprising how many
people do.Take, for example, the
guy who gets mad at his girl
friend, and calls a BBS to post a
message. It always goes one of two
ways - he lists her phone number as
a BBS, or he leaves the old 'For a
good time, call.....'. I caught two
guys that way, by calling the
number by voice and talking to
the people on the other end. Both
times, I got the very irate
mother of a teenage girl, who (in
one case) threatened to call the
police on me. In neither case did
the girl either own, or have access
to, a computer. After I explained
the entire situation to the mother
- about computers, BBS's,etc.,
they managed to pin down what was
done, by whom, and why.
Fortunately, that has died down,
and I hope it stays that way.
Then, you have the person who
wants to sell some old equipment.
Good - that is exactly what a BBS
is for. Some recent problems that
have cropped up lately, are either
mis-representation of the item
being sold, or there are so many
messages posted on the same boards,
that other people don't have a
chance to read much else. What
posters fail to realize, is that
THEY should erase their own
messages. If there was a charge to
post a message, that would be
something else, but as this is a
free service to help people
communicate to others, keep this in
mind - 'CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF!!'
If your message gets buried under
10 or 20 others, go ahead and post
it again - but delete your older
message. If you forget the password,
leave a message for the Sysop at
logoff, give him the number of your
old message, and ask him to delete
it. The policy I keep is that if
someone posts a for sale message a
second time without trying to
erase the first one, I delete them
both. This seems crude and rotten,
but it is even more rude and
disrespectful of you,the general
user, to expect you to put up with
being bombasted by the same ad time
and time again. This seems to be a
growing policy.I know several
boards that allow NO for sale
messages. After you logoff, the
Sysop deletes them as soon as he
finds them. When asked why, both
said they were tired of people and
companies using them for free
advertising, then having the nerve
to abuse the privilege.So, please
remember that the next time you
post a for sale message.When it
come to the items you advertise,
don't mislead people. Several
months ago, someone left a message
advertising a Gemini SG-10 as a
200 character per second,100% Epson
compatible printer with true letter
quality. He said he only had it for
a month, and was trying to sell it
for the price of a brand new one.
His excuse was that he bought it
locally, and was selling it at an
out of state mail order price. He
also didn't care that A.) An SG10
is a 120 cps printer, not 200; B)
Isn't 100% Epson compatible;and,
C) Does not have true letter
quality. His attitude was that he
was justified, as long as he sold
it. His message never got posted.
I found out later that he sold it
for $300 to some poor little maroon
who never knew that he could have
bought a new one for $240.
After that, come the people who
call every board in town, post a
message asking a question, then
call back a month(or so) later
expecting both their question, and
an answer, to still be posted. And
it is surprising how many people
call every other day for a week,
posting the same question,just
slightly reworded.Heaven forbid
that they,too, should erase their
old messages. The same policy holds
true whatever the reason you post a
message for.Clean out your old
messages yourself - or do you always
expect others to clean up after you?
If you forget the password, then
tell the Sysop.At least make the
effort, though.After all, you left
it, it is your responsibility.
Next Week:Part Two(Free program
requests and Handles)
XxRune Reviews-Carrier War from SSI
This week, Carrier War from SSI is
reviewed.The game is a WW II
simulation of aircraft and ship
combat in four major Pacific
battles. These battles are:
Coral Sea
Midway
Santa cruz
Solomons
With a scale of each hex being 50
nautical miles, the biggest part of
this game is to find the enemy
before he finds you. After finding
the enemy, you must launch an
airstrike to take out his carriers,
then the rest of his ships.While
the US is outnumbered in each
scenario, he has the advantage of
PBY scout planes, which have longer
time in air then the Japanese sea
planes.
Each side is restricted to the
number of task forces that they may
have. A task force may be an
entire carrier group with battleship
escort, or a single ship. The air
groups can be a single plane on a
scout mission, or 50 torpedo bombers
heading to destroy the enemy.
The game has little if any
graphics, and battle is done by
words and symbols showing how many
of each side were lost.
The game itself plays in the
following order:
US TF adjustment Phase
Jp TF adjustment Phase
Jp Adjust TF Heading
Jp Launch Air Missions
Jp Arm & Fuel Aircraft
Jp Land Aircraft
Jp Move Air Missions
US Radar Report
US Adjust TF Heading
US Launch Air Mission
US Arm & Fuel Aircraft
US Land Aircraft
US Move Air Mission
Combat Resolution Phase
Save Game Option
The game is two players,or against
the computer which is always the
Japanese.
The game itself is historically
accurate, from individual types of
aircraft <from the B-17 to the F2A
Buffalo> to different types of
ships and submarines.Also,
inaccurate spotting reports, and
damage reports will always have you
wondering...
This game is for the hard core War
gamer only. Novices will find the
game too time consuming, and not
exciting enough.
Playablity:7
Historical Accuracy:9
Graphics:4
Overall Rating:6
Rune Master
Runequest BBS
430-4234
XxZ-Bits
You have less than a week to get
the Radio Shack CGP 220 color
inkjet printer for it's sale price
of $199 dollars.Sale ends July 21st
so you better hurry.It's regularly
$600.
The following messages tell about
a new Atari product that should
make XL/XE and ST telecommunication
fans very happy.
Board :ATARI RUMORS
Message # :292
Date & Time :07/08/86 16:35:22
Replies :0
Subject :XM-1201
To :JOHN CZERWIEC
Sent by :JEFF WILLIAMS
John,
Right now, the XM-1201 modem (or
whatever it ends up being called) is
just as real as the 80-column device!
Until they start shipping, none of
of them exist. However, everything I
hear says that Atari has gone into
production on the modem already so
they will hopefully be shipping in
the fall.I heard the target price
would be -under $100-...$79.95 may
be the discounted price that mail
order business may charge for it.
I hope Atari delivers on this one!
Jeff
Board :ATARI RUMORS
Message # :293
Date & Time :07/10/86 10:37:23
Replies :0
Subject :XM-1201
To :CLINTON SMITH (REC)
Sent by :GERRY FEID
Yes, it is a fact, and is supposed
to be in production as we speak(?).
300/1200 baud, with both an RS232
and an SIO port on the back for ALL
Atari computers. 100% Hayes
compatible(without stepping on Hayes
copyrights) so there should be no
trouble using any and all existing
software or hardware.All for under
$100 - (suggested retail at this
time is $99.95).
XxBasically-The random subroutine
Since I've been busy working on
Zread16,I didn't get a chance to
do the RobotLoader program but it
should be in next week's column.
However,I will be discussing the
random number routine as planned.
The RobotMaker program(in Zmag
July 8)requires that 4 random
numbers be generated for the
robot's characteristics.To
accomplish this a random number
subroutine is used.
300 RAND=PEEK(53770)
305 IF RAND=0 THEN RAND=1
310 IF RAND>15 THEN GOTO 300
315 RETURN
This routine is used as follows:
1.The program gosubs to the routine
2.The variable RAND is set equal to
the number that is in memory
location 53770(the random number
generator)
3.Since a characteristic value
can't be equal to zero,Line 305
checks to see if the random number
is zero.If it is zero,then the
program set's RAND to 1.
4.Since the number in location
53770 can be from 0-255 and the
highest characteristic value allowed
is 15,line 310 checks to see if
RAND is greater than 15.If it is
greater,the program goes back to
line 300 so it can get a new
random number that is between 0-15.
5.Line 315 returns to the main
program.
6.The characteristic variable being
presently used is set equal to RAND.
STRENGTH=RAND.This process continues
until every characteristic variable
has a value.
Next Week:Disk file input
XxZmag Messages
MSG# 0082 DATE:07/08/86 TIME:12:20:14
FROM: GERRY FEID
TO: CLINTON SMITH
SUBJ: ARTICLE
CLINTON - AFTER MUCH REFLECTION ON
THE ROTTEN HABITS OF SOME OF THE
BULLETIN BOARD ABUSERS, I THOUGHT
MIGHT DO A SHORT ARTICLE ON BBS
ETIQUETTE FOR ZMAG. IF YOU ARE
INTERESTED,LEAVE ME MAIL ON MY
BOARD. I ALSO HAD THE SOFTWARE
ARTICLE UP FOR YOU FOR A COUPLE
OF WEEKS, AND YOU DIDN'T GET IT.
UNFORTUNATELY, THE DISK DIED - DO
YOU STILL WANT IT?
IT WON'T BE TOO HARD TO REDO.
THANKS, CLINTON, AND KEEP UP THE
GOOD WORK. SEE YOU ONCE IN A
*** BLUE MOON ***
Mesg Base :ZMAG
Date & Time :07/07/86 12:57:08
Replies :0
Subject :LOADED QUESTION
To :ALL,BUT ESP.CLINTON
Sent by :JOHN CZERWIEC
I don't know if anyone else feels
this way but I always wish there
was someway to read one story in
a Zmag.The quick but messy way
would to have each article a
seperate u/l file,this probably
isn't workable because it would
eat disk space.It may be possible
,though, to use some sort of
-pagination-from within
Zread or Zmarquee.If someone was
really proficent in IOCB routines
it could be done: Any Brave Souls
out there.!
John,I was only halfway done with
Zread16 when I got your message so
it wasn't too hard to come up with
a routine that does what you
suggested.Zread16 should start
popping up on Zmag boards starting
Wednesday.
Mesg Base :ZMAG
Message # :280
Date & Time :07/08/86 02:21:12
Replies :0
Subject :ZMAG AUTHORS
To :CLINTON SMITH (REC)
Sent by :DAVE MUNSIE
HI CLINTON! IM WORKING ON AN
ARTICLE FOR ZMAG.I'LL SUBMIT IT
FOR APPROVAL SOON! I'M ALSO
CONSIDERING WRITING AN ALL M/L
ZMAG VIEWER.OF COURSE IT
WOULD FEATURE SMOOTH FINE SCROLLING
UP&DOWN THE TEXT.PAGE VIEWING..ECT.
BUT!!DOES ANYBODY DOWNLOAD THIS
STUFF ANYMORE? OR DO THEY ALL READ
IT ONLINE? I WAS ALSO WONDERING
IF YOU WANTED TO DO A LITTLE CHANGE
IN TEXTFILES.SAY,SCRAMBLE THEM SO
THEY CANT BE READ ONLINE? THEN WE
COULD DESCRAMBLE THEM WITH THE
Z-READ READER!!YOU WOULD WRITE
THE FILE THEN SCRAMBLE IT!!
NUFF SAID. BYE>
MSG# 0095 DATE:07/10/86 TIME:03:57:28
FROM: ED BOON
TO: ALL
SUBJ: ZMAG!!!
WHAT IS ZMAG?????
MSG# 0096 DATE:07/11/86 TIME:12:44:33
FROM: DAVE MUNSIE
TO: ED BOON
SUBJ: ZMAG
ZMAG! A 'ONLINE MAGAZINE'DEVOTED
TO THE ATARI LINE OF PERSONAL
COMPUTERS.A 'MAGAZINE' CONSISTING
OF NEWS AND REVIEWS OF THE LATEST
SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE OUT FOR THE
ATARI COMPUTERS.IT ALSO CONTAINS
EDITORIALS OF CURRENT COMPUTER
TOPICS,C.E.S. REPORTS,USER GROUP
MEETINGS,PUBLIC DOMAIN HITS,VIDEO
GAMES!
CURRENTLY THE EDITOR IN THE CHICAGO
AREA IS CLINTON SMITH.HE CAN BE
FOUND AT WINDY CITY B.B.S(775-2970)
OR YOU CAN ADDRESS MESSAGES TO HIM
HERE IF YOU LIKE.
I RECOMMEND ZMAG TO EVERYONE.IT
FILLS A 'GAP' BETWEEN ISSUES OF
ANTIC.JUST D/L IT AND READ IT WITH
ZREAD OR READ IT ONLINE AS AN ASCII
DOWNLOAD!!
Dave,thanks for the great reply to
Ed's letter.I couldn't have said it
better myself.The online Zmag
allows people who own systems other
than the Ataris and people who
don't want to use their disk space,
to read the issues,so the scramble
idea is out of the question.I do
believe that a good Zread program
encourages more people to download
the issues and read them at their
own leisure.Features like the
ability to select which articles
you want to read,provides the
reader more flexibility in reading
the issues than the Online version
allows.Thank you for your praise
and contributions to Zmag.
XxZmag Update
Our game review columnist,Rune
Master,just got the new version
of BBS EXPRESS in and he has it
up and running.Some new features
of Runequest BBS include:Zmag
Online,a new Role Playing Game
called Universe,and information
on the BBS Express! program and
how to order it.Give the only
BBS EXPRESS! board in Chicago
(I believe)a call and see what
you think.
Along with giving support to Zmag
on the Software Plus BBS,Jeff
Williams is going to be helping
in distribution of Zmag by uploading
to the GENIE service.Read the
August 86 Antic for a review of
this service.I talked with Bob
Retelle,the Atari Sysop at Genie,
at the June 3rd Claug meeting and
he was enthusiastic about carrying
Zmag up on Genie.
Chicago Zmag Boards
Windy City Atari-(312)775-2970
Runequest-(312)430-4234
Enchanted Castle-(312)525-0688
Centari-(312)668-0984
Space Station-(312)546-1998
Blue Moon-(312)457-2219
CL.A.U.G.-(312)889-1240
Skid Row-(312)439-5873
M-Club1-(312)730-1846
M-Club2-(312)349-8686
M-Club4-(312)458-8260
Generic-(312)275-2894
Software Plus-(312)520-1780
(In New Jersey)
East Coast Syndicate-(201)968-8148
If you have a question about Zmag
Windy City-Clinton Smith
Runequest-Jim Dobleski,Rune Master
Enchanted Castle-Clinton Smith,
Wizard
Centari-Jim Dobleski
Space Station-Sysop,Wizard
Blue Moon-Clinton Smith,Gerry Feid
Claug-Clinton Smith
M-Club 1,2,or 4-Jim Dobleski
Skid Row-Jim Dobleski
Generic-Wizard
Software Plus-Jeff Williams
East Coast Syndicate-Ron Kovacs
Compuserve-Ron Kovacs,Tim Orosz
XxZmag Question of the Month
The question for the month of
July is Would you,the readers
,want there to be a condensed
weekly edition of Zmag?This
would be a more to the point
issue that would be put out
along with the standard issue.
Another possibility would be
a monthly edition that contains
the best articles and news
from the past month's weekly
editions.Let me know what you
think in the Zmag mesg bases.
XxZmag Notes
Zread 16 will be showing up on
the Zmag boards starting on
Wednesday.Check it out.It has
some great new featues.
What are your favorite P/D
programs? Let me know what your
favorite Public Domain programs
are for the Zmag Top 10 P/D Hits
article.
Come on you ST readers out there.
I know you're out there.Let's see
some ST articles or columns.Once
the ST Zread is done there will be
a larger need for ST stuff.If you
have an idea for an article,column
,or review read next item.
Do you have an idea for an
article,column,or review.
Let me or one of the people in
the UPDATE know about it.If it's
a good idea we'll work out the
easiest way for you to get the
article,review,or column to Zmag.
If you don't want to do the
column yourself,we'll try to find
someone who will.If you just have
a little interesting fact or a
suggestion just leave it in one
of the Zmag mesg.bases and I'll
put it in the Zmag mesg. section
of the next issue.
Finally,be sure to support the
boards that carry Zmag.If it
weren't for them you wouldn't
be reading Zmag right now.
----------------------------------
Zmag-a-zine July 15,1986
Please Contribute
----------------------------------
