Hi again, everyone! You'll find more great game submissions on EUG #21!
The two games for this issue are Astermene and Simon. Instructions appear on screen in both but full text file documentation accompanies Astermene as it is a complicated program.
I notice you format the text in EUGs into almost 80 columns. I have written a special program to replace CHR$ 26s with hard spaces and used it on this and the instructions. Hope it doesn't cause problems in 40 column mode. Only time will tell.
Unfortunately, my computer has been playing up lately and I am afraid this could cause problems on the submitted games. It does tend to replace bytes with keyword tokens, so it could mess up the game. Could you try the routines out which are used to input the seed number? Can you input letters on your Electron? I'd like feedback on bugs and such, as I would like to write a streamlined version.
Ross Little
I think it has been said before in EUG but when problems occur the first thing to check is connections. Make sure they are clean. Also remove any cartirdges from the Plus 1 slots and take out leads which are not essential. Then try out the Elk again. If problems still occur, then it is something in the Elk. Possibly a dirty contact in a chip socket.
If the problems stop, keep using the Elk for a few hours to make sure then replace each add-on one at a time, using each for a few hours until the problem reoccurs. Problems on the Elk, as we all know, are rare and serious problems such as components breaking down tend to cause major problems which are not intermittent. A possible exception to this rule is when a component overheats. Here the problem will be a nearby component which is supposed to limit the current and is not working too well. Sometimes this can be seen as a blackened component. Often you need test equipment to check - and that means a repair bill.
However the number one rule is - Don't send your Elk for repair until you are sure that you can't fix it yourself. If a repair is needed, so for it! The Elk is worth it and getting a replacement is often more expensive, and even then you could be buying a duff unit.
Slogger, ACP and Jafa all do repairs. Personally, I would look to Jafa first; simply because they are still very positive about the Elk whereas Slogger and ACP are trying to break into the PC Market.
By the way, Ross Little's Game Show #4 is on the second EUG #21 disk.
1st August 1995