Search found 1702 matches

by billcarr2005
Sat Feb 10, 2024 12:24 am
Forum: new ideas wishlist & general chat
Topic: More Boulder Dash!
Replies: 94
Views: 2902

Re: More Boulder Dash!

TobyLobster wrote: Fri Feb 09, 2024 9:18 pm Did people know about pressing 'B' on the menu to see the credits? (Not sure why 'B' but there you go)
I diiscovered that whilst tracing the input routine :)
by billcarr2005
Tue Feb 06, 2024 6:15 pm
Forum: new ideas wishlist & general chat
Topic: More Boulder Dash!
Replies: 94
Views: 2902

Re: More Boulder Dash!

No import capabilities here - and I still have a few Ts to cross and Is to dot - but I'm almost done putting together an editor that allows Bill's standalone level files to be edited on a Beeb/Elk :) It amazes me that you've squished it down to a single screen! Do you have plenty of memory for the ...
by billcarr2005
Mon Feb 05, 2024 6:10 am
Forum: new ideas wishlist & general chat
Topic: More Boulder Dash!
Replies: 94
Views: 2902

Re: More Boulder Dash!

I've compiled a list of memory locations within the editor and think amoeba growth / magic wall time would be at 4C54 Since there's only one or the other (or neither) on a level, I suppose it's a useful space saving technique! 3C00 CAVE O, LEVEL 5 3C46 CAVE H, LEVEL 1 3C70 CAVE H, LEVEL 2 3C9B CAVE ...
by billcarr2005
Sun Feb 04, 2024 11:22 am
Forum: new ideas wishlist & general chat
Topic: More Boulder Dash!
Replies: 94
Views: 2902

Re: More Boulder Dash!

The game is just loading the "crunched" level, 400 bytes in length and expanding it to 800 bytes, so it's probably quicker than calling the 4/5 routines to create the cave. I hadn't actually played it so much realise that the level changed the cave layout, i just figured the parameters of ...
by billcarr2005
Sun Feb 04, 2024 2:36 am
Forum: new ideas wishlist & general chat
Topic: More Boulder Dash!
Replies: 94
Views: 2902

Re: More Boulder Dash!

Luckily the bonus caves are numbered sequentially from the main caves, so I just needed to add Q, R, S and T
They're the same sized caves from the program's storage perspective. I had to modify the third bonus cave, but it was quick and easy with the editor, so I guess it works well enough :)
by billcarr2005
Sat Feb 03, 2024 11:49 pm
Forum: new ideas wishlist & general chat
Topic: More Boulder Dash!
Replies: 94
Views: 2902

Re: More Boulder Dash!

If anybody would care to give the following disk image a try, Caves A-P are all present. I'm unsure if the bonus caves exist, but haven't played it extensively to find out. I've written the a map / parameter editor in BBC BASIC for Windows, but I'm not sure if it'll be robust enough to release publi...
by billcarr2005
Sat Feb 03, 2024 1:08 pm
Forum: new ideas wishlist & general chat
Topic: More Boulder Dash!
Replies: 94
Views: 2902

Re: More Boulder Dash!

Are you going ahead with the nybble per block approach, perhaps with an initial parameters section for cave times, diamonds needed etc? That would seriously get into construction set territory and allow tapping into other good designs found on sites like https://www.boulder-dash.nl/ (would need to ...
by billcarr2005
Sat Feb 03, 2024 12:39 am
Forum: new ideas wishlist & general chat
Topic: More Boulder Dash!
Replies: 94
Views: 2902

Re: More Boulder Dash!

After getting stuck with why some items disappear on the map program, I looked into the idea of cave replacement.
Some marginal success with the loading of caves, I've got A, B, C, D and E saved as individual files, loading as necessary - cave storage / retrieval works fine :o
by billcarr2005
Thu Feb 01, 2024 1:06 pm
Forum: new ideas wishlist & general chat
Topic: More Boulder Dash!
Replies: 94
Views: 2902

Re: More Boulder Dash!

The "randomly" generated approach of BD1 caves doesn't seem amenable to any sort of useful modification but I presume the later games in the series must use a more sensible format (to allow them to be edited in the Construction Kit). Would be interested to learn more about how the caves f...
by billcarr2005
Sat Jan 27, 2024 1:46 pm
Forum: new ideas wishlist & general chat
Topic: More Boulder Dash!
Replies: 94
Views: 2902

Re: More Boulder Dash!

Can confirm that it's down to the low 3 bits, and also that the high bits in each case should not be disregarded. Messing with them (somehow) causes changes to the cave generation. The lower 3 bits are used in the basic and details part of the map generation, the walls section requires some more, 1...
by billcarr2005
Thu Jan 25, 2024 12:09 pm
Forum: new ideas wishlist & general chat
Topic: More Boulder Dash!
Replies: 94
Views: 2902

Re: More Boulder Dash!

I've managed to achieve some automation, at least for Cave A Routine at &2D95 using data from &4E9D (200 bytes) gives the basic cave 2D95.png Routine at &2D55 using data from &436F (75 bytes) adds some details 2D55.png At &4CF4 we have &9D (low byte, +&4E to make &4E9...
by billcarr2005
Wed Jan 24, 2024 8:51 am
Forum: new ideas wishlist & general chat
Topic: More Boulder Dash!
Replies: 94
Views: 2902

Re: More Boulder Dash!

Doing a bit more prodding and poking I was able to turn a couple of things up. I went searching through the code for the location of the start of cave data (using the value that you had provided - &306F). As the game code loads at &1300 then that start address becomes &436F, so that was...
by billcarr2005
Mon Jan 22, 2024 11:56 am
Forum: new ideas wishlist & general chat
Topic: More Boulder Dash!
Replies: 94
Views: 2902

Re: More Boulder Dash!

I presume that the amoeba is the slime/fungus on screen M? I found that that appears as 7 on the map Butterfly is 14 Cave E has an object number 11 which appears to join together in some way and then clear the area That seems to make sense but, as RaspberryPioneer says, the data bytes don't seem to...
by billcarr2005
Mon Jan 22, 2024 12:43 am
Forum: new ideas wishlist & general chat
Topic: More Boulder Dash!
Replies: 94
Views: 2902

Re: More Boulder Dash!

Convert hex value to binary value First 5 bits are the number of ground squares Next 3 bits represent the number of the last object which is translated: 0 = space, 1 = ground, 2 = wall, 3 = ground, 4 = diamond, 5 = boulder, 6 = firefly, 7 = ground There are missing objects like the butterfly and am...
by billcarr2005
Fri Jan 12, 2024 5:18 pm
Forum: 8-bit acorn software: classic adventure games
Topic: [ SOLVED ] : Twin Valley Kingdom:Electron - UEF - Cant find a good one
Replies: 18
Views: 2723

Re: [ SOLVED ] : Twin Valley Kingdom:Electron - UEF - Cant find a good one

What about the one here? https://wowroms.com/en/roms/acorn-electron/twin-kingdom-valley-uef/156022.html It says 'download rom' but I've just downloaded it and it is a UEF inside a Zip and it says it's the Electron version I think ROM is just a collective term used for emulated games, especially on ...
by billcarr2005
Thu Jan 11, 2024 5:24 pm
Forum: miscellaneous new bbc and electron games
Topic: TERKON
Replies: 6
Views: 588

Re: TERKON

Thanks Bill, BTW, if you type CHAIN"LOADER" the game gives a bad program when trying to load the levels, but is OK if you EXEC "!BOOT" which just chains "LOADER" - odd! I can see from the files and their lengths that no hidden code is stored on the disc. Any ideas why ...
by billcarr2005
Thu Jan 11, 2024 12:47 pm
Forum: miscellaneous new bbc and electron games
Topic: TERKON
Replies: 6
Views: 588

Re: TERKON

I see the image says "EDIT". Has the game been edited to work, or has any protection been removed. I take it this is the disc copy and not a tape to disc copy. Mick. Edited to be compatible with standard BBC / DFS, since the LEVELS are loaded via OSGBPB which was (and still is) using &...
by billcarr2005
Wed Jan 10, 2024 10:40 pm
Forum: miscellaneous new bbc and electron games
Topic: TERKON
Replies: 6
Views: 588

TERKON

Saw this on Facebook (Acorn Computer and BBC Micro Enthusiasts)
The instructions helped me enough to manage to finish the first level!

If the original author (of the game and/or FB post) would rather it not be here, I'll delete the post - although it is out in the public domain now :shock:
by billcarr2005
Sun Dec 24, 2023 10:10 am
Forum: 8-bit acorn software: classic games
Topic: Elite: load commander?
Replies: 10
Views: 633

Re: Elite: load commander?

No idea why it says "ELITE II" but all of the files on the disk contain E5, ie the byte from a formatted sector, so no valid data. Only the first 2 sectors, the catalogue, have been written to Also, the file extension is DSD, but the file length is only 200KB, that of an 80 track SSD If us...
by billcarr2005
Thu Dec 21, 2023 9:51 am
Forum: new ideas wishlist & general chat
Topic: Omega Probe by Mark Smiddy for the Electron
Replies: 9
Views: 6924

Re: Omega Probe by Mark Smiddy for the Electron

So this post is really a long diatribe just to ask if anyone might want to take a look at Omega Probe and see if an Elk version is possible...? Pretty sure that - in a world where there's an Elk version of Exile - it'd be pretty simple to convert this one. The real question is if anyone, other than...
by billcarr2005
Sun Dec 17, 2023 9:21 am
Forum: new ideas wishlist & general chat
Topic: Omega Probe by Mark Smiddy for the Electron
Replies: 9
Views: 6924

Re: Omega Probe by Mark Smiddy for the Electron

Maybe an Electron version of Omega Probe could be created... The BBC B one on Micro User 2.10 does not work because it has Mode 7 screens and then crashes when the game starts. But I'll bet it could be "quite easily" converted by someone who knows machine code. Mark Smiddy wrote a lot of ...
by billcarr2005
Sat Dec 16, 2023 9:07 am
Forum: new ideas wishlist & general chat
Topic: Omega Probe by Mark Smiddy for the Electron
Replies: 9
Views: 6924

Re: Omega Probe by Mark Smiddy for the Electron

Kevin Edwards may have been responsible for the protection, he worked for Optima when he was 17. Hi, I can assure you that Omega Probe for the BBC Micro B was released on cassette as I had it back in 1985. I actually had it for several months trying to transfer the files as there was tape protectio...
by billcarr2005
Sat Dec 09, 2023 5:27 pm
Forum: 8-bit acorn software: classic adventure games
Topic: Labyrinths of LaCoshe - My 40yr quest for enlightenment
Replies: 31
Views: 14177

Re: Labyrinths of LaCoshe - My 40yr quest for enlightenment

I'm basing my assumption on the fact it says the Cyclops runs through the wall, creating a hole which can be traversed by going south.
And also the map / solution :|
Screenshot 2023-12-09 172357.png
Screenshot 2023-12-09 173944.png
by billcarr2005
Sat Dec 09, 2023 1:20 pm
Forum: 8-bit acorn software: classic adventure games
Topic: Labyrinths of LaCoshe - My 40yr quest for enlightenment
Replies: 31
Views: 14177

Re: Labyrinths of LaCoshe - My 40yr quest for enlightenment

There appears to be a flagrant bug in the .ssd version downloaded from the BBC archive. After killing the cyclops it is impossible to enter the hole in the south wall. Indeed if you leave the cyclops room and return either from the skeleton room or the thief's lair the hole has disappeared. Hi, Wou...
by billcarr2005
Mon Nov 27, 2023 10:16 am
Forum: 8-bit acorn software: other
Topic: Acornsoft View printing large Top Margin
Replies: 6
Views: 1136

Re: Acornsoft View printing large Top Margin

What happens if you omit the command codes altogether?
Or could you try putting them all on one line?
It would seem that each command code is taking up a line on the page :?
by billcarr2005
Wed Nov 08, 2023 10:23 am
Forum: archive submissions
Topic: Have all the Beebug discs/tapes/issues been archived?
Replies: 10
Views: 2072

Re: Have all the Beebug discs/tapes/issues been archived?

Thanks very much Diminished, I'll look through my collection and see whether I have any of the missing tapes you listed. If so I'll get in contact to sort out how to get them to you. Now I need to find some people interested in archiving the discs. Time to contact the Acorn software preservation te...
by billcarr2005
Thu Oct 26, 2023 10:23 am
Forum: archive submissions
Topic: The Times Computer Crosswords vol. 1 by Akom
Replies: 5
Views: 2686

Re: The Times Computer Crosswords vol. 1 by Akom

lurkio wrote: Tue May 19, 2015 12:48 am Unfortunately, side B didn't work at all. I couldn't read anything off it.
I've just checked a 40 track flippy disk I had and side B is equally unreadable / blank!
by billcarr2005
Thu Oct 26, 2023 10:11 am
Forum: archive requests
Topic: The Times Computer Crosswords
Replies: 9
Views: 1257

Re: The Times Computer Crosswords

The 80 track version has 60 puzzles split across both sides ~ 140kb total This version does prompt to flip the disk for the higher number puzzles I guess the two sides were only required due to the 31 file limit, as I removed the 40 empty tracks on the SSD https://www.stardot.org.uk/forums/viewtopi...
by billcarr2005
Sun Oct 22, 2023 11:13 am
Forum: 8-bit acorn software: other
Topic: Discbeast, new disc and archival utility -- NEED VOLUNTEERS
Replies: 139
Views: 29550

Re: Discbeast, new disc and archival utility -- NEED VOLUNTEERS

it was Powerplay by Arcana :lol: as my version would not run and though it was corrupt to discover the game will not run on 1770 but only on 8271 DFS. It loads up right to the playing screen and then hangs Beebjit comes up with "info:instruction:entering KIL state, pc $1efa opcode $22" Fo...
by billcarr2005
Wed Oct 18, 2023 9:26 pm
Forum: 8-bit acorn software: other
Topic: Discbeast, new disc and archival utility -- NEED VOLUNTEERS
Replies: 139
Views: 29550

Re: Discbeast, new disc and archival utility -- NEED VOLUNTEERS

Track 7 has a misreported size 40 Tracks Tr.# No.S Sec.# Tr.ID Head# SecID IDsiz REsiz Error 07 02 00 46 00 0B 0100 0400 OK 01 46 00 40 0100 0400 OK My guess would be that 1EFA is never supposed to be executed as code, but since not enough data has been read by the 1770, PC ends up there :? I do hav...

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