SOURCES: Missing BBC Games Help Required!

[fuzzel]

Landing Party by Willow Software. Reviewed in The Micro User, July 1985 page 84.
landing_party.png

Here's the actual advert for Landing Party by Willow Software, A&B - September 1986

Willow Software Landing Party AandB 309.png (39.03 KiB) Viewed 7973 times

[fuzzel]

Updated list.
Can anyone find any advertisements for any of the following games?

Andrew Globe - The Blob
AUCBE - Quest Adventure Creator, Quest Adventures (Knights Of Camelot)
Aztec Games - Bounty Pirates, Mission Impossible, Princes, Squash
Beebugsoft - Leapfrog Solitaire / Knockout
Bryants - Monster Battle
CMS - Black Hole, Dive Bombers
Computersmith - Oil, Detective (For the BBC)
Database - Devil Run
First Byte (May be FBC) - Alien, Caves Of Anoran, Descender, Starfighter, Vader Raid, King Ape
Grandslam - World War 1
Hexagon - Cell And Serpent / Cells And Serpents
Kingfisher - Car Race
Labyrinth - Quest For The Pendragon
Micromode - Copter
Microplus Software - Battleships, Channel, Codecracks / Hi-Lo, Glooper
NEC - 20 Crosswords
Odyssey - Adventure 2, Arcade 1, Beeboids
Players - Quicksilva
POM Software - Games Pack 2 (Labyrinth), Games Pack 3 (Fruit Machine)
Processor Applications - Game Pack 2 (Multimaze, Catch, and Bomber)
Rainbow - 3D Mouse Maze
Software For All - Galaxians

Thanks,

Lee.

I've found some of the above games in the Software Listings catalogue from A&B Magazine December 1984 (issue 111) pp 112-125, obviously a very rich source for the list of missing games:

Aztec Games - Bounty Pirates, Mission Impossible, Princes, Squash
Bryants - Monster Battle
Computersmith - Oil, Detective (For the BBC)
First Byte (in A&B: FBC) - Alien, Caves Of Anoran, Descender, Vader Raid (BUT NOT Starfighter, King Ape)
Hexagon - Cell And Serpent (in A&B, Cells And Serpents is by ASP)
Kingfisher - Car Race
NEC - 20 Crosswords
Odyssey - Adventure 2, Arcade 1, Beeboids
Processor Applications - Game Pack 2 (Multimaze, Catch, and Bomber)
Rainbow - 3D Mouse Maze

Btw, given that there are 14 pages of games listed it's possibly worth someone checking through the list to see if there are any other missing games. Even better, I'll try to find the last issue to offer the Software Listings catalogue.

[leenew]

Cheers fuzzel,
I was talking to lurkio regarding these software lists in the back of A&B magazine and the pullouts from Micro User etc.
We were discussing that if these lists are the only mention of a game (or even a company) then should we believe them? Or take them with a pinch of salt?
Maybe some were printed in the section for the wrong machine?
Who knows!

Lee.

[fuzzel]

Cheers fuzzel,
I was talking to lurkio regarding these software lists in the back of A&B magazine and the pullouts from Micro User etc.
We were discussing that if these lists are the only mention of a game (or even a company) then should we believe them? Or take them with a pinch of salt?
Maybe some were printed in the section for the wrong machine?
Who knows!

Lee.

I agree. I propose that those games without strong evidence of their existence (advert / review) should be transferred to the "Not so credible sources" thread which would be delighted to take ownership of them. Hopefully, some can be transferred back after the ongoing detective work.

[fuzzel]

I suppose we could summarise the state of BBC games as follows (with a nod to the late Mr Rumsfeld):
1. Games which we know exist eg Acornsoft's Monsters
2. Games which we know existed eg from adverts / reviews but which may or may not now exist (see the missing bbc games help required! thread)
3. Games which we know may have existed eg from rumours in magazines (see the not so credible sources thread)
4. Games which we don't know existed eg the countless bedroom programmers who never attempted to get their games published
Maybe there are more categories but my brain hurts.

[leenew]

Creating Adventures On Your BBC Micro by Peter Shaw and Stuart McCrae.
Published by Interface Publications.

This book is missing.
It contains the following text adventures:

THE HOUSE THAT JAMES BUILT
FANTASY MANSION
LOVES SWEET GARDEN
ELSIE THE AARDVARK GOES LUNAR SURVEYING
IN MY LIVERPOOL HOME
SHODDY IN FUNLAND
KINGDOM OF THROLL
LOST IN SPACE

CASA have some of these taken from the SPECTRUM version of the book.
I would like to see the beeb version and type all these in.

Lee.

[robcfg]

Hi!

I follow a user on Twitter named TakodanTweets (https://twitter.com/TakodanTweets) that scans old software ads, and found an interesting one.

It's for Conflict and Galaxy Conflict by Martech Games for several platforms, including the BBC Model B. They appear to be missing so Lurkio suggested I post the ad here.

If anyone finds them and they have the Dragon version on the same tape, please let me know.

Cheers,
Rob

[leenew]

Here is another one, from PERSONAL COMPUTER GAMES issue 4 MARCH 1984
CONFLICT and GALAXY CONFLICT from MARTECH.
These are computer moderated board games. I never know whether they should be added or not?
Better safe than sorry I suppose...

EDIT: Galaxy Conflict has now been found: viewtopic.php?p=342539#p342539

Lee.

[goldngreen]

Hi,

I wrote "3D Tennis", "3D Golf" and "Melody Line" from the "3D Software", "West Coast Personal Computers" advert back in the early 1980s. Unfortunately I no longer have either my BBC Micro nor the sources for this software. I can however tell you that this game http://bbcmicro.co.uk/game.php?id=235 is the 3D Tennis referred to in the "3D Software" advert and is therefore also the lost game referred to here: http://bbcmicro.co.uk/index.php?search= ... 29&on_P=on (EDIT - URL updated following update to the site to restore the game reference).

I do not know how it survived but I was pleased to see it again. It looks pretty clunky but I had fun writing it at the time.

Regards,

Andy.

[leenew]

Excellent!
Welcome along and thank you for the info.
I will update the entry as soon as I can

**EDIT - Do you want me to credit you as author? If so may I have your name please?

Lee.

[goldngreen]

Hi,

I am not worried about the credit but also do not mind. My name is Andy Sinclair.

Thanks,

Andy.

[8bitAG]

I've been looking into one of the many "Griffin Software"s regarding some other platform text adventures, but they do also have two pieces of software listed for the BBC in this advert. I don't think I've seen Prairie Shootout listed anywhere.

[leenew]

Nice find.
What magazine is that from?
I will add it to the MIA list.

Lee

[leenew]

Here is a source for the missing Beebugsoft "Leapfrog Solitaire/ Knockout" double pack, from a Beebug magazine supplement from November 1984.

Lee.

[leenew]

Here is a review of STAR WAR from THE SOFTWARE HOUSE. This is from issue 1 of Home Computing Weekly magazine, from March 1983.

Home_Computing_Weekly_001_0040.jpg (65.73 KiB) Viewed 7447 times

[8bitAG]

Nice find.
What magazine is that from?
I will add it to the MIA list.

Home Computing Weekly issue 28, going by my notes.

[Diminished]

Here is a source for the missing Beebugsoft "Leapfrog Solitaire/ Knockout" double pack, from a Beebug magazine supplement from November 1984.
half-price-games-nov-1984.jpg
Lee.

I think this is the photo I posted over here.

[leenew]

Yep. It is

Lee

[joachim]

I can't find any mention either on Stardot, bbcmicro.co.uk or flaxcottage.com of the apparent educational game "Dungeons of Gohk" by Kansas, advertised in Acorn User in 1986:

[leenew]

Hi,
Just bumping the latest list of games we are looking for advertisements for:

Andrew Globe - The Blob
Aztec Games - Bounty Pirates, Mission Impossible, Princes, Squash
Bryants - Monster Battle
CMS - Black Hole, Dive Bombers
Computersmith - Detective (For the BBC)
Database - Devil Run
First Byte (May be FBC) - Alien, Caves Of Anoran, Descender, Starfighter, Vader Raid, King Ape
Grandslam - World War 1
Hexagon - Cell And Serpent / Cells And Serpents
Kingfisher - Car Race
Labyrinth - Quest For The Pendragon
Micromode - Copter
Microplus Software - Battleships, Channel, Codecracks / Hi-Lo, Glooper
Odyssey - Adventure 2, Arcade 1, Beeboids
Players - Quicksilva
POM Software - Games Pack 2 (Labyrinth), Games Pack 3 (Fruit Machine)
Processor Applications - Game Pack 2 (Multimaze, Catch, and Bomber)
Rainbow - 3D Mouse Maze
Software For All - Galaxians

In case anyone is wondering, the above list of games appeared on a "missing games" list, but, so far, no evidence has been found that they were actually advertised anywhere for the beeb...
Can anyone point to an advertisement for any of them?
Thanks,

The full list of BBC Micro games that probably received a commercial release, but seem to be missing from all known archives is here: viewtopic.php?p=192796#p192796


Lee.

[Cybershark]

Surely "Cells and Serpents" is a unique enough name that it's more likely to be the same game with multiple releases, rather than two different games?

First Byte's "Vader Raid" definitely existed. We had a First Byte store in Derby and an Electron-owning friend of mine had the misfortune of buying that title - and I of borrowing it from him. It was a MODE2 Space Invaders wannabe in which, iirc, a single craft divebombed you at a time. It was an appalling release which would have been embarrassing as a magazine type-in. Long may it remain lost.

[leenew]

Hi Cybershark,
I agree that most of these missing titles will be poor/ terrible/abysmal, but seeing as we are running "The COMPLETE BBC Micro games archive" I will keep looking for them all, including Vader Raid

Lee

[leenew]

Monster Maze, Pinball, and Dodgems from West Coast Personal Computers. (At this point, they were called "West of Scotland Personal Computers")
Personal Computing Today, October 1982.

[leenew]

Another one for the missing list...
Pop Quiz by J. Robinson. Advertised in A&B Computing September 1985, page 105.

lc-p105 (2).jpg (33.48 KiB) Viewed 6520 times

[iamaran]

Crossword Puzzler and Twenty Crosswords advertised in The Micro User Education Special No. 1 (1984) page 24.
Available from NEC (National Extension College) but in fact published by Microtrust Software (which appears to have been the software arm of the NEC).

Twenty Crosswords is available to purchase!
https://www.dataserve-retro.co.uk/conte ... p1951.html

[iamaran]

Oil by Computersmith. Advertised in Personal Software Magazine, issue 4 Spring 1983, page 29.

[iamaran]

King Ape by First Byte from the cassette inlay of Valley of the Pharoahs.

[iamaran]

Another one for the missing list...
Games Pack 1 (Mazog and Missile) by Red Giant Software. Advertised in Acorn User October 1983, page 100.

[leenew]

Added to the missing list.
It still amazes me that no matter how many times these magazines have been looked through, more adverts are always spotted!

Lee

[leenew]

2 more for the missing list:
Fate (Worse Than Death) and Flasher from Silver Fox Communications.
Advertised in Sinclair User magazine November 1983.