Dear Editor,
In your recent A.N.A.L.O.G. Computing issue #9 a review of our Letter Perfect Version 3 was written by Tony Messina.
The article had many complimentary things to say about Letter Perfect and the new version. However, it did contain some inaccuracies in regard to our update policy. Anyone who has purchased and registered an earlier version of Letter Perfect may upgrade to the new version 3 by sending us their old diskette and $30. In return, they will receive a new diskette, a new manual, and a new command sheet. Any individual who has purchased a backup diskette may hold the backup diskette until they have received the new version, and then send us the backup to receive an update of their backup. There is no policy that allows an individual who returns their old version to get a free backup of the new version.
Sincerely yours,
Kenneth L. Berry
LJK Enterprises, Inc.
St. Louis, MO
Dear Sirs:
We just bought an ATARI 800 computer and were glad to find there was a magazine for ATARI owners. But we sat for hours programming your programs An Adventure Game, The Halls of the Leprechaun King, and Fill'er, not one of the programs work. I have a friend that has a computer she bought before we did and she said they had the same problem. We have since talked to some others and they all say the same thing. It is very maddening to sit for four or five hours putting programs into the computer and not having it work. We were going to subscribe to your magazine but not now. We feel that you should check your programs first before you put them in your magazine. We have checked and checked them and we did not make an error in typing them into the computer. If in the future we hear that your programs work we will consider buying your magazine, in the mean time we will not reccommend your magazine to anyone.
Mr. Randall Beemer
Flint, Michigan
Dear A.N.A.L.O.G.:
This letter is sent to thank Tom Hudson for giving us what I feel is the best game ever to appear in the pages of a magazine. It tops a lot of games I've seen on sale, too! I am speaking, of course, about Fill'er Up! (Issue #10).
I recently moved from a large city to a small resort town. Unlike the city there are no software dealers here, so I rely very strongly upon the printed page. (I had to subscribe to even get that here!) So I really appreciate when an exceptional program such as Fill'er Up comes along. Needless to say I am eagerly awaiting Mr. Hudson's next contribution to your fine publication, which by the way gets better with each issue.
Very gratefully yours,
Rudy C. Houghton
Myrtle Beach, SC
Dear Editor:
I am glad to hear that the results of your readers poll generally agreed with my ideas and opinions. A.N.A.L.O.G. is the best magazine on the market that deals with ATARI computers in whole or in part, and it keeps getting better. I like the assembly language games, and really enjoyed Fill'er Up!. However, I found it very boring to sit through the beginning of the program waiting for the computer to check the lines every time I wanted to play the game. I tried making a cassette-maker program (ala Maniac or Harvey Wallbanger) to no avail, -- as I don't know very much about assembly programming. However, the following changes will speed up the wait from 2 1/2 minutes to 1 1/2 minutes. First type in the program as in A.N.A.L.O.G. #10 (to check for errors), then, when correct, make the following changes.
2 GRAPHICS 18:POSITION 3,5:? #6;"PLEASE WAIT...":FOR DE=1 TO 50:NEXT DE 5 Y=PEEK(559):POKE 559,0 25 LINE=LINE+10:READ DAT$ 28 REM (delete this line) 40 PROG$(PNTR)=CHR$(BYTE):PNTR=PNTR+1:TOTAL=TOTAL+BYTE:NEXT X:READ CHKSUM:IF LINE=1710 THEN 70 50 GOTO 25 70 POKE 559,Y:? "PRESS START TO BEGIN" 80 IF PEEK(53279)<>6 THEN 80 85 A=USR(ADR(PROG$),ADR(PROG$)):END
I hope the readers find this useful (unless someone has figured a way to make a cassette maker program) I really enjoyed Fill'er Up!, but it seems to me that once a game is over, the next game should start back on level 1, not on the level where the last game left off. This can be frustrating, especially since pressing RESET results in "ATARI lock-up." Other than that, thanks, and keep A.N.A.L.O.G. coming!
Sincerely yours,
Jim Singer
New Castle, Penn.
Tom Hudson:
I loved your P/M mover subroutine in issue 10 of A.N.A.L.O.G. How can it be changed to include MISSILES as well as PLAYERS?
Jeff Stefanski
Melrose Park, IL
Your wish is our command. See page 29. - Ed.
Dear A.N.A.L.O.G.:
Issue number 10 is fantastic!! Your article on the ATARI 1200XL is the only full length discription I have seen so far. I had heard some rumors about it, but nothing conclusive. I have an ATARI 800 and don't plan on getting a 1200XL in the near future, but I was excited to find out about the 800's big brother!
My friends and I entered Fill'Er Up! several days after getting the magazine. The time was worth it! It's the best game I've ever gotten for free, Tom Hudson, A.N.A.L.O.G. and ATARI are a great team!! There was only one thing I didn't like about it and that was the fact that you couldn't restart it by pressing the trigger. This is a feature any game that does not use the keyboard during the actual play should have. So after looking at the listing, I thought how nice it would be if I could change it all by myself... Being a beginning assembler programmger, that's just what I set out to do! I succeeded too! I'm including the needed changes.
Old Code:
CKSTRT LDA CONSOL
AND #1
BNE CKSTRT
RELEAS LDA CONSOL
AND #1
BEQ RELEAS
New Code:
;fill extra space
NOP
NOP
NOP
NOP
;wait for release
RELEAS LDA STRIG
BEQ RELEAS
;trigger pressed?
CKSTRG LDA STRIG
BNE CKSTRG
By adding two lines to the basic program the new code can be installed.
5 RESTORE 10:DATA 234,234,234,234,173,132,2,240,251,173,132,2,208,251 65 RESTORE:FOR X=1225 TO 1238:READ N:PROG$(X,X)=CHR$(N):NEXT X
Now you can have the freedom of sitting anywhere your joystick cord will reach AND restart the game without getting up!
I really enjoy reading A.N.A.L.O.G.. It's a great magazine! I have every issue! The first issue I got on my subscription was number 5, but when the reprints of the back issues came out I ordered numbers one through 4. And I'm glad I did, since they have been very helpful in getting the most out of my ATARI and because they are no longer available!!
There is one addition I would like to see in A.N.A.L.O.G. and that's a book review section. There are a lot of books out for ATARI's and we need help in picking the good ones from the bad.
This is the very first letter I have ever written to a magazine. And I'm glad to have a magazine I care enough about to take the time to write to it (would THEM have been a better choice, since A.N.A.L.O.G. IS made up of people ... Well gotta sign off now.
Well gotta sign off now,
Chris Gruenler
S. Hamilton, MA
We were glad you enjoyed our article on the 1200XL. The response from our readers was overwhelming. We were very fortunate to have the 1200XL in our offices months before it was available to other publications. Look for more information on the 1200XL in future issues - and remember, when you want the "scoop" on new ATARI products, you'll see it first in the pages of A.N.A.L.O.G. Computing.
Many people have been requesting back issues of A.N.A.L.O.G. Computing. I'm sorry to report that we have no remaining copies of any back issues. However, the forthcoming A.N.A.L.O.G. COMPENDIUM (see Editorial, issue 10) will contain the best games, utilities and educational programs from the first ten issues of A.N.A.L.O.G. Computing. The A.N.A.L.O.G. COMPENDIUM will also feature programs not published in earlier issues of A.N.A.L.O.G. Computing. It will be available to computer stores and bookstores the first week in July.
Speaking of books, we are planning to include an up-to-date list and capsule
review of all ATARI related books in our next issue. -ED
Gentlemen:
I have been an avid reader of your magazine since the first issue. It has been interesting, informative, and amusing.
As of now, "Whither ATARI" is obvious. ATARI "whithered" to Taiwan. In these days of high labor costs, it became necessary to move production facilities to a location with lower labor costs. We all know that labor is the single most expensive component in the manufacturing process) right? WRONG! 50 days of network advertising prior to Christmas was the single most expensive component!
ATARI (read Warner Communications) was concerned with how to cut costs, that was obvious. However, did they stop to consider how many of the 1700 production workers would, if employed, but their computers? What about the people who do business with those 1700 former employees? How many ATARI computers will they be able to buy now? This kind of action has a "ripple effect" throughout the entire community. But it's still cheaper to build overseas, and you end up with a better product because the American worker just doesn't care to work as hard to do a good job. That's why SONY builds all their Trinitron color TVs for the U.S. in the U.S. It's also why HONDA builds all of the cars and motorcycles (above 900cc) destined for the States over in Ohio. SONY and HONDA seem to know what American manufacturers have forgotten - we can build it here cheaper and better if we put our minds to it. It makes me wonder whether anyone in marketing or manufacturing at Warner or ATARI has a mind left to work with.
Keep up the good work at A.N.A.L.O.G. - you're the best magazine around.
Sincerely,
Richard B. Roche
In Issue No. 10 of A.N.A.L.O.G. Computing, we published an article by
Greg Peck entitled "Magic Keypad." This article was originally intended for
publication in ANTIC Magazine, and is the sole property of ANTIC. We regret our
error and apologize for any inconvenience.
ANTIC is a magazine published for ATARI computer owners. For information, write to ANTIC, 600 18th Street, San Francisco, CA 94107.