New game? I don’t care if it’s written in longhand, bring it on!
> On May 20, 2023, at 3:11 PM, Gary Wilkinson <gpwilkin...@hotmail.com> wrote: > > Ah, when you said you were writing a game, I assumed Z80 assembly and > wondered how you managed memory on the T100 and also the toolchain you’d use > to develop it. > > Sent from my iPhone > >> On 20 May 2023, at 17:32, lloydel...@comcast.net wrote: >> >> >> I’m writing everything in BASIC. I use lots of comments, but mainly to >> identify sections of code. These might come out later if memory becomes an >> issue. Since all variables have global scope, it is important to keep >> track of how and where variables are used. Things might become a mess if >> you accidentally reuse a variable. I keep a running Word document open to >> keep track of what the variables are being used for. >> >> I recently developed some tools that run on Windows for working on the T100 >> programs. They are MTRenum, MTVarConcor and MTLineRef. They can be found >> at my GitHub page, (www.github.com/LEJ-Projects >> <http://www.github.com/LEJ-Projects>). There are also two games I’ve >> written for the TRS-80 Model 100 (or NEC8201). They are Star Merchant and >> Dungeon Warrior. Star Merchant was a rewrite of a game that I originally >> wrote for Creative Computing (August 1981). Dungeon Warrior was a new game >> generated from an earlier self-published version I wrote for an Ohio >> Scientific Challenger 2. I like to think of Dungeon Warrior as the prequel >> to Wizard War that I developed with Fred Saberhagen. >> >> I’m currently doing the development with bitchin100.com/CloudT. I’ll try >> it later with a real M100. I might also have a separate NEC8201 version. >> >> I’ll put lots of game development notes in the pdf of new game I’m working >> on. It will be like the documentation I provided for Star Merchant and >> Dungeon Warrior, but maybe more so. >> >> Lloyd >> >> From: M100 <m100-boun...@lists.bitchin100.com> On Behalf Of Gary Wilkinson >> Sent: Saturday, May 20, 2023 9:51 AM >> To: m...@bitchin100.com >> Subject: Re: [M100] interesting >> >> It’d be amazing if you could document the process of creating a game for the >> T100. The T100 is a bit different from other computers as everything sits in >> memory and it’s hard to know where in memory to locate the game and how much >> memory is free for the game. I’d be really interested in how a T100 game is >> built. >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >> >> On 20 May 2023, at 13:14, lloydel...@comcast.net >> <mailto:lloydel...@comcast.net> wrote: >> >> >> Those are indeed the games. We had several more that we were considering >> but our publisher (Jim Baen) decided to get out of the software gaming >> business and that more or less ended that. Fred and Joan Saberhagen >> continued to market them and their other games for a few years after. It >> was fun. I still stay in touch with Joan from time to time. Fred died of >> cancer in 2007. >> >> I am currently working on a new game for the TRS-80 Model 100 that will >> reference the Berserkers (with Joan’s permission). It might be a few >> months, but when it is done, I will share it with this group. (Assuming I >> complete it.) >> >> Using REXCPM for external storage does provide some interesting ideas. >> >> When I wrote Wizard Wars, I was concerned about fitting into the available >> memory. I had only 64K of RAM and DOS and BASIC ate much of it. Wizard >> War consisted of 4 programs, an Intro, Main, Battle, and End. Most of the >> time the game would switch between the Main program and the Battle program >> and would use a data file for sharing data. I don’t own REXCPM (yet), but >> some very complex programs could do something similar and not be limited to >> the 29K or so that is available. >> >> Lloyd >> >> From: M100 <m100-boun...@lists.bitchin100.com >> <mailto:m100-boun...@lists.bitchin100.com>> On Behalf Of Ben Wiley Sittler >> Sent: Friday, May 19, 2023 11:31 AM >> To: m...@bitchin100.com <mailto:m...@bitchin100.com> >> Subject: Re: [M100] interesting >> >> Nice! Are these perhaps Wizard War and Berserker Raids? Those seem like they >> could be fun on the m100 too if only storage space were available. Maybe >> with REXCPM it is? >> >> On Fri, May 19, 2023, 09:16 <lloydel...@comcast.net >> <mailto:lloydel...@comcast.net>> wrote: >> I’m intrigued. The two games I worked on in the early 80s with Fred >> Saberhagen were developed on an original IBM PC that had a motherboard fully >> populated with 64K and later a memory board that added an additional 512K. >> I had 4 floppy drives connected to it but no hard drive. >> >> If I want to play these games anymore (and every few years I do), I fire up >> the DOS box emulator. It might be fun to run it on a machine dedicated to >> mimicking the capabilities of the old IBM PC. The novelty might wear off >> soon followed by some buyer’s remorse. But then again, it does sound cool. >> >> >> Lloyd >> >> From: M100 <m100-boun...@lists.bitchin100.com >> <mailto:m100-boun...@lists.bitchin100.com>> On Behalf Of Russell Flowers >> Sent: Friday, May 19, 2023 10:15 AM >> To: m...@bitchin100.com <mailto:m...@bitchin100.com> >> Subject: Re: [M100] interesting >> >> That is an unusual product. I wonder how it came to be? Hobbyist pulled the >> lever and went into production? Could they be just-in-time and/or built to >> order? >> >> On Fri, May 19, 2023 at 10:02 AM Paco <zx4e...@gmail.com >> <mailto:zx4e...@gmail.com>> wrote: >> Very interesting computer, using real expansión board 8 bits. >> >> El vie, 19 may 2023, 15:01, Stephen Adolph <twospru...@gmail.com >> <mailto:twospru...@gmail.com>> escribió: >> https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005534146618.html >> <https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005534146618.html> >> >> Concept is neat but I think the execution was bad. Apparently the BIOS was >> modified and used without following the author's license. (FYI BIOS author >> requesting that no one purchase this until the license issue is resolved) >> >> Made me think of a 2nd generation M100 work alike.
