Looking some old games
Hello The Wargaming Scribe!
My name is Sergei, and for the last year and a half I have been doing a marathon on Star Wars games. I've been playing games on old PCs for the last four months. Latest issue of my column: https://dtf.ru/retro/2369022-igry-po-star-wars-s-drevnih-vremen-do-nashih-dnej-chast-43-exidy-sorcerer
Can you please tell me if you have debugged and working versions of the games Now You Can Play Star Wars (1977) by Robert L. Coppedge for Ohio Scientific and Star Wars (1977) by Marc W. Pelczarski for HP2000 Access System or TRS-80? I would really like to play them for my marathon.
Thank you.
I have both, but I don't have access to my computer until later today. Check tonight or tomorrow morning :).
Quote from The Wargaming Scribe on 26 December 2023, 10h34I have both, but I don't have access to my computer until later today. Check tonight or tomorrow morning :).
Thanks a lot!
Well, it looks like it is the end of your quest to play to play all the Star Wars...
... at least the chapter where you play the REALLY early ones. You reached 1977 and that's the year when Star Wars was released.
I updated the main Star Wars forum post; in the opening message you will find links to what you are looking for + the list of the 8 1977-1978 Star Wars we found. I think I have or know where to find all of them, though some may need to be typed. I used the opportunity to add a mini mini-AAR of the Ohio Scientific one. I see you have emulated some pretty obscure systems, but good luck with the OS-1 emulator - it is capricious.
I think you also missed "The Warp Factor" which allows you to simulate Star Trek battles, Star Wars battles, or let's say USS Enterprise vs Imperial Tie-Fighers battles. Here are the SW ships for instance:
I am willing to do a PBEM about exactly that scenario if you are interested.
Thanks a lot! I'll check everything carefully a little later, when I have some free time.
P.S. Yesterday I spent an hour and a half trying to figure out how to return to point (0,0) at the end in Strwar to shoot. I still don’t understand 🙁 Maybe you can tell me what I’m doing wrong?
From what I remember:
- When the game tells you you must go to the centre of the trench, you need to go at the 0,0 coordinate - the perfect center. The central turbolaser is deactivated somehow. I did not check all your attempts in the video, but the few times I saw you reach the end of the trench, you have tried to remain close to the centre (say -0.49, -0.49) but not perfectly in the middle.
- Then go full speed, even though in theory you should crash by doing this...
- You will have one special chance to pull out by "event" of sort. The angle of escape must be between 1.66 and 10.
I see you have been destroyed by Darth Vader a lot. In my experience, when Darth Vader is behind you, you need to change direction brutally. My approach to the end of the trench was basically to keep doing -10, 10 one turn and then 10, -10 the following turn (except the second turn, else you are back at 0,0 and you get zapped).
I am super interested by the January 1978 (?) Death Star for Xerox Alto by Eugene Ball. Where did you find it? I need to add it to my list, but it seems super early for a full 3D game...
Thanks for the advice, I'll try it.
As for Death Star for Xerox Alto. You can download it from this link: https://vk.com/doc3680377_673065633?hash=JizndleQZFqMaOOSXvgjQyuj1MlEzRnoRyXHSoN3arX&dl=JrbNQtk9utfBspA8txJNkjbt1XkhqTBx9d9tW86gbYc
Hello The Wargaming Scribe!
Within several months we are working on a marathon of Star Wars games together with shaman7207.
For the past few days I have been trying to start the game by Robert Coppedge, but neither the version I typed nor the one you provided a link today (typed by LanHawk) does not work correctly: after starting the main game, neither the turret sight nor the fire works. My attempts to change the system configuration of the emulator did not lead to anything.
Did you play for your AAR some other variant of game (done by Porkbelly?) or use some special emulator setting?
Death Star for Xerox Alto you can download here. This game is mentioned here and here and here.
You need to run it on a OSI Superboard emulator (circa 1976), not the Challenger 1P (1978). With the OSI 400 Superboard the keyboard and video were add-ons to the computer kit so you need to set those up in the emulator and ensure you are poking the correct locations in the code.
I had this running under the WinOSI Superboard emulator with basic key/video config (you may need to check some boxes to add the video and keyboard). I did make some minor adjust to Lance's code so I could use WASD (to move) and space bar (to fire) instead of the number keys 1-5. Maybe just try WASD if you're running my version that will do it. I also removed the initial instructions since the video configuration is a bit wonky and the instructions don't clear off the screen properly. You can still play Lance's type-up even if the config is wrong, but you will have text artifacts on the screen and it will scroll out of sync every time there's a message. It was easier to kill the intro rather than try to fix the pokes to match with Coppedge's original kit config.
Hope that helps!
For your interesting project, I checked the early French computers (Mo-05, Mo-06, To-09, Hector, Alice, Excelvision, Tavernier 6809 and Nanoreseau) on DCMoto and no Star Wars games there. There is a cultural reason I think, but that's another topic.
On the other hand, the reference site for Italian games has quite a few Star Wars. This search checks all the game published in Italy, some are international games you know but others are domestic, like this one (I think). Star Wars is Guerre stellari in Italian :).
It never ends, does it?
Thank a lot for tips, I managed to pass Strwar! (Video)
Just in case, I'll leave instructions here
1. 10, -10, 5000
2. -10, 10, 5000
3. 10, -10, 5000
4. -10, 10, 5000
5. 10, -10, 5000
6. -10, 10, 5000
7. 0,0, 5000
8. 0,0, 5000
9. 0,0, 5000
10. 0,0, 4000
11. 0,0, 5000, angle 9
Porkbelly, thank you very much for your answer! Something started to work out. I don’t have your version of the game (only the original one), so I’ll be grateful if you send it.
The Wargaming Scribe, thank you too for helping with French computers, this will save us a lot of time. As for Italian games, we have already encountered in our searches that they often arbitrarily rename games.
Here is our growing table of unofficial Star Wars games. There are currently 14 different platforms. We can send you files of any of the games listed there that interest you. Also there are several dozen games for other platforms (for ex. Apple II, TRS-80, MSX), but they have not been sorted or tested as part of the marathon.
I'll just paste it here.
Also, I saw that Scribe and Lance had problems with keyboard responses when trying to play this. I am not sure how the original OSI firmware handled keyboard interrupt and character buffering but I don't think the emulator does. So, with this program you'll have timing issues if you just tap the keys and expect a response. You need to press and hold the keys to have any chance of success.
5 REM****ROBERT L.
6 REM****COPPEDGE
300 Z1=555
340 FOR X9=53248 TO 54268
345 POKE X9,32
350 NEXT X9
351 Q=53776
391 FOR Q5=1 TO 100
392 Q4=INT(920*RND(Z1)+53348)
393 POKE Q4,46
394 NEXT Q5
403 C3=471:C4=15
410 A2=INT(920*RND(Z1)+53348)
420 A3=INT(A2/32):A4=A2-(A3*32):IF A4>26 THEN 410
430 GOTO 460
440 Q1=Q-1:Q2=Q+1: POKE Q1,40:POKE Q2,41
445 F2=100*RND(Z1)
446 IF F2<2 THEN 860
447 D2=RND(Z1)
450 IF D2<.5 THEN 550
455 GOTO 481
460 B2=A2-1:C2=A2+1
461 Q1=Q-1:Q2=Q+1
462 POKE Q1,40:POKE Q2,41
470 POKE B2,47:POKE A2,79:POKE C2,92
480 B9=B2:A9=A2:C9=C2
481 Q3=PEEK(57343)
485 GOTO 1100
495 ON Q9 GOTO 1200,500,1400,1500,500,1700
500 GOTO 440
550 E2=INT(9*RND(1))
560 ON E2 GOTO 580,600,620,640,660,680,700,720
580 A2=A2-33
590 GOTO 740
600 A2=A2-32
610 GOTO 740
620 A2=A2-31
630 GOTO 740
640 A2=A2+1
650 GOTO 740
660 A2=A2+32
670 GOTO 740
680 A2=A2+31
690 GOTO 740
700 A2=A2-1
710 GOTO 740
720 A2=A2+33
730 GOTO 740
740 GOTO 744
744 A7=(INT((A2-53346)/32))*32
745 IF A2-53346-A7<2 GOTO 720
750 IF A2-53346-A7>26 GOTO 700
751 IF A2<53280 GOTO 720
752 IF A2>54250 GOTO 600
755 POKE A9,32:POKE B9,32:POKE C9,32
761 GOTO 460
860 F5=B2:F6=C2
870 W=INT(8*RND(Z1))
871 F1=A2:ON W GOTO 900,905,910,915,920,925,930,935
872 F1=F1+S:POKE F1,40
873 FOR M7=1 TO 25
874 G1=F1:F1=F1+S:F2=F1+S:F3=F2+S:F4=F3+S
875 F5=F4+S:F6=F5+S:POKE F1,39:POKE F2,39:POKE F3,39:POKE F4,39
876 POKE F5,39:POKE F6,39:POKE G1,32
877 IF W<>2 GOTO 879
878 IF F1>54244 GOTO 1005
879 NEXT M7
895 POKE F1,32:POKE F2,32:POKE F3,32
898 GOTO 975
900 S=31:GOTO 872
905 S=32:GOTO 872
910 S=33:GOTO 872
915 S=1:F1=F1+S:GOTO 872
920 S=-31:GOTO 872
925 S=-32:GOTO 872
930 S=-33:GOTO 872
935 S=-1:F1=F1+S:GOTO 872
975 J8=B2-32:J7=A2-32:J9=C2-32
976 POKE J8,32:POKE J7,32:POKE J9,32
980 GOTO 440
1005 FOR Z4=1 TO 170
1010 POKE F1,Z4
1020 NEXT Z4
1040 FOR N9=1 TO 8
1045 N8=F1+N9:N7=F1-N9:N6=F1-(N9*32):N5=F1-(N9*33):N4=F1-(N9*31)
1050 POKE N8,42:POKE N7,42:POKE N6,42:POKE N5,42:POKE N4,42
1055 O5=N5:O6=N4
1056 O7=N6:O8=O7
1060 FOR O9=N9 TO 1 STEP -1
1064 O7=O7-1:O8=O8+1
1065 O5=O5+32:O6=O6+32
1069 POKE O7,42:POKE O8,42
1070 POKE O5,42:POKE O6,42
1071 NEXT O9:NEXT N9
1080 FOR X9=53260 TO 54268
1090 POKE X9,32:NEXT X9
1096 GOTO 2500
1100 IF Q3=215 GOTO 1700
1110 IF Q3=211 GOTO 1200
1120 IF Q3=193 GOTO 1400
1130 IF Q3=196 GOTO 1500
1140 IF Q3=216 GOTO 1600
1150 IF Q3=160 GOTO 1300
1160 GOTO 495
1200 POKE Q1,32:POKE Q2,32
1210 Q=Q+32:Q9=1
1250 GOTO 500
1300 GOTO 2000
1340 Q9=2
1350 GOTO 500
1400 POKE Q1,32:POKE Q2,32
1410 Q=Q-1:Q9=3
1450 GOTO 500
1500 POKE Q1,32:POKE Q2,32
1510 Q=Q+1:Q9=4
1550 GOTO 500
1600 POKE Q1,40:POKE Q2,41
1610 Q3=128:Q9=5
1650 GOTO 500
1700 POKE Q1,32:POKE Q2,32
1710 Q=Q-32:Q9=6
1750 GOTO 500
2000 FOR Q8=1 TO 200
2010 POKE Q,Q8: NEXT Q8
2025 POKE Q,32
2030 IF Q=A2 GOTO 2150
2040 IF Q=A2-1 GOTO 2150
2050 IF Q=A2+1 GOTO 2150
2100 GOTO 1340
2101 GOTO 2500
2150 POKE A2,32:POKE B2,32:POKE C2,32
2160 POKE Q1,40:POKE Q2,41
2170 Y5=Y5+1: IF Y5=8 GOTO 2600
2171 REM PRINT"NEW TARGET APPROACHING."
2175 FOR Z4=1 TO 300
2176 NEXT Z4
2180 REM FOR Z3=54080 TO 54145
2190 REM POKE Z3,32
2200 REM NEXT Z3
2210 POKE Q1-32,32:POKE Q2-32,32
2220 GOTO 403
2500 PRINT"TURRET KNOCKED OUT."
2505 PRINT"DESTROYED ";:PRINTY5;:PRINT" ENEMY"
2508 PRINT"IN THE PROCESS."
2510 GOTO 2650
2600 PRINT"YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY"
2610 PRINT"PUT AN END TO THEIR"
2620 PRINT"MAD DREAMS OF"
2630 PRINT"TOTAL DOMINATION OF THE"
2635 PRINT"FREE UNIVERSE!"
2640 PRINT"AND YOU'RE STILL ALIVE!"
2645 INPUT Z1
2650 END
Porkbelly, you are right, the response to pressing is very slow. I hope this can be dealt with.
And thanks for your listing!
Awesome. I will take a look at your list shortly. Tell us when you publish the next episode :).
Last question if you allow me - how did you find this site? I have a lot of traffic from Russian-speaking countries and I never understood why.
On my own behalf, I can add that in the countries of the former USSR (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania) there is traditionally a fairly large community of fans of retro computers and retro gaming - first of all, this concerns ZX Spectrum, the most popular computer in the 90s in our countries, and NES, the main gaming platform. Many who studied in the 90s remember the lessons of BASIC, Pascal, C and Delphi. BTW, in Moscow and Saint Petersburg there is rather popular museums of retro computers created by Yandex.
As for me, I had a Spectrum as a child, so I was always interested in its emulators on PC, then I became interested in emulators for Apple II and other retro computers. Coincidentally, for the last few years at my work I have had to deal with the PDP-8 emulator...
Thanks for the testimonies. Interesting site for the history of computers from a Russian PoV. I had never heard of the Xerox Alto because of your article on Death Star. It hurts my pride because it was released the same year as the French Micral N but incredibly more advanced.
I took the freedom of applying your avatars from dtf.ru here because for now you cannot change your own avatar (I will fix that eventually).
Your list of Star Wars game is on-authorisation only.
Thanks for adding my avatar! I just wanted to install it yesterday, but didn’t understand how 😀
Regarding access to the list of games, I wrote to Sightsaber.