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stimulat.txt
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2006-10-19
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.IF DSK1.C3
^^^^^^^^^TEXTWARE, SOFTWARE, and ELSEWHERE
Goings-on with the TI-99/4A
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ by JACK SUGHRUE
One of the good feelings I have about STIMULATING SIMULATIONS FOR
THE TI-99/4A by C.W.Engel (105 pp, Hayden Book Company, Hasbrouck
Heights, N.J., $7.95) is the assumptions the author makes about the
reader. He assumes you want to type in programs to get programs into
your library. That's obvious. That's why we plunk down the bucks.
(About 53 cents a program, by the way.)
But Engel assumes further that you're going to take the time and
trouble to figure out how the simulations are created and you're going to
enhance them to suit your own needs.
He's right, too.
Once you start into this book, it is hard not to begin adding,
fiddling, manipulating, deleting, changing. And it's easy because of the
excellent structure. Each of the simulations begins with a scenario
explaining the program. Many of these scenarios have charts and diagrams
which I found lucid and helpful and, in some cases, absolutely essential.
The scenarios (running from two short paragraphs to 14 long ones) are
followed by sample runs. These printouts show how the program operates
(or how it should operate if yours has bugs). This is followed by a list
of all the variables used (I wish all program books would do this.) and
by a complete program listing ready for typing. These in turn are
followed by two batches of modifications: minor and major. Toughies,
these. There is usually an illustration or game board or display
interspersed among the items above. They add to the overall nice effect,
and, in some instances, are required for play.
The final item in each section is a flowchart of the simulation.
I'm not a big flowchart person (no more than I approve of outlines
for papers), but as they come after all the other stuff, they do prove
helpful in understanding the process of the program. It does make it
easier to understand, too.
We'll follow one through in a couple minutes, but first I want to
discuss the programs and the book.
The book is 6X9, a decent size. The text type is tiny, so I'm glad I
have bifocals. (When I bought this book last year, I didn't have
bifocals, so I couldn't deal with it and its relationship to distant
keyboad, screen, printer, and so on. Thanks to Good Ol' Charlie Aitchue,
I have overcome. Have dug out book. Have enjoyed.
Except for a few things.
One, I hate computer books without ring binders.
Two, I loathe T.I. books which do not have their listings in
resequenced order by 10s.
Three, I despise books which aren't carefully proofread in the
listings (They should just be printed out directly from the program with
LIST "PIO" or LIST "RS232". What's so hard about that? The books are
all offset anyway, so the publisher can be guaranteed a perfect copy.
And STIMULATING SIMULATIONS is guilty on all three counts. But
forgetting the bad stuff for a moment, in addition to the above goodies,
which most program-listing books do not have, this one starts off with
two pages which describe each of the programs in the book in a clear
paragraph which includes the number of lines. Hey! Here's one that's
only 63 lines. Sounds good, too. I'll do that one first and the 225
liner last.
Can't do that with any other books.
Be wary, Future Purchaser. You are not buying a book of arcade games
here. They are not loaded with graphics and cutesy melodies and neon
lights. You can add the whistles and grunts yourself later. Along with
the flying orangutans. But they aren't there in these programs.
Here is what is there:
3 Soccer Programs (requiring Extended BASIC) [The other 12 may run in
BASIC or X.]
Art Auction - Buy and sell paintings to make a profit.
Monster Chase - A graphic maze-like (not too much thinking) chase.
Lost Treasure - A short simulation of treasure finding on a map/grid.
Gone Fishing - Catch lots of fish; avoid storms, wrecks, etc.
Space Flight - Deliver medical supplies to distant planet.
Forest Fire - Extinguish a forest fire with backfires and chemicals.
Nautical Navigation - Navigate sailboat to 3 different islands.
Business Management - Maximize profits by clever use of buying and
finishing raw materials.
Rare Birds - Identify as many birds as possible. This is weird.
Diamond Thief - You find museum diamond thief from 5 suspects.
The Devil's Dungeon - This one's been around for a long time. It's a
fantasy adventure in a bottomless cave full of poison gases, monsters,
demons, and gold. What one won't do for gold!
and
Life - "Beginning as an uneducated bum whose only source of income is
mugging, the player advances through education and luck to become an
executive who earns lots of money." I would have said that if Engel
didn't.
Interesting selection of simulations, eh?
Let's look into one: Gone Fishing. (Not my favorite, but a good
one.)
You're going on a fishing trip. You may use the 8X8 grid in the book
to place markers on. You travel N,S,E,W, or F (to stay fishing in the
same place or square). If you keep fishing the same spot you will not
succeed, as each square has a predetermined density. Moving can cause
unexpected events (not good) to happen. Fishing too long will probably
result in your being caught in an afternoon storm. You don't want to get
too far from the dock, as you have a time limit, but the bigger fish are
out in the farthest reaches of the pond.
Decisions. Decisions.
That's what simulations are all about.
You can change anything, of course. Grid size could make things
easier or harder. Line 30 sets the probability of catching fish within a
square. Line 40 sets the maximum density of fish in a square. Line 150
sets the maximum time for fishing. Storms - Line 330. Rating scale as
fisherman - 540.
Major changes could be to add different kinds of hazards (whales,
reefs, UFOs); utilize sonar devices to help locate fish; use fuel to run
the boat; and so on.
The fun with this book is what happens AFTER you've typed in the
program.
[Jack Sughrue, Box 459, E.Douglas, MA 01516]
***************
If any newsletter editor prints these articles, please put me on your
mailing list. - Thanks JS.
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