ftp.whtech.com/ftp.whtech.com.tar/ftp.whtech.com/articles/reviews/07MIC95.TXT

Text File | 2006-10-19 | 12KB | 194 lines

     ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE JULY 1995 ISSUE OF MICROPENDIUM
     P.O. BOX 1343 ROUND ROCK TX 78680
     Microreviews for July 1995 Micropendium
          by Charles Good
          ----------------
          TI WORKSHOP by DataBioTics

          When this module was released in 1987 by DataBioTics few
     purchased it, and it disappeared into obscurity.  It was listed in the
     Spring/Summer and the Fall 1988 Triton catalogs under the name Magic
     Memory.  Now TexComp Ltd.  (the new TexComp) is again offering this
     unique product.  The module is unique because it is the largest module
     software ever produced for the 99/4A.  Inside is 64K of rom, bank
     switched 8K at a time into the console's cartridge rom (or ram) area
     at >6000 - >7FFF.

          TI workshop is a combination disk manager, sector editor, and
     assembly language program development environment.  Program
     development software includes a text editor designed specifically for
     writing assembly source code, an assembler, a disassembler, a
     debugger, and a memory viewer/editor.  All of this is in the
     cartridge, accessable from a very well designed menu system.  It is
     very easy to bounce back and forth between one workshop application
     and another such as between the memory editor and the debugger.  No
     disk based software (such as the TI e/a editor or assembler or
     superbug debugger) is used.  You do, however, need a disk system to
     load and save source files and assembled code and you need a 32K
     memory expansion.  A printer is nice too.  From anywhere in the
     workship you can do a screen dump.  You can of course print entire
     source files and there is a large variety of printing options relating
     to the assembly and disassembly of assember code.

          The disk manager is really first rate, resembling DM1000 in its
     capabilities but better than DM1000 because it links directly with a
     sector editor.  Even normal 99/4A users who are not assembly
     programmers will find this cartridge disk manager convenient and very
     useful.  I use it when my Horizon ramdisks crash to help me reload the
     ramdisk ROS and, if necessary load my files back on to the ramdisks.
     I have disk managers on my ramdisks, but they are useless if the
     ramdisk locks up.

          TI Planner's Disk Manager is compatible with drives 1-9 and
     randisks that are at any CRU address.  You can page back and forth on
     screen within a directory listing without first having to move the
     cursor to the top or bottom of the displayed page.  You can mark all
     files for copying, protecting, unprotecting, or deleting with a single
     keystroke, or you can do this individually from a disk directory.  The
     directory lets you separately mark each file on the disk with up to
     three commands and then execute all the commands.  File commands
     include Copy, Delete, Edit (loads DV or DF80 file into editor), Find
     (switches to sector editor and lets you view/edit sectors containing
     the file), Load (an EA5 or EA3 file which will then run), Move
     (copies, then deletes file from source), Output (text file to
     printer), Protect, Rename, Temp (temporarily unprotects a file so an
     action such as Rename can occur then protects file again), and
     Unprotect.  Disk Utilities of the disk manager include Copy (sector
     copying with or without bitmap), Erase (sweep), Initialize, and Format
     A Bunch (box format).

          Memory manager lets you Show Dump Edit Initialize (fill
     designated memory with the same data byte) Copy (from one area of
     memory to another) and Search.  You can do these things with VDP and
     CPU memory, but you can't check on Grom memory.  You can also set a
     CRU bit at any CRU address to activate the peripheral at that address.
     This allows you to manipulate the memory of the device's DSR.  For
     example, I have a CorComp disk controller.  If I select "CRU Bit
     Control" from memory manager (or from several other places within TI
     Workshop) I can activate the disk controller's DSR.  First I type
     1100, the address of the DSR.  Then I change the first address at this
     location to >0001 to turn on the DSR.  I can then page through the
     CorComp disk controller's DSR and get a display and/or printout in
     both hex and ascii.  I notice that part of this DSR code says in ascii
     "c Miller Graphics", which verifies that Craig Miller wrote the
     CorComp disk controller DSR code.

          You can also manipulate extended VDP memory if you have an 80
     column card.  Such cards have much more than 16K of VDP memory with
     the extra memory going beyond the normal >3FFF where console VDP
     memory ends.  TI Workshop lets you manipulate this extra memory if you
     have it.

          The Debugger is a menu based modification of Edgar Dohman's
     Superbug II.  In fact Mr. Dohman is credited as the author of most
     parts of TI Workshop.  You can view and set all the registers, set and
     list breakpoints, single step or slow execute (3 instructions per
     second), and execute at regular speed based on where you set the
     program counter register.

          Disassembly has all sorts of screen display and/or printer
     options.  You can activate a DSR, copy the DSR code to a safe memory
     location, and then disassemble the DSR code as if this code was still
     resident at the DSR location (>4000 - >5FFF).  The instruction book
     has a Debugger and Disassembler tutorial.  You are given some sample
     code to enter and told what to expect as the Debugger and Disassembler
     do their thing.

          The source code editor resembles the TI EA module editor with
     some enhancements.  Tab settings are more convenient, there are more
     convenient text manipulation features, amd there is a true lower case
     character set.  An automatic mode is available that gives auto tabs
     and capitalization in columns 1-25, very handy for distinguishing
     comments from actual assembly source code.

          The assembler has some print options besides the usual R, C. and
     L choices of the TI assembler.   The most interesting of these is
     Cross Reference.  This gives you a printed list of program labels,
     line numbers where the labels occur, and line numbers where the label
     is referenced.

          The cartridge comes with a very detailed 60+ page user guide.
     One of the appendixes in this manual is unusual.  It tells you how to
     permanently backup and customize TI Planner.  Just trot out your  TI
     eprommer (everybody has one, right?), open up the cartridge, remove
     the eprom from its socket and copy it to disk.  Now you can make a few
     changes here and there as suggested in the appendix and then save your
     customized TI Planner back to a new eprom.

          This is an expensive cartridge, $49.95, but it is an expensive
     cartridge for TexComp Ltd. to manufacture.  The 64K eprom isn't cheap.
     Also copying costs for the large user guide are not insignificant.  TI
     Planner is a product that all assembly programmers should consider.
     It offers the assembly programmer seamless access to a combination of
     features found nowhere else in a single software package, sort of like
     Miller Graphics Advanced Diagnostics, Explorer, and Diskassembler all
     combined into one easily accessable menu system.  Only PC99 running on
     an IBM compatible can offer a similar set of features all in one
     package.  TI Workshop is by far the best cartridge based disk
     manager/sector editor available for the 99/4A and because of that may
     be worth the expense for mere mortal 99/4A users as well as
     programmers.
          --------------------
          HALLS OF LOST MORRIA by Michael Veprauskas

          This is a Tunnels of Doom game requiring the TOD module.  Mr.
     Veprauskas wrote it for his children.  I know, you are probably
     thinking, "Ho hum, yet another TOD game."  That is what I thought too
     when I was first asked to review Halls.  But this game really is
     different and enjoyable.  My 14 year old son Colin took Halls for a
     test drive and really liked it.  He has experimented with other TOD
     games in our user group library and claims Halls is the best of the
     lot.

          One thing different about Halls is that it is winable!  There is
     an end point, and with a little persistance you will get there.  Colin
     did it in one long afternoon of play.  It took me a little longer.  I
     am an adventure game klutz and here publically confess that I have
     not, without aid from cheat books, solved any of the Scott Adams or
     Infocom advantures.  It is really good for my ego to know that I can
     actually solve Halls.  In addition to the game file, there is a little
     TI BASIC program that lets you know your score based on how many
     treasures you collect, how many floors you go down, etc.  TI BASIC
     lets you run this program without removing the TOD module.

          The second thing different about Halls is its documentation.  It
     is massive and very professionally produced.  This is not your usual
     on disk short doc file or pile of poorly copied typewritten sheets.
     You get an 18 page book with lots of nice black and white graphics
     giving you the whole story of Moria, a descritpion of the 10
     underground levels, a summary of stats and abilities of the various
     types of people in your party, and an extensive glossary of names and
     nouns you are likely to encounter in the game.  You also get some
     "Stat Sheets" to help you keep track of things.  You write on the stat
     sheets for each adventurer a name, class, hit points, wounds, level,
     weapons with their damage and available amo, armor and shield
     protection, and magical items.  This is a lot of stuff to remember.
     Of course you can have the game display this info, but this is a bit
     cumbersome.  It is really handy to have all these data neatly
     organized on a single sheet of paper.

          If you want to start your adventure right away there is a
     predefined game with predefined adventurers at a predetermined
     location described in the user guide.  A "Quick Stat Sheet" is
     included with the game that lists these predefined adventurers along
     with their names, hit points, and class.  You just select "Continue
     Current Game" from the TOD module menu after you load the game.  I
     really like this because I am too lazy to construct new dungeons or
     restock old ones when starting a new type of TOD game.  The predefined
     game is the one I finished.  You can, of course, make new dungeons and
     replay Halls once you solve the predefined game.

          Halls of Moria comes on a SSSD disk.  It is commercial and
     available only from the author for $5.  Included, of course, is all
     the fancy documentation.
          _____________________
          Access:
          Tex Comp Ltd (for TI Workshop). 425 E. Arrow Hwy #732, Glendora
     CA 91740.  Voice phone (usually answered by a real live human)
     818-339-8924.  Fax [phone].
          Michael Veprauskas (for Halls of Lost Moria). 32 Vaillancourt
     Dr., New Ipswich NH 03071.
          Charles Good (send products for review in this column). P.O. Box
     647, Venedocia OH 45894. Voice phone [phone]. Internet email
     [e-mail] or [e-mail]