Bally Alley - The Newsletter for Astrocade Users



	What's New (Archive: 2016 - 2012) December 12, 2016 I) Added the January 1983 issue of the ABC Hobbycraft Astrocade Newsletter by Guy McLimore and Scott Collins. The ABC Hobbycraft Astrocade Newsletter was later renamed to the Astrocade Underground. ABC Hobbycraft Astrocade Newsletter (January 1983) December 6, 2016 I) Fixed Mike White's homebrew Multicart 4x2 ROM image source code to work properly with the Astrocade emulator built into MAME. Multicart 4x2 by Mike White II) Fixed Adam Trionfo's homebrew Rainbow ROM image source code to work properly with the Astrocade emulator built into MAME. Rainbow by Adam Trionfo III) Fixed Adam Trionfo's homebrew STRdis ROM image source code to work properly with the Astrocade emulator built into MAME. STRdis by Adam Trionfo IV) Fixed Adam Trionfo's homebrew Title/Ball ROM image source code to work properly with the Astrocade emulator built into MAME. Title/Ball by Adam Trionfo V) Fixed Adam Trionfo's homebrew Title Display ROM image source code to work properly with the Astrocade emulator built into MAME. Title Display by Adam Trionfo VI) Fixed Kurt Woloch's homebrew Smurf Title Screen ROM image source code to work properly with the Astrocade emulator built into MAME. Smurf Title Screen by Kurt Woloch VII) Fixed homebrew Blank Bitmap ROM image source code to work properly. Blank Bitmap by Adam Trionfo December 5, 2016 I) Fixed homebrew Hi-Res Mode ROM image source code to work properly. Hi-Res Mode by Adam Trionfo November 28, 2016 I) Added Insights and Feedback on The Incredible Wizard and Wizard of Wor (Coin-Op) by Tim Duarte. Tim wrote feedback for the Bally Alley Astrocast #6 podcast, which included a review of The Incredible Wizard. Tim took this feedback and made it into an article in the tradition of his print newsletter The 2600 Connection. Insights and Feedback on The Incredible Wizard and Wizard of Wor November 20, 2016 I) Added the instructions for New Image's 1981 game Haunted House. This was released on tape SG1. This game is very unusual because it is made up of nine different loads, each of which is a separate BASIC program. Haunted House (Program Docs and BASIC Listing) November 8, 2016 I) Added a February 2, 1979 letter from Ron Schwenk to Bob Fabris. Ron gives early comments on a few cartridges: Football, Maze/Tic-Tac-Toe and Star Battle. The add-under never made it out the door. It had issues from the start. Ron already has a criticism of it. Ron has written a Mastermind game. This is mentioned in passing by Bob in the March 1979 Arcadian on page 31. There is an ad for Ron's Mastermind in the July 1979 Arcadian on page 68. Ron includes a one-page listing of the Bally items that he carries through his company Schwenk Enterprises. Ron Schwenk Letter (February 2, 1979) II) Added a May 28, 1979 letter from RM Martin to Bob Fabris. Mr. Martin has some programming questions for Bob Fabris. Along with this letter, I found handwritten notes that Mr. Fabris prepared to answer the questions that he was asked. RM Martin Letter (May 28, 1979) III) Added a May 29, 1979 letter from Guy McLimore to Bob Fabris. Guy received Scott Waldinger's STAR TREK. Checkers is now working. Bally has held up the Videocade version of Checkers. Light pen project. Bally's National Service manager. Hacker's Manual Revision. Guy McLimore Letter (May 29, 1979) IV) Added a June 6, 1979 letter from Bob Fabris to Larry Leske. This is a letter that Bob Fabris wrote to Larry Leske, an employee at Bally. Bob is hoping to get some more information on the internal workings of the Bally system. Bob Fabris Letter to Larry Leske (June 6, 1979) V) Added a June 14, 1979 letter from Guy McLimore to Bob Fabris. Guy thanks Bob for his additions to Skyrocket (aka Logo). Meeting with Bally's national sales manager [probably Jack Nieman] in Evensville on June 20, 1979. Light Pen project. Guy McLimore Letter (June 14, 1979) VI) Added a July 14, 1979 letter from John Sweeney to Bob Fabris. Enclosed schematic (for the main logic components) for a Bally Arcade memory expansion. John assembled it and goes into great detail about how his RAM expansion unit works. A parts list is provided. John Sweeney Letter (July 14, 1979) October 14, 2016 I) Added a map for WaveMakers Outpost 19. Outpost 19 Map October 12, 2016 I) Added a partial disassembly of 280 Zzzap / Dodgem. This was released by Bally Mfg. Corp. in 1978. It was programmed by Jay Fenton. 280 Zzzap / Dodgem Disassembly II) Added Programmers of the Bally Arcade/Astrocade Built-in Programs by Adam Trionfo. This is an attempt to credit those people who programmed the four programs built into the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. These programs include: Calculator (Jeff Fredricksen), Checkmate (Lou, or possibly correctly spelled "Low," Harp), Gunfight (Alan McNeil), Scribbling (Jay Fenton), and miscellaneous code (Ken Freund). Programmers of the Bally Arcade/Astrocade Built-in Programs October 11, 2016 I) Added a February 3, 1979 letter from Tom Woods to Bob Fabris. The explanation of the "Onboard Calculator" in the March 1979 issue of Arcadian seems to be based on this letter. Bob seems to have expanded on the letter (by writing an example program). Tom Woods Letter (February 3, 1979) II) Added a February 14, 1979 letter from George Hale to Bob Fabris. George Hale has used an ohmmeter to trace-out the 50-pin connector on the back of the unit. He has included an illustration of it. He's not sure he's 100% right, but he can see that every pin of the Z80 is present on the 50-pin connector. The Bally PA-1 Service Manual doesn't explicitly give this 50-pin information in an easy-to-read illustrated format (as George created), but the Bally Arcade's schematic does provide the necessary information for the information to be extrapolated. Also, the "third page" of this letter was written later. It is one-page letter to Charles Vollmer, Bally's National Service Manual. George explains that his letter to Bob crossed in the mail with his receiving the Bally Service Manual. He notes that most of the information he figured out is correct, although he numbered his 50-pin connector in reverse order from the one provided in the Service Manual. George Hale Letter (February 14, 1979) III) Added a February 26, 1979 letter from Boyd Perlson to Bob Fabris. Boyd, who seems to be an accountant, has developed a system on the Bally for keeping track of his chargeable time for each office client. He would like to know how he can make printouts of this, rather than copying the information off of the TV screen. This is just another example of the Bally system being used in situations that I wouldn't have ever expected! Boyd Perlson Letter (February 26, 1979) IV) Added a March 30, 1979 letter from James Wilkinson to Bob Fabris. This letter talks about the experience that James had running GAME OVER from the February 1979 issue. He had to substitute line 50, which originally had X=3164, with X=3159. This discrepancy is caused by differences between versions of the Bally Arcade's 8K ROM. Craig Anderson (of Hoover Anderson Research & Design) eventually covers this problem in detail (nearly four years later!) in the January 1983 issue of the Arcadian in an article called "Sneak Up and Bite Ya Department." He did this because "AstroBASIC" programs that he would write would work on some versions of the Bally Arcade and not on others. James Wilkinson Letter (March 30, 1979) V) Added an April 10, 1979 letter from Brett Bilbrey to Bob Fabris. Brett sends corrections for a typing mistake that he made in SIMON (printed in the March 1979 issue). Many people had called Brett directly to find out how to fix the program. Brett had NO idea how they got his phone number, but he figured that it must mean that they're very interested, and he thinks that's good. He expects "many letters" to be coming (to, possibly?, Bob) about this SIMON mistake. Some of the issues that people had were not understanding common computer notation, such as that the asterisk means to use the "times" key, the difference between "O" and "0," and the "not equal" sign. He wants people to write to him, NOT call, as that "ties up" the phone line for his family. Brett tried transferring programs over the phone using his Bally unit, but he doesn't go into details about how he does it. Brett put up flyers in the Computer Center (at, I suppose, the University of Michigan?) to form a Bally user group. The first meeting will be May 12, 1979. This is probably the user group that became the Michigan BUGs (Bally User Group) and eventually called the Michigan AstroBUGS. Brett has included two programs: a SIN subroutine and OTHELLO. He says, "No mistakes, I hope!" Othello was never published in the Arcadian, but it was published fourteen months later in the June 1980 issue of the Cursor newsletter. Brett Bilbrey Letter (April 10, 1979) VI) Added an April 14, 1979 letter from Brett Bilbrey to Bob Fabris. Brett sends another correction for SIMON. He makes an odd-sounding, but understandable, statement when he says, "Many people have called in response to these errors. I am now writing to these people to help them with other questions and problems. So, if there had not been the mistakes, I would never have contact all these other Bally users in this area." "Also," Brett says, "many of these people now know of the user's meeting coming up May 12 at the Computer Center. The attendance is expected to be about 50 users." Brett notes that the April issue of BYTE, on page 193, has news called "Magnavox Files Suit on Microprocessor Video Game Patents." Included among the manufacturers they have filed suit against is Bally. As a follow-up to this 1979 news, I came across an 11-page Activision Case Reading by Ralph Baer, called "VIDEOGAME HISTORY: A little matter of record keeping." I am not sure when this was written, but it seems to be possibly from the late-90s or early-2000s. Mr. Baer states: "Let's examine the numerous stories floating around about the various videogame patent infringement lawsuits that were carried on by Magnavox and Sanders Associates, the owners of the seminal Baer patents and of the Baer, Rusch and Harrison patents. Those lawsuits started in the mid-seventies and ran all the way through the 1990's, the last of them for past infringement only, since the patents had long since lapsed. Bally, Seeburg, Mattel, Activision, Nintendo, Data East, Taito and others fought lengthy legal battles against the Magnavox/Sanders team in an effort to avoid having to pay license fees. They lost every one of those lawsuits, both in the initial actions in various Federal District Courts and finally, ignominiously, in the Court of Appeals. Then they had to pay up!" Brett also says, "One of the Arcadians [by which he means a subscriber to the Arcadian newsletter] who called, mentioned an article in a recent STOCK (I don't know the name) which states that Bally will be cutting funding to their home arcade program. This is said to be because of their casino opening in Atlantic City." I checked, and Bally's hotel/ casino opened on December 29, 1979. Brett closes his letter with, "I am sorry for the mistakes in SIMON, and hope it did not cause too much trouble! But many users have learned something about debugging and a little about BASIC (sort of a learning experience). I will try to prevent further bugs from happening." Brett Bilbrey Letter (April 14, 1979) VII) Added an April 12, 1979 letter from John Collins to Bob Fabris. John says, "Many of the stores in our area have not been able to be resupplied with the Bally Arcades and have not been able to get the new tapes [cartridges], even after two months wait." This delay is so bad, in fact, that John asks, "Do you know whether they are still manufacturing the basic unit?" John is working on a version of HANGMAN, BOWLING and a special spelling routine. He'll furnish a copy when the bugs are worked out. Bob was having trouble with John's CHECKERS program (which was eventually printed in the May 1979 issue of the Arcadian), but John didn't know of any glitches. He hoped that Bob might be able to provide what the game board looked like and what level the game was playing when a bug occurred. John explains that the number printed on the screen tells the user that the computer is "still working." The number also provides the "type of decision or level the computer was at when it made its move." John describes in detail what the computer is doing as each number is printed on the screen. John dictated this hand-written letter to his wife, which I found rather surprising. He ends his letter with, "My wife's arm is tired, so I must close now." I found that pretty amusing. John Collins Letter (April 12, 1979) VIII) Added an April 21, 1979 letter from Mary Stanke to Bob Fabris. After reading Joe Sugarman's SUCCESS FORCES, I recognized Mary's name right away. Joe originally hired her as a secretary, and over the years she continued to move up in the company, eventually coming, it seems, his right hand man (woman?). This short letter informs Bob Fabris that JS&A can not provide him their "list of owners of the Bally, as JS&A has a policy wherein [they] do not divulge this type of information to anyone, nor would [Bob's] material be of interest to [JS&A] since [they] have discontinued offering the Bally Home Library Computer." So, now we know. By April, for certain, JS&A had given-up 100% on Bally! Mary Stanke Letter (April 21, 1979) IX) Added an April 23, 1979 letter from David Stocker to Bob Fabris. David submits two of his tapes to Bob Fabris. These tapes contain a total of 23 programs. It seems that David took some of the programs from the Bally BASIC manual, changed them up a bit (or a lot-- I don't know) and sold them on tape and as program listings. David Stocker Letter (April 23, 1979) X) Added an April or May 1979 letter from John Perkins to Bob Fabris. This letter is the background and research for which the tutorial in the May 1979 Arcadian called "Screen Operations" by Mr. Perkins is based. The tutorial, as printed, condenses the information that John provided to Bob. The tutorial also excludes a short example program that John wrote that shows how to display four colors on-screen at once. The letter explains how the BASIC program is hidden on the screen in plain sight by taking advantage of some of the Bally Arcade's Left-Right Color Boundary. John Perkins Letter (April or May 1979) XI) Added a letter from about September 1979 from Doug Marker to Bob Fabris. What sets this letter apart from so many of the other letters is Doug's location: he lives in Auckland, New Zealand! Doug doesn't explain how he came across the Bally Home Library Computer in New Zealand. Perhaps he ordered it directly from JS&A from the original September 1977 ad in Scientific American. What's significant about this letter is that there is no PAL version of the Bally Arcade system. Thus, Doug is using an NTSC system in a PAL territory. Doug has done some exploration on his own of the built-in routines of the 8K system ROM, but he proposes a project that he would find very useful: a list of all of the built-in routines in the "resident ROM and the BASIC ROM." Doug goes into some depth on what he has discovered on his own about how the interrupts works on the Bally Arcade. Doug Marker Letter (About September 1979) October 7, 2016 I) Added a screenshot for Mike Skala's 1983 Arcadian game Frogway. Frogway by Mike Skala September 28, 2016 I) Added Astrocade BASIC Screen Layout 88 x 160 Graph Paper created by Adam Trionfo on September 28, 2016. The resolution of Bally BASIC and "AstroBASIC" bitmap screens is 88x160. BASIC commands (such as BOX and LINE) layout the screen as a graph with the origin in the center of the screen with X ranging from -80 to 79 and Y ranging from -44 to 43. This graph paper was created to help layout this screen. Astrocade BASIC Screen Layout 88 x 160 Graph Paper September 17, 2016 I) Added SPIDER WEB by Albert Paul. This program was printed in CURSOR 2, no. 2 (September 1980): 58. This is a short video art program. 1. Spider Web - ("AstroBASIC," 2000-Baud) 2. Spider Web - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) II) Added Self-Portrait: A Graphics Demo by Guy McLimore, Jr. This hand- written BASIC listing is from an unpublished ARCADIAN submission. The program, which draws a Bally Arcade unit, was written April 10, 1979. 1. Self-Portrait: A Graphics Demo - ("AstroBASIC," 2000-Baud) 2. Self-Portrait: A Graphics Demo - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) 3. Self-Portrait: A Graphics Demo - (Hand-Written BASIC Type-in Listing) III) Added Design by Mark Ream. First published in CURSOR 2, no. 2 (September 1980): 60. "This delightful little program puts up some very nice designs." This is a video art program that creates many different patterns based on input from the user. Three slightly different versions of this program are archived. 1. Design - ("AstroBASIC," 2000-Baud) 2. Design - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) IV) Added Arcade Golf by Mike Maslowski. This program was published in CURSOR 1, no. 6 (July 1980): 42-45. Notes from the CURSOR newsletter: "This is one of the most innovative programs that we have seen written for Ballys' 2K. This game utilizes graphics; allows you to select from 14 clubs, has doglegs, water hazards, sand traps, roughs, wind effect, and penalties. If you play golf, this program is a must! If you don't, this program will turn you into a "hacker" in no time at all." 1. Arcade Golf - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) September 16, 2016 I) Added the BALLY BASIC version of THE PITS by Rex Goulding. This program was originally published in ARCADIAN 3, no. 10 (Aug. 12, 1981): 108. 1. The Pits Rex Goulding September 14, 2016 I) Added a text version of the 280 Zzzap / Dodgem manual. 1. 280 Zzzap / Dodgem manual September 13, 2016 I) Updated the WaveMakers "AstroBASIC" program download area with screenshots and descriptions for many of the games and programs. 1. WaveMakers AstroBASIC Program Download Area September 10, 2016 I) Added an updated partial disassembly of the COSMIC RAIDERS cartridge. A preliminary Z80 disassembly of the Cosmic Raiders cartridge. This is the second release of this code. It is still very rough, but much more of the code has been disassembled. Many of the graphic patterns have been found. Most code is still not commented. 1. Cosmic Raiders Disassembly September 8, 2016 I) Added a partial (incomplete) disassembly of the COSMIC RAIDERS cartridge. This is very rough and is only partially dissassembled. The graphics have not yet been found and the code is mostly uncommented. This code is being distributed to get some help/advice on certain aspects of the code 1. Cosmic Raiders Disassembly II) Added an example image of the Astrocade Screen Layout Sheet in use with a screenshot from Cosmic Raiders. 1. Astrocade Screen Layout Sheet (Cosmic Raiders Example) August 30, 2016 I) Added :RUN Maker by Andy Guevara. This utility was published in THE BASIC EXPRESS, 3, no. 2 (May/June 1981): 15-16. :RUN Maker allows a machine language program, coded in hexadecimal, to be input and stored on tape. Once stored, all you have to do is :INPUT and run the tape. Your program starts by itself. 1. :RUN Maker - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) II) Added Standard Color Generator by Andy Guevara. This utility was published in THE BASIC EXPRESS, 3, no. 2 (May/June 1981): 15-16. This 68-byte machine language program accompanied :RUN Maker, where it was used as an example of how to enter a self-running machine language program. This program exceeds the maximum 2 colors on-screen at once in BASIC to display a series of eight color bars which can be used to set the colors on your TV set. The source code for this program is available in this archive in a ready-to-assemble format if you want to fiddle with machine language programming. 1. Standard Color Generator - ("AstroBASIC," 2000-Baud) 2. Standard Color Generator - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) III) Added Alarm Clock by Mike Peace. This was printed in CURSOR 1, no. 4 (April/May 1981): 31. This clock runs very accurately over a prolonged period of time. The clock runs faster when the hour is a small number, and runs slower when the hour is a large number; these factors tend to equal each other out. The clock counts, hours, minutes and seconds. When the clock reaches the pre-set alarm time, then the alarm rings for one minute. 1. Alarm Clock - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) August 25, 2016 I) Added a December 9, 1982 letter from Craig Anderson to "Arcade Fanatic." Craig wrote a letter concerning the C.O.M.B. liquidation of Bally Arcade systems for $98 each. The enclosed half-page advertisement was xeroxed from [the December 9, 1982] Minneapolis Star and Tribune. The nationally-known firm of C.O.M.B. (Close-Out Merchandise Buyers) [...] has acquired a 1.2 million dollar stash of 1982, fresh-in-the-box, Astrocades. [...] this adds up to an inventory of 5000 machines. [...] The price: 98 bucks apiece! 1. Craig Anderson Concerning C.O.M.B. Liquidation I) Added C.O.M.B. Astrocade liquidation advertisement. 1. C.O.M.B. Astrocade Liquidation Ad August 10, 2016 I) Added a new archive version of Golf by Bob Hensel. This Bally BASIC version include brief instructions included on the "tape." 1. Golf - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) August 9, 2016 I) Added Paul Slezak's October 8, 1980 Arcadian program submission letter to Bob Fabris. He submits his first Bally BASIC program, Horse Race. This was published as Horserace in Arcadian 3, no. 2 (Dec. 05, 1980): 26-27. Paul submitted, what appears to be, a typed BASIC listing of the program, as well as detailed notes on how the program works. Paul gives a few details on his game, "It took me about 50 hours to create. I was debating on whether to have it published or put up for sale, but since it is my first attempt (not at programming- I'm a programmer/analyst) and the Arcadian has given me so much, I thought I owe it at least one program." 1. Letter to Bob Fabris From Paul Slezak (Oct 8, 1980) II) Added a version of Horserace by Paul Slezak that matches exactly with the program as it appeared in Arcadian 3, no. 2 (Dec. 05, 1980): 26-27. Eight horses are available to bet upon, using the keypad to enter your horse (B) and the value you bet (C). The computer then randomly moves the horses across the screen and calculates the winnings. 1. Horserace - ("AstroBASIC," 2000-Baud) 2. Horserace - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) III) Added Lace Curtain by Fred Cornett. This was printed in Cursor 1, no. 3 (March 1980): 21. "If you wish to put more than 2 colors onscreen simultaneously (while using Tiny BASIC) without resorting to machine language, it can only be done by formatting the screen." This brief tutorial explains how to use Port 9 (horizontal blanking register) and Port 10 (vertical blanking register). Included is short example program, Lace Curtain, that displays four colors at once using a complicated-looking, but eye- pleasing, pattern. 1. Lace Curtain - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) August 8, 2016 I) Added a screenshot of the 300 Baud to 2000 Baud Tape Conversion Program by Jay Fenton from pages 104-107 of the "AstroBASIC" Manual. The screenshot of this program is not "garbled," nor is it full of garbage. This is what the working program looks like after a 300-baud program has been properly loaded. At the moment this screenshot was taken, the program was is in the process of converting the BASIC program from screen memory to the memory setup that "AstroBASIC" uses to store its own program. 1. 300 Baud to 2000 Baud Tape Conversion Program - Screenshot II) Added digitally archived version of Fox & Hounds by Esoterica Ltd. Software (Dan J. Drescher). This program appeared on Esoterica's Tape 4 with Treasure Island. It also appeared, as a type-in program, in BASIC Express, The 3, no. 2 (May/June 1981): 17-18. A screenshot has also been added. Fox & Hounds is a classic new version of an old game. It's you with 4 pieces against the computer with only one! Move 'checkers style' to prevent the computer from intruding your territory. We guarantee that you will not beat the computer twice in a row. 1. Fox & Hounds - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) III) Added a modified version of Halloween Ghost. The original version is by James Wilkinson. It was printed in Arcadian 2, no. 10 (Sep. 17, 1980): 103-104. This modified version, called "New Ghost," by Ron Picardi is an unpublished submission to the Arcadian newsletter. This version's BASIC listing is very different from the original version of the program. Halloween Ghost is a self-running program that is topical. The author sets up a TV at a window near his front door, and the program, a "talking" skull, makes snide remarks about the people going by. It re-cycles, and uses random statements on the screen, shifting colors as well. 1. Halloween Ghost - ("AstroBASIC," 2000-Baud) 2. Halloween Ghost - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) IV) Added an unpublished Arcadian newsletter program submission called Pick A Pattern by Ron Picardi. This program was sent to Bob Fabris in either 1980 or 1981. Pick A Pattern allows you to make your own patterns by setting variables in the program. Also, you can just choose to create random patterns which makes some of the most random, ultra-cool video art that I've ever seen on the Bally system! 1. Pick A Pattern - ("AstroBASIC," 2000-Baud) 2. Pick A Pattern - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) V) Added Pop Art (Circles) by Ron Picardi. This was published in ARCADIAN 3, no. 7 (May 08, 1981): 77. The ARCADIAN contained no instructions for this video art program. Ron's program submission letter said only this about the program, "A self- running art program that features some unusual graphic patterns." 1. Pop Art (Circles) - ("AstroBASIC," 2000-Baud) 2. Pop Art (Circles) - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) VI) Added a video art program called Ring by Albert Paul. This was published in CURSOR, 1, no. 4 (April/May 1980): 31. Many thanks to Albert Paul of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada for the following program. Note: to make the ring sticker or thinner, change the value of "N" (line 2). To make the ring larger or smaller, change the value of "M" (line 20). "M" must always be larger than "N." The alternate version of RING has been altered with the suggestions made in CURSOR to allow the thickness and size of the ring to be changed. 1. Ring - ("AstroBASIC," 2000-Baud) 2. Ring - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) VII) Added RND (Art) by Super Software (Rob Rosenhouse). This was printed in ARCADIAN 4, no. 2 (Dec. 07, 1981): 17. This video art program was submitted on a tape to Bob Fabris around November 1981. 1. RND (Art) - ("AstroBASIC," 2000-Baud) 2. RND (Art) - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) VIII) Added Slot Machine By Al Roginsky. Printed in Arcadian 4, no. 8 (June 11, 1982): 79. The game features a well-drawn, animated slot machine. The player places bets (from $1-$5) using hand controller #1. "Pull back" on the controller (press down) to pull the lever and "spin" the reels. 1. Slot Machine - ("AstroBASIC," 2000-Baud) 2. Slot Machine - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) IX) Added "Tycoon - A Business Simulation" by Alex Morales. This was published in BASIC EXPRESS, THE 3, no. 3 (July/August 1981): 32-33. In this simulation, you manage a small factory that produces three different kinds of products (P1 - P3). Three different kinds of raw materials (R1 - R3) are required to produce the products. Each product requires exactly two raw materials with a different subscript. For example, to manufacture one unit of P2, you would need a unit of R1 and a unit of R3. To manufacture one unit of P3, you would need a unit each of R1 and R2. You can manage this factory monthly for up to 36 months in 12 month increments. After your time has expired, the materials and/or products that you have on hand will be automatically sold at the current prices and your profit will be computed. 1. Tycoon: A Business Simulation - ("AstroBASIC," 2000-Baud) 2. Tycoon: A Business Simulation - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) August 4, 2016 I) Added background material for Jay Fenton's Life for Bally BASIC and "AstroBASIC." 1. Life - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) 2. Life - ("AstroBASIC," 2000-Baud) II) Added December 11, 1978 letter to Bob Fabris from Brett Bilbrey. Brett was a mainstay of the early issues of Arcadian and Cursor. He went on to write two Astrocade cartridges (ICBM Attack and Treasure Cove), contribute to the "AstroBASIC" manual and work for Action Graphics (as well as contribute to the Bally community in many other ways). Later, Brett worked for Apple. This eight-page letter shows a hardcore user's enthusiasm for the Bally Arcade. 1. Brett Bilbrey Letter (December 11, 1978) III) Added December 27, 1978 letter to Bob Fabris from Jim Unroe. Jim canceled his order with JS&A after waiting for long time and then he got an Arcade unit right away from another dealer (yes, even at the end of 1978, JS&A wasn't getting enough units from Bally to fill orders). He's having issues with his unit (it sounds like overheating). He notes that you can have commands executed directly from tape rather than being loaded as a program line. This is one advantage of Bally BASIC over AstroBASIC. Jim talks about wanting to create an elaborate alarm system using his Bally Arcade. 1. Jim Unroe Letter (December 27, 1978) IV) Added January 22, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from Glenn Pogue. Glenn says that if a user complains about the unit's name change, then Bally will send a "tag" to those users who request one that says "The Bally Computer System." This letter has a list of release dates (month and day) for Bally games, including some that were never released at all (including Checkers, Desert Fox, Astrology and Drag Race/Desert Fox). 1. Glenn Pogue Letter (January 22, 1979) V) Added January 22, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from John Sweeney. John requests Executive Software by Tom Wood because he is trying to write an assembler for the Bally Arcade. This is very early in the Bally Arcade's history to be working on something like this. There is no evidence that this assembler was created, but General Video Assembler (which required a RAM expansion) was eventually written and released on tape in 1982 by Dave Ibach and Steve Walters (General Video). Dave used this assembler to write his centipede-inspired, cartridge game, Sneaky Snake John talks about safe places for assembly code in Bally BASIC (he uses the editor/buffer). He recommends some articles/books for Tiny BASIC information. 1. John Sweeney Letter (January 22, 1979) VI) Added January 29, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from Guy McLimore. Guy is a Bally Arcade dealer for ABC Hobbycraft. Guy has popped up on the Bally Alley Yahoo group from time to time. In this letter, Guy says that he gets more information from the Arcadian newsletter than he can get from Bally-- and he's a dealer! He mentions several programs he's working on. He suggests that Bally should make a second, more detailed (I presume) version of the Bally BASIC manual for "the really rabid Arcade freak." In a way, Jay Fenton's Hacker's Manual was this second "book," but it was only about twenty pages long and probably wasn't widely available. Too bad that there isn't a book called Compute!'s First Book of the Bally Arcade. This gives a different perspective on Bally providing information to users. It seems like maybe they were willing to tell anyone inquiring what they knew, but for something like the add-on, they just didn't know what they were going to do yet (or ever!). Also, the add-on seems to be proposed to sell for $650, but JS&A advertised it for $300 in their original Bally Home Library Computer ad in September 1977. Guy mentions his Dungeon Grafix programs. These may have been the first D&D programs for the Bally Arcade. Guy also mentions a Star Wars-inspired program. 1. Guy McLimore Letter (January 29, 1979) VII) Added May 1979 letter to Bally Arcade customers from Joseph Sugarman. Joe Sugarman, the president of JS&A, claims that the company "had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising to obtain our sales." That's a lot of money, which makes it hard to believe this claim. However, in the early 70s, when JS&A began, full-page ads in the Wall Street Journal cost about ten-grand (says Joe in his 1980 book, Success Forces), so perhaps this high-dollar advertising figure is possible. Joe seems to basically be giving up on the Bally system. He offers quite a few options for people to get refunds or special offers on other JS&A products (for instance, getting a portable TV, worth more than the Bally, for an even trade if you don't want to continue to wait for your Bally Home Library Computer). Joe also offers to allow people to return the system a year later, which is pretty generous (certainly more than is required), but he doesn't go as far as offering a cash refund. Joe is clearly willing to throw Bally under the bus at this point (arguably deservedly). Bally hasn't announced a cancellation of the add- on expansion, but he predicts (correctly) that it will never come out. 1. Joe Sugarman Letter (May 1979) August 2, 2016 1) Added Greg White as the author of Bally Trek. Previously the author of this program was unknown. Bally Trek - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) 2) Added October 9, 1980 letter to Bob Fabris from from Bob Wiseman. Bob submits two BASIC programs: Speedo-Math and Mastermind. He also discusses his previously published game, Yahtzee. He has tired of waiting for the Bally add-on, so he bought an Apple II. Letter to Bob Farbis from Bob Wiseman (Oct. 9, 1980) 3) Added Speedo-Math by Bob Wiseman. This program first appeared in Arcadian 3, no. 1 (Nov. 06, 1980): 6. It is referred to as Speed O Math in the Arcadian newsletter, but Bob Wiseman's original program submission letter calls it Speedo-Math. The Arcadian's directions for this game are very short, "This math drill program uses the giant letter routine." Speedo-Math - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) 4) Added Bally 500 by Bob Hensel. This game was published in Arcadian 3, no. 5 (March 7, 1981): 56-57. Bally 500 is a game of driving skill for 2 or 3 players. One player controls the turns in the road with KN(4). The other players control the cars with KN(1) and KN(2). Road blocks, accidents, and other cars are randomly placed in your path. If you hit one, then your car is destroyed. The object is to see how long you can stay on the road, and beat your opponent. Bally 500 - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) August 1, 2016 1) Added several prototype versions of Blackjack by an unknown author. This program was found on a tape in the Richard Houser Collection. Blackjack - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) 2) Added a November 26, 1978 letter to Bob Fabis from Joe White. Joe talks about his general experiences using the Bally to program in BASIC. Joe's son, Greg, wrote Bally Trek, which is based on Erik Mueller's Star Trek for MINOL - Tiny BASIC. Letter to Bob Fabris from Joe White (November 26, 1978) 3) Added source code for MINOL – Tiny BASIC with Strings for Intel 8080 by Erik Mueller. This was published in the April 1976 issue of Dr. Dobb's Journal of Computer Calisthenics & Orthodontia. MINOL - Tiny BASIC with Strings for Intel 8080 July 31, 2016 I) Added a video art program called 3D Corners by Dieter Heinerman. This program appeared in ARCADIAN 3, no. 4 (Feb. 07, 1981): 49. 1. 3D Corners - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) 2. 3D Corners - ("AstroBASIC," 2000-Baud) II) Added a video art program called Boxes by Dieter Heinerman. This program appeared in ARCADIAN 3, no. 4 (Feb. 07, 1981): 49. On the program submission tape, this program was called RND Boxes. 1. Boxes - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) 2. Boxes - ("AstroBASIC," 2000-Baud) III) Added Denominator by Dieter Heinerman. This program appeared in ARCADIAN 3, no. 4 (Feb. 07, 1981): 49. Denominator is based on an article called Extended Precision Computation by Stephen Rogowski that explains "how to compute to a practically unlimited number of places with just the memory your micro has on board." The original article appeared in Creative Computing 6, no. 3 (March 1980): 94-95. 1. Denominator - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) 2. Denominator - ("AstroBASIC," 2000-Baud) IV) Added a video art program called Electronic Blanked by Dieter Heinerman. This program appeared in ARCADIAN 3, no. 4 (Feb. 07, 1981): 49. 1. Electronic Blanked - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) 2. Electronic Blanked - ("AstroBASIC," 2000-Baud) V) Added the game Defuse by Dieter Heinerman. This program appeared in ARCADIAN 3, no. 5 (March 7, 1981): 58. This game was originally published in More BASIC Computer Games, by Creative Computing, Edited by David H. Ahl. 1979: 48. In this game, you are in an experimental building with one million rooms in it. The building is one hundred rooms long, one hundred rooms wide, and one hundred rooms high. You have just received a telephone call from a mad bomber who tells you he has planted a bomb someplace in the building. Fortunately you are armed with a bomb detector that registers a stronger and stronger signal as you get closer to the bomb. You start at the bottom right-hand door of the building, at the room 0,0,0. In response to the signals from your detector, every ten seconds you may try a new room to search for the bomb. You have two hundred seconds or twenty trials to find it. 1. Defuse - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) 2. Defuse - ("AstroBASIC," 2000-Baud) July 29, 2016 I) I added Diamond by Richard Sonnenblick. This program was published in BASIC EXPRESS, THE 3, no. 1 (April 1981): 7. This is a Video Art Program. The author, Richard Sonnenblick, is a junior high school student. Congratulations go to Richard for a very excellent program. I hope you adults reading this are sufficiently chagrined. 1. Diamond - By Richard Sonnenblick (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) 2. Diamond - By Richard Sonnenblick ("AstroBASIC," 2000-Baud) July 27, 2016 I) I added "Message from the Lost Tribe" by Gregg Cattanach. The program has been archived in both Bally BASIC and "AstroBASIC" format. This amusing program was first printed in BASIC Express, The 3, no. 2 (May/June 1981): 14. "Long, long ago and once upon a time... there lived a tribe on a lost island. The tribe and the island have both disappeared, but they left a message for all mankind live by. Key in this program, found by Gregg in a floating bottle, and read the message for yourself!" 1. Message from the Lost Tribe - (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) 2. Message from the Lost Tribe - ("AstroBASIC," 2000-Baud) July 26, 2016 I) Added Bally BASIC, 300-baud version of Invisible War by James Winn. This program was originally printed in ARCADIAN 3, no. 11 (Sep. 11, 1981): 112-113. INVISIBLE WAR is a program to be played by a single person. You control the spaceship on the left, the computer the one on the right. You are visible only when you move up or down the screen or fire a laser blast. The object of the game is to hit the computer's ship more than he hits you. Invisible War by James Winn II) Added James Winn's July 20, 1981 program submission letter to Bob Fabris for his two programs Invisible War and Starfighter. Program Submission Letter to Bob Fabris by James Winn (July 20, 1981) III) Added Bally BASIC and "Astro BASIC" versions of Symmetrical Art by Bob Rosenhouse. This video art program was originally printed in ARCADIAN 3, no. 11 (Sep. 11, 1981): 113. 1. Symmetrical Art by Bob Rosenhouse (2000-baud, AstroBASIC) 2. Symmetrical Art by Bob Rosenhouse (300-baud, Bally BASIC) IV) Added Digital Couch by Bob Weber (based on a program by David Tunbo). This program was printed in ARCADIAN 3, no. 5 (Mar. 07, 1981): 51-52. Digital Couch turns your computer into a psychiatrist. It draws a picture not unlike an inkblot and gives three choices as to what the picture looks like. The program keeps score and rates the player when the "tests" are over. Digital Couch by Bob Weber July 25, 2016 I) Added an article called "Music-Cade" by Ed Horger. This is an unpublished Arcadian submission that was submitted on April 18, 1983. Suggestions, ideas and methods on how to hook up a music keyboard to a Bally Arcade/Astrocade. Includes a machine language routine that is a "3-voice scan program that provides polyphonic music or, with some modification and additions, a burglar alarm system for every window and door in your home." Music-Cade by Ed Horger II) Added October 11, 1978 letter to JS&A Customer, From William Mitchell; JS&A National Sales Group; Marketing Director. "We trust you have your Bally Home Library Computer and have found it quite satisfactory." JS&A asks their customers if they want to wait for the Bally add-on module. JS&A Letter (October 11, 1978) III) Added October 19, 1978 letter to JS&A Customer (Robert Simpson), From William Mitchell; JS&A National Sales Group; Marketing Director. "As you are well aware, there has been a delay in the shipment of your Bally unit. The delays have been caused by almost every problem imaginable and have lasted almost one year now. Bally, however, is now in full production, and there appears to be no production problems. In addition to the delays, there are serious doubts in our mind as to whether Bally will produce the add-on module we referred to in our advertisements." JS&A Letter (October 19, 1978) IV) Added February 28, 1978 letter to JS&A Customer, From William Mitchell; JS&A National Sales Group; Marketing Director. "Enclosed you will find your Bally Home Library Computer. We really appreciate your patience and we are confident that you will have many years of enjoyment with your new unit. When you purchase the add-on module, you will receive, free-of-charge, the $100 Dial-A-Bargain ordering package. This will give you access to our main JS&A computer here in Northbrook." JS&A urges their customers to order the add-on soon to receive free items such as a modem and diagnostic cartridge. JS&A Letter to Customer (February 28, 1978) July 24, 2016 I) Added to screenshots of Missile Defense by L&M software. Missile Defense Screenshots July 20, 2016 I) Added Hex To Decimal Converter by Fred Cornett. This program was published in CURSOR 1, no. 2 (February 1980): 11. This utility converts 4-digit hexadecimal numbers to their decimal equivalent in BALLY BASIC. Remember to reverse Hex pair order prior to input [see the PEEK 'N POKE manual for details]. 1. Hex To Decimal Converter (300-Baud) 2. Hex To Decimal Converter (2000-Baud) II) Added Monster Chase by Alex Morales. From BASIC Express, The 3, no. 3 (July/August 1981): 34. In this short, fun game, the object is to 'stay alive' (keep away from the Monster) for 10 moves. At level one this is pretty easy, level two is a little harder, and at level three it is almost impossible! 1. Monster Chase (300-Baud) 2. Monster Chase (2000-Baud) III) Added Metropolitan Attack! from ARCADIAN 6, no. 11 (Oct. 31, 1984): 110. The author of this game is uncredited, but it was probably written by Dale Low. This is a Missile Command clone written for "AstroBASIC." 1. Metropolitan Attack! July 14, 2016 I) Added to the Bally/Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ that "Amazin' Maze / Tic-Tac-Toe" was programmed by Bill Jahnke. Bally/Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ July 11, 2016 I) Added a 1981 document called "Kludge Board Installation and Modification" by Barry Ellerson. These are the instructions on how to install the "Kludge" board were sold by Barry. If your Bally Arcade/Astrocade unit has these symptoms: screen tearing, loss of horizontal sync on warm-up, unit goes dead (or keeps resetting after warm-up), the following modifications will correct them. If you unit went completely dead following symptoms these modifications will probably repair it. "Kludge Board Installation and Modification" II) Added the Nitron Catalog from 1982. For a time, beginning in 1982 or so, Nitron built the Astrocade units for Astrocade. This catalog is part of the Bob Fabris Collection. Some of the topics included are a Nitron Overview, Nitron's Place in the Industry, The Nitron Difference, Semi-Custom Design Concept, Nitrochip Design - Getting Started, Designing a Nitrochip, Questions and Answers, and much more information about the company and its products. Nitron Catalog (1982) II) Added the Nitron Catalog from November 1981. This catalog is part of the Bob Fabris Collection. Nitron Catalog (November 1981) July 9, 2016 I) Added the Seawolf II arcade game's Parts Catalog from June 1, 1978. Seawolf II Parts Catalog II) Added five schematics for the 1978 arcade game Seawolf II by Midway. This game uses the Astrocade chipset. 1. Seawolf II Comm Video Schematic (A084-90002-B625) 2. Seawolf II Comm Video Schematic (A084-90002-C625) 3. Seawolf II Game Logic Schematic (A084-90700-D625) (6-1-1978) 4. Seawolf II Power Supply Schematic (A082-90401-B000) 5. Seawolf II Wiring Diagram Schematic (6-1-1978) Seawolf II Schematics III) Added The Adventures of Robby Roto! Parts and Operating Manual. The Adventures of Robby Roto! - Parts and Operating Manual IV) Added the "AstroBASIC" version of Joe People's game Dot-to-Dot. This program was printed in ARCADIAN 6, no. 4 (Feb. 23, 1984): 38. It was the $100 Prize Winner for the February 1984 issue of the newsletter. Dot-To-Dot for "AstroBASIC" V) Added Joe People's original Arcadian program submission letter for Dot-to-Dot. He included two versions of the game. One for "AstroBASIC" and one for Blue Ram BASIC. Hand-written BASIC program listings were included for these two games. Dot-To-Dot - Original Arcadian Program Submission Letter VI) Added Color Chart by Jim Winn. The original Bally BASIC printing of this program was in ARCADIAN 3, no. 3 (Jan. 09, 1981): 35. The AstroBASIC version appeared in ARCADIAN 6, no. 6 (Apr. 20, 1984): 59. (Reprint). This program is a utility to help you select colors for a program. A menu first appears asking for a choice of 7 major colors. Once this has been picked, you can make a fine adjustment by the joystick, forward or back. Once you see one you like, move the joystick to the left, and you can make a selection for the second color. Pull the trigger to see how the colors interact, Start again by pushing the joystick right. Code numbers for each color also appear for future use. Color Chart - Original Arcadian Program Submission Letter VII) Added Horse Race Math by Joe Peoples. This previously program was submitted to the ARCADIAN in 1983. HORSE RACE MATH is a rework of Howard Brecheisen's HORSE RACE program from ARCADIAN 3, no. 1 (Nov. 06, 1980): 6-7. Up to four players solve simple math problems at the same time, with a correct answer making your horse move forward. Horse Race Math by Joe Peoples July 8, 2016 I) Added complete scan of "Cavern Quest" by Bruce Jaeger. This program first appeared in Creative Computing 9, NO. 7 (July 1983): 222, 224-225. Cavern Quest - Creative Computing Magazine Scan II) Added various documentation for Extra Bases, an arcade game that uses the Astrocade chip set. 1. Extra Bases - General Instructions - One sheet of paper describing in general terms: Installation, Line Voltage Safety Switch, Voltage Control Pots, Volume Control, Service Control Panel and Align Ball Control Sensors. 2. Extra Bases - Schematics - Four schematics saved in TIFF format. 3. Extra Bases - Parts and Operating Manual Arcade Games Documentation Area July 7, 2016 I) Revamped the Bally High Resolution upgrade documentation area. These five in-depth "packages" (documents) were created by Michael C. Matte in 1986. These documents explain how to upgrade a Bally Arcade/ Astrocade from the "Consumer Mode," which uses the low-resolution display (160x102 pixels), to "Commercial Mode," which uses the high-resolution mode (320x204 pixels) used in arcade games such as Gorf and Wizard of Wor. Astrocade High-Resolution Upgrade Area II) Added June 7/8 1985 letter to Don Gladden from Michael Matte. Letter to Don Gladden from Michael Matte (June 7 and 8, 1985) III) Added December 21, 1985 letter to Bob Fabris from Michael Matte. Letter to Michael Matte from Bob Fabris (December 21, 1985) IV) Added draft of a December 26, 1985 letter to Michael Matte from Bob Fabris. Letter to Michael Matte from Bob Fabris (December 26, 1985) V) Added the cover letter to Bob Fabris that Michael Matte wrote for his hi-res Astrocade upgrade package. This two-page letter gives an overall view of the five packages. This handwritten letter has been retyped and is now available in text format for the first time. Letter to Bob Fabris from Michael Matte (July 3, 1986) July 6, 2016 I) Added another alternate version of Ken Lill's Starship. Starship (19xx)(Ken Lill)(2000 baud)(proto)[a2] - Found on a tape in Ken Lill's collection hand-labeled "At 0 @357=Logo, At 100 @257= STREAP, At 160 @258=Can You Quit". A version of Starship that controls a little differently than the previously archived versions. Starship by Ken Lill II) Identified the unknown program "ZZZ-Unk Dice (19xx)(possibly Karl Nystrom)(300 baud)" as "Can You Quit" by Ken Lill. The program has now been renamed. Also, several early prototype versions of this dice game have now been archived in the "Can You Quit" archive. Can You Quit by Ken Lill III) Added an alternate version of "Bangman" by Ernie Sams. Bangman (19xx)(Ernie Sams)(h -)(300 baud) – archived from tape in Ken Lill's collection hand-labeled "Bangman, Backgammon", with the reverse side hand-labeled "New Checkers, Maze Services". It has several code changes as compared to any version of "Bangman" I've seen before. Bangman by Ernie Sams IV) Added "Backgammon" by an unknown author. Archived from tape in Ken Lill's collection hand-labeled "Bangman, Backgammon", with the reverse side hand-labeled "New Checkers, Maze Services". It only draws the board. Backgammon by Unknown Author V) Added an alternate version of John Collins 1979 game, "Checkers." Checkers (19xx)(John Collins)(h -)(300 baud) – archived from tape in Ken Lill's collection hand-labeled "New Checkers, Maze Services", with the reverse side hand-labeled "Bangman, Backgammon". It has several code changes as compared to the John Collins checkers programs printed in The Arcadian. It seems closer to the first program than to Checkers II and later updates. Checkers (Proto) by Unknown Author VI) Added "Maze Services" by an unknown author. Maze Services (19xx)(-)(300 baud) - archived from tape in Ken Lill's collection hand-labeled "New Checkers, Maze Services", with the reverse side hand-labeled "Bangman, Backgammon". It only draws a maze with no entrance and exit. Maze Services by Unknown Author VII) Added "Welcome To My Office" by unknown author. Welcome To My Office (19xx)(-)(300 baud)(proto) - archived from tape in Ken Lill's collection hand-labeled "Bangman, Backgammon", with the reverse side hand-labeled "New Checkers, Maze Services". It simulates a visit to a doctor (probably a psychologist, reminiscent of programs like Eliza or New Image's Sick-o Therapy), but doesn't get past the introductions. Welcome to My Office by Unknown Author VIII) Added unknown program, which has a place-holder name of "List Code." ZZZ-UNK-List-Code (19xx)(-)(300 baud)(proto) - archived from tape in Ken Lill's collection hand-labeled "Bangman, Backgammon", with the reverse side hand-labeled "New Checkers, Maze Services". All it actually does is list its own code, followed by printing a bunch of question marks. I assume its unfinished, but I'm not sure what purpose was intended. "ZZZ-UNK (List Code)" by Unknown Author IX) Added unknown program, which has a place-holder name of "Pattern Width." ZZZ-UNK-Pattern-Width (19xx)(-)(300 baud)[b] - archived from tape in Ken Lill's collection hand-labeled "Bangman, Backgammon", with the reverse side hand-labeled "New Checkers, Maze Services". The beginning of the program was missing on the tape. In the extant code, the first thing it does is ask for a pattern width. Other text includes "CRASH", "WRONG" and "SCORE = ". As is, it crashes immediately. "ZZZ-UNK (Pattern Width)" by Unknown Author July 5, 2016 I) Added link to main page to the Bally Alley Astrocast podcast. II) Added the complete source code for the homebrew version of Crazy Climber, released by Riff Raff Games in 2011. This game was programmed by Michael Garber. Michael allowed the release of this source code on June 11, 2016. Crazy Climber Source Code III) Added Lance Squire's explanation on how the New 2-Voice Music (FROGGER Theme) by Mike Peace works. New 2-Voice Music (Frogger Theme) - AstroBASIC program IV) Added PINBALL I by Mark Keller. This is an unpublished BALLY BASIC ARCADIAN program submission. This is a 2000-Bally "AstroBASIC" conversion of an original 300-baud BALLY BASIC program. PINBALL I is a simple pinball game (no gravity). Pinball I - AstroBASIC program V) Updated the WaveMakers Pack-Rat I and II game archive. 1. Deleted "Pack-Rat (1981)(WaveMakers)(2000 baud)(PD).wav" from the website, because the binary is identical to "Pack-Rat (1981) (WaveMakers)(2000 baud)(PD)[From Master Tapes].wav" 2. Added Pack-Rat (1981)(WaveMakers)(2000 baud)(PD)[a2] - found on hand-labeled tape in Ken Lill's collection 3. Added Pack-Rat II (1981)(WaveMakers)(2000 baud)(PD)[a2] - found on hand-labeled tape in Ken Lill's collection Pack-Rat I and II - AstroBASIC game VI) Updated the WaveMakers Obstacle Course Tournament game archive with the following three alternate versions of the program: 1. Obstacle Course Tournament (1981)(WaveMakers)(2000 baud)(PD)[a2] - from commercial tape in Jack Flynn's collection 2. Obstacle Course Tournament (1981)(WaveMakers)(2000 baud)(PD)[a3] - from commercial tape in Jack Flynn's collection, has high score table for title screen rather than usual title screen 3. Obstacle Course Tournament (1981)(WaveMakers)(2000 baud)(PD)[a4] - from commercial tape in Jack Flynn's collection Obstacle Course Tournament - AstroBASIC game VII) Updated the WaveMakers Invasion Force game archive. 1. Invasion Force (1981)(WaveMakers)(2000 baud)(PD)[freebee on Backgammon tape] - from commercial tape in Jack Flynn's collection Invasion Force - AstroBASIC game VIII) Updated the WaveMakers Backgammon game archive. 1. Backgammon (1981)(WaveMakers)(2000 baud)(PD)[a2] - from commercial tape in Jack Flynn's collection Backgammon - AstroBASIC game IX) Updated the New Image's Hand Control Test archive with the following alternate version of the program. 1. Hand Control Test (1982)(New Image)(2000 baud)(PD)[a] - found in Bob Fabris collection on hand-labeled tape from New Image that says "Freebies". It has a simpler title screen than the previously archived version. Hand Control Test - AstroBASIC X) Added six alternate versions the Blue Ram Utility by Perkins Engineering. 1. Blue Ram Utility (1982)(Perkins Engineering)(2000 baud) 2. Blue Ram Utility (1982)(Perkins Engineering)(2000 baud)[a] 3. Blue Ram Utility (1980)(Perkins Engineering)(300 baud) 4. Blue Ram Utility (1980)(Perkins Engineering)(300 baud)[a] 5. Blue Ram Utility (1980)(Perkins Engineering)(300 baud)(proto) 6. Blue Ram Utility (1980)(Perkins Engineering)(300 baud)(proto)[a] Blue Ram Utility - Perkins Engineering XI) Added two alternate versions the Blue Ram Utility by Perkins Engineering. One of these is the first (and only) version of this program archived in 2000-baud format. 1. Blue Ram Diagnostic (1980)(Perkins Engineering)(300 baud)(proto) 2. Blue Ram Diagnostic (198x)(Perkins Engineering)(2000 baud) Blue Ram Diagnostic - Perkins Engineering XII) Added 1980's Music Compiler with Sarabande by Perkins Engineering for BALLY BASIC. "Music Compiler (with Sarabande)" Using Processor Technology format, one can simply enter musical selections and the software will convert that into the proper language that the Bally can understand. The only music found for this is Sarabande. Unfortunately, the versions of Sarabande and Music Compiler seem to be incompatible. Music Compiler (with Sarabande) - Perkins Engineering July 1, 2016 I) Added a classified ad placed by Bob Fabris in Kilobaud Computing, September 1978 on page 120. "Bally Owners and hopefuls are banding together for our mutual benefit to extract the maximum usefulness from this unit. Anyone interested is invited to write Bob Fabris." "ARCADIANS Classified Ad (1978) June 30, 2016 I) Added an article called "Shangri-Logic" by Phil D'Angelo. This was first published in the July/August 1981 issue of THE BASIC Express. This article explains how to use your Bally Arcade system to create titles for your home movies on your VCR. "Shangri-Logic" by Phil D'Angelo II) Added two "The Forgotten Half" articles by Pat Brady. These were originally published in CURSOR, 2, no. 4 (November / December 1980): 78. and CURSOR, 2, no. 5 (January / February 1980): 88-89. These two only-slightly tongue-in-cheek articles explain how two woman feel when their husbands use the Bally Arcade system to program in BASIC all of the time. While the phrase isn't used in the articles, the author's description of how she feels is a textbook case of the 1970s- coined term "computer widow." "The Forgotten Half" by Pat Brady III) Added an article called "ZGrass Language" by Tom Meeks. This was first published in THE BASIC EXPRESS newsletter in April 1981. "Editor's Note: To show our readers the ease with which ZGRASS (the system language utilized by the AstroVision Add-Under for the Bally Arcade) can be learned, we asked Tom Meeks, who is a proud owner of the UV-1 (hi-res, $5,000 version of the Add-Under) to write an article for us explaining the use of the language. Tom, needless to say, is in love with the unit and plans to purvey ZGRASS-32 units to educational institutions." "ZGrass Language" by Tom Meeks June 29, 2016 I) Added an October 28, 1978 letter from Ernie Sams to Bob Fabris. In this letter, Ernie explains his early attempts at hacking and trying to figure out how to use Bally BASIC. Ernie went on to become an early contributor to the Arcadian newsletter, and a large portion of this letter was used in the very first issue of the Arcadian from November 1978. Ernie Sams Letter to Bob Fabris (October 28, 1978) II) Added March 15, 1978 letter from Ernie Sams to JS&A. Ernie writes to William Mitchell, the Group Marketing Director of JS&A National Sales Group, concerning the Tiny BASIC cartridge that has still not shipped yet. Ernie Sams Letter to JS&A (March 15, 1978) III) Added Questions and Answers on the Home Library Computer, a 16-page pamphlet published by JS&A National Sales Group in late 1977 or early 1978. It explains what the Bally Home Library Computer is, what is included with it now (and what will be include later), plus it explains how it can be sold so cheaply. Also included is a hardware comparison chart and Frequently Asked Questions. Questions and Answers on the Home Library Computer IV) Added July 7, 1981 letter from Ernie Sams to Bob Fabris In this letter Ernie gives permission to Bob Fabris to reprint Bingo for inclusion in a compilation of ten BASIC programs for new Arcadian subscribers. Bob's original form letter asking permission for the Bingo's inclusion is also included. Ernie also jests with Bob by giving him a hint on how to increase the number of Arcadian readers to one million subscribers per issue. Ernie Sams Letter to Bob Fabris (July 7, 1981) June 22, 2016 I) Added instructions for New Image's 1982 BASIC game "Missile Defense." 'Missile Defense' Instructions June 7, 2016 I) Added New 2-Voice Music (FROGGER Theme) by Mike Peace. This program was printed in ARCADIAN 5, no. 3 (Jan. 14, 1983): 53. New 2-Voice Music (Frogger Theme) - AstroBASIC program II) Added the music from New 2-Voice Music (FROGGER Theme) by Mike Peace. This program was printed in ARCADIAN 5, no. 3 (Jan. 14, 1983): 53. New 2-Voice Music (Frogger Theme) - Music (WAV) III) Added instructions for Steve Walter's Avalanche! AstroBASIC game. No instructions were available, so Paul Thacker wrote documentation so that the game could be played (and understood) during Season 1, Round 7 of the Astrocade High Score Club on AtariAge.com. Avalanche! Game and Instructions May 30, 2016 I) Added two cartridge game reviews: Treasure Cove (by Spectrecade) and Cosmic Raiders (Astrocade, Inc.). These reviews were both written by Kevin O'Neill. First printed in Niagara B.U.G. Bulletin, 2, no. 6 (July 27, 1984): 29-30. Treasure Cove and Cosmic Raiders Reviews May 11, 2016 I) Added Dave Carson's "Extended Memory Products Review #4: Collision Course. This was first published in Arcadian, 6 no. 3 (Jan. 27, 1984): 28. This is a game review of WaveMakers' Collision Course, for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. This game requires extended memory and Blue Ram BASIC. Collision Course is a clone of Sega's 1979 coin-op arcade game Head On. "Extended Memory Products Review #4: Collision Course" May 10, 2016 I) Added Dave Carson's "Extended Memory Products Review #3: Quadra. This was first published in Arcadian, 6, no. 1 (Nov. 29, 1983): 2,1. This is a review of Quadra, a game for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade which is made up of four main-games (some with separate parts). The games that are part of "Quadra" are: Brick Buster, Land Slide!, Laser & Slide, Safe Cracker, Smash Up and UFO Attack. This game requires extended memory and Blue Ram BASIC. "Extended Memory Products Review #3: Quadra" May 9, 2016 I) Added "Extended Memory Products Review #2: The Gate Escape and Wack-A-Mole" by Dave Carson. This is a review of two games released by WaveMakers for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade with extended memory and Blue Ram BASIC. This review first appeared in the Extended Memory Products Review column in Arcadian 5, no. 12 (Oct. 24, 1983): 178-179. "Extended Memory Products Review #2: The Gate Escape and Wack-A-Mole" May 4, 2016 I) Added "Extended Memory Products Review #1: Do You Need Extended Memory?" by Dave Carson. This was first published in Arcadian, 5, no. 11 (Sept. 28, 1983): 166-167. This is an overview of whether an Astrocade owner should or should not purchase a memory upgrade for their system. This review first appeared in the Extended Memory Products Review column. "Extended Memory Products Review #1: Do You Need Extended Memory?" April 27, 2016 I) Added a review by Al Rathmell of 1982's "3x5 Character Set." This is review of Craig J. Anderson's tutorial. This was released by H.A.R.D. (Hoover-Anderson Research and Design). This previously unpublished review was sent to Bob Fabris in October of 1982. This review is from the Bob Fabris Collection. "3x5 Character Set" Review April 24, 2016 I) Added a review by Kevin O'Neill of seven games for the Bally Arcade/ Astrocade that are on tapes A1 and A2 from Astrogames. This review first appeared in the "Outlet, Product Review Column" in NIAGARA B.U.G. BULLETIN, 1, no. 7 (December 1984): 25-26. Astrogames Reviews of Tapes A1 and A2 April 18, 2016 I) Added "Plotter Drive Program" (with Space Shuttle and Robot) by LeRoy Flamm. This is a 2000-baud Blue Ram BASIC program from ARCADIAN 7, no. 2 (Dec. 20, 1985): 28-29. "Plotter Drive Program" (with Space Shuttle and Robot) II) Added a review, by Bob Fabris and Al Rathmell, of The Bit Fiddlers' "Machine Language Manager" cartridge. This was originally published in ARCADIAN 4, no. 3 (Dec. 24, 1981): 29. The "MLM" is a machine language monitor that allows an unexpanded, 4K Bally Arcade/Astrocade to program in machine language using hex digits instead of the clumsy decimal method that is required by "Bally BASIC" and "AstroBASIC." "Machine Language Manager" Review April 14, 2016 I) Added a review, by Kevin O'Neill, of the cartridge game "Mazeman." This review was originally published in the newsletter NIAGARA B.U.G. BULLETIN, 2, no. 5 (June 1984): 22. "MAZEMAN is unlike any 'gobble game' you have ever seen! Each time you clear a screen, you find yourself beginning a different maze. There are 12 completely different mazes, each requiring changes in tactics." "Mazeman" Review II) Added a 1982 review, by Al Rathmell, of the "Z80 Mini Course" by Larry Simioni. This review was previously available only as a handwritten article on BallyAlley.com. It was retyped today-- which should make it much easier to read. Plus, now there are helpful links to the manual and its software. The review is interesting, as it points-out a few errors in the manual. "Z80 Mini Course" Review April 13, 2016 I) Added a review, by Kevin O'Neill, of the cartridge game "Blast Droids." This review was originally published in the newsletter NIAGARA B.U.G. BULLETIN, 1, no. 5 (October 5, 1982): 13. "Blast Droids" is the second independently-produced cartridge game by Esoterica Ltd. for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. "Blast Droids" Review April 12, 2016 I) Added "Programming the Bally Arcade/Astrocade" by Adam Trionfo. This article explains how to set up the PS Pad text editor so that it will automatically assemble the source code of a program that runs on the Zilog Z80 CPU of the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. We'll be using the Zmac z80 cross-assembler, which is a command line-only program. More specifically, you'll be guided through the process required to make Zmac the default editor for assembling Bally Arcade/Astrocade programs. Once these step-by-step directions are completed, PS Pad will be more than just a text editor; it will become a nearly complete Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Here is what is covered in this article: 1. Introduction 2. Astrocade Programming Using the "Nutting Manual" 3. Download the Zmac Assembler 4. Download PS Pad and z80.ini 5. Download the "Home Video-Game Library" Equates (HVGLIB.H) 6. Set Up PS Pad for Use with the Zmac Assembler 7. Test PS Pad by Assembling Z80 Source Code 8. Summary "Programming the Bally Arcade/Astrocade" II) Added "Software and Hardware for the Bally Arcade - A Technical Description" by Dave Nutting Associates. This manual includes the information needed to program the Bally Arcade/Astrocade using the many On-Board subroutines built into the 8K ROM. This was a color scan of the original "Nutting manual" that had the red "DAVE NUTTING ASSOCIATES, INC." watermark on each page. The watermarks have been removed, and each page has been saved as grayscale. This document most closely resembles the original manual. The drawback is that this manual is not searchable. Since the file is so large (179MB), this is an off-site link to Archive.org, which hosts the file. "Software and Hardware for the Bally Arcade - A Technical Description" III) Added "Astrocade Screen Layout: 102 x 160 Graph Paper" by Adam Trionfo. Use Bally Arcade/Astrocade screenshots taken from the Astrocade emulator included with MAME to create screen layouts on "graph paper." These can then be used to help understand how an Astrocade program functions (such as how the screen is built or laid-out). Included are several graphic files that require a graphics editor (such as Photoshop or GIMP) that can deal with TIFF files that have layers. Instructions explain how to combine a screenshot as a separate layer on the "graph paper." "Astrocade Screen Layout: 102 x 160 Graph Paper" April 7, 2016 I) Added three software reviews by C.J. Anderson for "Bach's 15 Two-Part Inventions," "27 Christmas Carols" and "Guitar Course." These were originally published in the newsletter CURSOR 2, no. 4 (Nov. 1980): 79. Software Reviews by C.J. Anderson April 6, 2016 I) Renamed the "Nutting Manual" to its proper name: the "Software and Hardware for the Bally Arcade - A Technical Description." Also added a thumbnail scan of the manual's faux leather cover. "Software and Hardware for the Bally Arcade - A Technical Description" March 31, 2016 I) Fixed "Four Color Test" assembly language source code by Adam Trionfo. Changed Interrupt Mode from $18 to $08 (screen interrupts only). The program will now work under current versions of MAME. "Four Color Test" Z80 Assembly Language Source Code February 13, 2016 I) Added "Pictures by Funny Numbers" by Frank Dietrich and Zsuzsa Molnar. This article was published in "Creative Computing" (June 1981): 102-107. "What do pictures and numbers have in common? Nothing. Unless a computer is used to generate the pictures. [...] The three concepts illustrated here, Vedic and Latin Squares and Permutations, require minimal input, but generate a large variety of change and harmony, two extremely valuable principles in image-making. Implemented on a microcomputer graphics system, the ZGrass UV-1, these number games brought about interesting visual results we'd like to share." "Pictures by Funny Numbers" February 11, 2016 I) Added "The Latest in Home Video Games" by Robert L. Perry from BOY'S LIFE (Dec 1982): 10. "Christmas morning will resound with the bleeps, blips, crashes and crunches of the latest video games and home computers. [...] major companies have made numerous improvements, making games easier and more fun to play. First, better color graphics. For example, the Astrovision Arcade ($299) comes with 256 colors, (compared to 16 colors with most games) for brighter, more eye-appealing games. [...] several games also serve as home computers. You can learn to program-- write sets of instructions into-- the unit so you can make up your own games. MAX, Astro Arcade, and Mattel Intellivision offer home computer keyboard units." "The Latest in Home Video Games" II) Added "Language Control Structures for Easy Electronic Visualization" by Tom Defanti from BYTE 5, no. 11 (Nov. 1980): 90-106. A previous version of this article was online, but this version is a high-quality color scan that has rare examples of artwork created using the Zgrass language. "Control structures are the program-flow manipulation features of the language that you use to beat your computer into submission. [...] Electronic visualizations are important because producing and manipulating images, especially animated ones, is a truly multidimensional task which reflects our real-world interactions much more than maintaining an accurate laundry list or printing payroll checks. [...] Electronic Visualization is an intentionally broad term meant to conjure thoughts of computer graphics, animation, image processing, video synthesis, and even advanced word processing. [...]" "Zgrass is a programming language and operating system written in assembly language for the Z80 microprocessor by Nola Donato, Jay Fenton, and [Tom DeFanti]. [...] Zgrass started out as GRASS (Graphics Symbiosis System), a language designed to bring the immense complexity of a Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-11/45 and a Vector General 3DR Display system within the grasp of artists and educators at Ohio State University." "Language Control Structures for Easy Electronic Visualization" February 9, 2016 I) Updated "Arcadian" Articles Compilation. All articles printed in the "Arcadian's" seven-volume run are now in the included. "Arcadian" Articles Compilation February 5, 2016 I) Added "Programmables: Show Business Is In Cartridges" from "Consumer Electronics," May 1979: 23. "In a year when the industry is expecting limited growth in programmable video games, major firms in the field will strive to maintain momentum by focusing on new cartridges at Summer CES." "Bally will also be at CES with new cartridges for its programmable, recently upgraded to perform computer functions. The company will introduce two or three new cartridges, including a pinball program, says Jack Nieman, national sales manager." "Programmables: Show Business Is In Cartridges" February 4, 2016 I) Added "ZGRASS Opens New Vistas for Computer Artists," by David Needle. This article was published in "InfoWorld" (April 5, 1982: 25-26). "Computer artists working in areas such as animation and video synthesis have usually had to negotiate access to expensive ($80,000-plus) mini- and mainframe computer systems. Now the creator of a high-level graphics language called ZGRASS says he's developed a far less expensive system that costs about $11,000 and is more interactive than the equipment video artists are used to dealing with. "ZGRASS Opens New Vistas for Computer Artists" February 2, 2016 I) I added a review of 'Bally Pin." This short review is an excerpt from the "Programmable Parade" column publish in "Electronic Games," (May 1982: 70) by Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel. Note that "Bally Pin" was later renamed "Astrocade Pinball." "Imagine a videogame version of pinball with all the color, action, and excitement of the real thing. It would offer two distinctive playfields, two sets of flippers, reset spin-paddle, thumper and back bumpers. [...] Bob Ogdon's design for this pinball simulation is so skillfully constructed that even those staunch videogame chauvinists who wouldn't be caught dead near a flipper machine will soon find themselves transfixed by the realistic play, vivid colors and inspired play mechanics. "'Bally Pin' Review" January 31, 2016 I) Added game description and links for "Cavern Quest" by Bruce Jaeger. First published in "Creative Computing" (July 1983): 122-123. "Cavern Quest" II) Added "Cursor" renewal letter by Fred Cornett. This letter (dated July 10, 1980) was sent to remind "Cursor" newsletters subscribers to renew to the second volume of the newsletter. A 10% discount is promised for those that renew early. "Cursor" Renewal Letter (July 1980)" III) Added a letter to Fred Cornett (editor of the "Cursor" newsletter) from Bob Fabris (editor of the "Arcadian" newsletter). The letter is dated from July 21, 1980. Letter from Bob Fabris to Fred Cornett (July 21, 1980)" January 30, 2016 I) Added "Arcadian" Volume 3 Index by Rich Tietjens. This was published in ARCADIAN 5, no. 2 (Dec. 3, 1982): 26. This index of "Arcadian" newsletter covers the complete volume 3 (Nov. 6, 1980 - Oct. 5, 1981). Rich Tietjens created his second index of the "Arcadian" newsletter when he indexed volume 3. Rich's originally submitted version of the index doesn't appear to be part of the "Bob Fabris Collection." Therefore, the index was scanned from the highest-quality source available: the cut & paste lay-out copy of the December 1982 issue of the "Arcadian." "Arcadian" Volume 3 Index II) Added "Arcadian" Volume 1 Index by "Koritz." This was published in ARCADIAN 2, no. 5 (Mar. 24, 1980): 40. This index covers the complete volume 1 (Nov. 6, 1978 - Oct. 31, 1979). The "Arcadian" newsletter printed indexes for its back issues for volumes 1-3. These indexes were created by readers-- not by Bob Fabris. Two indexes of volume 1 were sent to Bob, but he chose to only print one of them. This index of Volume 1 was printed in the "Arcadian." Though the author was not credited in the newsletter itself, he is credited in the "Bob Fabris collection" as "Koritz." "Arcadian" Volume 1 Index - By Koritz III) Added article called "Inside Gaming: Meet Bob Ogdon, The Man Behind the Wizard" by Arnie Katz. This was published in the May 1982 issue of "Electronic Games." Bob Ogdon wrote and/or co-wrote several cartridges for the Bally Arcade/ Astrocade, including "Astro Battle" (originally called "Space Invaders"), "Astrocade Pinball" (aka "Bally Pin"), "Clowns/Brickyard," "Cosmic Raiders," "Football," and "Grand Prix/Demolition Derby" It takes three things to make a good designer," says Bob Ogdon, President of Action Graphics and a vital force at Dave Nutting Associates. "First, I look for people who have other interests besides computers, things like photography or carpentry. We don't want the stereotypical 'computer nerd.' Then, of course, a good designer needs a lot of creativity. And a designer should love the field." Under the direction of Nutting, Ogdon joined the 20 designers working on games for what was then called the Bally Professional Arcade. His first assignment was to create a version of the ball-and-paddle wall-bashing game for the system. Of Brickyard, he notes, "There were no copyright laws covering electronic games at that time. It was common practice to adapt existing ones to new systems." "Inside Gaming: Meet Bob Ogdon, The Man Behind the Wizard" January 29, 2016 I) Added alternate index of volume 1 of the "Arcadian" newsletter. This was created by Bill Goodrich in January 5, 1980-- it was not published. This index covers the complete volume 1 (Nov. 6, 1978 - Oct. 31, 1979). Two different authors sent indexes of the first volume of the "Arcadian" newsletter to Bob Fabris. One of them, not this one, was attributed to "Koritz" and was printed in ARCADIAN 2, no. 5 (Mar. 24, 1980): 40. This alternate index, by Bill Goodrich, was never printed. This index covers the same material in a similar format as the published index of "Arcadian" volume 1 by "Koritz," but since different authors write quite differently, both of these indexes are worth using for reference. "Arcadian" Volume 1 Index (alt) - By Bill Goodrich II) Added "Arcadian" Volume 2 Index by Rich Tietjens. This was published in ARCADIAN 5, no. 1 (Nov. 5, 1982): 4. This index of "Arcadian" newsletter covers the complete volume 2 (Nov. 29, 1979 - Sept. 17, 1980). Rich Tietjens created two indexes for volume 2 of the "Arcadian," but only one was published. The Arcadian printed the index sorted by type. This index was printed as one page when reduced for publication in the Arcadian, but it was originally four pages long. Rich's other index, sorted by title, was never published. This eight-page index now brings both versions of the indexes (sorted by type and name) together into one document. "Arcadian" Volume 2 Index January 28, 2016 I) Added descriptive background comments by Ken Lill for two programs: 1. "Blue Ram BASIC Repacker" - By Mike White 2. "Astro - Burn" - By R&L Enterprises 2) Added complete documentation for 1984's "Fraction Study" by Fred Rodney. This math tutor program is an unpublished May 1984 program submission to the "Arcadian" newsletter. Fraction Tutor only deals with whole numbers, so it is ideally suited her Tiny Basic. Also the large type style of the Astrocade provides for an appealing display that even the younger students can enjoy. Finally, the program is a welcome departure from the usual addition/ subtraction tutors. "Fraction Study" 3) Created a web page of links to articles from Volume 5 of the "Arcadian" newsletter. The page is called "'Arcadian' Articles Compilation." Thus far I've linked to 26 different articles by three authors: Don Gladden (10 articles), Andy Guevara (5 articles) and Ken Lill (11 articles). "'Arcadian' Articles Compilation" January 27, 2016 I) Added an advertisement for May 1984's "Project Cyclops Radar Base" by Fred Rodney. The cyclops is striking at your base. You man the radar, and steer the missile. Miss often and the cyclops will find you, charge, and fire at you! This is a radar simulation in Astro-Basic 1.8k. Two screens, radar warm-up routine, on screen sweep, varying odds of attack strength, pixel size target and missile, on screen target and missile display. "Project Cyclops Radar Base" (Ad) II) Added complete documentation for 1984's "Project Cyclops Radar Base" by Fred Rodney. The automatic system is malfunctioning! It can still fire a shell as soon as a cyclops is detected by the radar. All is well except that the automatic guidance control has been hit by a cyclops laser blast. Now it is up to you to steer the shell. You must hit the cyclops in the eye and you must use the radar (they are too far away to see). Use joystick to guide the shell left or right. "Project Cyclops Radar Base" January 26, 2016 I) Added complete documentation for 1984's "Atlantis," by Fred Rodney. This two-player game was published in ARCADIAN 6, no. 6 (Apr. 20, 1984): 57. Atlantis, the mythical city that rises above the waves, is under attack by a squadron of ruthless bombers. A bomber flying east, carries a lethal steerable bomb. If the bomb is guided through the city's vulnerable power vent, the above-ground structure explodes and the island's alarm sounds. In a flash, though, the structure is rebuilt. All bombers that pass over the city must return unarmed! It is during this westerly flight that Atlantis can even-up the score by firing a guided missile aimed at destroying the bomber. If the missile is on target, the bomber explodes and the sky flashes brightly. But, alas, a new bomber attacks. "Atlantis" II) Added ad for "Three New Education Programs" by Fred Rodney. Three new educational programs on cassette tape: "Morse Code Trainer," "Astro-Analyst," and "Rhythm Box." "Three New Education Programs" January 25, 2016 I) Added complete documentation for 1984's "Memomax" by Fred Rodney. This game received a positive review in "The Game Player" #19 (ARCADIAN 6, no. 8 (Jun. 30, 1984): 77.). Memomax is played just like "Merlin" and other such games. Use joystick 1 to match the positions and tones displayed after each round. Number of positions and tones increases by one each round. Speed increases by 1/30 of a second to a max speed 1/3 second. Starting speed is 1 second. "Memomax" II) Added type-in BASIC LISTing for 1984's "Astro Analyst" by Fred Rodney. This game received a positive review in "The Game Player" #19 (ARCADIAN 6, no. 8 (Jun. 30, 1984): 77.). "Astro Analyst" is a one-player game in which the computer will list personality traits (i.e. quiet, logical, sensitive, shy, etc.) based on how you answer the unique program. This computer program is based on an actual psychological exam that presents you with a choice of symbols. The symbols that you select are interpreted by the computer according to the formula programmed into it for doing so, and results in a list of personality traits after all thirteen selections have been made. "Astro Analyst" January 24, 2016 I) Added complete documentation for 1984's "Morse Code Trainer" by By Fred Rodney. This is an AstroBASIC program that was released on tape. It includes "Morse Code Trainer" and "Morse Code II." These two programs teach how to use Morse code. The instructions contain a "simple oscillator schematic" (based on a 555 timer) that can be used with this trainer. This program incorporates ideas used by the U. S. Navy and by professional code instructors in one self-contained tutor. Side 1 sends code at approximately 15 wpm (words per minute) per character with programmable pauses (speed input). Side 2 sends code at approximately 20 wpm/character. This technique allows for a quick and easy progression to higher speeds. It is highly recommended that a key and an oscillator or a buzzer be used to practice sending code as well. "Morse Code Trainer" January 23, 2016 I) Added two pictures of Z-GRASS Add-Under Hardware from the Bob Fabris Collection. No documentation accompanied them, so I'm not sure from which era this version of the Z-GRASS originates from. It could possibly be from the Bally/Dave Nutting Associates era (1970's), the Astrovision/ Astrocade, Inc era (1981/82), or Viper Systems (1984). Z-GRASS Add-Under Hardware II) Added a similar, second version of the Viper System Prototype (with keyboard and 2 disk drives) hardware. This alternate picture was found in the Bob Fabris Collection. The original picture is from ARCADIAN, 5, no. 12 (October 24, 1983): 174. Viper System Prototype (with keyboard and 2 disk drives) III) Added a possible draft version of the "Viper 1 and Extended BASIC User Manual" by Alternative Engineering Corporation. This 10-page version has been OCRed. The final version of the document is 20 pages long. "Viper 1 and Extended BASIC User Manual" (possible draft) IV) Added Alternative Engineering's circa-1983, five-page "Viper-ZGRASS System" product announcement This document is the product announcement for the unreleased Viper Z-Grass expansion system. The system would have included 64K RAM, 32K Z-GRASS ROM, 2 RS232 bi-directional communications ports, 81-key full-stroke keyboard, Intel 8231 high-speed arithmetic processor unit, 2 2000-baud cassette interface ports with motor control, 2 Double Sided/ Double Density 5 1/4 floppy disk controller, expandable to high resolution graphics mode (320 x 204, color), memory expandable up to 256k, stereo output jacks for the 3 octave music synthesizer and compatible with CP/M operating system. "Viper-ZGRASS System" Product Announcement January 22, 2016 I) Added original, April 23, 1984, "Arcadian" newsletter program submission for Fred Rodney's "Rhythm Box." Includes a brief letter and detailed instructions (which include a "simple waveshaping circuit" schematic and a parts list for a foot pedal). Rhythm Box was primarily designed as a practice aid for musicians. It can also be used by songwriters for inspiration and by singers. Includes Rhythm Box in 3/4 Time and Rhythm Box in 4/4 Time. These two programs create music in different genres. The user can choose from ballads, blues, pop and rock. "Rhythm Box" II) Added a much higher resolution picture of the ZGrass UV-1 poster: "Bally's Low-Cost UV-1 Zgrass Graphics System." The poster highlights many of the features that were touted when Bally was going to release the ZGrass system. When the UV-1 was released by Datamax, most of these features were included. "ZGrass UV-1 Graphics System Poster" III) Added Viper Systems Z-GRASS color artwork. This promotional picture for Viper System's unreleased version on the Z-GRASS hardware was on a business-sized card (about 3"x3") from the Bob Fabris Collection. The Z-GRASS hardware itself is nowhere in the picture. Perhaps this was meant to be a logo for the upcoming hardware. The small card was created from a large original oil painting. Viper Systems Z-GRASS Color Artwork IV) Added "ZGRASS-100 Computer Expansion" overview by Astrocade, Inc. The Zgrass-100 Expansion plugs into the Arcade to give you a full typewriter keyboard with expanded memory. The memory capacity of the Astrocade Professional Arcade with the Zgrass-100 Expansion is 32k ROM, 4k Screen RAM and 64k User RAM, bringing the total memory to 100k. The 32k ROM contains the powerful Zgrass system software that makes this the easiest computer to learn and use. The 4k Screen RAM provides dynamic storage of the screen image. And, the 64k RAM gives you more space for creating and storing programs and pictures. "ZGRASS-100 Computer Expansion" V) Added "Chicago Biographies of an Interactive Life-style," the guide for an exhibit from February 22 - March 17, 1985 that was put on by Walter Phillips Gallery for the production, presentation and exhibition of contemporary art. Four Chicago artists (Copper Giloth, Phil Morton, Dan Sandin, and Jane Veeder) are featured in this document. The artists use computers, for example the Datamax UV-1 and ZGRASS, to create art that is output to video tapes. "Chicago Biographies of an Interactive Life-style" January 21, 2016 I) Added the May 1982 "Arcade Alley" column from "Video" magazine called "Astrovision's Rising Star" by Bill Kunkel & Arnie Katz. This article contains reviews of "Bally Pin" and "Galactic Invasion." Bally Pin (Astrovision/3005) waited in limbo for some time before seeing the light of day. Its year or more of obscurity proved undeserved. This is absolutely the best video-game pinball simulation ever offered for any programmable home system. [...] Galactic Invasion brings the thrills of Galaxian to the Professional Arcade. "Astrovision's Rising Star" II) Completely overhauled the main article page in the Bally Alley newsletter area. Now all of the articles and discussion postings have descriptions. Bally Alley Article Area III) Added the original article submission to the "Arcadian" for Craig Anderson's "Sneak Up and Bite Ya," first published in the ARCADIAN 5, no. 3 (Jan. 14, 1983): 49. "Sneak Up and Bite Ya" IV) Added "Simple Color TV Adjustments - Part II" by Fred Rodney. This is an unpublished Spring 1984 "Arcadian" newsletter article submission. This article explains the potentially dangerous task of adjusting a TV for color purity. Proceed with caution. "Simple Color TV Adjustments: Part II" V) Added the original April 26, 1984 "Arcadian" program submission for "Video:Video" by Fred Rodney. It includes a brief letter and detailed instructions on how the program works. "Video:Video" is a video art program (without sound) that uses four-color graphics on a split screen. When the program is finished (after about 16 minutes), it loops and starts again. "Video:Video" January 20, 2016 I) Updated "The Astrocade Question: Sink or Swim?" by Mark Brownstein. This article was published in the April 1983 issue of "Video Games" magazine. This article has now been OCRed. Though it may seem Astrocade has exhausted its nine lives, the company, like some bedeviled cat, isn't dead yet. Nitron, a Silicon Valley semiconductor manufacturer, may very well come to the ailing game company's rescue. According to Nitron spokesman Rich Forte, "There's a very good chance that we will put up the money to revive Astrocade." Astrocade, which took over rights to the Bally Professional Arcade (aka, Astrocade) in 1980, filed a Chapter XI petition in Federal Court in Dec. '82. "The Astrocade Question: Sink or Swim?" II) Updated "Astrocade's Extended Play" by Mark Brownstein. Published in "Video Games," March 1984. This article has now been OCRed. Over the last year we've reported quite a bit on Astrocade, this in spite of the fact that the firm went belly up more than a year ago. In a recent issue, we presented reviews of Astrocade games-- some of which were available before Astrocade's bankruptcy, and others which became available after the system's most recent demise. "Astrocade's Extended Play" III) Updated "Astrocade Sues Commodore and Atari" by Barry Bayer. Published in "Infoworld," June 1982. This article has now been OCRed. Astrocade, a Columbus, Ohio, manufacturer of video games and microcomputers, announced the filing of a patent-infringement lawsuit against Atari and Commodore at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the southern district of New York, claims that Atari and Commodore are using two patents licensed exclusively to Astrocade that deal with bitmapped graphics for video display. Bit-mapping aids in producing high-resolution graphics. "Astrocade Sues Commodore and Atari" IV) Updated "Astrocade's Underground" by Danny Goodman. This article was published in "Joystik," September 1983: 18-21. This article has now been OCRed. You can't really call the group an "underground," because it operates openly, almost vocally. But few of the millions of Atari, Mattel, Odyssey and Coleco players are aware that an entire cottage industry has grown around the highly rated, but rarely seen, Astrocade Professional Arcade system. To gain appreciation for the third-party support out there, consider that almost 400 individual programs are currently available for the Astrocade -- more than for the Atari 2600 and Mattel Intellivision combined. "Astrocade's Underground" V) Added Bally Arcade Patent 4,296,930 (Oct. 27, 1981) "TV Game apparatus." Bally Arcade Patent 4,296,930 VI) Added an article called "Bally Arcade Game / Computer" written, possibly, by Bill Kunkel and Arnie Katz (under his pseudonym, Frank Laney Jr.). This was published in the "Video Tests" column in "Video" Magazine-- probably an issue from 1980. We haven't figured out exactly what Bally calls this product-- some of the literature calls it the "Professional Arcade"; the rest refers to it as the "Bally Computer System." (Our box said "Professional Arcade.") That double name is a sign of its dual personality: the Bally is a video game you can turn into a full-fledged computer-- or a half-fledged one, if that's your pleasure. "Bally Arcade Game / Computer" January 19, 2016 I) Updated "A Broker's Bubbly Ballyhoo for Bally" by Dan Dorfman. Published in the "Daily News," April 29, 1982. This article has now been OCRed. This article was published about a year and a half after Bally Mfg. Co. sold the Bally Arcade to Astrovision. Yet, the company way still pursuing games... just not the same kind. Here is a look at what Bally was up to not long after they shed their only game console. "A Broker's Bubbly Ballyhoo for Bally" II) Updated "Animating the Death Star Trench..." by Neesa Sweet. This article was printed in "The Very Best of Fantastic Films: The Magazine of Imaginative Media" Special Edition #22, February 1981. This article has now been OCRed. Larry Cuba and Tom Defanti had both worked with ZGRASS for the unreleased Bally Add-Under. ZGRASS was based on the earlier GRASS programming language. GRASS was used to create animation for the original 1977 "Star War" movie. For Larry Cuba, the 40 second animation of the Death Star Trench in Star Wars was no small task-- it took months of programming and over twelve hours of shooting time-- that plus the University of Illinois and a language called GRASS. His job: to simulate the pilot's mission with a point of view shot from the Death Star approach to the flight down the trench at its surface. The problem: the trench had not yet been created when the effect was needed. "Animating the Death Star Trench..." III) Updated "Astrocade: One More Time" by Mark Brownstein. Printed in "Video Games," June 1983. This article has now been OCRed. This is an overview of the Bally Arcade/Astrocae system; this article is not a review of the hardware. It covers both the history and the current (at the time) situation. In 1983 this article would have been very helpful to Astrocade owners that were in the dark. It even mentions rare (released) hardware items like the Blue Ram expansion (which didn't get much mainstream press elsewhere). "Astrocade: One More Time" IV) Updated "Astrocade Enters Video Space Wars" news from "Leisure Time Electronics." (February 1982). This news has now been OCRed. "Astrocade Enters Video Space Wars" V) Updated "Astrocade" (System Review) by Danny Goodman. This is from the July 1982 issue of "Radio-Electronics." The previous scan was B&W. The new scan is color and it has been OCRed. This Astrocade review is an excerpt from a special 23-page feature called "Video and Handheld Games: A buyer's guide to electronics games." The article also covers videogame history, Mattel Intellivision, the Magnavox Odyssey 2, the Astrocade, the Atari 2600 and 5200, Activision, and handheld and tabletop games. "Astrocade" (System Review) January 18, 2016 I) Added "Video Game Death Could Put Supplier on Ice" by Dan Dorfman. This article appeared in the October 14, 1982's "Chicago Tribune's" business section. The exploding video games industry could get its first major fatality: privately held Astrocade [formerly Astrovision] of Columbus, Ohio. That could mean a potential bloodbath for investors in a hot over-the-counter number, Nitron Inc. of Cupertino, California. "Marketing-Sales V-P Named at Nitron" II) Added Ken Lill's parts list for the Lil' White Ram. "Lil' White Ram Schematic/Parts List" III) Updated "Arcadian" classified advertisement from "Kilobaud Computing," July 1979, Page 128. This article has now been OCRed. Bally Owners who subscribe to Arcadian know how to get four colors on the screen, do floating-point arithmetic and really get into making Tiny BASIC jump by poking it into the right places. Annual subscr., incl. 5 back issues, is $5 to Robert Fabris, 3626 Morrie Dr., San Jose CA 95127. "Arcadian" classified advertisement IV) Updated "Arcade Resurrection" by Bob Fabris. Bob Fabris submitted this article in the winter of 1981 to "Microcomputing" magazine, but it was never published. This article has now been OCRed. "Arcade Resurrection" V) Updated "Astrocade's 'The Incredible Wizard' for Astrocade" by Danny Goodman. This review of "The Incredible Wizard" is an excerpt from the "Videogames" column in "Radio Electronics," April 1983: 14, 20. "Astrocade's 'The Incredible Wizard' for Astrocade" January 17, 2016 I) Added "Marketing-Sales V-P Named at Nitron" from the November 1, 1983 issue of "Electronic News." "Marketing-Sales V-P Named at Nitron" II) Added "Computer-Game Combinations Take Place Of Simple Games" by Tony Rud (MART, Feb 15 1979, Page 10). Bally and Mattel introduce modular systems which add on to basic game components. Combination computer-game systems introduced by Bally and Mattel showed the way the business is evolving, as personal computers pre-empted Convention Center space and attention once devoted solely to video games. "Marketing-Sales V-P Named at Nitron" III) Added "Computers At CES: Dynamic, But Still Confused" by Hope Heyman. Published in "Consumer Electronics," February 1979: 72-73. Programmable game makers muddied the waters by jumping into the field. And existing suppliers-- themselves now unsure of how to penetrate the mass market--have begun to frantically realign marketing plans after largely unsuccessful forays into department stores. In spite of the lack of a clearly defined audience or crystallized marketing strategy, however, the computer field at CES still exhibited the excitement of a dynamic industry. Bally added both a keyboard and a new language to its programmable, then promptly renamed it Bally Computer System. The language is GRAFIX, and is self-teaching, the firm says. The entire system now functions on three levels: as a video game, as a video game with Bally BASIC programming and as a computer system with a range of peripherals. "Computers At CES: Dynamic, But Still Confused" IV) Added two articles from "Sight & Sound Marketing," 1979, Pages 56, 58: "Personal Computers: Will Product Come on Fast?" and "Video games: Big Business in 79?" "Will Product Come on Fast?" / "Video games: Big Business in 79?" V) Added "Texas Instruments Move Stirs FCC Debate" from the May 1979 issue of "Consumer Electronics." "We have two units to go with," says [Bally] national sales manager, Jack Nieman, "the one we showed at CES for around $650 and a lower-priced unit for around $350. But it could cost us millions of dollars if we make a decision on which unit to go with before the FCC makes a decision." "Texas Instruments Move Stirs FCCD ebate" January 16, 2016 I) Added additional information Bob Wiseman's "Tower of Hanoi." This game was first published in ARCADIAN 3, no. 5 (Mar. 07, 1981): 53-54. The object of this puzzle is to rebuild the Tower of Hanoi in a new location. You will be asked how many blocks you wish, and these will be stacked in descending order on the left. Now you must move them around to rebuild the tower in the center or on the right. A larger block may not rest on a smaller block. "Tower of Hanoi" II) Added a type-in Bally BASIC program called "Bally Forth" by Bob Wiseman. This is a simple Forth-like language which is interpreted by Bally BASIC. It is very different from BASIC and some mental reprogramming may be necessary. "Bally Forth" III) Added "24 Hour Digital Clock" by Edward Oswald. This is an unpublished "Arcadian" newsletter submission from 1982. "24 Hour Digital Clock" IV) Added the original program submission letter to the "Arcadian" along with the commented BASIC listing for the game "Bagels" by Carl Morimoto. This program was first published in ARCADIAN 2, no. 3 (Jan. 15, 1980): 25. It was later republished in "Arcadian Sampler Programs." "Bagels" is a game in which a player, using logical deduction, predicts a given number. In this version, the number is a random 3 digits with no duplicating digits. After each guess the program displays one of six responses that gives the player a hint on the correct order of the numbers. "Bagels" V) Added the "Arcadian" program submission letter for Dave Martin's "Baseball" along with the original handwritten BASIC listing. "Baseball" VI) Added a suggested correction by Richard Grimmer for "Biorhythms" by MR Angliss. One correction of "Biorhythms" was published in February of 1980, but this correction (dated April 14, 1980) was never published in the "Arcadian." "Biorhythms" VII) Added Bally BASIC and AstroBASIC program LISTings of Rich Tietjens' "Custom Graphics" 3.1. "Custom Graphics" 3.1. VIII) In 1983, Joe Peoples made some changes to Al Roginsky's 1982 game "Darts." Joe sent the modifications to the "Arcadian," but the changes, while laid out for publication, were never actually published. The changes include using the joystick to move dart up and down while in flight, changes to scoring, and if the dart hits exact center, then it plays the "Frogger" music from the "New 2 Voice Music" article by Mike Peace in ARCADIAN 5, no. 4 (Feb. 18, 1983): 55-74. "Darts" (mod) (BASIC Type-in Program Modifications) IX) Added three type-in Bally BASIC programs ported or enhanced by Stan W. Heinz. These were sent to the "Arcadian" newsletter on August 12, 1980. 1) "Bat Num" by John Kemeny. Ported in April 1980. 2) "Lunar Lander Two" by Bally. Enhanced in May 1980. 3) "Nicoma," By David Ahl. From "101 BASIC Computer Games. Ported in April 1980. Three BASIC Programs January 15, 2016 I) Added an unpublished Blue Ram BASIC version of Joe Peoples' "Gas Well Bonanza!" "Gas Well Bonanza!" (Blue Ram BASIC) II) Added an unpublished version of "Golf" for Vipersoft BASIC. "Golf" (Vipersoft BASIC) III) Added "Pro Golf" by Henry Sopko. This program is from 1988 and it requires Blue RAM BASIC and at least 16K of extra RAM. This game was converted into a BASICart. Ken Lill's instruction book for the UltiMulti Cartridge has these brief instructions for the game: This is similar to the "Links" games. The "Swing" power/slice box is controlled by to trigger. Let go at just the right time to get the maximum shot. The "right" time is when the moving box is in line with the line on the right side. Everything else is pretty much easy to figure out. 1. "Pro Golf" (Blue Ram BASIC, 2000-Baud) 2. "Pro Golf" (Tape Picture) IV) Added "Rebound" (Mod)" by Dave Martin (modified for Blue Ram BASIC by Bruce Brigden). The AstroBASIC of this game originally appeared in ARCADIAN 3, no. 12 (Oct. 05, 1981): 124. It was reprinted two years later in ARCADIAN 6, no. 6 (Apr. 20, 1984): 54. The Blue RAM BASIC version of "Rebound" was never published. The AstroBASIC version of "Rebound" was the $100 contest winner for October 1981. "Rebound" (mod) (Blue Ram BASIC) V) Added "Space Patrol" by Steven Rodgers. This 2000 baud, Blue RAM BASIC game is an unpublished "Arcadian" newsletter program submission from 1984. "Space Patrol" (Blue Ram BASIC) VI) Added a Blue Ram BASIC version of "Sumeria, Monopoly" by W&W Software Sales (and maybe others). "Sumeria, Monopoly" (Blue Ram BASIC) VII) Added 1986's "Zap Attack" by Bruce Brigden for Blue Ram BASIC. It was published, with no instructions, in ARCADIAN 7, no. 4 (Aug. 15, 1986): 83. "Zap Attack" (Blue Ram BASIC) VIII) Added "ZZZ-UNK (colorful circles)" by an unknown author (possibly Ed Horger). This unlabeled Blue Ram BASIC art program was found on Ed's tape. Paul Thacker dubbed the program "Colorful Circles." ZZZ-UNK (colorful circles) (Blue Ram BASIC) IX) Added "Repacker [H-18]" (for Blue Ram BASIC) by Mike White. This program requires Blue Ram BASIC and at least 16K of extra RAM. "Repacker" changes the title screen of a previously saved to tape Bally or AstroBASIC program. This means that the title screen which appears while the tape is loading can now be created elsewhere. This program is from Mike White's six-page tutorial called "Tricks of the Trade #18: Repack." "Repacker" (Blue Ram BASIC) January 14, 2016 I) Added "Copy Test." This is a 300-baud program for use with, probably, the Blue RAM Utility. "Copy Test" II) Added a version of "Cylon Raiders" that has been modified for use with Blue Ram BASIC. "Cylon Raiders" (mod) III) Added "Daredevil" (mod). Originally by Dave Martin, this version has been modified by Dave Carson for Blue Ram BASIC. The AstroBASIC game was released in ARCADIAN 3 no. 10 (August 12, 1981): 106,107. "Daredevil" (mod) January 13, 2016 I) Updated the packaging area of products produced by Astrocade. Added cartridge packages for: 1) "Red Baron/Panzer Attack" 2) "Space Fortress" 3) "Star Battle" Astrocade Packaging Area II) Added eight pictures of shrinkwrapped packaging for Spectrecade's cartridge release "Blast Droids." "Blast Droids" Box (Shrinkwrapped) III) Added fourteen pictures of packaging for Riff Raff's "Crazy Climber." "Crazy Climber" Box IV) Added two pictures of the dust cover for the Bally Computer System. Bally Computer System Dust Cover V) Added a picture of the "Bally BASIC" 300-Baud Tape Interface. "Bally BASIC" 300-Baud Tape Interface VI) Added "Arcadian RDOS 1.0" by Stu Haigh. Written in 1980. This is a CP/M compatible resident Disk Operating System. This code is designed to interface into the Cromemco software system and is provided with an autoload feature that will load track zero, sector zero of Drive A starting at RAM location 0080. Control will then be passed to the just loaded code at location 0080. The code uses a 5501 as a COM. controller and a 1771 Flex Disk controller. It will support four 5 1/4", or two 5 1/4" and one 9", or two 9" disk drives. Arcadian Bally RDOS VII) Added Bruce Brigden's "Computer Cross" for Blue Ram BASIC. Nice graphics with hymns. Uses Blue Ram BASIC PLAY command. 1. "Computer Cross" (2000-Baud BRB Program Download) 2. "Computer Cross" (Tape Picture) 3. "Computer Cross" (Blue Ram BASIC, Type-In) January 12, 2016 I) Added a slightly-higher resolution picture of an "ICBM Attack" cart. "ICBM Attack" Carts II) Added a slightly-higher resolution picture of a "Sea Devil" cart. "Sea Devil" Carts III) Added a slightly-higher resolution picture of a "Sneaky Snake" cart. "Sneaky Snake" Carts IV) Added a picture of the packaging for Bally "Brickyard/Clowns." "Brickyard/Clowns" Carts V) Added pictures of two different types of packaging for Bally "Speed Math/Bingo Math." Bally "Speed Math/Bingo Math" Packaging VI) Added pictures of two different types of packaging for Bally "Baseball / Tennis / Hockey / Handball." Bally "Baseball / Tennis / Hockey / Handball" Packaging VI) Added pictures of packaging for "Bally BASIC." "Bally BASIC" Packaging VII) Updated the packaging area of products produced by Astrocade. Added cartridge packages for: 1) Amazing Maze/Tic-Tac-Toe 2) Artillery Duel 3) AstroBASIC 4) Astro Battle 5) Bally Pin 6) Biorhythm 7) Brickyard/Clowns 8) Football 9) Dog Patch 10) Galactic Invasion 11) Grand Prix/Demolition Derby 12) Incredible Wizard, The 13) Pirate's Chase 14) Tornado Baseball/Tennis/Handball/Hockey Astrocade Packaging Area January 11, 2016 I) Added "Bally Arcade Hardware Modifications" by (possibly) Larry Smith. If your Bally Arcade/Astrocade unit has these symptoms: screen tearing, loss of horizontal sync on warm-up, unit goes dead (or keeps resetting after warm-up), the following modifications will correct them. If you unit went completely dead following symptoms these modifications will probably repair it. "Bally Arcade Hardware Modifications" II) Added "Code Translation Table" by Ed Horger This is a code translation table for conversion between decimal, hex and Binary. Ed created this so that he could program in machine language using the Bally BASIC cartridge. "Code Translation Table" III) Added previously unpublished "Music Composer With Ears On And Edit (Compose by Ear)" by Larry Smith This program is designed to allow full usage of synthesizer functions at a relatively high speed (18 changes/sec) allowing up to 589 changes or entries, and also allowing the user to set up melody patterns first, and then "squeezing in" timings, or deleting mistakes, later. The notes being entered may be heard and compared against proceeding notes for correctness before being written. With all these functions, however, operations may be difficult at first, requiring a little practice. "Music Composer With Ears On And Edit" IV) Added previously unpublished article from the Bob Fabris Collection called "Machine Language Programming the Bally Arcade (Bare Bones-BASIC Only)" by Larry Smith. The Z-80 operates on POKed in data, 16 bits at a time, two bytes in reverse order. For instance, if you had poked in the opcodes 0F D3, the processor reads it as D3 0F. Since Bally BASIC does not understand hex code, the opcodes must first be converted to decimal notation. Say you wanted to POKE in D5 00. First the bytes are swapped (00 D5), then the decimal value of the text digit is multiplied by its column position and the results added together. "Machine Language Programming the Bally Arcade" V) Added two previously unpublished programs from the Bob Fabris Collection by Larry Smith. These programs supplant Larry Smith's "Machine Language Programming the Bally Arcade (Bare Bones-BASIC Only)." 1) "Star Graphoids" - Ever-changing display of Star of David on a star-field. BASIC Type-in listing. 2) "Rainbow Display" (Parts 1 and 2) - Machine language program with A short BASIC loader program with required decimal values for input. Z-80 source code of "Rainbow Display" is provided. Also in this document is a "method of recording graphics on tape." If you want to record a graphics picture (or anything that's on the screen), then add this line to the program that produces it first. "Star Graphoids/Rainbow Display" V) Added previously unpublished instructions by Don Daniels that describe how to copy an 8K Astrocade cartridge to tape using Blue Ram BASIC. "Copying an 8K Astrocade Cart to Tape" VI) Added "Bally Hand Control (9-Pin Layout)" by Steve Walters. This is a wiring diagram of the Bally hand controller plug. There is a hand-written note by someone (not Steve) that says, "Steve Walters sent this to me but the functions of the orange and blue wires are switched from the diagram in the Bally basic instruction manual (pg. 100). Which is correct?" "Bally Hand Control Wiring Diagram" VII) Added "VIPERSoft Commands." One-page of handwritten Vipersoft commands with descriptions and usage notes. The commands listed are TC (Tape Control), AUDIO (Audio Control Command), MUZSTOP (Music Stop), and VC (Volume Control). "VIPERSoft Commands" January 10, 2016 I) Added eight programs that required expansion RAM: 1) "Alien 2000" (mod) - By Henry Sopko (modified by Bruce Brigden) "Alien 2000" (mod) 2) "An Education In Mile, Yd, Ft, In, Ton, Lb, Oz, Gal, Qt, Pt, Cup, Floz" - By Joe Peoples "An Education In Mile [...]" 3) "Baseball" (Mod) - By Dave Martin (modified by Bruce Brigden) "Baseball" (Mod) 4) "Block Builder" - By Ed Horger "Block Builder" 5) "Box Hockey" - By Brian Hildebrand, Inspired by Pete Murray, modified by Bruce Brigden "Box Hockey" 6) "Check Printer" - By Rich Tietjens "Check Printer" 7) "Coding Form Generator" - By Unknown Author "Coding Form Generator" - Program "Coding Form Generator" - Tape Pics (Front and Back) 8) "Column Writer" - By Don Gladden, Ken Lill, and Mike White "Column Writer" II) Added pictures of two carts: 1) "Blast Droids" "Blast Droids" 2) "Treasure Cove" "Treasure Cove" January 8, 2016 I) Added newly-scanned, grayscale versions of two related articles by David H. Ahl from "Creative Computing" magazine: 1) "Where are they now? Bally, Interact and VideoBrain," CREATIVE COMPUTING, 6, no. 9 (Sept. 1980): 38. 2) "Follow up: Bally, Interact and VideoBrain," CREATIVE COMPUTING, 7, no. 3 (Mar 1981): 48,50. Bally, Interact and VideoBrain columns January 1, 2016 I) Added three Bally BASIC programs from "Louis Gubernatis" Tape: 1) "2nd Annual Light Street Safety Day" 2) "McCormick Light Street Safety Committee" 3) "ZZZ-UNK (colors and rainbow)" Bally BASIC Misc. Area December 26, 2015 I) Added a scan of 1980's "Peek 'n Poke Manual" by Brett Bilbrey (edited by the Cursor Group). This manual has previously only been available in a re- typed Rich Text file and a pdf that was created from it. This version of the document was created from scans of the original manual. "Peek n' Poke" Manual II) Added pictures of the front and back of a tape from Loius Gubernatis that is part of the Bob Fabris Collection. Loius Gubernatis Tape III) Added a BASIC type-in program called "Duck Hunter" by Loius Gubernatis. Duck Hunter (BASIC Type-In Program) IV) Added a higher-quality picture of the 72-in-1 RetroKidz multicart. RetroKidz Multicart Area December 24, 2015 I) Added three 300-Baud Bally BASIC Programs: 1) "Othello & Boggle" - By Unknown Author (possibly John Perkins) 2) "ZZZ-UNK (Enter 88 Numbers)" - By Unknown Author 3) "ZZZ-UNK (Shuffling)" - By Unknown Author Bally BASIC Miscellaneous Program Area December 23, 2015 I) Added five 300-Baud Bally BASIC Programs: 1) "Hyperspeed" - Unknown Author (possibly John Perkins) 2) "Mastermind" (mod) - By Carol Burkemper and unknown author 3) "Math Routine" - By K.E.N. Nowak 4) "Memory Dump" - By Patrick Scott 5) "Music Bootstrap" - Unknown Author (possibly John Perkins) Bally BASIC Miscellaneous Program Area December 22, 2015 I) Updated the Astrocade PD FAQ to version 1.04. Added complete list of programs by W&W Software Sales and Richard Degler's "Life" cartridge and visual interpretations of George Moses' "Beatles" music. 1) Astrocade PD FAQ II) Added "Bally 3 Voice Music Composer/Player" by Jim Dunson, Brett Bilbrey, George Moses, and Bob Weber. Jim Dunson modified the music composer program, and used it to compose "On Top Of Old Smokey." He included an extensive tutorial that explains how to use memory locations at the back part of the Text Area to hold POKEd data. A program example is given that holds sound and music there. 1) Bally 3 Voice Music Composer/Player December 21, 2015 I) Updated the Astrocade PD FAQ to version 1.03. Added W&W Software Sales (Bob Weber). 1) Astrocade PD FAQ II) Added five 300-Baud Bally BASIC Programs: 1) "Plastic Puzzle" - Unknown Author 2) "Simple Interest" - By Jess Shadle 3) "Slot Machine" - Unknown Author 4) "T-Bone Crash" - By Mario DeLaura 5) "Wumpus" - Unknown Author Bally BASIC Miscellaneous Program Area December 18, 2015 I) Updated the Astrocade PD FAQ to version 1.02 with a couple of the programs from Dave Ibach ("Sneaky Snake" and "General Video Assembler"). 1) Astrocade PD FAQ II) Added seven 300-Baud Bally BASIC Programs: 1) "Bally Trek" - Greg White 2) "Check Listing" - By Al Gordon 3) "Concentration" - By Al Gordon 4) "Loans" - Unknown Author 5) "Musical Menu" - By K.E.N. Nowak 6) "On Top Of Old Smokey" - By Jim Dunson 7) "Phaser Phun, Number Match" (Mic Mac Version) - By Dick Ainsworth and K.J. & M. McKeown-McNamara. Bally BASIC Miscellaneous Program Area III) Archived the Atarimax Maxflash Astrocade Cartridge website (formerly known as bally128k.com or "Bally/Astrocade Maxflash Files") to BallyAlley.com. This website was previously for owners, users and developers of the prototype flash cartridge for the Bally Arcade/ Astrocade. Even though this cartridge has not been released (yet?), all of the documentation and programs have been archived for reference for anyone that is interested in knowing more about this project. Bally/Astrocade Maxflash Files (Index Page) December 16, 2015 I) Added two links to the Links page: "Astrocade Wiki Page" and "Bally Astrocade Cap Kit." 1) Astrocade-Related Links November 2, 2015 I) Added 2005's "Reverse Engineering Robby Roto" By Stephen Edwards. 1) Reverse Engineering Robby Roto - Stephen Edwards II) Added "Getting the Most out of 1800" by Don Gladden. This article discusses how to conserve bytes when using the 1,800 bytes of RAM available to "Bally BASIC" and "AstroBASIC." 1) Getting the Most out of 1800 - By Don Gladden III) Added "SNAP and SHOW on the Bally 4K" by Ed Groebe (with enhancements by Ron Picardi and Bert Holmes). From ARCADIAN 5, no. 3 (Jan. 14, 1983): 48. and ARCADIAN 5, no. 5 (Mar. 14, 1983): 75-76. "Two of the new commands on the BALLY expansion units allow you to copy a picture from the screen, store it in memory and then display it again. These two commands are called SNAP (to save & store) and SHOW (to display). Well you can do the same kind of thing with the BALLY. Of course it's not as easy, but the process can be shown with program below. It will copy and display a 20 x 20 pixel picture in the screen's center." 1) SNAP and SHOW on the Bally 4K - By Ed Groebe IV) Updated "Astrocade's Underground" by Danny Goodman. This article was printed in "Joystik" magazine in September 1983. This is a much better scan of the article. 1) Astrocade's Underground - By Danny Goodman. V) Added "'Machine Language Manager' A Review" by Al Rathmell. This was originally printed in ARCADIAN 4, no. 3 (Dec. 24, 1981): 29. This is a review of the "Machine Language Manager" (MLM) cartridge by The Bit Fiddlers (Andy Guevara). The "MLM" is a machine language monitor that allows an unexpanded, 4K Bally Arcade/Astrocade to program in machine language using hex digits instead of the clumsy decimal method that is required by "Bally BASIC" and "AstroBASIC." This review has been copied from the "Arcadian." The original hand-written article is also available for download. VI) Added an article by Ed Larkin that describes a method to install a Full-Size Keyboard to an Astrocade. These instructions give directions on how to connect a Jameco unencoded 63-key keyboard to the Bally Arcade. Keyboards such as this were semi- commonly connected via hackers to the Bally Arcade via the Bally 300- baud Tape Interface. This method wires the keyboard directly to the Bally Arcade's 24-key keypad, thus it doesn't require the tape interface at all. 1) How to Install a Full-Size Keyboard to an Astrocade - By Ed Larkin November 1, 2015 I) Added two Larry Camnitz games. 1) "The Dragon" - Larry Camnitz The Dragon 2) "Vegas 500" - Larry Camnitz Vegas 500 II) Added AstroBUGs keychain created by Peggy Gladdon. 1) AstroBUGs Keychain October 30, 2015 I) Added three programs to the Perkins' "Ram Expansion Required" Area. 1) "Letter Writer" - Perkins Engineering and Mike White. Letter Writer 2) "O-Jello" - Clyde Perkins. O-Jello 3) "Othello" - Clyde Perkins and Bruce Brigden. Othello II) Added 28 programs for Blue Ram BASIC by Stanley Kendall. 1) A-6 More Random Art (1983) 2) A-7 Box & Circle Art (1983) 3) B-11 Line Art (1983) 5) B-14 1001 Lines (1983) 4) B-12 Line Art (1983) 6) B-17 (1983) 7) C-13 (Letter To Arcadian) (1983) 8) C-8 Line Art (1986).zip 9) Clock (1984) 10) D-10 New Find Yogi (1983) 11) Game Starter (1983) 12) Golf (1982)(Stanley Kendall and Bob Hensel) 13) H-10 Misc. Art (1984) 14) H-6 (1984) 15) H-9 Art Program (1984).zip 16) J-1 More Art (1984) 17) J-3 3-K Art (1984) 18) Left Facing Man (198x) 19) Letter Starter (1983) 20) Letter To The Arcadian (May 10, 1983) (1983) 21) Locksmith (198x)(Stanley Kendall and Don Crider)(Prototype) 22) More Line Art (1985) 23) More Line Art (II) (1985) 24) Snare-A-Bear (1984) 25) Snoop Camera (1984)(Mike White and Stanley Kendall) 26) Super Bots II (1983)(Stanley Kendall and Steve Walters) 27) Tower Of Hanoi (1983)(Stanley Kendall and Bob Wiseman) 28) ZZZ-UNK-Boxes (198x) Stanley Kendall Blue Ram BASIC Download Area III) Added three Blue Ram BASIC programs by Ken Lill: 1) Snake Snack 2) Tickets 3) Whatzit Blue Ram BASIC Download Area, Q-Z IV) Added three Blue Ram BASIC programs by John J. Kotter: 1) Blue RAM Demo (1983)(John J. Kotter) 2) Blue RAM Neat Noise (1983)(John J. Kotter) 3) Printer Drawing Tablet (1983)(John J. Kotter) 1) Expansion RAM Download Area, A-H 2) Expansion RAM Download Area, I-P V) Added eleven Blue Ram BASIC programs created (or modified) by George Moses: 1) Character Sets (198x) 2) Drunk Computer Demo (198x)(Bruce Brigden and George Moses) 3) Electronic Darkroom (1984)(Dave Carson, George Moses, and Mike White 4) Formatter Gemini-10X (1984) 5) Graphic Maker (198x) 6) Guys And Dolls Credits (198x) 7) Letter Writer (198x) 9) Port To Variable Translator (198x) 8) Listing Formatter (1984) 10) Shutbox (198x)(Joe Spiegel and George Moses) 11) The Lister (1987)(Mike White and George Moses) 1) Expansion RAM Download Area, George Moses VI) Added "Grafix Tablet Simulator" program and docs by Alternative Engineering. This program was published in ARCADIAN 4, no. 10 (Aug. 06, 1982): 95-97. It requires VIPERsoft or Blue RAM BASIC. 1) Grafix Tablet Simulator (Program) 2) Grafix Tablet Simulator (Docs) VI) Added the Bally BASIC game "Hamurabi" by Richard Houser. This program was printed in ARCADIAN 2, no. 4 (Feb. 25, 1980): 32-33. It was also included on the "Best of Arcadian - 1980" tape. You are the King, and you must make decisions on running the kingdom economically. Buy and sell land, using food as barter material, saving some food to feed the populace. Gain performance points based on how well you govern. 1) Hamurabi - By Richard Houser VII) Added "Graphic Utility Subprograms" for Bally BASIC. These programs are by Jim Marselle. Also added are two letters, dated October 23 1980 and February 11 1982, that contain details about the programs. 1) Graphic Utility Subprograms - By Jim Marselle 2) Graphic Utility Subprograms - Letter and Instructions. VIII) Added "Othello" by Brett Bilbrey. This program was originally published in CURSOR 1, no. 5 (June 1980): 38. 1) Othello - By Brett Bilbrey October 29, 2015 I) Added Brett Bilbrey's December 1981 "Magic Register Tutorial." "The Magic System is enabled when data is written to a memory location (X) from 0 to 16K. A modified form of the data is actually written in memory location X+16K. The magic register (output port $0C) determines how the data is modified." - "Nutting Manual," Page 94. In the included letter to Bob Fabris, Brett notes that this four-page tutorial is a "better tutorial of the MAGIC register. Yes, the old MAGIC tutorial was working ok. It was just a bad example." 1. Magic Register Tutorial - By Brett Bilbrey II) Added a review by Al Rathmell from 1982. He reviews "Z-80 Mini Course." This is a previously unpublished, hand-written review of 1982's "Z-80 Mini Course" by Larry Simioni. The "Z-80 Mini Course" was written specifically to introduce Bally BASIC programmers to Z-80 machine language. 1. "Z-80 Mini Course" Review - By Al Rathmell III) Added "GAME OVER Tutorial" by Tom Wood. This tutorial provides a machine language subroutine usable to Bally BASIC users so that they can print "GAME OVER" in large letters on the screen using a subroutine that is built into the Bally's 8K System ROM. This tutorial was published in a much shorter format. In this expanded version, Mr. Wood provides more information on how the subroutine works and also explains why it won't work the same on all Bally Arcades due to slight differences in the System ROM. 1. "Game OVER Tutorial - By Tom Wood IV) Added a Random Numbers tutorial by Rich Tietjens. This six-page, previously unpublished "Arcadian" submission, is a hand- written tutorial that covers the accuracy of using the RND statement to create random numbers in Bally BASIC. Three BASIC type-in programs are provided as examples for readers 1. Random Numbers Tutorial - by Rich Tietjens V) Added "Tape Archival Storage and Basic Maintenance" By ARD (Craig Anderson). This article was submitted to the "Arcadian" on August 5, 1980. Craig Anderson wrote this article called "Archival Storage and Basic Maintenance" as a cure-all for most of the problems related to loss of programs after a period of time which was mentioned briefly as "Tape Dropout???" in ARCADIAN 2, no. 9 (Jul. 28, 1980): 84. In the article Craig notes that "while the article is rather lengthy. It is critical to the owner of a computer with cassette storage, and since nothing has been published on the topic in either of the newsletters, it is certainly worth devoting considerable space to. You may feel free to edit and condense it to suit your space requirements." Parts of this article were probably published in the "Arcadian" to follow-up on the problems that some users were experiencing with tape storage. 1. Tape Archival Storage and Basic Maintenance - by Craig Anderson VI) Added scan of "Video Games - Rolling Your Own" by Danny Goodman. This article appeared in the September 1983 issue of "Radio Electronics." This article gives details on how "the open access to the Astrocade has caused a closely knit and loyal following of Astrocade enthusiasts to band together in users groups and in open exchange of information. 1. Video Games - Rolling Your Own - by Danny Goodman VII) Added "Bally Arcade: More Than Fun" by Graham M Wideman and Mark J. Czerwinski from the November 1978 issues of "Electronics Today," a Canadian electronics enthusiast magazine This article is notable because it assumes a basic level of technical knowledge and includes photographs of the internals. Thanks to RetroAuction.com for allowing the article to be reposted. 1. Bally Arcade: More Than Fun - By Graham M Wideman and Mark J. Czerwinski VIII) Added "Bally Computer Uses Plain Language" from the Janurary 18, 1979 issue of "Electronics." The article concentrates on what Bally showed at the CES show in Las Vegas. The article states, "Whereas many personal computers use some form of BASIC, Bally Corp. is coming out with a custom language [Z-GRASS] that uses words instead of letter-number combinations to make it seem friendlier." 1. "Bally Computer Uses Plain Language" - From "Electronics" October 28, 2015 I) Added version 2.00 of the UltiMulti cartridge has at least two more games than the previous version of the multicart. These two additionals are Riff Raff's "Crazy Climber" and "War." 1. UltiMulti Cartridge 2.00, DIP Switch Settings - By GaMBITS II) Added an Astrovision Bill Of Materials. This list is dated 10-5-1981. It lists a breakdown of the cost to build the Bally Astrocade. (12 Pages) 1. Astrovision Bill Of Materials III) Added "Viper 1 and Extended BASIC User Manual." This may be the released version of the manual. Previously, only a preliminary version of this manual was available. 1. Viper 1 and Extended BASIC User Manual - September 7, 2015 I) Added an mp3 and sheet music theme to the Astrocast. 1. Astrocast Theme - Composed by Dominic Lowhar July 11, 2015 I) Added "Michigan Bally Users' Group Report" by George Moses from ARCADIAN 3, no. 1 (Nov. 6, 1980): 2-3. Two Astrovision representatives (Ken Charles and Rick Claghorn) attend the meeting of the Michigan Bally Users' Group where they answer user's questions. Four pictures of the meeting are included. 1. "Michigan Bally Users' Group Report" II) Added "Michigan Bally Users' Group Report: BUG gets a look at Zgrass-32 "add-under" for the Arcade!" by George Moses and Brett Bilbrey from ARCADIAN 3, no. 6 (Apr. 15, 1981): 64-65. Scot Norris from Dave Nutting Associates brings along a Z-Grass-32 prototype unit to the BUG user group meeting and he shows-off the prototype's capabilities. Four pictures of the meeting are included. 1. "BUG gets a look at Zgrass-32 "add-under" for the Arcade!" June 9, 2015 I) Added a review of 1982's "The Incredible Wizard" by Astrocade, Inc. This review is by Joe Santulli and was printed in Digital Press, #28 (Jan/Feb 1996): 9. 1. "Incredible Wizard" Review - Joe Santulli May 3, 2015 I) Added 1979's "Biorhythms" by MR Angliss. This Bally BASIC program was published in the "Arcadian" newsletter. 1. Biorhythms - MR Angliss II) Added 1980's "Connect Four," a Bally BASIC game by Robert Leake. 1. "Connect Four" - Robert Leake May 2, 2015 I) Added the Bally BASIC, 300-BAUD, version of "Artillery Duel" by John Perkins as printed in the May 19, 1980 "Arcadian" newsletter. 1. Artillery Duel - John Perkins II) Added the Bally BASIC, 300-BAUD, version of "Bangman" by Ernie Sams. 1. Bangman - Ernie Sams April 30, 2015 I) Added two letters from Joe Peoples to Bob Fabris. The first letter is from July 14, 1982, and the other is an updated follow-up to that July letter. 1. Joes Peoples' Letter (July 14, 1982) 2. Joes Peoples' Letter (Follow-up to July 1982) II) Added a few alternate AstroBASIC versions of "Trapshoot" by Joe Peoples. 1. "Trapshoot" - Joe Peoples III) Added "Treasure Hunt" by Scott Walpole. This is an unpublished "Arcadian" submission from 1983. 1. "Treasure Hunt" - Scott Walpole IV) Added 1982's AstroBASIC game "Treasure Hunt" by Scott Walpole. 1. "Treasure Hunt" (AstroBASIC) - Scott Walpole April 27, 2015 I) Added submission letter and BASIC LISTing for 1983's "Swordfight" by Brian Hildebrand. 1. "Swordfight" Letter/Listing - Hildebrand II) Added 1983's "Swordfight" by Brian Hildebrand for AstroBASIC. 1. "Swordfight" - Hildebrand April 26, 2015 I) Added a 1984 AstroBASIC program called "Morse Code Practice," by "John Hedstrom." It was published in the "Arcadian" newsletter. 1. "Morse Code Practice" - John Hedstrom II) Added AstroBASIC "Round Robin Utility" by John Hammond. 1. "Round Robin Utility" - John Hammond III) Added new version of Don Crider's 1983 BASIC game "Locksmith." This version has a title screen. 1. "Locksmith" - Don Crider IV) Added "Letter Writer" by George Moses. 1. "Letter Writer" - George Moses V) Added "Lunar Lander" (proto) by unknown author. 1. "Lunar" (proto) - unknown author April 25, 2015 I) Added Kevin O'Neill's 1983 AstroBASIC game, "Flaps Up!" 1. "Flag's Up!" - Kevin O'Neill II) Added AstroBASIC program called "Graphic" by unknown author. 1. "Graphic" - unknown author III) Added picture of the AstroBASIC tape with Jim Dunson's "Graphics Quadruplicate / 64K Data & Opcode Converter." 1. "Graphics Quadruplicate / 64K Data & Opcode Converter" - Dunson IV) Added BASIC LISTing of Jim Dunson's "Graphics Quadruplicate." 1. "Graphics Quadruplicate" - Jim Dunson BASIC LISTing V) Added Jim Dunson's AstroBASIC art program, "Graphics Quadruplicate." 1. "Graphics Quadruplicate" (AstroBASIC) - Jim Dunson VI) Added instructions to Jim Dunson's, "64K Data & Op Code Converter." 1. "64K Data & Op Code Converter" - Jim Dunson VII) Added picture of the tape for "Gravity" by Fred Rodney. 1. "Gravity" - Fred Rodney VIII) Added "Arcadian" program submission letters, BASIC LISTing and docs for "Gravity" by Fred Rodney. 1. "Gravity" LISTing and Docs - Fred Rodney IX) Added the 1984 AstroBASIC program "Gravity" by Fred Rodney. 1. "Gravity" (AstroBASIC) - Fred Rodney X) Added prototype of Ken Lill's "Frustration Fortress" called "Laser Fortress." This program is part of the "Frustration Fortress" archive. 1. "Laser Fortress" Proto - Ken Lill April 24, 2015 I) Added AstroBASIC program called "Cubic Rub" by Dorothy Neff. 1. "Cubic Rub" - Dorothy Neff II) Added June 2, 1982 letter to Bob Fabris from Phil Bauer. 1. "Phil Bauer Letter (June 2, 1982)" III) Added 1982's AstroBASIC game, "Exterminator," by Phil Bauer. 1. "Exterminator" - Phil Bauer April 22, 2015 I) Added picture of the "High Res Bally BASIC" tape by John Perkins. 1. "High Res Bally BASIC" Tape Picture - John Perkins II) Added picture of the "Variable Rez BASIC" tape by John Perkins. 1. "Variable Rez BASIC" Tape Picture - John Perkins III) Added "High Res Bally BASIC" and "Variable Rez BASIC" by John Perkins. 1. Hi-Res and Variable-Res BASICs - John Perkins April 21, 2015 I) Added 1987's "Envelope Addresser" by Perkins Engineering (modified by Mike White) 1. "Blue Ram Utility" - Perkins Engineering 2. "Envelope Addresser" (modified) - Perkins Engineering, mod by Mike White April 20, 2015 I) Added various versions of "Artillery Duel" by John Perkins. 1. Artillery Duel - John Perkins II) Added picture of tape that contains "Blue Ram Utility," and "Artillery Duel," by Perkins Engineering on Side A. Side B contains the "Blue Ram Operating Guide." 1. Perkins / Lill Tape - Perkins / Lill April 17, 2015 I) Added Perkins Engineering's 1980 utility "Blue RAM Modem Controller." 1. Blue RAM Modem Controller - Perkins Engineering II) Added picture of "Copy Cart to 8k" tape by Perkins Engineering. 1. Copy Cart to 8k / Olymp - Perkins Engineering / unknown III) Added AstroBASIC "Copy Cart to 8k" by Perkins Engineering. 1. Copy Cart to 8k - Perkins Engineering April 16, 2015 I) Added Jan 2, 1982 letter to Bob Fabris from Ken Springsteen. 1. Letter to Bob Fabris from Ken Springsteen (Jan 2, 1982) II) Added 1981 Bally BASIC demonstration program called "Ward's Display" by Ken Springsteen. 1. "Ward's Display" - Ken Springsteen III) Added Bally BASIC program called "Spirals Visual" by Ken Springsteen. 1. "Spirals Visual" - Ken Springsteen IV) Added Bally BASIC program called "2732 EPROM Programmer" by Perkins Engineering. The Blue Ram interface with EPROM burner is required. 1. "2732 EPROM Programmer" - Perkins Engineering V) Added "Bally Writer" by Perkins Engineering. 1. "Bally Writer" - Perkins Engineering V) Added "Blue RAM Diagnostic" by Perkins Engineering. 1. "Blue RAM Diagnostic" - Perkins Engineering April 13, 2015 I) Added program with unknown name. It has been dubbed "ZZZ-UNK-Dice" and is, possibly, by Karl Nystrom. 1. "ZZZ-UNK Dice" II) Added two prototypes each for the Bally BASIC games "Finders Keepers" and "Starship" by Ken Lill. 1. "Finders Keepers" and "Starship" April 11, 2015 I) Added short program with unknown name. It has been dubbed "ZZZ-UNK-Submarine" and is, possibly, by Karl Nystrom. 1. "ZZZ-UNK-Submarine" April 10, 2015 I) Added "COH" by (possibly) Ken Lill. 1. "COH" April 9, 2015 I) Added "Astro-Burn" by R&L Enterprises and a picture of the tape that contains the program. 1. "Astro - Burn" - R&L Enterprises (Tape Images) 2. "Astro - Burn" - R&L Enterprises (Program) II) Added AstroBASIC version of "Bally Chess Board" by John Collins. 1. "Bally Chess Board" - John Collins III) Added "Biorhythms" by Cathy Collins. 1. "Biorhythms" - Cathy Collins April 8, 2015 I) Added additional archiving notes and renamed the Bally BASIC version of "Amazed in Space" to its proper name of "aMAZEd in SPACE." 1. "aMAZEd in SPACE" - Aquila and Richard Houser II) Added January 1, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from Aquila. This letter includes a hand-written BASIC listing of the program "aMAZEd IN SPACE" plus additional notes and questions. 1. Letter to Bob Fabris from Aquila (January 1, 1979) III) Added a mod of 1979's "aMAZEd IN SPACE" 1. "aMAZEd in SPACE" - Aquila and Richard Houser April 6, 2015 I) Added "64K Data & Op Code Converter" by Jim Dunson 1. "64K Data & Op Code Converter" - Jim Dunson II) Added "Alpha" by Fred Olivas. 1. "Alpha" - Fred Olivas III) Added 1981's "Al's Poker Bandit" by Al Roginsky. 1. "Al's Poker Bandit" - Al Roginsky April 5, 2015 I) Added 1982's "2-Letter Music Maker" by Ken Lill" 1. "2-Letter Music Maker" - Ken Lill April 3, 2015 I) Added 1983's "Quadra" for expanded BASIC by Mike White. 1. "Quadra" - Mike White April 2, 2015 I) Added "Golddigger / H-1 Walking Birds / Find Yogi" tape pictures: 1. "Golddigger / Walking Birds / Find Yogi" - Carson / Kendall II) Added three programs by Stanley Kendall that require expansion RAM and Blue Ram BASIC: 1. "H-1 Walking Birds" 2. "H-5 New Walk Figures" 3. "H-11 Walking 'Who'" March 30, 2015 I) Added "King Kong" for Blue Ram BASIC. Based on "Space Ape," by Henry Sopko. This game is a mod by Bruce Brigden. 1. "Kong Kong" - Henry Sopko and Bruce Brigden March 29, 2015 I) Added the tape case for the Blue Ram BASIC version of "Quadra." 1. "Quadra" (BRB) Tape Case II) Added the tape for the Blue Ram BASIC version of "Quadra." 1. "Quadra" (BRB) Tape March 28, 2015 I) Updated the archives of "Caterpillar" and "Caterpillar" (Revised). The archives now contain the full documentation for the games. 1. "Caterpillar" - ThaddPro (Kevin O'Neill) 2. "Caterpillar" (Revised) - ThaddPro (Kevin O'Neill) and Klaus Doerge II) Added a Blue Ram BASIC version of "Caterpillar." 1. "Caterpillar" for Blue Ram BASIC III) Added a Blue Ram BASIC version of "Eight Days a Week." 1. "Eight Days a Week" for Blue Ram BASIC March 26, 2015 I) Added an edited version of the Bally Arcade/Astrocade reviews from "The Game Player," by Michael Prosise. This column ran in the "Arcadian," from October 7, 1982 - October 31, 1984. Thanks to Chris Federico for editing the document. 1. Astrocade Game Review Compilation March 24, 2015 I) Added Bruce Brigden's "Bots and Shots" for Blue Ram BASIC. This is a program modification of "Bots II" by Steve Walters. "Bots II," in turn, is a re-worked version of "Bots" by Ron McCoy. 1. Bots and Shots - By Bruce Brigden March 21, 2015 I) Added two versions of the "Beatles Greatest Hits" transcribed for the Bally Arcade / Astrocade by George Moses. One version requires Blue Ram BASIC and 16K (this version is missing a song), the second version includes the missing song and requires 32K. 1. Beatles Greatest Hits, 16K - By George Moses 2. Beatles Greatest Hits, 32K - By George Moses II) Added 5-29-1979 letter to Bob Fabris from Richard Belton. Richard talks about the difficult time that he has reaching Bally, contacting Bob Weber, his own 48K RAM expansion, and more interesting information gleaned from the current Bally Arcade gossip from early 1979. 1. Richard Belton Letter (5-29-1979) March 20, 2015 I) Added the Blue Ram BASIC version of George Moses' "Astro Zap." 1. Astro Zap (Blue Ram BASIC) - By George Moses March 19, 2015 I) Added "Starship" by Ken Lill. 1. Starship - By Ken Lill I) Added "Blue RAM Operating Guide" by Ken Lill. The Blue Ram Operating Guide starts out explaining the operation of the Blue Ram hardware--how to connect it, what the switches do, etc. This includes some images and animations. The later sections are mostly text explaining the new commands in Blue Ram BASIC. 1. Blue RAM Operating Guide - By Ken Lill March 18, 2015 I) Added "Memory Doodle" by WaveMakers. 1. Memory Doodle - By WaveMakers March 17, 2015 I) Added working version of L&M Software's "Bit-Mapping Demo." This has been added to the archive that contains the bad dump. The previous dump labeled as "bad" has been kept as it is from a different source and does seem to work without any issues. 1. Bit-Mapping Demo - By L&M Software II) Added two prototype versions of Ken Kill's "Finders-Keepers" AstroBASIC game from the early 1980s. 1. Finders-Keepers - By Ken Lill III) Added fourteen prototype versions of "Frustration Fortress" by Ken lill. This AstroBASIC game was published in the "Arcadian" newsletter in 1984. 1. "Frustration Fortress - By Ken Lill March 14, 2015 I) Added two sets of Bally BASIC programs by David Stocker released in 1979. These two sets include a total of 23 programs! 1. Set I - Games & Fun - By David Stocker 2. Set II - Video Art - By David Stocker March 13, 2015 I) Added "Arcadians," issues 4-5, a round-robin letter that proceeded the "Arcadian" newsletter in 1978. 1. Arcadians #4 2. Arcadians #5 II) Added two "Arcadians" Subscription Letters‏. 1. Arcadians Subscription Request Letter 1 2. Arcadians Subscription Request Letter 2 III) Added two sets of David Stocker BASIC type-in programs from 1979. 1. Set I - Games and Fun - Contains eight games. 2. Set II - Video art - Contains fifteen video art programs. March 12, 2015 I) Added "Arcadians," issues 1-3, a round-robin letter that proceeded the "Arcadian" newsletter in 1978. 1. Arcadians #1 2. Arcadians #2 3. Arcadians #3 March 11, 2015 I) Added Edge Software's 1981 Bally BASIC program "Coder-Decoder." 1. Coder-Decoder by Edge Software March 10, 2015 I) Added the October 1982 issue of the "Michigan AstroBUGS" newsletter. 1. Michigan Astrobugs Newsletter (October 1982)) March 9, 2015 I) Added original Bally BASIC version of Edge Software's 1981 game "Match." 1. Match - Edge Software I) Added original Bally BASIC version of Edge Software's 1981 game "Bowl." 1. Bowl - Edge Software March 6, 2015 I) Added another version of "RND Art I" released by New Image: 1. RND Art I - New Image March 3, 2015 I) Added "Tic-Tac-Tollah" by A.R.D. (Anderson Research & Design) 1. Tic-Tac-Tollah (A.R.D.) II) Added alternate version of "Guess Five" by New Image: 1. Guess Five New Image III) Added alternate version of "Missile Defense" by New Image: 1. Missile Defense New Image IV) Replaced bad dump of "Quickdraw" by New Image. This is a good dump from the original tape. 1. Quickdraw New Image V) Added previously unarchived program called "Red, Yellow, Green, Blue" by New Image. 1. Red, Yellow, Green, Blue New Image VI) Added alternate version of "Saucer Attack" by New Image. 1. Saucer Attack New Image February 27, 2015 I) Added "3D Tic Tac Toe" by General Video. 1. 3D Tic Tac Toe (General Video) 2) Added "The Paper Chase" by A.R.D. 1. The Paper Chase (A.R.D.) February 24, 2015 I) Added 8-page "Blue Ram Operations Manual." This document gives a general overview of what the Blue Ram upgrade can do and how to use it. 1. Blue Ram Operations Manual and Diagnostic II) Added to alternate "Blue Ram Super Extended BASIC 1.0" manuals. 1. "Blue Ram Super Extended BASIC 1.0" Manual February 23, 2015 I) Added step-by-step instructions on how to assemble the Blue Ram expansion unit and the BASIC listing of the Blue Ram Diagnostic program. 1. Blue Ram Assembly Instructions and Diagnostic II) Added another version of the "Blue Ram Keyboard Owner's Manual." These are the directions on how to assemble the Blue Ram Keyboard. 1. Blue Ram Keyboard Owner's Manual February 20, 2015 I) Added two versions of a Perkins Engineering 4K Blue Ram schematic: the original scan from 1980 and also a new schematic based up it made by Ken Lill in February 2015. 1. Blue Ram Owner's Manual February 19, 2015 I) Added "Astro Bits" from "Electronic Games" (August 1982). Contains two news items. The first is about why Astrovision changed its name. The second covers two upcoming releases: Conan and G.I. Joe. 1. Astro Bits, Electronic Games, August 1982 II) Added another copy of the "Blue Ram Owner's Manual." This is probably the latest version of the Blue Ram Owner's Manual because it covers the 16k and 32K units. 1. Blue Ram Owner's Manual February 18, 2015 I) Added more information about the "Blue Ram Utility:" 1) "Blue Ram Utility 1.0" (?) - Information and Listing. Contains a June 6, 1980 BASIC program listing, one-page of additions to the Blue Ram Utility documentation, and BASIC and Machine Code segments of the Blue Ram tutorial used in Arcadian, 2.9 (Oct. 7, 1982): 77-79. 2) "Blue Ram Utility 2.3" - Letter to Bob Fabris from Clyde Perkins dated June 1983, and Blue Ram Instructions. 3) Completely updated the descriptions of the "Blue Ram Utility," because the old one was vague and left people with no idea of what the utility could do, or how useful it is for machine language programmers. 1. Blue Ram Utility documentation February 17, 2015 I) Added a letter, sent to Bob Fabris, that was included with Artillery Duel on tape. The tape's version of the game matches perfectly, byte-for-byte, against the released version of the game cartridge. The tape was loaded into the Blue RAM's expanded memory and then played as a normal cartridge. 1. Artillery Duel Tape Docs II) Added preliminary instructions for new users of Blue Ram BASIC 1.1. At the time this one-page document was made, there was as yet no comprehensive set of BRB instructions. 1. Blue Ram BASIC 1.1 Preliminary Instructions III) Added the "Blue Ram - BASIC Operating System 1.0" manual. The Blue Ram - BASIC Operating System (1.0) is a machine-code program which runs in the Blue Ram. It is composed of a GOSUB linker and an advanced editor. The GOSUB linker provides all of the linkages necessary to access BASIC subroutines resident in the Blue RAM. 1. Blue Ram - BASIC Operating System 1.0" Manual IV) Added the 1980s Blue Ram BSR Controller driver and software by Perkins Engineering. Although the software has been digitally archived, there were some issues during the archiving process. Thus, the RAW tape file is also included which makes the download much larger than is usually required. The Blue Ram BSR controller is an ultrasonic interface between the Blue Ram and the BSR X-10 home controller system. This combination allows the user to control lamps, overhead lights, and appliances under direction from your Bally Arcade. Up to sixteen "devices" may be controlled and may be anywhere on the common power line. 1. Blue Ram BSR Controller Driver and Software V) Added the manual for the Blue Ram BSR Controller by Perkins Engineering. 1. Blue Ram BSR Controller Manual VI) Added Blue Ram Modem Interface Owner's Manual (with Optional Printer Port). The manual explains the installation and use of the interface, plus there are eight pages of details assembly instructions (including a parts list). 1. Blue Ram Modem/Printer Interface Manual February 16, 2015 I) Updated the explanation by Paul Thackers about archiving Rich Tietjens' "Dungeons And Dragons Game Aid Package." 1. About Archiving Dungeons & Dragons Program Package II) Added a scan (rather than the original re-typed version) of the documentation for a preliminary tape release of "Artillery Duel" that shipped with some versions of the Blue Ram expansion unit. 1. Perkins Engineering Artillery Duel Roadtest Letter III) Added August 6,1982 letter from Perkins Engineering to Jim Fauci. It is a handwritten note by Clyde Perkins regarding delay in Jim's Blue Ram expansion because of update to PCB. 1. Perkins Engineering Artillery Duel Roadtest Letter IV) Added comments on the contents of two letters from Perkins Engineering to Jim Fauci. 1. Perkins Engineering Documentation Area V) Added Blue Ram Update Letter (March 1981). This is a one-page letter that has "insights concerning the methods by which the Blue Ram can be used to store BASIC programs." 1. Blue Ram Update Letter (March 1981) VI) Added 16K/32K Blue Ram Advertisement. Two-page advertisement for the 16K/32K Blue Ram(s) and accessories. 1. 16K/32K Blue Ram Advertisement February 14, 2015 I) Added Hot Rod BASIC spoken instructions. Short audio instructions (in four parts) by Jay Fenton for Hot Rod BASIC tape from Ken Lill's collection. 1. Hot Rod BASIC Spoken Instructions II) Added "The Jailer Problem" by Fred Rodney. This was submitted in May 1983 to Arcadian, but it is previously unpublished. 1. 'The Jailer Problem' II) Added 1980's "Dungeons & Dragons Program Package Instructions: A Game Aid for Players and Referees" by Richard Tietjens. The three pages of instructions, which are VERY light and difficult to read (blame the source material), are included with the 18-page printout of all the programs on the tape. 1. Miscellaneous Tape Documentation Area December 10, 2014 I) Added "Light-Pen Graphics Program" printed in the "Arcadian" in August 1986. This program is by Leroy Flamm and requires 16K and Blue Ram BASIC. The program's overlay, from the Arcadian, has also been added from the Fabris Collection. 1. 'Light-Pen Graphics Program' Overlay 2. 'Light-Pen Graphics Program' Blue Ram BASIC Program August 22, 2014 I) Added the October and November 1983 issues of the two Astrocade Underground newsletters. Astrocade Underground Area July 3, 2014 I) Added two newsletters to a newly created area. 1) Arcadian Local News (May 30, 1979) - 4-pages. Maryland Users Group Newsletter. 2) Printed Circuit, The (January 1979) - 8-pages. The Computer Hobbyists Group of North Texas. Miscellaneous Newsletters Area 2) Added pages 52 and 53 of September 1980's issue of "Cursor" newsletter. These two pages are notoriously difficult to read. Cursor Vol 2 Issue 1 [September 1980):52-53 [grayscale and lossless pdf] 3) Added 1-page Michigan Bally Users Group Members. Michigan Bally Users Group Members 4) Added the 2000-baud version of "Connect Four" by Robert Leake. Connect Four (AstroBASIC 2000-Baud Version) July 1, 2014 I) Added four newsletters called The CACHE (Chicago Computer Hobbyist Exchange). These issues include the "SIG Bally" column by Hank Chiuppi. 1) The CACHE (November 1980) - Incomplete (Pages 1-2 only). 2) The CACHE (December 1980) - Incomplete (excerpt only). 3) The CACHE (January 1981) - Complete (8 Pages). 4) The CACHE (January 1981) - Incomplete (Pages 1-2 only). The CACHE Newsletter Area June 30, 2014 I) Added four Soccer prototype PCBs: Cartridge Prototype Picture Area II) Added a two-page Arcadian, Vol. I index that was printed on January 5, 1980. An index of Volume I of the Arcadian appeared in a reduced format in volume 2 of the Arcadian newsletter. This is the index in the original format. It may even be a different version from what was printed. Arcadian, Vol. I Index III) Added the grayscale, 6-page Michigan Astrobugs Newsletter from January 1983. Michigan Astrobugs (January 1983) Michigan Astrobugs Newsletter (November 1983). 12 Pages. B&W. IV) Added a grayscale version of the Astrobugs November 1983 newsletter. There are pictures in this newsletter and they do not show up well in the all-ready-online B&W scan of the newsletter. Michigan Astrobugs (November 1983) V) Added Astrobugs November 1983 issue's pages 3-6 in grayscale. This is useful as there are ads in this newsletter with pictures. They do not show up well in the B&W scan of the newsletter. Michigan Astrobugs (November 1983) June 27, 2014 I) Added pictures of 18 various kinds of Bally Arcade/Astrocade cartridges. Some carts have several alternate versions. A total of 40 different actual pictures were added. Astrocade / Bally Arcade (2): 1) Bally Dealer Demo 2) Sea Wolf / Bombardier Third Party Carts (6): 1) Crazy Climber 2) Missile Attack (Mike White's semi-workable one-controller fix for ICBM Attack) 3) Sea Devil 4) Simon / Put-Put Golf 5) Spring Thing 6) Word Processor Prototype Carts (10): 1) Bally BASIC 2) Cosmic Raiders (8 Different Pictures) 3) Final Test 4) Football 5) HRBB (8 Different Pictures) [Note: This is an unknown program] 6) Ms Candyman and Sea Devil Multicart 7) Music Maker 8) Soccer (4 Different Pictures) 9) Solar Conqueror (7 different pictures) 10) Songs Cartridge Picture Area June 19, 2014 I) Added Richard' Degler's Space Invaders prototype disassembly: Space Invaders Prototype Disasseambly II) Added pictures of six prototype/demo carts: 1) Bally Pinball (Proto) 2) Incredible Wizard (Nitron Corp) 3) Incredible Wizard (Proto - 8-24) 4) Pirates Chase (Proto) 5) Space Fortress (Proto) 6) Space Invaders (Proto) Prototype Cartridge Picture Area June 18, 2014 I) Added Space Invaders (Prototype) to Astrocade Cartridge ROM Collection. Astrocade Cartridge ROM Collection August 12, 2013 I) Added Richard Degler's disassembly of the Bit Fiddler's "Chicken (The Bit Fiddlers).bin." This game originally loaded via Bally BASIC, AstroBASIC or the "Machine Language Manager." This version of the binary will run as a cartridge. "Chicken!" Disassembly and ROM II) Updated homebrew source code for "8 Colors" by Adam Trionfo. It now runs on a real Astrocade and in the latest version of MESS. "8 Colors" - Source Code August 11, 2013 I) Added "Machine Language Manager" Keypad Overlay MESS Keyboard Labels/Stickers. These are MESS Astrocade keyboard labels ready to be printed onto quality paper and then applied to a keyboard. "Machine Language Manager" Keypad Overlay MESS Keyboard Labels/Stickers August 9, 2013 I) Added ready-to-assemble "Muncher" disassembly. At the moment, it's very sparse-- but it's a starting point. "Muncher" Disassembly (Text) II) Added instructions for 1982's "Chicken!" by The Bit Fiddlers "Chicken!" Instructions (pdf) August 6, 2013 I) Added two archived "Machine Language Manager" programs: 1) "256 Color Program" - Jerry Burianyk and The Bit Fiddlers 2) "Critter" - Brett Bilbrey and The Bit Fiddlers "Machine Language Manager" Program Download Area II) Added "Entering Machine Language into Blue Ram BASIC" by Paul Thacker. This is Paul's definitive technique for making hybrid machine language/ Bally BASIC programs. "Entering Machine Language into Blue Ram BASIC" III) Added "Muncher" disassembly in B&W. This is a disassembly of the "Muncher" cartridge that was done in the early 1980's. It is 98-pages with sparse comments. Since the scan is now B&W, the filesize is about 5MB, compared to the previous grayscale version which is 43.5MB. "Muncher" Disassembly (B&W) July 29, 2013 I) Added digitally archived 300-Baud "Goldfish Demo" for "Machine Language Manager." In this program seven goldfish (actually they are neon tetras) swim around a fishtank, a clock runs, and a cat meows every minute. "Goldfish Demo" II) Added 300-Baud "Standard Color Generator" for "Machine Language Manager." This program generates 8 standard colors used in TV work. "Standard Color Generator" III) Added 300-Baud "ASCII Character Set" for "Machine Language Manager." This little routine will print the entire MLM 3x5 character set. "ASCII Character Set" IV) Added "ICBM Attack" disassembly. "ICBM Attack" Disassembly July 26, 2013 I) Added version .04 disassembly for 1982's Astrocade "Wizard of Wor" clone, "The Incredible Wizard." Here is what is new to this version: 1) Found and commented most graphics data. 2) Began looking at music/sound data. 3) Added "Incredible Wizard" manual after source for reference. "The Incredible Wizard" Disassembly July 17, 2013 I) Added digitally archived, fixed, version of the 1980 Bally BASIC game, "Flying Ace" (with introduction) by WaveMakers. For 1 to 4 players. Try to gun down the enemy before your time runs out. Get the "feel" of flying a fighter plane. At first everything seems backwards until you get the hang of it, then you'll become a FLYING ACE. The enemy planes don't shoot back, but two players can compete to see who can shoot them down fastest. When you select number of planes, this is for both players total. So, 6 planes would be 3 for each, while 1 plane wouldn't even let the second player have a turn. "Flying Ace" - WaveMakers II) Added digitally archived version of the 1980 Bally BASIC game, "Mazemaker" (with introduction) by WaveMakers. The original version of "Mazemaker" appeared as a type-in program in CURSOR 1, no. 6 (July 1980): 46. From the "Cursor" newsletter: This maze is far from the most complex Mike offers ("Mazemaker" is not included in his Maze Tape). This maze is a TOUGHIE! Mike has added an audio stress factor similar to the Bally "Space Invaders" cartridge. Merely move Joystick in desired direction to travel. "Mazemaker" - WaveMakers III) Updated the WaveMakers Bally BASIC download area. WaveMakers Bally BASIC Program Download Area July 15, 2013 I) Added 15 Bally BASIC programs by Rich Tietjens. 1. "23 Matches" (Alt. version) - Try to force the computer to take the last match." 2. "Alles Lookenspeepers" - Press any key to display letter written in a sort of German/English hybrid. 3. "Canary" - Plays a sound that resembles birdsong. 4. "Cash Register" - By John Eric, adapted by Rich Tietjens. Description of program from "Sourcebook" (Summer 1981), G-9, "A teaching game for ages 7-12. The program "buys" groceries and you must take change. A starter data file is supplied, along with a routine for you to make files." 5. "Craps" - This is a game for 1 to 4 players. when the title appears, press "1" to begin play. Press "0" to restore color, if the screen dims. When requested, enter the number of players, then press "GO". 6. "Fahrenheit Celsius Conversion" This program converts between Celsius and Fahrenheit or vice-versa. 7. "Hardcopy Converter" - This is a short utility to convert characters in a listing that may not work with a printer, such as changing the division sign to a forward slash. Version 2 of the program will automatically list the program when finished. 8. "Klingon Capture" - The Klingon Empire has violated the Organian Treat. As Captain of the Enterprise, you must proceed immediately to Station K7 and capture a Klingon battle cruiser intact. 9. "Optical Density Map" by Rich Tietjens. Two versions are in the archive. One sorts the characters by ASCII value, and the other sorts the characters by density. The LISTing describes itself as, "Optical density map of Bally printable characters for use in hard-copy psuedo-graphic printing." This information would be used to create images on a non-graphic printer. 10. "Sound Trek" - It's a space battle game played on an 8x8 grid, similar to MicroTrek. Comment from Sourcebook (Fall 1981): "'Sound Check' uses all available memory in the Arcade, including the keyboard and cassette buffers." 11. "Space War" (Proto) - Close with and destroy the enemy. Lasers are self-aiming but have limited range. Collision with the sun is fatal. This game uses the hand controller to control your ship. See archive for in-depth archiving explanation about this program. 12. "Star Trader" - This game is based on "Hamurabi" by Richard Houser, but with a space theme. Some garbage collects on the screen while the code loads, but it started fine, so this may be intended. If you earn too many credits that game will crash. 13. "Super Mastermind" - Super Mastermind lets you match wits with your Bally computer system. The computer will make a code sequence of five "colors." Each color will be represented by a number and you may choose to let the computer select from up to 9 numbers. You will have 12 turns to guess the sequence. After each turn, the computer will indicate how many numbers are in the correct position ("b" for black) and how many numbers are in the wrong position but are in the hidden code ("w" for white) when the program is ready, the title will appear on the screen. 14. "Touchtone Dialer, Directory" The original version of this program, "Touchtone Simulate" by Chuck Thomka, appeared in Arcadian volume 1, page 65. Some modifications by Rich Tietjens were printed in Arcadian volume 2, page 90. This version is similar to that modified program, but not identical. It also includes a sample directory of phone numbers, and prints out instructions after the code loads. 15. "ZZZ-UNK-1st Line" - This unnamed program was named '1st Line' after some text in the code. It lists some code, but doesn't really do anything. Rich Tietjens Bally BASIC Program Download Area July 14, 2013 I) Added "Keno II 2.0," which was published in ARCADIAN 3 no. 11 (September 11, 1981): 116-117. "Keno II" displays a keno card and cash remaining. You pick 1 to 15 numbers using a hand controller. The number of picks is tallied next to go. If you pick 1 to 14 numbers, pick go to start. The computer picks and displays 20 numbers and calculates payoff. To see payoff table push the Divide key. "Keno II 2.0" - Mark Keller II) Added "Tape Input/Output" by Mark Keller. Archived from tape in Bob Fabris Collection. This program is used to input a tape data file and then record copies of it when required. "Tape Input/Output" - Mark Keller III) Added 1980's "Text Editor II" by Mark Keller. This is a text editor program that is placed at the beginning of your program. It supports replacing, inserting and deleting. "Text Editor II" - Mark Keller IV) Added 1981's "Wumpus II" by Mark Keller. There is a cave of 20 caverns, each has 3 tunnels to other caverns. The Wumpus is in one of the 20 caverns. There are bottomless pits in 2 caverns and bats in 2 caverns. You lose if: you fall in a pit, are eaten by the Wumpus, miss with all three arrows, or shoot yourself. If you enter a cavern with bats, you will be dropped in a cavern at random. There are 3 initial entry points to the program. Warnings will be given when you near: a Wumpus, a pit, or bats. If you bump or shoot at the Wumpus, the wakes up and can move. There are 6 caves supplied and more can be made with "File Create" [another program by Mark Keller]. "Wumpus II" - Mark Keller July 13, 2013 I) Added the 1980 Bally BASIC program "Biorhythm 3.0" by Mark Keller. This program displays the biorhythms of the user. The program will request the birthday and the month to be displayed. Up to 26 days are displayed at a time. "Biorhythm 3.0" II) Added the 1980 Bally BASIC "Blackjack II" by Mark Keller. This program implements the game of Blackjack for one player vs. the computer. The rules are the same as those in the casinos with one exception. The exception is that when you split your cards the dealer will play against each hand after you stand on it. The stake you wish to play with is input from the keyboard at the start of the game. The dealer alternates between two decks and only deals the top 26 cards from a deck. Bets are entered from KN(1). "Blackjack II" III) Added a pdf that contains a letter written November 1, 1981, by Mark Keller to Bob Fabris. The pdf also contains two programs (referenced in the letter). These two games are unpublished Arcadian submissions found in the Bob Fabris' tape collection: "Blockout 5.0" and "Pinball I." Mark Keller Letter with two Programs (Nov. 1981) IV) Added 1981's "Blockout 5.0" and "Pinball I" by Mark Keller. These are both unpublished "Arcadian" submissions from the Bob Fabris Collection. 1) "Blockout 5.0" - Played like "Breakout" or "Brickyard." The game will prompt for parameters and hand controller #1 moves the paddle. 2) "Pinball I" - A simple pinball game (no gravity). It will prompt for parameters, triggers 1 & 2 control the flippers. [Use the player 1 trigger for the left flipper, and the player 2 trigger for the right flipper.] They stay on a set period of time when used and then are disabled for a set period of time. Mark Keller Bally BASIC Download Area V) Added Bally BASIC programs by Mark Keller: 1) "Bombardment II 2.0" - This is a type of guessing game where the player pits his guesses against the computer's random choices. The player starts moving the cursor with the joystick and selecting his four "forts" with the trigger. The player and computer then alternate shots. The player shoots by moving the cursor on the computer's side to choose the "fort" to shoot at and then firing with the trigger. If the cursor stays lit it was a hit. The game restarts automatically. 2) "Bullseye II 2.0" - A dart game for up to 20 players. When 1-4 play, the game is pistol-grip controlled. When 5-20 play, keyboard input is used. The object of the game is to score 200 or more points. If more than 1 player score over 200 in 1 round, the highest score wins. There are three different throws. There is no "best" or "worst" throw. 3) "Chase III 1.0" - In Chase, you are "" in a high-voltage maze. There are robots "+" trying to destroy you. If you touch an "X", a "+", or are caught by a "+", you are destroyed. When the robots walk into "X"'s they are destroyed. The robots will follow the shortest route to you; allowing you to lead them to destruction. 4) "File Create" - This program is used to type in and record tape data files. 5) "Life" - Patterns are setup using the keys to move the cursor and turn it on and off. The game is then run. Generation and population counts are displayed. The game can be stopped and the pattern changed. The fate of a cell is defined by the number of cells neighboring it. 6) "Space Battle" - You have 50 time units to shoot down as many enemy space-craft as you can. The joystick controls your movement relative to the space-craft. The trigger fires the laser. Three misses are allowed per time period. The space-crafts movement becomes more evasive with each hit. Before you start the game by pulling the trigger, you can change the colors with the joystick. 7) "Star Trek III" - The play of this game is based loosely on Super Star Trek and Trek 80. You must destroy all Klingons before running out of energy or time. Mark Keller Bally BASIC Download Area July 12, 2013 I) Added a modified version of 1981's "Gobblers" by Bob Wiseman. The most likely sequence of events for this modification is that Bob Wiseman wrote his original version of "Gobblers" in 1981. Then Klaus Doerge modified "Gobbler" and had his mod published in the Arcadian in 1983. After this, John J. Kottler modified Doerge's mod of "Gobblers" and Kottler's program eventually made its way into Mike White's collection. "Gobblers" (mod) II) Added prototype of 1980's "Blue RAM BASIC 1.0" from Perkins Engineering to Astrocade ROM Collection. This was found on tape in Ken Lill's collection hand-labeled "BRB 2K". It's not in a playable state. Astrocade ROM Collection III) Added eleven unpublished Bally BASIC programs by Stanley Kendall: 1) "Box Art & Parameters" 2) "Find Yogi" 3) "Hidden Boxes" 4) "More Art" 5) "Reverse Box Set" 6) "Reverse Images" 7) "Totem Poles" 8) "Trap Game and New Trap Game" 9) "Triangles & Boxes" 10) "Weird Disappearing Boxes" 11) "Yearly Misc. Income" Stanley Kendall, Bally BASIC Download Area IV) Added "Arcade Visual" by Ken Springsteen. On September 25, 2012, Paul Thacker posted to ballyalley@yahoogroups.com, "Several Ken Springsteen programs (Crypt-o- grams, Spirals Visual, Arcade Visual, and Wards Display) were on a tape in the Bob Fabris collection labeled "Ken Springsteen Programs For The Arcadian". Crypt-o-grams was published, and I guess the others should be considered unpublished submissions." "Arcade Visual" by Ken Springsteen V) Added 79's "Fantasy Game Package" by Guy McLimore jr. In message 12216, on January 6, 2013, Paul Thacker posted to the Bally Alley discussion group, "[A] Dungeons & Dragons package advertised in Arcadian Volume 1, page 54. I believe [this] is the earliest Dungeons & Dragons utility for the Astrocade--a set of four programs by Guy McLimore released in 1979." A fantasy game package for advanced players is available for those who enjoy the Dragon/Dungeon type of operation. The package includes four programs, "Dungeon Grafix I," "Dungeon Grafix II," "Fantasy People" and "Multidie" (Dice Roller). "Fantasy Game Package" by Guy McLimore jr. VI) Added three Bally BASIC programs by Rich Tietjens: 1) "Custom Graphics Version 3.1" - This is a set of printer drivers and perhaps other utility subroutines. It doesn't appear that all of them were included when these subroutines were printed in ARCADIAN 4, no. 8 (Jun. 11, 1982): 80. 2) "Dungeons And Dragons Game Aid Package, Ver. 3.2 (Side B)" - Nine more programs are included on the second side of the tape that are helpful to Dungeons & Dragons players. The programs are: 1. "Dungeon Dice 2.0" 2. "Keypad Dice" 3. "Dungeon Maker" 4. "Dungeon Dust 5. Unlabeled Program [Room Generator] 6. "Traits" 7. "Traits II" 8. "Languages" 9. "Character Maker Arthurian Knights" 3) "ZZZ-UNK-Rabbit" - Paul Thacker found this on the reverse side of one of Rich Tietjen's tapes in the Bob Fabris collection, unlabeled. It makes a sprite that I think looks like a rabbit, and what looks like a horizontally scrolling stage. You can move the sprite, but there's no hit detection. The tape had some commands to set variables that are never actually reached if you load it. I've included both a version exactly as it was on the tape, and one I reorganized to set these variables. Rich Tietjens Bally BASIC Download Area July 11, 2013 I) Added three digitally archived versions of previously non-digitally archived programs that have been modded by Klaus Doerge to the Arcadian newsletter, I-P Download area. The programs, with the original programmer's names, are: 1) "Laser Evader" - Dave Martin 2) "Nim" - Robert Hilferding 3) "Pool" - Bob Hensel. Arcadian Bally BASIC Program Area, I-P II) Added five digitally archived versions of previously non-digitally archived programs that have been modded by Klaus Doerge to the Arcadian newsletter, Q-Z Download area. The programs, with the original programmer's names, are: 1) "Slot Machine" - Bob Mueller 2) "Sound Graph" - Chuck Thomka 3) "Sub Hunter" - Bob Wiseman 4) "Yahtzee" - Bob Wiseman 5) "Zappit" - By Roger Swearington Arcadian Bally BASIC Program Area, Q-Z III) Added the AstroBASIC game, "Super Simon" by Klaus Doerge. This program was archived from a hand-labeled tape in Ken Lill's collection. This was never published as far as Paul Thacker can tell. "Super Simon" - Klaus Doerge IV) Added Klaus Doerge's Blue Ram BASIC's mod of Bob Wiseman's original Bally BASIC "Yahtzee" game that was published in ARCADIAN 2, no. 8 (Jun. 23, 1980): 74-75. "Yahtzee" (for BRB) by Bob Wiseman, Modded by Klaus Doerge V) Added three Blue Ram BASIC programs to the Expanded BASIC area: 1) "Spring Thing (Part I)" - Ken Lill 2) "Star Cruser" - Ken Lill 3) "Word Processor" - Don Gladden and Ken Lill Expanded BASIC Program Download Area, Q-Z July 10, 2013 I) Added four Bally BASIC digitally archived programs by Klaus Doerge. These are original programs that have been non-digitally archived previously. The programs are: 1) Alphabet Puzzle 2) Attack 3) Color Selector 4) Das Wandern Klaus Doerge Bally BASIC download Area II) Added digitally archived version of mod by Klaus Doerge of W&W Software's "Buddha's Boggler" program. "Buddha's Boggler" III) Added four digitally archived versions of previously non-digitally archived programs that have been modded by Klaus Doerge. The programs, with the original programmer's names, are: 1) "Bowl-A-Rama" - Bob Hensel 2) "Computer Twixt" - Joe Pipek 3) "Connect Four" - L.L. Camnitz 4) "Gobblers" - Bob Wiseman Arcadian Bally BASIC Program Area, A-H July 9, 2013 I) Added information, documentation and renamed the archive for the game, "The Crown of Zeus" by Todd Johnson. "The Crown of Zeus" II) Added "This Moses Wants to Lead You to the Video Land" by Bob Gritzinger. This article appeared on Wednesday, March 10,1982 in "The Brighton Argus" newspaper. This article gives background about how George Moses got started with the Bally Arcade and how he now makes music for the system. This article probably is one of the only places that you'll see a picture of the Blue Ram expansion unit attached a Bally Arcade in the mainstream press. "This Moses Wants to Lead You to the Video Land" (PDF) "This Moses Wants to Lead You to the Video Land" (Text Only) III) Added three versions of "Galactibattle" by Brett W. Lathrope and Fred Cornett (CURSOR 1, no. 5 (June 1980): 35-36.). The versions are for Bally BASIC, AstroBASIC and an unfinished Blue RAM BASIC conversion that Ken Lill was working on. From "Cursor" newsletter, "We have seen so many of this type of program (limited graphics) but, we feel this is one of the best non-graphic space programs we have tried! You are a Galactica Warrior piloting an outward bound fighter on a critical search and destroy mission! You are the last hope of your civilization and must destroy all the Cylon ships located in your quadrant of the galaxy! "Galactibattle" - AstroBASIC "Galactibattle" - Bally BASIC "Galactibattle" - Blue Ram BASIC July 5, 2013 I) Added 10 programs that require the Blue Ram BASIC and Expanded RAM. 1) "3-D Boxes" - John J. Kottler 2) "A-1A The Arcadian Curve" - Stanley Kendall 3) "A-2 Art" - Stanley Kendall 4) "A-3 Arcadian Programs" - Stanley Kendall, Bob Hensel, Clyde Perkins, and Dave Martin. 5) "Arcade Golf" - Ken Lill 6) "Cone Man" - Ken Lill 7) "Dot-To-Dot" - Bruce Brigden and Joe Peoples 8) "Frustration Fortress" - Ken Lill 9) "Golddigger" - Dave Carson 10) "Hot Rod BASIC" - Jay Fenton Expanded BASIC Program Download Area July 4, 2013 I) Added 1982's "Bowl" by Edge Software. This is a 2000-Baud game for use with AstroBASIC. Use the joystick to move the ball up and down, the knob to control spin, and the trigger to throw "Bowl" - By Edge Software II) Added 1982's "Match" by Edge Software. This is archived from commercial tape, "Tape #1," in Richard Houser's collection. There is also a BASIC listing in ARCADIAN 3, no. 12 (Oct. 05, 1981): 122-123. This is a 2000- Baud game for use with AstroBASIC. The object of this 1 or 2 player board game is to select the pairs of cards which have matching numbers. As letter guesses are entered on the keypad the cards are "turned over" to reveal the numbers. If a match is made the two cards are removed from the board and the player tries two more cards. If a match is not made the cards are turned down again. "Match" - By Edge Software July 3, 2013 I) Updated the "Program Downloads, RAM Expansion Required Area." This area previously had all programs, except those by WaveMakers, in one long section. Two new sections have been added. One for "Alternative Engineering" and the other for "Perkins Engineering." Also, the area now has the other programs sorted into three different areas: Miscellaneous Programs A-H, I-P, and Q-Z. This was done as MANY new programs will be added to this area over the next few weeks. Program Downloads, RAM Expansion Required Area II) Added five alternate WaveMakers Blue Ram BASIC, 2000-Baud programs: 1) "Dungeons Of Dracula" - WaveMakers 2) "Flight Simulator" - WaveMakers 3) "Flying Ace" - WaveMakers 4) "Outpost 19" - WaveMakers WaveMakers Expanded RAM Program Area III) Added Perkins Engineering "Blue Ram Keyboard Driver Program" for Bally BASIC. This program was released in 1980. This program requires Bally BASIC, Blue Ram Interface, and Blue Ram Keyboard. "Blue Ram Keyboard Driver Program" by Perkins Engineering IV) Added "Printing With AB" by Al Rathmell. This program is from: ARCADIAN 5, no. 2 (Dec. 3, 1982): 43. This is a short driver program for using a printer with AstroBASIC and the old-style printer interface that was popular to use with Bally BASIC. The full instructions have been OCR'ed and are available as part of the archive. "Printing With AB" - Al Rathmell July 2, 2013 I) Updated New Image's "Riddle." Removed old version (which was a bad dump) and replaced it with a good version and an alternate version. New Image's tape #1002 contains "Quickdraw" and "Skunk." Included on this tape as a bonus is "Riddle." New Image AstroBASIC Program Download Area June 30, 2013 I) Updated Barry Ellerson Bally BASIC download area. Added two new versions of archived programs plus description. The two updated programs are: 1) "Alchemisymmetrical Art" - ARCADIAN 3, no. 3 (Jan. 09, 1981): 39. Paul Thacker wrote on June 28, 2013, "As for what the program does, it is indeed another art program. It uses the line command to draw patterns which are symmetrical from the center of the screen both left to right and top to bottom. It frequently changes the foreground and background colors, often using a different palette on the left and right side of the screen, split right down the center." 2) "Grandfather Clock" - ARCADIAN 3, no. 3 (Jan. 09, 1981): 34. Comments from "Sourcebook" (Winter/Spring 1984), "Graphically displays a Grandfather Clock which keeps time and sounds out the hours." This archive version has the corrections from that fixes the "bong-bing" to "bing-bong." Also updated these three archives and added comments for them: 3) "Circle Plotter" - ARCADIAN 3, no. 3 (Jan. 09, 1981): 33. Comments from "Sourcebook" (Winter/Spring 1984): "Input X and Y position plus the radius and program draws a circle.") 4) "Surf and Cricket Sounds" - ARCADIAN 3, no. 3 (Jan. 09, 1981): 33. Comments from "Sourcebook" (Winter/Spring 1984), "Surf and Cricket sounds are produced by this program." The program displays a menu with two choices. Choice one will make the "Surf Sounds," while the second choice makes the sound of crickets. 5) "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" - Not Previously Printed. Archived from tape in Bob Fabris Collection. On March 21, 2011, Paul Thacker, the archiver, wrote: "On the back of the Barry Ellerson tape was a previously unknown version of We Wish You A Merry Christmas. While George Moses had done this song, this isn't the same, and isn't of nearly the same quality. I believe this is also by Barry Ellerson, but I can't be certain." Barry Ellerson Bally BASIC Download Area II) Made updates to the Ron Picardi Bally BASIC download area. I added or updated these five programs: 1) "Anchors Aweigh" - Ron Picardi (Newly Archived) 2) "Lunar Lander" - Ron Picardi (Newly Digitally Archived) 3) "Space Wars 3 Race" - Ron Picardi (Newly Digitally Archived) 4) "Space Wars Super Edition Battlestar Galacia" - Ron Picardi (Newly Digitally Archived) 5) "Wave Study" - Ron Picardi (Newly Digitally Archived) Ron Picardi Bally BASIC Download Area June 29, 2013 I) Added "Color Chart" by Jim Winn. This program is from: ARCADIAN 3, no. 3 (Jan. 09, 1981): 35. (Original BASIC Listing) ARCADIAN 6, no. 6 (Apr. 20, 1984): 59. (Reprint) Once you have this utility program on your tapes, you will be able to make a good assessment as to the colors to be used in a particular program you are developing. It starts out by asking for a general color area, and then it will step through the hues (using the Joystick). When you find one you like, moving the joystick to the left will cause the screen to split, and you can make your second choice on the left side. In this way you can easily see how the colors will look. And as you do this, the color numbers appear to identify them. "Color Chart" by Jim Winn II) Added "Horserace" by Paul Slezak. This program is from: ARCADIAN 3, no. 2 (Dec. 05, 1980): 26-27. (Original Listing) ARCADIAN SAMPLIER PROGRAMS (1980): 6. (Reprint) "Eight horses are available to bet upon, using the keypad to enter your horse (B) and the value you bet (C). The computer then randomly moves the horses across the screen and calculates the winnings." "Horserace" by Paul Slezak III) Added digitally archived 300-Baud version of "Critter" by Brett Bilbrey. This program is from: ARCADIAN 3 no. 2 (December 5, 1980): 13. (No explanation) CURSOR 2 no. 3 (October 1980): 66-67. (With explanation) This program will place a space invader type "CRITTER" on the screen that will bounce from top to bottom and side to side without disturbing anything that is already on-screen. This "CRITTER" will run independent of anything else you wish to do. If you press "HALT", he won't! His speed is controlled by Hand Control Knob #1. "Critter" by Brett Bilbrey IV) Added "Golf" by Bob Hensel. This program is from: ARCADIAN 3, no. 4 (Feb. 07, 1981): 46-47. (Original Listing) ARCADIAN 3, no. 5 (Mar. 07, 1981): 51. (Correction) Golf is a game of skill for 1 to 4 players. The computer generates 9 different holes each game, randomly placing each green and hazards such as tress, water, or sand traps. Each player selects the direction the ball will travel by moving JX(1) until the rotating line points in the proper direction. The distance is dependent on the club selected using JY(1). Remember the flight of the ball is affected by the direction and velocity of the wind. "Golf" By Bob Hensel V) Added "Mastermind" by Bob Wiseman. This program is from: ARCADIAN 3, no. 2 (Dec. 05, 1980): 19. In this version of "Mastermind," the computer holds a four-color code that you must guess. Enter the first letter of each color guessed via the keypad. Each BLACK response means a correct color in the correct spot, a WHITE response means a correct color in the wrong spot. "Mastermind" by Bob Wiseman VI) Added "Monthly Loan Payment" by G. Hallquist. This program is from: ARCADIAN 2, no. 3 (Jan. 15, 1980): 22. From the Arcadian newsletter: "Monthly Loan Payment" will calculate the monthly payment and the total payment when you input the loan amount, the interest rate, and the months the loan will run. Enter these values by the digit, including leading zeros (that is, $20,000, is entered as 020000, and 9% is entered as 09000). This could be a good start for an amortization program each montly payment is split into its principal and interest portions." "Monthly Loan Payment" by G. Hallquist June 28, 2013 I) Added digitally archived version of "Slot Machine" by Bob Mueller. I also separated the non-digitally archived Klaus Doerge mod of this program and put it into another file because it's SO much larger (6.4MB comared to the 20K digitally archive file!). Arcadian Q-Z, 300-Baud Program Download Area II) Added digitally archived version of "Morse Code" (and many alternate versions) by Ron Picardi. Ron Picardi Bally BASIC Download Area III) Updated Rich Tietjens Bally BASIC Section. Added some more descriptions and program sources. Rich Tietjens Bally BASIC Download Area IV) Added "Bio-rhythms" by Dave Walter and Rich Tietjens from ARCADIAN 2 no. 5 (March 24, 1980): 38,44-45. This archive contains several different variations of "Bio-rhythms," including the original "String Loader" that was required to type-in the program the first time (but isn't actually required to use the program). Arcadian A-H, 300-Baud Program Download Area June 27, 2013 I) Added thirteen Bally BASIC programs from Volume II of the Arcadian. Most of these programs have never been available in any format before now. The programs are: 1) "Logo" - Guy McLimore 2) "Manual Assembler" - R. Braddam 3) "Mastermind" - Carol Burkemper 4) "Number Match" - Scott Walpole 5) "Poke (2007x)" - Dave Clark 6) "Poke" - Dick Martin 7) "Popeye The Sailor" - Scott Walpole 8) "Puzzle" - Bob Wiseman Arcadian I-P, 300-Baud Program Download Area II) Added six Bally BASIC programs from Volume II of the Arcadian. Most of these programs have never been available in any format before now. The programs are: 1) "Random Box" - Scott Walpole 2) "Space War" - Dave Clark 3) "Spirals" - Matt Giwer 4) "Spirals 2" - Matt Giwer 5) "Weird Programs" - Bob Wagner 6) "Weird!" - Tim Hays Arcadian Q-Z, 300-Baud Program Download Area III) Replaced, merged or changed five programs in the "Arcadian" area: 1) Bots, By Ron McCoy - Added non-modified version and original "adult" version (program now says "Drat" instead of "Shit." 2) Bowl-A-Rama, By Bob Hensel - This is a digitally archived version of the program that has NOT been modified. The modified version is still online and has not yet been digitally archived, so it is a separate download. 3) Connect Four, By L L Camnitz - This is a digitally archived version of the program that has NOT been modified. The modified version is still online and has not yet been digitally archived, so it is a separate download. 4) Saucer Battle, By John Hurst - Replaced the files online with more versions. 5) Yahtzee, By Bob Wiseman - Added a digitally archived version of the program that has NOT been modified. The modified version is still online and has not yet been digitally archived, so it is a separate download. "Arcadian" newsletter 300-Baud Program Area June 26, 2013 I) Added "3-Tone Music Input Program" by Brett Bilbrey, George Moses, and Bob Weber. The BASIC program is accompanied by an in-depth tutorial by George Moses called "Music Input Program Plays 3-Tone Music in Basic." This tutorial has been scanned and added too. "3-Tone Music Input Program" by Brett Bilbrey, George Moses, and Bob Weber. "Music Input Program Plays 3-Tone Music in Basic" Tutorial By George Moses (pdf) "Music Input Program Plays 3-Tone Music in Basic" Tutorial George Moses (Text-Only, No Illustrations) II) Added digitally archived versions of two Bally BASIC programs by Ron Picardi. The programs are: 1) "Black Hole" 2) "Slot" Ron Picardi, 300-Baud Program Download Area III) Added thirteen Bally BASIC programs from Volume II of the Arcadian. Most of these programs have never been available in any format before now. The programs are: 1) "Bible Quiz" - Bob Hensel 2) "Bingo" - Ernie Sams 3) "Circle" - Dave Clark 4) "Connect Four" - Bob Wiseman 5) "Count The Dots" - Les and M. Porter 6) "Decimal Division" - Laurence Gallant 7) "Diminishing Boxes" - Matt Giwer 8) "Dot Generator" - Jay Fowler 9) "Electronic Visualization Center" - Dan Sanden and Phil Morton 10) "Graphics Assembler" - Hugh Fitler 11) "Halloween Ghost" - J. Wilkinson 12) "Hangman" - Carl Morimoto 13) "Hello Dolly" - Scott Walpole Arcadian A-H, 300-Baud Program Download Area June 23, 2013 I) Added five Bally BASIC programs from Volume I of the Arcadian. The programs are: 1) "2000 AD" - Ed Larkin (Previous version was only prototype) 2) "Arcade Dice" - Klaus F. Grismayer (New to 300-Baud Area) 3) "Arcadian Shorty" - Tom Johnson (New to website) 4) "Attack" - Carl Morimoto (New to Website) 5) "Base Conversion" - Ron McCoy (Replaces version with type) Arcadian A-H, 300-Baud Program Download Area June 21, 2013 I) Added eight Bally BASIC programs from Volume I of the Arcadian. Some of these programs have never been available in any format before now. The programs are: 1) "Random Art" - Ernie Sams 2) "Reverse" - Brett Bilbrey and Mike Toth 3) "RM = Remainder" - Tom Wood and Bob Fabris 4) "Simon" - Brett Bilbrey and Joe Borello 5) "Slot Machine" - Ernie Sams 6) "Sound Graph" - Chuck Thomka 7) "Square Root" - David Stocker 8) "Touch Tone Simulate" - Chuck Thomka Arcadian Q-Z, 300-Baud Program Download Area June 20, 2013 I) Added sixteen Bally BASIC programs from Volume I of the Arcadian. Most of these programs have never been available in any format before now. The programs are: 1) "Amazed In Space" - Aquila and Richard Houser 2) "Another Division Routine (4 Decimal Places" - Pete Bowman 3) "Arcadian At 2x Size" - Glenn Pogue 4) "Big Letters" - Glenn Pogue and Dennis Sprague 5) "Black Box" - B. Reany 6) "Clock" - J. Cousins 7) "Convert Hex To Decimal" - Ernie Sams 8) "Data Storage Subroutine" - Bob Weber 9) "Distance Between Two Points" - David Stocker 10) "Division" - Marc Gladstein 11) "Division With Decimals" - Paul Law 12) "Examples From Arcadian, Volume 1" - Various 13) "Frequencies" - Robert Hood 14) "Game Over (31xx Version)" - Tom Wood 15) "Giant Letters" - Glenn Pogue and Bob Fabris 16) "Guessing Game" - Bret Babel and Vince Garzoli. Arcadian A-H, 300-Baud Program Download Area II) Added Bally BASIC version of "Checkers" by John Collins: John Collins Bally BASIC Download Area III) Added seven Bally BASIC programs from Volume I of the Arcadian. Most of these programs have never been available in any format before now. The programs are: 1) "Memory Contents-Binary" - Max Manowski and Brett Bilbrey 2) "Memory Contents-Hex" - Gary Moser 3) "Memory Display" - Chuck Thomka 4) "Menu (Input 3174)" - Martin Nason 5) "Microtrek" - Bill Andrus 6) "Poke-ing Program" - George Breadon 7) "PX Function" - Steve Walters Arcadian I-P, 300-Baud Program Download Area June 19, 2013 I) Added four 300-Baud programs that load using Bally BASIC. These programs require Expansion RAM. 1) "8 Resistances" - Bob Fabris and John Perkins 2) "A To B" - John Perkins 3) "Fast Action Graphics (Vector Animator)" - John Perkins 4) "Window Alarm" - Bob Fabris and John Perkins Expansion RAM Program Download Area June 18, 2013 I) Added five programs to the Arcadian Newsletter Download Area. Three of the programs have AstroBASIC programs that have been previously archived, but two are completely new to BallyAlley.com. The five programs are: 1) "Battleship" - Bill Mead 2) "Catchem" - Scott Taylor (No AstroBASIC previously available) 3) "Match" - Edge Software (No AstroBASIC previously available) 4) "Polo" - By Bob Hensel 5) "Starfighter" - James Winn Arcadian Newsletter Download Area II) Added "Sub Search" by Ron Picardi to the Ron Picardi, 300-Baud Program Download Area. This program has been previously archived in 2000-Baud format. Ron Picardi, 300-Baud Program Download Area June 17, 2013 I) Added programs to the Bally BASIC Miscellaneous Area. 1) "ZZZ-UNK (data entry)" - Probably Spectre Systems 2) "ZZZ-UNK (number conversion)" - Unknown Author Bally BASIC Miscellaneous Area June 16, 2013 I) Added programs to the Bally BASIC Miscellaneous Area. 1) "Persian Carpet" - Probably Ernie Sams 2) "Space Battle" - J. A. Johnson 3) "Star Battle" - J. A. Johnson 4) "Star Trek" - Unknown Author 5) "Star Wars" - Unknown Author 6) "Strategy Football" - Dan Cotsirilos 7) "UFO Search" - Unknown Author Bally BASIC Miscellaneous Area June 15, 2013 I) Changed the set-up of the Arcadian Bally BASIC Download Area. This has broken ALL previous links to this area, but it needed to be done to expand the area with future programs. Bally BASIC Arcadian Program Download Area II) Added the Bally BASIC version of "Camel" by Fred Cornett. Cursor, Bally BASIC Download Area III) Added programs to the Bally BASIC Miscellaneous Area. 1) "Arabic Language Quiz" - Unknown Author 2) "Dial-Up Directory" - Rich Tietjens and Chuck Thomka 3) "Hi, Brett" - Unknown Author 4) "ICBM Attack" (proto) - Spectre Systems 5) "LCD Clock" - Ernie Sams 6) "Letter Match" - Bob Wiseman 7) "Life For Two" - Joe Borrello 8) "Lights Out" - Unknown Author 9) "Mastermind" - Brett Bilbrey and Joe Borrello 10) "Math Quiz" - Probably Ernie Sams 11) "Ones And Fives (Proto)" - Bill Mead 12) "Payment Record" - Bill Mead Bally BASIC Miscellaneous Area June 12, 2013 I) Added one program to the Bally BASIC W&W Software Sales Area: 1) Cylon Raiders (two modded versions) W&W Software Sales Area II) Added two programs to the newly created Jay Fenton Bally BASIC Program Area. 1) "Life" 2) "Nuke the @&#%$" (aka "Nuke the Bastards") Jay Fenton Bally BASIC Program Area June 4, 2013 I) Added six Bally BASIC programs by John Collins: 1) Bally Chess Board 2) Bowling 3) Checkers (Prototype) 4) Checkers II 5) Hangman 6) Inspector Clue-so John Collins Bally BASIC Download Area II) Added four Bally BASIC programs by Larry Camnitz: 1) Rock, Shears, Paper (mod of Dick Ainsworth's program in Bally BASIC manual) 2) Shooting Craps! 3) Slot Machine 4) Wheel Of Fortune Larry Camnitz Bally BASIC Download Area II) Added Five Bally BASIC programs by Robert Strand: 1) Angle Game 2) Laser Battle 3) Number War 4) Remember 5) Slot Machine Robert Strand Bally BASIC Download Area June 3, 2013 I) Added manual for Bally BASIC Tape game, "Video Rally" by Anderson Research & Design. "Video Rally" - pdf II) Created new section to hold Bally BASIC programs by Jim Dunson: 1) Line Concatenator (1981)(Dave Ibach and Jim Dunson) 2) Match My Number (1978) 3) Math Teacher (1981) 4) Memory Clear (1981) 5) Midstatement Changer (1981) 6) Note To Bob (1981) 7) Straight Lines (1981) 8) ZZZ-UNK (colors) (19xx) 9) ZZZ-UNK (INPUT FL) (19xx Jim Dunson Program Section June 2, 2013 I) Added "Bally BASIC Hexadecimal/Decimal Conversion Process" by Adam Trionfo. This short tutorial explains how to convert from Bally and AstroBASIC hex format to decimal and vice versa. Normally this process can be handled swiftly with a calculator that can simply convert decimal and hex values, but this is not the case with Bally BASIC. This conversion process relies on and builds upon methods discussed in 1982's Bally Arcade/Astrocade booklet called "Z-80 Mini Course" by Larry Simioni. "Bally BASIC Hexadecimal/Decimal Conversion Process" by Adam Trionfo June 1, 2013 I) Replaced audio recording of "Astro Zap" by George Moses with digitally archived version of game. "Astro Zap!!!" by George Moses II) Updated the A.R.D. 300-Baud program area. These three programs were previously online, but these additions are digitally archived versions of the programs: 1) Arcadian Sampler 2) Checkbook 3) Video Rally These next nine Bally BASIC programs are new Bally BASIC additions: 1) 3x5 Character Set 2) ARD Logo 3) Decimal To Poke 4) Explorer I 5) Paper Chase, The 6) Poke To Pixel Chart 7) Screen Locator 8) Type Sample 9) XY To Pixel Location A.R.D. Bally BASIC Download Area III) Added 25 songs (or sets of songs) in Bally BASIC format by George Moses. 1) 15 Two Part Inventions 2) Afternoon Delight 3) Allemande 4) Arcade Christmas Music 5) Bally Arcade Ragtime 6) Bally Music Greats 7) Chopsticks (Demo) 8) Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy 9) Evergreen 10) Funeral March Of A Marionette 11) Hit The Road Jack 12) It Only Hurts For A Little While 13) Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring 14) March From Love For Three Oranges 15) Melodie 16) Minuet In G 17) Ode To Joy 18) Over The Rainbow 19) Polonaise Opus 53 20) String Quartet No 2 In D 21) Syncopated Clock, The 22) Take Five 23) Take It Easy 24) With One More Look At You 25) Yesterday George Moses Bally BASIC Music Download Area May 24, 2013 I) Added "Blue Ram Operating System 1.0," a program, distributed on 300- baud tape, that in conjunction with Bally BASIC allows access to the Blue Ram unit's extended RAM. "Blue Ram Operating System 1.0." - 300-Baud Program "Blue Ram Operating System 1.0." Documentation - PDF February 14, 2013 I) Added "Conquering The Incredible Wizard" from Videogaming Illustrated Dec. 1982: 24-26. This is an in-depth stategy guide for the "The Incredible Wizard" for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. "Conquering The Incredible Wizard" - pdf "Conquering The Incredible Wizard" - Text February 3, 2013 I) Added "Crazy Climber" and "War" ROM homebrew images. These cartridges were released by Riff Raff Games and programmed by Michael Garber. The cartridges were released in 2010 ("War," limited release of 20) and 2012 ("Crazy Climber," release of 50). The "War" ROM image is actually from the second release of "War" from 2012 (a release of an additional 30 carts). Astrocade ROM Collection January 31, 2013 I) Added the manual for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade homebrew game "Crazy Climber." This game, programmed by Michael Garber, was released in 2012 by Riff Raff Games. It had a limited run of fifty cartridges. "Crazy Climber" Manual October 23, 2012 I) Added an excerpt of 1979's "A Simple Guide to Home Computers" by Steve Ditlea. The book excerpt includes the table of contents, a complete scan of chapter 7 called "Programmable Video Games," and the index. Chapter 7 covers the Bally Arcade/Astrocade, Cybervision 2001, Odyssey 2, and the VideoBrain. "A Simple Guide to Home Computers" - Book Excerpt "A Simple Guide to Home Computers" - Bally Arcade/Astrocade Excerpt October 22, 2012 I) Added "Level II BASIC on a Z-80 System" by Richard J. Uschold. Published in "Kilobaud Microcomputing," (August 1980): 52-66. This article covers the procedure that the author took to get a ROM version of Level III BASIC for the TRS-80 to run on his scratch-built component computer. This scan was made from a low-quality photocopy-- it's readable, but some pages have the tops or part of the sides "cut off." "Level II BASIC on a Z-80 System" II) Fixed html errors and warnings in the "Astrocade, Inc. and Bally Marketing Materials" area. None are noticeable to website users. III) Added Image Products/Press Release Folder This products/press release folder contains this information: Corporate Objectives and Personnel, Product Sheet Information for Atari, T.I., and TRS-80, Dealer Price Sheet, Distributor Price Sheet, and Image Folder. Covered in some detail are: Bill Moulds, Dick Ainsworth, Al Baker, Dick Schultz, Strategy Pack II, All Star Baseball, Wall Street Challenge, Mind Master, Skill Builder I, Strategy Pack, Typing Tutor, Dungeon Campaign, Tournament Brick Bat, Wildcatting, and Action Pack I. Paul Thacker says, "I [...] wasn't sure if these were Astrocade-related when I first picked them up, but once I read them, I saw the connection. The Vice President is Dick Ainsworth, who did various things for Bally including writing the original Bally BASIC manual and coming up with the idea for Bingo Math. The president is Bill Moulds, who spoke at the Astrovision sales meeting we have recordings of. He was helping Astrovision with marketing the system. There's some good biographical information about both of them. I think it's likely that Astrovision was contracting with Image Computer Products for their marketing." "Image Products/Press Release Folder" October 20, 2012 I) Added "Subroutine and FOR Loop Push-Down/Pop-Up Stack Notes" by By A Winsor. This is an unpublished submission to the Arcadian newsletter from February 14, 1979. Taken from the article, "Subroutine levels and loop parameters are placed into the stack in a First-In-Last-Out (FILO) basis. Only for FOR loops originated at a particular subroutine level are available in that now level." "Subroutine and FOR Loop Push-Down/Pop-Up Stack Notes" II) Added a draft of "An Introduction To The BPA" by Robert Fabris. "An Introduction To The BPA" (Draft)" III) Added "SIG Bally" by Mike Maslowski. A Special Interest Group article published in the "Chicago Area Computer Hobbyist" September 1980 newsletter. "SIG Bally" (PDF) "SIG Bally" (Text) IV) Added "An Integrated TV Modulation System" by Milton Wilcox. Published in "IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics." 23.1. (February 1977): 69-77. The article covers new developments in TV add-on areas such as V.D.R., games, and data display, have produced a common need for composite video encoding and R. F. modulation circuits to interface with the T. V. receiver. This paper reviews the basic requirements for this area and then presents a new T. V. video modulation system using only one integrated circuit. The new system includes the sound subcarrier oscillator and chroma subcarrier encoding circuits, in addition to R. F. oscillators and modulators for two low-V.H.F. channels. Channel switching is achieved with a DC-operated switch. The schematics have been marked-up with notes on how to use this article with the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. The magazine scan is of a poor-quality photocopy. "An Integrated TV Modulation System" October 19, 2012 I) Added "Pix-Art" by Frank Dietrich and Zsuzsanna Molnar. This article covers ZGrass and specifically talks about several pieces of art that have been written using the language. Pictures of some of the art is included. "Pix-Art" II) Added a memo by Bob Fabris that relates to ZGRASS. This memo asks for ZGrass program submission of two types: programs for publication in Arcadian and programs for sale. ZGRASS Memo III) Added "Astrovision Plans Multi-Segment Marketing Thrust for New Zgrass-32 Computer System," by George Moses. This was found among the Bob Fabris Collection. It may never have been published-- and it certainly looks and reads more like marketing material than it does a true article. Perhaps this was a press release of some kind. "Astrovision Plans Marketing Thrust for Computer System" (pdf) "Astrovision Plans Marketing Thrust for Computer System" (Text) IV) Added Ken Lill's November 2011 updated "Blue Ram Detailed Memory Allocation" sheet. It is a detailed memory allocation listing. Detailed Memory Allocation Sheet V) Added "Cartridge Sales Make Game Market A 12-Month Season" by Hope Heymen. From: Consumer Electronics, 8.5 (May 1980): 87-88. Print. This article details the growth of the games industry and that it has grown large enough that games are no longer Christmas season items only; games can be sold year-round. "Cartridge Sales Make Game Market A 12-Month Season" "Cartridge Sales Make Game Market A 12-Month Season" - (Excerpt) VI) Added "International Winter Consumer Electronics Show" by David H. Ahl. This was published in "Creative Computing," March 1981: 52-70. This article covers the International Winter Consumer Electronics Show, January 8-11, 1981. "International Winter Consumer Electronics Show" October 12, 2012 I) Added a letter to Phil Morton drafted by Bob Fabris in 1983. This letter, from the Bob Fabris Collection, was paper-clipped to a "Softalk" article. Paul Thacker says, "I believe this must be a draft of a letter that Bob wrote to Phil Morton (who is mentioned in the [Softtalk] article)." Paul retyped the letter and it has been rearranged (the arrows connecting various pieces of the letter have been organized and removed) to make it easier to follow.) Phil Morton Letter (pdf, Handwriting is hard to understand) Phil Morton Letter (Text) II) Added "Chicago Computer Artist Accelerates to Warp Speed." This article is from "Softalk" (February 1983): 227,229. Jane Veeder's use of the Datamax's UV-1 and the ZGRASS language to create "WARPITOUT" and "Montana," as well as other graphic art is covered in this article. This article is referenced in a letter that Bob Fabris wrote to Phil Morton. "Chicago Computer Artist Accelerates to Warp Speed" (pdf) "Chicago Computer Artist Accelerates to Warp Speed" (text) III) Added a draft version of 1979's "Bally BASIC Hacker's Guide" by Jay Fenton. Hacker's Guide (Draft Version) IV) Added the original Arcadian submission of "Music Synthesizer" tutorial by Chuck Thomka. When submitted it was called "More Information on the Sound Synthesizer." Sound Synthesizer - Original Arcadian "The Music Synthesizer" Submission V) Added a tutorial by Jim Dunson called "Using Machine Storage in Bally Text Area Without REM Statements." An extensive tutorial that explains how to use memory locations at the back part of the Text Area to hold POKEd data. A program example is given that holds sound and music there. "Using Machine Storage in Bally Text Area Without REM Statements" VI) Added "Program Title & Instructions Without Using Memory" by Steven Walters. Published in ARCADIAN 3, no. 2 (Dec. 05, 1980): 20-21. An earlier version of this tutorial was found among the Bob Fabris collection. That outdated version is also available-- think of it like a draft version. The procedure will allow you to describe a title at the beginning of the tape load, and up to nine lines of title and/or instructions at the end of the tape load, without using memory space. "Program Title & Instructions Without Using Memory" - As Published. "Program Title & Instructions Without Using Memory" - "Draft" October 11, 2012 I) Added a never-published "Ken's Korner," by Ken Lill from about 1986. "One thing that can save an awful lot of space in making programs that have a lot of BOX commands is to make a BOX-making sub-routine." This tutorial explains how to save bytes when using the BOX command. Ken's Korner (RTF) October 10, 2012 I) Created a Club:Gametics Astrocade mailorder catalog area with three catalogs. Club:Gameetics Catalog Area II) Added a WaveMakers ad for tapes 1-8. It includes pictures, descriptions and mock screenshots. WaveMakers Ad - Tapes 1-8 III) Added a marked-up version of the original Bally Home Library computer ad. Even in January of 1978 some people, in this case probably Bob Fabris, had doubts about parts of the ad being true. This marked-up version of the ad is from the Bob Fabris collection. It doubts such ideas as playing chess on the phone against another player and speculates on if the storage media will be punch cards or tape. Marked-Up Bally Home Library Computer Ad IV) Added "Bally Professional Arcade" by Karl Zimm. This was published in "Creative Computing," 4, no. 5 (Sept-Oct 1978): 56-59. This article covers the Bally Arcade, not as a game playing console, but as an entry-level computer for use with BASIC. The only way that games are covered at all is using Bally BASIC to create games. There is a sample type-in BASIC program included called "Guess the Number." "Bally Professional Arcade" by Karl Zimm - (pdf) "Bally Professional Arcade" by Karl Zimm - (Text) V) Updated the "ZGrass / UV-1 Articles" area. Many of the articles now have authors and sources listed. "ZGrass / UV-1 Articles" Area VI) Added "ZGRASS-32 And The Consumer Market," by Tom Defanti. This is from February 10, 1981. Covers the market segments affected in probable order of penetration: Computer Hobbyists, Hobbyists in Related Areas, The Consumer- Short Term, The Consumer- Long Term, The Education Market, Third-Party Software and finally, Additional Markets. "ZGRASS-32 And The Consumer Market" October 9, 2012 I) Added "Treasure Cove" ad by Spectre Systems from "Video Games," 1, no. 10 (July 1983): 20. Treasure Cove Ad II) Added "Games for the Astrocade: An Evolutionary Profile," by Mark Brownstein. From "Video Games," 1, no. 12 (Sept. 1983): 62-65. A short early history of Bally Arcade/Astrocade games with most detail covering the differences and hardships encountered by BASIC programs versus machine language programmers. "Games for the Astrocade: An Evolutionary Profile," by Mark Brownstein III) Added "The Astrocade Question: Sink or Swim?" by Mark Brownstein. Printed in "Video Games," 1, no. 7 (April. 1983): 10, 12-13. Discussion includes the introduction and original problems of the Bally Arcade and how it has affected the current situation (in 1983) with Astrocade, Inc. "The Astrocade Question: Sink or Swim?," by Mark Brownstein (PDF) "The Astrocade Question: Sink or Swim?," by Mark Brownstein (Text) IV) Added "Astrocade Videocade New Cartridges" flyer. A Black and White glossy flyer with nine to-be-released cartridges for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. Not all of these games were released by Astrocade, Inc. "Astrocade Videocade New Cartridges" Flyer V) Added a listing of five Blue Ram products. They are Blue Ram RAM Expansion, Keyboard, Blue Ram Operating System 1.0, BSR Controller and the Blue Ram MODEM/Printer Interface. There is also a schematic for the "Bus Interface Circuits for 16K RAM Using Intel 2107B Dynamic RAM (or equivalent)." Blue Ram Products and 16K Circuit Schematic VI) Added picture of a Viper System Prototype. This is the original glossy used for the ARCADIAN, 5, no. 12 (October 24, 1983): 174. Since it's the original, the quality is much higher than what appeared in the newsletter. Viper System Prototype October 5, 2012 I) Added two reviews of Bally BASIC tape programs: 1) "3x5 Character Set" Review, by Al Rathmell. Program by H.A.R.D. 2) "The Dragon" and "Vegas 500" Reviews," by Bill Rueger. Programs Larry Camnitz. "3x5 Character Set" Review "The Dragon" and "Vegas 500" Review October 3, 2012 I) Added archive containing several different versions of "AstroWAV" and "BallyBin" by Bob Colbert. These range from 2002-2007. These two programs allow AstroBASIC and 2000-Baud Bally Arcade/Astrocade tape software to be digitally archived from tape to WAV files for use with your favorite computer or media player. With the help of these two programs, new BASIC software can also be more easily written. Most archives contain extensive documentation. "AstroWAV" and "BallyBin" Archive October 2, 2012 I) Added "prg2txt" and "txt2prg" 1.2. Two features Paul Thacker always wanted have been added: adding support in txt2prg for bytes in curly braces, and making prg2txt only optionally look for VIPERSoft BASIC keywords. "300-Baud Tools Archive (Includes "prg2txt" and "txt2prg") October 1, 2012 I) Added picture of "the Adventures of Robby Roto" 7-11 Slurpee Cup for a November 2011 Ebay auction. "The Adventures of Robby Roto" is an arcade game that Bally Midway released in 1981. The game is based on the Bally Arcade/Astrocade chipset. This game wasn't popular in the arcades and thus it didn't see wide production. Therefore it is unusual that there was a 7-11 convenience store Slurpee Cup tie-in. This game has the distinction of being the first game ROM that is legally distributed for use with the MAME arcade game emulator. Robby Roto 7-11 Slurpee Cup Robby Roto 7-11 Slurpee Cup (Auction Screenshot) Robby Roto 7-11 Slurpee Cup (Auction Description) September 28, 2012 I) Added "Astrovision Inc. Sales Meeting (Part 1-6)" audio files in FLAC format. On March 20-21, 1981, Astrovision Inc. held a meeting for 35 distributor organization personnel. Bob Fabris, George Moses, Mike Peace, and Fred Cornett were invited to represent Bally users, as noted in the April 1981 issue of "Arcadian" (see pages 61 and 63). A number of speakers discussed both sales strategy and the future plans for the system. The meeting agenda lists events all day Friday, as well as Saturday morning. Bob recorded many, though apparently not all, of these talks. Astrocade Sales Meeting: March 20-21, 1981 (Audio Area) September 27, 2012 I) Added 1980's "O-Jello" audio tape introduction and instructions by Clyde Perkins. These are in FLAC format. The "O-Jello" audio instructions have been transcribed from tape and are also available here. These are the "O-Jello" rules that Clyde Perkins placed before and after the Bally BASIC game. Also included in a summary of how the program works. Clyde sent this tape to Bob Fabris of the "Arcadian" newsletter (for printing the BASIC listing) and to Steve Wilson in Cleveland, Ohio (for review of the game). The rules credit Peter Maggs article in "Byte" for inspiration of the game [Maggs, Peter B. "Programming Strategies in the Game of Reversi," Byte, Nov. 1979, 66-79.]. "O-Jello" Audio Instructions (Part 1), Time - 1:04 / Size - 1.41MB "O-Jello" Audio Instructions (Part 2), Time - 6:01 / Size - 7.98MB "O-Jello" Audio Instructions (Transcription) II) Added Allen Skaggs "Arcadian" submission tape audio from 1980 or 1981. These are in FLAC format. The audio introductions have been transcribed and are also available for download. These are short introductions that proceeded programs on a tape that Allen Skaggs sent to Bob Fabris in about 1980/1981. These introductions include overviews for the following programs: "Cypto-Scambler" (aka "Telephone Directory"), "String Loader," and an update of "Nim" (with sound), and a statement that Mr. Skaggs makes that tells Bob which type of recorder that he uses. Allen Skaggs Audio Introductions in "Spoken Introduction" Area Allen Skaggs Audio Introductions (Transcribed) III) Removed links to three audio files and associated descriptions from the "Bob Fabris Audio Recordings" area. These files have been renamed and added to a new area called "Astrocade Sales Meeting." The three deleted files are: 1) "Astro_Mtg_3-81.flac" 2) "Sales_Pitch_for_New_BASIC_Bally_ARCADE_+.flac" 3) "Sales_Pitch_for_New_BASIC_Bally_ARCADE_+_(reverse).flac" September 26, 2012 I) Added a "Cursor 300-Baud Program" download area. Cursor 300-Baud Program Download Area II) Added 300-Baud version of "Wumpus" by Chris Pruitt and Robert Leake. Published in CURSOR 1 no. 2 (February 1980): 14,15. The Wumpus, a mythical creature which no man has seen before, lives in a cavern of 20 rooms made of a squashed dodecahedron. Each room connects to 3 other rooms. Your mission is to deduce which room the Wumpus is sleeping in (it usually sleeps), and shoot it with an arrow. You have 5 arrows. You fire an arrow by inputting "0" when prompted "MOVE TO?". You can then shoot in up to 5 rooms. The rooms must be joined to each other, or you can ricochet and be killed. There are other hazards. Two rooms have Bats and 2 have Pits. Also, the Wumpus moves when you wake him, and he may eat you. Wumpus by Chris Pruitt and Robert Leake III) Moved 300-Baud version of "Line Resequencer" by Mike Peace published in CURSOR 2 no. 5 (January/February 1981): 89. This program is now in the 300-Baud area. "Line Resequencer" is a program to renumber your 300-BAUD programs. Line Resequencer by Mike Peace IV) Created a new area for pictures of people in the Bally Arcade/ Astrocade Community. Bally Arcade/Astrocade Community People Picture Area V) Added a picture of Brett Bilbrey with many of the members of MBUG Michigan Bally User's Group), April 2012. Brett Bilbrey and MBUG VI) Added 300-Baud version of "Airbrush and Sandblast" by Curtis Schreier. This program was published in: ARCADIAN 2 no. 10 (September 17, 1980): 95. Also added a scan of the tape cover for the program. Airbrush and Sandblast Program Airbrush and Sandblast Tape Cover Scan VII) Added 300-Baud version of "Resequencing" by Ron Schweitzer. This program was published in ARCADIAN 1 no. 11 (October 31, 1979): 85,90-91. "Resequencing" renumbers a BASIC program by using a tape as output, meaning the program in memory isn't actually changed, only the program on the tape is changed. Resequencing by Ron Schweitzer VIII) Added a spoken word introduction included at the beginning of "Airbrush and Sandblast" by Curtis Schreier. Also added a transcription of it. Airbrush and Sandblast (Audio Introduction, FLAC Format) Airbrush and Sandblast (Audio Introduction, Transcription) IX) Added 300-Baud version of "Name Combined With Nicomachus" by Hank Chiuppi. This program was published in ARCADIAN 2 no. 8 (June 23, 1980): 72. This program is based on two games: "Name" and "Nicomachus." These were both published in Creative Computing's 1978's "BASIC Computer Games" by David Ahl. Each of these two programs were "combined" to come up with this "new" game. This Bally Arcade/Astrocade version doesn't have any documentation in the "Arcadian" newsletter, so the original documentation for the two games has been included in the archive. Name Combined With Nicomachus by Hank Chiuppi X) Added 300-Baud version of "D&D Speedway" by Mario DeLaura. This program was published in ARCADIAN 4, no. 3 (December 24, 1981): 30-31. The instructions for "D&D Speedway" were not included in the "Arcadian." D&D Speedway by Mario DeLaura XI) Added 300-Baud version of "O-Jello" by Clyde Perkins. This program was published in ARCADIAN 2, no. 5 (March 24, 1980): 38,41. and also included on the "Best of Arcadian, 1980" tape. "O-Jello" by Clyde Perkins is a version of Othello. O-Jello by Clyde Perkins September 25, 2012 I) Added 300-Baud version of "Bio-rhythms" by Dave Walter This program is from: ARCADIAN 2 no. 5 (March 24, 1980): 38,44-45. From the "Arcadian," "'Bio-rhythms' by Dave Walter is a version that stores the data for the three graphs outside the program in string locations, and then directs their printing in the proper place on the screen. The sine wave is therefore quite accurately portrayed. "Bio-rhythms" by Dave Walter II) Added 300-Baud version of "Compound Interest" by Jess Shadle. From the ARCADIAN 3 no. 3 (July 9, 1981): 98-99. "Compound Interest" by Jess Shadle III) Added 300-Baud version of "<Crypt-o-Grams>" by Ken Springsteen. From: ARCADIAN 4 no. 4 (January 22, 1982): 36,42. The instructions in the "Arcadian" refer to "<Crypt-o-Grams>" as "Cryptologic." This is a two-player game that can also be played by teams, rotating turns at guessing. The entry will be erased, and then scrambled, using a random scrambling technique. The "other side" must rearrange the letters/spaces into the proper relationship using a minimum number of moves. IV) Added 300-Baud version of "Horse Race" by Howard Brecheisen. Published in ARCADIAN 3, no. 1 (November 6, 1980): 6,7. Each player uses his hand controller to choose one of four horses he wants to bet upon and the size of his bet. Horse Race by Howard Brecheisen V) Added 300-Baud version of "Saucer Battle" by John Hurst. This game was published in ARCADIAN 2 no. 1 (November 29, 1979): 1-2. There is a bug fix in ARCADIAN 2 no. 5 (March 24, 1980): 39. Two saucers fire at each other until the max score is reached or one saucer is depleted of charge. Saucer Battle by John Hurst VI) Added 300-Baud version of "Spinning Wheel" by Tom Owczarek. This program was published in ARCADIAN 3 no. (July 9, 1981): 91-93. "Spinning Wheel" is a combination program that Tom Owczarek uses at Faires as a fund raiser. The first part takes the place of the old 'round and around she goes' wheel of fortune with an RND(30) plus exploding box display while the computer is deciding which of the 30 numbers is the chosen one. Spinning Wheel by Tom Owczarek VII) Added 300-Baud version of "Old Glory" by Edge Software (Ed D. Groebe). Published in ARCADIAN 4, no. 8 (June 11, 1982): 77. "This program uses one of the many Bally ROM subroutines to draw a color picture of the American flag." Old Glory by Edge Software (Ed D. Groebe) VIII) Added 300-Baud version of "Zappit" by Roger Swearington. This program was published in ARCADIAN, 2, no. 3 (January 15, 1980): 23. "This game does not keep time. The joystick steers the target, the trigger fires the laser. No hit is scored unless the screen reads 'LOCKED'." Note that Klaus Doerge's unpublished modified version of "Zappit" is included with this archived and that it has NOT been non-digitally archived. Zappit by Roger Swearington IX) Added the 300-Baud version of "Slot Machine" by Bob Mueller. This program was published in ARCADIAN 2 no. 3 (Jan. 15, 1980): 21. Klaus Doerge's unpublished, modified version of "Slot Machine" has been included. The "Arcadian" says, "This version of Slot Machine has an interesting set of graphics as the 'reels' rotate. I kept losing money, maybe you'll have better luck." Slot Machine by Bob Mueller X) Added the 300-Baud version of "Pool" by Bob Hensel. This program was published in ARCADIAN, 3, no. 9 (July 9, 1981): 94-95. Pool is a computer version of the Billiards game 8-Ball. The computer will rack the balls and break. Pool by Bob Hensel XI) Added the 300-Baud version of "Bots" by Ron McCoy. It was published in ARCADIAN 2 no. 10 (September 18, 1980): 90,91. "Bots" sets up a 9x19 grid on the screen. Fifteen "walls" are randomly placed in the squares, and the 15 "bots" are also randomly placed. Then your position is similarly located. Since you can't destroy the Bots, you move about the maze trying to make the Bots run into each other. Bots by Ron McCoy XII) Added the 300-Baud version of "Daredevil" by Dave Martin. It was published in ARCADIAN 3 no. 10 (August 12, 1981): 106,107. "You see a windshield and instruments. The car on the screen is located laterally according to your instructions. The available instructions will appear at the bottom in order, use TR(1) to choose." Daredevil by Dave Martin XIII) Added the 300-Baud version of "Pro Bowl" by Mario DeLaura. This was published in ARCADIAN 4 no. 4 (January 22, 1982): 38,39. "Pro Bowl" is a football game. Use the chart to enter your plays - the Offense uses Joystick (1) for its inputs, while the Defense uses the keypad. The arrow on the screen indicates ball direction. The game includes fumbles, touchdowns, field goals, safeties, and a two minute warning. Breakaways are possible on running plays, and incompletes and interceptions possible on passing plays. Pro Bowl by Mario DeLaura September 24, 2012 I) Updated the "Cursor/Basic Express" newsletter area: "Cursor/Basic Express" Newsletter Area II) Moved non-digitally archived version of "Critter" to 300-Baud Arcadian Program Download Area. Critter (300-Baud Version) III) Moved digitally archived version of "Day-Of-The-Week and Calendar Program" to 300-Baud Arcadian Program Download Area. Day-Of-The-Week and Calendar Program (300-Baud Version) IV) Moved digitally archived version of "Frog " to 300-Baud Arcadian Program Download Area. Frog (300-Baud Version) V) Moved non-digitally archived version of "Fudd " to 300-Baud Arcadian Program Download Area. Fudd (300-Baud Version) VI) Moved archived version of "Keno II 2.0" to 300-Baud Arcadian Program Download Area. Keno II 2.0 (300-Baud Version) VII) Moved archived version of "Space War" to 300-Baud Arcadian Program Download Area. Space War (300-Baud Version) VIII) Moved archived version of "Stranded On Rigel 5" to 300-Baud Arcadian Program Download Area. Stranded On Rigel 5 (300-Baud Version) IX) Moved archived version of "Telling Time" to 300-Baud Arcadian Program Download Area. Telling Time (300-Baud Version) X) Added "Base Conversion" by Ron McCoy. From: ARCADIAN 2 no. 10 (September 17, 1980): 88-89. "Base Conversion" by Ron McCoy September 23, 2012 I) Updated 300-Baud Misc. Program Download Area. 300-Baud Misc. Program Download Area II) Updated 300-Baud Arcadian Program Download Area. 300-Baud Arcadian Program Download Area III) Moved 2000 AD to 300-Baud Arcadian Program Download Area. 2000 AD (300-Baud Version) IV) Moved non-digitally archived version of "4D2" to 300-Baud Arcadian Program Download Area. 4D2 AD (300-Baud Version) V) Moved non-digitally archived version of "Astro-Zap 2000" to 300-Baud Arcadian Program Download Area. Astro-Zap 2000 (300-Baud Version) VI) Moved non-digitally archived version of "Bally Chess Board" to 300-Baud Arcadian Program Download Area. Bally Chess Board (300-Baud Version) September 21, 2012 I) Updated "Astrocade BIOS Comparision FAQ," by Adam Trionfo to version 1.02. This is a comparison of two Astrocade BIOS. These two ROM BIOS have nicknames: 3159 ROM and White ROM. There are forty-one bytes that are different between the two. They are listed with brief comments followed by excerpts from the 3159 ROM Listing to give greater detail. Also included here are links to pictures to help the reader "picture" the differences: Astrocade BIOS Comparison FAQ Six Pictures for ROM Comparison II) Completely overhauled the Bally Arcade/Astrocade Machine Language Documentation area. Every title now has a thumbnail. Every description has been revamped or created. All of the descriptions are much easier to read. Every pdf now has a title, author and subject for easier use by search engines. Many of the pdfs now have been bookmarked for easier use by readers. The original scans of the "Nutting Manual" and the "Machine Language Manager" have been, basically, put back together and are available for the first time as one complete file. Nearly every single file in this documentation area has been touched in some way. Here are the current documents in the area: 1) "Bally Astrocade Color Table," by Frank Palazzolo (March 21, 2002) 2) "Astrocade Screen Layout Sheet," By Adam Trionfo (March 23, 2002) 3) "Z-80 Mini Course" for Bally Arcade/Astrocade, by Larry Simioni (1982) 4) "Bally System Description," By Dave Nutting Associates (1978) 5) "Bit Fiddler's Corner, The," By Andy Guevara (1983/1984) 6) "Cartridge Making Instructions," by Leroy Flamm (1985) 7) "Crime Stropper Tips," by Mike Skala (198x) 8) "Machine Language Manager User's Manual, " by The Bit Fiddlers (Andy Guevara)(1982) 9) "The Handbook of Hardware & Software" (aka "Nutting Manual"), by Dave Nutting Associates, Inc (1978) 10) "Peek 'n Poke Manual," by Brett Bilbrey, Edited by Cursor Group (1980) 11) "'Hello, World!' Tutorial," by Adam Trionfo (December 2011) 12) "How to Use the Blue Ram Basic "PLAY%( ) Command," by George Moses (1983) 13) Programming and Blank Graph Sheets, Many by Spectre Systems (198x) 14) "Vector Animation Tutorial," by Lance F. Squire (2008) 15) "Z80 Source-Code Tips," by Richard Degler (2010) Bally Arcade/Astrocade Machine Language Documentation Area September 20, 2012 I) Updated Sean Young's "The Undocumented Z80 Documented" to Version 0.91, September 18, 2005. The Undocumented Z80 Documented, Sean Young II) Added the latest version of the "Z80 Family CPU User Manual," by Zilog. This is document # User Manual 008005 (UM008005). It is from February 2005. The previous version was from February 2002. Z80 Family CPU User Manual, by Zilog III) Updated the Z80 Machine Language documentation area by adding thumbnails of all the covers or first pages of the documentation. Some of the explanations about the documentation has been updated too. Z80 Machine Language Documentation Area September 19, 2012 I) Updated the "Programming the Z80" by Rodney Zaks to a version that has bookmarks for easier reading. "Programming the Z80" by Rodney Zaks II) Added 11 WaveMakers programs for Expanded BASIC: 1) Collision Course 2) Dungeons Of Dracula 3) Flight Simulator 4) Flying Ace 5) Gate Escape, The 6) Monkey Jump 7) Music Keyboard 8) Outpost 19 9) Pack-Rat 10) Slots Of Fun 11) Wack-A-Mole WaveMakers Expanded BASIC Programs September 18, 2012 I) Made the previous version of Dick Harris's "Blackjack" from the Arcadian" into an alternate version and added a main version with onscreen instructions when the game loads. "Blackjack" by Dick Harris II) Added the Preliminary version of the "ZGRASS Glossary Manual." This manual is dated March 18, 1981. The preliminary version of this manual is only about 2/3 of the size of the finished manual (which is dated from about a year later on February 12, 1982). The manual contains: 1) Buzzwords - Common computer terms 2) Commands 3) Escoterica - Advanced features for experienced programmers 4) Functions - Must be gotten from disk or tape 5) Idiosyncrasies - Concepts and features peculiar to or specifically modified for ZGRASS 6) Swap Commands - Must be gotten from disk or tape 7) Swap Functions - Must be gotten from disk or tape 8) Switches - Modify commands "ZGRASS Glossary Manual" (Preliminary) September 17, 2012 I) Added additional information for the game "Reverse" supplied by Brett Bilbrey in September of 2012. "Reverse" Additional Information II) Added eleven unpublished "Arcadian" submissions from "The Bob Fabris Collection." 1) "3 Songs 3 Voices," by Dick Harris, 198x. 2) "Duck Hunt," by Jim Wilcher, 198x. 3) "Duck Hunter," by Louis Gubernatis, 1982. 4) "Golf," by Jim Wilcher, 198x 5) "Koncentration," by Edward Mahoney, 1984 6) "Mastermind," by Dick Harris, 198x 7) "Memlyzer," by Dick Harris, 198x. 8) "Musical Notation Graphic," by Dick Harris, 198x 9) "One Arm Bandit," by Norm Kapera, 198x 10) "String Array Loader," by Allen W. Skaggs, 1983 11) "Telephone Directory," by Allen W. Skaggs, 1983 AstroBASIC "Miscellaneous Sources(s) and Authors" Download Area III) Added two "Tiny Arcade" 300-Baud Bally BASIC programs: 1) Quadron 2) Space Gauntlet (alternate version) Tiny Arcade 300-Baud Download Area IV) Updated "Miscellaneous Sources(s) and Authors" in the 300-Baud Area for addition and removal (to other areas of website) of future programs. "Miscellaneous Sources(s) and Authors" 300-Baud Download Area V) Added BASIC Listing and Documentation for New Image's Bally BASIC utility "Bowling Secretary." Bowling Secretary BASIC Listing and Documentation VI) Added two 300-Baud programs by New Image to a newly setup New Image Bally BASIC download area. 1) Haunted House 2) Nuclear Math Haunted House (300-Baud) Nuclear Math (300-Baud) VII) Added OCRed/typed instructions for New Image's "Haunted House." Haunted House Documentation (Text Format) September 16, 2012 I) Added "D&D Speedway" by Mario DeLaura. This was printed in the ARCADIAN 4, no. 3 (December 24, 1981): 30-31. "D&D Speedway" II) Added a program modification by Richard Houser of the program "Reverse" by Brett Bilbrey and Mike Toth. "Reverse" Archive (Including Mod) III) Added a mod of "Phaser Phun" called "Phaser Fun" by Lance Brisee. It is an unpublished submission to the "Arcadian" from 1984. See Lance's letter for details. 1) "Phaser Phun" Archive (Including Mod) 2) Lance Brisee's "Arcadian" Letter - Also Includes "Phasor Fun" Listing IV) Cleaned up the tables in the BASIC Manual's program download area. 1) BASIC Manual Program Download Area: A-M 2) BASIC Manual Program Download Area: N-Z V) Added a modified version of "Nim" by Robert Hilferding. The original version was printed in ARCADIAN, 3, no. 8 (June 8, 1981): 86-87. Allen W. Skaggs sent the "Arcadian" a modified version of "Nim" in 1983. It was not published, but it is included in this archive. "Nim," By Robert Hilferding (Modified by Allen W. Skaggs) September 15, 2012 I) Updated the Arcadian Program Download "I-P" area in anticipation for uploads that will be happening soon. Arcadian Program Download "I-P" Area II) Updated the Arcadian Program Download "Q-Z" area in anticipation for uploads that will be happening soon. Arcadian Program Download "Q-Z" Area III) Added AstroBASIC program "Batting Average" by Dick Klein. Printed in ARCADIAN 5, no. 9 (July 22, 1983): 135, 138, with corrections in ARCADIAN 5, no. 10 (Aug 16, 1983): 149. "Batting Average" calculates the current and cumulative statistics for a Little League player. 1) "Batting Average" Program 2) "Batting Average" Instructions IV) Added AstroBASIC program "4D2" by Rusty Blommaert and Dale Smith. This modified version by Jim Wilcher. Printed in ARCADIAN 4, no. 1 (November 10, 1981): 5 and reprinted in Reprint: ARCADIAN 6, no. 11 (Oct. 31, 1984): 126. "4D2" displays graphic art with machine language for four color panels along with some hidden messages and sound effects. The original programmers concealed the messages so that they would be a surprise to anyone who typed the program into BASIC. 1) "4D2" Program 2) "4D2" Comments V) Added Robert Newman's "Rotate" BASIC listing and program description. "Rotate" is a sort of 2-D Cube plus "15-puzzle," where scrambled letters have to be placed in alphabetical order by rotating a 2x2 square segment within the total board. This BASIC listing was sent to the "Arcadian" by Robert Newman on September 7,1982-- but not published until two years later in the October 1984 issue. The nine-page program listing and description also has the complete play directions. The program and listing is described in GREAT be the most detailed AstroBASIC listing and description ever sent to the "Arcadian." "Rotate" BASIC listing and program description VI) Added Robert Newman's "Rotate" AstroBASIC Program. "Rotate" AstroBASIC Program VII) Added Moinuddin Ahmed's "Math Teacher" program. This program is an addition, subtraction, multiplication or division math quiz. In his cover letter to the "Arcadian, Mr. Ahmed hopes, "young fans of Astrocade [would] enjoy and use it to brush up their math." "Math Teacher" Program "Math Teacher" Comments and Instructions VIII) Added "the Game of War" by Edward Mahoney. This program was printed in ARCADIAN 6, no. 11/12 (October 31, 1984): 113. It is the classic game of war where each player tries to take the other players card with a larger card. If the cards match each other, then a "war" condition exists and the next cards are selected to see who wins the war. Points are awarded based on the number of cards won. The Game of War The Game of War Instructions and Comments IX) Added modification by Lance Brisee for "Sideswipe" by WaveMakers. This modification was sent to the "Arcadian" in 1984. Also added directions from the AstroBASIC manual and Cursor (where it originally appeared in 1980). 1) Sideswipe Program - By WaveMakers 2) Sideswipe Instructions and Summary - By WaveMakers X) Added "Capture the Dog" by James Wilcher. This is an unpublished submission to the "Arcadian." From the submission letter: "To play the game you're moving up the screen under the Computer's control and you use your joystick to move in right or left [directions] and try to Eat the Dogs without running into the walls." 1) "Capture the Dogs" Program 2) "Capture the Dogs" Comments and Description 3) "Capture the Dogs" BASIC Listing from Program Submission September 14, 2012 I) Added two alternate AstroBASIC versions of "Quadron" by The Tiny Arcade. "Quadron" by The Tiny Arcade II) Completely updated "The Tiny Arcade" area. These are some of the updates: 1) This was an early page, created probably about ten years ago. It was setup with a terrible table that was difficult to read. Most of the table is gone now and everything has been put into one of two data areas. It's MUCH easier on the eyes now and FAR more usable. 2) Gave all text files a hard carriage return on column 79. 3) Added all missing dates and other program information to webpage and also to the text files included with each archive. 4) Renamed all files to TOSEC standard. I wish I knew about this standard ten years ago. 5) Placed all files into their own directory and then zipped the directory, as has been standard on the site for many years now. 6) Added link to color scan of "Beep!" instructions. 7) OCR'ed and retyped the "Beep!" instructions. There is a link to the retyped and color scans. 8) Completely remade the "Fireworks" comments file. 9) Retyped "Gamma Wars" ad from an issue of the "Arcadian." No manual or instruction for this game have yet surfaced. 10) Reformatted and proofread the "Gamma Wars" game review from the "Arcadian." 11) OCR'ed and typed the "Quadron" instructions from the "Arcadian." These seem complete-- not an abbreviated version of documentation as was typical of the newsletter (which was done to conserve space). 12) Reformatted and proofread the "Random Maze Generator" game review from the "Arcadian." 13) OCR'ed and retyped the "Star Siege" instructions. There is a link to the retyped and color scans. "The Tiny Arcade" Program Download Area III) Updated the Arcadian Program Download "A-H" area in anticipation for uploads that will be happening soon. Arcadian Program Download "A-H" Area September 13, 2012 I) Added an alternate AstroBASIC version of "Who Buys the Cokes?" by New Image. "Who Buys the Cokes?" by New Image September 12, 2012 I) Added "Muncher" (Pac-Man) 8K Hex Listing. "Muncher" (Pac-Man) 8K Hex Listing II) Archived the "What's New" section into the "What's New" archives. All updates prior to 2012 have been moved. The archive stretches back to October 22, 2000 and it includes all changes that have been made to the website. Note that since reorganization of BallyAlley.com has taken place many times throughout the years, there are quite a few links that no longer work. They won't be fixed-- and that's part of the charm of the archive. What's New_(archive) III) Added AstroBASIC assembly listing from December 1980. This is the original file from Jamie Fenton's Disk. It was sent to me on June 1, 2011. See the AstroBASIC area for more details. AstroBASIC in the ML Source Area IV) Added "Crazie Dice" by Joe Peoples. This is a dice game of chance, strategy, and greed. The object is to be the first player to reach 5,000 points. Published in ARCADIAN 6, no. 11 (Apr. 20, 1984): 102-103. "Crazie Dice" by Joe Peoples V) Added "Gaswell Bonanza" by Joe Peoples. Dig for oil and try to gain one millions dollars. Published in ARCADIAN 6, no. 9 (July 26, 1984): 85. "Gaswell Bonanza" by Joe Peoples VI) Added the AstroBASIC program, "Trapshoot," by Joe Peoples. Published in ARCADIAN 5, no. 11 (April 4, 1983): 93. "Trapshoot" by Joe Peoples VII) Added the AstroBASIC program, "Math Quiz," by Joe Peoples. This is an educational program to develop skills in determining the Greatest Common Factor and the Least Common Multiple, at grade levels 7 - 9. Change values in lines 21 - 34 to get a new series of questions. Published in ARCADIAN 5, no. 5 (March 4, 1983): 79. "Math Quiz" by Joe Peoples XIII) Added the AstroBASIC program, "Pos. & Neg. Numbers," by Joe Peoples. Part of "Bob Fabris Collection." Unpublished "Arcadian" submission from 198x. "Pos. & Neg. Numbers" by Joe Peoples IX) Added the AstroBASIC program, "P.T.O. X-mass," by By Joe Peoples and Greg Neff. Part of "Bob Fabris Collection." Unpublished "Arcadian" submission from 198x. Paul Thacker, "[thinks] that PTO stands for parent teacher organization. "P.T.O. X-mass" by Joe Peoples and Greg Neff September 11, 2012 I) Added three AstroBASIC programs by Fred Rodney: 1) "Atlantis" - "Player 1 defends Atlantis, launches the missiles (trigger) and guides them (joystick score is on the right # of bombers hit. Player 2 attacks Atlantis, releases Bombs (trigger) and guides them (joystick)." Be sure to read short instruction in archive to start the game properly. Published in ARCADIAN 6, no. 6 (Apr. 20, 1984): 57. 2) "Fraction Study" - From the "Bob Fabris Collection." This is an unpublished Arcadian submission. 3) "Planet Mongo!" - From the instructions, "Planet Mongo has a nuclear waste disposal problem. Within 99 ticks on the clock, 100 points must be played (bonus on 200, 300, etc.). If the clock strikes 0, the planet explodes with complete nuclear meltdown." Paul Thacker says, "This is one of the best unpublished Arcadian submissions I've seen. It was submitted late in the Arcadian's lifecycle, so maybe it just got lost in the shuffle. Try to track the satellite's movements with the cursor. Don't aim for where it is; aim for where it's going." From the "Bob Fabris Collection." This is an unpublished Arcadian submission. Fred Rodney AstroBASIC Program Download Area II) Added Fred Rodney's unpublished "Planet Mongo!" type-in BASIC program. This program includeds a letter from Fred to Bob Fabris, the game's documentation and an explanation of how the program works. "Planet Mongo!" by Fred Rodney (Type-In Program) III) Added 12 prototype ROMs archived from Ken Lill's and Mike White's tape collection. These new ROMs have been added to the complete list of Astrocade ROMs. The newly added ROMs are: 1) Artillery Duel (Astrocade Inc.) - 3 Prototypes (none playable) 2) Golddigger, Goldrush (Dave Carson and Ken Lill) - 3 Prototypes 3) Mazeman (1984)(Dave Carson Software) - Not obviously different from released version 4) Music Maker (Astrocade Inc.) - Earliest version available, with unique title screen. 5) Pac-Man (Astrocade Inc.) - Not obviously different from previously dumped version 6) Pacmaze (Dave Carson Software) - Not sure if there are any differences beyond the name. 7) Songs (Bally Mfg. Corp.)- Not obviously different from previously dumped version. 8) Space Fortress (Astrocade Inc.)- Not playable Bally/Astrocade ROM Set (Most Recent) Bally/Astrocade ROM Set, Listing of ROMs (Most Recent) IV) Added "Muncher" disassembly. This is a disassembly of the "Muncher" cartridge that was done in the early 1980's. It is 98-pages with sparse comments. Since the scan was grayscale, the filesize is 43.5MB-- this is a large file. "Muncher" Disassembly September 10, 2012 I) Added "Z-80 Microcomputer Design Projects", by William Barden Jr. This book was published in 1980 by Howard W. Sams & Co., Inc. It is ISBN 0-672-21682-5. From the Preface, "This book provides a step-by-step guide in building a complete microcomputer, the EZ-80, and for implementing a number of different applications." "Z-80 Microcomputer Design Projects", by William Barden Jr. II) Added "Muncher" manual from, possibly, the Esoterica release of the game cartridge. "Muncher" Manual September 9, 2012 I) Updated "The Incredible Wizard" (aka Wizard of Wor) disassembly to version .03. "The Incredible Wizard" disassembly II) Updated a disassembly of "Space Fortress" for the Bally/Astrocade. This game was programmed by Bob Odgon and released by Astrovision, Inc in 1981. "Space Fortress" is based on Midway's "Space Zap" arcade game released in 1980. "Space Fortress" disassembly III) Added some new files and fixes to Esoterica's "Super Slope" tape archive. Included now are: 1) The OCR'ed instructions 2) The BASIC program in text format of the first load (which is the title screen) 3) Some grammar fixes to another text file. 4) I gave all the text files a hard carriage return after the 79'th column. "Super Slope" Archive September 8, 2012 I) Added link to Z-80-Heaven Wiki. The site says, "A place for all the z80 info you'll want." Has tutorials and other resources. Z80-Heaven Wiki Webpage September 5, 2012 I) Added "Space Fortress" manual in text format (with 79 columns) and also in PDF/A archive-quality format (which has been OCRed). Cart Manual Area January 5, 2012 I) Added a picture of one of the inventors of the Blue Ram device. This picture was sent to Bob Fabris in 1980. This is one of the two inventors of the Blue Ram. It is either Clyde or John Perkins. Clyde is John's father and he created the hardware, while John created the software. Mr. Perkins, one of the Blue Ram Inventors BallyAlley.com - "What's New" Archives I) The BallyAlley "What's New" archive goes back to October 22, 2000. Bally Alley is actually slightly older than this date, but only by a few months. The "What's New" archive covers all of the older website updates dating back to 2000. 1. What's New Archive (2011 - 2000)