CHASER
By Peter Mitchell and James McPherson
Ever had one of those days when you seem to have done nothing but chase your tail?
Well now you have a chance to chase someone else's tail in this two player game for your Electron.
All the instructions are in the listing. You'll find it easy to learn and fun to play.
So type it in and get chasing.
| Main Variables | |
| X1% & Y1% | Coordinates of player one's arrow |
| X2% & Y2% | Coordinates of player two's arrow |
| C1% | Player one's arrow character |
| C2% | Player two's arrow character |
| X3% & Y3% | Direction of player one's arrow |
| X4% & Y4% | Direction of player two's arrow |
| SO% | Pitch of background sound |
| G% | Number of wins player one has had |
| H% | Number of wins player two has had |
| Lines | Definition |
| 30 | Defines sound envelope 1 |
| 50 | Gets rid of flashing cursor |
| 60 | Defines foreground and background colours for introduction |
| 80 | Calls procedure intro |
| 90-120 | Selects mode and gets rid of flashing cursor. Selects a colour |
| 130-160 | Defines arrow characters |
| 170-210 | Defines variables |
| 220 | Joins text and graphics cursor |
| 260-330 | Checks keys to see if they are being pressed |
| 340-370 | Alters main variables |
| 380-450 | Prints arrows and checks if there is an obstruction in their way |
| 460-500 | Moves background sound increase in pitch as time goes on |
| 540-620 | When called this procedure will play the notes in W$ in order and each note will have a length of L%. For example, typing PROCs("ABCD",4) will make the computer play an A, B, C and D in order. |
| 650-700 | Checks if player one cannot move |
| 730-820 | If player two's arrow arrives at an obstruction, tells computer which way arrow can go |
| 850-920 | Checks if player two cannot move |
| 930-1020 | If player one's arrow arrives at an obstruction, tells computer which way arrow can go. |
| 1050-1090 | Checks to see if it is a draw |
| 1130-1140 | Prints who has won |
| 1150 | Defines notes for "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow" |
| 1160-1230 | Adds to relevant player's score |
| 1260-1640 | Prepares computer for starting new game |
| 1780-1910 | Prints players' scores |
FRUIT MACHINE
Fruit Machine turns your Electron into a one-armed bandit. You start out with £1 and each spin costs you 10p.
Are you a winner or a loser? Play the Electron Fruit Machine and see.
| Procedures | |
| PROCINIT | Sets up the envelopes, defines the characters and displays the winning combinations and the game status |
| PROCSET | Draws the fruit machine's outline and prints the relevant text inside it |
| PROCPOS | Works out the starting point for the drum |
| PROCSPIN | Spins the drum |
| PROCPAY_OUT | Pays out the money with the appropriate sounds |
| PROCJACKPOT | Pays out the jackpot with the appropriate sound and working |
| PROCBROKE | Tells you when all your money has gone and asks if you want another go |
| PROCDEBT | Tells you how much money you have in negative form "You have -20p left") and then asks if you want another go |
MATHS HIKE
By Pete Bibby
Once upon a time, many years ago when I was in primary school, our class had a maths teacher who used to take us on "Mathematical Hikes".
Of course we never left the classroom. What he meant was that he'd take us on a tour of our powers of mental arithmetic.
He would tell us the first number of the hike - suppose it was 5 - and say "Multiply it by 2". Then he'd say something like "Now add 7 to the total and multiply the result by 6".
When he thought he'd gone far enough he'd ask us the answer, which in this case is 102.
Occasionally he'd carry on until only one or two of us could keep the total in our heads.
Going on mathematical hikes really made mental arithmetic interesting.
Of course you don't need a teacher to take you on mathematical hikes when you've got an Electron.
Just type in this program and your micro will play the part of the teacher. And it won't keep you in after school! Have fun.
RALLY DRIVER
Enjoy the thrills and spills of this exciting rally driving game by Eric H. Crisp
Have you ever fancied having a go at being a rally driver? Well, with RALLY DRIVER you can turn your Electron into a driving simulator and try to steer your way round a course in the fastest time possible.
It's just like the real thing. You can steer from left to right, accelerate, brake and - if you're not careful - crash!
All the instructions are in the program. The rest is up to you. Drive carefully!
Changes
To extend the game, line 810 can be changed by increasing the value with which D% is compared, so making a longer rally.
The curvature of the bends can be increased by increasing the random value assigned to C% at the end of line 750. To keep left and right bends equal, the first number should be twice the second number.
The length of the bends can be increased by increasing the random value assigned to L%
| Variables | |
| C% | Curve sharpness |
| CP% | Car's absolute position, horizontally |
| CS% | Car's steering speed |
| CY% | Car's forward speed |
| D% | Distance travelled |
| F% | Finished flag |
| L% | Length of curve |
| P% | Road section counter - proportional to distance in front of car |
| PP% | Penalty points |
| T% | Time delay |
| V% | A particular V%(P%) value |
| W% | A particular V%(P%) value |
| Arrays |
|
| L%(P%) | Screen x coordinate of section P% of the left verge |
| R%(P%) | Screen x coordinate of section P% of the right verge |
| U%(P%) | Screen x coordinate of section P% of the white line |
| V%(P%) | Screen y coordinate of section P% of the road |
| X%(P%) | Absolute x coordinate of section P% of the white line |
| Procedures |
|
| PROCCalc | Calculates the screen positions of the road sections on the screen |
| PROCDraw | Draws a road section |
| PROCInitial | Initialises variables and the screen for a new game |
| PROCInstruct | Dimensions arrays and displays the instructions |
| PROCKeys | Reads the keyboard and adjusts variables accordingly, makes the sound and displays the time and speed |
| PROCResult | Displays the result at the end |
| PROCRoad | Displays the road in the new position |
| PROCTest | Tests for position on the road and displays the relevant comment |
SHEEP
Remember Bright Eyes, the program from Mike Rowe we featured in the March Electron User?
We asked what next and wondered whether readers would send us programs with sheep leaping over gates.
Well they have - or at least, Mike Rowe has risen to the occassion and sent us one. He doesn't tell us whether or not he's an insomniac!
Now, who's going to send us a low flying pig?
SPACE PODS
Fight for survival on the distant planet Tau Theta. By Nicholas Timberlake
You are tired but you must continue. For hours the battle has been raging and still the aliens press home their attacks.
As commander of the Federation Fleet your mission is to protect the underground base on Tau Theta. The aliens are dropping robot space pods that burrow into the planet's surface.
Were they to reach it and discover its scientific secrets the whole universe would fall to their onslaught.
Despite fighting desperately, your battle fleet has been destroyed. The aliens' space pods have proved to be almost invincible.
You have found refuge on one of two stationary satellites far above the surface of Tau Theta. Your last hope is the laser cannon based on the satellites, but their computer guidance has been destroyed.
You will have to fire the cannons manually. But the space pods are relentless and it's getting harder to keep them at bay.
How long will you be able to survive?
SPACE PODS originally appeared in the July 1983 issue of The Micro User and has been specially adapted for the Electron.
TIC TAC TOE
Electron Tic Tac Toe is another version of the age old game of noughts and crosses.
There's no pencil and paper though. You just pit your wits against the Electron.
There are two skill levels. The easiest is level 1. But to beat the Electron on level 2 is almost - but not quite - impossible.
| Variables | |
| D% | Equals 0 if game ended |
| L% | Equals TRUE if player lost |
| N% | Used as a loop counter |
| P% | Used as a loop counter |
| W% | Equals TRUE if player won |
| X% | X coordinate of O or X |
| Y% | Y coordinate of O or X |
| rnd | Equals TRUE if easy game selected |
| win | Equals TRUE if computer could beat you |
| block | Equals TRUE if computer could stop you |
| X, Y, Z | Pointers to array elements |
| x, y, z | Pointers to array elements |
| Z$(n) | Array holding all the pieces on the board |
| Procedures |
|
| PROCins | Prints up instructions |
| PROCset | Initialises start of each game |
| PROCcomputer | Decides computer's move |
| PROCrnd | Makes random move for computer |
| PROCplayer | Gets and checks player's move |
| PROCx | Puts an 'O' into the Z$(N) array, at the position pointed to by X, Y or Z |
| PROCboard | Draws the board |
| PROCpieces | Draws the Os or Xs |
| PROCinit | Sets up the computer for the start of play. Defines the envelopes, and picks the initial colours |
| Functions |
|
| FNtry(1$) | Returns TRUE if the string 1$ is found using FNt |
| FNt | Returns TRUE if three Os or three Xs are found in a row |
| FNtest | Returns TRUE if a free space is found in a line X, Y, Z |
