Autochef

Sinclair User

Gilbert Factor 7/10

BLAST FROM THE PAST We continue our look back at classic ZX-81 programs. ZX Compendium Memory: 16K Price: £6.90 Lynchmob Memory: 16K Price: £4.95 Ephemeris Memory: 16K Price: £6.90 Airline Memory: 16K Price: £5 Autochef Memory: 16K Price: £5 Pioneer Trail Memory: 16K Price: £3.95 Ocean Trader Memory: 16K Price: £3.95 Galaxy Conflict Memory: 16K Price: £11.95 If you own a new ZX-81 and are wondering what you can do with it, Carnell Software might have the answer, a ZX Compendium of games ranging from the traditional to the completely alien. The two-cassette package contains six programs, two of which are adventures. The first, Alien intruder, displays graphically the advance of the spaceman-eating lifeform through the various levels of your starship as you load supplies frantically on to the shuttle craft which is your only means of escape. In Wumpus Adventure you track the fearsome and smelly Wumpus through a maze of caverns, swamps and pits. The game can be played by one to four players. The other programs on the cassettes are Numerology, Movie Mogul, Hieroglyphics and the ubiquitous Hangman. Of those, Hieroglyphics is the most interesting, a word game depicting a hieroglyphic message which must be deciphered before the intrepid explorer, Wullie Makeit, is buried alive. Another version of Hangman, gruesomely titled Lynchmob, is produced by Bridge Software and provides a graphic animated hanging sequence. The game can be played by up to six people while the computer acts as referee. Bridge Software still produces a number of 16K and 1K cassettes and one of the most popular is Ephemeris, an astrology program which provides comprehensive information on the sun, moon and planets, including local sidereal times, rising and setting times, distances from Earth and much more. There is a COPY option for the ZX printer, a necessity for astrologers. Bridge Software can be contacted at [redacted]. CCS has quietly been producing excellent strategy games for some time. Two of the earlier ones for the 16K ZX-81 are Airline and Autochef. In the former the aim is to take over British Airways - if the Government has not sold it in the meantime - while coping with a series of hazards such as staff disputes and PLO hijackings. Autochef simulates the business of managing a chain of fast food outlets and in the limited time available you must increase your £1 million pound capital to £25 million, overcoming setbacks and dealing with annual inflation. The distinctions between adventure, strategy and simulation games are often vague and open to publishers' interpretations. Occasionally software falls into all three categories. That is true of both Pioneer Trail and Ocean Trader from Quicksilva, though both are advertised as adventure games. In Pioneer Trail you set out with your family to conquer the untamed west in a covered wagon drawn by two decrepit horses, and with only $700 with which to buy supplies. The program combines adventure and arcade graphics and the hazards to be faced range from patchy fog to Apache Indians. Contemporary with that is Ocean Trader, set on the high seas in the 19th century and featuring pirates, sea mists and freak storms. An interesting development in software is that of computer-moderated board games and it is surprising that few publishers have recognised the potential in that market. Martech has produced Galaxy Conflict for the 16K ZX-81, which comprises game board, counters, markers and program. The two players build and maintain battle fleets of Eoncruisers and fight for the supremacy of the galaxy. Galaxy Conflict can be obtained from Martech Games, [redacted]. Another war strategy game, Conflict, is also available.

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)

THESE FINANCIAL TIMES Move over Freddy Laker, Charles Forte, and Rupert Murdoch as computer buffs enter the world of high finance in three new business simulations which recreate the world of airlines, printing, and hotel management. Airline offers you the chance to play Freddy Laker for an afternoon as you decide the number of aircraft to operate, whether to buy or charter, whether to enter into a loan or a fuel contract and the levels of staffing and maintenance. As if this were not enough to worry the would-be international airline tycoon there are also tax demands, strikes, cancelled flights, hijacks, and crashes to be taken into consideration. Autochef casts you as the managing director of a catering company. The forward purchasing of foodstuffs and wines must be carefully considered involving the exchange of vast sums of money. And you'd better make the right decisions for there is an angry organised group of shareholders itching to oust you from the managing director's office. Print Shop is the last of these three business game programs. In it you have to decide the number of staff to employ, the amount of money to be tied up in paper, and the type of paper to be purchased. Airline, Autochef, and Print Shop run on a ZX81 in 16K or on a Sinclair Spectrum. The games cost £4.75 each or £12 for three and can be obtained from London-based Case Computer Simulations.

ZX Computing

TRACKING DOWN THOSE POUNDS Not only can you play games in your ZX81, but now, with a number of programs, you can keep track of your personal finances. Among these programs is the J P Gibbons Personal Banking System, which can also be used to check bank statements. The system can be used to help in budgeting and is designed to be easy to use, even by relatively inexperienced computer users. A number of controls and facilities have been built in with this in mind. The Personal Banking System includes a full page detailed bank account, which can be dumped to the printer, as well as automatic generation of standing orders on due dates, and validation of all entries. You can correct any item previously entered (with single or multiple field correction), and enter a previously omitted item in the correct date order of the account. You can search for any item or items by cheque number, description or amount. There is a continuous display of statement extract, which is updated continually during input of entry. A file of standing order details can be displayed, printed, added to, cancelled and amended. The program is provided with a detailed user manual, and Mr Gibbons says he'll provide after sales maintenance. The Personal Banking System (including a cassette and users' manual) is £9.95. You can get a copy of the manual for £1.00. A 32K version, offering multiple accounts, more entries and bar charts - among other features - is also available. J P Gibbons, [redacted]. DATABASE Most businesses and many other activities require the filing of names and addresses for mailing and reference, and DATABASE - available from Campbell Systems - fulfills this function admirably. Almost any kind of list can be accommodated, but most users just make use of name, address, interest codes, and text - as the standard data to be stored in each record of the file. The file is maintained by machine code in a way that ZX81 BASIC cannot, such that no space is reserved until after it is filled with data. All items and records are variable length, so there is no waste of space. You start with 12688 bytes of file space, and extra RAM above the 32K address will be usable as well. There are various display formats and search methods. All file handling, searching and display is done in machine code, so DATABASE is very fast. The program is designed to be crash-proof. The cassette, which costs £10.00, is accompanied by a detailed user guide, and is available from Campbell Systems, [redacted]. BUSINESS GAMES A company called CCS have developed two business games for the ZX81. They are AIRLINE and AUTOCHEF, which are available for £4.75 each. In AIRLINE your objective is to make enough capital by trading at a profit to take-over British Airways. You are required to decide on the number of aircraft to operate, whether to buy or charter, the level of staffing and maintenance, whether to enter into long term contracts for supply of fuel and whether to repay loans. Problems encountered are tax demands, strikes, cancelled flights, hi-jacks and aircraft crashes. In AUTOCHEF your object is also to trade profitably, so that the company accumulates sufficient capital ($25 million) to take-over Trust House Forte in the shortest possible time. The quality of the decision making is of even greater importance in achieving the objective than it is in Airline. From information supplied you have to decide on which type of outlet to operate, the price of the menu, whether to enter into loan contracts or purchase consignments of food or wines and the level of advertising, wages and dividends. You are warned that if results and dividends are insufficient to satisfy the shareholders, you will be made to resign. There are three levels of difficulty. Cases Computer Simulations are at [redacted]. VIDEO-PLAN Video-Plan, developed by Video Software Limited, is designed to enable the ZX81 to be used as an analysis tool. It performs many functions which could otherwise be carried out using an analysis book and calculator. Video-Plan can be used for such tasks as keeping stock records, analysing sales orders or invoices, analysing expenditure by nominal headings, cash flow forecasting or production scheduling. The heart of the system is a user-defined chart stored in the computer's memory (say 50 lines by 20 columns). Data may be added to the chart and a full range of calculations performed across the lines, together with column totaling and subtotaling. The TV screen acts as a window through which the chart may be viewed. This window, of course, can be moved under user control to any part of the chart. The cassette is well designed, with two copies of the program on one side, and a spoken explanation of the Video-Plan demonstration supplied is on side two. The program is very long (14K?) and starts running automatically. It takes nearly eight minutes to load. No loading difficulties were experienced. When you first get the program up on the screen, a menu of seven choices is displayed: 1 - set up new chart 2 - define functions/titles 3 - enter data 4 - move window 5 - save the system 6 - reset chart 7 - re-calculate totals If you wish to set up a new chart, you are invited to enter the dimensions (line and columns). A chart which is too big is rejected by the program. The program is supplied with a clearly written, detailed 20 page booklet. Although it may seem overwhelming at first, the demonstration application, along with spoken word description, should enable any careful user to discover the value of the program. In summary, this is a carefully written, well-documented program, which should prove a definite asset to a company wishing to carry out any of the tasks mentioned at the start of this article it is available from Video Software Ltd., [redacted].

Sinclair User

PLAYING AT BUSINESS If you fancy yourself as a financial whizz-kid, test your skills with two new business games from CCS. Airline has good animated bar charts and histograms and is full of unexpected hazards. We were hijacked by the PLO but managed to make a profit at the end of the first year. In the next year, however, we overspent on staff and faced the prospect of resigning. There are some pertinent decisions to be made and the game provides a useful introduction to the business world and its terminology. The aim of Airline is to lake-Over British Airways as soon as possible. In Autochef, it is to buy Trusthouse Forte by the judicious management of a chain of restaurants and fast food outlets. There are three levels of difficulty, although even on the easy level we lost a fair amount of money, and it helps to have a pen and some paper to keep track of cost forecasts, rent, and other vital factors. The games cost £4.75 each, and are available from CCS, [redacted].