I am really impressed with QL SuperBASIC and since my computing expertise is still mostly limited to Basic, one of the ways I wile away my precious time is to convert some of the old “chestnut” programs I’ve enjoyed on the ZX-81 or TS-2068 over to SuperBASIC. This is one such program and I’m sorry to say it’s been around so long, I don’t know whom to give credit for the original program.
This program is really tame entertainment when compared to todays shoot-’em-up video games, but I remember when this program brought amazing responses from the players as the computer made nasty comments to the player about the kind of bets he made.
Converting this program to SuperBASIC gave me opportunity to explore the use of multiple screens and to design inputs and screen outputs to utilize this facility. The extent of commentary the computer makes to the player is only limited by the imagination of the programmer. One thing still needed in this program, however, is the use of sound effects. (At our house we don’t need additional noise!)
As a sideline to this project, it was fun creating the 2-column format for this article using Quill and a homemade printer-driver to create columnized program listings. Perhaps this can be the basis for a future article.
As you type this into your QL, feel free to break up the lines which have multiple commands divided by “:” into individual program lines for greater clarity. I compacted some lines just to better utilize the space for this printed article.
I continually applaud the convenience of the EDIT utility of Tony Tebby‘s TOOLKIT II which I utilize heavily in converting programs. First I type in the programs just as they originally appear in their original basic (making obviously necessary changes as I go along, such as replacing ‘PRINT AT ‘ with ‘AT n,n:PRINT’ ; adding ‘END IF’ when necessary, etc.), then using the Toolkit II editor, the fun begins. As I add lines and the intervals between line numbers becomes crowded, a simple RENUM command opens things up again and I’m back in business.
I hope you enjoy the program. Be sure to make it clear to new players that you do NOT pay-up to the winners!
