Products: 3D Strategy
Developer(s): F. A. Vachha
Date: 1983
Type: Program
Platform(s): TS 2068
Tags: Strategy
3D Strategy is F. A. Vachha’s three-dimensional noughts and crosses for Quicksilva: you and the computer take turns on a 4×4×4 cube, shown as four 4×4 boards labelled A–P across and 1–4 down, and the first to get four in a line in any direction wins. There are four levels from Beginner to Expert, a Tactical or Positional playing style, an auto-play mode in which the computer plays itself, a choice of who moves first, and time controls for the whole game or for each move. While it thinks, the computer shows its best move so far and its evaluation.
The instructions on this copy were edited to call it “the FIRST program for the TIMEX 2068” and the move prompt says “Timex first”, so this is a TS2068 adaptation of the Spectrum game.
Program Analysis
The BASIC loads a 600-byte block of example positions at 48988, shows the title and the instructions (with animated example lines drawn from that block at lines 8000–8040), and then loads the title screen and the 16 KB game at 32768 and starts it with RANDOMIZE USR 32768. The game copies part of itself into memory at 6300h and reads the keyboard through the ROM.
Potential Issues
- As found, the adapted code called address 02E1h in the TS2068 ROM, which is not the keyboard scan, so no key was ever accepted at the “Level” prompt. This download changes that one call to the TS2068’s KEY-SCAN at 02B0h.
This copy came from a Larken disk. The disk prefixes were removed, the Quicksilva logo loader from the second disk runs first, and the keyboard call was corrected. Tested in ZEsarUX on a stock TS2068: setup, the computer’s replies and the clock work.
Image Gallery
Source Code
0 REM RESET F.A.VACHHA 1983
1 CLS : PRINT AT 9,7; FLASH 1;"PLEASE START TAPE": PRINT AT 14,7; INK 1;"The main Program";AT 15,7; "takes < 2 mins to";AT 16,14;"LOAD": INK 7: LOAD "3Dlogo.C$"SCREEN$
2 PRINT AT 1,0: LOAD "3Dgame.C1"CODE : RANDOMIZE USR 32768
3 INK 0: PAPER 7: CLS : BRIGHT 0: POKE 23675,255: PRINT FLASH 1;AT 11,14;"WAIT": INK 7: LOAD "3Dstrt.C1"CODE : INK 0: POKE 23658,8: PRINT AT 11,6; FLASH 1;"STOP THE TAPE NOW!": FOR N=-35 TO 50: BEEP .03,N: NEXT N: PAUSE 50: PAPER 7: BORDER 7: CLS
4 PRINT AT 0,5; INK 2;"Q U I C K S I L V A": PAUSE 25: PRINT INK 2;AT 1,10;"presents...": FOR n=50 TO -30 STEP -2: BEEP .02,n: NEXT n: PRINT INK 3; FLASH 1;AT 7,10;"3D STRATEGY": PRINT INK 1;AT 10,2;"A Multidimensional Mind Game";AT 13,7;"By F A Vachha BSc"
5 PRINT AT 21,6;"INSTRUCTIONS - Y/N ?": GO SUB 9500: CLS : IF A$="N" THEN GO TO 1
6 PRINT AT 2,0; INK 2; FLASH 1;"3D STRATEGY"; FLASH 0;" is the FIRST program",,"for the TIMEX 2068 Microcomputer",,"that will defeat the most highly",,"intelligent of Humans in a sheer",,"Battle of Wits..."
7 PRINT AT 12,1; INK 2;"If your ego can stand the shock",,"of being bested by a small Micro",,"in a completely fair challenge ,",,"then this is the game for you."
8 PLOT 128,39: DRAW INK 2;30,0: PRINT AT 21,0;"scroll?": FOR N=49451 TO 49521 STEP 2: BEEP PEEK N/4,PEEK (N+1)-5: IF INKEY$="" THEN NEXT N: PAUSE 200
10 CLS : INK 2: PRINT AT 0,9;"SPECIFICATIONS"
15 INK 0: PRINT : GO SUB 9000: PRINT "Incredibly strong - virtually unbeatable at EXPERT level!!"
20 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "Hyperfast playing speed - on average uses <1.7 sec/move!!"
25 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "Four levels of play, from L1 (BEGINNER) to L4 (EXPERT)"
30 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "Even at its highest level of play, never uses >55 secs/game"
35 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "Two choices of playing style- Tactical & Positional"
40 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "Two Automatic Chess Clocks on the screen all the time"
45 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "Makes >200,000 decisions/move!"
50 GO SUB 9005: PRINT "Switchable Time Control system - either set a time limit per individual move (Blitz),or per game (Tournament), or Off"
55 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "Match system with cumulative scores, Auto-reset & Auto-1st Move Decider( computerised coin toss to settle draws )"
60 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "Defined-depth superfast alpha- beta pruning, coupled with an ultrarefined Static Position Evaluator Function (EVAL) & a ruthless Killer Heuristic"
65 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "High speed MOVGEN subroutine can generate >25000 moves/sec!"
70 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "Capable of an amazing 18-ply look-ahead, when the position warrants such deep examination"
75 GO SUB 9005: PRINT "The entire program, MOVGEN, EVAL, & LOGIC are in compact, highly-efficient Machinecode"
80 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "Equipped with a comprehensive Openings library - it refers to this in YOUR time!!"
84 GO TO 90
85 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "Works on 16K & 48K Spectrums - on the 16K machine, uses every available byte, including UDG, P.Buffer, even the Screen (!) for the MOVGEN/EVAL scratchpad"
90 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "The program self-starts"
95 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "It plays only legal moves"
100 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "It accepts only legal moves"
105 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "Auto penalties ( level-based ) for entering non-legal moves !"
110 GO SUB 9005: PRINT "Accepts Resignations"
115 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "Automatically recognises & declares both Wins & Draws for each side"
120 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "Graphically displays board & coordinates in colour.Displays moves graphically, alpha- numerically....even audibly!"
125 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "Also shows Score, Level, Style Move no:, Colour to move, last move made, Times taken ( yes, the clocks even tick! ), Time Control (if set), etc etc etc"
130 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "Autoloss if the time limit is exceeded or if the game is unattended for > 4min 15sec"
135 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "Control over who plays first"
140 GO SUB 9005: PRINT "A fresh match can be initiated at will, at any time"
145 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "Sophisticated Randomiser which ensures games are not repeated There are >>1,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000 different games possible, even after excluding reflections & rotations!!"
150 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "Synthesised sound effects, varying with level & outcome"
155 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "Can communicate very flexibly, via 15 different messages. You are at liberty to input moves in either order (ie, N2 OR 2N) Intentionally, deletion and/or retraction of part-made moves has been made impossible"
156 GO SUB 9005: PRINT "Audible progression of tempo as the time control is neared"
157 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "A quite unique feature - while it is thinking, the computer displays the best move it has found so far, & its numerical evaluation (from +0 to +11111) of the position. This allows you to actually see how the computer decides on its move as it looks deeper & deeper!"
158 GO SUB 9000: PRINT "AUTO-PLAY mode - you can set your computer to play itself, while you sit back & watch!! AUTO-PLAY works at all 4 skill levels, both on Tactical & on Positional settings. Combined with the last feature, AUTO- PLAY is both instructive and loads of fun!"
159 PRINT : PRINT : PRINT : PRINT : PRINT : PRINT
160 PRINT : CLS : PRINT AT 0,9; INK 2;"INSTRUCTIONS": BEEP .5,40
165 PRINT : PRINT " The rules of 3D-Strategy are essentially those of Noughts & Crosses, played in 3 dimensions on a 4*4*4 cube. To win, you must get 4 of your symbols in a straight line (Hor/Vert/Diag)."
170 PRINT " Your symbol is "; INK 1; FLASH 1;"x";: PRINT "; mine is "; INK 2; FLASH 1;"o"
175 PRINT " Squares are identified by their coordinates, ie A-P & 1-4 There are 4 levels of skill:-"
180 PRINT "L1 BEGINNER Good for trainingL2 ADVANCED Quite challengingL3 MASTER VERY challengingL4 EXPERT The Ultimate One"
182 PRINT "AUTO-PLAY mode switches your computer to playing itself."
185 PRINT " There are 2 playing styles:-": PRINT "Tactical (TAC) plays an active, risky game. You should defend calmly & then counterattack."
190 PRINT : CLS : PRINT "Positional (POS) plays a deep, strategic game, & is extremely hard to outwit."
195 PRINT : PRINT " You can preset Time Controls for a match. In response to the prompt, press:"
200 PRINT INK 3;"T"; INK 0;", followed by the duration in mins, to set a maximum time for you to make ALL your moves"
205 PRINT INK 3;"I"; INK 0;", followed by the duration in secs, to set a maximum time for each individual move (Blitz)"
210 PRINT INK 3;"N"; INK 0;", if no time control is wanted": PRINT : PRINT " Durations must be between 1 & 9"
215 PRINT " To resign in mid-game, use theR key. The best move found so far & the EVAL no: are displayedwhile the computer is thinking.": PRINT "Now for some illustrative lines.Make sure you understand them!"
8000 PRINT : CLS : FOR C=39 TO 183 STEP 48: FOR N=23 TO 55 STEP 8: PLOT C,N: DRAW 32,0: NEXT N: FOR D=0 TO 32 STEP 8: PLOT D+C,23: DRAW 0,32: NEXT D: NEXT C
8010 FOR N=15 TO 18: PRINT INK 3;AT N,3;N-14;AT N,28;N-14: NEXT N: PRINT INK 3;AT 20,5;"ABCD EFGH IJKL MNOP"
8015 LET Z=6*INT (48.383*ACS RND)+48988: FOR J=Z TO Z+3: LET B=PEEK J
8020 INK J-Z+1: LET A=16*INT ((B-1)/16): LET C=B-A: LET G=INT ((C+3)/4): LET A=INT (A/4)+C+68-4*G: PRINT AT 13,7+5*(J-Z);G;CHR$ A;" -"
8030 LET V=INT ((B-1)/16): LET X=B-16*V: LET Y=4*INT ((X-1)/4): PRINT OVER 1; FLASH 1;AT INT ((X-1)/4)+15,6*V+4+X-Y;"*": BEEP .01,40: NEXT J
8040 INK 0: PRINT AT 13,25;" ";AT 5,5;"Another example - Y/N ?": GO SUB 9500: IF A$="Y" THEN GO TO 8000
8070 CLS : PRINT AT 7,3; FLASH 1;"Instructions again - Y/N ?": FOR N=0 TO 50: BEEP .004,N: NEXT N: GO SUB 9500: IF A$="Y" THEN GO TO 160
8080 GO TO 1
9000 PRINT " .............................."
9005 BEEP .02,45: PRINT INK 4;"* ";: RETURN
9500 LET A$=INKEY$: IF A$<>"Y" THEN IF A$<>"N" THEN GO TO 9500
9510 RETURN
9992 SAVE "3Dmain.B2" LINE 3
9994 REM SAVE 3Dstrt.C1CODE 48988,600: SAVE 3DlogoCODE 32768,6912: SAVE 3DgameCODE 32768,16384
9998 REM was LKDOS-onlyNote: Type-in program listings on this website use ZMAKEBAS notation for graphics characters.