SMUG Bytes v10 n4-7

Date: August - November 1993
Volume: 10
Issue: 4-7
See all issues of SMUG Bytes

Articles

TitleDescriptionComputers
2068 Code Bytes #5Fifth installment of the Z80 machine language series, presenting the world-map printing routine for CONQUEST. Covers FMO (find map start based on player position), PMAP (print map to screen), WRAP (horizontal and vertical wrapping logic for a 64×64 toroidal map), FINDAT (attribute address calculation), and PRUDG (print User Defined Graphic characters for map symbols). FullTimex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program
2068 Code Bytes #6Sixth installment of the Z80 series, providing corrections to the issue #5 map routine plus the FINDAT color-attribute routine that assigns display colors to map units and cities for three players, a PAPER routine for background attribute setting, and the PRUDG UDG printer used throughout the CONQUEST map display system. Full assembly listings with addressesTimex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program
2068 Code Bytes #7Seventh installment of the Z80 series, presenting the map-cursor and map-editor routine for CONQUEST. Covers PRCURS and PRCUR (cursor initialization and main loop), PIXLOC (screen address from XY coordinates), ATTR (attribute address calculation), PRCHA (print character), INTJOY (joystick-to-cursor translation), TRANS (cursor-to-map coordinate conversion), PUTX (place map element), DOIT (dispatch table using JP(HL)), and four scrollTimex/Sinclair 2068, Type-in program
A New Meeting DayBrief notice announcing that SMUG has changed its regular meeting day to the first Thursday of each month, to be held at the Equitable Bank location.
Brave New World and the Good Old DaysAn unsigned editorial contrasting nostalgic enthusiasm for analog tools (slide rules, typewriters) with skepticism about contemporary environmental and scientific alarmism. Critiques the overconfidence of computer-based modeling in fields such as climate science and cosmology, arguing that models are constrained by their underlying assumptions. Stands as a philosophical counterweight to the technical articles in the same
Commitment—What It TakesAn unsigned editorial on the planning and commitment required to write a major game for the Timex/Sinclair 2068. Discusses the machine’s memory constraints (39,826 bytes available), the design of a large 64×64 wrap-around world map for war and RPG games, estimated development time (~2,000 hours for the CONQUEST project), and the value of team programming.Timex/Sinclair 2068
The Future of Science and MathematicsAn unsigned editorial arguing that theoretical science has become increasingly PC-aided and abstract, often disconnected from experimental verification. Discusses the controversy over the red shift and expanding universe theory, limitations of quantum mechanics and weather modeling, and the claim that mathematics itself is incomplete. Presents a skeptical view of computer-assisted theoretical work.