Popular Computing Weekly 4-10 Oct 1984
New micro for Sinclair?
IT now seems possible that Sinclair will launch a new low-cost home computer next year.
Despite strong rumours that Sinclair is planning an expanded Spectrum machine with built-in microdrives and a proper keyboard, the new games computer is more likely to be 68008-based cut-down version of the QL without microdrives but with 128K Ram, sprites and a cassette port.
Sinclair has publically committed itself to the 68000 chip series as “the chip architecture we have chosen for the next decade”.
Nigel Searle, the company’s managing director, last week denied any plans to launch an upgraded Spectrum machine to sell for around £150: “Such a machine would bring us into head-on competition with the Commodore 64.
“Also it would encourage software authors to write for an expanded Spectrum and Z80 chip at a time when we want to focus attention on writing for the QL and 68008.”
The QL monitor produced for Sinclair by MBS Data Efficiency will sell for £299, not £199 as reported in last week’s issue.
Oric sues Prism
TROUBLED micro manufacturer Oric Products International has served a writ against its distributor, Prism, for £4m damages.
Oric claims Prism has broken the contrct between the two companies: “Prism was to become Oric’s primary distributor, but Prism failed to meet the obligations of that agreement. The £4m refers to loss of sales suffered by Oric,” said an Oric spokesman.
Prism will be responding to the writ. “We utterly refute everything that Oric are saying and our solicitor has already filed a response,” said Bob Denton, Prism’s group managing director.
“One problem with Oric has been the price cutting of the Atmos in stores. It was selling at £99 in Green’s at a time when Oric’s price to us was £115.”
This is the second writ that Oric has served in the last two months. In August, they filed a countersuit against ICMP, its advertising agency, after ICMP sued for £200,000 for nonpayment of debts. Oric’s countersuit was thrown out of court.
Four million pounds is reported also to be the estimated amount of Oric’s total debts at present to creditors.
Terry Shurwood, Oric’s sales manager, last week denied reports that Oric had been refinanced.
“Oric will continue as it is, without any cash injection,” the Oric spokesman confirmed.
Two Oric directors, Barry Muncaster (managing) and Paul Johnson (technical) have, however, refinanced Tansoft, the software company which has written extensively for both Oric machines.
The two, between them, have acquired Tansoft for an undisclosed sum.
US games invasion continues
MORE American software is on its way to Britain for Christmas, this time from a new company, Ariolasoft.
Set up as a sister company to Arista Records and Ariola, it will be headed by Ashley Gray and Frank Brunger, formerly of CBS.
So far Ariolasoft has reached greement with two of the biggest and fastest-growing software companies — Electronic Arts and Broderbund — to market their titles in the UK and Europe.
“At first we will be working on repackaging the titles and putting them on cassette, so they will first be available for the Commodore 64,” explained Ashley Gray. “Where feasible, we will later be converting to the Spectrum, and eventually looking at the MSX machines. However, no firm conversion schedules have yet been fixed.”
Nor has the order in which the games will appear, but Ashley said, “We will not be bringing them all out at once, as there are 60 titles in total, but our target launch date is set for early November, in order to have the first titles available in volume for Christmas.
“Prices for the range aren’t fixed yet, but they will be at the upper end of the price spectrum, in line with the sort of prices US Gold, for instance, are doing.”
In the long term, Ariolasoft plans to gain licences from other US companies, and, in turn, market its own British titles in the States.
Ariolasoft will not, however, be the only company marketing Broderbund games in this country.
Software Projects is set to release Broderbund’s Loderunner on Commodore 64 next week, at £9.95.
“Loderunner has 150 screens, and also incorporates a games designer, in that the player can alter the parameters of the game. Graphically it’s not going to bowl anyone over, but it has an enormously addictive quality,” said Software Projects sales manager Colin Stokes.
“As far as I am aware, our contract with Broderbund is non-exclusive, and we are currently negotiating with them to market the top US title Raid on Bungling Bay in Britain as our next release.”
Tune in to Channel 8
CHANNEL 8 Software has launched a MIDI music keyboard interface — Midisoft 1 — to run with the BBC, Commodore 64 and the Sinclair QL.
Also included in the package is software enabling the user to create polyphonic sequences in segments and chains, edit scores from staves displayed on screen, and dump music scored to a printer.
“With Midisoft 1, you can use the computer’s memory to store tunes in real time and manipulate them. You can correct the timing on your playing, or alter the tempo if you wish,” said Channel 8’s chairman Norman Perriarn. “Connecting to the micro means that you can control up to 16 synthesisers at any one time.
Midisoft 1 should be available in November, priced at £189.95.
Details from Channel 8, 51 Fishergate, Preston, Lancs.
Dungeons & Dragons from PSS
Swords and Sorcery is the next major release from Coventry based software house PSS.
The program is a Spectrum adventure combining text, 3D and maze graphics and many Dungeons and Dragons role-playing games type features.
The playing screen is divided into three sections, a bottom text screen, a 3D view of a maze and a top view of part of the same maze. As in role- playing games your ‘character’ develops in skills and experience over a number of games.
There are a variety of objectives within the game including treasures to be found and quests to be undertaken. All the characters are animated in high resolution 3D. The game is due for release in October.
Ex-Imagine directors in court
AT a committal hearing at Liverpool High Court, ex-Imagine Software directors Dave Lawson and Mark Butler were ruled to be in contempt of court, after failing to attend a previous hearing.
Lawson and Butler had been instructed under a court order to release former Imagine shareholder Steve Blower from the personal guarantee on Imagine’s £100,000 bank overdraft.
The High Court judge said, however, that it would not benefit Steve Blower if Lawson and Butler were sent to prison or fined for contempt. The order to remove Blower’s name still stands.
“This dispute about the overdraft has been going on since February 10th this year, when I reached an out of court settlement with Dave Lawson and Mark Butler to pay me damages and take all possible steps to release me from the guarantee,” said Steve Blower. “They did not do so.”
The overdraft, at Lloyds Bank in Water Street, Liverpool, is jointly guaranteed by all three men, each of whom are personally responsible for the full amount if one or both of the others cannot meet their share of the debt.
After Imagine went into liquidation in July, Steve Blower obtained the court order instructing Lawson and Butler to remove his name within three days.
“They failed to do that, and then did not attend the court hearing when the three days were up,” Steve Blower said. “The judge said that the court order was still in force and that Lawson and Butler must pay all the legal costs. With interest, the overdraft is now around £112,000. I am now talking to my solicitor to see what we can do next.”
Alien - game of the film
ARGUS Press Software has acquired the rights from Twentieth Century Fox to produce a computer game based on the film Alien.
“Alien will form part of our Mind Games series,” explained Peter Holme, Argus’s marketing manager. “The player controls the commander of the space ship, but must manipulate and interact fully with the other characters in the game, who all have their own individual personalities.
“You must save the ship and crew from the alien; the rating at the end of the game depends on whether you succeed, or let the beast get to Earth and destroy the human race.
“Because of the changing personalities of the characters in the game, the play will be quite different each time. For instance, if someone picks up a weapon, their confidence factor automatically increases.”
The team of programmers for Alien includes people who used to work for failed Liverpool company Imagine Software, although Peter was unwilling to name names.
The Alien computer game will be released in November to coincide with the relaunch of the film.
It will be published simultaneously for the Spectrum and Commodore 64 and will cost £8.99.
Argus has also recently completed the takeover of another Liverpool software house, Starcade. Its latest release, Savage Pond, for the BBC and Atari, is to be converted for the Spectrum, and relaunched by Argus.
“Starcade is a father and son team, who wanted to concentrate on programming, rather than spend time on administration, so the sale to Argus was advantageous for them,” said Peter.