INFOCOM On Line: Transcript edited by Mat*Rat - ANALOG Computing Brian Moriarity, author of WISHBRINGER and TRINITY spent several hours on line with us to talk about Infocom Games. We learned a bit about how they're written, and got a few hints about what we can expect from them in the future. Conference Visitors: Mat*Rat Brian Moriarity Mike Schoenbach Charles F. Johnson Charles Bachand GRUMMAGE FROGLIPS REPTILIA ICDINC (Tom Harker) ANDREESSEN JOEPIERCE ISHELLYOU56 TOMMCCOMB POCONO BEEJAY . We're a little early. Things will warm up in a bit. .Mike Schoenbach> Hi guys. .Brian Moriarty> Hi. . (Get that, ME EARLY. There's the first of the century!) > Hi Mike. > What do you have under construction to follow up Trinity Brian? > Can you give us any hints at all? .Brian Moriarty> I'd love to tell you. Unfortunately, we have this policy ... > of not disclosing products until they're less than ... > 90 days before ship date. Avoids vaporware. . I have to wait for the CES Infocom party next month? .Mike Schoenbach> What's a couple of trade secrets between friends? . This is a "public conference", that's different. :-} .Brian Moriarty> Yeah, I guess they'll be talking about it at CES. We have .. > a whole flock of new things coming out. . Hi Charles! Man does Megamax have ME down! CFJ> Hi folks! . Brian, some of the software from Infocom runs on the..... > C128, with the enhanced interpreter....... > but WHY NOT the 130XE? .Brian Moriarty> The "official" Atari mag mentioned Delphi this issue. CFJ> Hi Charlie! .Brian Moriarty> Charles! Nice to see you again! Did you bring lunch? .Charlie> Has the party started yet? . Warming up. .Brian Moriarty> Mat, maybe I should delay answering your question ... > until everybody is here to listen. .Charlie> I hope that I don't fall asleep - we had a 3 hour CO > on CI$ this afternoon. . It will come up again later. Let's be casual for a while? .Brian Moriarty> About what? (And was the "$" intentional/) .Mike Schoenbach> Ah, Charlie, don't start with the CI$ stuff when I'm here > What about the $ource? .Charlie> Just wanted to see if you were listening - CIS - I stand corrected. .Charles Johnson> It's easy to fall into the habit of using that $ sign. .Brian Moriarty> Charlie, I hear Pat is "no longer with you." .Charlie> Correct, he's now a job councelor. . Good ole' Patrick McKelley, the cute little irishman? > Did he help you hire a replacement then, hee hee? .Charlie> He needed a change. .Brian Moriarty> A job counselor? How on earth ... oh, never mind. .Charlie> CI$ CI$ CIS -- I love it! .Brian Moriarty> "Cute?" . cute indeed! .Grummage> Hello, just thought I would pop in for a sec. .Charlie> Put your feet up and sit a spell. .Grummage> Sorry got prior commitments. .Charles Johnson> How's Trinity doing, Brian? Sell well? > I loved the game, by the way. .Brian Moriarty> Yes, it has sold tolerably well. Better than we'd hoped. . How do you solve wishbringer in 10 moves or less? .Brian Moriarty> Mat: I don't think you can. FROGLIPS> hi just listing for now .Charlie> And these are official Sysops? . What's the MINIMUM moves to solve Wishbringer? Did you ever... > calculate that? .Brian Moriarty> One of our testers did, but I forgot what the result was. . How's Leather Goddesses selling? .Brian Moriarty> That title did/is doing fairly well. Not a blockbuster. > But well. . Get much "hate" mail from parents about selling "R" rated code? .Brian Moriarty> Are you kidding? Oh, we get lots of mail complaining about ... > LGoP. They complain that it isn't dirty enough! FROGLIPS> Brian...ever though about a multi-level difficulty approach? .Brian Moriarty> Well, WISHBRINGER sort of had that, since you could ... > solve most puzzles either with (easy) or without Magick. FROGLIPS> yea...that was a good approach... > but extend it like leather goddess so that it would be > applicable to different levels of players...eh? .Brian Moriarty> It's possible. But it takes a lot of code to handle ... > all the possibilities. .Charlie> Someone said that there was a connection between Wishbringer > and Trinity -- the Glow in the Dark stone is radioactive . Do the INVISICLUES sell well? Do they approach a significant.. > percentage of the program copies that sell? .Brian Moriarty> InvisiClues do okay. But we don't make a whole lot of ... > money on them. > We're starting a new Double InvisiClues system, with one book ... > for both HOLLYWOOD HIJINX and BUREAUCRACY. .Charles Johnson> When you work on a game for Infocom, is there much.... > actual programming involved? Or is it mainly just re-working.... > the already-existing shell? .Brian Moriarty> No, CJ. Only 5 to 10% of a game's total code comes from ... > the "generic" shell. The rest is all work. . Will Infocom take advatage of superior graphics on the ST, Amiga > and Mac II with graphic/text adventures? .Brian Moriarty> Yes. My next product will look substantially different on ... > the ST/Amiga/Mac-class machines. But NO, we are NOT currently ... > doing "graphic adventures" in the usual sense of the phrase. . Does anyone have any other tough gaming questions for Brian? .Brian Moriarty> Do you want to ask your C128 question again, Mat? . Ok, why are there versions of INFOCOM Games which provide.... > a more powerful parser, for the C128, using it's extra RAM... > but not for the 130XE? .Brian Moriarty> Simple. Our "Interactive Fiction PLUS" games > (which include Trinity, ... > A Mind Forever Voyaging, and now Bureaucracy) require a host system ... > with 1) at least 128K of RAM (512K on the Mac), 2) an 80-column text ... > display, and 3) a disk drive capable of holding about 275K. > The C128 is just barely powerful enough. . Oh, the primary limiting factors or lack of 80 column...... > display and disk storage of greater than 130K "enhanced .... > density" that Atari uses on their 1050s (even though.... > they are true double density mechanisms). > Maybe if the 3.5", 360K floppies and the XEP80 become realities.. > that woud change? .Brian Moriarty> Right. But we wouldn't use the 1050 "E-dense" mode anyway, ... > since there aren't enough users with 1050s out there ... > and even fewer with 130XEs. . 1050's can't go over 130K without a hardware modification..... > like the one put out by ICD. .Brian Moriarty> The XEP80 is a reality, according to Atari. The > 3.5" drives are ... > still vaporhardware. But even if both existed, they'd have to be ... > out there in the tens of thousands before it would make sense ... > for us to support them. ANALOG2> We just got in a real XEP80 in the office on Thursday. . The XEP is actually shipping to dealers somewhere? > Oh, you need me to review it? .Charlie> Oops! That's better. > They sent the unit and a disk but NO docs! .Brian Moriarty> Charlie, I think the docs are ON THE DISK! . So it's likely the 8bit will die of old age before....... > INTERACTIVE FICTION PLUS hits the machine? > (Atari 8bits I mean.) .Brian Moriarty> Unfortunately, that is probably true. But with > the 520ST coming down ... > to prices as low as $200 (or less!), does it really matter? . Atari, since the 800XL, has always made "disposable" computers. > A friend recently tried to sell a $1200 system for $200 and... > couldn't get it....... > that was $1200 new, for an 800/810/cassette etc. .Brian Moriarty> I paid $2000 for myu original 48K Atari 800 system. Today ... > I could get a much enhanced 130XE system for $300. . Atari is a little TOO HIGH TECH in that they obsolete our.... > machines before we could depreciate them, in a business..... > application, for example. .Charles Johnson> My 800 system is getting _very_ little use these days. > Especially since it's in a closet! . Yes. I've heard stories about 8bit Ataris and CORVUS as ...... > GREAT development systems........ > but NOT EVEN the best of the best on the ST can touch..... > the 130XE or 800XL, MIO board, and Mac/65. > Even the main frames at work don't compile as fast. .Brian Moriarty> STAR RAIDERS is still one of the best, though. > What's an MIO board? .Charlie> He doesn't know? . 1 MEGABYTE DMA Ramdisk (parallel bus) for the 8bit Ataris. .Charles Johnson> (Except that you can do more powerful stuff on the ST!) . 100K/second file transfer rates. > More RAM on my 8bit than on my ST! > And the MIO has room for a piggyback 80 column board...... > if they _ever_ get that done...... > and the MIO has printer and rs232 interfaces built in...... > and a SASI/SCSI interface for a controller and hard drive! .Brian Moriarty> One megabyte? Good heavens! > Mac/65. (Sigh.) What a wonderful tool. .Charles Johnson> Yeah...I'd kill for a MAC/68K. . Ditto! .Brian Moriarty> No assembler on the C64 even comes CLOSE to Mac/65. > Take it from someone who looked for one. . A lot of C64 software is developed on the Atari WITH Mac65, such > as all the 8bit computer eyes software! .Charles Johnson> Appealing username! Hi, Reptilia! REPTILIA> Hi, I'm new to Am I coming thru/ .Brian Moriarty> Loud and clear. > Speak of the devil. . Hello TOM. Get a nice tan on vacation, or is this Keith? .Brian Moriarty> (What a weird question that was!) ICDINC> This is TOM, yes nice tan but in the poor house now .Charles Johnson> Hehe! . Any questions for Mr. Wishbringer himself? .Brian Moriarty> (Choking.) .Brian Moriarty> Back to the Pleistocene. ICDINC> So how are sales in the Atari 8-bit market Brian? > 8-bit sales are slow, but surprsingly steady. > There's a core of a few thousand 8-bitters who ... > seem to like our stuff. ICDINC> Ours are doing well but I think we have more 8-bit products > than Atari now! .Brian Moriarty> How is Atari going to counter Mac II? .Charles Johnson> The Mac II is a _nice_ machine. A bit pricey. .Brian Moriarty> Only pricey when compared to "home" computers. Compared to ... > minis and mainframes (whose performance it more closely approaches), ... > it's the bargain of the century! . They are sending out review copies of the XEP80 NOW Tom... > how's the MIO 80 Column coming? .Charlie> Brian, Does Infocom use or have they ever looked into any > type of text compression methods? .Brian Moriarty> We've been using text compression since Day One. .Charles Johnson> I know. I peeked with a disk editor once.... > hoping to find some clues! Oh well. . Do you still use a proprietary language for everything...... > then just compile once for each target machine? .Brian Moriarty> Yes, we do use a proprietary language, ZIL (for Zork ... > Implementation Language). But no, we do not compile once ... > for each computer. We compile ONCE, for EVERY computer. The code ... > is 100% machine independent. Only the interpreters are changed ... > to protect the innocent. ICDINC> MAybe you could briefly describe ZIL for us? . Ohhhhh. What Main Frame do you use? Vax, Data General, Cray XMP4? .Brian Moriarty> It looks like Lisp, with lots of parens and brackets, and ... > functions called with arguments and optionals, etc, etc. > Our mainframe is a DECsystem 20. . Sounds like my Mac/65 source code - I have MACROitis. .Brian Moriarty> (Wish we had a Cray. But doesn't everybody?) . Someone develops an interpreter for each machine then.... > in it's native tongue? .Charlie> Or do you use cross assemblers? .Brian Moriarty> Right. Each machine has a small (around 8K) interpreter, > written ... > in assembly (though lately in C). It never changes. . Ahh, C would make it a bit more portable, eh. .Brian Moriarty> Each machine runs EXACTLY the same Z-code as every > other machine. . So the entire game is more like a description language of sorts. .Brian Moriarty> Yes. It's a virtual stack machine, similar in flavor to ... > FORTH. . I was going to suggest that word, but I can't say it.... > much less think in RPN. ICDINC> What are INFOCOMs views on copy protection for its programs? .Brian Moriarty> We no longer have CP on any of our products. > It doesn't work. .Charles Johnson> Did you ever use CP at Infocom? .Brian Moriarty> Not on Atari products. Our old Apple, IBM and Mac disks did. ICDINC> And has it affected sales?? . Your copy protection is unique documentation upon which.... > the game depends for solvability? .Brian Moriarty> Never stopped anyone. Packaging works a lot better. > Right, Mat. We make the package so attractive, you don't WANT to ... > play the game without it. . How many _NEW_ title announcements can we expect at CES? .Brian Moriarty> Defintely two major products, to ship immediately. > Possibly up to three others (including my next title). Maybe more. .Charles Johnson> Can you tell us anything about your next project, Brian? . Going to have another big bash, like last years BYOB? > (Bring Your Own BRAIN) .Brian Moriarty> It's another big fantasy. That's all I can tell you till CES. > I'm not sure what our plans are. Much depends on Activision. .Charlie> Were there ever any 'trap doors' left in any of the games by accident? .Brian Moriarty> "Trap doors?" . Easy solutions one might stumble onto accidentally..... > that were stuck in for convenience during development. .Charlie> Type a secret word and have all the rooms labeled, etc. > But someone somehow forgot about them? ICDINC> A hackers dream! .Brian Moriarty> Oh, you mean Secret Commands! (Chuckling.) No, we usually have to ... > semi them out just to make the games fit! > However, did you ever ASK THE BIRD WOMAN ABOUT TRINITY? . Have you ever considered a multiplayer game? Two different...... > people playing two different roles at the same time? .Charlie> O.K., I'll bite . .Charles Johnson> No, never tried that one! .Charles Johnson> Wha' happens? .Brian Moriarty> Yes, she knows, in a way .... > There was once a multiplayer version ... > of ZORK on the mainframe. Someday, maybe we'll do something with it. .Charlie> He's going to leave us hanging! .Brian Moriarty> I can't describe what happens, Charlie. Just try it. . How a BBS version? A BBS with simple email.... > but each caller is a different character....... > with a different path........ > the BBS can be run by just about anyone...... > but the caller must have an INFOCOM character disk..... > that handles custom communication with the BBS, etc. .Brian Moriarty> Got it all figured out, eh? Probably > not enough of a ... > market out there yet. Someday, who knows? . Make the BBS public domain. Sell the PLAYER disks...... > like crazy. Maybe have a dozen so different rolls one may..... > choose from at purchase time. ICDINC> So how much time do you guys spend playing games > on the mainframe? (vs working) > (hehe) .Brian Moriarty> Most of the games we play are on micros. The current favorites ... > are SHANGHAI on the Mac, and (get ready) SUPER BREAKOUT on the 800! ICDINC> Wow!! . Have you tried RAMBUG II yet? Nice debugging utility for the 800. .Brian Moriarty> No. I always used OMNIMON. . Try RAMBUG II sometime, it can grow on you. .Charles Johnson> I have to ask - who was responsible for that fiendish.... > "untangling/unangling cream" business in LGoP? That.... > one drove me nuts!!! .Brian Moriarty> The cream, like all of LGoP, was Steve Meretzky's. ICDINC> Brian, what machines are your biggest sellers? . C64? .Brian Moriarty> IBM, Apple // and C64. Together, about 75% of our business. ICDINC> How do ST, AMIGA, 8-bit Atari compare? > Also MAC? .Brian Moriarty> Amiga is rather weak, perhaps because we have no > pix (those dolts). > Mac is getting stronger, because there are so many MACers now. > Atari ST and 8-bit sales are roughly the same. . Aside from the games you've written personally, what INFOCOM..... > game do you play most, like best? ICDINC> So do you release on all machines at once? .Brian Moriarty> ICD: Yes. All versions come out on the same day. > Mat: My favorite is Enchanter. Zork II is also very good. > I should admit, though, that I haven't played several of them. . Just out of curiosity...... > what computer/terminal program are you using now? .Brian Moriarty> Right now, I'm on a Compaq Plus running Crosstalk. ICDINC> So is being a sucessful author everything you dreamed back > in ANALOG days? .Brian Moriarty> It's a lot more work than I thought it'd be. . And not enough groupies? ICDINC> And the fame and fortune??? .Brian Moriarty> Believe me, groupies are no picnic. ICDINC> (hehe) .Brian Moriarty> Fame? Ha! I've gone from Unknown to Obscure. > Fortune? Well, they pay better than ANALOG ... but doesn't everyone? ICDINC> Do all Infocom authors work at the main office or do some work at home? .Brian Moriarty> We basically all work at the office, though > there are signs of ... > that beginning to change. > We are thinking about porting our development system to ... > one of the new high-powered micros, possibly a Mac II. . Yeah! I'd LOVE to get paid to work at home all the time! ICDINC> I personally have a hard time working at home. > To many distractions. . I don't, at 3AM when all the kids are sleeping - do my best.... > work then. .Brian Moriarty> It's all a question of discipline. > I think I'd get more work done at home, given the chance. ICDINC> How many authors presently write for Infocom? .Brian Moriarty> I wrote Crash Dive! at home. Remember, Charlie? Mike was very ... > suspicious. .Brian Moriarty> We have seven full-time authors now. ICDINC> Does Activision handle marketing and sales then or is that Infocom? .Brian Moriarty> We do packaging and marketing. AVision does most of sales. . Where do you come up with the bizzarre ideas for these programs.. > .. and how do you develop ideas? Flowcharting? (Ackus) .Brian Moriarty> Every author has his/her own method of developing a story. > We don't brainstorm as much as you might think. ANDREESSEN> Is the Tandy CoCo going to be supported by Infocom anymore? .Brian Moriarty> We still support the Coco. > I know MOONMIST was released for Coco. ICDINC> How did you become affiliated with Infocom? ANDREESSEN> Are new games (Bureaucracy, Leather Goddess - Phobos, etc) > gonna have CoCo versions? .Brian Moriarty> I came to Infocom from ANALOG, as you may know. > I think there's a CoCo LGoP. B'Cracy is too big, won't fit. ICDINC> They just called ANALOG and asked if anyone was interested > in being famous?? ANDREESSEN> I dunno if anyone already asked this, but what kind of > new games are coming from Infocom? .Brian Moriarty> No. Charlie used to give me printouts of the Atari mail on CIS. ... > One day, there was this note from Dan Horn, who was head of their micro engineering dept. > He was looking for an 8-bit hacker. Desperately. So I wrote him a note. > You see, I'd just applied for a position as a game designer. Personnel > turned me down. (Snicker.) > So I snuck in through the Micro Group. .Charlie> And Mike took away my CIS account afterwards. . "Desperately seeking hacker. Must like bits more than bytes." .Brian Moriarty> I think Mike was not happy. ICDINC> Does Infocom also do games? (Graphics etc.) Sorry for my ignorance. .Brian Moriarty> We did a graphics oriented game called Fooblitzky once. . I heard about it. How did it do? .Brian Moriarty> We never pushed it very hard. We sold all the > copies we printed, but we didn't print very many. > Steve Panak made it sound like the Second Coming. .Charles Johnson> I have a copy, and I really enjoyed it. A departure > for Infocom. . You didn't think it lived up to the INFOCOM image? Or you...... > just didn't think it'd sell well? .Brian Moriarty> Some people felt one. Some felt the other. Some thought both. > It cost us a lot of $. ICDINC> Sounds like one of those TS upper mgmt decisions. . How were the reviews for it in other magazines? .Charlie> What other magazines? .Brian Moriarty> Most of them were vague. Antic was distinctly unimpressed. . The ones for non-Atari computers. You know, Games'R'Us....etc. .Brian Moriarty> A+ (the Apple mag) kind of liked it. Most of the reviews ... > just described the play of the game, and raved about the package. . There isn't a whole lot more you can write in a game review. .Brian Moriarty> Oh, Antic occasionally gets rather opinionated. > Ever see their review ... > of Tom Hudson's Buried Bucks? .Joe> Well, changing the subject, and probably re-asking this question... > Is CORNERSTONE still a "live" product? .Brian Moriarty> We still sell copies of the IBM version. There is, by the way, ... > a very nice version for the ST floating around. > It was shown at Winter CES at the Atari booth. .Joe> I always thought that it was better than it was given credit > but then again, 90% of the reviews you get are directly related > to amount of advertising bought in the PC market .Brian Moriarty> This is true. Marketing is impossibly expensive in > the PC market. . Send a FREE copy to Jerry Pournelle! There's some free...... > advertising .... if it's good. .Joe> hahaha .Charles Johnson> I must have missed something. What's Cornerstone? .Joe> "I'm writing this in the early 18th century, due to Byte's > excessive lead time, your reading it now" .Brian Moriarty> Very valuable advertising, too. People are clamoring for just ... > a wee mention in Chaos Manor. It's read by more people than ... > any other column in ANY computer magazine. . You sure? I know i've got at least 5 or 6 people reading.... > my Database delphi column now! > And growing more every day! .Brian Moriarty> Cornerstone, Charles, is Infocom's IBM PC database system. > Only $99.95 at fine dealers everywhere! .Charles Johnson> Ah! Now I recall reading about it. Is the ST version.... > going to be sold too? .Brian Moriarty> It does exist. Whether or not we sell it depends on ... > how we perceive the ST market. Right now, there doesn't seem to be ... > enough potential to make it worth our while. .Charles Johnson> That's a shame. I still haven't found a decent DB for my ST. .Brian Moriarty> It beats the living s--- out of every other ST database, though! .Joe> Shhhhhh Frank Cohen might hear .Brian Moriarty> Who? ICDINC> Thanks for the interesting info Brian,, (pun intended) gotta go. . Brian, have you ever used Zoooooooooom RACKS? .Charles Johnson> Author of RegentBase. .Joe> I tried to convey humor - it didn't work .jh> (hmmm...should I get a ST or IBM?) .Charles Johnson> I laughed, Joe. :-) .Brian Moriarty> Whos is RegentBase author? No, haven't seen ZoomRacks. . Cray, get a cray! .Charles Johnson> Frank Cohen is one of the authors of Regent Base, Brian..... .Joe> jh - buy a Personal System/2 and be unique > unique in the fact that you will be the only person outside of > a fortune 500 company to have one .Charles Johnson> a program that's supposed to be functionally equivalent to... > RBASE 5000. ("Supposed".) .Brian Moriarty> ST Cornerstone screams, especially on a 1040. .Charles Johnson> I want it! > I'll pay! .Brian Moriarty> But wait! There's more! ... Now how much would you pay? > (Personal System/2. Blah.) .Joe> Blah blah > We still need a way to indicate sarchasm in ascii .Charlie> Brian is into DEC Rainbows. .Brian Moriarty> I wrote WISHBRINGER on a DEC Rainbow, in terminal > mode. Love the keyboard. > Now use a VT220, which has the same keyboard. . VT220 do graphics? How about the VT200, graphics terminal too? .Joe> I'd still like to have a DEC Rainbow just for the keyboard .Brian Moriarty> No pix on VT220. Well ... not exactly (being mysterious). > No better keyboard, in my opinion. Most here use VT131s. Ugh. .Joe> I wonder if the VaxMate 286 machine has a Rainbow keyboard (now getting way off the subject) .Brian Moriarty> Yes, most of the DEC mini/micros have a VT220-style board. .jh> Bye...and thanks for all the fish. .Brian Moriarty> (We wish!) .Charlie> So long. .Joe> Quick, someone loan me $10K so I can buy a VaxMate then .Brian Moriarty> Just get a VT220! About $1.5K. .Joe> No wonder everyone is buying ST's to use as Vt220's > $1500 for a terminal is way outta line - even with god's gift to keyboards .Brian Moriarty> My opinion of the ST keyboard is better left unsaid here. > They got the layout right, at least. .Charles Johnson> I think you just said it all, Brian. .Joe> type type/ mush mush .Chris> Geez, been on since last august and this is the first conference > i've been on .Brian Moriarty> It's like squeezing an old banana. .Chris> to put it mildly .Charles Johnson> Everybody together - "I Hate the ST's Keyboard!" .Joe> Never quote me on this, but it's still better than the > Tandy 1000 keyboard I use all damn week .Brian Moriarty> I understand the Megas are better. True? .Chris> I like the ST keyboard, the keys are so bouncy! > mega's are detached, bri .Brian Moriarty> I want a computer, not a trampoline. .Charles Johnson> Well, it's looking like maybe not! They couldn't get the low.... > price from the OEM on the improved keyboards. .Chris> if anyone saw the new amiga 2000, their keyboard layout is > next to the same as the ST's, even the letter print on each > keypad is similar .Brian Moriarty> (Joe: You're right about the 1000. Yech.) > The A2000 keyboard is quite nice. .Brian Moriarty> Too bad they crippled it with ridiculous IBM compatibility. .Joe> The A2000 might be interesting if there was something to do with it other than look at "neat graphics demos" .Brian Moriarty> The A2000 will be the box developers use to write > games for the A500. > Yes, Amigas have HARDWARE support for multitasking. .Joe> THe A500 won't sell unless they match the ST's price. > The buying public looks at price beyond all else .Brian Moriarty> They just might, Joe. The A500 is really cheap toproduce. .Joe> Well, if they do, I'll buy one and "run neat graphics demos on it" .Brian Moriarty> Chris, is it 68020? > With math co-pro? .Charles Johnson> Do the new Amigas have hardware memory protection? .... > that's vital for a true multi-tasking OS. .Chris> i believe so .Brian Moriarty> No, the A500 has Kickstart in ROM, with 512K of real RAM. .Joe> the new amiga's are nothing new above the a1000 except for > the fact that the OS is ROMMED > Amiga Rev 1.1 you might say .Chris> and i think they have 1 meg of memory, compute! is making a big > deal over it, they never put the ST on their cover .Brian Moriarty> The big change is Cost Of Goods. Dramatically lower. .Chris> i think they put the amiga on it twice already .Brian Moriarty> Who advertises more? .Joe> What do you expect, Compute! is basically a CBM magazine, > has been for some time .Brian Moriarty> The A2000 has 1 meg. A500 only 512, I think ... > If it takes hold, A500 will be the ultimate game machine. .Joe> The A500, according to AmigaWorld (I'll withhold comments > on that publication) has 512K and an external expansion edge connector . We got multitasking, within the confines of an accessory! .Charles Johnson> Well....we got kind of a "pseudo/imitation multitasking"... > with accessories! .Joe> Speaking of ST multi-tasking, I wonder what ever happened > to OS9 LLevel II 68K for the ST? Anyone hear anything? .Brian Moriarty> But who wants MT on a home computer? Really?] > Joe, OS-9 was pulled from distribution (poor sales). But ... . I could pull down a window and work on a spread sheet...... > while i'm waiting on the SLOW ST compilers. > That's MT. .Joe> The only multi-tasking I need is the ability to transfer > files and play a game at the same time to keep from getting bored .Chris> right, joe .Brian Moriarty> Microware (the inventors) may resell it again later. . I don't know about any MT software for the ST other..... > than what Steve Beckemeyer wrote, and that is NOT public domain! .Joe> Hmmm - I don't know all that much about OS9, but all of the > Coco hacks at work tell me how great it is all the time... blah blah .Brian Moriarty> Mat, stop using compilers. Use FORTH! .Joe> Stomp out FORTH in your lifetime .Charles Johnson> Hey, there's an idea. How about a desk accessory Infocom game? .Charles Johnson> FORTH hate I. .Joe> Modula/2's my game, insanity reigns .Brian Moriarty> (Sigh.) Go ahead. Type squiggly brackets to your > heart's content. > Modula is rather nice. But it's not interactive. . FORTH hate really dup dup dup I emit emit emit emit emit etc.... .Charles Johnson> Real men code in assembly! ;-) .Joe> "we got one of those FORTH weirdo's here, don't touch him, > you might catch something" . REAL men code in Hexadecimal! .Charles Johnson> Octal!!! . BINARY! .Joe> no, real men code in OCTAL a > EBCIDIC .Charlie> Flip switches! .Charles Johnson> Punch cards! . OK, we got any more serious conferencing left in us? .Joe> probablty not Mat . while ( TODAY != FRIDAY); /* WAIT */ > PARTY(YOUR, BUNS, OFF); .Brian Moriarty> And you bought ... ? . Then someone else will Go Ahead. .Charles Johnson> Have you played the new B'cracy game, Brian? How do _you_... > like it? . Well, this conference is now 2 hours old. Brian is about.... > ready to go I think. Any final comments Brian? .Brian Moriarty> No, I have not played it enough to comment intelligently. > ... Except that I'm still waiting for someone to publish ... > a game as perfect as Atari 800 STAR RAIDERS. /s cfj,infocominc Don't encourage the little snip! .Charles Johnson> Yeah, the ST Star Raiders doesn't hold a candle! . You don't like Star Raiders ST? .Joe> Meaning, you wan't Star Raiders on the ST in 16K of code or less .Charles Johnson> OK, Joe, talk to ya later! .Joe> -exit stage left .Joe> - signed off - .Brian Moriarty> Thanks, Chris. A pleasure being among Atarians. .Chris> huh? BEEJAY> Hello. .Charles Johnson> Hi, Beejay...we're just winding down here. .Brian Moriarty> Well , gotta go, everyone. So long! .Chris> okay dokay. goodnitey nite .Charles Johnson> Thanks for stopping in, Brian! .Brian Moriarty> Bye all, it's been fun etc. .Brian Moriarty> - signed off -