GAMES ADVENTURE MODULE The module "Adventure" allows you to playn twelve adventure games as follows: 1- Adventure Land. 2- The count. 3- Mystery funhouse. 4- Ghosttown. 5- Mission Impossible. 6- Strange Odyssey. 7- Pirate. 8- Pyramid of doom. 9- Savage Island. 10- Savage Island 2. 11- Voodo Castle. and 12- The Golden Voyage. The data for each game is stored on the separate "Adventure" diskette or cassette tape. The Adventure module allows very quick access to each adventure game and starts by providing an instruction screen. The module allows you to save each adventure to the extent you have played each game up until that time. The action is rapid and the commands and method of play follows the typical adventure game. You use one or two word commands eg. Help, quit, save games, score, and take inventory. You may abbreviate any word by typing the first couple of letters of the word, and directions by typing the first letter of the direction. You are always allowed to restore a previously saved game before losing your turn and therefore the program, when you die, etc. The Adventure module and accompanying diskettes or cassette tapes are an absolute must for all who truly enjoy adventure games ALPINERP This is an arcade type game. In it you try to guide a mountain climber from the foot to the top of six progressively more difficult mountains. There are lots of stationary (bears, mountain lions, trees, rocks) and moving (rockslides, avalanches, and icefalls) obstacles to avoid. there is even a nasty skunk that will try to spray you. Running into or being hit by one of these obstacles can cause anything from falling back a few feet to falling all the way down the mountain and losing the life of the climber. It is said that if you make it to the 6th mountain (Everest), you will meet the ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN on skis (I have to take their word that it happens, as I never get that far). Although not required, this game makes good use of the speech synthesizer. Malke and female voices warn, compliment, and taunt you. It really makes me mad when, after falling 4000 feet down the mountain, a female voice butts in and says "Harder then it looks, isn't it!". A-MAZE-ING If you like mazes, you'll love A-MAZE-ING. Different options give users a variety of maze situations. from simple mazes to a cat and mouse situation. Thirteen options with a total of 5200 different variations are possible. Many hours of fun and excitement for all ages. BLACKJACK & POKER If you enjoy an occasional game of Blackjack or Stud Poker, you'll appreciate the Blackjack & Poker module. Just plug in, sit back and relax while the computer shuffles, deals and handles all the details of play. It allows you to play either game with up to four players. It lets you choose the size of your beginning bankroll. It shuffles the cards, deals the hands, and keeps track of the bets. also it determines the winning hand(s) and pays off the bets. You can play as long or short a game as you wish, with all the challenge and skills of the games. You can't cheat, and win or lose you come out a winner in enjoyment. I really do enjoy playing the blackjack no matter how much money is in my pocket, or how much I win or lose. BLASTO This cartridge isn't one of your all-time great arcade games but I kind of like it. younger kids all seem to like it as well. The game is blasting land mines and/or the other player's tank...so many points for little mines, more for big mines, and of course more for blasting your opponent. 1 or 2 players, nice music (When Johnie comes marching home), several options (trails, speed, mine density, invisibility, obstacles). It's not all that easy to clear the mine field. CAR WARS Car Wars is an arcade style game. The playing field is a maze of lanes filled with dots. The object is to clear the lanes of dots with your car without being crashed by a car controlled by the computer. You maneuver your car through the maze by using a joystick or the arrow keys on the keyboard. there are breaks in the lanes that allow you to change lanes and you are given a slight advantage over the computer's car in that you can move two lanes at a time, while the computer can only move one lane at a time. In a menu selection before the start of the game, you select the speed of the cars. There are three different speeds. The cars start off in opposite directions at the same speed, but the computer's car dougles its speed sometime during the game, depending on the "speed-up level", which is another before game menu selection. You can double the s;eed of your car at any time by holding down the fire button on the joystick, or by pressing the "Y" key. If you are successful in clearing the maze, bonus points are given and you get another car in your "pit" (you start a game with three cars). The maze then fills up with dots again, and you start another round. The game ends when you lose all your cars. Car Wars is a fun game for all ages, and has good graphics and sound. DONKEY KONG Help Mario save his girl. Mario, the fearless carpenter, wants desperately to save his girlfriend from the clutches of Doinkey Kong, who holds her captive atop a mass of broken girders. Mario must scale four different structures to rescue his sweetheart. He always begins at the bottom of a stack of girders. Help true love, with only three chances to reach the top of the heap. Mario must climb ladders, leap over a barrage of bouncing barrels, jump ointo fast moving elevators to avoid fatal torching by fireballs, sidestep moving buckets of sand and complicated chains of conveyor belts while battleing the unrelenting fireballs. With a steady hand and true heart, let true love win out and make it one or the little guy. FOOTBALL This is a pretty good module. It would be a lot better if the graphics were improved, but I think this was one of the earlier modules. Two people can play or one person can play against the computer. Players pick out their own team 's name and control the offensive and defensive plays. There are eleven offensive and seven defensive plays that the appropriate player choses from. HANGMAN Hangman is a module game just like the game you have played on paper. You are trying to guess a word before the man gets hung. With the Hangman module you can play against the computer or an opponent. You can use the words that are already in the module or create your won word list. You can save your custom list on cassette tape if the cassette tape player is connected to the computer. ONE PLAYER GAME. You can select to play a regular game or a scrambled game. The regular game places the letters you guess that are in the word, in the proper place in the word. The scramble game places the letters in the word in the order that you select them. when the last letter is chosen in the word, it is unscrambled and displyed in its proper form. TWO PLAYER GAME. In the two player game you have several choices you can make for the game. You can each guess on the same word. You can guess on different words, or each opponent enters a word for the other one to guess. Another feature you can add to the game is to place a time limit on each guess. there is a red line that starts flashing under the H or HANGMAN as your turn starts. It takes about 30 seconds for it to reach the last letter in the word. There is no penalty assessed by the computer for the time delay. The scaffold has 11 pieces. If a wrong letter is guessed, one piece of the scaffold appears in the center of the display. Also one point is subtracted from the score. You continue guessing until the word is spelled or you hang your man. Another use for this game is to put your child's spelling list into the custom list each week. Then the child can practice spelling the words as they play a game. It can prove to be very helpful. HUNT THE WUMPUS Requirements: The basic console. Summary: Deep in a dark and twisted maze lives a creature called the Wumpus. Hiding in its lair, the Wumpus wants to ambush careless explorers who enter its cavern. In hunt the Wumpus, you play a hunter, looking for clues to help you find the Wumpus and fire a single arrow into its cavern. At the same tine, you must avoid the perils of the maze... slime pits, giant bats, and the Wumpus itself. Hunt The Wumpus has three levels of maze difficulty- Easy, Hard, o Pro. You can also try it Normal, Blkindfolded, Express, or Blindfolded and Express. HUSTLE A fast action 1 or 2 player game requiring lightning fast hand-eye coordination and quick thinking! you score points by outmaneuvering your opponent or the computer. The games challenge your ability to make split-second decisions while maneuvering a snake on the playing area. Each game has three skill levels. Joystick optional. INDOOR SOCCER Strictly a two player game, you and your buddy can go toe to toe on the field. you set the length of game, name your teams, and control one key player on your five man team. The ball caroms nicely off of the wall as you pass it down the field while your opponent tries to intercept it. You can change your controlled player as well as control the speed and direction of the passes. MICROSURGEON This is one of the better modules TI developed for the 99/4A. The graphics are great. a player or players (two can play) perform experimental surgery and treat a variety of different patients. Players use a robot probe as a surgical tool, diagnose the patient's condition and direct the probe through the body toward threatening conditions and eliminate them with medications from the probe. With Mirosurgeon you can use joysticks, enjoy multi-screen graphics and choose from three levels of difficulty- student, intern, or surgeon. Speech simulates the action of an operating room. MUNCHMAN Four cunning Hoonos are in hot pursuit of your Munch Man. Can he make it to an energizer in time to change the attack or will the Hoonos eat him? You must out-maneuver four Hoonos, as you try to connect the passages with one continuous chain, without being eaten. score points by connecting the passages with a chain. score points by capturing Hoonos while your Munch Man is energized. And do all this while trying not to be eaten by the Hoonos. OTHELLO Othello is a strategy disc and board game in module format. Two people may play Othello, or you can choose the computer as your opponent. various skill levels are available to players, whether you're new to Othello, as I am, or an expert player. The object of othello is to get as many discs of your color as possible on the board. Your success lies in your ability to outflank your opponent by capturing a horizontal, vertical, oir diagonal row of the opponent's discs between two of your rows. PAC MAN This is the one! Only if you were born yesterday, you haven't heard or know of Pac Man. it started the arcade game fad. The object of the game is to keep Pac Man happy and healthy in his home of mazeland. Pac Man starts the game with four lifes (turns). The longer he survives, the more points you score. You score a point for every video wafer that Pac Man eats. You also score points when he eats power pills, vitamines, and ghosts. Everytime he eats all of the video wafers on the maze he earns an extra life and a new maze full of video wafers. Only when Pac Man eats a power pill and scares the yellow ghosts blue can he eat them, otherwise he must avoid the ghosts as they will eat him. So sit back and play away. PARSEC Fly into combt with the starship Parsec. Destroy rebel alien fighters and cruisers by out maneuvering them and laying down withering fire from you laser. Then try to survive the deadly asteroid belt. Parsec is made to work with or without the speech synthesizer. With it, it enhances the game by simulating an onboard computer in your starship. It warns you of oncoming alien craft and refueling tunnels, and it congratulates you for good performance. There are increasing levels of difficulty to challenge your strategy and skills as a starfighter. With great graphics, color, and action this is one of the best modules for the TI. Try it and you're hooked. POLE POSITION Install your engine (cartridge) in your computer and you're off and running. The object of Pole Position is to pit yourself against th clock and the competition (other high performance racers). now is your chance to prove you've got the nerve and skill to be a professional race car driver. Use the keyboard or joystick to steer and increase or decrease your speed and to change from low to high gear. In the extreme upper rught-hand corner of the playing screen is your current Lap Time Counter (0'00). The Time Clock at the center, which determines the remaining time your car has to cross the finish line, winds down as your Lap Time Counter increases. Also, at the top right is the high and low gear indicator (Hi/Lo). Your speed as shown can reach a max of 195MPH. you have 90 driving seconds in the qualifying run, but must achieve a lap time of 73" (seconds) or better to qualify for a race. Once you've qualified, the race that was selected begins in a matter of seconds. so, put the petal to the metal, gun it down the straightaways, downshift for the turns and may the best driver win. STAR TREK I'm told this one is the arcade game brought right to your friendly TI. Speech, music, action... what more could you ask? The game gets progressively harder as you advance but not much different. Your screen shows three pictures at a time; your guages, a panoramic view of the galactic area you're occupying, and a simulated three dimensional view from your cockpit. It'll take you a while to learn to quickly recognize the red and yellow klingon battle crusers, the blue anti-matter saucers, nomads, used and unused starbases, etc. The pause feature is nice when the phone rings in the middle of a rousing battle. TI INVADERS everybody knows about TI Invaders, one of the first arcade modules put out by TI. The world is under attack by creatures from puter space. You must use your wits and quick movements to destroy the invaders. a player can use the keyboard or joysticks with the module. TOMBSTONE CITY Don't buy this one if you are planning to get the Editor/assembler. The assembly language code for it is included as their example program. it's an arcade gype game but harder than a lot of them. It has good music. the key to doing well is to get out of th city streets as fast as you can and start blasting cacti. TUNNELS OF DOOM This is the classic Dungeons and Dragons game in module form. The object is to send a party of from one to four players into a Dungeon to retrieve a King, his Crown, and his Orb of Power. the players are assigned certain characreristics including Hero, Fighter, Rouge, and Wizard. The party is then given some gold pieces and placed in a general weapons store. Here you spend your gold in the best possible manner to outfit your group for battle. the dungeon can e from 1 to 10 floors deep. Each floor has more than 20 rooms on it that are filled with anything from horrible monsters, to spells, gold, fountains, and traps. The graphics in theis game are quite good. The action is not arcade type, rather it is more of a strategy game where your wit will determine how you fare. On moderate level, with a party of 3 playing, in a dungeon of 10 floors, the averge game will last between 5 and 10 hours. Obviously, you are given the opportunity to save the game at any point. If you enjoy strategy games, or have ever wondered just what Dungeons and Dragons was like, then this should be a must for you. VIDEO CHESS I don't think that this particular version will win the international computer chess competition but it sure can handle me with no problem. That is unless I select the lose option. yes, it does include that as one of several choices available including skill level, beginner game, just using the screen for the chess pieces, same game, and playing up to nine opponents at a time. The graphics are nice and it handles all of the legal moves including castling, capturin en passant, etc. You can learn a lot about the game by asking for hints, asking for help, or just switching sides when ght going gets rough. --------------------------- .CE 1 HOME USE HOME FINANCIAL DECISIONS Thinking about buying a car but insure of monthly payments? considering a move into a new home but windering what type of monthly mortgage payments to expect? With the help of Home Financial Decisions, getting answers to questions such as these are as easy as turning on your computer. Home Finalcial Decisions is designed to give users a method for through analysis so they can make informed decisions in four areas: buying a car, applying for a loan, changing residences, or planning a savings goal. By giving the computer basic information such as the desired size and number of monthly payments, down payments, and interest rates, the computer is then able to automatically compute the following types of information- loan limitiation, size of payments, monthly property taxes, monthly insurance payments, mortgage payments, appreciation, market value, total interest paid, and expected increase in market value. Users can effectively utilize it to evaluate alternate choices by simply varying input data. There is no hard copy option. HOUSEHOLD BUDGET MANAGEMENT Household budget Management (HBM) module requires a cassette tape recorder or disk drive to save the data once entered. The HBM module adds 12k bytes of active memory with stored programs to the TI99/4A computer. HBM module is a step by step buide to better money management. It helps you set budget guidelines, track income and expenses, spot problem areas and keep easily accessible records. The HBM module is simple to use- just follow the instructions -and with the computer acting as your guide, you can: design an individual business or family budget; track income and expenses on a monthly or yearly basis; analyze spending and project your current expense trends for theremaining year to see the effect on your budget; and record and save your monthly income and expense figures to establish a personal financial history. The first screen to come up in HBM is the Preliminary Selection List which consists of the following: 1- see demonstration data; 2-set up for first time; 3- change income/expenses; 4- change budget; 5- change categories; 6- miscellaneous change; 7- finish this session. The analyze screen consists of the following options: 1- all categories for one month; 2- all categories for year to date 3- one category by month; 4- total income; and 5- total expenses. The HBM module allows for 99 categories, but you can only actually use 34 active categories at any given time. The color, projection and graph capabilities add tremendously to the usefulness and versatility of this program. You can print your data to the screen or to your printer and save it either to cassette tape or diskettes. The HBM module is a very useful tool in establishing a budget and organizing your individual business or family finances. MICROSOFT MULTIPLAN Microsoft Multiplan consists of a solid state cartridge (module) and diskette. It is used to create an "electronic worksheet". Multiplan is a personal productivity tool that allows you to design "spreadsheets" for row-column calculations, expense statements, plannin forms, data analysis, budgets, financial reports, and more. The Multiplan cartridge is designed to be used with the TI99/4A home computer only. It requires the TI memory expansion unit and the disk memory system. For the best operational results you need 2 disk drives, but Multiplan will work with 1 disk drive. The Multiplan electronic worksheet is easy to learn and its versatility is enhanced by the skill of its user. As you become more familiar with multiplan and better able to use its powers, you'll be surprised at how quickly and efficiently you'll accomplish various tasks. The two part manual is designed as a tutorial and reference guide. Part 1 is a tutorial and gives an overview of the features of Multiplan. Part 2 is a detailed reference guide to all of Multiplan's features. Parts 1 and 2 compliment one another and will teach you the concepts as well as uses of Multiplan. Also there is a reference card which readily sets out the: function keys, control keys; editing keys; format choices; help feature; functions of groups of cells; mathematical logical and text functions; and error values. It is handy concise and very useful. multiplan is best learned in the hands on mode. turn on the computer, insert the diskette, load the program and folow the tutorial and you will be amazed at how quickly you will be able to use Multiplan and how much it will do for you at work and at home. I use Multiplan at work and at home and it is certainly one program that truly allows the full use of the TI99/4A computer as a computer. PERSONAL REAL ESTATE (BB&P Editor's note: In November 1994 I talked to a real estate salesman in Springfield Ohio who has been in the business for many years. He claims to run most sales and comparison aspects of his real estate business using this cartridge, which he claims is unsurpassed by any other more modern software) Many alternative Personal Real Estate investments can be easily evaluated with this module. It can also be a valuable educational tool - closely follows techniques used ty the Realtors National Marketing Institute. An excellent package for Real Estate agents and investors. It's designed to give you a quantitive tool for evaluating a variety of personal real estate investments- from apartments and rental houses to commercial and business property. Because the program leads the investor step by step, it isn't necessary to have a sophisticated background in real estate. Personal Real Estate addressed everything from projected income and cash flow analysis to depreciation, type of financing, internal rate of return, financial management, rate of return, and tax calculations. PERSONAL RECORD KEEPING Requirements: audio cassette deck or other storage accessory. Summery: This module offers an easy method of creating, maintainin and utilizing your own files. this module uses a system of prompts to guide you through the process of setting up your file. The Personal Record keeping module organizes your files in groups called pages. Each page is made up of a list of categories called items, of wich there can be up to a total of 15. the total number of pages is determined by the number of items and their length. I used this module to keep up with the cost of an addition I put on my house. It worked great. PERSONAL REPORT GENERATOR Requirements: Disk mdmory system or audio cassette deck, a printin device and files created with the Personal Record Keeping or Statistics Command Module. Summery: This module takes already created files and lets you create reports such as: personalized form letters, address labels, tables of results, personal calenders, and a personal telephone directory. another thing I found interesting is the fact that you can delete or add items to a report already generated. SECURITY ANALYSIS The user who is a serious investor will be interested in the Securities Analysis software package. Offers a variety of securtities analysis techniques. Financial tools such as Stock analysis, call options, and cash flow are included. Printed copies are obtainable from this module through the RS232 interface. STATISTICS Provides a library of established routines for anyone with a need to make lengthy and difficult statistical computations or analyze data regularly. The program performs a variety of complex statistical computations with speed and accuracy. Leaves you more time to analyze the results and apply them to your particular situation. You can perform calculations in descriptive statistics including mean standard deviation and frequency tables. Also correlation, linear regression, inferential statistics- including T test and analysis of variance (1 way and 2 way). Significant level calculator for Z, student's T,R,F, and x^2. Printed copies and files can be obtained. TAX/INVENTMENTS RECORD KEEPING Requirements: Disk memory system, optional printer connected via RS232 interface. Summery: This is a versatile module used the year round to 1-organize your financial data categories and sub categories that suit your own needs. 2- generate a variety of financial reports. 3- locate and total specific transactions. 4- compare income and expenses. 5- assess your capital gains or losses to help you make better informed investment decisions. 6- determine your own worth. TI WRITER TI Writer Word Processor is designed to bring many of the features of large word processors to users of the 99/4A. Inserting and deleting text and lines, automatic paragraph indentation, right margin justification, automatic word wrapping, overstriking and underlining, moving and copying line of text, and document reformatting are just some of the features of this software package. To use the TI Writer Word Processor you need the cartridge and program diskette, the disk memory system, 32K, RS232 interface, and RS232 compatible printer. ---------------------- .CE 1 LANGUAGES EDITOR/ASSEMBLER The Editor/Assembler is one of the most misunderstood modules of all. In order to use it you must have 32K memory and disk drives. The module is used to write, compile, and run Assembler or machine language. It's purchase can even be frightening. It comes with 2 disks, a module, a huge 470 page reference manual that vegins with "this manual assumes that you already know a programming language, preferably an assembly language." All of this capability is not really needed or used by the majority of the folks that buy this module. Most folks, myself included, generally use it to run the programs written by those that know what they are doing. When our machine runs in pure machine language, it's speed would be avery hard to beat. There are a lot of really fine programmers out there in TI land that really understand how to run the machine. It is because of the fruits of their labors that I really recommend that everyone has this module. Even if you never get past rthe "This manual assumes", you will get to use programs that would otherwise be beyond reach. EXTENDED BASIC In my opinion this is the Basic that should have been built into the TI99/4A. Unfortunately, it was not, so you have to buy the module. Extended Basic offers almost all of the commands offered in console basic, with a lot more thrown in, and the speed of most is increased. Extended Basic allows multiple statement lines, sprites, much imnproved screen input and output, and many many more. Most people will never use this module to actually write programs.. Most people use it to run those programs written to take advantage of its power. At one time, shortly after TI dumped the computer, it was hard to swollow only paying $50 for the computer and then paying $99 for the module. Well, those days are gone now. The module is down to $49 and possibly still dropping. If you still don't own this "MUST" own module, now is the time to get it. MINI MEMORY This cartridge adds 14k bytes of memory availability to yoru system (6k grom, 4k rom & 4k ram) and has a built in battery so you can store either assembly language programs or Basic programs. It allows you to use expanded memory without Extended Basic and lets you do some of the things that Extended Basic will let you do. This cartridge and the book "Compute's Beginner's Guide to Assembly Language on the TI99/4A" is an excellent way to learn a/l programming. It's not as good as the Editor/assembler cartridge for serious a/l work but because it's a line-by-line assembler you can see what's happening as you program. TI LOGO II This is TI's version of the famous LOGO language. Logo was developed primarily as an easy language for children to learn. It comes with a basic vocabulary of things that it will do. To do more you define or create new words that are made out of old words. For example, the computer can draw lines. To create a new command called BOX, we tell the computer to go forward and turn 90 degrees four times. This then defines BOX. the main idea behind LOGO was to give children a way to quickly and easily learn how to use a computer. It is presented to them as if they are teaching the computer what to do. (This is all that a program really is anyway.) LOGO requires 32K memory, but not a disk system. It will save onto cassette. If you have children that are interested in the computer, but are not old enough to learn Basic, then you should definately consider LOGO. ----------------------- .CE 1 UTILITIES DISK MANAGER II The Disk Manager II module is a utility module to be used with the disk drive and your TI99/4A computer. it allows you to "manage you disk" once you have begun to acquire several disks and numerous programs and files. The first screen comes up with 4 options. Select #2 for English instructions. Then the Disk Manager logo appears. Push the enter key and continue. I always selsct #4 first in order to set all commands for single disk processing since I only have one disk drive. Now you can do any of the other three selections: 1- file commands; 2Z-disk commands; or 3-disk tests. When you select file commands you have 4 options: 1- copy file; 2-rename file; 3- delete file; and 4- modify file protection. When you select disk commands you have 4 options: 1- catalog disk; 2- backup disk; 3- modify disk name; 4- initialize new disk. When you select disk tests you have 2 options: 1- quick test and 2- comprehensive test. As you can readily see this module is a must if you have a disk drve and therefore work with diskettes. TERMINAL EMULATOR II The module is usually purchased for one of two reasons. The first isthat it is TI's one and only terminal emulator program. the program allows you to telecommunicate with other computers and mainframes. It also allows you to transfer programs and files between wo TI home computers. in order to do this, you must have at a bare minimum an RS232 interface and a telephone modem. Most people get the RS232 put into a P-Box With their didk drives. The TEII module is not as good as many available disk based terminal emulators. It is a lot older and doesn't offer near as many features. However it is easy to plug in and use and it does do TI to TI program transfers fairly easily. The second reason for purchasing this module is the Text To Speech capability it gives to console Basic. The speech synthesizer is an amazing device. However, it requires a module to make it speak. The TEII module is the best of the lot because it gives you the ability to have sentences translated directly into speech. This provides excellent opportunities for games, and educational programs. If you have just a console and a speech synthesizer, you should consider having this module. .PL 1