.IF DSK1.C3 ^^^^^^^^^TEXTWARE, SOFTWARE, and ELSEWHERE Goings-on with the TI-99/4A ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ by JACK SUGHRUE One of the good feelings I have about STIMULATING SIMULATIONS FOR THE TI-99/4A by C.W.Engel (105 pp, Hayden Book Company, Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., $7.95) is the assumptions the author makes about the reader. He assumes you want to type in programs to get programs into your library. That's obvious. That's why we plunk down the bucks. (About 53 cents a program, by the way.) But Engel assumes further that you're going to take the time and trouble to figure out how the simulations are created and you're going to enhance them to suit your own needs. He's right, too. Once you start into this book, it is hard not to begin adding, fiddling, manipulating, deleting, changing. And it's easy because of the excellent structure. Each of the simulations begins with a scenario explaining the program. Many of these scenarios have charts and diagrams which I found lucid and helpful and, in some cases, absolutely essential. The scenarios (running from two short paragraphs to 14 long ones) are followed by sample runs. These printouts show how the program operates (or how it should operate if yours has bugs). This is followed by a list of all the variables used (I wish all program books would do this.) and by a complete program listing ready for typing. These in turn are followed by two batches of modifications: minor and major. Toughies, these. There is usually an illustration or game board or display interspersed among the items above. They add to the overall nice effect, and, in some instances, are required for play. The final item in each section is a flowchart of the simulation. I'm not a big flowchart person (no more than I approve of outlines for papers), but as they come after all the other stuff, they do prove helpful in understanding the process of the program. It does make it easier to understand, too. We'll follow one through in a couple minutes, but first I want to discuss the programs and the book. The book is 6X9, a decent size. The text type is tiny, so I'm glad I have bifocals. (When I bought this book last year, I didn't have bifocals, so I couldn't deal with it and its relationship to distant keyboad, screen, printer, and so on. Thanks to Good Ol' Charlie Aitchue, I have overcome. Have dug out book. Have enjoyed. Except for a few things. One, I hate computer books without ring binders. Two, I loathe T.I. books which do not have their listings in resequenced order by 10s. Three, I despise books which aren't carefully proofread in the listings (They should just be printed out directly from the program with LIST "PIO" or LIST "RS232". What's so hard about that? The books are all offset anyway, so the publisher can be guaranteed a perfect copy. And STIMULATING SIMULATIONS is guilty on all three counts. But forgetting the bad stuff for a moment, in addition to the above goodies, which most program-listing books do not have, this one starts off with two pages which describe each of the programs in the book in a clear paragraph which includes the number of lines. Hey! Here's one that's only 63 lines. Sounds good, too. I'll do that one first and the 225 liner last. Can't do that with any other books. Be wary, Future Purchaser. You are not buying a book of arcade games here. They are not loaded with graphics and cutesy melodies and neon lights. You can add the whistles and grunts yourself later. Along with the flying orangutans. But they aren't there in these programs. Here is what is there: 3 Soccer Programs (requiring Extended BASIC) [The other 12 may run in BASIC or X.] Art Auction - Buy and sell paintings to make a profit. Monster Chase - A graphic maze-like (not too much thinking) chase. Lost Treasure - A short simulation of treasure finding on a map/grid. Gone Fishing - Catch lots of fish; avoid storms, wrecks, etc. Space Flight - Deliver medical supplies to distant planet. Forest Fire - Extinguish a forest fire with backfires and chemicals. Nautical Navigation - Navigate sailboat to 3 different islands. Business Management - Maximize profits by clever use of buying and finishing raw materials. Rare Birds - Identify as many birds as possible. This is weird. Diamond Thief - You find museum diamond thief from 5 suspects. The Devil's Dungeon - This one's been around for a long time. It's a fantasy adventure in a bottomless cave full of poison gases, monsters, demons, and gold. What one won't do for gold! and Life - "Beginning as an uneducated bum whose only source of income is mugging, the player advances through education and luck to become an executive who earns lots of money." I would have said that if Engel didn't. Interesting selection of simulations, eh? Let's look into one: Gone Fishing. (Not my favorite, but a good one.) You're going on a fishing trip. You may use the 8X8 grid in the book to place markers on. You travel N,S,E,W, or F (to stay fishing in the same place or square). If you keep fishing the same spot you will not succeed, as each square has a predetermined density. Moving can cause unexpected events (not good) to happen. Fishing too long will probably result in your being caught in an afternoon storm. You don't want to get too far from the dock, as you have a time limit, but the bigger fish are out in the farthest reaches of the pond. Decisions. Decisions. That's what simulations are all about. You can change anything, of course. Grid size could make things easier or harder. Line 30 sets the probability of catching fish within a square. Line 40 sets the maximum density of fish in a square. Line 150 sets the maximum time for fishing. Storms - Line 330. Rating scale as fisherman - 540. Major changes could be to add different kinds of hazards (whales, reefs, UFOs); utilize sonar devices to help locate fish; use fuel to run the boat; and so on. The fun with this book is what happens AFTER you've typed in the program. [Jack Sughrue, Box 459, E.Douglas, MA 01516] *************** If any newsletter editor prints these articles, please put me on your mailing list. - Thanks JS. €‰€Ò‰•Ÿ©³½ÇÕÕÕÕÕÕÕ€