CRASH 92 - The SAM Page

SAY CHEESE!

Eeek! Eeek! The mice have invaded the Sam! Where’s the cheese?

At long last SAM Co have released their mouse. It’s effectively the mouse mark two — originally the idea was to produce a custom chip that would be mounted in the mouse but this was too expensive. SAM Co have opted for a special interface that plugs into the mouse socket and can be used with any Atari ST compatible mouse.

The user can either buy the complete package that includes interface with leads, an excellent Atari/Amiga compatible mouse, software and a mouse holder, or just the interface and software.

The free software includes a basic sliding puzzle game, a program that shows the coordinates coming from the mouse and an updated version of the art package Flash! (that crashes if you select any control method other than mouse!).

The mouse is especially useful for creating artwork. I tested out the new Flash! and found the mouse worked well for drawing freehand curves and sketches but when it comes down to the fine detail you definitely need to switch back to keyboard. It helps if you use a good quality mouse mat, otherwise the cursor lends to jump across the screen.

The SAM Co mouse is available now with a £39.95 price tag for both interface and mouse.

There’s also been an outbreak of mice down on Ynysforgan Farm with the arrival of Blue Alpha Electronics’ mouse. Unlike the SAM Co affair, the BA mouse plugs directly into the joystick port and is compatible with any piece of software that uses an Interface 2, Sinclair joystick interface or re-definable keys. The mouse costs £31.99 direct from Blue Alpha Electronics.

LAWKS! MORE DISK MAGS

With Arcadia, the latest disk magazine, you get the highly addictive game Columns (we can’t stop playing it!)

Joining the ever-swelling ranks of Coupé disk magazines is a new title called Arcadia, produced by SAM enthusiasts Philip Brayshaw and Chris Wainwright. The first issue of Arcadia is released on 20 August and costs £2.00 (cheques to Arcadia Developments) on disk and that includes postage and packaging.

Arcadia combines all elements of Coupé entertainment, as the contents of the first issue show: there’s a editorial piece, a disk sector editor (updated from the PD version which can recover erased files), a puzzle game called Columns, a selection of graphic art, a crossword and a comp. The entire magazine is well presented and easy to use.

The disk sector editor is a very useful utility to have and Columns is a superbly addictive version of the game that’s currently a hit on the Sega. It plays in a similar fashion to Stack-Up, with groups of three tiles falling into a pit. The objective is to match groups of three like-coloured tiles together to make them disappear before the screen is filled with tiles. With these two items being the star attractions and the low price of £2.00, you can’t go far wrong with Arcadia. Bravo chaps!

Ha! It’s old pointy-ears himself! Spock makes a guest appearance in the Star Trek demo featured in Fred 12

Colin McDonald’s ever-popular Fred disk magazine continues its success with the release of Fred 12. Although Colin’s working at SAM Co through the summer months, Fred’s still available and he’s just upped the price to £1.50.

Of interest on Fred 12 is a wonderful sampled demo of Star Trek voices and sounds, along with a animated graphic of Spock and a sampled piece of music from Bomb The Bass — very good it is too.

For those who want more from their SAM, Fred 12 features the seventh machine code lesson, a SAM Jotter, which acts just like an on-screen notebook, and a utility called SAM Point which shows the use of a WIMP (window, icons, mouse, pointer) control system on the SAM.

Add to that a collection of graphic screens (with a Garfield special this issue), a couple of graphic demos and the useful collection of items in the Bits And Bobs section, and Fred 12 is well worth getting hold of. Cheques to Colin McDonald.

OUTLET’S COMPO

Chezron Software, the people that produce the SAM disk mag Outlet, are offering a cash prize in a compo. They’re looking for the best graphics or sound demo on the SAM and have £100 to award as the first prize. All entries will be examined carefully and judged by its editors and any that are featured in Outlet will receive a minimum prize of £10. The competition runs over the next six months and you can contact Outlet, for both the magazine and compo details, at Chezron Software.