http://plus4world.com Current news from Plus/4 World: everything that has to do with the Commodore Plus/4 computer. http://plus4world.powweb.com/news.php?id=837 http://plus4world.powweb.com/news.php?id=837 Erich/Unlimited is keeping the scene alive during these release-starved days: he just released Botticelli Bilderdisk 34. Check out this picture show of two disk sides, containing 32 multicolor pictures using the Magica driver. Csabo Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://plus4world.powweb.com/news.php?id=836 http://plus4world.powweb.com/news.php?id=836 Lacus once again found something interesting: we have added the releavant page scans of a promotional material booklet from Novotrade. Simply titled "Ajánlat" (Offerings), it lists all their releases for Commodore 16, Commodore Plus/4 and a few other insignificant platforms no-one could possibly be interested in. Unfortunately the listings only include the program names and suggested retail price, the product codes aren't there. Still, at least the archive hunters will know what is still missing, what to look for.Lacus also managed to create a working TAP file for Hidra. From that we were able to create a proper PRG crack which works on a regular Commodore 16, replacing the previous broken program file. Enjoy! Csabo Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://plus4world.powweb.com/news.php?id=835 http://plus4world.powweb.com/news.php?id=835 We have some great new contributions to the site, from none other than Matt Young, who coded the C16 port of the classic Thrust!Apparently Thrust was originally released with a bug in the scrolling, and although Matt was able to fix it, this version never saw the light of day...until now! Having transferred his original code off his 5.25" disks, he has released a revised version of Thrust, which not only has greatly improved scrolling, but also includes built-in cheats for infinite lives and fuel, as well as invulnerability and a level select!And if that's not enough, he has also released the game's source code as well!Both downloads are on the Thrust page. Many thanks to Matt for all this stuff, enjoy! Ulysses777 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://plus4world.powweb.com/news.php?id=834 http://plus4world.powweb.com/news.php?id=834 We have to additions to the database this time: Rüdiger scanned the 8-page German booklet that accompanies Two To One by Kingsoft. As far as we know, sadly this game was the last commercial release by a large software company for the Commodore Plus/4. The sign of the times also shows on the booklet: the instructions list the Plus/4, but also Amiga and even IBM PC. Another interesting fact about this game is that since it came on the market so late, it wasn't very well known, and some members of the Hungarian demogroup EVS actually converted from C64 what is essentially the same game: Magnet-X.Second, Lacus found another Hungarian educational program: Teljes Hasonulás. We have the two part TAP file, no cover as of yet. It's unlikely that any more youngsters will actually learn from this oldie, but it does present the subject matter (grammar in this case) in a playful, colorful way with some background music. Big thanks for these guys! Csabo Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://plus4world.powweb.com/news.php?id=833 http://plus4world.powweb.com/news.php?id=833 Lacus is back again with a few rare goodies straight outta Hungary. First we have Mozgás (Motion), an educational program package in 5 chapters. It teaches areas such as speed, average speed, relativity of movement, free fall and vibrations. This product bears the code "ED 74", one more missing piece found! The second interesting addition is the original TAP file for A hős lovag (The Heroic Knight), an adventure game. With this file, the archive for that game is finally complete. By the way, it's from Brazil, who is thanked on the loading screen of the game. Finally we have one more new addition: Fizikai Mérések (Physics Measurements). We've known about this release for a long time, since it was added to the database back in 2004, but we now have a TAP file for it. (Still no cover, but it's a start!)Big thanks to Lacus for these! Be sure to be on the lookout for old treasures: our archive is still not complete! Csabo Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://plus4world.powweb.com/news.php?id=832 http://plus4world.powweb.com/news.php?id=832 HomeGnome sent us word that he is working on a new Fingers Malone remake for the PC. You can follow the development process here (in Hungarian). From the preview images it looks pretty neat! The current development plans show playable levels by the end of this month.This brings up an interesting question: does anyone know if the author should ask permission from anyone before releasing this game? If so, should it be the author (Doug Turner, who posted on our forum before), or the company who released the game? Talk it out on the forum! Csabo Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://plus4world.powweb.com/news.php?id=831 http://plus4world.powweb.com/news.php?id=831 We haven't had new cover scans added in a while. To remedy this situation, Lacus sent us a little surprise: Logikai Áramkörök (Logic Circuits) is another missing piece of our puzzle. We mentioned before that while we pretty much have all the Mastertronic releases and other English software houses covered, things is far from complete on the Hungarian side.This particular educational program, which explains the various logic gates, bears the production code of "ED 70". At this moment we don't even have the full list of releases yet, but this is a good step in the right direction! Big thanks to Lacus and Brazil himself (the orignal author), who got their hands on a copy of this tape! Csabo Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://plus4world.powweb.com/news.php?id=830 http://plus4world.powweb.com/news.php?id=830 Plus4IDE, the Integrated Development Environment for coding on for the Plussy was updated to version 1.64. The update itself is bugfixes and cosmetic improvements. However, for the first time ever, I got code contributed for a project, from gerliczer. This is much appreciated and a welcome turn of events! Also thanks to MikeZ for pointing out some problems with the documentation. (Good to know people actually read it :-))If you use Plus4IDE, you may want to updated. Don't forget that all my utilities are released with full source code, so feel free to look into and tinker with them. Even if you're not a programmer, bug reports, requests or any other kind of feedback is appreciated. Csabo Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://plus4world.powweb.com/news.php?id=829 http://plus4world.powweb.com/news.php?id=829 Roepipi scanned two ancient treasures: hand-drawn maps for Mercenary - Escape From Targ. These are quite detailed and are in color, marked up in Hungarian. Check them out, and browse the game's detail pages for a bit - it's the perfect example of how much information we have on some releases.Allow me to use this newspost to bring the revamped Solutions page to your attention. Here you will be able to find the solution for every Commodore 16 or Commodore Plus/4 adventure game. Khm. Eventually. As of this writing, we have 254 unsolved or partially solved games. If only one person adds only one solution per day, we'll have this project wrapped up by June 27, 2010 (mark your calendars!). Enjoy! Csabo Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://plus4world.powweb.com/news.php?id=828 http://plus4world.powweb.com/news.php?id=828 RoePipi surprised us with two brand new Commodore Plus/4 game releases: Foxish and Maze of Mazes. Both are nicely polished and definitely worth a look. The author even provided us with nice write-ups of each game:Foxish: a real-time hunting action/rhythm game written in BASIC 3.5runs on systems with at least 32k RAMreal-time hunting action: seek and chase preys, bring them to your grateful fox familyvirtual 3D scrolling systemenormous terrain to exploretransient time system, lighting and fog effects, breath-taking landscape30 minutes guaranteed gameplayintimate music scores (can be turned off)immensely sweet and unique graphicshidden extrasThis is what would have been said about Foxish in 1987:"In PipiSoft's new game - Foxish - you play the head of a fox family as he goes hunting into the night. He must search for a prey, get as close as possible, hunt them down via a rhythm game and take them back into the foxhole.In the main menu you can view the hungry fox family, set the volume level (so there's no need to fumble with the volume knob on your television set), and select one of two possible fur colors (orange or red, probably the writer of the program could not decide between them). The "EMULATOR SPEED" option allows the entire game to be slowed down, however, we could not find a practical use for this option.The game features a total of four different music pieces - which is not bad if we take the fact that this is a BASIC program into consideration - however, the final piece that can be heard when the player wins is less than enjoyable.Due to the circumstances of the game's production - which is revealed at the end of the game - the player cannot die, and the members of the fox family won't go hungry. Instead, after an apology from the protagonists the same level can be replayed. Out only enemy (well, besides all the animals that constantly attempt to escape us), is time itself, whose passing is indicated by the slowly spanning Moon at the top of the screen. With dawn the hunters arrive as well and we must quickly return home.If, however, our task is well done, the fox hole will be slowly filled up with little foxes."Maze of Mazes:runs on 32k and 64k systemsplay the mazes or build your own!38 built-in maps of mazeness4-way infinite scrolling mazesstairways and goal objectsfull-blown maze editorrandom mazes for the lazy onesbuild hundreds of mazes up to the free RAM!create art with just typing!custom colors, walls and floors for every map!customizable title and ending screen3 different sounds with adjustable volume!Besides these new ones, we've noticed that RoePipi's homepage contains a few more games that we did not list before, so be sure to check out: Pipi's Stuffs, Üzlet Egy Tyúkért, Pipitrain and Madarak Bolygója. Csabo Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400