CoCo3.org -- The Coco Nation News stories for Episode 321, July 15, 2023

The Coco Nation News stories for Episode 321, July 15, 2023
===================================================================
Collected by L. Curtis Boyle

- August 12 we have Matt Harper on (developer of Wizard's Den sold by Tom
Mix Software).
- August 19 we have a special treat - the original programmer of The
Contras for Sundog Systems, Doug Masten - and Glen Dahlgren who ran Sundog
(and who has been on the show several times before, including during our
Dave Dies interview) will be on to help co-interview Doug about one of
the most ambitious Coco 3 games done at that time (1991-1993)
- September 9 we have Mark P. & Charlie from Portacoco.com. If you were
at the Fest, you would have seen them at their booth showing Coco's (and
monitors) running wirelessly together and off batteries that do NOT require
modifications to a Coco case to attach.


Coco 1/2/3 (and multi-platform)
-------------------------------
1) TRS-80 Retro Programing posted a longer video showing a full screen
scrolling effect using the fast version of GET/PUT submitted by one of
his viewers. The video is of him typing it in live and figuring out how
it works as he goes:
  https://youtu.be/i3leL3_jX3w
Then he did a followup version incorporating some changes I mentioned,
and changed the background to be shapes rather than random circles (to
make the effect easier to see):
  https://youtu.be/CPTRNoIuB2c

2) Coco Town on YouTube did another followup on programming the VDG /
SAM chip - this time covering the differences found in the T1 VDG (true
lowercase, border on/off, inverse video), etc:
  https://youtu.be/dpywQBaOf4k
He did another followup, going through the different bit settings and VDG
pin differences between the 2 VDG chips:
  https://youtu.be/tKhPvhuVzWM
He then did one about cycle counting (for optimizations) and a new version
of his keyboard routine that he used on the T1 VDG video:
  https://youtu.be/fC8EAz6pBt4

3) Marco Van De Meulenhof posted on the Coco Facebook group that replacement
Tandy Coco 2 badges are back in stock:
  https://www.facebook.com/groups/2359462640/posts/10160769998117641/
Store entry:
 
https://retro8bitshop.com/product/tandy-trs-80-color-computer-2-silver-sticker-badge-domed/

4) Michael Furman has posted his latest VLOG on Flex up on YouTube - where
he has discovered that he really *did* have the master disk for his FHL
copy of Flex. He explains how he was duped, and why it took this long to
figure it out with a lot of technical content about the physical format
of a FLEX disk, hidden files and plain detective work:
  https://youtu.be/cB7nerXt0jU

5) UK YouTube channel Retro Relix did a 20 minute video about a 16K Extended
PAL TRS-80 Color Computer Restoration (I will mention that the machine worked
right off the bat, so this is more restoring the case, etc from scratches,
etc., but also adding a composite audio/video out, etc.). He also replaces
the TRS-80 label using a replacement from the same place Marco mentioned
earlier, and 3D prints a replacement black beauty button and replacement
joystick stem (which he tests with some 16K games, since that is what his
Coco has). He also teases a follow up video featuring hardware cartridges...:
  https://youtu.be/GYh5l-imtFE

6) Justin D. Morgan uploaded a live stream video of his doing a composite
mod on his Coco 2 on YouTube, testing it, trying the Speech Sound Pak
(which he had tremendous fun with) and the CocoSDC showing a few games:
  https://www.youtube.com/live/hJ9kIdZ0Jng?feature=share

7) Pierre Sarrazin announced that CMOC 0.1.83 has now been released. This
includes adding an error message for multiply defined global variables &
functions, rather than a warning; fixed a build problem on OpenBSD, isspace()
now returns non-zero for \f and \v; a number of Coco 3 graphics functions
no longer require an previous call to initCocoSuppport; and resetPalette()
no longer requires BASIC being present:
  http://perso.b2b2c.ca/~sarrazip/dev/cmoc.html

8) Marco Spedaletti aka spotlessmind1975 released
ugBASIC (Micro Game BASIC) compiler and IDE 1.14.1
This is a version that collects all the bug fixes and corrections that
have emerged in past months. Among the most important new features was
added preliminary support for inline assembly and system calls.
  https://ugbasic.iwashere.eu/?news&target=coco#news


MC-10
-----
1) Jim Gerrie ported Skyscape originally by Robert M. Simons from
Compute! magazine in November 1985. Jim ported this one from the
TI-99/4A. It's an astronomy program that displays a sky map of the planets,
sun, moon and Halley's comet, based on the date and latitude you type in:
  https://youtu.be/18Migoe9MK8


Dragon 32/64
------------
1) Julian Brown sent me an update on his Dragon 32 reproduction board:
"In case you've missed it - the D32 reproduction board (rev 2.1) is now
done and ready for consumption
The final fault was a bad op-amp (actually a few bad op-amps).
I've ordered up an initial batch of 20 that will go on sale via ebay
(probably) but it is of course open source and anyone can get a board
(or 5) fabricated from the design"
  He also roughed out the Mark 2 Dragon 32 board used Stewart Orchard's
  (who has been a guest on our show a couple of times) schematics:
  https://www.facebook.com/groups/dragon32/posts/3500479533545024/

2) John Whitworth has re-opened the Dragonplus Electronics online store
with a "slightly reduced" range of items. How long it stays open depends
on his cancer recovery goes. We are rooting for you, John! He mentions
that the PSU, Oojamaflip 2020, SuperSprite FM+, Lower Case board, Pull up
board and HD63C09E & SAM chips are available (It still says closed at the
top for me, but does list the hardware as available):
  https://www.dragonplus-electronics.co.uk/product-category/hardware/
He also announced that he has finished replicating the JCB Speech
Cartridge. He doesn't planning on manufacturing them, but will upload to
GitHub once it is finalized:
  https://www.facebook.com/groups/dragon32/posts/3498442650415379/

3) John Linney reported that he has found some 8" disks (likely for the
Motorola Exorciser or Exorterm) that have sourcecode for Microsoft's Dragon
Extended BASIC - dated from May 26, 1983. They are looking into getting
it read:
  https://www.facebook.com/groups/dragon32/posts/3499824033610574/

4) Bill Fixes Everything on YouTube put up a video doing a powerswitch
fix on *2* Dragon 32's:
  https://youtu.be/sE9mczw6HMk



Game On news (all Coco related platforms):
==========================================
SPECIAL FOR GAME ON CHALLENGE:
Glitch in The Lair video:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpnKGJsdlxk


1) Paul Thayer posted a video VLOG update on his upcoming fast pace space
shooter, SHMUP YOU UP!, and demos his new 2 channel digitized sample
sound routines:
  https://www.facebook.com/groups/2359462640/posts/10160773720782641/

2) Richard Kelly has released his official Version 1 of his Maze Creator
(which has both Coco 1/2 and Coco 3 versions, as well as graphic and text
versions included). It is already available for download in the Coco group
on Facebook, and will be on the Color Computer Archive (if it isn't already
there) (screenshots in the comments):
  https://www.facebook.com/groups/2359462640/posts/10160773310222641/

3) Jim Gerrie has ported Sleuth (a CLUE like game), originally by Paul
Farquhar from the July 1985 issue of Compute's Gazette, to the MC-10 from
the Vic-20:
  https://youtu.be/v-ZQkM-WnTg

4) Tim and AJ are back to the Coco with Sibling Rivalry episode 91 -
Space Shuttle. No, not the Tom Mix Software one, but a simultaneous 2
player Lunar Lander style game by Aardvark:
  https://youtu.be/n--KqZ56EGg