he avoid character.   
      
   The explanation for making these work follows.  Note the GOTO statements.   
      
   1000 reference point for future use.   
      
   1100 & 1110 ah, BOUNDARIES -important in all walks of life, somewhat   
   underrated in some place ...Ed...  ("ouch!") ("you were saying.." ed.)   
      
   These denote where the player can't go, and can be expanded, altered as   
   required.  You can add lines to stop the user going off at the sides should   
   you wish.   
      
   1200 move has been allowed.  so delete place where sprite was, then put the   
   sprite/graphic in the new place.   
      
   1210 let the computer know the new position, and that any future   
   calculation has to be from this new place!  (otherwise funny things happen)   
      
   1940 & 1950 And here it is, I mentioned above where I thought for a moment   
   that Id got somewhere with the PEEK statement.  line1940 proved me wrong!   
   Either will check for collision.   
      
   2000 all that dealt with, Go back and wait for the next user response.   
      
   3000 onwards & 4000 onwards respectively deals with the S, and SHIFT+S   
   press.   
      
   xx00 make sure M is in range   
      
   xx10 make sure characters will be 'legal'.   
      
   xx20 change shape/type of sprite.   
      
   xx90 go back for next user action.   
      
   Note 3000 after could have been done without so many lines.   
      
   Try changing 3020, just make it 3040.   
      
   then make line 4000 into 3020.  And 4010 into 3030.   
      
   Have line 796 going to 3020.   
      
   With this done, you can DELETE4000-   
      
   The program should run exactly the same way, only looks neater.   
      
   Also, you may notice a slight variance between a couple of similar lines.   
   This has negligible bearing on the program.  Finally, if you wish to know   
   the character number, either program it in, or stop the program.  Type:   
      
   PRINTM   
      
   You can always type   
      
   CONT   
      
   to continue!   
      
   John Fielden (not the criminal namesake!)   
      
      
      
   *************************************   
           REVIEW: DEMONS OF DEX   
         For the unexpanded VIC 20   
   *************************************   
      
   Created by Petri Häkkinen for the unexpanded VIC 20.  You can read more   
   here   
      
   sleepingelephant.com/ipw-web/bulletin/bb/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=7648   
      
   Rogue-like games are explained below and tend to be text only (as the   
   author says), so I must thank the author for pointing out these resources.   
   At the time of the review I had never played any of this game genre, so the   
   review of the game is as is, from a new-to-the-game-genre novice.  Although   
   I did enlist a few friends to verify my scoring, I have given the game a   
   fair review (in my opinion) and played it intensively over a long period,   
   both on real and emulated hardware.   
      
   www.adom.de/adom/roguelike.php3   
   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roguelike   
      
   REQUIREMENTS   
      
   The game can be played on a real unexpanded VIC20, in VICE emulator, or   
   online using a VIC20 emulator by Matt Dawson.  The author says a PAL VIC20   
   is recommended, because music is not in tune on NTSC systems.  I have not   
   tested this.   
      
   PROGRAM FEATURES:   
      
   * 15 randomly generated levels   
      
   * 10 kinds of monsters   
      
   * 5 kinds of usable items including a magical artefact   
      
   * themed levels   
      
   * scoring   
      
   * music and sound effects (music by Mikko Kallinen)   
      
   * written in highly optimized assembly code   
      
   DOWNLOAD:   
      
   www.grimrock.net/extras/dex.prg   
      
   Manual (and source code):  github.com/petrihakkinen/demons/blob/   
   master/README.md   
      
   Play online (VIC-20 emulator by Matt Dawson):  tinyurl.com/DemonsOfDex   
      
   HERE'S THE GAME'S BACKSTORY:   
      
   You are Eino, a member of the druids.  Your master, the arch druid, has   
   become old and it is time for somebody to replace him.  As a young initiate   
   you are sent to dungeon Dex, a mysterious labyrinth, home to vile   
   creatures.  You must enter the dungeon alone and defeat three demon lords   
   within.  Only then can you achieve enlightenment and ascend to become the   
   next arch druid.   
      
   Loading the game, we see just a credit screen.   
      
   The music starts to play.  It sounds quite random on first listening, but   
   as you listen more you realise there is a tune there.  I guess it does   
   actually suit the game, and memory is always a premium item on the VIC.   
   Anyway, pressing any key takes you into the main game.   
      
   The graphics are limited.  Sounds are the music and some bleeps, HOWEVER   
   the game play is engaging and as you can imagine quite fast paced.  You   
   really need to stick at the game as it becomes more and more playable.  The   
   various enemies are represented by letters so a RAT is a letter r, a SNAKE   
   is the letter s!  One thing I would have liked is some feedback on how much   
   energy you were draining from the enemies, and although you see your health   
   going down I couldn't assess if it was worth keeping on attacking or should   
   I run away.  You can see the items you have collected at the bottom of the   
   screen.   
      
   Here I haven't managed to find anything.  You can also see the health   
   remaining,   
      
   represented by hearts or part of them if you have been hit.   
      
   These icons represent stairs.   
      
   As you walk the area starts to appear a little bit like when you view the   
   map on something like Doom.  Oh, and these icons seem to be doors that open   
   up when walked into.   
      
   So you're wondering about the gameplay.   
      
   Well...  The game is all there, and to credit, the author works on an   
   unexpanded machine.  The music is acceptable and the game play is very   
   engrossing.  One of my friends suggested a multiplayer version where a   
   friend could control the enemies!  I personally think the graphics are   
   letting it down, but there are a number of role-type play games where   
   graphics are minimal.   
      
   I could moan about the key choice and lack of joystick support or any   
   number of other things missing, however I won't.  I played the game a   
   number of times with my son, and we were both engrossed, with my son   
   shouting things like, "Look out RAT!" It does get quite exciting; the rats   
   are fast and seem to home onto the player.  They soon corner you so you   
   can't move and then kill you off!  (as do most of the monsters) I quite   
   like the fact the levels are only partially visible and you start at random   
   locations.  Apart from the fermented graphics, I can't really see what   
   could be added to the game .  On first looks you may be put off, but I   
   would suggest you need to play the game to get a better understanding of   
   not only the controls, but the AI in the game.  With lots to hunt out and a   
   large area to explore the game could easily be sold as a commercial   
   release.   
      
   SCORING   
      
   Gameplay: 7.5/10   
     very engrossing   
   Music: 6.5/10   
     interesting   
   Graphics: 5/10   
     basic   
   Overall: 7/10   
      
   This a very engrossing and exciting game, and some would say the graphics   
   don't matter.  I can see the point as the more you play, the more your   
   brain fills in its own graphics.  They used to call it imagination before   
   CGI took over .   
      
      
      
   *************************************   
               GROWING PAINS   
            By Lenard R. Roach   
   *************************************   
      
   Getting back from the 2015 Las Vegas CommVEx show put me in a humble mood.   
   I realized that the Fat Guy here in Kansas City really shouldn't be jerking   
   on the chains of productivity.  I really need to sit down at the Commodore   
   and start cranking out some programs like I said I would.  I have high   
   expectations but low initiative.  This is a bad combination but it may be   
   related to my mental condition; I'm not sure.  What is sure is that there   
   are 10 months left before the next Las Vegas meeting so I'd better hit the   
   keyboard and start working on a few items that need to be tweaked or flat   
   out re-done.  However, before I get into the subject further I'd like to   
   "detour into a cul de sac" as Pastor Dan McDonald would say and ask for   
   some assistance from you, the kind reader of my column...   
      
   I am looking all over the Internet and other sources for any and all   
   construction sets that were made for the Commodore 64/128.  I know it is   
   highly likely that I can find all the Commodore construction sets online   
   and available for easy download.  Sadly, I run a "bear bonz" Commodore set   
   up at the Roach Center for BASIC Commodore Studies, so to simply "pull"   
   such an item off the Internet is hard.  I'm looking for the physical copy   
   of these co   
      
   --- MBSE BBS v1.0.4 (GNU/Linux-i386)   
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair ---:- dragon.vk3heg.net -:--- (3:633/280)