tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6808222767258036800.post715871791189841895..comments2023-06-04T03:36:41.963-07:00Comments on 8088 MPH: Arithmetic Games Set 1: a Peek into One of the First-Ever IBM PC GamesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6808222767258036800.post-85433063331964217812014-07-02T10:31:30.384-07:002014-07-02T10:31:30.384-07:00And remember... never finger 5.25" floppy dis...And remember... never finger 5.25" floppy disks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6808222767258036800.post-63405380051489205542014-06-09T16:47:38.801-07:002014-06-09T16:47:38.801-07:00That was it! Thanks VR. I had REM'd out the ...That was it! Thanks VR. I had REM'd out the number as well. I am very much thankful for your assistance, and appreciative of the learning lesson i have attained. Best wishes, Justin.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6808222767258036800.post-82244475878102468982014-06-06T14:48:09.813-07:002014-06-06T14:48:09.813-07:00Just make sure that your "REM"s are stil...Just make sure that your "REM"s are still preceded by the original line numbers (if a line doesn't begin with a number, BASIC treats it as a "direct" statement, which is indeed not allowed in a program file).VRhttp://8088mph.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6808222767258036800.post-6302851408516389172014-06-06T04:02:54.712-07:002014-06-06T04:02:54.712-07:00Hey VR,
I followed your instructions and unprotec...Hey VR,<br /><br />I followed your instructions and unprotected the files, and edited them using an editor is GWBASIC.<br />I "REM"ed out the lines your mentioned above and saved the files.<br />When i try to run the program by typing GWBASIC COLOR, i get an "DIRECT STATEMENT IN FILE" error.<br />Do i have to re-protect the files for them to run? If so, what do i use to re-protect them?<br />As always, any help would be greatly appreciated.<br /><br />Thanks in advance,<br />JustinAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6808222767258036800.post-20506666387385988692014-06-03T17:08:52.249-07:002014-06-03T17:08:52.249-07:00Hi VR,
Sorry about the links! However, GOOD NEWS...Hi VR,<br /><br />Sorry about the links! However, GOOD NEWS! IT WORKED....30 years later and I'm playing these games again. Your instructions were great, and really helped me understand. Thank you very much for your persistence with assisting me to get this working. <br /><br />Now for my next challenge.....trying to open, read and save the .BAS file to remove the protection you mentioned above. I'll follow your instructions above, but if you have any further tips they would be greatly appreciated.<br /><br />Much appreciated, and all the best,<br />JustinAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6808222767258036800.post-20861855044844991242014-06-03T07:50:42.744-07:002014-06-03T07:50:42.744-07:00Hi Justin,
Posting links to the files here isn...Hi Justin,<br /><br />Posting links to the files here isn't the best idea, but I think I can assist.<br />One effect of the protection I mentioned is that the game wants to be run from a floppy; mounting a folder as "A" in DOSBox is often not enough. Instead of extracting the files from the image, it's easiest to mount the image file itself as a floppy disk, and start the game from there.<br />Let's say you have GWBASIC.EXE in "C:\basic" (put it wherever is convenient; same for the .vfd). In DOSBox the procedure would be:<br /><br />mount C c:\basic<br />imgmount A path_to_vfd\image.vfd -t floppy<br />A:<br />C:\gwbasic color<br /><br />As for reading the .BAS files: back then they'd normally be saved in a tokenized binary format (for space reasons). Usually, this can be converted to plain ASCII text by LOADing the file in GWBASIC and typing <em>SAVE "filename",a</em> . However, since this game uses the "protected" .BAS format, there's an extra step before you can do that... "unpbas11" is a good search term. :)<br /><br />If you do get the files to an editable state, it's also possible to bypass the weird stuff that this game does and allow it to run outside the floppy image; just REM out lines 170-250 in COLOR.BAS and 212-217 in LOGO.BAS. But if you simply want to play the game, the above method is easiest.<br /><br />Hope this helps!<br />VileRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16639821897403585503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6808222767258036800.post-87936001526710338852014-06-03T05:58:31.656-07:002014-06-03T05:58:31.656-07:00Hey VR, thanks for your response! Unfortunately, ...Hey VR, thanks for your response! Unfortunately, it's still not working for me. I'll list the steps exactly as i do them:<br><br>1. Download image file<br><br>2. Extract contents of image file to C:\arithmetic (using WinImage)<br><br>3. Download GWBASIC.EXE<br><br>4. Copy GWBASIC.EXE (tried different versions) to same folder as above C:\arithmetic<br><br>5. Open DosBox conf file. Change "machine=cga" and "mount A C:\arithmetic"<br><br>6. Run DosBox, change to A: drive, and type command "gwbasic color".<br><br>All i get is the an A:> prompt with a large text. Not sure if i have a corrupted file of some sort, or if i am doing something wrong. If you could have a look at the files above, and possibly post links to the files you've got working. I've spent days on this trying different settings and different emulators. I would be very grateful, if you could let me know. <br><br>PS. How do you read the .BAS files? I cant open them with a text editor.<br><br>Best regards,<br>JustinAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6808222767258036800.post-62644330809682315332014-06-03T04:31:41.311-07:002014-06-03T04:31:41.311-07:00Well, it would help to have more details about the...Well, it would help to have more details about the specific issue you're having. But to get it to work in DOSBox, the first step is to replace the BASIC interpreter; BASICA.COM won't work as-is, since it requires the original IBM ROM BASIC to be present. GW-BASIC should do the trick - if you mount the disk as drive A:, start it from there as "[path_to_gwbasic]\GWBASIC.EXE COLOR", and you'll at least have the game in a playable state.<br><br>(And remember to set machine=cga in DOSBox!)VRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16639821897403585503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6808222767258036800.post-76183334040430128092014-06-02T17:38:17.996-07:002014-06-02T17:38:17.996-07:00Thanks for a fantastic review of the code! I reme...Thanks for a fantastic review of the code! I remember playing these at school around 1985, and to think they were one of the first games ever created for the IBM really blows my mind. I have found the .VFD of Arithmetic Games, and would really like to play these games again. I am having a real hard time trying to get them to work on a modern PC via emulation (DosBox, PCXT emulator, etc). Not sure if its something i am doing wrong, or maybe the protection. Are you able to point me in the right direction to get these working again? Thanks in advance - Justin.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com