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TI-99 - DOCs, Manuals, eBooks, Lost & Found


Schmitzi

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Work proceeds on the documentation for the TI Basic cassette games from Not Polyoptics.

 

Today we have:

 

HORDES- a strategy game for 2 or 3 players, this documentation is the UK version for the initial tape release.

The US version was quite different.

and

CROSSES- a simpler strategy game for two players.

 

(Note: WHTECH has a fairly clean pdf of the documentation for HORDES MARK 2 dated 1985 which confusingly opens speaking of a cassette game then ends talking about a disk game - - see :

<a href="http://ftp.whtech.com/games/Not%20Polyoptics/Hordes%20(by%20Not%20Polyoptics)%20manual.pdf"

 

Two player strategy games never sold well and these are probably quite rare. Both are available for emulators- Hordes has been amended for data files on (emulated) disk drive.

 

stephen

hordes_uk.zip

crosses.zip

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Edited by blackbox
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Although I have referenced it elsewhere on the forum, this is the proper place to put the pdf for:

ADVERTIZER

 

A very early TI module, possibly 1979 or earlier- probably earlier than the DEMONSTRATION module. TI Basic programs have been seen for this module which originated in TI France in early 1980. Although the module seen was labeled ©1981, the code is earlier..

 

The Z seems to indicate the module seen originated in Europe as both the UK and USA spell Advertiser with an S - there are many English words where the US uses a Z but advertiser isn't one. Only a module with German on screen display messages has been seen. A bin file is in circulation with a fictional code PHM3063.

 

The module when inserted did not appear on the menu screen- how many were thrown away as empty or broken! The sole purpose was to add a number of CALLs to TI Basic which opened up some of the power of GPL for displaying messages.

eg for use at conferences (CES??), advertising in shop windows, and interactive customer displays.

 

Anyway- delving deep into the module and referencing a sometimes erroneous TI document, I have prepared module documentation- here it is as a small text based PDF, with an index at the end and multiple cross references.

advertizer.pdf

Edited by blackbox
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The PHM3063 reference comes from the box my copy was in when I bought it at a computer store in Kaiserslautern, Germany back in late 1986 or early 1987. Per the store owner, that was the proper number for the Advertizer cartridge. He had used it for several years in the store, but wasn't getting much TI buyer traffic by then and so was willing to sell me the cartridge. He'd bought it directly from the TI sales rep when he first started selling TI hardware/software in his store. There are two board variants for the cartridge as well, both using TI EGROM boards. One has sockets for two 4K EPROM chips, while the other has a single 8K socketed EPROM. I've only seen about half a dozen copies of this cartridge over the years. It was never an easy one to find.

 

The English name of this cartridge was Infospot.

Edited by Ksarul
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Documentation for Not Polyoptics cassette games continues. As before a zip of separate tif files for you to ocr, print or assemble to pdf as you wish.

 

Three really old ones today, all TI Basic, two games of strategy and an interesting maze game.

 

Addvance - for two or three players

Ant Wars - for one or two players

Maze of Ariel - for one player

 

 

Did anyone buy Addvance?

 

enjoy. Stephen

addvance.zip

antwars.zip

mazeofariel.zip

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Today's documentation for TI Basic cassette games from Not Polyoptics...

 

99 Vaders- this is UK only documentation. It is slightly provincial, sorry.

 

Winging It- this is again UK documentation. An insanely good selling program this one.

 

WHT has a reasonably good copy of the US documentation for the 1984 Mark 2 version released on disk and converted to XB at:

http://ftp.whtech.com/games/Not%20Polyoptics/Winging%20it%20(by%20Not%20Polyoptics)%20manual.pdf

 

The Mark 2 docs on WHT have an interesting new paragraph which I will add an image for below- this will also indicate the scan quality. It looks as though Not Polyoptics redesigned the instructions and repackaged their early programmes for disk in 1984 - I can't find any record of this and presume they didn't sell too well.

 

The docs I am posting here are the ones distributed with the cassette programs sold in the UK.

 

Stephen

99vader_uk.zip

winging_it_uk.zip

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post-47425-0-01003700-1547030768.jpg

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Documentation for a Not Polyoptics cassette game in TI Basic, OPHYSS - horrible font but you can probably read it!

 

 

 

and although I still have a couple of NP manuals to scan here is something quite rare- a manual for a game that I bought on disk! ARTHROPOD (Bill Bies) is available for FG99 but I haven't seen this manual anywhere else. Bill released it on disk for EA3 or for XB Call LOAD.

 

A few more to go before I ask for suggestions...anyone want Scott Foresman Picture Parts manual? Cubit has a good manual copy on WHT but the cover there is poor black and white- shall I just post a new cover scan here or would you like the full set here?

 

have fun

 

 

Stephen

ophyss.zip

arthropod.zip

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Sengoku Jidai is a two or three player TI Basic game of strategy released on cassette by Not Polyoptics. This is a scan of the UK documentation which had a couple of tiny clarifying additions.

 

A zip of tif files for you to ocr, print or collect as pdf as you wish.

sengoku_jidai_uk.zip

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Edited by blackbox
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I would just post a full copy of the Cubit manual, as that keeps it all in one place/format. On the Picture Parts manual, which version do you have: The mostly generic white cover with blue print (basically the front and back of a single page), the white cover with orange print (the early manual), the color manual (later version, but the contents are pretty much the same as the one with orange text), or the Tronics version (color, similar to the late version SF put out but with a very different cover)? Any of them would be good to scan--and I need to take time to scan the various SF manuals I have as well (I have a lot of HTF SF manuals).

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OK will do when I get down to that manual- I seem to have a lot that just isn't out there- eg the TI Market game and Programming Aids 2 and 3. And a clean mint original of the Thorne 3 "Arcade Hardware" doc (Computer War, Submarine Command, River Rescue)

 

Picture Parts is the full colour front page.. I bought a box from SF when they had their closing down sale and got quite a mixture, including a lot of the single page white documentation. One module they sent had a SF Label stuck on top of a Tronics label. Picture Parts is near the top of the pile- I'll put the rest towards the end of y heap, so you can add them!

 

I am putting together an amalgamated sorted list of documentation available across the three main sites if anyone is interested- it makes it easier to check what is out there. eg ti99iuc, WHT and this forum.

 

 

I would just post a full copy of the Cubit manual, as that keeps it all in one place/format. On the Picture Parts manual, which version do you have: The mostly generic white cover with blue print (basically the front and back of a single page), the white cover with orange print (the early manual), the color manual (later version, but the contents are pretty much the same as the one with orange text), or the Tronics version (color, similar to the late version SF put out but with a very different cover)? Any of them would be good to scan--and I need to take time to scan the various SF manuals I have as well (I have a lot of HTF SF manuals).

 
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Two more manuals for Not Polyoptics early TI Basic cassette games.

 

Starship Pegasus has a couple of small UK only clarifications added.

 

Cars and Carcasses appeared in most user group tape libraries from the beginning of time- Cars and Carcasses 2 is a slight development of that program by the original author.

 

More to come. Have fun Stephen

starship_pegasus_uk.zip

carsandcarcasses2.zip

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More manuals for cassette games- my final two for Not Polyoptics games:

 

SHIPS and

 

TREASURE TRAP- I have two different manuals for this, so you have your choice of two back covers!

 

and probably my last one from Maple Leaf Microware, an Extended Basic program

 

SKY DIVER (UK docs)

 

Plenty more to come yet.

 

Enjoy.

 

Stephen

 

treasure_trap.zip

ships.zip

skydiver_uk_mapleleaf.zip

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Here it is- very clean high definition original docs for the three Thorn games- Computer War, Submarine Command and River Rescue. Taken from original first generation print, not a copy.

I noted that the similar docs on WHT are not only rather tired, but somehow an error crept into the description of the control panel for Submarine Command. The manual included here is correct.

more to come.... Stephen

thorn_trio_original_uk.zip

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SHIPS and TREASURE TRAP- I have two different manuals for this, so you have your choice of two back covers!

and probably my last one from Maple Leaf Microware, an Extended Basic program SKY DIVER (UK docs)

 

 

Excellent job you've been doing! I had a couple of minutes to spare, so I converted those three into compressed PDF's.

Treasure Trap.pdf

Ships.pdf

Skydiver.pdf

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A few rare cassette games documented for you today- again in hi res tif format zipped up, so that you can print them, ocr them or pdf them as you prefer.

 

Two from Pewterware, one real oldy and one from the end-

 

Yahtzee is a program that most user groups had in their cassette libraries from day one, and ROLL 5 is a development of that by the same author. You know the game- roll 5 dice. The bonus fanfare was used in the Advertizer module circa 1979/80, so TI may have had a hand in early distribution to the user groups?

 

Snowtrek is a rarity- did anyone buy it? from towards the end of the commercial cassette market.

 

Spy's Demise is better known, a cassette program that quite early on moved onto module format. This is from the cassette version- it is the UK documentation as the publisher had a state/country specific contest- I never did hear if anyone won anything, certainly no-one sent entries to me. One of the authors (strictly speaking an adaptor), Mark Sumner, was doing quite a variety of jobs to raise funds to be an author and had several books published in the sf genre- one transferred to a tv series.

 

Time Tutor is from Maple Leaf Microware, an educational program - never popular on cassette. Anyone buy a copy?

 

regards Stephen

rollfive.zip

snowtrek.zip

Spys_Demise_UK.zip

timetutor.zip

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I'm moving on to rather thicker manuals now so will be slowing down a bit.

 

Documentation as zipped tif files for you to print, ocr, or pdf as you prefer.

 

This time the documentation for a fairly rare cassette program from TIMagination, which I have quite enjoyed playing. WALLS AND BRIDGES. TI Basic but joystick is required.

 

For your convenience this post also includes a disk file- for emulators- as ssataridisk.zip. This contains:

Antwars, Cars and Carcasses, Addvance, Crosses, Hordes, Khesanh, Ophyss, Roll5, Sengoku Jidai, Sky Diver, Snowtrek, Walls and Bridges, Winging It, Zombie Mambo.

 

Coming in the next week or so- Zombie Mambo (program also on the disk); Picture Parts, Teach Yourself Extended Basic, Programming Aids 2 and 3.

 

Have fun,

 

Stephen

walls_and_bridges.zip

ssataridisk.zip

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Different people have different needs! That is why I am posting the fairly high def tif files- apart from some of the colour covers which are quite good with jpg at 96% quality and then have a lot smaller file size. I let the size and quality of the original guide me. Sometimes you need 600dpi and sometimes 480dpi is adequate. I think 400dpi is probably a minimum.

 

Some of the documents I have scanned are from master sources which themselves are not very good, which sometimes required me to retype them in 1983 for sale (yes, type!). I have now been able to do some clean up to make them better than the documents supplied with the sold programmes but have made as few changes as possible to maintain an archival purpose...

 

Once you discard data (compression), it is gone. My tif scans have "lossless compression". Storage is so inexpensive these days.

 

Another post coming shortly... Stephen

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