The Oric Type In Library Last Updated: 4th May 2003 Anti-Tank (or Tank Attack) added. Programs In the Library: 10 Welcome to the Oric Type In Library. Here you will find details of programs that have appeared in various computer magazines over the years. All sorts of information on them is available and many can be downloaded for use with an Oric emulator such as Euphoric. As I increase my collection of computer magazines from the past, I keep coming across more and more type in programs for the Oric machines. Some I remember from my childhood, others are completely new to me. As a youngster it seemed to take hours to type these programs into the Oric and sometimes I shared 'tapping' duties with my father. We were both pretty slow typers, but with one reading out the listing and the other typing, we got the job done eventually. After finishing a program, the temptation was always to run a program before saving it, but this could be disastrous if the machine hung-up (back to more typing!). Bugs often crept into listings and debugging was an essential part of the fun(?!?). Usually the bugs were caused by us making mistakes on entering the listing, but some were misprints or errors in the magazines. If a program could not be made to work, we had to wait for the next issue of the relevant magazine to see if any corrections were in it - perhaps these mistakes were deliberate ploys by editors to boost circulation figures :-) I know many of you out there will have your own collections of type in programs, but for now, PLEASE do not send me any for inclusion here! At the moment I have so many to transfer from tape or disc to the PC, that I will have my work cut out for many months ahead to get them all done. When I've run out, then I will gladly accept your offers of programs! If any of you have any old computer magazines from the early 80's that you wish to sell, trade or swap, then I may well be interested. You can contact me at james.groom@virgin.net. Each program has it's own set of entries below. As well as a screenshot (which in many cases you will be able to click on to download a copy of the program for use with an emulator) the following information is given: Program title, author, the magazine the program was printed in, the machine the program is designed to run on, the type of game (arcade, utility, adventure etc.), the language used (BASIC, machine code or a mix) and the size of the program (rounded up to the next highest value of K). A description of the program is also given which includes any information necessary to use it if that is not included in the program. I hope you enjoy nosing through this list and don't forget to pay your respects to the coders from the past! By the way, if any of the original authors are reading this then I'd love to hear from you. A word on copyright. All the programs in this library remain copyright of their authors. I have tried to track down each author concerned in order to obtain permission for the programs to appear in the library, but in the majority of cases this is not possible. As all the programs are from magazines, it is assumed the author would like them to reach as wide an audience as possible and would be happy for them to appear here. Magazines usually pay a one-off fee for programs and are not reprinted, so the authors will already have been fully paid for their work. And hey, this is twenty year old Oric stuff, not Quake 17! If you are the author of any of the programs here and do not wish them to be used in the library, please contact me and they will be removed.

	TITLE: Anti-Tank (or Tank Attack!)
	Author: Kevin Freeman
	Magazine: Big K No. 3, June 1984
	Machine: Oric 1 16K	Type: Arcade game
	Language: BASIC	Size: 3K
This game bears some resemblance to Atari's Battlezone. Compared to that game, you can only move left and right and the enemy tanks never fire back, but you only have limited ammunition. It is a case of scoring as well as you can with the ammo you have - there is no time limit so take your time to take careful aim. The game offers a good challenge for a BASIC program, it isn't easy to hit the constantly moving tanks. The graphics are nice for such a small program too. This one was actually worth the effor of typing it in! Called Tank Attack! in the magazine, but Anti-Tank in the program.

	TITLE: Chopper
	Author: Shingo Sugiura
	Magazine: Home Computing Weekly No. 9, 3-9th May 1983
	Machine: Oric 1 16K	Type: Arcade game
	Language: BASIC	Size: 2K
One of the first Oric type-in programs to appear. Something we have all seen in many forms no doubt, but here is another version of the ever popular Blitz game. Your helicopter is running out of fuel and you need to destroy the buildings below you in order to clear a path to land. Only one bomb is allowed on screen at a time. A nice feature is that you can choose the speed, difficulty and bomb destructiveness at the beginning of each game, which extends the interest a little more than most versions I have seen. Full instructions are given in the program.

	TITLE: Get Out (or On The Rocks)
	Author: Karl Hardman
	Magazine: Home Computing Weekly No. 88, 13th November 1984
	Machine: Oric 1 16K	Type: Arcade game
	Language: BASIC	Size: 4.5K
In this simple game you have to get from the Start (bottom left) to the End (top right) of the screen without colliding with a rock or the wall around the edge. New rocks are added all the time, plus you are only allowed 55 moves, so you have to move quickly. Collect as many humans as you can along the way for bonus points. Karl Hardman was 15 when he wrote the program. Although the program calls itself Get Out, in the magazine it is referred to as On The Rocks. Key response is a bit slow.

	TITLE: Huebert
	Author: T. W. Phoeng
	Magazine: Personal Computer News No. 59, 28th April 1984
	Machine: Oric 1 48K	Type: Arcade game
	Language: BASIC	Size: 5K
Proof that a good game can be created in BASIC, Huebert is a version of the arcade favourite Q*Bert. Guide Huebert over the rooftops of a set of tower blocks changing the colour of the roof strip. Once all the strips are the correct colour (indicated at the start of each round by the top building), then a spaceship appears onto which Huebert must jump to make his escape to the next level. Trying to stop him are a falling ball (which moves at random) and a rabbit (which chases Huebert). On some levels deadly black buildings appear and the colours of the strips can change too. The program is quick and at the later levels, quite challenging. The author has even included the option of using the PASE joystick interface. This program is a shining example of how to program a quality game without the need for machine code. Instructions and keyboard commands are included in the program.

	TITLE: Home Finance Analysis
	Author: David Nowotnik
	Magazine: Home Computing Weekly No. 95, 15th-21st January 1985
	Machine: Oric 1/Atmos 48K	Type: Home Budget
	Language: BASIC	Size: 5.4K
A program that records and analysis your home finances. It is written by the same guy who devised Tansoft's Nowotnik Puzzle. You can enter all your monthly incomes and outgoings, do analysis, print and save. All very useful, but unfortunately there is a bug in the Modify routine, so make sure you don't make any mistakes. I have not been able to correct the bug, please feel free to have a go (you can find more information at www.oric.org)! The version for download is for the Atmos, if you want the Oric 1 version (adaptions were printed in the magazine) please let me know and I'll send them to you.

	TITLE: Noah's Ark
	Author: Christopher Hardy
	Magazine: Big K No. 10, January 1985
	Machine: Oric 1/Atmos 16K	Type: Arcade game
	Language: BASIC	Size: 3.5K
This is a well produced little game, but unfortunately it lacks any skill in play. You have to collect logs from the wood at the left of the screen and take them to the right where they are used to form an Ark. All the time, a storm is trying to flood you out and strike you with thunderbolts. Whether the bolts hit you or not is entirely due to chance - skill plays no part - leaving the game ultimately uninteresting. Nice use of graphics on the cloud and thunderbolt though.

	TITLE: Omelette
	Author: Alan Downs
	Magazine: Computer & Video Games, June 1984
	Machine: Oric 1 16K	Type: Arcade game
	Language: BASIC	Size: 3.5K
Odd little game set in a kitchen. The oven is on full blast and will cause an eggsplosion if it gets too hot. You can lower the temperature by dropping eggs into the two pans (one yours, one the Orics). Every egg dropped into your pan will also give you a section of rope on the left of the screen, which, when long enough can be climbed down to switch off the oven. Each egg that drops into Orics pan causes a ladder on the right of the screen to grow. If it gets too high, Oric will climb up the ladder and steal all the eggs, ending your game. Quite a tricky game - you've got to try and get as many eggs in your pan as possible, while giving the odd one to Oric to prevent the oven blowing up. Not particularly gripping, but a nice graphical end if you manage to win and a rare Oric type-in from C&VG magazine, which did not support the Oric very strongly. This game is also called "Easter Omelette" within the program.

	TITLE: Oric Attributes In Action Part 1
	Author: R. Massey
	Magazine: Oric Computing Issue 1, November 1983
	Machine: Oric 1 48K	Type: Graphics Demonstration
	Language: BASIC	Size: 13K
This is a basic tutorial and demonstration program for the graphics capabilities of the Oric 1. It only deals with very basic screen displays so do not expect to see much! This was the first in a series of type in programs which appeared in Oric Computing and demonstrated the facets of Oric graphics. I have made only a few changes to the program, basically correcting some of the problems such as sentences not having full stops or running off the end of the screen.

	TITLE: Oric Draughtsman
	Author: Brian & Sarah Grayson
	Magazine: Home Computing Weekly, 13th December 1983
	Machine: Oric 1 16K	Type: Graphics Utility
	Language: BASIC	Size: 3K
This is a simple little program for drawing relatively uncomplicated pictures on the HIRES screen. With a little patience, however, some quite complicated images and designs can be produced. Finished designs can be saved to tape for future viewing (although you can't alter them once saved). Oric trivia: Brian and Sarah were father and daughter. Full instructions are included in the program.

	TITLE: Pallida Mors
	Author: The Doppel-ganger
	Magazine: Oric Computing Issue 1, November 1983
	Machine: Oric 1 48K	Type: Text Adventure
	Language: BASIC	Size: 24K
Pallida Mors is a text adventure written by a mysterious character called the Doppel-ganger. This individual was very much involved with adventures, Oric Computing magazine and Kenema Associates. The exact relationship with Kenema is unknown, but I believe the Doppelganger may have written Hell's Temple. This is a fairly simple, yet challenging text adventure with around 60 locations, many objects (although only a few have uses) and a very limited vocabulary. Because the vocabulary is so small, I have included it here to avoid frustration while playing: GET, DROP, USE, LIGHT, LAMP, FILL, RUN, STATUS, BREAK, OPEN, LOOK, EAT, DRINK, KILL. The aim of the game is to find six treasures and escape with them to your starting place (type STATUS to confirm your victory). I have made quite a few changes to the original program, mainly to correct the bizarre text layout and grammar (capital letters in the middle of sentences, no fullstops etc). I have also switched off the flashing cursor during the introduction. The bottle of Smirnoff now appears in the game (due to a bug, it would never appear otherwise). The most important change was to move one of the objects, as it appeared in a location which always results in instant and unavoidable death, therefore making the game uncompleteable. I believe this is a bug, but if anyone knows if it is possible to survive the acid pit, please let me know how! The game is hard, but it is possible to complete it (I've done it!). One other thing, if you come across a copy of "Oric Computing" in the game, you will have to use the noun "news" to get or drop it - another bug, but I have not corrected this one. Oh, I almost forgot. The Oric Owners User Group released this program on tape as Coworth Park Horrors.