by Tom Warnes
This is a collection of crossword games which are made a little simpler because the computer is watching to make sure you don't cheat. To start, simply load the disk just like any LOADSTAR offering: LOAD"!",8,1 (substitute 8 with whatever device you are accessing). You'll find most of the actions and key mappings identical to those found on the LOADSTAR menu program.
The start up screen gives you the option of finding out about the people are who created the puzzles in "All About This Disk". The other choices are "Change Title", "Change Music" and "Exit to Basic". The Change Title only allows you to change the background screen. The Change Music becomes a heaven sent option after you've been playing this game for a few hours, or even minutes. You may find yourself really hating the background music; therefore, I'll give a few tips on turning the music off completely. The music doesn't come on until you've loaded a puzzle into your computer off of the disk. To turn the music off completely hold down the CNTR key while pressing the S key or press the CLR/HOME key. The CLR/HOME key acts as a toggle as does the CNTR-S combination.
There were a few minor bugs on the disk that I found annoying. In the option "All About This Disk" only a summary of the creators of the puzzles is given. They don't attempt to explain the different functions or how to access them. My suggestion would be to add an extra subgroup called something like "Credit to the Creators" to put their names in, and in the "All About This Disk" put a more complete description of the choices available to the user. The "Change Title" had me stumped for a short while until I discovered it only changes the texture of the background screen, not the color to help someone who has been staring at the screen trying to solve these puzzles.
The puzzles themselves are interesting even if sometimes they don't stick to the theme of the puzzle. There is a small hiccup in the music presenter, as it had a small problem playing the last song on the list available to the user. It acted like a cassette player playing a cassette that has the tape wound to tight on the spools.
Except for these minor problems it was interesting having the computer keeping me honest. One big thing that has bothered me for years is the fact no one has found a way to reward the player for successfully completing a game on the computer. I've seen a simple message flashed on the screen or even a colorful display. This is not for everyone. A possible reward would be to have a timed series of puzzles so the player could compete against time. A feature I liked was the fact that you could mark a puzzle as having been completed, or if you're like me, one that you've worked on and still have to complete. You are given this option each time you go from a puzzle to the start-up screen. Most of these puzzles seem to have come from the mind of Barbara Schulak, a name you will recognize from the Loadstar 128 collection.
Speaking of the Loadstar 128 collection the next group of programs came from those disks. It is called the complete Lee O. This is a collection of programs submitted to Loadstar to be put out on their 128 Loadstar disks. The programmer, Leo O. Clinton, tried to help fill the barren field of 80 column programming. They are all utility programs. Their titles are "Mutual Funds", "Resumes", "Genealogy", "Auto Expense Tracking", "Kitchen Upkeep" (Recipes), and "Home Finances". All of these programs come on one disk and it is highly recommended that you copy each onto a dedicated disk. To explain the working of the programs, I sometimes borrowed heavily from the text that Leo O. Clinton typed in to explain the workings of his programs.
Works with drive 8 only. Keeps 253 transactions in each of 16 Mutual Fund Accounts. Computes profit/loss, investment and total returns and investment and fund performers. Output can be to screen, disk or printer if you have included all the recommended files on your disk. Escape will take you one level back from the level you’re working on. You can add accounts, delete accounts, modify accounts, or add transactions. This program works on the trade date of your accounts and must be entered in the request for date.
This program is important in today's shifting job market. It
works with a wide range of disk drives. It can create a resume
after you type in the answers to a range of questions. It creates
a resume to your personal preference. The chronological option
lists last job first, or you can go with most important job first
and on down to the least important. All information can be saved
to disk and then recalled and printed when you need it.
Keeps track of 5 generations of your family. Gives you the
option of creating a full page of information for each member. If
you get stuck and don't know how to answer a question, the help
screens will steer you in the right direction. After the title
screen is displayed a chart will show you the relationship of the
people you are entering. Drives 8 through 11 are supported. This
is really a fine program for someone interested in his or her
family relations.
If you're one of the people you see at the gas pumps jotting down mileage, cost and quantity of gas in a little book, this program is for you. This program keeps a record of 18 cars with the possibility of 252 entries for each car per disk. The program is menu driven. After you enter data you can use what you have entered to create graphs or print a record for the car you pick. The graphs will show you Actual mileage, Cumulative mileage, or a Cents per mile Pie Chart.
This program is a electronic recipe box with a lot of extra features thrown in. It allows you to make up a weekly menu and will help make up a shopping list so you can get all the ingredients you will need. There is a conversion calculator to help you go from metric to American Standard, and also an option to convert to different quantities. Entering the recipes into this program is a little different, as you must use various buttons to access certain menus. For example, you press the F1 key whenever you want to print quantities. A list will appear and you use the cursor keys to select the proper quantity. I have used this program since it first came out on Loadstar 128 and it saves on the number of piles of paper I have laying around.
The closest program that I can relate to this program is Sylvia Porter's Personal Finance 128 series put out by Timeworks. Sylvia Porter's has a few more small functions this program doesn't have. This program allows you to know what your transactions have been, balance your checkbook, create a budget and show you how close you are to staying within that budget. It shows you what Assets/Liabilities you have, and allows you to see in a chart where your money is going. A 30+ page manual that explains what functions this program is capable of is available for you to print out.
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Last Updated:
1997-03-31 by Jim Brain