Atari ST - 1988
Black Box
1 / 3- Genre
- Brain - Logical / Puzzle
- Year
- 1988
- Language
- GFA BASIC
- Publisher
- [no publisher]
- Controls
- Mouse
- Distributor
- —
- Players
- 1
- Developer
- [n/a]
- Resolution
- Medium
- Licensed from
- —
- Programmer(s)
- Bateman, Jeff
- Country
- Graphic Artist(s)
- —
- Software
- English
- Game design
- —
- Box/Instructions
- English
- Musician(s)
- —
- License
- PD / Freeware / Shareware
- Sound FX
- —
- Serial
- —
- Cover Artist(s)
- —
- ST Type
- ST, STe / 0.5MB
- MIDI
- —
- Version
- —
- Dump
- Download
- Number of Disks
- 1 / Single Sided
- Dump format
- MSA
- Protection
- —
INSTRUCTIONS
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` `` `` `` `` `` `` `` `` `` BLACK BOX DOC.....( SAY THAT FAST 10 TIMES ) `` `` CONVERTED FROM A TEXT QUASI GRAPHIC PROGRAM FOUND IN `` `` AN OLD BOOK I HAD FROM THE 8 BIT DAYS.... `` `` WRITTEN IN GFA BASIC..(Until I learn 'C' GFA will do the `` `` trick ) `` `` By Jeff Bateman 1988 Public Domain ( not to be sold ) `` `` Donations may be sent but not spent `` `` Can you tell I hate regular docs.. I was frightened by a `` `` Technical writing instructor in my crib..sigh `` `` Ok Ok Ok for those who need structure in their lives the `` `` rest of the doc will follow traditional format.. Hmm `` `` sorta.. `` `` `` `` Black Box is a game where you hide Atoms in a sealed box `` `` and a partner tries to find them without opening the box.`` `` It is best suited for a computer because through my `` `` experience the one who hides the atoms screws up on `` `` feedback about the ray paths. It is also true about `` `` mastermind. Don't you hate an opponent that gives you `` `` bad feedback info.. Any way ( This rambling used to make `` `` my Tech writing instructor`s hair turn whiter , hehheh) `` `` `` `` Ray paths are the paths of rays shot into the sides of `` `` the Black box. They do funny things when striking or `` `` coming near the hidden Atoms. The results of strikes `` `` and near misses are illustrated and explained in the `` `` program in detail. Just choose the help option after you `` `` boot up. Pictures are more fun than typed words at times.`` `` `` `` Sketchpad mode allows you to jot notes while playing the `` `` game. For instance you shoot a ray in to position 2 on `` `` the grid and the feedback at the bottom of the screen `` `` tells you that that particular ray was absorbed, the `` `` idea would be to draw an 'A' next to the 2 or any kind `` `` of symbol you desire. Cheeze that was a bullshit `` `` description.. The sketchpad mode is really just a `` `` reminder pad for your own use during the game so you `` `` don't have to get a separate piece of paper to take `` `` notes on. `` `` `` `` Life ain`t perfect and this game mirrors life. `` `` _______________________________________________________________ `` `` | TAKE NOTE : | `` `` | ONLY SELECT THE GUESS ATOMS OPTION WHEN YOU THINK YOU KNOW | `` `` | WHERE ALL THE ATOMS ARE. | `` `` | WHEN GUESS ATOMS OPTION IS CHOSEN CLIKING THE LEFT MOUSE | `` `` | IN THE SMALL GREEN BOXES ACTIVATES THAT OPTION. | `` `` | MAKE SURE YOU CONFIRM EACH FINAL GUESS ! | `` `` | DUE TO AN OVER SIGHT IT IS POSSIBLE TO ACCIDENTLY CHOOSE | `` `` | THE SAME ATOM SQUARE TWICE WHEN MAKING FINAL GUESSES, | `` `` | IF YOU SUSPECT YOU MAY HAVE CLIKED ON A SQUARE THAT HAS | `` `` | ALREADY BEEN CHOSE PLEASE USE THE 'I AM NOT SURE OPTION' | `` `` | ASIDE FROM MINOR PAINS MENTIONED IN THIS BLOCKED WARNING | `` `` | I HAVE SAFEGAURDED THE PROGRAM TOTALLY. | `` `` |_____________________________________________________________| `` `` `` `` The game works faithfully and is great when you want to `` `` hone your black box skills. It gives a score at the end `` `` that tends to be lower with less guess's taken ( less `` `` rays shot into the box. ) . Low score = big smiles `` `` `` `` Please call TURKS BBS indicated in the title screen. `` `` R.A.C.E. is a suburban based Rochester club that works `` `` very hard to have fun and inform it's members. The `` `` letters found on the BBS swing from hilarious to tech `` `` talk. It's also the homebase of fledgling but growing to `` `` high importance in the Atari world,Bob Puff. Bob has `` `` written the bulletin board you will be using when you `` `` call that number. His software is a cross between Carina `` `` and Forem with a few new surprises. You may already know `` `` him through his compression software for the 8 bit `` `` Atari. `` `` `` `` As for myself , my main interest lay in developing `` `` complex war games or comparable efforts. If you have `` `` any ideas about a game you would like to see for the ST `` `` Drop a modemline to Turks and join the merry bunch. `` `` __________________________________ `` `` | The number is 1-716-392-5528 | `` `` ------------------------------------ `` `` `` `` `` `` Hey wait a minute this my chance to be long winded ! `` `` There is one thing I would like to mention . This game `` `` works on a 512K ST . It could have been written a `` `` little cleaner , a little tighter but hey what the heck `` `` Pd is Pd. My next project is a modem linked game with `` `` great graphics at both ends. You know the forem based `` `` games are great but sigh...alas..no grafix..I figure `` `` what the Hobby needs is someone to release a PD fantastic`` `` modem game to get the industry off its ass to develop `` `` us a professional effort.. `` `` `` `` In closing ( yup finally ) If Black box gives 30 minutes `` `` of fun before you reformat the disk I did my job. If I `` `` really impressed you ( Who gets impressed by anything `` `` these days ) donations will be accepted ( who would be `` `` crazy not to accept donations) You may send them to `` `` _______________________________ `` `` | Jeff Bateman | `` `` | 67 Briggs st. | `` `` | Rochester, New York , 14611 | `` `` ------------------------------- `` `` `` `` Footnote ( will it ever end ) `` `` Depending on the size of the donation I could use it `` `` for various hobby related expenses such as: `` `` New car `` `` Get this dam hard drive running ( the prog was written `` `` on a single drive system ) `` `` Alcoholic beverages ( used to increase dimensional `` `` creativity needed to obtain new game concepts, ok ok so `` `` the 'Parachute and Machetes' thing didn't work. ) `` `` `` `` `` `` `` `````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````