ECS BASIC programs in jzintv

Recently, I got a new phone and a new tablet.  When I put my Portable Intellivision Development Environment onto my new devices, I fetched the newest version of jzintv, the 2018 Christmas release, and installed that.  When I played The Jetsons' Ways With Words and created custom words, I discovered that it created a file of the tape contents.

Then I discovered somebody had revisited my old Intellivision Library website and posted a few of my old ECS BASIC programs in the tape format that jzintv uses.  So I took some time to fetch a few of the ECS BASIC games I cared most about and got them working myself.  I had to make a few tweaks along the way.

The first game I present here is: Bomb Run I.  Somebody else posted this first and gave it the filename BMB1.  Put this file in the same working directory where jzintv is at.  To get this game started, follow these instructions:

1. Start jzintv with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Cloudy Mountain) and ECS enabled.
2. Select BASIC from the ECS menu.
3. At the BASIC interpreter, type "CLOD BMB1" and press Return.
4. In the line below, "SET" will appear in yellow.  Press and release the disc.
5. "SET" will change to "GO".  Press and release the disc again.
6. "GO" will change to "LOAD".  Wait until the cursor reappears, and the filename appears to the right of the screen.
7. Type "RUN" and press Return.

How to play:

ECS BASIC programs only support the left controller.  Use the disc to move your boat left and right.  Hold any action key to drop a bomb.  Try to hit the targets under the water as you pass by them.  Dropping bombs and missing costs points.  Hitting targets earns you points.  Go for the highest score you can.

Next is Bomb Run II.  This game uses the graphics from Triple Action.

Getting this game running requires a few more steps.  Because the ECS has only 2K of onboard memory, I split this game into two programs, one to set up the environment, and one for the game itself.  The filenames for the two programs are BR2A and BR2B.

1. Start jzintv with Triple Action and enable ECS.  If the game is too slow to suit you, try using the "macho flag" (-r3 for example will run at 3x speed).
2. Select BASIC at the ECS menu.
3. At the BASIC interpreter, type "CLOD BR2A" and press Return.
4. Press the disc twice to change "SET" to "GO" and then to "LOAD".
5. Wait until the blinking cursor appears again, and then type "RUN".
6. When the cursor appears once again, type "CLOD BR2B".
7. Just as before, press the disc twice and wait until the cursor reappears.
8. Type "RUN" to start the game.

Game instructions:

Hold any action key on the left controller to drop a bomb onto the terrain below.  Your plane flies across the screen, dropping one tier in the sky with each pass.  Reach the ground with all the terrain cleared to advance to the next level.  Try to complete all ten levels without hitting any terrain.

Next is Number Cruncher I.  This game uses the graphics from Checkers.  Once again, there are two programs, which was necessary due to the extreme space limitation.  The filenames are NC1A and NC1B.

Follow the procedure listed above for Bomb Run II, replacing "BR2A" and "BR2B" with "NC1A" and "NC1B".

Game instructions:

This is a two-player game.  Both players share the left controller.

Use the keyboard to enter a target value between 20 and 100, and press Return to begin the game.  Two 6x6 grids of digits will appear.  On your turn, use the disc to move in any of four directions (you can wrap around the edges of the grid) or hold any keypad key to jump to the other grid in the same position.

When you move, the number you land on will be the amount that the purple "fill meter" fills in your color, and the cursor changes color to signal the start of the other player's turn.  Zeroes can either fill the meter ten units or not at all.

Fill the meter completely without overfilling to win the game, or force the other player to overfill the meter and lose.

Here is Number Cruncher II.  As with Bomb Run I, there is only one program, and it uses the graphics from Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Cloudy Mountain).  The filename is NC2.

Follow the procedure for Bomb Run I to start the game, replacing "BMB1" with "NC2".

Game instructions:

Use the keyboard to enter a number of problems to solve and press Return to start the game.  For each problem, you will see eight pairs of numbers.  The first number in each pair is the index, 0-7.  The second number is a value between 0 and 99.  A random subset of these values are added together to make the Target number.  The object is to figure out which values add up to the Target without going over.

Use the left keypad.  To select an index, hold one of the keypad keys 0-7 until an arrow appears.  You can also deselect an index that was previously selected.  Hold the Clear button if you want to deselect all indexes, and hold the Enter button until the arrows start to disappear when you want to lock in your answer.

A message will appear to inform you whether you were right or not.  Tap the disc to start the next problem.  After the last problem, you will be presented with your statistics and your final score.  You lose points based on time taken to solve the problems, so I recommend playing at the normal speed.