MICROBEE GAMING GUIDE --------------------- This document was written on 19/2/10, and last updated on 27/12/10, by James Jacobs of Amigan Software. If you have anything to contribute, or any questions, please email amigansoftware@gmail.com. It is divided into these sections: Installation Loading Games Using the Emulator Using the Operating System Manipulating Disk Images Changing Disks Using Host Gamepads Specific Game Notes Disk Contents List INSTALLATION-------------------------------------------------------------- To install the emulator, BIOS ROMs and OS: * Get and install the latest uBee512 (4.4.0 at the time of writing). * Get and unzip mbee128k-os.zip (eg. from the site at microbee.no-ip.com). * Unprotect the files (eg. with attrib -r *). * rom1.bin and charrom.bin should go in the roms\ directory. * boot.dsk should go in the Disks\ directory. LOADING GAMES------------------------------------------------------------- To load an MWB file on a disk image (eg. FOO.MWB on BAR.DS40): * ubee512 -b bar.ds40 * Press 3 * LOAD "B:foo" * RUN To load a self-booting disk (eg. FOO.DSK): * ubee512 -a foo.dsk USING THE EMULATOR-------------------------------------------------------- You can increase the emulation speed for non-games without affecting games by using the -t and --vblank options as follows: ubee512 -t --vblank=1 PgDn: Soft reset Home+PgDn: Hard reset ("power cycle") Home+End: Quit emulator USING THE OPERATING SYSTEM------------------------------------------------ Ctrl+E Ctrl+R = previous drive | Ctrl+C = next drive Ctrl+S -+- Ctrl+D | RETURN: Run selected COM file Ctrl+X MANIPULATING DISK IMAGES-------------------------------------------------- Transfer of files to/from a real Microbee (ie. dumping) is not covered here. There are 2 types of disk image, RAW and DSK: * RAW disk images are headerless. They typically have an extension indicating the disk type (eg. FOO.DS40). Or, they can have a RAW extension and have the disk type as part of the filename (eg. FOO-DS40.RAW). * DSK disk images have a header ("MV - CPCEMU Disk-File"). They typically have a DSK extension. Often, the disk type will be part of the filename (eg. FOO-DS40.DSK). Disk images can have a trailing underscore (_); this is meaningless except that the uBee512 emulator will treat such disk images as read-only. COM files are machine code programs (similar to TRS-80 CMD). MWB files are BASIC programs (similar to TRS-80 BAS). DSK Disk Images --------------- To make a DSK disk image file: mkdskimg ds40 foo Creates: foo-ds40.dsk To put all MWB files in current host directory onto FOO-DS40.DSK: cpmcp -f ds40 -T dsk foo-ds40.dsk *.mwb 0: To list the contents of FOO-DS40.DSK: cpmls -f ds40 -F -T dsk foo-ds40.dsk You can omit the -F switch to get less detailed output. To extract all MWB files from FOO-DS40.DSK into current host directory: cpmcp -f ds40 -T dsk foo-ds40.dsk 0:*.mwb . To delete BAR.MWB from FOO-DS40.DSK: cpmrm -f ds40 -T dsk foo-ds40.dsk bar.mwb dskinfo dumps the information contained within a DSK image file. It does not work on raw images. dskinfo foo.dsk Note that the cpmtools can't handle directory paths, so you need to copy the files you intend to manipulate into the same directory as the cpmtools. ss40 ds40 ss80 ds80 ds82 ds84 ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- seclen 512 512 512 512 512 512 cylinders 40 40 80 80 80 80 sectrk 10 10 10 10 10 10 heads 1 2 1 2 2 2 blocksize 1024? 2048 2048 4096 2048 4096 maxdir ? 128 128 128 256 128 skew ? 3 3 3 3 3 skewstart ? 2 2 22 2 2 datasect ? 1 1 21 1 1 testside n/a 1 n/a 1 1 1 boottrk ? 2 2 4 2 2 os ? 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 media size 5¼"? 5¼" 3½" 3½" 3½" 3½" track size 5120 5120 5120 5120 5120 5120 density double? double double double double double file size 215,296 430,336 430,336? 860,416 860,416? 860,416 This table is not exhaustive. There are eg. protected disks which are not listed above. Note that tracksize = seclen * sectrk. 'Cylinder' is of course synonymous with 'track'. If tracks is 40 and heads is 2, it is usually a DS40. If tracks is 80 and heads is 1, it is usually an SS80. If tracks is 80 and heads is 2, it is usually a DS80, DS82 or DS84. Raw Disk Images --------------- This information is mostly for completeness. Normally it is better to use DSK files. mkrawimg - Makes a raw CP/M formatted disk image. To make a raw DS40 disk image file: mkrawimg ds40 foo Creates: foo-ds40.raw To put all MWB files in current host directory onto FOO-DS40.RAW: cpmcp -f ds40 -T raw foo-ds40.raw *.mwb 0: To list the contents of FOO-DS40.RAW: cpmls -f ds40 -F -T raw foo-ds40.raw You can omit the -F switch to get less detailed output. To extract all MWB files from FOO-DS40.RAW into current host directory: cpmcp -f ds40 -T raw foo-ds40.raw 0:*.mwb . To delete BAR.MWB from FOO-DS40.RAW: cpmrm -f ds40 -T raw foo-ds40.raw bar.mwb An alternative method of getting files onto disk images (eg. FOO1.MWB and FOO2.MWB onto BAR.DS40) is: * Make a copy of Disks/ubee512_cpm_tools.ds40_ into the main uBee512 directory, renaming the copy as BAR.DS40 (note: no trailing underscore). * Copy FOO1.MWB and FOO2.MWB (eg. from Files\) into the main uBee512 directory. * ubee512 128k -b BAR.DS40 * Press 0 and then Y. * B: * HOST2CPM *.MWB B: * Quit the emulator, delete FOO1.MWB and FOO2.MWB from the main uBee512 directory, and move BAR.DS40 into the Disks\ directory. Conversion ---------- raw2dsk - Converts a raw disk image to 'dsk' format. raw2dsk foo.ds40 Creates: foo-ds40.dsk dsk2raw - Converts a 'dsk' disk image to raw format. dsk2raw foo.dsk bar.raw Creates: bar.raw There also exist the .IMG, .NW and .DIP disk image formats, which are not commonly used. CHANGING DISKS------------------------------------------------------------ To change disks without quitting the emulator: * Right-click. * Left-click "Console". * Type -a foo.dsk to insert foo.dsk into drive A: or -b foo.dsk to insert foo.dsk into drive B: * Left-click the close gadget (red X) at the top right corner of the console window. It's also important to tell the CP/M system the disk has changed (reset) or they can easily become corrupted. This is the normal way for CP/M V2.2 and earlier. When you're in the CCP program (ie. at the CLI prompt) you just press Ctrl+C and the system re-reads the directory contents; not sure how this is done from the Shell. Other programs will usually have some method to reset the disk. The same applies to a real Microbee. USING HOST GAMEPADS------------------------------------------------------- For using a host gamepad to emulate a guest joystick: You must use uBee512 5.0.0 or later. Use a command such as this: ubee512 -a arcade_1-ds84.dsk --parallel-port=joystick --js=0 For using a host gamepad to emulate the guest keyboard, for eg. the Space Patrol game: ubee512 -a arcade_1-ds84.dsk --js=0 --js-kkb=.,0 --js-kkb=comma,1 --js-kkb=q,128 --js-kkb=a,130 --js-kset=A All the above should be on one line. Some of the arguments are order- dependent. The general format of --js-kkb is: --js-kkb=,[<,hostbutton>...] Here are the codes for a Gameware USB Rumble Control gamepad: 4 (top) 6 (top) 5 (bot) 7 (bot) +-------+ +-------+ / +------------------+ \ / \ / 128 1 \ / | | \ / 131-- --129 8 9 0-- --3 \ / | | \ / 130 2 \ / 128 ANALOG 0 \ / | | \ / 131-10--129 3-11--1 \ / | | \ / +-+ 130 +----+ 2 +-+ \ / / \ / \ / \ \ + / +------+ +------+ \ + | / \ | + / TOP VIEW OF A TYPICAL \ + \ / GAME CONTROLLER \ / +------+ +------+ Note that the hat buttons (10 and 11) only work in analog mode. Here are the codes (case-insensitive). Note that the --js-klist command gives an incorrect version of this table, as of uBee 5.0.0. @ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z [ \ ] ^ DEL 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 : ; COMMA - . / ESC BS TAB LF CR LOCK BRK SP UP CTRL DOWN LEFT 60 61 RIGHT SHIFT SPECIFIC GAME NOTES------------------------------------------------------- Convicts of the First Fleet: 08CONVIC.COM is the loader for the program. This version (First_Fleet_101_128k_ds80.dsk) is for 128K and older standard Microbees. On a 256TC, the keys don't work. It seems to work fine on the default uBee512 configuration. Boot from this disk. Press RETURN when the file manager appears. Now the First Fleet program will load. To match all records, use ALL as your search. Or to match only some records: SURNAME = JACOBS or similar. Note that the spaces are required. The usual way to view the results is as a standard record view (ie. one record per screen). This is option 1 ("display") and then 1 again ("select the standard mask"). Detailed help is available with the ? command. DEFENDER.BEE, DEFEND-2.BEE (eg. on arcade_1-ds84.dsk): The Caps Lock key is not emulated correctly by uBee512 4.6.0 and earlier. You must use uBee512 4.7.0 or later. GOLDUST.MWB: "Don't try to list the file when loaded in BASIC as it won't work as the BASIC system becomes corrupted (I believe this to be true on a real Microbee too)." - uBee "I believe that version is the StarNetwork version and not the standalone version. I have both versions of Gold Dust Island on Educational Disk 9. The net version I have is 25,600 bytes (exact same length) and crashes the system if listed. However, the standalone version is only 18,048 bytes long and lists and plays fine. It also plays in colour, while the net version does not." - ChickenMan PENETRATOR (eg. on arcade_1-ds84.dsk): You must use uBee512 4.7.0 or later. PYRAMID.MWB: This file (size of 21504 bytes, CRC32 of $2A30796D) has been confirmed to be a bad dump (ie. corrupt). SCAV.MWB: Use the version on education_9-ds84.dsk, as this program needs extra files. Space Patrol (eg. on arcade_1-ds84.dsk): It is not possible to move left or right in this game. This is authentic. See the "Using Host Gamepads" section above for how to use a host gamepad with this game. Note that there are two different games called "Space Patrol". Survivor (eg. on arcade_1-ds84.dsk): Your maximum rate of fire is rather slow. This is probably authentic. VALLEY.BAS (on adventure_1-ds84.dsk): This game is on the disk but not listed on the menu. At the menu, press Ctrl-C, type RUN "VALLEY" and press ENTER. DISK CONTENTS LIST-------------------------------------------------------- adventure_1-ds84.dsk: Adventureland Briney Deep Broadway Manor Egypt Adventure Escape from Colditz Estate of Doom Eye of Min Frankenstein High Mountain Institute, The Jeksil's Revenge Kung Fu Lost Island Maths Adventure Merlin Mission Impossible Museum Mystery Pirate Sabre of Sultar Subterra Survival Swamp of Evil Sword Quest Temple of Azragor Underworld of Kin (Kyn) Valley, The (press Ctrl-C at menu, type RUN "VALLEY" and press ENTER) Voodoo Castle adventure_2-ds84.dsk: Deadline Enchanter Planetfall Sorcerer Zork 1..3 adventure_3-ds84.dsk: Colossal Cave Starcross Suspended Citadel of Chaos adventure_4-ds84.dsk: Bunyip Dogstar Adventure Dungeons of Khan Escape from the Soviet Science and Detention Base Escape in 3D Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Island Adventure Leather Goddesses of Phobos Pirate Island Pogog Manor Treasure of Elgon arcade_1-ds84.dsk: Apple Panic Asteroid Plus Asteroids Baboon Bomber Bomber Raider Break Out Brick-Ball Capture Chase Man Chilly Willy Chopper Chopper Pilot Cosmic Fighter Defender V1 (Applied Technology) Defender V2 (Applied Technology) Defender (Mytek) Depth Charge Dodgem Emu Joust Eureka Frogger Froghop Galaxy Gridfire Grooble Grab Grotnik Wars Halloween Harry Hoards of the Deep Realm Kilopede King Kong Kint Tut Ladder Lazer Blazer Leaping Lunar Limo Meteor Rescue Minedrop Munch Penetrator Pinball Reef Runner Robotman Scavenger Scrambler Slalom Squish Space Invaders 1..2 Space Lanes Space Patrol Star Striker Subatomic Survivor Target Trains Viper education_1-ds84.dsk: 4 Stroke Engine Alphabetical Sort Antonyms Cannibals & Missionaries Cloze 1 Cloze 3 Cloze Writer Crossword Capers Escape ET Fractions Geography Gorilla Maths Hangman Lose your Marbles Mastermind Munch Maths Reading - EI Reading - OU Rescue Space Wars 1..2 Speed Reading 11..12 Spelling Spell Master 6 Synonyms TNT Yacht Race education_3-ds84.dsk: Algebra 1..6 Equ. from Co-ordinates Graph 1..3 Infant Line Co-ordinates 1..3 Mastermind Quiz Maths 1..3 Monkey Maths Primary Simultaneous Equations Stars and Constellations Triangles Victorian Towns Quiz 1..2 Words 1..3 education_4-ds84.dsk: Alphabet - Lower Case Composer Bee Division Halving Numbers Large Characters Last Post Maths Drill 1..2 Numbers 1-20 Opera Songs Piano Music Typing 1..6 Typing - Canter,Speedy,Faster,Racing,Flying Typing Drill Typing Test Typing Tutor 1..2 Xmas Carols education_5-ds84.dsk: 3D Perspective View Add Star Addition - Extended Notation Alphabet Sort Anagrams Area of Circles Aussibee Bee-line Railways Counting House, The Crocodile Word Engineer Frog Opposites History-Bee Land of Lex 1..2 Lemonade Stand Maths Race Miner Munch Addition Number Facts Old MacDonald's Counting Farm Secret Number Speed Reading 3 Spelling Master 3 Squares of Numbers Student Ranking Program Vocabulary Quiz 8 education_6-ds84.dsk: 3D Bar Graph 7 Dwarfs Cloze Exer. Alphabetical Sequences Alphabet Sort Club Accounts Club Membership List Collisions Composer Bee Fractions 1..3 Genetics Grammar Exercises Graph Plotter Hangman Lissajou Curves Long Division Magic Squares Mastermind Music Maker Sheepdog Trials Simple Business Graphics Simple Harmonics Simple Mastermind Simultaneous Equations Speed Reading 3 Square Wave Harmonics Sun Eclipse Vocabulary Quiz Who Dunnit Write a Crazy News Story education_7-ds84.dsk: Alpha Blast BusyCalc Compounds & Formulae Coulomb's Law Data Base Element Symbols Equations - Ionic Equations - Molecular Factor Scramble Geom. Tech. Drawing 1..4 Home Budget Intro. to Millikan's Experiment Ledger Master Lenses Kepler's Law Kinematics Maths Invaders Millikan's Experiment Projectiles Towns of Australia Towns of Tasmania Towns of Victoria Valency Vector Addition Vector Tutorial education_8-ds84.dsk: Animals Art Auction Beat the Beat 1..2 Bingo Cards Car Rally Catalogue Card Cloze Writer Code Breaker Counting Sheet Datapix Graphs Dots Fleet Controller French Cloze Ex German Cloze Ex Hangman Juggler Large Fig. Sub. Keyboard Duck Key Panic Matches Milk Shake Postman Secret Number Sydney Cove Time Machine, The Toady education_9-ds84.dsk: 4 Maths Operations 1..2 Addition Balloons Bridge Builder Compositions 3..6 Cunning Running Division Elementary Composition 3..4 Elementary Maths Gold Dust Island Gremlins Fractions Gremlins Money Interstellar Postman Numbers 1..2 Quick Cartage Company Raft Away River Scavenger Hunt Sheepdog Trials Spelling 5..6 Subtraction Wonder Words games_1-ds84.dsk: 3D Maze Battleships Chase Plus Compatibility Concentration Dragster Earth Lander Eliza Fish Goblin Gold Hunt Golf Hercules Demo Horse Race Logic Dice Justle (Hustle for joysticks) Mindreader Monopoly Number Swap Poker Racer Sequence Echo Shooting Gallery Snark Attack Space Patrol Star Wars Tic Tac Toe Z-trek games_3-ds84.dsk: 1 Day Cricket 3D Maze 3D Noughts & Crosses Advance Australia Fair Astro Australian Economy Blackjack Calculator Cannibal Crabs Cardiac Arrest Cluedo Draughts Fishing Trip Galaxy Colony Killer Bees Master Golf Memory Micro Golf Model Aircraft Trainer Monopoly Motor Bike Othello Sargon 2 Squares Super Golf Triangle Trivial Pursuit Yahtzee games_4-ds84.dsk: Air Traffic Control Attack of the Zargons Bounce Car Race Catchum Caterpillar Cosmic Fighter Death Valley Decision Maker Destroyer Droids Eureka Flip Fractal Drawing Galaxy Gusher Hangman Holocaust Marauder Pocket Puzzle Poker Machine Prospector Reach Encroacher Reversi Ricochet Robot Man 2 Spell Bound Snake Star Story Teller Sydney Approach Tank Driver Tic-Tac-Toe Treazn games_demo_ds80.dsk: Black Box Gendom Dragon (Mahjong) Engine Life Memory Quads (Tetris) Honeysoft_Adventures_Vol_3.dsk: Cave Adventure Magic Ring of Targon Mystery of the Pyramid Rescue Prince of Targon Honeysoft_Air_Track.dsk: Collisions Dynamics Kinematics Simple Harmonic Motion Honeysoft_Arcade_Games_Vol_1.dsk: Destroyer Eureka Hustle Robot Man 2 Scrambler Target Viper Honeysoft_Arcade_Games_Vol_3.dsk: Baboon Chilly Willy Chopper Pilot Depth Charge Lazer Blazer Space Invaders Space Lanes Honeysoft_Colour_Sampler_1.dsk: 4 Stroke Engine Add Star Australian Economy Colour Tests 1 Defender Instant Insanity Mastermind Scrambler Spelling Wars 1 sample.dsk: Battleships Cannibals & Missionaries Emu Joust Eye of Min Frankenstein Kilopede Shipwreck Island Zork 1..3 yourcomp-ds40.dsk: Catter Motorbike Trials END OF DOCUMENT-----------------------------------------------------------