TRS-80 GAMING GUIDE
This document was created on 3/11/03, and last updated on 1/9/21, by James Jacobs of Amigan Software. It deals with 26 selected games for the TRS-80 Model 1 Level 2 16K. Please email us with any corrections to this document.
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Assault
Bill Dunlevy & Doug Frayer 19xx Machine code Clone of: None? |
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Asylum 1
Med Systems 1981 Machine code Clone of: None |
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Attack Force
Big Five Software 1980 Machine code Clone of: Targ |
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Backgammon
Tandy 1979 BASIC Clone of: None |
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Blackjack
Tandy 1979 BASIC Clone of: None |
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Bowling
Instant Software 1979 BASIC Clone of: None |
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Cosmic Fighter
Big Five Software 1980 Machine code Clone of: Astro Blaster? |
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Count Adventure
Adventure International 19xx Machine code Clone of: None |
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Dancing Demon
Tandy (Leo Christopherson) 1980 BASIC Clone of: None |
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Deep Dive
Michael Lake 1983 BASIC (type-in from 80 Microcomputing, Feb 1983) Clone of: None |
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Fireman
Jeffrey Bell 1982 BASIC (type-in from SoftSide, Nov 1982) Clone of: Fire |
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Flip-Tag
Thomas Hanlin 1982 BASIC (type-in from SoftSide, Dec 1982) Clone of: None? |
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Formula One
Tandy 19xx Machine code Clone of: None? |
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Invasion Force
Tandy 1979 Machine code Clone of: Star Trek |
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Jungle Boy
Displayed Video 19xx Machine code Clone of: Jungle Hunt |
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Killer Cars
Richard Kipp 1982 BASIC (type-in from SoftSide, Mar 1982) Clone of: None |
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Killer Gorilla
Displayed Video 19xx Machine code Clone of: Donkey Kong |
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Mini Golf
Mitch Voth & Rich Bouchard 1981 BASIC (type-in from SoftSide, Feb 1981) Clone of: None? |
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Mutant Attack
Tandy 1981 Machine code Clone of: None? |
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Oil Tycoon
Instant Software (Dwight W. Meyer) 1978 BASIC Clone of: None? |
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Outhouse
Machine code Soft Sector Marketing 1982 Clone of: None |
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Paddle Pinball
Tandy 1981 Machine code Clone of: None |
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Penetrator
Melbourne House 1982 Machine code Clone of: Scramble |
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Pyramid 2000
Tandy 1979 Machine code Clone of: Colossal Cave aka Adventure |
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Quest 1
Brian Reynolds 1981 BASIC type-in (from SoftSide, Aug 1981) Clone of: Temple of Apshai |
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U-Boat
Hubert C. Bormann 1980 BASIC type-in (from 80 Microcomputing, Aug 1980) Clone of: None |
Reviews and Game Help
| Assault | TRS32: Due to the way this program loads, using the "File|Run CMD file..." menu item will not work. Instead, you need to configure the TRS-80 as a 32K or 48K machine, then boot into LDOS and load the game from there (by typing ASSAULT at the prompt - after making sure that the appropriate DSK is in one of the four drives of course!). | ||||||||||||||||||
| Asylum 1 | "A very good hybrid graphics/text adventure, where movement is controlled by the arrow keys through a 3D setting and commands are typed in traditionally. There are many quality touches here, including a hint system and full vocabulary list, and the simple graphics do a good job of showing the rooms and various objects. The goal is to escape from an asylum filled with traditional hazards such as doctors and inmates, but also bizarre elements like transporters and vending machines with bombs available for purchase. Puzzles are mostly logical, although they're not exactly centered around an in-depth plot and some are pretty strange (at one point you're supposed to kill yourself with a knife). Typing in text commands and a few other parts of the game are a bit slow, but these are minor irritants. B." - Mark Sabbatini | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attack Force |
T-shaped aliens (ie. the ones which look identical to your own ship) must
not be shot (nor touched), or you yourself will die. These aliens need not
be destroyed to complete the level.
6 successive zaps by the same flagship will kill you. There is no way to avoid these zaps; you must kill the flagship before it kills you. After the first zap the flagship will stop animating. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | "A simplistic text-based bowling simulation with a graphic depiction of the ball hitting pins to spruce things up a bit. Players select a zone (1-4) to launch the ball and how much hook to give it. The program shows the ball's path, pins knocked over and keeps score. OK for killing a few minutes once or twice, but not something likely to hold interest except for desperate bowlers. It avoids a lower grade due to good presentation and being free of annoyances and bugs. C-." - Mark Sabbatini | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cosmic Fighter | "This Big Five Software release is similar to the basic space shooter Astro Blaster, with groups of aliens attacking in various patterns descending from the top of the screen. The player must wipe out a certain number of waves before running out of ships or fuel, after which the ship can dock with the mothership and gain the ability to fire multiple missiles at once (do not, under any circumstances, fire at the mothership). Almost everything works, including aliens that look fine despite the Model I's blocky graphics. But what's up with flagships that pop up occasionally and annihilate players before they have a fair chance to respond? B." - Mark Sabbatini | ||||||||||||||||||
| Count Adventure | "This is 'classic adventure' number five in a series by Scott Adams, who wrote at least 14 text-based titles with themes ranging from an adaptation of the original Colossal Cave to space exploration. They appeared on many machines and have been written about extensively. The Count is reviewed here because it's one of his offbeat efforts, featuring a hero who's overslept in the Translvania castle and, after getting up, needs to find out mysteries such as why somebody sent him a bottle of blood. Not his best - it's a bit short - but is fun, logical, has useful built-in help and an example of how even ordinary efforts from a quality programmer are worth spending time on. B." - Mark Sabbatini | ||||||||||||||||||
| Formula One | "Ugh. A bad version of one of those scrolling text-based auto racing games that exist by the dozen for every primitive computer. The only advantage this one has is it came from Radio Shack, so of course captive customers got suckered in by it. Even though you're allowed only one collision there's almost no challenge as the road doesn't vary enough to challenge anyone out of diapers. The only somewhat interesting aspect is the occasional 'rough' bit of road where maneuvering speed is reduced. Considering games like this have been written with a single line of BASIC, one can only wonder how stupid Tandy thought their customers were by putting the company's name on this product. D-." - Mark Sabbatini | ||||||||||||||||||
| Invasion Force |
The original game (INVASIO1.CMD) has the compass directions assigned to
keys as follows:
An enhanced version (INVASIO2.CMD), with an improved layout, is now available from Amigan Software. This layout matches a standard numeric keypad:
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| Jungle Boy | "This conversion of Jungle Hunt is probably as good as one can hope for given the graphics and speed limits of the TRS-80, but it's hard to see anyone but hardcore fans getting excited about it. All four screens from [the] coin-op are included and everything is depicted with graphics - blocky as they are - instead of letters and numbers. But the game moves at a rather leisurely pace as the constant horizontal scrolling of all those graphics take their toll on the CPU. There's also some pokey elements that could have been avoided, such as an annoying 'wipe' effect that occurs on virtually all transition screens during and between games. B-." - Mark Sabbatini | ||||||||||||||||||
| Killer Gorilla |
"A pretty good Donkey Kong conversion, most notably because it has all
four of the coin-op's screens. It presents them all from the beginning
(fine by me, since the seldom-seen cement factory is my favourite),
complete with touches such as the opening and between-screen animations.
Keyboard control is exceptional, animation is smooth and there's seldom a
feeling of being dealt an unfair death, which even the coin-op is guilty
of at times. The hitches are minor except for one thing - no hammers to
strike back at enemies. This tilts things a little unfairly in the game's
favour. Other hitches include overly chunky graphics, sparse sound and
some levels that aren't perfect due to the horizontal screen - the top
level of the barrel level is cut off, for instance. B." - Mark Sabbatini
The S key starts the game. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Mutant Attack |
"A ho-hum space shooter from Radio Shack best suited for new purchasers of
the machine who needed something to do until their real software arrived
from mail-order companies. A single row of blocky Space Invader-like
aliens appear at the top of the screen and slowly descend vertically,
taking turns changing into mutant worms and firing lots of shots at the
player's ship as they progress. Players can only kill the creatures in
worm form. It's a rather slow and monotonous game; the only real strategy
is knowing that whatever you're shooting at now, it almost certainly won't
be in that form by the time the missile arrives. C-." - Mark Sabbatini
Note that mutant bullets can "wrap" horizontally to the other side of the screen and kill you. This is presumably a bug. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Outhouse | "A true TRS-80 classic that's fun, original and high in quality. You're in charge of a space ship protecting an outhouse that aliens for some reason are hell-bent on attacking. Plus there's a couple of squatters on the ground who keep trying to steal your limited supply of toilet paper. You can move and shoot in eight directions, although collisions with anything including your beloved outhouse are deadly. There's nothing here except the theme that hasn't been captured in some form before - Asteroids, Missile Command, Defender, etc. - but so what? Easily one of the first titles nostalgia buffs and newcomers should try out. A-." - Mark Sabbatini | ||||||||||||||||||
| Paddle Pinball | "One of those games where you need to ignore the nagging voice in your brain asking 'why are you still playing this?'. The blocky graphics look almost nothing like a pinball table, the beep-and-blip sound is cheesy and at times you lose balls unfairly in unavoidable situations. Yet, it's got the 'one more time' addictiveness of the real thing. One to three players control a paddle at the bottom of the screen, knocking out the usual targets and bumpers, with the need to supplement hits with the spacebar regularly to boost the ball's speed (otherwise gravity causes it to just rest there). One of the better features is the ability to create and save tables. Radio Shack later did a version for the TRS-80 Color Computer, a far superior gaming machine (think Atari 2600 verses Colecovision), and yet it is one of the worst programs ever written for that machine. More proof creativity beats CPU power. B." - Mark Sabbatini | ||||||||||||||||||
| Penetrator |
"Imagine spending all day cooking a great meal, then emptying a dustpan of
dirt on it just before serving. Who would do such a stupid thing?
Similarly, why do games like this Scramble clone have so much promise
wrecked by one or two truly stupid programming decisions? The mission is
close to the arcade, as one or two players navigate a helicopter through
five continuously horizontally scrolling landscapes and caves, bombing and
shooting fatal obstacles such as rockets. The levels are somewhat different
than the arcade, emphasizing navigating through tricky passages instead of
varying enemies such as meteors and UFOs, and there are no fuel tanks the
player must shoot to keep the helicopter airborne. A training setting
allows unlimited lives for any of the four 'pre-boss' stages and a program
to edit the landscapes is provided. Graphics are decent, although they
flicker a bit. The main problem? It's the controls. The right arrow button
is used to both fire (if you press it quickly) and thrust (if you hold it
down). It's absurd, totally unnecessary and leads to far too many
undeserved deaths. C-." - Mark Sabbatini
The original version, described above, is PENCAS1.CMD. An enhanced version (PENCAS2.CMD), which fixes the controls and reduces player wait times, is now available from Amigan Software. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Pyramid 2000 | "This text adventure is a classic example of why there's a temptation to apply the Lite label to Radio Shack products - everything you'd expect, except one-third less. It's a serviceable explore-and-gather treasure hunt, but lacking imagination since it's essentially a subset of the original Adventure game. It's also frustrating due to a small vocabulary and some evil programming that makes navigating the infamous maze ridiculously hard. Like many Radio Shack programs it sold well because it was easily available in stores, but Infocom and Scott Adams titles are far superior. It should be noted, however, this version of Pyramid is much better than another adventure of a similar name from Aardvark Software." - Mark Sabbatini | ||||||||||||||||||
| Quest 1 |
Cursor keys: move
F: fight hand-to-hand H: drink healing potion M: fire magic arrow N: fire normal arrow T: throw holy water |
Emulator Usage
| Name: | TRS32 | AmiTRS-80 | HT1080Z |
| Coder: | Matthew Reed | RedSkull, Simon Goodwin | Attila Grosz |
| Platform: |  Windows |  AmigaOS | Windows
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| Compatibility: | Good | Fair | Good |
| Version: | 1.28 (2013) | 1.0 (21 Dec 2002) | 1.7.0 (2017) |
| Source code: | No | Yes | No |
TRS32 1.0c:
Machine code programs (.CMD):
(1) Ensure you are in 48K mode.
(2) Press Alt-F5 (or choose the File|Run /CMD File... menu item).
(3) Type or double-click the filename, eg. FOO.CMD, in the requester.
BASIC programs (.BAS on .DSK):
(1) Boot with LDOS.DSK in drive 0 and game disk (eg. FOO.DSK containing
FOO.BAS) in another drive.
(2) Type the date and time, to get to LDOS command prompt.
(3) Type BASIC.
(4) Type RUN "FOO/BAS:1" to run, eg. FOO.BAS from drive 1.
AmiTRS-80 1.0:
Machine code programs (.CMD):
(1) Click RESET and/or press ENTER if necessary.
(2) Click LOAD/CMD.
(3) Type the filename, eg. FOO.CMD, in the requester.
BASIC programs (.BAS):
(1) Click RESET and/or press ENTER if necessary.
(2) Click LOADCASS.
(3) Type the filename, eg. FOO.BAS, in the requester.
(4) Type CLOAD.
(5) Type RUN.
HT1080Z 1.6:
Machine code programs (.CMD):
(1) Choose the File|Autostart file... menu item.
(2) Type or double-click the filename, eg. FOO.CMD, in the requester.
BASIC programs (.BAS):
(1) Boot with LDOS.DSK in drive 0.
(2) Type the date and time, to get to LDOS command prompt.
(3) Type BASIC.
(4) Choose the File|Load or type BAS/TXT... menu item.
(5) Type or double-click the filename, eg. FOO.BAS, in the requester.
BASIC programs (.BAS on .DSK):
(1) Boot with LDOS.DSK in drive 0 and game disk (eg. FOO.DSK containing
FOO.BAS) in another drive.
(2) Type the date and time, to get to LDOS command prompt.
(3) Type BASIC.
(4) Type RUN "FOO/BAS:1" to run, eg. FOO.BAS from drive 1.
Emulator Compatibility Issues
Known AmiTRS-80 1.0 compatibility problems:
Assault:Will not load (hangs emulator).
Formula One, Invasion Force:Cannot start game (hangs game).
Killer Gorilla:Flickering score area.
Known TRS32 1.28 issues:
Penetrator:
The cassette versions (ie. PENCAS1.CMD and PENCAS2.CMD) don't work when
loaded from DSK via LDOS, but do work when loaded as CMD ("File|Run
/CMD file...").
Known HT1080Z compatibility problems:
Killer Gorilla:Flickering score area.