Chequered Flag

Producer: Psion Sinclair
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £6.95
Language: Machine code

We are still left waiting for the definitive Spectrum version of the 'Pole Position' type game. Chequered Flag isn't it - what it is, however, is the most sophisticated program for the Spectrum with motor racing as its theme.

You are offered options to race on ten different race tracks, based on real international courses like Monaco (no buildings though), Brands Hatch and Silverstone, and with three different types of car; the nice easy automatic McFaster Special, the more difficult Psion Pegasus, or the very powerful, four gear Feretti Turbo. These choices are nicely presented with a lit window around the graphic devices which can be selected by using SPACE and ENTER.

The instrument display features speedo, rev counter, fuel and temperature gauges, gear selection indicator, timer and lap counter. You may select to race from one lap upwards. The tracks have hazards like oil and water on the road which will upset the car's performance and may even cause you to crash. Putting a wheel off the road does not cause an instant accident, but will if you persist. There may also be glass on the road, which can cause tyres to burst with dramatic consequences. The road ahead is seen in full perspective, although the horizon is flat, and includes bends and hills.

COMMENTS

Control keys: accelerate 0, brake 1, fast/slow left A/S, slow/fast right D/F, change up M, change down N
Joystick: none
Keyboard play: responsive
Use of colour good
Graphics: very good 3D effect, detailed
Sound: average, continuous
Skill levels: 3 cars
Lives: 1
Screens: 10 circuits

All the graphics work very well in this game - actually it's more like a simulation than an exciting game. You can see the nose of your car with the wheels turning, and the steering wheel, which revolves correctly, and then the road ahead. I was a bit worried that there were no hands on the steering wheel! But the great drawback to ultimate fun is the lack of any other cars on the circuit with you.

I get the feeling that Psion see themselves in a rather serious light - which isn't to say that Chequered Flag isn't fun to play, but its appeal palls when you get the hang of guiding the various cars and begin to realise that there's no real competition spirit in it. Other cars would have been a help of course. Still, the graphics are quite impressive. Pity there are so many keys to handle, although they are quite sensensibly laid out.

Chequered Flag looks wonderful enough and plays very well - it's what I would call a 'kind ' program because it allows you to edge off the road without killing you off. But because you are definitely in the car and not outside looking down on it, it creates a simulation rather than game feeling which left me thinking, yes very good, but a bit cold.

First of all from Psion comes Chequered Flag - a game that will find you lapping away on some of the world's most famous motor racing circuits - from the relative safety of your own living room. It also features a choice of three cars, and for those who feel a little uneasy about gear changing, an automatic has been included. Intrepid participants will have to watch the dashboard instruments carefully to make sure they're not going too fast, running out of fuel, overheating, or about to encounter any of the other hazards involved in grand prix racing. As well as watching out for mechanical failure you'll need to keep an eye out for oil, water and glass, any one of which is likely to lure you into untimely disaster. But the most impressive feature of Chequered Flag is the view from the car as you hurtle like a maniac around the track.

Producer: Psion, 48K
£6.95 (3)

Not the definitive Specturm version of 'Pole Position', as many hoped, but an excellent simulation of motor racing. Here you may drive three different types of car around ten different race tracks. There are no other cars on the road however, so this really isn't a game in the usual excitement sense. Very reasonable 3D effect for the road and flattish landscape, which does include mild hills as well. Hazards include bends, water and oil on the road and glass which can cause blow outs. Instead of seeing the car in full perspective, 'you' are inside, your view looking out . The control keys are a little awkward, being too far apart, and there was a general feeling that, while being an impressive program, it was a little 'cold' in feeling. Overall CRASH rating 71%. Machine code.

THE COMPLETE YS GUIDE TO DRIVING GAMES

It's strange but true - normally courteous YS readers tend to turn into homicidal maniacs once they get behind the wheel of a Spectrum. We sent JONATHAN DAVIES, who still hasn't managed to get that wretched helmet off, to find out why.

It's an expensive business, driving. Not only do you have to hand out piles of dosh to actually get a car, but there are loads of 'hidden costs' thrown into the bargain' too. For a start, you've got to get it insured (in case you crash), which means serious sponds for your average Spectrum owner Then there's road tax, servicing, MOTs, petrol, all sorts of things. And, if you want to keep up with the latest fashions, you'll want to purchase a few 'extras' as well, ranging from simple '-TURBO-' stickers for the back window to alloys, buckets and twin cams. And they all mean spending lots and lots of money.

So wouldn't it be nice if you could get your Spectrum to sort of 'pretend' was a car, allowing you to zoom about to your heart's content for minimal outlay instead? Well, actually you can! Yes, all you need to do is buy a suitable driving game, load it up and you've got yourself a set of wheels.

It'll be almost exactly the same as driving a real car except that you can crash as much as you like without having to worry about your no-claims bonus. And you'll be able to choose from all the latest posh sports cars like Porsches, Ferraris and Lotuses and drive them as far and as fast as you like without having to splash out on a drop of petrol! (In fact, because driving games are so much cheaper and more practical than real cars, it is predicted that by the year 2012 the motorcar will have become obsolete, replaced by the driving game.) The only trouble with all this is that it's a bit hard to pick up birds with a 48K Spectrum.

JUST WHAT, EXACTLY, IS A DRIVING GAME?

Mmm, knew we'd have to get round to this sometime. Well, I've had a think and come up with the following spec...

- It's got to have either a car, a motorbike or a lorry in it.

- That means no bicycles, boats, jet-skis, tanks or anything like that.

- And no skateboards either. They're crap.

Seems simple enough. It means we're including Grand Prix-type games (where you just race against other cars) and shooting ones (where you zap them) but not similar-looking ones that don't have cars, bikes or lorries in (like boat ones). Okay? Phew. I never thought it would be quite so easy.

SO HOW ABOUT THINGS LIKE ARMY MOVES?

Oh cripes. Look, just shurrup. will you, whoever you are. No, Army Moves is out, I'm afraid. It's rubbish anyway.

So let's take a look at a few examples, eh? It's worth noting that, where driving games are concerned, the ratio of crap ones to good ones is a lot higher than with other types of game (apart from football games, of course). So you can't be too careful.

RATINGS

The YS Ratings System? You don't want that old thing. No sir, over here we have the brand-new top-of-the-range 1990 model. It's turbo-charged, fuel-injected, 16-valve, super-cooled and has a full X-pack (with droop snoot). And spots. You'll be doing yourself a favour.

DRIVE
It's no good having a driving game that seems to be simulating an FSO or something. You want real power, a feeling of being at one with the road and all that sort of thing. Control responses, speed etc are all taken into account here.

VISIBILITY
Assuming you remember to clean all the dead leaves and bird turds off the windscreen before you set out, what's the view like? A thinly-veiled graphics category, in other words, but jolly important all the same.

ROADHOLDING
It may seem to have everything, but once you've set off, and you've been on the road for a while, do you relish every second that you're behind the wheel? Or do you want to keep stopping at the services? Or perhaps you'd rather just take the bus instead, eh?

FIRST-OFF-AT-THE-LIGHTS FACTOR
A competitive edge is most important where driving's concerned, both in real life and on the Speccy. So do the other cars put up a decent fight, or do they just seem to be part of the scenery (if, indeed, there is any)?

CHEQUERED FLAG
Psion

So here we are. The official First-Ever Driving Game. So what's it like then? Well, it's one of those where you get the view from the driver's seat as you race round the track (with a choice of things like 'Micro Drive' and 'Psion Park' as well as genuine ones like Silverstone) in your McFaster Special (or Psion Pegasus or Ferrati Turbo). There are obstacles to avoid, like oil, glass and water, but not much in the way of competition from other cars. In fact there aren't any other cars at all. It's just you out there, and it gets damned lonely at times. All you can do is race against the clock, trying to beat your lap record. On the plus side, the car handles extremely well considering its vintage, and the road is one of the best around (although there are no hills). There are gears to fiddle about with if you choose the second or third car, and there's a great crash effect too. (Even better than the one in Flight Simulation.)

A good first attempt then, but it won't hold your attention for long.

NEW COMPANIES ON THE SINCLAIR BANDWAGON

John Gilbert looks at the latest additions to Sinclair Research's growing software library.

Sinclair Research seems to have its eye on the rest of the software market, something which it was loathe to do two months ago. It has opened its software range to such an extent that new and smaller companies, other than Artic Computing and Melbourne House, have had a chance to enter their programs into a range which already includes such programs as The Hobbit and the Artic range of adventures.

The new companies on the Sinclair Research bandwagon are Crystal Computing and Ultimate Play The Game. Crystal Computing has sold its Zeus Assembler and Monitor Disassembler to Sinclair. That means it at last has two machine code utilities, for the 48K Spectrum, in its range.

The Crystal Zeus Assembler is one of the best of its kind and provides excellent facilities for beginners and experts alike. Writing assembly language using it is almost as easy as writing Basic code. Each line of source assembly code as indexed with a number, just as Basic instructions are indexed with line numbers.

All the features which are found usually on assemblers have been included. Labels and expressions can be included within source code and strings of symbols can be entered into memory tables using the utilities in Zeus.

One of the advantages of Zeus is that you do not have to include an ORG instruction with the program to indicate to the computer where to put the object code when it has been assembled. If you omit the ORG instruction the computer will allocate the code to a space in memory.

The problem with Zeus is that you have to exit from the assembler to save the code which has been generated. If you are a beginner that can be a lengthy and nerve-racking process and you have no guarantee that you can load the code back into the computer.

Apart from the lengthy preparations for loading and saving, the assembler is still one of the best on the market. It is a pity that Sinclair Research has put it into a colourful box to justify a price rise of approximately £4. The box may look pleasant and it may improve the quality of the product on the shelf, from a commercial point of view, but the box will not help you to program.

The same is true of many of the other programs in the range. The boxes do not add anything to the product once you have it at home and paying up to £4 extra for packaging is unlikely to go down well with most customers.

The Monitor and Disassembler for the 16K/48K Spectrum is from Crystal and the price of the product has also been increased substantially. It can be used with the Zeus Assembler and will provide a disassembly of source code from your machine code programs or from the Spectrum operating system in the ROM of the machine.

The Monitor will also enable the user to assign values to the CPU registers. That means that values can be set to test machine code programs and to see how they run under certain conditions. Machine code routines can be copied from one part of memory to another and the routines can be edited in hexidecimal using the Monitor. One other useful function is to convert a hexidecimal value to decimal and vice versa when you are using the editing routines. That saves a number of calculations on paper.

The Monitor and Disassembler is the perfect companion to the Assembler but at a combined price of nearly £25 it is expensive.

The next two additions to the Sinclair software library for the Spectrum can both be regarded as mind games. Flippit, for the 16K or 48K Spectrum, has been put on a parallel with the Rubik Cube by Sinclair Research. It certainly is a maddening puzzle and almost impossible to master completely. The Flippit board is like a noughts and crosses grid - it has nine sectors, set out in a three-by-three grid. The computer labels those using the letters the alphabet, A to I, and numbers or dots fill each corner of each square.

To complete the game you must find the correct combination of numbers so that they add to the same sum horizontally, vertically and diagonally. That means the game is nothing more than the type of magic squares we all enjoyed solving when we were at school.

They can be played competitively and to emphasise the point the moves you have taken so far and the moves which you have to beat before getting the record are part of the board display.

There are three playing options. The first is New Run which will make the computer re-shuffle the numbers on the board into random patterns. The next option is similar to the first and will re-run the last random setting. That means that the order in which the numbers were placed on the last shuffle is restored.

Flippit seems so easy when you first start to play but when you have only two numbers out of place it can become irritating and it is easy to give up, rather than plodding along with the problem. If you are left with the numbers in the wrong places you may have to do major re-shuffle of the board.

The manual is concise and to the point but includes no information about strategy or play. It tells the player only how to set up the Spectrum and what are the various play options.

One other criticism is that it has no SAVE option for beginners who are puzzlers or who want to break for lunch.

The other mind game in the selection is more of a test of mind power. The Cattell IQ Test provides the user with a standard reference to any intelligence quotient. It is the type of test which potential members of Mensa, the organisation whose members have high IQs, must take.

On loading, the computer takes some time to set up the tests. There are six types of logic test which must be taken before the computer can give you an accurate IQ score. Those types include synonym finding, classification, opposites, analogies and inferences.

The results are co-ordinated from the various individual tests to give a percentile overall rating. The Spectrum will tell you eventually whether it is worthwhile applying for membership of Mensa.

After being extremely serious about the validity of the tests, throughout the manual it says in the section about the meaning of the results that the tests should not be taken too seriously and that the tests will not prove that you are a genius. Even if you cannot go around wearing a badge saying 'genius', once you have taken the Cattell test you should have some fun with the package.

Unfortunately the copy we were sent of the rests was tediously slow in producing marks for the various sections and in setting-up the data. Although it looked like a production copy of the package, Sinclair Research says that it is producing a better version of the program.

The final cassette-based program from the library, for the 48K Spectrum, is Chequered Flag and it is the only one not in a box. The program is from Psion and it is up to that company's usual standards.

The game sets you as a racing driver over one of the number of world-famous racing tracks, such as Silverstone. You can choose which car you want to use from a visual menu describing a number of well-known racing cars. You can also choose the course on which you want to travel.

The race will take place on the screen, using a three-dimensional representation of the track. Apart from the danger of crashing over the sides of the track, there is also oil on the road surface. At all costs you must avoid the oil or it could cause your car to skid. Once you have been round the track the required number of times, the chequered flag will be raised on the screen and your lap time will be given by the computer.

The graphic and real-time simulation effects produced by the software are reminiscent of the Flight Simulation program, also available from Psion through Sinclair Research. There are several tracks and cars to try, so the game should provide hours of entertainment. The quality of the game and the detail included make it one of the great games for the Spectrum.

The quality control and selection of software for the Sinclair software library has certainly increased with the release of this new batch of tapes. The boxes in which most of the products are now packaged are certainly an improvement on the cassette covers which were being used. One disadvantage for retailers will be that display shelves will be occupied more quickly by fewer products. That should be offset, though, by the prices which Sinclair is charging for its new software.

That has already caused murmurs of discontent from customers about to buy software from a company, only to find that Sinclair has bought it and the price has been increased. If Sinclair continues to raise its prices in this way the company could sell less in the way of software and customers may go elsewhere in a large market. That would be a bad move.

The 'L' Game is produced by Quicksilva. It consists of some coloured tiles on a board which are originally in the shape of an 'L' but which the computer manages to mix extremely well. The player then has to slide the tiles back into the correct order to form the 'L' in the least number of moves. It is like doing a jigsaw puzzle with no edges.

Also included on the cassette with the 'L' Game are Mastermind and Pontoon. If you like puzzles, this cassette is good value for money.

Flippit is from Sinclair Research and is a test of logic and arithmetic. The player has to get all the numbers or dots in a square in such a position that the values will be the same when added horizontally, vertically and diagonally. It is a puzzle which you will either love or hate.

The game is like a giant magic square and if you are adept at spotting combinations and have a fast calculation rate you should be able to do the puzzle fairly quickly. So far I have managed to fit the puzzle together with only two pieces remaining out of sequence. The problem is that the instructions are not so good as the puzzle and you could have difficulty in getting started.

Flippit is suited to those people who like IQ tests to learn their so-called intelligence quotient. I think that the only thing IQ tests prove is that a person can do an IQ test but if you want to learn what your rating is you might like to try The Cattell IQ Test.

I would be interested to hear your views on this or any other IQ test and also the marks you gained. Do not cheat. The Spectrum is ideally suited to such an application but is the application valid.

I hope that I have provided you with some ideas about the mind games on the market, especially those suitable as Christmas presents. You should not have too much difficulty deciding what to buy even though there is a wide area to cover.

Melbourne House, 131 Trafalgar Road, Greenwich, London, SE10 - The Hobbit

Carnell Software, North Weylands Industrial Estate, Molesey, Hersham, Surrey, KT12 3PL - Volcanic Dungeon, Black Crystal, The Wrath of Magra

Sinclair Research, Freepost, Camberley, Surrey GU15 3BR - Artic Adventures A, B, C, D, Flippit

Quicksilva, 55 Haviland Road, Ferndown Industrial Estate, Wimborne, Dorset - 'L' Game.

MICRODRIVERS AIM FOR THE FASTEST LAP!

Chequered Flag is, as you might expect from the name, a Formula 1 racing simulation.

It features so me spectacular graphics, and there is a choice of ten circuits, mostly based on real race tracks, although there are also some fictitious ones too - like the Cambridge Ring and Micro Drive!

When the game has loaded you first choose your track. Then you get a choice of three cars, one of which has an automatic gearbox.

The entire lower half of the screen is taken up by your car. You see all the dials - in fact it resembles the cockpit display in Psion's flight simulation program in many ways.

Apart from the car, which is superbly drawn, there is not a lot else on the screen. Small telegraph poles fly past occasionally, but there are no other cars to pass - or to crash into!

This is one of those games which you have to be an octopus to play well. The game uses ten different keys but you only need to keep your hands on the accelerator, brake, left and right.

You also need a spare finger to change up and down through the gears, except on the automatic car.

I found the game a very real simulation of driving round a track. But steering is quite tricky and you certainly notice the lack of other cars.

Chequered Flag runs on a 48k Spectrum, and you should find it in W. H. Smith. It costs £6.95.

48K Spectrum
£6.95
Psion Computers

Hunched behind the wheel of your Formula 1 racing car the endless ribbon of tarmac unreels towards you at an incredible rate - well, quite fast. This is an impressive simulation of Atari's Pole Position, although for some reason the trees appeared to be red. Perhaps it is autumn.

Rocks, warning arrows, lakes and other landmarks zoom convincingly towards you over the horizon. The engine strains as you go up hills. Instruments require careful monitoring to achieve maximum performance and avoid skidding or overheating. You also get a choice of cars. The Feretti Turbo, the Psion Pegasus and the McFaster Special Each has its own characteristics - the McFaster has an automatic gearbox, so is ideal for beginners; the Feretti is turbocharged and develops 640 bhp between 8,000 and 10,000 revs per minute.

The dashboard display has fuel and temperature gauges, a gear selection indicator, a rev counter, a lap counter and a full analogue speedometer. Real-life hazards such as skidding on oil patches and coming off the road are well-simulated. Running over glass on the road causes a tyre to burst. You wobble violently and the car slows till you can reach the pits.

Ten circuits have been programmed in: anywhere from Psion Park to Saturn Sands, or more terrestrial venues like Silverstone or Monza. There is even a circuit whimsically entitled Micro Drive.

An impressive array of keys are used to get the fine control required, at least eight for actual driving, plus a pause and an abort key. You can turn fast left or slow left for example by pressing different keys, which is great for your co-ordination; however, this is a game which cries out for a joystick option. Nevertheless, this is one of the most effective usages yet of the Spectrum graphics facility.

Chequered Flag, written for the 48K Spectrum by Psion is, as usual on sale under the Sinclair flag.

Psion have produced probably the first top quality motor racing simulation program for the Spectrum. It uses some of the most colourful and exciting graphics yet seen on the Spectrum.

Not surprisingly the aim of the game is to negotiate your way round any of a selection of circuits selectable before you start. But nothing is that simple. The corners are tight, and must be taken at speed. There are hazards on the road - oil, water and glass. The screen is basically split up into two sections. The top two thirds is used to display the road and hazards ahead. Whilst the lower third displays various meters vital to the running of a car. The dashboard features fully analogue: fuel gauge, rev counter and temperature gauge. The gear stick is displayed showing what gear the car is in. Finally there is the steering wheel, which rotates as the car is cornered. The road and other hazards are displayed fast and furiously in realistic hi-res graphics. The effect is quite stunning.

When the game is loaded it displays a choice of ten different tracks of varying shapes and sizes. You are also given a choice of three formula one racing cars - the Feretti Turbo, Psion Pegasus and McFaster Special. Each car having a different performance and handling characteristics. The McFaster Special has an automatic gearbox, which is exceedingly useful for the beginner.

Once you have set off, you must do your utmost to avoid such hazards as oil, water, glass and rocks. If your car is damaged, or needs refueling you may pull into the pits and get attention. The overall feel of the car is surprisingly close to the real thing. The engine sound effects allows you to gauge whether the engine is being over or under revved.

Chequered Flag is one of the best programs sold for the Spectrum. It is an exciting, graphically impressive and highly enjoyable game to play - definitely a winner.

During the year since it was released Chequered Flag has rarely been out of the charts. A Formula One racing car simulation, it presented a variety of problems in programming terms which Psion solved with its customary style and solid quality.

The game involves driving one of three cars around a choice of grand prix circuits against the clock. Apart from the fiendishly complex control changes required to negotiate a circuit at high speed, additional hazards include patches of oil and water. Its strength is its ability to simulate an experience many of us dream of but will never have at first hand.

Position 14/50