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bplus · (This post was last modified: 10-16-2023, 01:09 PM by bplus.)

From game by D.Ahl BASIC COMPUTER GAMES

Can someone explain this game to me? I've seen Davids Morristown version (Before QB) and now MG's QB64 update, I don't get what's going on.

I'd share QB64 code from another forum but might upset mnr's cohorts so I better not ;-))
I just wanna have fun!

bplus · (This post was last modified: 10-16-2023, 01:41 PM by bplus.)

OK got a quick basic answer from Charlie at Discord:
https://www.atariarchives.org/basicgames...hp?page=53

Ah it's a 2D map that only looks like it's 3D.

And 1,1,2 should be legal move as well as 1,2,1 and 2,1,1 crap!

The QB64 port is probably doing Str$(number) and not handling the dang space on the left.

I am betting real money that is problem, any takers? ;-))

Thanks Charlie for quick response.

JRace · 10-16-2023, 07:52 PM

I haven't seen the QB64 port, but I just tested the original source, downloaded from here, IIRC: http://www.vintage-basic.net/games.html. It compiles under PE and ran fine in two test runs.

bplus · 10-16-2023, 08:04 PM

Hi @JRace

Did you download your version or type it up from magazine page?

This is the version that doesn't work from another forum. I dont know if the guy typed the text himself with typos or he downloaded it but it does not allow even the first move of 1,1,2 or 1,2,1 or 2,1,1

Code: (Select All)
' CUBE - CREATIVE COMPUTING PUBLISHED 1978 IN

' *********** BASIC COMPUTER GAMES ***********

' ***THIS CODE HAS A BUG***

Print Tab(34); "CUBE"

Print Tab(15); "CREATIVE COMPUTING MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY"

Print: Print: Print

Print "DO YOU UANT TO SEE THE INSTRUCTIONS? (YES--1,NO--0)"

Input B7$

If Val(B7$) = 0 Then 370 ' added val() to this line to convert a string input to a number

Print "THIS IS A GAME IN UHICH YOU WILL BE PLAYING AGAINST THE"

Print "RANDON DECISION OF THE COMPUTER. THE FIELD OF PLAY IS A"

Print "CUBE OF SIDE 3. ANY OF THE 27 LOCATIONS CAN BE DESIGNATED"

Print "BY INPUTING THREE NUMBERS SUCH AS 2, 3, 1. AT THE START"

Print "YOU ARE AUTOMATICALLY AT LOCATION 1,1,1. THE OBJECT OF,"

Print "THE GAME IS TO GET TO LOCATION 3,3,3. ONE MINOR DETAIL,"

Print "THE COMPUTER WILL PICK, AT RANDOM, 5 LOCATIONS AT WHICH"

Print "IT WILL PLANT LAND MINES. IF YOU HIT ONE OF THESES LOCATIONS"

Print "YOU LOSE. ONE OTHER DETAIL, YOU MAY MOVE ONLY ONE SPACE "

Print "IN ONE DIRECTION EACH MOVE. FOR EXAMPLE: FROM 1, 1, 2 YOU"

Print "MAY MOVE TO 2,1,2 OR 1,1,3. YOU MAY NOT CHANGE"

Print "TWO OF THE NUMBERS ON THE SAME MOVE. IF YOU MAKE AN ILLEGAL"

Print "MOVE, YOU LOSE AND THE COMPUTER TAKES THE MOENY YOU MAY "

Print "HAVE BET ON THAT ROUND."

Print

Print

Print "ALL YES OR NO QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWERED BY A 1 FOR YES"

Print "OR A 0 (ZERO) FOR NO."

Print

Print "WHEN STATING THE AMMOUNT OF A WAGER, PRINT ONLY THE NUMBER"

Print "OF DOLLARS (EXAMPLE: 250) YOU ARE AUTOMATICALY STARTED WITH"

Print "500 DOLLAR ACCOUNT."

Print

Print "GOOD LUCK"

Let A1 = 500

Let A = Int(3 * (Rnd(X)))

If A <> 0 Then 410

Let A = 3

Let B = Int(3 * (Rnd(X)))

If B <> 0 Then 440

Let B = 2

Let C = Int(3 * (Rnd(X)))

If C <> 0 Then 470

Let C = 3

Let D = Int(3 * (Rnd(X)))

If D <> 0 Then 500

Let D = 1

Let E = Int(3 * (Rnd(X)))

If E <> 0 Then 530

Let E = 3

Let F = Int(3 * (Rnd(X)))

If F <> 0 Then 560

Let F = 3

Let G = Int(3 * (Rnd(X)))

If G <> 0 Then 590

Let G = 3

Let H = Int(3 * (Rnd(X)))

If H <> 0 Then 620

Let H = 3

Let I = Int(3 * (Rnd(X)))

If I <> 0 Then 650

Let I = 2

Let J = Int(3 * (Rnd(X)))

If J <> 0 Then 680

Let J = 3

Let K = Int(3 * (Rnd(X)))

If K <> 0 Then 710

Let L = 2

Let L = Int(3 * (Rnd(X)))

If L <> 0 Then 740

Let L = 3

Let H = Int(3 * (RHD(X)))

If H <> 0 Then 770

Let H = 3

Let N = Int(3 * (Rnd(X)))

If N <> 0 Then 800

Let N = 1

Let O = Int(3 * (Rnd(X)))

If O <> 0 Then 830

Let O = 3

Print "WANT TO MAKE A WAGER?"

Input Z

If Z = 0 Then 920

Print "HOW MUCH?"

Input Z1

If A1 < Z1 Then 1522

Let X = 1

Let Y = 1

Print

Print "ITS YOUR NOVE"

Input P, O, R

If P > U + 1 Then 1030

If P = X + 1 Then 1000

If O > X + 1 Then 1030

If Q = (X + 1) Then 1010

If R > (Y + 1) Then 1030

GoTo 1050

If O > -X * 1 Then 1030

If R >= Y + 1 Then 1030

GoTo 1050

Print "ILLEGAL MOVE", "YOU LOSE"

GoTo 1440

Let W = P

Let X = Q

Let Y = R

If P = 3 Then 1100

GoTo 1130

If Q = 3 Then 1120

GoTo 1130

If R = 3 Then 1530

If P = A Then 1150

GoTo 1180

If Q = B Then 1170

GoTo 1180

If R = C Then 1400

If P = D Then 1200

GoTo 1230

If Q = E Then 1220

GoTo 1230

If R = F Then 1400

If P = G Then 1000

GoTo 1280

If Q = H Then 1270

GoTo 1280

If R = I Then 1400

If P = J Then 1300

GoTo 1330

If Q = K Then 1320

GoTo 1330

If R = L Then 1440

If P = N Then 1350

GoTo 1380

If Q = N Then 1370

GoTo 1380

If R = 0 Then 1400

Print "NEXT MOVE"

GoTo 930

Print "*********BANG*********"

Print "YOU LOSE"

Print

Print

If Z = 0 Then 1580

Print

Let Z2 = A1 - Z1

If Z2 > 0 Then 1500

Print "YOU BUST"

GoTo 1610

Print " YOU NOW HAVE"; Z2; "DOLLARS"

Let A1 = Z2

GoTo 1580

Print "TRIED TO FOOL ME; BET AGAIN";

GoTo 870

Print "CONGRATULATIONS"

If Z = 0 Then 1580

Let Z2 = A1 + Z1

Print "YOU NOU HAVE"; Z2; "DOLLARS"

Let A1 = Z2

Print "DO YOU WANT TO TRY AGAIN?"

Input S$

If Val(S$) = 1 Then 380

Print "TOUGH LUCK"

Print

Print " GOODBYE"

End

I suspected the problem was in Input but no Input allows 3 numbers separated by commas. But I know Q was mistaken for O or vice versa, at least.

JRace · (This post was last modified: 10-17-2023, 01:01 AM by JRace.)

I downloaded the source. I can never be a touch typist, so it would take me the remainder of the year to type that in.

The "intentional" differences between the original and the QB64 version seem to be in the spacing, and variable B7's change from numeric to string in lines 110 & 120.

There are many misspellings in the QB64 version, including some changes to variable names which could affect the way the program runs. Some of the mistakes could have been due to accidental "off by one" keypresses, but many of them look like mistakes typical of OCR software.

Here's a highlight of the differences between files, with what seems to be the original code on the left:

Filename: 2023-10-16_193036_a.png Size: 25.76 KB 10-17-2023, 12:45 AM

Here's the "original" version that I downloaded, which seems to run fine after compilation (I've tested it a whopping THREE times now!):

Code: (Select All)



10 PRINT TAB(34);"CUBE"

20 PRINT TAB(15);"CREATIVE COMPUTING  MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY"

30 PRINT : PRINT : PRINT

100 PRINT "DO YOU WANT TO SEE THE INSTRUCTIONS? (YES--1,NO--0)"

110 INPUT B7

120 IF B7=0 THEN 370

130 PRINT"THIS IS A GAME IN WHICH YOU WILL BE PLAYING AGAINST THE"

140 PRINT"RANDOM DECISION OF THE COMPUTER. THE FIELD OF PLAY IS A"

150 PRINT"CUBE OF SIDE 3. ANY OF THE 27 LOCATIONS CAN BE DESIGNATED"

160 PRINT"BY INPUTING THREE NUMBERS SUCH AS 2,3,1. AT THE START,"

170 PRINT"YOU ARE AUTOMATICALLY AT LOCATION 1,1,1. THE OBJECT OF"

180 PRINT"THE GAME IS TO GET TO LOCATION 3,3,3. ONE MINOR DETAIL:"

190 PRINT"THE COMPUTER WILL PICK, AT RANDOM, 5 LOCATIONS AT WHICH"

200 PRINT"IT WILL PLANT LAND MINES. IF YOU HIT ONE OF THESE LOCATIONS"

210 PRINT"YOU LOSE. ONE OTHER DETAIL: YOU MAY MOVE ONLY ONE SPACE "

220 PRINT"IN ONE DIRECTION EACH MOVE. FOR  EXAMPLE: FROM 1,1,2 YOU"

230 PRINT"MAY MOVE TO 2,1,2 OR 1,1,3. YOU MAY NOT CHANGE"

240 PRINT"TWO OF THE NUMBERS ON THE SAME MOVE. IF YOU MAKE AN ILLEGAL"

250 PRINT"MOVE, YOU LOSE AND THE COMPUTER TAKES THE MONEY YOU MAY"

260 PRINT"HAVE BET ON THAT ROUND."

270 PRINT

280 PRINT

290 PRINT"ALL YES OR NO QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWERED BY A 1 FOR YES"

300 PRINT"OR A 0 (ZERO) FOR NO."

310 PRINT

320 PRINT"WHEN STATING THE AMOUNT OF A WAGER, PRINT ONLY THE NUMBER"

330 PRINT"OF DOLLARS (EXAMPLE: 250)  YOU ARE AUTOMATICALLY STARTED WITH"

340 PRINT"500 DOLLARS IN YOUR ACCOUNT."

350 PRINT

360 PRINT "GOOD LUCK!"

370 LET A1=500

380 LET A=INT(3*(RND(X)))

390 IF A<>0 THEN 410

400 LET A=3

410 LET B=INT(3*(RND(X)))

420 IF B<>0 THEN 440

430 LET B=2

440 LET C=INT(3*(RND(X)))

450 IF C<>0 THEN 470

460 LET C=3

470 LET D=INT(3*(RND(X)))

480 IF D<>0 THEN 500

490 LET D=1

500 LET E=INT(3*(RND(X)))

510 IF E<>0 THEN 530

520 LET E=3

530 LET F=INT(3*(RND(X)))

540 IF F<>0 THEN 560

550 LET F=3

560 LET G=INT(3*(RND(X)))

570 IF G<>0 THEN 590

580 LET G=3

590 LET H=INT(3*(RND(X)))

600 IF H<>0 THEN 620

610 LET H=3

620 LET I=INT(3*(RND(X)))

630 IF I<>0 THEN 650

640 LET I=2

650 LET J=INT(3*(RND(X)))

660 IF J<>0 THEN 680

670 LET J=3

680 LET K=INT(3*(RND(X)))

690 IF K<>0 THEN 710

700 LET K=2

710 LET L=INT(3*(RND(X)))

720 IF L<>0 THEN 740

730 LET L=3

740 LET M=INT(3*(RND(X)))

750 IF M<>0 THEN 770

760 LET M=3

770 LET N=INT(3*(RND(X)))

780 IF N<>0 THEN 800

790 LET N=1

800 LET O=INT (3*(RND(X)))

810 IF O <>0 THEN 830

820 LET O=3

830 PRINT "WANT TO MAKE A WAGER?"

840 INPUT Z

850 IF Z=0 THEN 920

860 PRINT "HOW MUCH ";

870 INPUT Z1

876 IF A1<Z1 THEN 1522

880 LET W=1

890 LET X=1

900 LET Y=1

910 PRINT

920 PRINT "IT'S YOUR MOVE:  ";

930 INPUT P,Q,R

940 IF P>W+1 THEN 1030

950 IF P=W+1 THEN 1000

960 IF Q>X+1 THEN 1030

970 IF Q=(X+1) THEN 1010

980 IF R >(Y+1)  THEN 1030

990 GOTO 1050

1000 IF Q>= X+1 THEN 1030

1010 IF R>=Y+1 THEN 1030

1020 GOTO 1050

1030 PRINTRINT "ILLEGAL MOVE. YOU LOSE."

1040 GOTO 1440

1050 LET W=P

1060 LET X=Q

1070 LET Y=R

1080 IF P=3 THEN 1100

1090 GOTO 1130

1100 IF  Q=3 THEN 1120

1110 GOTO 1130

1120 IF R=3 THEN 1530

1130 IF P=A THEN 1150

1140 GOTO 1180

1150 IF Q=B THEN 1170

1160 GOTO 1180

1170 IF R=C THEN 1400

1180 IF P=D THEN 1200

1190 GOTO 1230

1200 IF Q=E THEN 1220

1210 GOTO 1230

1220 IF  R=F THEN 1400

1230 IF P=G THEN 1250

1240 GOTO 1280

1250 IF Q=H THEN 1270

1260 GOTO 1280

1270 IF R=I THEN 1400

1280 IF P=J THEN 1300

1290 GOTO 1330

1300 IF Q=K THEN 1320

1310 GOTO 1330

1320 IF R=L THEN 1440

1330 IF P=M THEN 1350

1340 GOTO 1380

1350 IF Q=N THEN 1370

1360 GOTO 1380

1370 IF R=O THEN 1400

1380 PRINT "NEXT MOVE: ";

1390 GOTO 930 

1400 PRINT"******BANG******"

1410 PRINT "YOU LOSE!"

1420 PRINT

1430 PRINT

1440 IF  Z=0 THEN 1580

1450 PRINT 

1460 LET Z2=A1-Z1

1470 IF Z2>0 THEN 1500

1480 PRINT "YOU BUST."

1490 GOTO 1610

1500 PRINT " YOU NOW HAVE"; Z2; "DOLLARS."

1510 LET A1=Z2

1520 GOTO 1580

1522 PRINT"TRIED TO FOOL ME; BET AGAIN";

1525 GOTO 870

1530 PRINT"CONGRATULATIONS!"

1540 IF Z=0 THEN 1580

1550 LET Z2=A1+Z1

1560 PRINT "YOU NOW HAVE"; Z2;"DOLLARS."

1570 LET A1=Z2

1580 PRINT"DO YOU WANT TO TRY AGAIN ";

1590 INPUT S

1600 IF S=1 THEN 380

1610 PRINT "TOUGH LUCK!"

1620 PRINT

1630 PRINT "GOODBYE."

1640 END

**SMcNeill** · 10-17-2023, 01:15 AM

Line 1000 probably makes a world of difference

If Q >= X + 1

Vs

If Q > -X + 1

..... I'd imagine it's always bigger than a negative X!

**SMcNeill** · 10-17-2023, 01:22 AM

Some of this old style code is just brain damaging. Examples of poor coding back in the day:

380 LET A=INT(3*(RND(X)))
390 IF A<>0 THEN 410
400 LET A=3

Let's fix that in one line:

LET A = INT(3 * (RND(X))) + 1

Or even change line 390 to:

IF A = 0 THEN LET A = 3

**SMcNeill** · 10-17-2023, 02:28 AM

Here's a version cleaned up and modernized fairly decently:

Code: (Select All)



Print Tab(34); "CUBE"

Print Tab(15); "CREATIVE COMPUTING  MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY"

Print: Print: Print

Print "DO YOU WANT TO SEE THE INSTRUCTIONS? (Y)es or (N)o."

Do

    instructions$ = UCase$(Input$(1))

Loop Until instructions$ = "Y" Or instructions$ = "N"

If instructions$ = "Y" Then

    Print "THIS IS A GAME IN WHICH YOU WILL BE PLAYING AGAINST THE"

    Print "RANDOM DECISION OF THE COMPUTER. THE FIELD OF PLAY IS A"

    Print "CUBE OF SIDE 3. ANY OF THE 27 LOCATIONS CAN BE DESIGNATED"

    Print "BY INPUTING THREE NUMBERS SUCH AS 2,3,1. AT THE START,"

    Print "YOU ARE AUTOMATICALLY AT LOCATION 1,1,1. THE OBJECT OF"

    Print "THE GAME IS TO GET TO LOCATION 3,3,3. ONE MINOR DETAIL:"

    Print "THE COMPUTER WILL PICK, AT RANDOM, 5 LOCATIONS AT WHICH"

    Print "IT WILL PLANT LAND MINES. IF YOU HIT ONE OF THESE LOCATIONS"

    Print "YOU LOSE. ONE OTHER DETAIL: YOU MAY MOVE ONLY ONE SPACE "

    Print "IN ONE DIRECTION EACH MOVE. FOR  EXAMPLE: FROM 1,1,2 YOU"

    Print "MAY MOVE TO 2,1,2 OR 1,1,3. YOU MAY NOT CHANGE"

    Print "TWO OF THE NUMBERS ON THE SAME MOVE. IF YOU MAKE AN ILLEGAL"

    Print "MOVE, YOU LOSE AND THE COMPUTER TAKES THE MONEY YOU MAY"

    Print "HAVE BET ON THAT ROUND."

    Print

    Print

    Print "ALL YES OR NO QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWERED BY A 1 FOR YES"

    Print "OR A 0 (ZERO) FOR NO."

    Print

    Print "WHEN STATING THE AMOUNT OF A WAGER, PRINT ONLY THE NUMBER"

    Print "OF DOLLARS (EXAMPLE: 250)  YOU ARE AUTOMATICALLY STARTED WITH"

    Print "500 DOLLARS IN YOUR ACCOUNT."

    Print

    Print "GOOD LUCK!"

End If

Money = 500

start_game:

A = Int(3 * (Rnd(X))) + 1 '1, 2, 3

B = Int(3 * (Rnd(X))): If B = 0 Then B = 2

C = Int(3 * (Rnd(X))) + 1 '1, 2, 3

D = Int(3 * (Rnd(X))): If D = 0 Then D = 1

E = Int(3 * (Rnd(X))) + 1 '1, 2, 3

F = Int(3 * (Rnd(X))) + 1

G = Int(3 * (Rnd(X))) + 1

H = Int(3 * (Rnd(X))) + 1

i = Int(3 * (Rnd(X))): If i = 0 Then i = 2

J = Int(3 * (Rnd(X))) + 1

K = Int(3 * (Rnd(X))): If K = 0 Then K = 2

L = Int(3 * (Rnd(X))) + 1

M = Int(3 * (Rnd(X))) + 1

N = Int(3 * (Rnd(X))): If N = 0 Then N = 1

O = Int(3 * (Rnd(X))) + 1

Print "WANT TO MAKE A WAGER?"

Input Z

If Z <> 0 Then

    Do

        Print "HOW MUCH ";

        Input Bet

        If Money < Bet Then Print "TRIED TO FOOL ME; BET AGAIN!"

    Loop Until Money >= Bet

    Let W = 1

    Let X = 1

    Let Y = 1

    Print

End If



Print "IT'S YOUR MOVE:  ";

your_move:

Input P, Q, R

lose = 0

If P > W + 1 Then lose = -1

If P = W + 1 And Q >= X + 1 Then lose = -1

If Q > X + 1 Then lose = -1

If Q = (X + 1) And R >= Y + 1 Then lose = -1

If R > (Y + 1) Then lose = -1

If lose Then Print "ILLEGAL MOVE. YOU LOSE.": GoTo you_lose

W = P

X = Q

Y = R

If P = 3 And Q = 3 And R = 3 Then

    Print "CONGRATULATIONS!"

    If Z <> 0 Then

        Money = Money + Bet

        Print "YOU NOW HAVE"; Money; "DOLLARS."

    End If

Else

    If P = A And Q = B And R = C GoTo you_lose

    If P = D And Q = E And R = F GoTo you_lose

    If P = G And Q = H And R = i GoTo you_lose

    If P = J And Q = K And R = L GoTo you_lose

    If P = M And Q = N And R = O GoTo you_lose

    Print "NEXT MOVE: ";

    GoTo your_move

    you_lose:

    Print "******BANG******"

    Print "YOU LOSE!"

    Print

    Print

    If Z <> 0 Then

        Print

        Money = Money - Bet

        If Money = 0 Then

            Print "YOU BUST."

            GoTo quit

        End If

        Print " YOU NOW HAVE"; Money; "DOLLARS."

    End If

End If

Print "DO YOU WANT TO TRY AGAIN ";

Input S

If S = 1 Then GoTo start_game

quit:

Print "TOUGH LUCK!"

Print

Print "GOODBYE."

End

JRace · 10-17-2023, 02:38 AM

(10-17-2023, 02:28 AM)SMcNeill Wrote: Here's a version cleaned up and modernized fairly decently:
....

MUCH more manageable... and readable!

Programs like that original version are why Basic has such a bad rep. There is some serious leapfrogging going on there.

**SMcNeill** · 10-17-2023, 02:48 AM

It's still got some jumps in it, but I tried to give those distinctive labels for readability. Smile

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