7/15/87 TELEGAMES Review by Barbara Cramer "TeleGames is what you've waited for. The Future is here." A little presumptuous, wouldn't you say? Probably just an example of twentieth century advertising 'hype', but, wait a minute. I can play backgammon, chess or checkers with a real, live person on the other end of the phone. I can hold a lengthy conversation with him throughout the game, calling him names and distracting his attention whenever necessary. Look. My family is coming in to join in the fun. A crowd is gathering around my computer. I'm not alone anymore.... This scenario is certainly an exaggeration, but TeleGames is the first piece of software to bring computerists together in real time for the purpose of having fun without sacrificing the comforts of home. Forget the bean dip and hair curlers. Now you can have a party with the Nelson's in your pajamas on the spur of the moment. TeleGames is a powerful piece of telecommunications software which will allow you to play chess, checkers or backgammon with a human opponent while offering you all the conversational conviences of being in the same room. The features of this program are so numerous, it's hard to know where to begin. THE GAMES TeleGames is designed for the Amiga with 512K of memory and is totally intuition driven. The screen displays and clear and artistically attractive having been drawn in medium resolution rather than the usual low resolution mode. Over 75% of the program is devoted to graphics and animation and the results are exceptionally smooth. For example, when you pick up a piece, it will move around the screen with your cursor until you release the left mouse button to place it on the board. Activities such as castling, crowning, bearing off and rolling the dice are automatic and smoothly animated. Digital sounds are also used to create a realistic 'feel' to the games. At any time during the game, you are allowed to change the perspective of the screen display which is totally independent from your partner's display. There are both two and three dimensional representations as well as options from any of the four sides. The rules which govern all games have been taken from Hoyle's Rules of Games, 1983 and a good description of play and scoring has been included in the manual. The program will not allow you to cheat nor will it allow an illegal move. Just plain stupid moves are your own problem. Games may be saved to disk at any time during the play. This is particularly handy when call-waiting interrupts your connection just as you were making your final attack on the enemy. It is also useful for long chess games when your family insists you be present for last night's pot roast. The TG Game Files allow you to store up to 32 games for transmission and completion at a later date. Playing the games is certainly fun, but the programmer, Scott Lamb, has provided us with the ability to talk to each other during the game. Located at the bottom of the screen are two conversation boxes which may be used to send and receive messages at any time, in any game. Not only does this perk up the boring moments waiting for your opponent to decide strategy, it makes the game more realistic, as if you were both in the same room. A pleasant bell rings whenever your opponent sends a message and the message remains on the screen until a new one is sent. Sentences of more than 74 characters will automatically be sent when your typing reaches the end of a line. As long as your partner can read faster than you type, long messages are no problem. THE PROGRAM TeleGames is convient. Graphics and telecommunication files may be copied to RAM for faster access if you have additional memory. Telegames may also be placed on your hard disk drive. Icon driven utility programs and instructions are included to make these tasks effortless. The program takes a little longer to load initially so that on-line game changes will be as short as possible. The TeleGames disk is not copy protected so you may use back-up copies for everyday purposes. Telegames is fast. Each computer alternates being master and servant. In a test using two machines sitting side by side, set at 1200 baud, there was less than a one second delay in transmitting data, moves and messages, from one machine to the other. TeleGames is fully multi-tasking, an essential for those long waits between chess moves. Write a letter to grandma or a thrilling short story when your opponent's conversation slows down. To test Telegames ability to handle multitasking, I printed all 16 pages of the newsletter this month using PageSetter's Page Print while playing checkers across town with TG's publisher, Rick Bilyea. What used to represent two evenings of boredom watching the pixels print has now been transformed into a pleasant pastime. While TeleGames uses a very large amount of memory, priorities have been reassigned in the games to provide for fast and smooth movement of windows and game pieces. This is especially noticeable when printing a document; priorities are taken from the printing task and assigned to the game for the short amount of time needed to move a game piece. Printing then resumes at the normal speed while waiting for your partner's move. Clever, eh? THE PARAMETERS TeleGames is compatible with any modem and may be set to 300, 1200, 2400 or 9600 baud. Naturally, both computers must be set at the same rate. You may set the computer to answer or originate the call or you may choose the Null Modem Connect option - one computer mode. A phone directory is available with 32 entries enabling you to personalize your disk with the names, numbers and specific parameter information of all your friends. A games directory is also available for keeping track of 32 games-in-progress. All features are menu driven, fast and easy to use. THE MANUAL There's no such thing as a perfect software package. Every software publisher is forced to take precautions against pirates. It's unfortunate but realistic. In order to prevent duplication, the manual has been printed in light aqua ink making it difficult to read. Get out your reading glasses, granny! If you are lucky enough to get one of the first 1000 copies, you will have the added challenge of reading ink that was printed even lighter than the publisher intended. Ah, the joys of sub-contracting the work load. The 40 page manual does contain a good deal of useful and supportive information. Besides the basic instructions for using each feature and menu, you are given the rules of each game and specific instructions on teleconnect procedure. Additional information is supplied for using a RAM disk, a hard disk as well as a troubleshooting guide and advice on customizing the mouse pointer. USER SUPPORT So what do you do with all these features if you can't find someone to challenge? Rick Bilyea, publisher of TeleGames and owner of Software Terminal, has added a special section to the Track II BBS he operates in Ft. Worth, Texas. Registered owners are automatically added to the BBS roster allowing 24 hour access to messages from other TG owners. Chances are good that when your friends see TeleGames in operation, you won't have to look for a partner. Both a message base and file transfer area have been created on Track II to meet your needs. Talk with Scott Lamb, TG's creator, look for partners, leave suggestions or just read the comments. Above all, check the file area for updates and program improvements. As the need for program changes occurs, files will be made available to all registered owners for free downloading. You will even find one waiting there now. CONCLUSIONS I have seldom reviewed a program with as many high marks as this one. TeleGames actually does what it boasts, a rarity in any product. If only my word processor would do as much! The feature I like most is the fact that it brings people together... not just computers.