The last edition of ReRUN (November/December 1991) marked a turning point in the history of RUN's disk series. For years we have published an accompanying booklet with our bi-monthly ReRUN disks. With the last edition we did away with the booklet and placed the documentation on the disk.
We were uncertain how well this move would be received by our ReRUN subscribers. To gather feedback, we included a Letter to the Editor option on the new disks. Now folks can use the ReRUN disk as a mini-word processor to write and print their responses.
No sooner had we sent the disks out than the responses began flowing in, and our fears were laid to rest. Nearly every letter was positive. We've already heeded some of the advice offered and you can expect to see a more refined product with every edition. The following are excerpts from letters we received:
"Your new format is great. It creates a brighter, livelier atmosphere and is most easy to use. I LIKE IT!"
James Bagent
Clifton Heights, PA
"This is a remarkable improvement. Now you're competing with LoadStar.
"I needed a good sprite editor. How about a search catalog of all your disks and a good character editor?"
Jack Barnes
Dallas, TX
"I'm impressed with this new format. Although it needs polish, it's a vast improvement over what you had.
"One little change I'd like to see early on is single keystrokes for operations, rather than the present control-key combinations. Also, an incorporated program cataloger/library would be convenient for tracking programs without having to thumb through lots of paper or loading several directories."
Wayne Bramble
Marshall, MI
"I like it. Although I haven't tried all the features yet, it's easy to see a big improvement. Just eliminating the need to go to a publication for information or documentation is enough to get my vote of approval."
John Brown
El Paso, TX
"I think this new format is the best I've seen. However, I'd like to see a 1581 as drive 9 incorporated into it, as I have a lot of programs on a 1581. I'd also like to see the year of the issue along with the month at the top of the screen. Once you get a few years under your belt, it could be handy."
Andre Cardinal
Richmond, B.C.
Canada
"The new format looks exciting. I'm looking forward to future issues of ReRUN."
Edward Carroll
Haskell, NJ
"This is a major upgrade for the C-64/128. I urge all Commodore users to start a subscription to ReRUN. It's the best step you can take for your computer."
C.J. Casey
Queensland, Australia
"I really like your new interface. It makes your disk so much easier to use.
"I would like to see a table of contents file that would list what each program does and what files are needed to run it. This should be in a text file that could be printed out. Also, a line would be helpful for separating the different programs on the disk. Finally, your editorial would be better if you placed the issue months on each page."
Jacob Clark, Jr.
Warminster, PA
"'Improvement' is an understatement; this interface is GREAT! However, I kinda' hope some kind of screen-color control is made available; the Help screens are hard to read.
"Thanks for the VIP club and the $10. I'll use it to renew my subscription!"
Norma Cooper
Kent, WA
"Being able to print out the instructions for all the programs is a big help. Even though the instructions are in the magazines, I don't always have a needed issue at hand."
Cecil Crider
Redford, MI
"Well, I guess I like the new way of doing things. I DO know that your supplying the code makes it possible for me to use programs I wouldn't have time to enter myself."
Jay Earnshaw
Cheyenne, WY
"FANTASTIC! That sums up your new disk look! It's been a long time coming, but the wait was worth it!
"For the most part you've done a fine job, but there are a couple of minor changes I'd like to see: First, the main-menu screen is harder to read than some of the others. Could a routine be added to let the user select the screen colors? Second, how about a doc printer that would read all of the .txt files and let them be printed selectively, instead of having to individually load and print each one?"
Norris Elwood
Clearfield, UT
"I think you've gotten off to a good start with your new interface. But, as with all things, there's room for improvement. You need options for two-drive copying and for changing the screen colors (they're horrible). Also, I couldn't get the joystick option to work."
Ron Hooper
Pacific, MO
"The new format? I like it. No more hunting for the proper book for a disk; no more reading the table of contents to find a program. Just run the disk and you've got it all.
"The capability to save to another disk, run, and print to screen is very helpful. Again, it's all there, in your C-64, with one loading of the bimonthly disk.
"With all the information to be loaded, the time would seem too long without the excellent graphics. Sound might be added as an extra."
Jack Klages
Columbus, OH
"I LIKE IT! I LIKE IT! No more books to get lost! Everything is on the disk! And it's a good idea to save the cost of a catalog with each mailing.
"I would like to see more user-friendly programs: spreadsheets, word processors, conversion programs. Most of the programs I've seen on disks like this are incomplete and hard to understand. I'd like to see a problem clinic once in a while, too."
Albert Kremer
Chicago, IL
"From what I can see from this first new ReRUN disk, you deserve a big THAT-A-BOY. I especially like the docs on disk and the copy utility.
"The new format will help new Commodore users. There are more and more all the time seeking out our club, and we recommend your magazine to them all.
"You've done an excellent job in the past, and it looks like you plan to do an even better job in the future. THANKS!"
Richard Malzan
Sioux Falls, SD
"I think the disk is great! It's such a big improvement, I can't believe it!"
Harry Miller
Woodbridge, VA
"Congrats, Tim! The new VIP is the greatest since #1, and I have them all! Suggestions: an option to change the colors in the menu for better contrast, art displays and music programs, a clinic by Ellen Rule, and a GEOS Q&A or tips."
Richard Olson
Depew, NY
"You sure brightened up ReRUN. Even the color is nice to look at.
"Send Us a Letter would be even nicer if you could type on the inside without the addresses. Also, if a user-defined address could be typed in, the letter could go to others!"
George Remillard
North Adams, MA
"HOORAY! You finally did it. You put the documentation on disk with the programs. This will let me have the docs at hand anytime I run a program, or print them out to file in a regular notebook and then read over for detail. It will also let me take my disks from one place to another without the need for a separate pack of documentation.
"I did have a bit of a problem: I couldn't make selections with the fire-button on the Suncom controller plugged into to my C-128."
Kenneth Robinson
Kent, WA
"Thank-you very much for the means to write to you. I like this easy device for printing letters and envelopes.
"The November/December ReRUN disk is the best ever. At first I thought something had happened to the booklet. I learned that you had not printed any this time when I took my good old Commodore from the cupboard and starting using it next to my Atari MEGA 1 and IBM PS/2."
Aimo Ruoho
Helsinki, Finland
"My first thought when opening my disk mailing envelope was 'Oh-oh! They forgot the booklet--I better call.' My next thought was, 'Let's see what's on the disk first.' Having gotten to the Send Us a Letter section, I've decided to write about how the new style of ReRUN strikes me. 1)My Suncom joystick in port 2 does not control pages. I have to use the cursor-up and -down keys. 2) My Star NX 1000 printer, with Super Graphix by Xetec, works beautifully just as directed by your program.
"I wish there was a little more room to write. As you can see, I'm a little long-winded."
J.D. Takas
Toledo, OH
"I've been subscribing to ReRUN since its inception. I currently use a 386-SX-class machine primarily, and was contemplating discontinuing my ReRUN subscription. However, I still own my C-128 and SX-64, and your continuing improvement in offerings to subscribers has changed my mind."
Lawrence Tobey
Akron, OH
"I find your new ReRUN disk much easier than before. One suggestion: Why not one disk side for the C-64 and the other side for the C-128?"
Roger VanderPerren
Dilbeek, Belgium
If you want to see your name in the next edition of ReRUN, use the option on this disk to send a letter. We promise to include as many letters as possible. If your letter doesn't make it into one edition, be sure to check the next.
The list of three randomly chosen winners from the above list and the prizes that they'll receive are as follows:
First Prize: John Brown, El Paso, Texas --Commodore 1670 modem
Second Prize: Richard Olsen, Depew, NY --Super Snapshot Cartridge
Third Prize: C.J. Casey, Queensland, Australia --Super Starter Pak
Moving right along, let's take an inventory of what's new on this January/February 1992 edition of ReRUN. We'll start with a look at Mah Jongg. Written by RUN's contributing editor, John Ryan, Mah Jongg is a C-64 rendition of the centuries-old Chinese tile game. With a joystick in port 2, you must race against the clock to match as many randomly-stacked tiles as possible. Don't be surprised if you find yourself losing track of time and staying up late trying to solve puzzle after puzzle.
Jay Taplin wrote the next program, Graphic Calendar 64. Jay, a long-time Magic contributor, wrote a calendar program for the Magic column in the January/February 1991 issue of RUN. While it worked well, this enterprising high school junior has gone many steps further to develop Graphic Calendar for 1992.
Unlike other type-in calendar programs that we've published, Graphic Calender uses a bitmap graphics screen, rather than the standard character screen. The graphics give it a GEOS-like look, and its 1351 mouse support gives it a GEOS-like feel. Using either the mouse or cursor keys, you can page backward and forward in one- or ten-year intervals and save a screenful of memos for any day of any year for fast, easy access.
Tony Brantner, our over-achieving game programmer, wrote Hip Hop, the next program on the list. Hip Hop is one of the most 3D-like action games I've seen in a long time. Not only does it offer a dynamic screen, it's also one of the more challenging games that Tony has developed.
File Packer, a file archival and encryption program for the C-64, is the next program on the list. Use it to both combine files and to keep them hidden from curious eyes. 128 Mode's program for January-February, MouseCursor, by Mark Jordan, gets your otherwise dormant mouse out the desk drawer and puts it to work moving the cursor around the screen.
With this interrupt-driven program running quietly in the background while programming or using C-128 applications, you can quickly place the cursor anywhere on the screen with a flick of the wrist.
The disk also contains four bonus programs, three for the C-128 and one that works on both the C-64 and C-128. The first two C-128 programs, Murder Mansion (a graphic adventure) and Thirty-One (the traditional "Knock" card game) were written by Dan Stephens.
An earlier version of Murder Mansion was submitted over a year ago to RUN magazine, and I called Dan to ask for some program enhancements. His wife told me I'd have to wait--Dan was busy in the Persian Gulf serving in Operation Desert Storm.
Thankfully, Dan returned safe and sound, made the enhancements, and you can see for yourself Murder Mansion is one of the best whodunit graphic adventures we've ever published. Thirty One is challenging, but in a different sense. You're pitted against three computer opponents in this fast-paced card game, often referred to as "Knock."
The next program on the list is Multi-Formatter, which allows your 64 or 128 to use as many as four drives at once to format disks. Finally, the last bonus program is Calculator 128, which turns your C-128 in 80-column mode into an adding machine.
Tips on Using ReRUN
For the benefit of those who are using this ReRUN interface for the first time, here's a quick look at its features: Menu 64 accesses those programs that run in 64 mode, or both 64 and 128 mode; it does not list 128 mode programs. Menu 128 (which only works in 40-column mode) accesses programs that run in 128 mode, or both 64 and 128 mode; it does not list 64 mode programs.
The ReRUN interface not only accesses program and documentation files, but it also copies files to work disks. All related data and program files are copied when the file copy feature is selected.
The following tips will assist newcomers in becoming accustomed to using this interface:
1. When in either Menu 64 or 128, you can use either the cursor keys on the keyboard or a joystick plugged into either port to position the cursor on a selection. Pressing Return activates that selection.
2. Selecting a program brings up a menu for executing the program, copying the program's files to a work disk, or reading and printing the program's documentation.
3. We encourage everyone to use the Send Us a Letter option in Menu 64 and 128 to give us feedback on ReRUN. Just type in a short letter, and enter your name and address at the exit prompts. Your letter will be output on your printer, complete with both your address and our address. Fold it into thirds, put a stamp on it and mail it to us. We'll publish your letter on our next ReRUN disk. When you send us a ReRUN reader feedback letter, you also become eligible for winning hardware and software prizes .
4. All documentation is included on the ReRUN disk. Selecting the Read Documentation option for a program automatically loads the corresponding text file. Here's a quick reference summary of commands:
Cursor keys = Move up or down one line at a time.
Home = Go to the first screen.
Control/L = Go to the last screen.
Control/P = Print the file on the printer.
Control/H = Display the help screen.
Control/X = Exit to the main screen.
Control/F = Page forward to the next screen.
Control/B = Page backwards to the previous screen.
5. Menu 64 and 128 also include a Copy command which copies all the files of an application to another disk. If you're copying lengthy files, don't be surprised if "Insert destination disk" and "Insert source disk" prompts appear. They let you know when you need to swap disks.
That covers the information needed to use ReRUN. Stay tuned for the next edition and another exciting round of programs!
