I truly enjoy your software. My favorite so far has been Dark Designs III. Are you planning to make any more? I also have a few questions.
In "The Pit" there is a door that is locked in the south part of the maze. Where is the key? I can no longer play DDII because there are no free character spots. Can I delete characters that have beaten the game?
D. Young
Hoboken, NJ
Dear D.,
The Dark Designs Trilogy is now over. With the defeat of Agamol the land is now safe for all the peasants and villagers. There are plans on the drawing table for a new adventure series along the same vane. Look for it in the future.
There is a skull key which is gained by defeating the Juggernaut in the Pit level, however, it does not open the door you refer to -- the door in the Pit cannot be opened.
Unfortunately, you cannot delete characters that have won a game. If you have a block editor, you can change the first byte of each character to a 1, then Dark Designs will think the characters haven't finished and you will be able to delete them. If you can't do this, have no fear, we have a little character editor right here on this disk! Look in the folder "Dark.Designs" and launch DDFixer (double click on it). Load the character file from your Dark Designs disk, follow the prompts, and let the DDfixer do its work.
IMPORTANT NOTE! : If you had made a backup disk, you could have made another new copy and played to your heart's content. Always make backups!
You have a fine service. I would like to keep on subscribing to SDGS but I've upgraded to a Vulcan Hard Drive. When I use SDGS, I need System 5.0.4 to operate the system, or I get a statement that the tools couldn't be started. Previously, I could start your disks with the AppleWorks system that is already on my drive. Due to the cost, I got the smallest Vulcan on the market. It was also necessary to trade in one of my 3.5" drives. When I want to operate SDGS, it is necessary to do much disk swapping, or start your 5.0.4 system, and then your program disk. Help!
Greg Russell
Bloomfield Hills, MI
Dear Greg,
The solution to your quandary is simple: install System 5.0.4 on your hard drive. You should see your local Apple dealer and ask him to copy (copies are free!) System 5.0.4 onto a pair of blank disks for you (you supply the disks). Then, simply run the installer that is on the System Tools disk and install 5.0.4 onto your Vulcan. You'll be able to run all of your Softdisk G-S programs from your hard drive!
I would like to know if you have any new information about the new animation program for the Apple IIgs and when it will be out?
Manuel Lim
Philadelphia, PA
Dear Manuel,
I assume you are talking about the infamous Animation Toolkit that Apple demonstrated at last year's A2-Central Developer's Conference (aka, KansasFest)? If so, I can you tell that the project is currently in limbo, the head programmer has moved onto other, more pressing projects, and no one at Apple is sure when it will be released. Everyone is in agreement that it will NOT be on System 6.0 later this year.
I am trying to decide if I want to continue my subscription to Softdisk and Softdisk G-S. What happened to the Jukebox? Also, on issue #18 you mentioned two games to try and then send in the shareware cost. Milestones and another. Where are the games to be had? You gave one address, but no price or directions for it, and the other had no information.
Richard Lindner
Cape Coral, FL
Dear Richard,
The Jukebox went into the trash. No, just kidding (sort of). The Jukebox was too large, too slow, and had a bad interface. We are currently working on another sound player that will replace the Jukebox as soon as it is finished. Look for it on an upcoming issue (maybe by issue #27). The games were Milestones and Antetris. They can be downloaded on GEnie. Both have shareware costs and the addresses contained in the download files.
How can I make the Report Card print out faster and not so "heavy" and dark? I don't want to print anything above the actual Report Card. Is there a way to do this? Please keep the Jukebox! Do you have any 3-D graphics with music to offer?
Lynn Holloway
Hartville, OH
Dear Lynn,
For all of our printing, we use the standard Apple IIgs Print Manager routines. When you select the Print item, you can change the quality of the output. Text Only will generate the fastest output whereas Best will take the longest, but will generate the best looking output. Your text could be unusually heavy or dark due to a new (or re-inked) ribbon; I don't think there's much we can do about that one. If you have WordWorks¬ (from issue #5), you can launch it and load the report card into WordWorks and then delete any text you do not want to print. As far as 3-D graphics: no current monitor will display "true" 3-D graphics. If you mean images with depth (which looks 3-dimensional), then you should try downloading some 3200 color pics on GEnie. Be sure and snag a 3200 pic viewer, also. They look great! You may want to take a look at some of the FTA demos. They are a group of hot-shot programmers in France that have some really impressive "3-D" graphics. You can find some of their work on GEnie. Search for FTA and you are bound to find some. Be prepared for a VERY long download. These demos are huge! For more sound, look for the new "Jukebox" discussed in the previous question.
On issue #21 you reviewed the MacInker. I have the Color Inker. The Inker works very good. However, I have to discard about half of my colored ribbons. The ribbon fails to rewind at an even pace. They appear to stick from time to time. The spindle on the MacInker keeps turning. When the ribbon inks this way, too much ink is applied on portions of the ribbon. This ink problem causes the ink to spill over and mix with other colors on the ribbon. What is causing the ribbon problems? Is there a way to alleviate this sticking ribbon problem?
Don Sasser
Chugiak, AK
Dear Don,
Our review was of the MacInker that does black ink ribbons only. I asked Sean about your problem. The only advice he could give would be to increase the tension on the roller that pulls the ribbon through the device. This can damage the ribbon so you must be very careful. He usually uses a toothpick or a small piece of paper to accomplish this.
When you sent out the disk with System 5.0.4 on it I made a backup to use. I then deleted a few things I felt I didn't need so that I could install AE's disk driver so that the system could recognize the high density drive. After installing the AEHD driver I could not get my computer to recognize more than 800K on the HD disks. It seems to be something about the 5.0.4 disk as I have no trouble installing the AEHD on System 5.0.2.
James R. Lisle
Roanoke, VA
Dear James,
I would suggest that you contact AE about this. Also, be sure that you use the Apple IIgs Installer to install System Software. System Software is very complex and interrelated, arbitrarily deleting files can wreak havoc on your system.
