Getting closer to starting programming again.

C64Knight

But this is what I need, a copy of the Laser Basic tapes/disks for VICE. I know the manual is scanned but not the program suite.

Any help?

e5frog · Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 12:26 am Post subject:

I know a guy with the original tape.

EDIT: The user "sp33dy" has it as tap.
http://www.lemon64.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=37425

Or buy it here:
http://www.retrogames.co.uk/more/on/details/001354

C64Knight · Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 1:22 am Post subject:

I've got the original tapes somewhere, but I moved house 3 months ago and 10,000 retro games/computers/consoles is kinda hard to sift through. It's all in boxes and they cover the entire side wall of one of the bedrooms Smile

Sadly neither sp33dy or the guy who PM'd him for a copy of the TAP have actually posted anything here since May 2011 Sad

Thanks for taking the effort to search out that thread Smile

If anyone wants I have white lightning on a D64 (it's a Forth based language) I may even have the manual for it to scan in too when I am finished renovating this place and can unbox my stuff.

PS Laser Genius is the Assembler development system reviewed in ZZAP!64 if anyone is wondering, but I'm sure you all know this years later Smile

JimDrew · Master of C64 Joined: 15 May 2012 Age: 47 Posts: 1165

http://search.cbm8bit.com/?query=laser+basic

http://search.cbm8bit.com/?query=laser+genius

C64Knight · Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 11:35 pm Post subject:

Apart from Laser Basic libraries (which causes a main CPU JAM in WinVICE 2.3 btw) I've got them all already.

Thanks though for the search engine link, that will come in very handy indeed my friend Smile

hbhzth · Posted: Sat May 19, 2012 4:55 am Post subject:

e5frog wrote:

...
Or buy it here:
http://www.retrogames.co.uk/more/on/details/001354

Ocean's Laser Basic is NOT the same as Laser Genius. It's actually 3 products; Basic + Compiler + Genius (Real powerful Diss/Assembler & macro editor incl. ext. commands).

Ocean bought up the company Oasis, which was responsible for the Lightning Products (Basic Lightning - up to White Lightning). Ocean redesigned these into a new package called Laser.

The first was a really neat basic extender enabling structured basic programming with new commands). The "magic" was done when compiled into machine code by the Compiler package. The compiler was able to compile normal basic as well, thus working without Laser Basic. They were sold as stand alone products. Often people were not able to distinguish between them - or understand the need for 3 different products. They do complete each other, but you can also do fine with 1 of them. When making a professional game you'll do better using all of them.

I would like to explore the Machine Lightning further. This is how Oasis describe it's functions on the back of the original:

"Machine Lightning is a complete machine code development system that is chiefly aimed at the perfectionist games writer. It has an extremely powerful syntax checking editor".

Disk version assembles from disk (very useful with an IDE64 harddisk Very Happy

)

It's FORTH like structured extension is probably a great tool for doing really advanced stuff - much more easy than doing the thing in assembler from scratch. Recursive loops and other niceties + the graphics library helps you get results fast and intuitively.

I now have the originals of both Oasis and Ocean packages - complete on disk and tape. I could not help myself when finding them on ebay 3-5 months ago.

I also found these programming packages: Cobol, Oxford Pascal, Fortran, Bredens Basic, SCOPE game designer, 3 different FORTH distributions and a whole stack of Assembler packages from all kinds of publishers.

I will have to make a utility collection (including all of the mentioned versions) at some stage - hopefully during the Summer holidays and then I'll post a new thread on this subject on the forum. Smile

If anyone wants to ofc...?

C64Knight · Posted: Sat May 19, 2012 9:02 am Post subject:

Laser Basic can load in Basic Lightning programs too in case anyone has some programs already done. The manual even has a complete set of Basic Lightning commands detailed. But it's the extra stuff in Laser Basic like multitasking routines under interrupt that are useful to me, think it's a little faster even before being compiled but I bet just like AMOS on the Amiga the graphics intensive code is not going to speed up much because the new commands in the Basic are already calling ASM object code to do their magic.

Couldn't find machine lightning but Laser Genius I have the manual and D64 image of got a glowing review in ZZAP!64 by Gary Liddon.

What I always wanted to see was the games with screenshots on the back of the Basic/White/Machine lightning packaging, the sprites for them were not in the example sprite banks I don't think and the games never on the tapes. Maybe they were on the Basic Lightning disk but that is missing (only found a T64 of the interpreter)

I'm also wondering what the laser basic libraries disk is? It goes to an autobooting green border white screen stage (which is the laser basic screen you type in btw) but causes main CPU jam in VICE with or without true drive emulation. Will try it on an older version of VICE.

e5frog · Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 9:47 am Post subject:

Well, anyway, here's are the tap-files of Laser Basic from Ocean, four of them in a zip package (two cassettes two sides).

http://www.2shared.com/file/ou...Ocean.html

dink · Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 11:37 am Post subject:

C64Knight wrote:

I'm also wondering what the laser basic libraries disk is? It goes to an autobooting green border white screen stage (which is the laser basic screen you type in btw) but causes main CPU jam in VICE with or without true drive emulation. Will try it on an older version of VICE.

Libraries are add-on commands/functions/etc for Laser Basic, kinda like how Simon's basic is an add on to regular basic. The only trick is finding the Manual/programmers info for using the libraries in your own programs.

best regards,
- dink

C64Knight · Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 3:02 pm Post subject:

e5frog wrote:

Well, anyway, here's are the tap-files of Laser Basic from Ocean, four of them in a zip package (two cassettes two sides).

http://www.2shared.com/file/ou...Ocean.html

Thanks for uploading these, amazing Smile

I haven't managed to download them just yet it says the user download limit has been reached and try again later.

C64Knight · Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 3:04 pm Post subject:

dink wrote:

Libraries are add-on commands/functions/etc for Laser Basic, kinda like how Simon's basic is an add on to regular basic. The only trick is finding the Manual/programmers info for using the libraries in your own programs.

Interesting, any idea what area the extra commands focus on? Serious programming or games programming etc.
Got to see if I can get the autobooting disk not to crash, which I haven't managed yet in Win VICE:)

e5frog · Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 3:11 pm Post subject:

Send me a PM with your e-mail and I'll e-mail it to you, I just grabbed the first upload site I found.

dink · Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 5:07 pm Post subject:

C64Knight wrote:

Got to see if I can get the autobooting disk not to crash, which I haven't managed yet in Win VICE:)

The libraries aren't meant to be booted, they are an addon to the Laser Basic itself, to give you more commands. I will have a look through the Laser Basic manual to see how to get them working though and post something here if I find anything Smile

best regards,
- dink

C64Knight · Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 1:23 pm Post subject:

e5frog wrote:

Send me a PM with your e-mail and I'll e-mail it to you, I just grabbed the first upload site I found.

Many thanks e5 Smile

I will see if I can find if there is a demo on the tape as with Basic Lightning.

C64Knight · Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 1:23 pm Post subject:

dink wrote:

The libraries aren't meant to be booted, they are an addon to the Laser Basic itself, to give you more commands.

Ahh OK

e5frog · Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 1:55 pm Post subject:

C64Knight wrote:

I will see if I can find if there is a demo on the tape as with Basic Lightning.

Yes, there was some demo on tape 1, haven't checked all sides.