When I was a kid in the 70's I had access to an Apple][ during the summer vacation. There was a game called nightmare #6. The object of the game was to work out the object of the game. Does anyone have any information on this? Specifically what was the object of the game? I have found no references to this game on the web.
Anonymous
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Here's a reference:
http://www.platypuscomix.net/bored/AppleII.html
Thanks for that, at least it proves the game existed and it wasn't my imagination!
I realize you wrote that back over 2 years ago, but I really have to respond to this. Perhaps you still check this website. Your comment is one of the few for NIGHTMARE #6 now on the web.
I remember this game! I remember a few of the sequences that would get you points, and SUPER ZONKERS and so forth.
It would appear you can actually play this BASIC game inside your browser here:
http://www.platypuscomix.net/applepalooza/nightmare6.html
The website claims it's using virtual apple, which has worked for me but I was having issues getting this link to the emulator working, despite switching to firefox which doesn't appear to be necessary from the original authors of the plugin. I get a download error for NIGHTMARE #6 (for the emulator image, it's nightmare.dsk) but it might be that just right now the firefox plugin download is having some issues. It's kind of strange because Nightmare #6 isn't listed in the virtual apple website. While writing up this response I've searched a lot of other emulators (some foreign), gotten lost on the web and yet still can't find another link for you.
I'll have to take a closer look once I can get playing the game again, but if memory serves this may be a Beagle Bros game (or a game like Beagle Bros would write). If it is -- and it wouldn't surprise me -- the game wouldn't be about scoring points but figuring out -why- scoring points is important in the program (the real game is hobby programming, in this case, Applesoft (or Integer?) Basic and machine language). I remember listing the program when I had it on an Apple 2 years and years ago in the mid 80s and it was fairly hard to understand because I believe the code made pokes and calls to machine. Remember that you can change what's in machine language by using POKEs and calling certain routines with CALL. So one trick would be to make an Applesoft basic program to poke a machine language program into existence (say, even a short one around $0300) and then call the thing from within the basic program. But remember that Applesoft programs were simply in user modifyable memory also -- at about $0800 or so I think, and you could just poke right into your own applesoft code, making self modifying applesoft (or integer, or machine) language code. It was kind of weird, you could make impossible line numbers and change tokens and stuff -- Beagle Bros (and others I would imagine) would do things like overwrite the unused tape commands (SHLOAD, etc.) to give applesoft basic more functionality (IF could get an ELSE, the & ampersand could be used to do built in functionality, etc.).
So, the object of the game of NIGHTMARE #6 may have been to figure out what the poked machine language was doing, or even how the code was modifying itself! If they were CALLing anything, the machine code could also be modifying the game indirectly.
I do remember some of the doubles you could use for NIGHTMARE #6, something like QW WE ER (right across the qwerty keyboard, but note the repeats), but I never figured out the underlying code. It may have just been a kind of map on the qwerty keyboard.
If the link above gets working again (and maybe you want to ask the webmaster/majordomo of that site), you could possibly run the thing and list the program. If the program is self modifying, you might want to LOAD it in memory first, then issue STOP commands between data reads/pokes. If I'm not remembering this right (unfortunately I've lost my copy to check), then at the very least you have a link to an emulator for the program NIGHTMARE #6.
Hope you can figure out this Super Zonker! If anyone else has anything on this, please give us a post!
Mike
ps - Beware -- If NIGHTMARE #6 is indeed self-modifying then inserting STOP commands wouldn't be such a good idea because all the program's data positions would be off and you might not be able to run the program!
My original integer basic version says Copyright Apple Computer, 1978.
This morning, I took a brief look at the code. Pretty simple algorithm. It is not self modifying code.
Regards,
Mike Willegal
PS
I'm not giving any secrets away.
Thanks Mike for confirming that it does exist and that it is a game that you can figure out (assume thats what you did when you looked at the code) Oh go on tell us what it is...I dont have access to an apple any longer...
This is quite interesting... I tried playing around with it on AppleWin, but I can't really figure it out. Looking at the short program listing, it seems to want two character input, letters only, with no repeated letters. I've gotten to the end without losing points, but can't figure out how to gain points. Coming from a Commodore background, I feel like the program might have a few problems, but I'm not very familiar with the Apple's version of BASIC.
There are several other interesting-sounding programs on the disk image I haven't tried yet. I really wonder if this was an official Apple program like it says?
Michael