Andrew Davie's 'Qb'. It's everywhere!

+Andrew Davie · August 17, 2018

The upside of all this is that Qb may be the single most duplicated/owned game in the entire existence of the Atari platform! :)

Mr Robot · August 17, 2018

The Holmes answer seems the most likely. These files show up in Holmes, Closer to Home, Tosec, Gamebase, AtariOnline and The "best games" pack pinned in these forums.

The Holmes version of Qb; there are two of them, a kboot atr and one that matches the file structure I spotted here. If you extract the kboot you get a file with the same hash as the one called qb.obj. Oddly there was no qb.xex in the Holmes CD's

Extracting those files and examining the andru.bas in there gives us a genuine bas file (contents below)

So it does look like that atr image was ground zero for this weirdness!

Here's the list of files from Holmes with Qb on them, notice "Realsports Tennis" appears as "Atari Tennis", sorry Holmes!

There don't appear to be any files in the other collections that aren't on the Holmes CD's, so it looks like that is where it came from.

Applications A-Z/Binary Buster.atr
Applications A-Z/Copy Cat Disk Copy.atr
Applications A-Z/Copymate XE 3.7.atr
Applications A-Z/Diskey II DD.atr
Applications A-Z/Diskey II ED.atr
Applications A-Z/DrawIT.atr
Applications A-Z/Dup 1050 Sector Copier.atr
Applications A-Z/Elton C Low Menu Maker.atr
Applications A-Z/Format Disk (warning).atr
Applications A-Z/Happy 130XE Copier.atr
Applications A-Z/Happy 256k Sector Copier.atr
Applications A-Z/Home Filing Manager Print Utility.atr
Applications A-Z/Ian K Menu Creator.atr
Applications A-Z/Multiboot File Delete.atr
Applications A-Z/Multiboot Sector Seeker.atr
Applications A-Z/Multiboot to Binary File.atr
Applications A-Z/Multiboot to Ultraspeed [1050].atr
Applications A-Z/Multiboot to Warpspeed [810 1050].atr
Applications A-Z/Multiboot Utilities.atr
Applications A-Z/Rob C Menu Maker -800b.atr
Applications A-Z/Rob C Menu Title Changer.atr
Applications A-Z/Rob C Menu Transfer Utility.atr
Applications A-Z/Sherlock 0.2 -800b.atr
Applications A-Z/Syncopy.atr
Applications A-Z/The Archiver 3.02.atr
Applications A-Z/Translator OS-A.atr
Applications A-Z/Translator OS-B.atr
Applications A-Z/Translator XL.atr
Atari Program Exchange (APX)/APX20209.atr
Games A-L/Alley Cat.atr
Games A-L/Atari Tennis.atr
Games A-L/Attack.atr
Games A-L/Bomb Blast It!.atr
Games A-L/Boulderdash 2 [cht].atr
Games A-L/Cannibals.atr
Games A-L/Crypto-Gram.atr
Games A-L/Death Race.atr
Games A-L/Demon Attack -osb.atr
Games A-L/Eastern Front [holmes].atr
Games M-Z/Moon Lover Pinball.atr
Games M-Z/Mr Dig.atr
Games M-Z/Mr Robot & His Robot Factory [cht2].atr
Games M-Z/Plaque Man.atr
Games M-Z/Qb.atr
Games M-Z/Risky Rescue.atr
Games M-Z/Steve Davis Snooker.atr
Games M-Z/Survivor.atr
Games M-Z/The Legacy [final legacy beta].atr

Here is the original "ANDRU.BAS". Yes it runs!

Andrew, This should take you back

0 SN=1:MS=6:U=64:V=128:KY=764:CS=756:Z=0:O=1:BR=2:WL=4:SQ=64+3:STR=194:Q=240:Q2=239:FF=255:ESC=28:JY=15
1 DIM FL(Q),BK(Q),C(Q),G(Q),SXY(20),XYI(15),NFC(4)
2 GRAPHICS 18:POKE CS,V:SC=PEEK(88)+256*PEEK(89)
500 NFC(0)=1:NFC(1)=2:NFC(2)=3:NFC(3)=0
510 FOR I=1 TO JY:READ K:XYI(I)=K:NEXT I:DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,-1,0,20,-20,0
1001 FOR I=32768 TO 32807:READ K:POKE I,K:NEXT I
1002 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,24,24,126,126,24,24,0,124,254,254,254,254,254,124,0,0,0,54,28,126,56,108,0
1006 DATA 255,255,255,255,255,255,255,255
1021 FOR I=Z TO Q2:FL(I)=0:NEXT I
1022 READ XY,NC:FOR I=O TO NC:READ K:SXY(I)=K:FL(K)=1:NEXT I:STXY=XY
1029 FOR I=Z TO Q2:READ K:G(I)=K:BK(I)=K:NEXT I
1040 GRAPHICS 18:POKE CS,V:FOR I=Z TO Q2:K=G(I):IF  NOT K THEN 1044
1042 IF K=BR THEN K=STR
1043 POKE SC+I,K
1044 NEXT I:FOR I=O TO NC:POKE SC+SXY(I),SQ:NEXT I
1049 ND=Z
1050 PXY=XY:GOTO 2200
2000 M=STICK(Z):PXY=XY
2001 IF PEEK(KY)<>ESC THEN 2005
2002 POKE KY,FF:FOR I=Z TO Q2:G(I)=BK(I):NEXT I:XY=STXY:GOTO 1040
2005 IF ND=NC THEN 3000
2006 FI=FI+2:IF FI>255 THEN FI=Z
2007 A=INT(FI/16):K=FI-16*A:SETCOLOR 2,A,K
2009 IF M=JY OR  NOT XYI(M) THEN 2000
2010 OXY=XY+XYI(M):IF  NOT G(OXY) THEN XY=OXY:GOTO 2200
2020 IF G(OXY)<>BR THEN 2300
2030 ZXY=OXY+XYI(M):IF G(ZXY) THEN 2300
2041 ND=ND-FL(OXY)+FL(ZXY):G(ZXY)=BR:G(OXY)=Z:XY=OXY:POKE SC+ZXY,STR
2042 IF FL(ZXY) THEN POKE SC+ZXY,STR-64
2200 POKE SC+PXY,Z:POKE SC+XY,O
2203 FOR I=O TO NC:IF PXY=SXY(I) THEN POKE SC+PXY,SQ:GOTO 2000
2204 NEXT I
2300 GOTO 2000
3000 POKE KY,FF:SN=SN+O:IF SN>MS THEN SN=O:RESTORE 1021
3010 GOTO 1021
9999 DATA 128,4,125,68,188,131
10000 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10001 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10002 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,4,4,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10003 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,4,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10004 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,4,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10005 DATA 0,0,0,0,4,4,4,4,2,4,4,4,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10006 DATA 0,0,0,0,4,0,0,2,0,2,0,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10007 DATA 0,0,0,0,4,4,4,4,2,4,4,4,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10008 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,4,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10009 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,4,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10010 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,4,4,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10011 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10029 DATA 128,4,104,68,188,131
10030 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10031 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10032 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,4,4,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10033 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,4,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10034 DATA 0,0,0,4,4,4,0,4,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10035 DATA 0,0,0,4,0,4,4,4,2,4,4,4,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10036 DATA 0,0,0,4,0,0,0,2,0,2,0,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10037 DATA 0,0,0,4,0,4,0,4,2,4,4,4,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10038 DATA 0,0,0,4,0,4,0,4,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10039 DATA 0,0,0,4,0,0,0,4,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10040 DATA 0,0,0,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10041 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10049 DATA 131,5,87,90,111,151,149
10050 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10051 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10052 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10060 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10061 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,4,0,4,0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10062 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,4,2,0,2,2,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10063 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,4,0,2,2,0,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10064 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,4,4,0,0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10065 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10071 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10072 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10073 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10079 DATA 170,6,45,68,126,128,147,190
10080 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10081 DATA 0,0,0,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10082 DATA 0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10083 DATA 0,0,0,4,0,4,4,4,0,4,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10084 DATA 0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,4,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10085 DATA 0,0,0,4,4,0,4,4,0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10086 DATA 0,0,0,4,0,2,0,4,0,4,4,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10087 DATA 0,0,0,4,0,2,4,0,2,2,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10088 DATA 0,0,0,4,0,2,0,0,2,0,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10089 DATA 0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10090 DATA 0,0,0,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10091 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10099 DATA 110,6,65,85,105,106,108,194
10100 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10101 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10102 DATA 0,0,0,0,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,0,0,0,0
10103 DATA 0,0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0
10104 DATA 0,0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0,2,0,0,0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0
10105 DATA 0,0,0,0,4,0,0,4,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0
10106 DATA 0,0,0,0,4,4,4,4,4,4,0,0,0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0
10107 DATA 0,0,0,0,4,0,0,0,2,0,2,0,0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0
10108 DATA 0,0,0,0,4,0,0,2,0,4,0,2,0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0
10109 DATA 0,0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,2,0,0,4,0,0,0,0
10110 DATA 0,0,0,0,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,0,0,0,0
10111 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10199 DATA 44,12,88,84,163,72,69,193,192,30,150,110,177,64
10200 DATA 0,0,0,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10201 DATA 0,0,0,4,0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
10202 DATA 0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,2,0,0,4,4,4,0,0,0,0,0
10203 DATA 0,0,0,4,0,4,4,2,4,0,2,2,0,4,4,4,0,0,0,0
10204 DATA 0,0,0,4,0,0,0,0,0,4,4,0,0,4,0,4,0,0,0,0
10205 DATA 0,0,4,4,4,4,4,0,0,4,0,2,2,0,0,4,0,0,0,0
10206 DATA 0,0,4,0,0,0,2,0,4,4,4,0,0,0,0,4,4,0,0,0
10207 DATA 0,0,4,0,0,2,0,2,0,0,0,4,4,4,0,0,4,4,4,0
10208 DATA 0,0,4,0,0,2,0,0,0,0,4,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,4,0
10209 DATA 0,0,4,0,4,0,0,0,2,0,2,0,0,0,4,0,4,4,4,0
10210 DATA 0,0,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,0,0,0
10211 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0

andru.bas

+Andrew Davie · August 17, 2018

Well that's all very interesting so TY. I have no clue what that basic program actually does, so any hints would be nice

I think I discovered comments in about 1994, a decade later.

Mr Robot · August 17, 2018

It looks like a sokoban clone/variant

+Andrew Davie · August 17, 2018

Oh! That was a great little program... yes, I wrote that for my brother way back in about 1983. I had no idea it survived.

It was a tad slow but quite nifty. I recommend anyone give it a bit of a play. I recall it being quite a challenge.

TYVM

+Nezgar · August 17, 2018

Now disks all formatted from a single same source, and then copied to or from or over?

Ah good thought, if a template 'starter' disk was used for all subsequent loaded up disk images... maybe checking to see if vtoc/sector allocations are consistent on each disk? This type of analysis would also suggest which files were added to the disk image first... ie there should be no fragmentation or files out of order compared to the directory order.

carlsson · August 17, 2018

So that makes 359 disks with Qb, 1 disk with the actual Andru game and 341 disks with a random block of code/data that pretends to be Andru?

Mr Robot · August 17, 2018

So that makes 359 disks with Qb, 1 disk with the actual Andru game and 341 disks with a random block of code/data that pretends to be Andru?

Yes I expect so...

Maybe if the game were small enough the andru.bas code might survive, maybe the backup.obj would as well. Qb seems to survive because it's last on the disk so maybe even some of the qb.obj's are corrupt as well. I haven't looked for those files, I found these ones searching for the md5 of a valid qb.obj

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