WARGAMES Movie Simulator TEII Basic w/Speech Synthesizer

[twoodland]

It was summer 1983. I just finished my freshman year of high school.  I had been using my first computer for a little over a year.  My high school did not provide any access to computer learning and I spent too much time during classes reading computer books and writing programs.  At home, I stayed up most nights typing programs and dialing up to BBS’s.

 

I remember when Wargames came out.  I went to see it at our local mall movie theater and was hooked.  I felt I could really relate to everything in that movie.  I went home after seeing it and started working on a program to simulate what I could remember from what I had seen.  I thought my TI-99/4A with the Speech Synthesizer would be perfect!  It took several years, many revisions, printed program listings and using a home recording of the movie on VHS after it was released on cable, trying to decipher paused VHS screens to come up with my program.  I was always frustrated that I could not get my BBS to provide speech to users like in the movie.

 

Fast forward to this year when I stumbled upon a YouTube video by Retro Tech Shed demonstrating his WOPR Wargames Movie Simulation.  It had rekindled my enthusiasm!  I added his version converted to C, to my BBS (Telnet:ARDA-BBS.com:23 Phone:(937.315.0002) From the main menu select "X" for Computer Lab, then "W" for W.O.P.R.). While still not providing speech to remote users, I can live the dream locally.

 

I then dug through boxes of cassette tapes hoping to find my TEII Basic program.  I found it!  

 

 

It pales in comparison, but I am proud of it as it represents many hours of using my TI.  It is the first program that I wrote that ran out of memory! I am positive that it can be optimized and redone to be a lot more efficient, but it is what it is, and is a snapshot of a happy time in my life.

 

I would like to share it for those TI99ers that have a fondness for the movie and I hope you enjoy it.

 

 

WARGAMES.zip

Edited August 27 by twoodland
Added cassette graphic.

[RickyDean]

I tried to run this in JS99er and get the following message and then listed the line to reveal the code. You can see that speech is enabled, in the panel on the right. Can anyone shed light as to why it might not be working? Thanks

[Asmusr]

7 minutes ago, RickyDean said:

I tried to run this in JS99er and get the following message and then listed the line to reveal the code. You can see that speech is enabled, in the panel on the right. Can anyone shed light as to why it might not be working? Thanks

My guess is that you don't have the TEII cartridge inserted.

[RickyDean]

9 minutes ago, Asmusr said:

My guess is that you don't have the TEII cartridge inserted.

very astute Sir. I was trying to run in XB, my bad

[Asmusr]

2 hours ago, twoodland said:

I would like to share it for those TI99ers that have a fondness for the movie and I hope you enjoy it.

It was fun to play. I think it captures the mood of the movie very well.

[+MattelAquarius]

Would greatly appreciate seeing a YouTube video of this in action, if anyone is so inclined.

[unhuman]

I got suspended from computer camp when one of the teachers brought in their TI-99 w/ TEII cart....

 

"Greetings Professor Falken.  F$#@$ You!"

 

Out I went...  3 days suspension + an apology letter to the teacher.  Sorry/not sorry.

Edited August 28 by unhuman