Colour Genie

The Colour Genie ( EG2000 ) was an 8 -bit computer, which came on the German market in August 1982. As a model of the " genius " series, it should inter alia make the ZX Spectrum competition. The device is not reached, despite initial successes, the sales targets and played especially after the success of the presented later C64 and a negative rating in the magazine test of Stiftung Warentest not matter anymore. Manufactured were the geniuses of EACA in Hong Kong. Sales in Germany was about the company Trommeschläger Computer Studio ( TCS) and the computer stores, for example, about the company Schmidtke Electronic in Aachen. After the bankruptcy of EACA and thus the loss of a major supplier TCS also had to file for bankruptcy in August 1985.

Application

Programming was done either by a compiler or assembler on that is stored in ROM ColourBasic. After connecting a floppy disk drive on two EPROMs advanced on the cartridge, which was connected via a ribbon cable to the floppy controller, the BASIC command set, especially to commands for processing strings. In addition, the need for floppy use CMD commands were added. On the board of the cartridge was also space for a third (EP) ROM, which then could contain, for example, a machine language monitor or hard-copy program.

The use of the tape recorder as a storage medium was a great challenge for the patience dar. It took as about 20 minutes, one of the largest programs, the play Deathtrap, to load a 3D adventure game with character set graphics. The cassettes on which the games were sold, often with an extra bit at the end as copy protection, which should complicate attempts to copy. There was even extra distributed a program that cassette programs provided them with copy protection ( and with which the cartridges yet - as with any good hi-fi cassette deck with two drives - could be copied ).

The Basic Programming was not as usual today with a text editor, but with a line editor.

There was a graphics and text mode for the display could be switched between in the program. Since both video memory areas were at different addresses, it was possible for a text representation in the background yet to build the graph. A text representation was also possible in graphical mode, but the low resolution of this mode made ​​the font extremely large. Many games therefore did not use the graphics mode, but built the graphics from special characters, which could be freely defined. A simple flight simulator ( a version of a TRS -80 program ) as used in text mode, special characters to represent the simple, jerky Vector landscape and the instruments. By appropriate programming of CRT register the graphics and text resolution could be varied in limited areas, found this application for example in games chopper and Trashman.

In Germany also " graphics cards " were offered as an extension, but the only changed the number of characters in text mode.

The joystick EG2013 was special in that it was common digital, analog queried but not like Atari, Amiga and C64. As the joystick is provided depending on the position values ​​between 0 and 255 for the X- and Y-axis (128 in middle position). Thus, a control was realized, which took into account the length of the joystick movement. Chained to the control lines of the keyboard to a 9- pin female connector from, could also be used an Atari -compatible joystick. All games that used the arrow keys and the spacebar, so could also be played with a joystick.

The sound chip also allowed language editions, such as in the game Crazy Paint II Here the programmer has two short samples of his own voice used.

In Germany, the manual was " COLOUR BASIC - easily learned " included and there was a User Club with private club magazine "BYTE ", which was however discontinued after 10 issues.

Model development

As of April 1983, the Colour Genie with the so-called was " New Rome " delivered. Externally, these models can be identified by the built-in level meter for the tape recorder connection. The resolution in text mode has been increased to 40 × 25 characters, the graphics resolution to 160 × 102 points. In addition, new Basic commands have been added and corrects errors in Basic commands. So the first models, the algorithm of the Basic command was incorrectly implemented for filling areas of the screen to a border color: the color " ran out ". You could see the - housed in a jack - semiconductor devices in DIL package with the Basic interpreter send to the German distributor and got about 2 weeks later a corrected version. But the space was not sufficiently obvious so that the command option to " sudden " change of color screen background in graphics mode was omitted and by a much slower method ( drawing a "box" in the desired color all over the screen ) had to be replaced. A detailed description of the changes bring the ROMs with it, found in the appendix of the manual " COLOUR BASIC - easily learned ."

Models

  • In New Zealand, Colour Genie with a different decoding the color shipped, for example, 16 color is black instead of white. In addition, these devices have a modified character set ROM. The reason for this is that in New Zealand in the 80s instead of VHF UHF TV sets were used.
  • Colour geniuses who were delivered in Germany, have a different character set ROM as international models.

Software

From various third party providers ( mostly single programmer ) and the company itself TCS were offered many different programs for the color genius. Especially in games and educational programs, there was an ample selection, but also word processing, paint programs or database programs were available.

Games of TCS:

  • Andromeda (1982) ( Jürgen Buchmüller )
  • Chopper (1983) ( Jürgen Buchmüller ) [ 16K ]
  • Colour- Kong (1983) ( Harald Bögeholz ) [ 16K ]
  • Colour- Kong (1983) ( Harald Bögeholz ) [ 32K ]
  • Colour Chess ( 1983)
  • Crazy Paint ( Jürgen Buchmüller )
  • Eagle ( 1983)
  • Ice ( 1983)
  • Eliminator ( 1984) ( Harald Bögeholz )
  • Flight Simulator
  • Invasion from Space (1982) ( Harald Bögeholz )
  • Life (1983 )
  • Mampf Man II (1983) ( Klaus Weber)
  • Meteor (1983) ( Harald Bögeholz )
  • Moths (1982 )
  • Netzo (1983 )
  • Suction (1982)
  • Thousand Foot (1983 )

Data Colour Genie 2000 EC

  • Processor: Z80A, 8 Bit, 2.2 MHz
  • BASIC ROM: 16 kb
  • RAM: 16 kb (32 kb with 16 kb memory expansion); Parts of the RAM memory are used by the (disk ) operating system, the available BASIC memory can be displayed with MEM? ; the key is held down while turning the color geniuses, the graphics memory available to the BASIC memory is added
  • Addressable memory: 64 kb ( 0000 hex - FFFF hex)
  • Keyboard: Typewriter (QWERTY 63 keys, with occupancy for graphic characters and color change, 4 function keys)
  • Screen resolutions: 160 × 96 × 4 colors (orange, green, blue, black); 40 × 24 characters in 16 colors
  • 128 user-definable characters
  • Audio channels: 3 1 noise channel, mono ( sound chip AY- 3-8910 )
  • Internal speaker (via toggle switch can be disabled). Older models did not have a speaker.
  • Connections: internal memory expansion, audio output, composite video output for monitor or TV antenna cable, light pen, RS232, printer ( Centronics interface cable is required), cassette recorder, joystick, floppy drive 5 ¼ inch above expansion port
  • Internal transformer with attached power cord ( Euro plug)
  • Dimensions: 34.0 × 9.0 × 28.0 cm
  • Former selling price in the show: 995, - DM (approx. 511 EUR ); Accessories: manual, demo tape, cable for connection of a cassette recorder ( DIN plug to 2 x mini- jack)

Comments

  • The COLOUR- BASIC was a " drilled " version of Microsoft BASIC, which, inter alia, in the TRS -80 was used. This is recognizable by the very unusual way in which the BASIC command FCOLOUR was coded: The string for the token is only " FCOLOU ", then in memory followed by the letter "R". The reason for this strange coding - all other token strings are completely - lies in a limitation in the original Microsoft BASIC to a maximum of six characters for a token string.
  • The token values ​​for the 26 is not included in the original Microsoft BASIC tokens, ie for the COLOUR- BASIC, consist of two bytes with values ​​between 0xff, 0x80 and 0xff, 0x99.
8-bit Video Genie Assembly language#Assembler Read-only memory Electronic visual display General Instrument AY-3-8910 DIN connector
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