Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.


Author Topic: Box-Soft (Read 47677 times)

Offline Zozosoft

  • Global Moderator
  • EP addict
  • *
  • Posts: 14723
  • Country: hu
    • http://enterprise.iko.hu/
Box-Soft
« on: 2007.May.04. 18:16:40 »
spectrum emulator (both the a-studio version and the beta version of the Box-Soft version - witch was better)
What is it the Box-Soft version? We never hear about this!

Offline John Fante

  • EP fan
  • *
  • Posts: 173
  • Country: dk
Re: Box-Soft
« Reply #1 on: 2007.May.04. 20:45:14 »
spectrum emulator (both the a-studio version and the beta version of the Box-Soft version - witch was better)
What is it the Box-Soft version? We never hear about this!
Box-Soft in the UK (the ones that made Out of this World etc. You know them) made a Spectrum emulator before a-studio. I think it is mentioned in some of their ads in the old english usergroup magazine.

I sold Box-Softs software in Denmark and since Tim Box (who ran Box-Soft) did'nt have time and was afraid of the copyright with sinclair he borrowed me the prototype of the emulator. It was better and more compatible than a-softs - as far as i remember.

At the end i shipped the emulator (witch was some prints with a lot of wires and plugged in to the expansion port) to Kapacy Vilmos (William) from a-studio. The plan was the he should finish it - since it was better than the on he got at the time. But after that I lost contact with him. Btw. does anybody know what he is doing now?


Offline Zozosoft

  • Global Moderator
  • EP addict
  • *
  • Posts: 14723
  • Country: hu
    • http://enterprise.iko.hu/
Re: Box-Soft
« Reply #2 on: 2007.May.05. 12:53:38 »
Box-Soft in the UK (the ones that made Out of this World etc. You know them)
I don't know :-(
Right now I am playing the 128 version of Out of this World. Still got it :-)
This is a Enterprise game?

In the Hungary we see only the Paintbox 1.2 (drawing program) from the Box-Soft.
Only now when got a some scanned Enterprise magazines (Private Enterprise from UK, EnterFace from Netherlands) we see some advertisments of Boxsoft with many interesting things!

Do you have more informations about these?
« Last Edit: 2007.May.05. 12:58:13 by Zozosoft »

Offline Zozosoft

  • Global Moderator
  • EP addict
  • *
  • Posts: 14723
  • Country: hu
    • http://enterprise.iko.hu/
Re: Box-Soft
« Reply #3 on: 2007.May.05. 13:02:28 »
It was better and more compatible than a-softs - as far as i remember.
Yes, the original 'a' Studio Emulator not too good...
I fixed some hw bugs, and writed new ROM program for this.
More details at this topic.

In the Ep128emu 2.0.3 you can try it, now works the Spectrum Emulator emulation in the Enterprise emulator :-)

Offline John Fante

  • EP fan
  • *
  • Posts: 173
  • Country: dk
Re: Box-Soft
« Reply #4 on: 2007.May.05. 22:09:22 »
Box-Soft in the UK (the ones that made Out of this World etc. You know them)
I don't know :-(
Right now I am playing the 128 version of Out of this World. Still got it :-)
This is a Enterprise game?

In the Hungary we see only the Paintbox 1.2 (drawing program) from the Box-Soft.
Only now when got a some scanned Enterprise magazines (Private Enterprise from UK, EnterFace from Netherlands) we see some advertisments of Boxsoft with many interesting things!

Do you have more informations about these?

Yes Out of This world is a EP game. A kind of Trailblazer clone made by a guy called Andrew Richards. Very talented programmer.

I still got a lot of the software. I am not sure that I got the manuals thou. If you post me a mail address I will mail what I got.

I will start digging for the manuals.

Offline Zozosoft

  • Global Moderator
  • EP addict
  • *
  • Posts: 14723
  • Country: hu
    • http://enterprise.iko.hu/
Re: Box-Soft
« Reply #5 on: 2007.May.06. 08:26:54 »
Yes Out of This world is a EP game. A kind of Trailblazer clone made by a guy called Andrew Richards. Very talented programmer.

I still got a lot of the software.
Wow! It is very good surprise if we see 'new' Enterprise softwares in year 2007! :-) 

I am not sure that I got the manuals thou. If you post me a mail address I will mail what I got.
I will start digging for the manuals.
Thanks!!!
I send private message to you.

Offline Zozosoft

  • Global Moderator
  • EP addict
  • *
  • Posts: 14723
  • Country: hu
    • http://enterprise.iko.hu/
Re: Box-Soft
« Reply #6 on: 2007.May.06. 09:31:22 »
At the end i shipped the emulator (witch was some prints with a lot of wires and plugged in to the expansion port) to Kapacy Vilmos (William)
Kopácsy Vilmos. You are personaly meeted with he?
from a-studio. The plan was the he should finish it - since it was better than the on he got at the time. But after that I lost contact with him. Btw. does anybody know what he is doing now?
When happened this?
I afraid he not finished them :-(
The Enterprise started at Hungary in 1987. The 'a' Studio released the Spectrum Emulator and the Plus Cartridge in 1988, and many games. But after no any new items released.
About 20000 Enterprises sold in Hungary. But insufficient original accessories in the markets :-( (EXDOS, floppy drives, SpeakEasy, Mouse, printer, monitor, etc) these are sold out in a very short time. Thousands of users who are bought the machine at later time (88-90-...) can't buy any hw extensions in official shops.
We only got a promises, promises, promises,.... about the new hardwares and softwares :(

In 1990 August started a official Enterprise Distribution company in Hungary. The director is Vilmos Kopácsy.
We thinked: Yeeeessss! Now we got a real support and the most awaited items.

But no :( :( :( this company never released anything :-( only do one thing: prohibited publishing ROM disassembly books and schematics.

The Enterpress (hungarian Enterprise magazine) published interview with Vilmos Kopácsy at 1991.
He talked about Midi interface, video subtitling hw&sw, hard disk interface, PC card interface (for example VGA!),...
But he says: we not sell anything new items, because the warehouses full of Spectrum Emulators and SZJA'88 programs.
The Spectrum Emulator in the original format not too usable...
SZJA'88: tax calculator programs for year 88. But the tax rules changing in every years... who want 1988's program in 1991???

And he talked about Enterprise PC's and the new super Enterprise:
-Hitachi Super Z80 with a 21 address line and mathematics cooprocessor
-PC like slim house with external keyboard
-onboard EXDOS, Midi interface and hw networing
-EXOS 3.0 with graphical interface (EGI) looks lika about the Atari GEM

After this interview I not heard anything about Mr. Kopácsy...

Offline John Fante

  • EP fan
  • *
  • Posts: 173
  • Country: dk
Re: Box-Soft
« Reply #7 on: 2007.May.06. 11:52:06 »
As visited Vilmos in the summer of 88 and 89. As far as I remember I mailed him the beta emulator in the autum of 89.

Your story dos'nt really surprise me. The last time I visited Vilmos his attention was allready shifting to Atari (witch you can see in the demos he made with guy).

The sad thing with EP has allways been that it came out at a time when the market was shifting to Atari and Amiga.

I have mailed you a lot of software. I have also located the manuals. I will start scanning them later on this day.

I just googled Vilmos and apparently he is or has been involved with a company called http://vtge.hu/

Maby you can track him down and see if he wants to donated some of the old stuff.

Offline endi

  • EP addict
  • *
  • Posts: 7298
  • Country: hu
  • grafikus, játékfejlesztõ, programozás, scifi, tudományok, vallás
    • Honlapom
Re: Box-Soft
« Reply #8 on: 2007.May.06. 14:47:02 »
Magic Ball is a Boxsoft game! There is the Boxsoft logo on the game screen!
So Out of this World=Magic ball?
Vigyázat! Szektás vagyok! :)

Offline John Fante

  • EP fan
  • *
  • Posts: 173
  • Country: dk
Re: Box-Soft
« Reply #9 on: 2007.May.06. 16:11:11 »
Maby Out of This World was renamed when it came out in Hungary.

Here is a dump:

http://home19.inet.tele.dk/amigay/Soft-Port/otw.jpg


Offline endi

  • EP addict
  • *
  • Posts: 7298
  • Country: hu
  • grafikus, játékfejlesztõ, programozás, scifi, tudományok, vallás
    • Honlapom
Re: Box-Soft
« Reply #10 on: 2007.May.06. 22:12:51 »
Yes, this is Magic Ball. :)
Vigyázat! Szektás vagyok! :)

Offline Zozosoft

  • Global Moderator
  • EP addict
  • *
  • Posts: 14723
  • Country: hu
    • http://enterprise.iko.hu/
Re: Box-Soft
« Reply #11 on: 2007.May.07. 09:52:45 »
Maby Out of This World was renamed when it came out in Hungary.
Yes this is and the Magic Ball are looks like same.
But the OTW have a Enterprise 64 version. And the Magic Ball program is a 48K the OTW128 only 34K. What is the difference?
Who is Andrew Richards? He is a English or Hungarian boy? His name removed in the Magic Ball, replaced to 'a' Studio.

Offline John Fante

  • EP fan
  • *
  • Posts: 173
  • Country: dk
Re: Box-Soft
« Reply #12 on: 2007.May.07. 20:00:36 »
I don't really know what the difference between the two versions are. Sorry!

Andrew Richards is a young english programmer that made Out of This World, some of the brush and stripple routines for Painbox and the IS Basic extensions program (mailed you that yesterday). Besides that he made the beta version of a game called Insane (as far as I remember).

As far as I know he was a young guy who studied at Cambridge. The last time I talked to him, he was talking about shifting to Spectrum but I am not sure if he ever published anything there.

I have tried to google him but with no succes so far.

Offline Zozosoft

  • Global Moderator
  • EP addict
  • *
  • Posts: 14723
  • Country: hu
    • http://enterprise.iko.hu/
Re: Box-Soft
« Reply #13 on: 2007.May.07. 20:24:15 »
Andrew Richards is a young english programmer that made Out of This World
Then the 'a' Studio is improper when removed the original programmer name from the program!

and the IS Basic extensions program (mailed you that yesterday)
This is a another amazing thing.
Now I see the Enterprise Plus ROM by 'a' Studio contains these Basic extensions! But never say: "these programs come Boxsoft"... this sold as original 'a' Studio program...

EP Plus user manual, sorry on hungarian, but you can compare the Basic commands with the Boxsoft extensions commands!

Offline endi

  • EP addict
  • *
  • Posts: 7298
  • Country: hu
  • grafikus, játékfejlesztõ, programozás, scifi, tudományok, vallás
    • Honlapom
Re: Box-Soft
« Reply #14 on: 2007.May.07. 20:33:04 »
We need that Insane game! :)
Vigyázat! Szektás vagyok! :)