| ★ APPLICATIONS ★ DIVERS ★ TEARAWAY: THE INFORMER ★ |
TEARAWAY: THE INFORMER (Amstrad Action) | TEARAWAY: THE INFORMER (Amstrad Computer User) | TEARAWAY: THE INFORMER (CPC Attack) |
All the pokes in Cheat Mode are generated by skilled hackers, probing deep into the game code for those elusive cheats. PHIL HOWARD examines a utility that helps you do just that... n tiie beginning there was the Multiface II. A window on the works had opened Then came The Insider. who linked within the Multiface and cast his Z80 eye over the CPC landscape Now look out, here comes Teat a way the informer, poke finder and revealer of detail, rallying to the aid of baffled games players everywhere, and (very possibly) with the ability to vanquish the evil Insider for all time. Tearaway is a utility from CPC Network, a new outfit headed by enthusiast James Verity. It has been developed primarily with poke finding in mind, to help everyone from the keen novice to the hardened hacker squeeze that bit more out of their Multiface II. And what's more, it is dead easy to use.
System requirements Supplied only on disk, Tearaway requires at least 128k of memory (not necessarily a 6128. though) and of course a Multiface II. A friendly opening menu offers the options to install Tearaway itself, to read/print a comprehensive help file (which doubles as instructions), or customise the display colours Once Tearaway has loaded into the Multiface RAM the computer resets, and, to all intents and purposes it was never there. You're free to run and play your games as normal but, press the red button on the Multiface II and instead of the minimal information line, or the Insider's postage stamp display. Tearaway's main menu takes over the screen The entire program is menu-dnven, so that you are never further than couple of keystrokes away from where you want to be. Exploring the options These program's mam features are all, to a greater or lesser extent, pan and parcel of the hacker's repertoire. However, one of the options is unusual and interesting enough to menuon further. It is the unique search facility, the development, of which has been based primarily on poke finding, and it incorporates a clever system called the Null Value Option, which enables the user to search for opcodes with unknown addresses - it sounds ghastly, but can be extremely useful. For instance. a frequent method of reducing lives etc within a game is to use the sequence : 3A 34 12 LD A,(1234) ;Get the lives |
Main features
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The competition
Inevitably, comparisons are bound to be made with Romantic Robot's own program The Insider, but there is no doubt that Tearaway is streets ahead written specifically to fill the annoying gaps left by The Insider Once loaded there Is no disk access to slow you down, the menus are clear and easy to use, and the entire screen is used for display.
On the minus side, however, to achieve these benefits, Tearaway utilises 16K of the computer's usable memory, and by doing so renders Itself incompatible with a few multiload games. Also the disassemble: and memory dump use a software (rather than hardware) scroll routine which makes them slightly difficult to read on the move Lastly, the key selections for options are not terribly logical, it would have been nice to use "D" for Disassemble. "S" for Search, etc
These criticisms are minor compared to Tearaway's advantages, which represent something new and exciting for the Amstrad CPC Network itself, the company which produces Tearaway, is friendly, speedy, and professionally run. Tearaway is a useful program which should become an essential buy for Multiface II owning hackers and cheat seekers everywhere.
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