Fighter (Mitsuaki Sugihara)

Title – Fighter (ファイター)
System – NEC PC-8001
Author – 杉原光昭 (Mitsuaki Sugihara)
Publication – Program Pochette – ’84 Volume 1
Page Scans – 1 2
Preserved By – Dustin Hubbard (Hubz)
Recommended Emulator – j80

Download ROM

Loading the Game –

– Run your PC-8001 emulator and make sure it is in PC-8001 mode.

Disk Version

– Insert the disk file.
– Game should autoboot if it doesn’t you may just need to reset the emulator.

Tape Version

– Insert the tape file.
– Type MON hit enter and then type L and hit enter.

Description & Instructions

Fun Fact – This magazine type in listing was missing an entire line (Line 70!) which contained the movement and shooting commands for Player 1, this took me longer than I’d care to admit to figure out. On top of that it was mapped to oddball keys that aren’t mapped by default in j80 emulator. I changed the code so it’s more playable in j80. This was a nightmare to transcribe lol and not even that good of a game. Ah well!

Two player game in which you fly around and shoot at each other. At the beginning of the program launch it asks you Point, Game, Sound? in which you type numbers.

Points are how many points you want to play to.

Game is 1 or 2, 1 is regular mode while 2 only allows you to fire in areas that are black (Which happens after either player moves over them)

Sound is 0 for off and 1 for on.

So if you wanted to play 3 rounds at game 1 with sound on you’d type 3,1,1

After the game ends you’ll be kicked out to a prompt. Type Run to play it again.

Controls –

z – Move Player 1 in a circle pattern. Let go to move straight in the direction you were heading.

x – Player 1 shoots a bullet, hit the other player with it to score a point.

Numpad 2 – Move Player 2 in a circle pattern. Let go to move straight in the direction you were heading.

Numpad 1 – Player 2 shoots a bullet, hit the other player with it to score a point.

Magazine Article Translation from Google Gemini (FYI This may not be 100% accurate!)

ファイター (Fighter)

For PC-8001
By 杉原光昭 (Mitsuaki Sugihara)

The moment I saw it, there was a guy who shouted, “Ah, this is a snowball fight!” Even if you try to be a little witty, at best it’s like the “pie throwing” from a wild Western-style party. However, the simpler a game is, the more fun it is! (Sometimes).If you hold down a key, you just keep spinning and spinning, which is kinda pitiful and kinda fun… The part where it’s hard to control is both frustrating and delightful… (what kind of sensibility is that?). The fact that you fight with two players, compared to other lonely games, is beautiful and good, I think.

(How to Play the Game)

This is a 2-player game. Two fighter jets shoot missiles at each other.
(Keys Used)

X ・・・ ●’s rotation (Player 1)

GRPH ・・・ ●’s FIRE (Player 1)

2 [on keypad] ・・・ ○’s rotation (Player 2)

□ [Spacebar] ・・・ ○’s FIRE (Player 2)

(How to Play)

When the game starts, it first asks you for “POINT, GAME, KANTAN NA SOUND”. In response to this, you must enter three numbers separated by commas.

POINT is the number of rounds you want to play.

GAME is either 1 or 2.

If you enter 1, the background is black.

If you enter 2, the background becomes yellow, and if a fighter jet passes over a spot, the background in its wake turns black, and you can no longer fire missiles from those dark areas.

KANTAN NA SOUND is for sound: 1 for sound on, 0 for sound off.

As I wrote at the beginning, the fighter jets can only turn right (clockwise). Well, that’s what makes it interesting, though.

(Program Explanation)

(Variable List)

N ・・・ POINT (Number of rounds)

G ・・・ GAME (Game mode 1 or 2)

S ・・・ カンタンなSOUND (Simple SOUND: 1=on, 0=off)

X, Y ・・・ Coordinates of ● (Player 1)

A, B ・・・ Coordinates of ○ (Player 2)

X1, Y1 ・・・ Coordinates of ●’s missile

A1, B1 ・・・ Coordinates of ○’s missile

C ・・・ ●’s score

D ・・・ ○’s score (Note: The magazine has a typo and says ●’s score again)

(Program Description)

Lines 10〜20 ・・・ Initial Setup

Lines 30〜150 ・・・ Main Loop

(Check Point / Tips)

To make this a 1-player game, you could control player ○ (A, B) and its missile firing with random numbers. For those of you who want to play diligently by yourselves, try modifying the code appropriately.

Attacking is quite difficult. It’s hard to get your orientation right.