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| Founded By: | Julian Chappell |
| Location: | Tintern, South Wales |
| Year Started: | 1982 |
| Year Wound Up: | 1985 |
| Titles in Database: | 7 |
| Rights Now With: | Julian Chappell |
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| Julian Chappell started Software Farm in 1982, writing games for the Sinclair ZX81 - his first computer. He discovered a method of getting hi-resolution graphics from the machine which resulted in some outstanding commercial titles.
Following the collapse of the only ZX81 software distribution company in 1985, Tiger Distribution, Julian shutdown Software Farm. |
Titles per Year
Breakdown by Genre
Breakdown by Platform
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Added: 27 Mar 2017
An article on ZX81 Pseudo Hi-res - something that Software Farm pioneered. The article has been loosely translated from Spanish.
Pseudo HI-RES mode in the ZX81
The standard ZX81 screen has 24 rows with 32 characters each. Each character is a grid of 8 x 8 pixels, and occupies 1 byte. However, the user can not select these pixels in isolation, only the predefined characters.
The ZX81 is limited by hardware and can only support character codes up to 128, compared with 256 to present a "True HIRES" result from all combinations that would 8-bit mode. In contrast, the ZX81 uses bits 0-5 to form codes of 64 characters (0 to 63), plus 118. CHR $ Bit 7 is used to indicate the inverses of these (128-191). The value of bit 6 is used by the ULA for the dump file on-screen display, and therefore does not participate in the character set encoding.
The block of video memory stores a maximum of 32 x 24 bytes (768 bytes) + 25 bytes = 793 bytes HALT instruction. Thereafter, the mode in which the ZX81 encodes the video memory is slightly different if we have more or less than 3.25 kB RAM.
Pseudo HI-RES mode works like the text mode, but the character height is limited to a single line at a resolution of 8 x 1 pixels is obtained instead of the 8 x 8 pixels. The resolution of the display from 256 x 192 points to 32 characters "flat". Each line ends by an opcode RET (C9H), so that this resolution occupies a memory space of 6336 bytes (6.2 kB), obtained by multiplying 33 (32 + HALT columns) by 192 lines. For this reason, it is necessary to have an extension of 16 kB to enjoy this.
Thus we can obtain a resolution based on redefining the characters (changing the character table somewhere in the ROM), so does not have all 256 possible combinations that make up a byte. Instead, it searches the ROM area with the most random possible content that will allow as many possible combinations. The registry value I dictate where in the ROM is the combination to be used. The result is similar to "True" HIRES, except in some combinations that can not draw. The term "pseudo" is because less than 50% of the 256 combinations required for True HI-RES are available in this mode, as pointed out by Wilf Rigter in his article, "The ZX81 Video Display System". This limitation may cause in some cases some pixels to be in an undesirable location, having to use a byte with a combination of the closest to the bits required by the software.
In the article by Paul Farrow, "Flicker-Free Display Mechanism", it is suggested that the origin of this mode was in the code Amazing Active Display developed by Ron Bissell in 1981 (Macronics) for the ZX80. This code could be purchased to be used by other programmers. A variant of this code was suggested by Dr. Ian Logan in his article, "Auto-Display-Changing" (Sync magazine, Volume 1, Number 3, May / June 1981), and also included in the book, "The ZX80 Companion (Linsac)".
Before closure in 1985, Software Farm (Julian Chappell) produced several games that used this technique: Forty Niner (1982), Rocket-Man (1984) and Z-Xtricator (1984). While the technique was more refined and allowed for a larger screen mode. A very similar algorithm to Software Farm's was used by Lothlorien in 1983 in their game "Micro Mouse Goes de-bugging". |
Garry G
Added: 27 Mar 2017
Down on the farm…
Ok, when I go retro I don’t do no wishy-washy half-measures!
This blog was inspired by an accidental glimpse of an old advert I remembered from my misspent youth.
The advert was by the, then, mysterious ‘Softwarwe Farm’ and promised ‘hi-res’ graphics on the ZX81… a machine that everyone knew couldn’t do user-defined hi-res graphics, and I have to admit that I was sceptical.
Well it turns out that everyone, including sceptical teenage me, was wrong, and the humble ZX-81 could indeed do ‘hi-res’ user defined graphics. My dumb was well and truly struck, and probably like many others I immediately began to wonder how this was done. As it turns out Julian Chappell, the main programming half of the one man / one woman Software Farm team wasn’t too forthcoming on this front. And who could really blame him. It reportedly took him six months just to work out the user-defined graphics procedure code.
In hindsight I think the most remarkable thing about this revelation is that it was done at all, far-les done commercially and successfully on a machine that was already falling out of favour. This really was a relatively major software coupe at the time, and although the games were more-or-less successful I still don’t think the user-defined graphics process got the technical accalation that it richly deserved. If this had come just a few years earlier it would have been hailed as a major accomplishment.
In today’s world of neo-photorealistic graphics this may not seem much to write home about, but at the time it was scarcely believable. Imagine the impact of some little-known software firm announcing it had come up with a purely software only solution to allow the 360 or PS3 to show real 3D on a normal monitor. Yes, it was that fantastical a claim for some people in the ZX-81 community at the time. It was something that accepted knowledge said just couldn’t be done.
Anyway, enough rambling from me… let’s get down to the games:
Software farm had released some ‘normal’ ZX-81 games before their hi-res revolution. But I’m looking at the games utilising their user-defined graphics process here. They released four of these games: Forty Niner, Rocket Man, Z-Xtricator, and Booster.
The first game to be released was ‘Forty Niner’ a clever variation on the popular Dig-Dug concept, which was still a popular arcade-cabinet game at the time. Although primarily a vehicle to showcase the aforementioned graphics this was also a very playable game. Of course it was the graphics that got the attention, especially from the computer press of the time, but the game was good and could have stood up on it’s own without the groundbreaking visuals.
The second game to be released was ‘Rocket Man’ and although it was still seen as a show-hors for the graphics-engine this was also universally hailed as a superior game in terms of game-play and design. This was an updated take on the ‘Jet-Pack’ style of game. And the original ‘Jet-Pack’ was seen as one of the best available games of the newer and much hypes ZX Spectrum at this time.
Rocket Man was a jet-Pack come ladders-and-levels game that had you collecting gems from the left hand side of the screen to deposit in your flying-saucer that randomly lands to the right of the screen. However this task is hampered by a nicely rendered blob… escaped straight out of the ‘Prisoner’ TV series of the time I think!
By the time the third game came out Julian had though that the initial glamour of the user-defined graphics could be watered down a little, with the main focus switching back to the game-play. In hindsight this may not have been the best course of action.
Z-Xtricator did do well, especially seeing as how it was released to an ever diminishing ZX-81 market place. By this time its younger Spectrum sibling was busy gobbling up large chunks of the UK market, and the ZX-81 was being seen as increasingly niche or old-hat. But Z-Xtricator was by no means a failure.
This game was a fairly sophisticated Defender type game. I think to call it a clone would be to do it a slight injustice, although in many respects it probably was the closest the humble ZX-81 got to a full Defender conversion.
And this was where disaster struck when Software Farm’s distributor ceased trading. This was a major blow to the company, which had already seen diminishing returns. To make matters worse there were no other distributors taking on ZX-81 releases, so the only option this left them with was to go back to directly selling their product to the consumers by mail-order. At one stroke almost 80% of their audience, and profits, was swept away from under them…
To their personal effort and the ZX-81 everlasting gratitude Software Farm struggled on to produce one last game. This was the much called-for sequel to ‘Rocket Man’ which, up to this point, was heralded as their greatest game.
‘Booster’ was released amidst much abated-breath, albeit to a much reduced audience. It came packaged with a very obviously low-rent plain cassette tape and cover with typed instructions. The company’s plight was obvious when comparing this packaging to the slick full-colour earlier covers.
But the content more than made up for the plain cover. This much awaited squeal was indeed heralded as a huge improvement over the original game, and was now seen as the new shining diamond in an increasingly tarnished crown.
But it couldn’t stop the inevitable closure of the outfit. The ZX-81 faded from the gaming markets as the battle of the Spectrum verses the Commodore 64 raged on in the British high-streets and schoolyards. I think something very special was lost as likes of the ZX-81 passed into history and the very first seeds of popular-computer-gaming took shape. But then gain, something wonderful was about to happen, and a brand new entertainment industry was poised to burst into every living-room.
I still haven’t figured out exactly how they got those user-defined graphics to work on a humble ZX-81 though…
Perhaps now someone could tell me?
Garry G
Aug 2011
http://garrysgamingblog.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/down-on-farm.html |
Added: 27 Mar 2017
Julian Chappell now runs another business, although still linked with games (of sorts!):
Website : http://www.ultimateescape.co.uk
Address: Ultimate Escape, The Old Stables, 1 Garage Street, Llandudno, Conwy LL30 1DW
Email: escape@ultimateescape.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1492 471493
Ultimate Escape puts a group of you in a room for one hour with a variety of puzzles to solve.
Their first game, CSI Murder Mystery opened on Monday 15th August 2016. They opened their second room, ‘Escape from the Future’, for the bank holiday weekend on the 27th August 2016. |
Added: 27 Mar 2017
A Software Farm tribute page exists here:
http://www.pictureviewerpro.com/hosting/zx81/softwarefarm.htm | |
Added: 27 Mar 2017
Interview – Julian Chappell of the classic ZX81 publishing house Software Farm
March 23, 2017 by Villordsutch Leave a Comment
Villordsutch chats with Julian Chappell of the classic ZX81 publishing house Software Farm…
The Sinclair ZX81 was (and still is) a plucky little machine. RAM packed with 1K of memory this machine came into its element when you crammed a hefty additional 16K onto the back of it, however at the time gaming on the machine wasn’t overly impressive. There were the occasional gem to be found, 3D Monster Maze, Mazogs and Inventions for example, however there were a certain cluster of gems grouped together – in amongst the considerable amount of chaff – and they came from Julian Chappell at Software Farm.
cosmic cockerelJulian’s titles, which included Forty Niner and Rocket Man – were something special. They did away with the Basic Sinclair Graphics set and he made good use of High Resolution Graphics on the ZX81. Suddenly everything became a lot less blocky and our games felt far more professional; more arcade like. However, time moves on and thirty-five years later I managed to catch-up with Julian who is now in a breezy Llandudno, running Ultimate Escape.
Julian Chappell
Julian Chappell
Villordsutch: What brought you to the world of the Sinclair ZX81? Was it your first machine and you just found an instant affinity with it or did you stumble through oddities with an Intellivision here and a ZX80 there?
Julian Chappell: It was my first machine – and I loved it!
V: When you sat behind the keyboard of the ZX81 and its inch-thick manual did you feel in your gut that this machine could do more or where you initially led to believe that you were to be stuck with the Sinclair Graphic Set and nothing else?
JC: Well obviously, the manual was aimed at using the machine ‘as it was intended to be used’. i.e. it gave instructions on how to load other people’s programs and lead you into BASIC programming if you wanted to write your own, but then went on to give a plethora of technical stuff in the reference section too. To this day, I don’t think I’ve come across a product with such a comprehensive manual. Sinclair’s openness about their product has, in my eyes, yet to be matched. After the usual ‘how to’ part you’d normally expect the manual to end, but for the ZX81 Sinclair went on to give details of every aspect of the ZX81. The internal architecture and the ROM etc. I don’t have a manual any more but I think I’m right in saying that they even listed the Z80 instruction set. If not, then I obtained one from somewhere else, but either way I skipped the BASIC which is/was far too slow for games and delved straight into the machine code.
V: What opened your eyes to the world of Hi-Res graphics on the ZX81? Was it something that you stumbled upon yourself or had you found out about it elsewhere?
JC: Once you are down to machine code level and are armed with all the technical info you can eat then it is a natural step to poke and prod around. I didn’t start prying into the inner depths of the ZX81 with the idea of improving the graphics – in fact I didn’t have any particular objective in mind other than hoping I might find something useful. When I found out how the graphics system worked it was just begging to be tweaked!
V: You started Software Farm and took to publishing your own titles including Rocket Man and Forty Niner which incorporated your rather fantastic graphic wizardry. I remember reading Sinclair Programs adverts and – as a child – looking in disbelief at the ZX81 graphics on show, did you ever get anyone questioning the validity of what you were selling?
JC: I expect there were a few lost sales because people didn’t think it could possibly be true, but nobody ever questioned it to my face!
V: Where did your publishing house name and the Cosmic Cockerel – the Software Farm mascot – come from?
JC: When I was a kid my parents had a Sub-Post Office and grocery shop, and this was at the time when the Supermarkets everyone takes for granted today were just beginning to appear. They hit the trade of the old fashioned ‘local shops’ really badly and many went bust. I suggested that if a Supermarket sprung up on both sides we could change our name to, ‘Main Entrance’, but Dad didn’t think that was funny.
My parents sold up and bought a smallholding in Tintern, South Wales with the intention of becoming self-sufficient and dropping out of the rat-race. The first ‘venture’ was a load of chickens, plus the required cockerel to provide fertilised eggs and replace the ones we were intending to eat. The farm became the Software Farm and the cockerel became the Cosmic Cockerel. It was better than a guard dog, throwing itself at anyone that went anywhere near his ‘girls’ with a tremendous squawking, beating you with its wings and could actually draw blood with those spurs.
When family and friends were finally invited to the first home produced Sunday Dinner, consisting of self-reared chicken and home grown vegetables nobody could bring themselves to kill a chicken so we had to get a take-away instead. A scene stolen by ‘The Good Life’ some years later. The writers of that must have been spying on us!
V: When the doors closed on the ZX81 gaming why did you decide you’d had enough with programming for Sinclair computers? Had you burnt away too many hours of your life and realised it wasn’t for you or did the ZX Spectrum not hold enough interest at the time?
JC: Within seconds of the Spectrum being announced all the software houses dropped the ZX81 like a hot potato and raced each other to produce the first Spectrum games. This left the Software Farm with the entire remaining ZX81 market, with hi-res into the bargain! Although I was under no illusions. I was well aware that this situation had a very limited life span as all ZX81 customers were abandoning the little black wedge as soon as they, or rather their parents, could afford a Spectrum.
I did move on to the Spectrum, but with hindsight much too late. The ZX81 market was diminishing by the day and by the time my Spectrum offering – a program called ‘Potty Professor’ – was ready for release there was no money in the coffers for advertising or even proper packaging.
In ‘Potty Professor’ the player had an arsenal of unlikely items which if fitted together in the right way would create different working contraptions, such as a steam engine – or a time machine made out of a Delorean. (That’s a joke, by the way!)
There are only a few copies of ‘Potty Professor’ out there. I don’t even have one myself, so if anyone does they have a real collector’s item!
V: With the resurgence of the ZX81 and new games appearing from people like Bob Smith (of Bob’s Stuff), Paul Farrow, Johan Koelman, Jim Bagley, NOCA$H and numerous others do you ever feel like breaking out the machine for nostalgia sake?
JC: With my last memories of the ZX81 being that less and less people out there had any further interest in it I just naturally assumed that once the lights finally went out that was it. It had had a good life but was now dead, deceased, snuffed it, is no more and would have fallen to the ground if it wasn’t nailed to the perch. I didn’t give it much more thought and moved on, concentrating on the project of the moment. To be honest I didn’t even know there was a resurgence until very recently.
V: Since you left gaming where did your travels take you?
JC) I stayed with computing, becoming an IT consultant and worked on many varied projects over the years, from early warning system for a nuclear power station to till systems for Thornton’s Chocolates.
V: The Ultimate Escape sounds interesting how did you get involved in that?
JC) The life of an IT consultant can be a little nomadic, as you have to go wherever the client’s office are based and life in temporary accommodation. A life of hotel rooms and bedsits and now I’m not a spring chicken any more I wanted to become a little more settled – and once games are in the blood…..
Escape Games started online where players are enclosed in a building or some other structure and have to find clues and solve puzzles which eventually lead to them escaping before the oxygen runs out. Or perhaps they’ve been poisoned and need to get out to find the antidote. The reason depends on the storyline, but it’s always against the clock!
Once Escape Games appeared in the real world they soon became popular and Escape Rooms quickly spread around the globe. I started the very first one in North Wales, called Ultimate Escape in Llandudno.
V: Is this an adults only thing or can parents turn up with children and get shown up on the day?
JC: Escape games appeal to everyone – as long as they like the challenge of solving puzzles, and I think that is most of us. Escape Games are great for families, groups of friends and of course company team building events, and they appeal to all ages. I’ve had parents bringing their 6 year olds along right up to 60th birthday celebrations.
V: Without spoiling to much of what goes on – in the rooms – can you give us a small sales pitch of what we’d expect if we turned up at the door? That’s a good point, should we book ahead or can we just turn up at the door?
JC: When a team turns up they are given an introduction to Escape Games and the type of thing to expect, if they’ve never played one before. I have created two themed rooms, ‘CSI Murder Mystery’ where – you guessed it! – you have to solve a murder, and ‘Escape from the Future’ which is obviously Sci-Fi but with all challenges aimed at being fun or amusing to do as well as being challenging. Players are given a briefing about the theme of their chosen room and given their objectives – then they have an hour to solve all the puzzles and complete their quest in order to escape. There is usually a debriefing session afterwards too, as everyone wants to talk about how well they did!
It is sometimes possible to turn up at the door, but that is taking the risk that the rooms aren’t already booked – so you quite often end up having to make a booking for later anyway!
Flickering Myth and Villordsutch would like to thank Julian for taking time out for the interview. To find out more about Ultimate Escape or to book a time-slot the you can visit their website or give them a call on 01492 471493. |
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