Date   : Mon, 12 Oct 1998 14:29:28 +0000 (GMT)
From   : Peter Hatton <bramley@...>
Subject: Re: B+, was Re: Acorn database

On 12 Oct 1998, Kevin Humphreys wrote:

> I've recently acquired a B+ as a replacement for a long lost standard
> Beeb but there's a lot of my old software which refuses to run.  Most
> things (eg Sabre Wulf, Overdrive) seem to freeze the machine after the
> first stage of a multi-part load, with or without the Z-Break
> combinations.
> 
> Does anyone have a summary of B/B+ differences, and any other tricks
> for improving compatability?
> 
If I remember rightly, Sabre Wulf and any of the Ultimate games have
protection and encryption routines which used the 0S1.2 rom to base it
decoding code - which is very different compared with the B+ OS rom.

As for Overdrive, I dont remember any protection routines, so I guess it
is calling some routines in the OS directly, instead of the correct acorn
way, just to same CPU time.  For example the offical entry point in any of
the OS's to print a character is &FFEE, which always ends up calling
another (Same) address in OS1.2 and a different address on the B+ OS.

The only to sort these problems out is get a B or, go through the programs
and fine any dodgy calls to the OS rom.  I'm sure Superior Software
released a version of Overdrive which ran on the B+ and Master.

Hopes this helps..

Peter Hatton
TermiSoc Treasurer
E-mail:  bramley@...
Webpage: http://area51.upsu.plym.ac.uk/~bramley
Mail fortune:-
Vests are to suits as seat-belts are to cars.