Editorial (rewritten 18.09.89)

Phew! Sorry for the delay with this issue. Our attempts to
produce extra space have caused more problems than they solved 
so we've decided to stick to the standard ST un-compressed format
since Issue 1 worked okay. Once again, our apologies to all of 
you who experienced difficulties with their original disk. 

So .... welcome to Issue 2 of SynTax. It was really great to 
see how many of you took Issue 1, either alone or as a 
subscription, and a large percentage of readers who just took 
the single issue have now gone onto a sub. Thanks to all of you
for your support.

It was also good to get so much feedback (see the Letters 
section) on your views of the magazine. Luckily. most of it 
was good! However, the criticisms were all constructive and I 
hope you will like the changes. 


A very obvious change is the colour of the magazine. We've also
developed a method to change colours within files which makes it 
@+more ~interesting, +doesn't it!

We have also speeded up the printing to some extent. We tried 
several spoolers but STOS wouldn't accept them so we have 
worked it from within STOS. You now have the choice of printing
a whole file by the "yawn---go-and-make-a-cup-of-coffee" method
or printing a page at a time at normal speed. Sometimes, you 
might only want to print one page anyway, not the whole file.
If you are printing out several single pages, remember you'll 
have to do your own page feed at the appropriate place.
Please note the 3-in-1 type hints will only print the old way. 

The general opinion seemed to be that you don't want music 
while the disk loads, so that idea has been kicked out of the
window - more room for reviews, solutions etc though!!

Several sections have grown in this issue, Letters being the 
notable one, though the PD section is also much larger and the
Solutions list has also expanded. There are two new sections, 
Helpline and Index/Back Numbers. Space limitations in this issue
necessitated a cut-down version of the ST Adventure List but that
will be back next issue.

In the next issue (thinking well ahead - it's amazing how 
quickly two months pass), I'd like to start a section giving
brief details of any BBs about with adventure sections on them.
So, if you know of one, please send details of what's on it, 
times online, baud, parity, scrolling/Viewdata and so forth. 

Though contributions have been acknowledged in the appropriate 
section, I'd like to briefly thank everyone here as well. All
of them were most welcome and any new ones will be in the future.

Our thanks go to the reviewers who have been so enthusiastic 
about Issue 1 of SynTax. To Dave Russell who gave us our first
review on 16/32 on Micronet; Stuart Campbell who reviewed 
Issue 1 on STing, also on Micronet; Colin Newman who gave us a

write-up in the Essex Evening Echo; Paul Rigby who gave us our
first mention in the "glossies" - in his adventure section in 
The Games Machine.

Still no news on putting maps onto the disk, we're still working
on the problem. Any suggestions would be most welcome.

A few people have ordered solutions from us. Don't forget that 
John has a vast selection of solutions to 8-bit and 16-bit
adventures so do write to him if you are looking for a 
solution to any adventure and he will do his best to help.

Two more points of interest. First, Christopher Hester's 
Adventure Coder magazine is now on issue 2. This magazine will 
help you if you are interested in writing your own adventures, 
regardless of which machine or utility you use. It costs œ1.00
an issue in the UK. Contact Christopher at 3 West Lane, Baildon,
Near Shipley, West Yorkshire, BD17 5HD. 


Secondly, Guiding Light, a phone-in adventure helpline, has been
set up by Jackie Wright on 0898 338933. There are 10 lines, 
manned from noon to 8pm, seven days a week. The cost? 25p/min 
off-peak or 38p/min during peak times. 

Finally, you may have heard that Linda Wright is taking a break
from writing adventures (I, for one, hope it won't be permanent).
The good news is that she is going to run a PBM game, Arcania.
The planned launch date for the game is October and it sounds
great fun. I have never played a PBM and have decided to take
the plunge as Arcania is bound to be of the same high quality as
Linda's adventures. If you want more details, send an SAE to 
Marlin Games, 19 Briar Close, Nailsea, Bristol, BS19 1QG.

T-t-t-that's all, folks; see you in November!

                                          Sue