Notes on STAR TRADERS (a.k.a. STAR LANES)
         ============         ==========

The only sign of authorship in the original program is this
comment:

     MODIFIED for 'ALTAIR BASIC 4.0' BY - S J SINGER

In fact, the program has several "features" which lead me to
believe it hasn't really worked right since the days of Altair
BASIC 4 (it uses old-style string extractions.)

I believe that this program is in the Public Domain. My changes
and enhancements (NTRADE.BAS) are hereby placed in the public
domain.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

The help screens from the game have been copied into MANUAL.TXT.

This package includes two versions of the game: TRADE and NTRADE.
Both are available in source (.BAS) and executable (.EXE) form,
suitable for running on a PC or compatible.

TRADE "Classic"
===============

TRADE is the original version from an old CP/M floppy, except that
all occurrences of PRINT Z1$ were replaced with the new CLS
statement. Z1$ contains the "clear screen" escape sequence for
ADM-3A and compatible terminals (including my reliable old Kaypro
2x.) TRADE has several bugs regarding input validation, so be
careful!

TRADE.BAS works fine in Microsoft GW-BASIC (and probably others.)

TRADE.EXE works fine on every PC I have access to.

NTRADE "Improved"
=================

NTRADE is a version I hacked and slashed under Turbo Basic and
QBasic. It uses VGA 640x480x16-color video mode (if available,)
and tries to simulate the look and feel of the later Kaypro
CP/M machines. It includes a subset of the Kaypro font, and all
PRINT and INPUT statements have been rewritten to use special
video routines that display in that font, in green (my Kaypro has
a green screen.) A flashing block cursor is simulated.

I have tried to fix all the input validation bugs in NTRADE. I
have also replaced processor-speed-sensitive timing loops with
clock-based delays of approximately the right length. Uppercase-
only text has been converted to lowercase with appropriate
capitalizations. Numerous spelling errors have been fixed.

NTRADE.BAS works fine in Microsoft QBasic and Borland TurboBasic
           (and probably in QuickBasic and PowerBasic too.)

NTRADE.EXE requires color. If you have a VGA or compatible video
           adapter, it will use the Kaypro 2x font.

If NTRADE fills your screen with snow, press the TAB key twice.
This will switch to text mode. If you prefer the original
uppercase-only text, press the TAB key once. You can exit NTRADE
from any INPUT statement using the ESC key or Ctrl-C.

- Benjamin C. W. Sittler <bsittler@iname.com>