Feedback and another round

Lucky Number now has a secret worth finding. We’ll give its clues a clear visual setting, add brief sounds and let the player choose another round.

Continue with Choose a new secret. A fresh entry can use the complete first listing below; the preceding lessons explain the guessing and validation code. For an empty Spectrum in this page, press Run it here at the end of the lesson, then Start.

Make the words easy to read

Add lines 6, 7, 8 and 9:

   5 RANDOMIZE
   6 BORDER 0
   7 PAPER 0
   8 INK 7
   9 CLS
  10 LET secret=INT (RND*10)+1
  15 LET tries=0
  20 PRINT "Guess a whole number 1 to 10"
  30 INPUT "Your guess ";g
  31 IF g<1 THEN GO TO 100
  32 IF g>10 THEN GO TO 100
  33 IF g<>INT g THEN GO TO 100
  35 CLS
  36 LET tries=tries+1
  40 IF g=secret THEN PRINT "Correct!"
  50 IF g<secret THEN PRINT "Too low"
  60 IF g>secret THEN PRINT "Too high"
  70 IF g<>secret THEN GO TO 30
  80 PRINT "Guesses: ";tries
  90 STOP
 100 CLS
 110 PRINT "Whole number from 1 to 10"
 120 GO TO 30

BORDER 0 makes the surrounding border black. PAPER 0 selects black for the background of characters; INK 7 selects white for their foreground. CLS then clears the main display using the new paper colour. Changing PAPER alone does not repaint every existing character cell.

Enter BORDER with B after a line number. For PAPER, press and release Shift+left Option/Alt, then press left Option/Alt+C. For INK, use the same extended-mode chord followed by left Option/Alt+X. Release the keys between chords. CLS is V after the line number.

Black and white provide a clear starting contrast. The ordinary colour numbers are 0 black, 1 blue, 2 red, 3 magenta, 4 green, 5 cyan, 6 yellow and 7 white. Try INK 6 in line 8, compare the readability, then restore 7. The player still receives words for every clue; remembering a colour is not part of the rules.

Let the clue sound as well

Add lines 41, 51 and 61:

   5 RANDOMIZE
   6 BORDER 0
   7 PAPER 0
   8 INK 7
   9 CLS
  10 LET secret=INT (RND*10)+1
  15 LET tries=0
  20 PRINT "Guess a whole number 1 to 10"
  30 INPUT "Your guess ";g
  31 IF g<1 THEN GO TO 100
  32 IF g>10 THEN GO TO 100
  33 IF g<>INT g THEN GO TO 100
  35 CLS
  36 LET tries=tries+1
  40 IF g=secret THEN PRINT "Correct!"
  41 IF g=secret THEN BEEP 0.1,12
  50 IF g<secret THEN PRINT "Too low"
  51 IF g<secret THEN BEEP 0.1,0
  60 IF g>secret THEN PRINT "Too high"
  61 IF g>secret THEN BEEP 0.1,-12
  70 IF g<>secret THEN GO TO 30
  80 PRINT "Guesses: ";tries
  90 STOP
 100 CLS
 110 PRINT "Whole number from 1 to 10"
 120 GO TO 30

BEEP takes two values separated by a comma: duration in seconds, then pitch in semitones above middle C. Negative pitches are below middle C. Our notes last one tenth of a second. The too-low clue plays middle C, the too-high clue an octave below it, and success an octave above it. Think of the wrong-guess sounds as suggestions to move up or down, alongside the written clues.

After THEN, enter extended mode with Shift+left Option/Alt, release it, then use left Option/Alt+Z for BEEP. Type 0.1,0, 0.1,-12 or 0.1,12 as shown. A pitch number is not a volume setting.

For a listening test, temporarily use secret 7 in line 10 and guess 4, 9, 7. Expect three short notes with the success note highest. Restore the random line. Repeat with host audio muted: the words must still give all the information. If there is no sound, check the host volume and the emulator’s sound setting (the Sound box in the page’s Spectrum panel) before changing the guessing logic.

BASIC waits while each BEEP plays. A long note would delay the next input; our short notes acknowledge the result without adding a long pause. This is a design cost of the sound, not just a choice of tune.

Offer another round

Add lines 81–84. Keep line 90 and the validation handler at 100–120:

   5 RANDOMIZE
   6 BORDER 0
   7 PAPER 0
   8 INK 7
   9 CLS
  10 LET secret=INT (RND*10)+1
  15 LET tries=0
  20 PRINT "Guess a whole number 1 to 10"
  30 INPUT "Your guess ";g
  31 IF g<1 THEN GO TO 100
  32 IF g>10 THEN GO TO 100
  33 IF g<>INT g THEN GO TO 100
  35 CLS
  36 LET tries=tries+1
  40 IF g=secret THEN PRINT "Correct!"
  41 IF g=secret THEN BEEP 0.1,12
  50 IF g<secret THEN PRINT "Too low"
  51 IF g<secret THEN BEEP 0.1,0
  60 IF g>secret THEN PRINT "Too high"
  61 IF g>secret THEN BEEP 0.1,-12
  70 IF g<>secret THEN GO TO 30
  80 PRINT "Guesses: ";tries
  81 INPUT "Again? y or n ";a$
  82 IF a$="y" THEN GO TO 9
  83 IF a$="n" THEN GO TO 90
  84 GO TO 81
  90 STOP
 100 CLS
 110 PRINT "Whole number from 1 to 10"
 120 GO TO 30

INPUT stores the reply in a$, a string variable. Line 82 accepts lower-case y; line 83 accepts lower-case n. Any other answer reaches line 84 and repeats the prompt. It does not print another upper-screen message, so repeated invalid replies do not fill the screen or hide the final count.

GO TO 9 clears the previous result, chooses the next secret at line 10 and resets tries at line 15. It leaves the colour setup and the original seeding alone. The next random value comes from the existing sequence.

Play two rounds. Try an invalid replay answer, then y, then finish the second round and answer n. Expect a fresh count in round two and a 9 STOP report on exit. That report is our deliberate stop, not a crash. Try a correct first guess in a labelled fixed-secret test: its count should be 1 in both rounds.

Save with SAVE "lucky" and keep a tape as described in Remember a name; keep the program. In the page, the editor below holds the final listing: make it match yours and press Download tape for lucky.tap. Working locally, use Emu198x’s tape export. Reopen the saved tape in a fresh Spectrum and check a round.

   5 RANDOMIZE
   6 BORDER 0
   7 PAPER 0
   8 INK 7
   9 CLS
  10 LET secret=INT (RND*10)+1
  15 LET tries=0
  20 PRINT "Guess a whole number 1 to 10"
  30 INPUT "Your guess ";g
  31 IF g<1 THEN GO TO 100
  32 IF g>10 THEN GO TO 100
  33 IF g<>INT g THEN GO TO 100
  35 CLS
  36 LET tries=tries+1
  40 IF g=secret THEN PRINT "Correct!"
  41 IF g=secret THEN BEEP 0.1,12
  50 IF g<secret THEN PRINT "Too low"
  51 IF g<secret THEN BEEP 0.1,0
  60 IF g>secret THEN PRINT "Too high"
  61 IF g>secret THEN BEEP 0.1,-12
  70 IF g<>secret THEN GO TO 30
  80 PRINT "Guesses: ";tries
  81 INPUT "Again? y or n ";a$
  82 IF a$="y" THEN GO TO 9
  83 IF a$="n" THEN GO TO 90
  84 GO TO 81
  90 STOP
 100 CLS
 110 PRINT "Whole number from 1 to 10"
 120 GO TO 30

The Spectrum has not started yet.

Give someone the game without extra spoken instructions: can they find the range, interpret a clue and leave when they have finished? Use that observation to improve the wording. Lucky Number is now a complete small game.

Next, Choose an answer begins a new program.