Talent Computer Systems

Talent Computer Systems was set up by Professor Andrew Colin and Jon Malone (another lecturer at the Strathclyde University) and published a wide range of games and adventures for the Sinclair QL and Atari computers. They originally used a Wicat, an up market 68000 based machine, running under Unix for software development. All of their early software was written in Stab, a language developed at Strathclyde University, which is related to C and BCPL.

They were best known for producing QL Paint under the Sinclair label and the ground breaking (and ever-needed) Cartridge Doctor which would attempt to rescue damaged files from microdrive cartridges automatically (or as Talent coined it - automagically).

In the early days, Talent traded from Curran Building, 101 St James Road, Glasgow G4 0NS, UK - this was in fact a part of the basement of the library building for Strathclyde University.

Their catalogue of software, together with the Sinclair QL titles published by Microdeal, Shadow Games and Chisoft were purchased by Tom Dolezal who used to run TK Computerware and still trades as Talent+. Much of their software is still available from RWAP Software.

The original Talent changed its name to Colin Ross Malone Ltd. which concentrated on educational products and documentation for large organisations such as HP and the National Health Service. Colin Ross Malone Limited ceased trading in 2010.

Software Published by Talent includes:

• 3D Designer - create 3d wire frame graphics and rotate them (MISSING IN ACTION)
  
• Assembler Workbench - programming aid to help create and debug machine code programs
  
• BasicAlly - programming aid to help debug SuperBASIC programs
  
• Cartridge Doctor - semi-automatic tool to recover data from corrupt microdrive cartridges
  
• Cosmos - astronomy program
  
• Deathstrike - good quality arcade game based on scramble
  
• Dennis the Dwarf at the Funfear - text adventure featuring the same characters as Horrorday (never released by Talent)
  
• Farmer - arcade game where you need to collect in the crops
  
• GraphiQL - bitmap screen drawing package - also released as QL Paint
  
• Horrorday - good humourous text only adventure
  
• Hoverzone - good quality arcade game
  
• Jungle Eddi - platform adventure game
  
• Lost Kingdom of Zkul - realtime dungeons and dragons text adventure
  
• Macro Assembler - 68000 Macro Assembler by Eddy Yeung
  
• Nemesis - text adventure by Paul Brittain
  
• Oxford Trivia - pub quiz game (MISSING IN ACTION)
  
• PCB Designer 1 - design package for single sided eurocards (MISSING IN ACTION)
  
• PCB Designer 2 - design package for double sided boards (MISSING IN ACTION)
  
• QDOS Trap Handler - a small machine toolkit for giving direct access to QDOS Traps
  
• QIMP - flexible Icon Manager program
  
• QL Toolset - toolkit providing over 100 extensions to SuperBASIC
  
• QLacman - a colourful pacman clone with good graphics
  
• Ram Disk and Spooler - Easy to use RAM disk driver and printer spooler
  
• Screen Snatch - a program for capturing the screen and printing it out
  
• Sideways - program to send text to a printer sideways - landscape printing
  
• Stone Raider - Boulderdash clone
  
• Strip Poker - the classic card game where you are trying to beat Denise
  
• Superbomber - a good quality scramble clone - similar to Deathstrike
  
• Technikit - a support package for TechniQL
  
• TechniQL - 2D CAD drawing package
  
• The Prawn - spoof text adventure of QL Pawn
  
• The Lost Pharaoh - arcade game where you explore the Pharaoh's tomb in search of treasure
  
• Type22 - lead a Type 22 Frigate on a search and destroy mission
  
• West - realtime text adventure set in the Old West
  
• WIMP - program to design Windows, Icons and Pictures for use in your own programs
  

Talent also wrote the Talent Graphics Toolkit, a fractal drawing program for the Sinclair User Annual in 1986