Cosmo Mission and Astar International Co.

[D Finnigan]

Mr. Paul Hagstrom and I both have a funny old 13-sectors disk that we'd like
some more information about.

Here is a picture: http://macgui.com/gallery/showphoto.php?pic_id=1945

Anyone have a similar disk, or know more about it?

--
]DF$
Apple II Book: http://macgui.com/newa2guide/
Usenet: http://macgui.com/usenet/ <-- get posts by email!
Apple II Web & Blog hosting: http://a2hq.com/

[Chuck Morris]

I have that exact same disk. It's a Space Invaders clone, which I think may have also been published under another title.

[D Finnigan]

Chuck Morris wrote:
> I have that exact same disk. It's a Space Invaders clone, which I think
> may have also been published under another title.
>

I played it about a year ago when I finally realized that it was 13 sectors.

I'm interested to know more about the meaning of the writing and the stamp.

[Ivan X]

I have this disk, and tape. On tape (at least the version I have) it's "Super Invader" and was distributed by Creative Computing. The game itself is identical but the tape version implements a partially-integer-basic menu allowing you to choose either play, demo or exit, whereas the disk version just loops like an arcade game would.

As arcade game clones go, it was particularly faithful to the original, and fun to play. I had one particular epic game as a kid and scored 10,100.

[Antoine Vignau]

The tape @ http://www.brutaldeluxe.fr/projects/cassettes/creativecomputingsoftware/
av

[dbacken...@t-online.de]

These stickers seem to be attached to all Super Invader variants published by Creative Computing as well. I have it on a Super Invader cassette and disk. It might to be some kind of copy protection from the Japanese rightholder: Steve Ahl from CC once told me that they initially purchased their media (cassettes and diskettes) from a California representative of Cosmos/Astar. Astar was the company in Japan that had produced the original coin-operated arcade version of Space Invaders. Cosmos Computer Store was a shop in the big Akihabara electronics shopping district of Tokyo.
M. Hata translated the game from the arcade version to the Apple 6502 chip for Cosmos.
(Is there someone who knows more about him out there?)

Is it possible that the red typo is a Japanese letter?

Dirk

[Steve Nickolas]

On Sat, 27 Apr 2013, dbacken...@t-online.de wrote:

> These stickers seem to be attached to all Super Invader variants
> published by Creative Computing as well. I have it on a Super Invader
> cassette and disk. It might to be some kind of copy protection from the
> Japanese rightholder: Steve Ahl from CC once told me that they initially
> purchased their media (cassettes and diskettes) from a California
> representative of Cosmos/Astar. Astar was the company in Japan that had
> produced the original coin-operated arcade version of Space Invaders.

...I thought that was Taito.

> Cosmos Computer Store was a shop in the big Akihabara electronics
> shopping district of Tokyo.
> M. Hata translated the game from the arcade version to the Apple 6502
> chip for Cosmos.
> (Is there someone who knows more about him out there?)
>
> Is it possible that the red typo is a Japanese letter?

If I saw mb I could say...

> Dirk

-uso.

[barrym95838]

On Wednesday, April 10, 2013 4:29:17 PM UTC-7, Ivan X wrote:
>
> As arcade game clones go, it was particularly faithful to the original, and fun to play. I had one particular epic game as a kid and scored 10,100.

Hi Ivan,

When I bought my ][+ around 1981, I couldn't yet afford a Disk Drive, so tape was my only storage. I ordered that cassette from an ad in Softside magazine, and was instantly impressed with its faithfulness to the original. It was one of the main reasons that I became obsessed with machine language (Dancing Demon on the TRS-80 at school was another), but neither one of them were friendly examples from which a beginner could study and learn (way too advanced).

I didn't have a printer yet (the MX-80 came a couple of years later), but I can still remember spending hours disassembling that game from the monitor and hand-copying sections to binder paper, trying to decode the logic and flow of this very impressive game. The guy that wrote it was very good at getting the timing and graphics just right, and even managed to interleave a cool sound-effect for the saucer!

I had a similar epic game episode ... I'm pretty sure that I broke 10,000 points as well, but could never repeat it with my friend watching, so I always had the stigma of not being able to back it up with an eye-witness.

Mike

[sicklittlemonkey]

On Sunday, 28 April 2013 07:22:16 UTC+12, Steve Nickolas wrote:

> On Sat, 27 Apr 2013, dbackenkoehler wrote:
> > Is it possible that the red typo is a Japanese letter?
>
> If I saw mb I could say...

It's in the photo of the disk:
http://macgui.com/gallery/showphoto.php?pic_id=1945

But it's not Japanese. Not standard, anyway ... could be Korean (seems unlikely) or a custom stamp like a hanko.

Cheers,
Nick.

[Steve Nickolas]

Yeah, it looks vaguely like a kanji, but...no kanji I've ever seen.

-uso.

[Paul Hagstrom]

Here's three more, two from disks, one from a cassette, all of Super
Invader, clumsily pasted together from photos I took with my phone. If
that helps.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/391444/images/symeon-wu-stickers.jpg

-Paul

[sicklittlemonkey]

On Sunday, 5 May 2013 08:28:39 UTC+12, Paul Hagstrom wrote:
> Here's three more, two from disks, one from a cassette, all of Super
> Invader, clumsily pasted together from photos I took with my phone. If
> that helps.

Yes, that helps. Mystery solved! ; - )

Those other stickers are much more readable, so my (Japanese) wife recognized a Chinese character pronounced "kure" or "go" in Japanese. In Chinese it's "go" or "wu":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_%28surname%29#W.C3.BA_.28.E5.90.B3_or_.E5.90.B4.29

This matches the name Symeon Wu which was illegible (to me) on the first sticker but which I see you've included in the URL, so it must be his seal:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_(East_Asia)#Chinese_usage

Googling "Symeon Wu" (in quotes for strict matching) gives an interesting result in memoriam of Mr. (Symeon) Woo Hsi-mien who died in 1995:
http://www.taiwandc.org/twcom/66-no7.htm

So Symeon is an English version of his Chinese name "Hsi-mien". One stamp has other marks above "wu" which aren't clear but are presumably all or part of "Hsi-mien" - if this is the same guy. His family name is given as Wu or Woo.

Googling "Symeon Woo" (quotes again) gives:
http://www.corporationwiki.com/California/South-El-Monte/symeon-woo/41322321.aspx

This unofficial site shows a connection to "Astar International Co., Inc." which we need to check.

Searching for "Astar International" in California here:
http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/

Solidifies the link:
Entity Name: ASTAR INTERNATIONAL CO., INC.
Entity Number: C1352020
Date Filed: 09/23/1985
Status: SUSPENDED
Jurisdiction: CALIFORNIA
Entity Address: 1600 CHICO AVE #I
Entity City, State, Zip: SOUTH EL MONTE CA 91733
Agent for Service of Process: SYMEON WOO
Agent Address: 1600 CHICO AVE #I
Agent City, State, Zip: SOUTH EL MONTE CA 91733

So it is the same Symeon Wu, and there's a picture of the guy who signed and stamped those disks in the PDF of the memoriam here:
http://www.taiwandc.org/twcom/tc66-int.pdf

I wonder if the disks were manufactured in Taiwan. There's still an ASTAR INTERNATIONAL INC trading in Taiwan. The CEO is Yun Woo - Symeon's daughter perhaps? The story continues ...
http://www.taiwantrade.com.tw/MAIN/en_front/searchserv.do?method=listProductCompanyDetail&company_id=986&locale=2

Cheers,
Nick.

[Paul Hagstrom]

On 2013-05-05 01:22:11 +0000, sicklittlemonkey said:
> Yes, that helps. Mystery solved! ; - )

> So it is the same Symeon Wu, and there's a picture of the guy who
> signed and stamped those disks in the PDF of the memoriam here:
> http://www.taiwandc.org/twcom/tc66-int.pdf
>
> I wonder if the disks were manufactured in Taiwan. There's still an
> ASTAR INTERNATIONAL INC trading in Taiwan. The CEO is Yun Woo -
> Symeon's daughter perhaps? The story continues ...
> http://www.taiwantrade.com.tw/MAIN/en_front/searchserv.do?method=listProductCompanyDetail&company_id=986&locale=2
>

Impressive sluething! I'd made it part of the way (having deciphered
the "Symeon Wu" part just from having several examples), but that's
quite thorough. The bio doesn't make any connection to computer
company work, but he'd have been in the right place at the right time.
Super Invader, at least, is known to be a Japanese import, but maybe
Astar Int'l was serving as intermediary between the author and Creative
Computing / California Pacific.

Incidentally, Super Invader was named the Most Popular Program Ever as
of April 1981 in Softalk. (Not my scan, and I don't know whose scan it
is.)

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/391444/Vintage/Magazines/Softalk/found/Softalk_1981_04-readerschoice.jpg


-Paul

[sicklittlemonkey]

On Monday, 6 May 2013 07:26:07 UTC+12, Paul Hagstrom wrote:
> Super Invader, at least, is known to be a Japanese import, but maybe
> Astar Int'l was serving as intermediary between the author and Creative
> Computing / California Pacific.

Yeah, I wonder what the connection was. I'd like to find out more, actually. I mean, Symeon was 50 in 1980, so maybe his (teenage?) kids did some of the labeling/stamping.

Cheers,
Nick.

[dbacken...@t-online.de]

Great piece of detective work!
So it seems that even Steve Ahls (owner of CC) memory was somehow blurry about those involved, his story about a California based representative/disk distributor seems to point to Mr. Wu and Astar.

What about the programmer M. Hata who appears on the title screen of SuperInvader? Does anybody know something known about him as well?

Dirk

[wyeo]

The Taiwanese uses "Wu" (in more modern hanyu sytle surname) more than "Woo" (this is more anglicised).

But that character is correct for the chinese surname of "Wu" (and its other anglicised versions of Woo, depending on which dialect group, aka clans, you belong to).

"Hsi-Mien" will be his chinese name. The chinese names are FAMILY NAME + GIVEN NAME(S).

Symeon is probably someone "translated" into an anglicised name for an international passport so it can be used for travelling.

So, "Symeon Wu Hsi-Mien" is a correct format name for the chinese descents.

Given the 80s is just when Taiwanese foreign relations are starting to open up, you probably have the correct person.