Ashminster

Ashminster
Interpreter, Authoring system
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Developers	Roger Taylor, James Byrne
Format	Other
Interaction style	Parser
Systems	BBC Micro/Acorn Electron, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64/128, Sinclair ZX Spectrum
System details
Latest version
Status
Uses interpreter
License	Not available
Notes
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Ashminster is an unofficial shorthand name for a Quill-like engine originally developed by Roger Taylor and James Byrne of Ashminster Computing Ltd.

The system was initially produced to create a BBC Micro port of Trevor Lever & Peter Jones' Quilled game Hampstead for Melbourne House.

It was later used to produce a new version of Roger's Applications Software Specialities game, Denis Through the Drinking Glass for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron (replacing the original BASIC port).

The Ashminster engine was subsequently ported to the Spectrum, C64 and Amstrad CPC. It could incorporate third-party graphics code.

Ashminster powered the Melbourne House releases of Terrormolinos and Dodgy Geezers, which had originally been prototyped using the Quill by Lever & Jones.

The system was licensed by Mike Woodroffe of Adventure International UK (later Adventure Soft UK), initially for their conversion of Adventure International's Questprobe Featuring the Human Torch and the Thing. Woodroffe was looking for a system capable of running on tape-based micros that could match the improved features of Scott Adams' disk-based SAGA.

The licensed Ashminster code was subsequently incrementally improved and incorporated into the Adventure Soft UK games Rebel Planet, Masters of the Universe - Super Adventure, Temple of Terror, Blizzard Pass, and Kayleth.

Ashminster was also used for an unfinished BBC Micro/Electron port of Games Workshop's Quilled adventure Tower of Despair.

See Also:

• TaylorMade - an interpreter by Alan Cox.