Interview of Richard Clayton, founder of Locomotive Software
by Charles da Silva - july 2003
from [1]
Richard Clayton
- Could you tell us about the creation of Locomotive Software ?
Chris Hall and I founded it in February 1983. We were going to build an add-on board for the IBM PC (which was really new then and we much admired it, but it was too slow!). We raised some money from a Government grant to build a board centred around the National Semiconductor NS16032 (later called the 32016!). But we started the company the day we did (Valentine's Day), because we had a contract from Acorn Computers to build them a Microsoft BASIC clone to run on their add-on board for the BBC Micro.
- What was LS most important projects before Amstrad ?
The BASIC for AcornAmstrad PCW-8256
- What was THE most important project for LS ?
We did a lot of things, but I think the PCW was the thing we built that really changed people's lives. It was an icon of the 80s
What was your reaction when Amstrad asked you to work with/for them ?
When Roland Perry brought round the first unit, at the end of August 1983, I opened it up -- which upset him because he'd obscured the logo on the outside case, but hadn't thought to do that on the PCB. (We were the first people who were interested enough to peek inside...)
I saw the name and didn't pay it much heed -- I thought they were Japanese :)
What do you think of how personal computer market has evolved ?
In the games market, I'm deeply impressed by the amount of silicon used these days to get the graphics to go really fast.
About the CPC : What did you think of the machine at the time ? And what do you think of it now ?
We thought we'd done a pretty good job and I still do
How many time did it take to create Locomotive Basic ?
We had the main part already, from the Acorn project. All the rest (the commands that accessed the hardware and operating system (timers etc)) we built between September 1983 and very early January 1984
Then and now, LS Basic for the CPC machine was/is considered as one of the best one ? What is, for you, the explanation ?
We were very influenced by what Acorn had done with BBC Basic but we wanted to avoid the cryptic *FX stuff as far as possible, so we added lots of keywords. We also wanted to be able to show off what the machine could do, graphics, sound etc from the BASIC, so you could get fancy things like synchronised music and movement without having to learn to program it in assembler
Have you known any difficulty at the time with the machine ?
The hardware worked very well (Mej's firm built an emulator for the ASIC so we had something running for much of the time)
Have you any funny memory about that time ?
We did have some problems with recording information on the tape. We had some fancy pre-compensation to get the fastest possible speeds, and we'd found it worked better if we set the pre-comp different for "0" and "1"
Then we were shipped a new unit from Japan and it stopped working. When we looked into it we found that a Japanese engineer had also spotted the difference between "0" and "1" and had fixed the circuitry to make them more identical. When we set the pre-comp the same, it all worked again!
What do you think of that period now ?
I'm amazed we did it in the time we had
About the PCW : What did you think of the machine at the time and what do you think of it now ?
We were very excited to build a Word Processor for that price. We had a background of building word processors when they cost 10,000 pounds each and we were going to have something better for just 300 pounds. That was just amazing
Was it more exciting that the CPC project ?
I think the CPC was more exciting because it was first
About your work with Amstrad : What was your relation with Alan Sugar, Amstrad or MEJ electronics ?
I only met Alan a few times and thought him a very clever man, though he tried hard to pretend that he wasn't :)
We'd known Mej for years ... he built the hardware for the 10,000 pound word processors!
What are you most proud of ?
LocoScript 2
Which computer company had, as far as your concerned, the best product ?
It depends when and for what market... after all the IBM PC was remarkable - just a bit slow
Amstrad CPC-664 About you : what is your favorite Amstrad machine ?
CPC464
What is the worst Amstrad machine ?
The 664 was squeezed by events, which wasn't entirely its fault!
Is there any project which was not finished that you regret ?
It was a shame not to build the "Ant" -- which was going to be the games machine that shared a lot of hardware design with the PCW ("Joyce"). But we just didn't have the time and effort to do it justice so perhaps it was best that it was cancelled.
Have you any regret about that time ?
Not enough holidays
What do you do now ?
Currently I'm studying for a PhD in the Computer Security group at Cambridge University (yes, even at my age!)
What do you think about people collecting old computers and especially CPC machines ?
Everyone should have a hobby :)
What do you think of people still developping programs with your creation ?
Perhaps taking nostalgia too far ... I think you have to see these machines as being of their time, so try and view them in terms of what you could run on them back then