The Official ZX Spectrum Thread I guess

[r_chase]

I kinda started this thread because the previous threads were kinda dead in the water.

Anyhow, let start this off with this book I got from Amazon. What do y'all think?

[Hwlngmad]

On 7/8/2024 at 5:29 PM, r_chase said:

I kinda started this thread because the previous threads were kinda dead in the water.

Anyhow, let start this off with this book I got from Amazon. What do y'all think?

Looks like a winner.  Definitely having a book that helps one really dive into BASIC on the Speccy across various models sounds great.  Hopefully it proves to be very useful and informative.

[r_chase]

On 7/10/2024 at 1:43 PM, Hwlngmad said:

Looks like a winner.  Definitely having a book that helps one really dive into BASIC on the Speccy across various models sounds great.  Hopefully it proves to be very useful and informative.

Yeah...even better is the fact that this one talks about a variant of BASIC that can be compiled into something like a TAP image and all that good shite.

[r_chase]

Okay, so long story short, I probably am gonna make a text adventure/interactive fiction ting in Lantern. I remember talking about Lantern in a previous thread, but didn't think about actually using it.

However, I might have to seek advice on creating concepts and how to implement them among other things. That might mean taking a break from learning programming languages for a bit unless if I want to start on a something arcadey or maybe even a Manic Miner clone. That being said, I might start with Space Invaders in BASIC later.

Edited July 12 by r_chase
Missing words.

[shane857]

On 7/12/2024 at 1:36 PM, r_chase said:

Okay, so long story short, I probably am gonna make a text adventure/interactive fiction ting in Lantern. I remember talking about Lantern in a previous thread, but didn't think about actually using it.

However, I might have to seek advice on creating concepts and how to implement them among other things. That might mean taking a break from learning programming languages for a bit unless if I want to start on a something arcadey or maybe even a Manic Miner clone. That being said, I might start with Space Invaders in BASIC later.

A Manic Miner clone sounds interesting. Can't beat the classics.

I dug out my ZX Spectrum+ 48k a few days ago and played it for the first time in ages!

Been slowly going through my game collection, testing them to see if they still actually load.

I've missed the old skool way of playing games. Actually having to wait 5-10 mins for a game to load. Brings back so much nostalgia.

[r_chase]

54 minutes ago, shane857 said:

A Manic Miner clone sounds interesting. Can't beat the classics.

I dug out my ZX Spectrum+ 48k a few days ago and played it for the first time in ages!

Been slowly going through my game collection, testing them to see if they still actually load.

I've missed the old skool way of playing games. Actually having to wait 5-10 mins for a game to load. Brings back so much nostalgia.

ngl I might actually do a Jet Set Willy so I can say "hey! I kinda made a Metroidvania of a sort!"

I don't have much nostalgia for ZX Spectrum's loading times, but I do appreciate the uniqueness of the art within the loading screens.

[shane857]

2 hours ago, r_chase said:

ngl I might actually do a Jet Set Willy so I can say "hey! I kinda made a Metroidvania of a sort!"

I don't have much nostalgia for ZX Spectrum's loading times, but I do appreciate the uniqueness of the art within the loading screens.

Yeh, something cool to look at while you wait..............and go make a cup of tea or something. 😂

[shane857]

Found a box in storage earlier today with some of my original games.

Looking forward to testing these over the next few weeks...

 

[youxia]

Nice mix. Urban Upstart is an unexpected gem from the usually dour Richard Shepherd Software.

[shane857]

10 hours ago, youxia said:

Nice mix. Urban Upstart is an unexpected gem from the usually dour Richard Shepherd Software.

Yeh, I enjoy Urban Upstart. Most of his games are ok. Transylvanian Tower is underrated, in my opinion.

[shane857]

Played Chuckie Egg 2 earlier..

Love this action adventure/platformer. I've never completed this game.

Great that you can actually save your progress.

 

[Jess Ragan]

This is from an American perspective, but the ZX Spectrum is the most "I guess" computer ever. The hardware is completely unsuited to video games, yet it's got thousands available, including big swings like Street Fighter 2 that didn't belong on ANY 8-bit console, let alone one as restricted as the Spectrum. The only computer that's worse for gaming is- surprise, surprise- another Clive Sinclair product, the ZX81, and you'll quickly discover why when you play Jeff Minter's ZX81 Centipede clone in the recent Llamasoft collection by Digital Eclipse. As technology goes, the ZX81 is just slightly more complex than Tomy's Waterful games from the 1970s.

[youxia]

10 hours ago, Jess Ragan said:

The hardware is completely unsuited to video games

That's a bit of an exaggeration. Its only real downside is the lack of proper sound. All the other serious limitations are mostly in regard to pure arcade games, but even for these workarounds have been employed to great effect in many cases.

 

And these obstacles also proved beneficial in a way, seeing as they have forced the devs to be creative and seek other methods to express themselves. That's why isometric genre began on the ZX with the release of Knight Lore, and Julian Gollop started his Rebelstar series, which would eventually became X-COM and influence countless other games. That's aside from numerous other highly innovative titles such as Turbo Esprit or Nether Earth.

[shane857]

20 hours ago, Jess Ragan said:

This is from an American perspective, but the ZX Spectrum is the most "I guess" computer ever. The hardware is completely unsuited to video games, yet it's got thousands available, including big swings like Street Fighter 2 that didn't belong on ANY 8-bit console, let alone one as restricted as the Spectrum. The only computer that's worse for gaming is- surprise, surprise- another Clive Sinclair product, the ZX81, and you'll quickly discover why when you play Jeff Minter's ZX81 Centipede clone in the recent Llamasoft collection by Digital Eclipse. As technology goes, the ZX81 is just slightly more complex than Tomy's Waterful games from the 1970s.

Yeh, I get where you're coming from. The Spectrum was never released in the US, I don't think.

It's a complex story, but I believe it had something to do with the fact that Americans were wealthier than Europeans in general at the time. Europe went through a pretty harsh 1980s recession, particularly Britain. The Spectrum was, at its heart, a quintessentially "cheap and cheerful" British machine that, in retrospective, had flaws like attribute clash and the keyboard, but was inexpensive and useful enough to make them endearing rather than frustrating.

If you've never played any Spectrum games then try some on an emulator and you will see it's definitely suited to video games.

For example, try playing R-Type and Chase HQ just to name a few..

[shane857]

9 hours ago, youxia said:

That's a bit of an exaggeration. Its only real downside is the lack of proper sound. All the other serious limitations are mostly in regard to pure arcade games, but even for these workarounds have been employed to great effect in many cases.

 

And these obstacles also proved beneficial in a way, seeing as they have forced the devs to be creative and seek other methods to express themselves. That's why isometric genre began on the ZX with the release of Knight Lore, and Julian Gollop started his Rebelstar series, which would eventually became X-COM and influence countless other games. That's aside from numerous other highly innovative titles such as Turbo Esprit or Nether Earth.

I agree. And the Homebrew scene is very much alive. Some of the games are amazing and would easily qualify as full price releases if they had been released back in the day.

[r_chase]

On 8/9/2024 at 11:05 AM, shane857 said:

I agree. And the Homebrew scene is very much alive. Some of the games are amazing and would easily qualify as full price releases if they had been released back in the day.

I'm honestly surprised that the Speccy homebrew scene is more active than the SMS scene. The only thing more active is the GameBoy scene. Even better is that they share similar chips, with the GB basically being a mutant Z80 clone made by Sharp.

[shane857]

Anybody remember this one?

 

Edited August 10 by shane857

[roots.genoa]

I'm currently playing Sword of Ianna on Evercade. It's the MSX2 version of the game but it's a ZX Spectrum homebrew game initially. It's quite neat even though I wouldn't be able to play it without savestates. The platforming (similar to Flashback's) takes time to get used to, and the combat can feel a bit random but I figured out how to beat skeletons consistently at least. I recommend it anyway.

 

Call me crazy but I have a soft spot for ZX Spectrum's graphics and even sound (yes, you read that correctly). I bought the Recreated ZX Spectrum Bluetooth keyboard and the Vega, but several games didn't work on the latter unfortunately. I also backed the Vega+ which is still very sore as you can imagine... I would love a ZX Spectrum handheld, and I hope there will be ZX Spectrum Evercade carts eventually.

[+wongojack]

I'm an American who has grown to appreciate the Spectrum.  When revisiting an old series, I often want to see the Speccy version(s) to figure out what the developers chose to do.  Sometimes it is terrible and sometimes it is truly amazing.  I recently played the Speccy version of Ghostbusters for comparison:  https://forums.atariage.com/topic/358971-games-beaten-in-2024/?do=findComment&comment=5513015

 

[shane857]

11 hours ago, wongojack said:

I'm an American who has grown to appreciate the Spectrum.  When revisiting an old series, I often want to see the Speccy version(s) to figure out what the developers chose to do.  Sometimes it is terrible and sometimes it is truly amazing.  I recently played the Speccy version of Ghostbusters for comparison:  https://forums.atariage.com/topic/358971-games-beaten-in-2024/?do=findComment&comment=5513015

 

The Spectrum version of Ghostbusters was the version I played first. 

[shane857]

The ZX Spectrum sound wasn't just beeps!

[shane857]

 

[+wongojack]

@shane857 "The ZX Spectrum sound wasn't just beeps!"

I agree, what was done with sound on the Spectrum was pretty amazing.  I bet there are Apple 2 fans that wish Spectrum programmers had worked on their software.  Apple 2 sound might be the worst of any major 8-bit PC.  Well, any that actually has sound.

[shane857]

I currently own a ZX Spectrum 48k+ with a Composite mod. Picture quality is acceptable through a Retrotink.

Looking to get hold of a 128k 'Toastrack' thou. The greatest and last Spectrum produced by Sinclair before Amstrad fcuked it up..

[Hwlngmad]

18 hours ago, shane857 said:

Looking to get hold of a 128k 'Toastrack' thou. The greatest and last Spectrum produced by Sinclair before Amstrad fcuked it up..

Well, a recently interviewed Amstrad worker done on The Retro Hour would claim the opposite.  But, I understand what you are driving at as Amstrad used the brand in order to help prop up their own.  Also, I will say the 128k 'Toastrack' is a cool looking computer and (very arguably) the best looking Speccy.