Search found 145 matches

by lister_of_smeg
Sun Mar 03, 2024 7:30 pm
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: Super rare old Spectrum game discovered!
Replies: 18
Views: 791

Re: Super rare old Spectrum game discovered!

Gears of Games wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2024 4:52 pm Wonder what it could be worth?! :D
It'd be worth checking the screenshot for attribute cells with 3 colours ;)

Great job all the same, though! :D
by lister_of_smeg
Mon Feb 26, 2024 11:04 am
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: The 20 games with a <= 10% rating from all three major ZX Spectrum magazines
Replies: 16
Views: 474

Re: The 20 games with a <= 10% rating from all three major ZX Spectrum magazines

Count Duckula 2 was atrocious, but it did (sort of) manage to be physically playable (it's better than the Amstrad version where you stop if you hit the top of the screen, rendering many screens impossible without using the "hero" feature to skip them). Interestingly the tape version (whi...
by lister_of_smeg
Sun Jan 28, 2024 1:32 am
Forum: Emulators
Topic: Exporting videos to YouTube
Replies: 4
Views: 365

Re: Exporting videos to YouTube

If you're upscaling you'll get the best results by using only exact integer scaling, turning off any scaling filters (i.e. bilinear, bicubic, lanczos, spline, etc.), and cropping the border as/if necessary to fit the target resolution.
by lister_of_smeg
Fri Oct 27, 2023 1:34 pm
Forum: Emulators
Topic: Flashload problems
Replies: 9
Views: 393

Re: Flashload problems

The ROM loader is enabling interrupts before returning. So there's two small windows (after this EI until you page bank 0 in, and after you page your destination bank in until the DI near the start the ROM loader) where an interrupt could occur and mess things up. I have no idea whether this has any...
by lister_of_smeg
Thu Oct 19, 2023 12:47 pm
Forum: Sinclair Miscellaneous
Topic: Fun with RANDOMIZE USR
Replies: 32
Views: 722

Re: Fun with RANDOMIZE USR

Van_Dammesque wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2023 12:40 pm I remember a thread like I started I think on WoS and was told the fake loading was the rest of the ROM being read probably continuing into the RAM.
It'll be determined by whatever the values of the DE (length) and IX (start address) registers contain at the time.
by lister_of_smeg
Thu Oct 19, 2023 11:59 am
Forum: Sinclair Miscellaneous
Topic: Fun with RANDOMIZE USR
Replies: 32
Views: 722

Re: Fun with RANDOMIZE USR

Chuntey field distortion on demand ;)

Code: Select all

RANDOMIZE USR 2054
by lister_of_smeg
Sat Sep 09, 2023 2:18 am
Forum: Brand new software!
Topic: Zetrix
Replies: 7
Views: 562

Re: Zetrix

by lister_of_smeg
Sat Sep 09, 2023 1:36 am
Forum: Brand new software!
Topic: Zetrix
Replies: 7
Views: 562

Re: Zetrix

by lister_of_smeg
Wed Jun 07, 2023 10:21 am
Forum: Emulators
Topic: Javascript spectrum emulator list
Replies: 12
Views: 492

Re: Javascript spectrum emulator list

There's also RVMPlayer, which is early on in development and currently only supports the +3 (most likely due to it only supporting disk images and not tapes at present).
by lister_of_smeg
Tue Jun 06, 2023 4:20 pm
Forum: Design/Ideas
Topic: If all games were text adventures...
Replies: 16
Views: 829

Re: If all games were text adventures...

WELCOME TO SQIJ!!
YOU ARE IN A DARK CAVERN. THERE ARE EXITS TO THE EAST AND WEST.
WHAT NOW?
> E
YOU CANNOT MOVE IN THAT DIRECTION.
> W
YOU CANNOT MOVE IN THAT DIRECTION.
> N
YOU CANNOT MOVE IN THAT DIRECTION.
> S
YOU CANNOT MOVE IN THAT DIRECTION.
> _
by lister_of_smeg
Fri Mar 24, 2023 3:39 pm
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: Diarrhea Dan
Replies: 11
Views: 508

Re: Diarrhea Dan

by lister_of_smeg
Wed Mar 22, 2023 6:02 pm
Forum: Hardware
Topic: The case of the missing +2A/B external floppy drive
Replies: 5
Views: 229

Re: The case of the missing +2A/B external floppy drive

https://github.com/konkotgit/PLUS-2A-FDC-LIGHT I built one of these, works great with Gotek, 3.5" PC drives and the Amstrad FD-1. They're pretty simple, because although the +2B is missing the disk controller circuitry, it does still has the address decoding logic for it, and as mentioned earli...
by lister_of_smeg
Fri Feb 17, 2023 5:58 pm
Forum: Hardware
Topic: Pico based Spectrum ROM interface (photoessay)
Replies: 31
Views: 1218

Re: Pico based Spectrum ROM interface (photoessay)

Nice work! You can save GPIO by ORing bits 15 and 14 of the address bus, /MREQ and /RD. (if you're not already doing so!)
by lister_of_smeg
Wed Feb 15, 2023 10:58 am
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: Gryzor disk release?
Replies: 70
Views: 1507

Re: Gryzor disk release?

Watch out for the fakes. This one can be identified by the barcode which is the same as the tape version: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1058638274/spectrum-128k-3-disk-gryzor-ocean?show_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details Kinda annoying that they are reducing the already diminishing num...
by lister_of_smeg
Wed Sep 07, 2022 10:58 am
Forum: Sinclair Miscellaneous
Topic: Spectrum memes
Replies: 1216
Views: 197539

Re: Spectrum memes

(Unable to resist replying -technically- to a meme from August). :geek: Methinks the fake-Z80 in the Gameboy has a Zero Page addressing mode. :mrgreen: (Although it is actually page 0xFF, not 0x00. And it appears they usually wasted most of it on memory mapped IO). :roll: Speccy would have used it ...
by lister_of_smeg
Fri Jul 29, 2022 2:28 am
Forum: Hardware
Topic: Toastrack memory paging problem
Replies: 15
Views: 692

Re: Toastrack memory paging problem

No, he means that there may be a problem with IC29, which is a Programmable Array Logic (or PAL) chip. It’s known as type “10H8”. The bad news is that these are no longer made :( The worse news, is that their replacements from most manufacturers, GAL (Generic Array Logic) are also obsolete :( Can a...
by lister_of_smeg
Fri Jun 10, 2022 10:29 am
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: Which ZX Spectrum game is most deserving of a sequel?
Replies: 55
Views: 1737

Re: Which ZX Spectrum game is most deserving of a sequel?

My take on Renegade IV: A New Beginning would be to still have the time machine story going, but using the Target Renegade engine (the best, IMO, although I'll happily settle for the Renegade one) and Renegade goes back in time to 1989 Manchester, where he finds everybody responsible for creating a...
by lister_of_smeg
Tue Feb 22, 2022 11:13 am
Forum: Hardware
Topic: PicoDivSD update possible?
Replies: 5
Views: 220

Re: PicoDivSD update possible?

You may need to unprotect the EEPROM first: You could try using this guide . I couldn't find the '1.TAP' or the '2.TAP' on Piotr's site, but I'm pretty sure '1.TAP' refers to the EPROTECT utility available here . Use the 'ESXMMC.TAP' from your new ESXDOS zipfile (i.e. the latest version from the ESX...
by lister_of_smeg
Tue Feb 22, 2022 1:39 am
Forum: Hardware
Topic: PicoDivSD update possible?
Replies: 5
Views: 220

Re: PicoDivSD update possible?

Have you tried removing the 'DIVSD DISABLE' jumper when the message appears?

Image
by lister_of_smeg
Mon Feb 14, 2022 8:54 pm
Forum: Sinclair Miscellaneous
Topic: TZX2WAV alternative...?
Replies: 9
Views: 382

Re: TZX2WAV alternative...?

Try adding a pause block with a non-zero length to the end of the TZX. It's possible TZX2WAV isn't closing off the final pulse, and adding a pause block would fix this.
by lister_of_smeg
Mon Feb 14, 2022 6:49 pm
Forum: Programming
Topic: Fastest way to do a little BEEP
Replies: 28
Views: 1155

Re: Fastest way to do a little BEEP

The play loop NOT being a multiple of 8T is the most important factor if running in NON-contended memory, since all the other factors (related with contended memory don't apply). Indeed, adding a RET Z after the OR C should fix the 8T alignment. Which is nice, because it wouldn't actually increase ...
by lister_of_smeg
Mon Feb 14, 2022 1:57 pm
Forum: Programming
Topic: Fastest way to do a little BEEP
Replies: 28
Views: 1155

Re: Fastest way to do a little BEEP

Oh it's noticeable... ... I never listened to such a difference. There must be something wrong with that code or the emulator. Either Interrupts or assuming that the same memory pages are uncontended in every machine or something like that. Can you share the code, for us to take a look ? Did you tr...
by lister_of_smeg
Mon Feb 14, 2022 2:06 am
Forum: Programming
Topic: Fastest way to do a little BEEP
Replies: 28
Views: 1155

Re: Fastest way to do a little BEEP

... Also, you'll get a little distortion with that method on models which are subject to I/O contention, because the loop will take longer when the ULA is drawing the screen than when drawing the border. That is barely noticeable, since it only happens in between transitions of contention and non-c...
by lister_of_smeg
Sun Feb 13, 2022 1:44 am
Forum: Programming
Topic: Fastest way to do a little BEEP
Replies: 28
Views: 1155

Re: Fastest way to do a little BEEP

This is pretty short, but so are the beeps! ;)

Code: Select all

; beep
; entry: d = pitch, e = duration

loop0: djnz loop1
xor (hl)
out (#fe), a
dec e
ret z
beep: ld b, d
loop1: ld hl, loop0
jp (hl)
by lister_of_smeg
Sat Feb 12, 2022 8:20 pm
Forum: Programming
Topic: Fastest way to do a little BEEP
Replies: 28
Views: 1155

Re: Fastest way to do a little BEEP

Fine, @utz, it's like mine but with less bytes, congrats. But there's something odd... these routines make beeps not like ROM ones, but like the intro of Skool Daze: Do you have interrupts enabled? Also, you'll get a little distortion with that method on models which are subject to I/O contention, ...