Spectrum Computing

I think C.Born means that the name DesktopFontEditorFZX.tap implies there is an inbuilt editor, but it's just a set of fonts with a simple demo program. It's just a naming confusion. A lot of the other points are just observations like that, rather than questions or requests for help.

Is it possible to save a snapshot of a NEXT game? I know you can use the NMI button to save a snapshot of a running Speccy game but I wondered if it's possible for a NEXT game? No, it's not even technically possible in the hardware, as some of the state like sprites is write-only. Well, it's read/w...

Dunno what you mean by that even though I use sjasm lol, can you give an example? Like this. Test label is defined as the address of the 123 operand byte, not the ld a opcode. Test+*: ld a, 123 I don't think it's supported in sjasm, only in sjasmplus. It's in the docs. In zeus it would be this, and...

Now thats really hard stuff to stay on top of and I wouldn't know how to do it in a modern language. There's lots of things that are normal in asm (even more so in the older CPUs without memory execution prevention) but which high level languages can't adequately express in first-class language fea...

Mpk wrote: ↑Wed Dec 27, 2023 11:51 pm In ZXDB-DL, how can I type [ ] characters in search ?

I'm trying to download my crap games from last year, but they're prefixed with [CSSCGC] so I can't search.

I passed this on and it’s being looked at. Can you give a specific SC link to one of your games so we can test with that, please?

The issue trackers are on gitlab where the hardware and software lives. One tracker for FPGA hardware issues , and another for distro issues , which covers NextBASIC, NextZXOS, the boot firware/updater program, dot commands, and third party software included on the card. It's not reasonable to expec...

Thanks Mark. I'll try to bring this back to how it relates to the Next. Normally you wouldn't call the physical wiring between the stick and the DE-9 socket a protocol, just a wiring. But in the case of Sega MegaDrive/Genesis, it kinda is. In the regular Atari type wiring we're all used to, there's ...

I replied in more detail in your joystick post, and hopefully we will get to the bottom of it there. I agree that section of the FAQ is out of date, and I’ll try to improve it. I’m personally a big proponent of going directly to the port and nextreg docs, as they are guaranteed to be up to date mast...

The boot options settings (which are indeed a UI for config.ini) are now split into two sections. One section that applies everywhere, and the other section that only applies in non-Next boot personalities. (I say now - several years ago it was different, but not everybody wants to update, so the ol...

The Next FAQ is here. It’s part of the public wiki so you can add to it.

https://wiki.specnext.dev/FAQ

Port $38 is an even port, so the ULA will respond even if an addon is plugged in externally. And if the upper address byte is not explicitly put on the bus, it won’t even get a consistent keyboard read. The best you’d get is a sample of the EAR signal.

markusr I'm posting this on behalf of Xalior who doesn't post here. He says he wrote https://github.com/StalePixels/trampoline_examples with examples of how to use "unlimited executable memory" for DOTN and NEX files, building from the same codebase even. If you want more direct 1:1 help,...

Oh lol, I went back and reread your question this morning. You're not trying to make your assembler generate DOTN commands, you're trying to build your assembler as a DOTN command! While my explanation of how they work under the hood might be interesting, it doesn't help answer your question. I'll s...

DOTN is not a separate file type at all, it’s just a dot command. That’s probably why you’re not finding much info. The main thing to know is that, unlike standard esxDOS which only allows dot commands to be max 8KB (filling one page of divMMC RAM mapped between $2000..3FFF), NextZXOS allows them to...

Z80 as in Zilog’s CPU, with X added for the unknown eXciting factor. I read this on an ex-Sinclair Radionics and Science of Cambridge engineer’s history/reminiscence website the other day.

I'm not intending to speak for Peter or Einar here, but from my perspective, the real jewel in the SC crown is the ZXDB database of titles and metadata, which has been made available to use for free by anybody. Hosting and downloading of the indexed game files is a separate thing, and usage goes str...

I would prefer to see all that tacky fake CRT stuff included in displays rather than devices that output video signals. It really has no place place in anything but a display, and even then, only for the people who actually want to see the fake stuff. It reminds me of rednecks and chavs that deliber...

Mods are needed! So yes, obviously it's possible to do any mod at all on any Speccy or Next game. What did you have in mind? Just design it, then code it :D I'm not trying to be flippant, but at 14MHz I'm able to get about halfway through Outrun stage 3 most times using the keyboard, which is the s...

spectrum next and other systems with fast CPUs? I'm not sure if 28MHz is a thing, last time I was interested in super spectrums, informations about 28MHz were little bit confusing). The Next has 3.5, 7, 14 and 28MHz. It's as simple as pressing NMI+8 to toggle between the four speeds while you're ru...

You are probably right in getting it to work with the Sega pads makes the most sense. I have schematics for 3- and 6- button Sega controllers, if you're interested in exploring that part too. Not for the host side, but I think you're going to do that part with a pico, and you have it well-covered.

Seven.FFF wrote: ↑Tue Nov 14, 2023 7:21 pm but I think the wiring was for 3 button quadrature mice

Darn it, this was meant to be a reply to this thread.

I'm not sure, because I never had any interest in the C64/Amiga scene, but I think the wiring was for 3 button quadrature mice, and while the sticks always had the potential to coexist for the same wiring, nobody apart from much more recent hobbyists ever made any. So nobody made any games either. S...

There's plenty of 3 button DE9 joysticks out there. You just have to pick the wiring you want!

It is possible to build a Kempston interface that populates both the Joystick register and the Mouse register at the same time, so both items will work in it like an autodetect, though I'm not sure that all software would expect that, and the joystick and mouse data might conflict. They can indeed ...

Yep it’s bitten a few people. The reason it’s like that, btw, is because the Pi is conceptually a hat for the Next rather than the other way round. And it lets you use stacked headers like this, and add further hats to the Pi as well. https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/6js414t6i3oc9581bcgre/Photo-Nov-05-...