Spectrum Computing

OK, got some more done last night. You can now win, lose, move on levels, and run out of lives. Beeper sound effects are working well, despite being incredibly simple in how they're generated. I put a byte like 01010101 or 00001111 in a spare register, then after each row of the main drawing functio...

EdToo wrote: ↑Tue Dec 19, 2023 10:49 am That is forward thinking.

'Forward Thinking' would have been starting earlier!!!

Going to be tricky. I have to work this week so only got Wednesday and Thursday evenings to work on it. We might all get sent home Friday afternoon but I'm not sure.

Nearly there. More fancy titles, added a background, got the things to lob things at moving round, and colliding with the player. Got a couple of sound FX in too. Now need to make the things know when they're shot and make some more noises and scores.

I'd agree Fairlight is a good comparison. It took the 'Isometric 3D' genre and completely re-wrote it. No more blocks on a grid; no more identical backgrounds. Each room was a custom layout and drawing, with larger open areas to walk around, and no limit on moving objects (or guard helmets) from roo...

FLASH is a waste from a games point of view. As a feature of a text terminal, to be able to flash an attention-getter like that with no programming overhead at all, is quite a bonus. Although arguably Teletext did it neater - flashing the pixels on/off, or you could view it as periodically setting t...

SkoolKid wrote: ↑Tue Dec 12, 2023 2:20 pm Ometron, probably.

Guess I should have looked it up under the publisher!
Never heard of it though, and it looks pretty impressive! (Except for regularly being struck from behind with no warning!!!)
Box art is preposterously sh*t though.

Blimey, those copies of 'Games Computing' are fun to look over. I like the DSS software listing in the first few pages of the May issue - for 'Pimble Wizard' on the VIC 20 :lol: Some sort of dictation error there, I think. Anyone any idea what 'Omertron' (Software Projects, Spectrum) might be? The c...

I love the animations of the duck and the movement on the diagonal stairs, and all the hints. Shame the duck has to turn red when on the same row as a red enemy. Is that an AGD thing?

Cost-cutting meant keeping the size of the ULA down. Adding alternate screen modes would have needed a bigger ULA chip, so one fixed mode made things a lot cheaper. These modern expansion devices monitor the expansion ports and can detect when data is written to the screen memory. They then keep the...

Bit more progress. More graphics, title screen, can move around and lob things.
Need to add things to lob things at.

For short bits of music I find this site useful: https://musescore.com/sheetmusic?text=fairytale%20of%20new%20york You usually find lots of user-contributed versions of music scores, varying in complexity from simple one-note-at-a-time melodies to multiple part scores. Even without signing up you ca...

Just before Christmas.

I strongly take issue with excluding "WOOT" from these polls. It's all I seem to release lately. I get it that what games ship with it are of varying quality, but so are plenty of other releases. You've got four versions of Snake in the first poll already! Comes across as someone saying th...

13. Grange Hill

It already has an audio out socket, equivalent to MIC. If you want to add an EAR socket for input from tape you'll need to replicate a bit of the input circuitry from the toastrack. You can't simply plug in to the ear pin in the header where the tape player connects. Also note that the end result is...

Transformers, rather obviously!

And I think the thing in Jet Set Willy is supposed to be a flying pig.
I don't see why Antiriad shouldn't count. Stepping into the suit doesn't seem to me as any different to changing outfit in Exolon or The Great Escape.

R-Tape wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 9:54 pm We don't have those in the UK

Tell me you've never been in a middle-class overpriced garden centre in December without telling me you've never been in a middle-class overpriced garden centre in December!

"Jesus, Mary Joseph and the wee Donkey!" ⬜⬜⬜⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬛⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬛⬛⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬛⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬛⬛⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬛⬛⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬛⬜⬛⬛⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜ ⬛⬜⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜ ⬜⬜⬛⬛⬜⬛⬛⬜ ⬜⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬛⬛⬜⬜⬛⬜ ⬜⬜⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜ ⬜⬛⬜⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜ ⬜⬛⬜⬜⬜⬜⬛⬜ ⬜⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬛⬜⬜...

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜⬜⬛⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬛⬛⬜⬛⬜⬛⬜ ⬜⬛⬜⬛⬜⬛⬜⬜ ⬜⬛⬜⬛⬜⬛⬜⬜ ⬜⬛⬜⬛⬜⬛⬜⬜ ⬜⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜ ⬜⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬛⬜⬛⬜⬛⬜⬜ ⬜⬛⬜⬛⬜⬛⬜⬜ ⬜⬛⬜⬛⬜⬛⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜ ⬜⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜ ⬜⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜...

The whole flying thing is a mess, in terms of who could and couldn't fly. In the early cartoons most of them could fly, unless the story needed them to fall into a pit or dangle off a ledge. It was later suggested that Megatron started his uprising with a group of robots who had figured out flight, ...

Have we had the turkey yet?

That full-colour open-world 3D style that started with Android 2 and improved with TLL and Cyclone was brilliant. I'd have loved to see more of that. Maybe the ability to get out of a vehicle and walk around in a zoomed-in version to give you more ways to interact, either to battle with enemies or a...

OK, little bit of progress on a game. I now have a main sprite moving around, animating, and some scenic graphics done. I wanted to try an Ultimate-like thing with inertia and XOR-Redraw, which was a bit of faff to get working. Need to add things to shoot with and things to shoot at.

Santa needed a black outline, but the inner is 8x8: