Search found 2302 matches

by Ralf
Fri Dec 15, 2023 3:24 pm
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: +3 disk games that really stand out
Replies: 4
Views: 256

Re: +3 disk games that really stand out

At the Russian forum there is a list of all +3 disk games with improvements:

https://zx-pk.ru/threads/31635-spisok-i ... t-s-3.html

The list itself is in English so don't be afraid to check it out ;)
by Ralf
Wed Dec 13, 2023 5:38 pm
Forum: Hardware
Topic: Colour clash query
Replies: 52
Views: 1715

Re: Colour clash query

The easiest significant improvement would be 16 colors for INK and PAPER, without FLASH and BRIGHT:
Yes. 16 independent colours without any BRIGHT thing.
Spectrum bright colours were too similar to their non bright versions. It was almost like Spectrum had only 8 colours.
by Ralf
Tue Dec 12, 2023 6:46 pm
Forum: ZXDB Discussion
Topic: Xmas Card
Replies: 1
Views: 428

Xmas Card

This seems to be the same program:
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/1 ... /Xmas_Card
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/1 ... /Xmas_Card

Or is there a reason that it's stored as two entries?
by Ralf
Tue Dec 12, 2023 11:13 am
Forum: Hardware
Topic: Colour clash query
Replies: 52
Views: 1715

Re: Colour clash query

Probably the best way to deal with colour clash without serious increase of the screen memory would be hardware sprites. You could even keep the background as it is, with the clash rules. It would have its limitations but with clever design most people wouldn't even notice it. The worst clash happen...
by Ralf
Tue Dec 12, 2023 10:56 am
Forum: Announcements
Topic: Woot 2023 - Submissions wanted
Replies: 72
Views: 3099

Re: Woot 2023 - Submissions wanted

In the previous years I helped with Woot but not this time unfortunately.
I'll be releasing my new game on Xmas and another one probably on New Year so Woot would be too much for me.

Good luck with your projects guys!
by Ralf
Fri Dec 08, 2023 6:43 pm
Forum: Graphics
Topic: Bullet Spray routines
Replies: 28
Views: 2053

Re: Bullet Spray routines

Bresenham is only really useful if you want to move 1 pixel at a time, which bullets rarely will want to I expect.
Well, if you want to move two pixels at a time you can always call it twice :)
by Ralf
Thu Dec 07, 2023 7:49 pm
Forum: Graphics
Topic: Bullet Spray routines
Replies: 28
Views: 2053

Re: Bullet Spray routines

I think 100 bullets may be a tad ambitious on the speccy There is a modern game called Chibi Akumas which may reach 100 bullets at its busiest moments: https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/34747/ZX-Spectrum/Chibi_Akumas Click the link and check the video. About 34 minute for example. It's very unp...
by Ralf
Thu Dec 07, 2023 2:33 pm
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: Games that take place on top of a train
Replies: 12
Views: 376

Re: Games that take place on top of a train

Is there a stage in North and South or am I making that up?
Yes, but only in the disk version :)
by Ralf
Thu Dec 07, 2023 1:27 pm
Forum: Sinclair Miscellaneous
Topic: Google bard vs ChatGPT
Replies: 13
Views: 349

Re: Google bard vs ChatGPT

Chat GPT doesn't work well yet when dealing with Zx Spectrum. I tried asking some assembler stuff and the answer was crap, just dressed in some nice wording.

But I suppose it's a matter of time until it starts to give correct answers.
by Ralf
Thu Dec 07, 2023 1:20 pm
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: Games that take place on top of a train
Replies: 12
Views: 376

Re: Games that take place on top of a train

Express Raider, some stages: https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/SCRtoImage.php?SCR=/conv_scr/e/ExpressRaider.scr&border=0 Dragon Ninja, the last but one stage: http://maps.speccy.cz/map.php?id=DragonNinja Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, one stage: http://maps.speccy.cz/map.php?id=DragonNinja Qu...
by Ralf
Wed Dec 06, 2023 9:45 pm
Forum: Website
Topic: How I find [CENSORED] game
Replies: 56
Views: 3356

Re: How I find [CENSORED] game

By the way, if you are after X-rated games, you can always check a copy of old WOS (current WOS is total trash) and you'll find the proper link there. https://worldofspectrum.net/archive/ It's not as actual as ZXDB but it's okay and most people would just look for Samantha Fox Strip Poker anyway ;) ...
by Ralf
Wed Dec 06, 2023 5:42 pm
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: What's the SHORTEST Speccy game ever?
Replies: 54
Views: 2698

Re: What's the SHORTEST Speccy game ever?

Well, let me say something obvious that everyone is too shy to say. In theory you can complete many of these games really fast but in practice you won't. You will die many times and have to repeat. You will have to learn the maze, learn the rules etc. Old games were running on systems with limited m...
by Ralf
Wed Dec 06, 2023 12:19 pm
Forum: Website
Topic: How I find [CENSORED] game
Replies: 56
Views: 3356

Re: How I find [CENSORED] game

The world is a very different place to what is was 20-30 years ago Exactly. You need to be much more careful nowadays than before. About copyrights. About porn. About racism. About religion. About slightiest possibility of offending anyone with content you publish. Imagine some dumb mommy learning ...
by Ralf
Tue Dec 05, 2023 10:15 am
Forum: Graphics
Topic: Bullet Spray routines
Replies: 28
Views: 2053

Re: Bullet Spray routines

If you want to have a bullet flying from any point to another point then you will in most cases need the old, good Bresenham algorithm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bresenham%27s_line_algorithm Drawing a flying bullet is almost the same as drawing a line, you just don't clear the old positions in ca...
by Ralf
Mon Dec 04, 2023 6:37 pm
Forum: Preservation
Topic: Gra Hacker
Replies: 3
Views: 167

Re: Gra Hacker

You are probably right Einar
by Ralf
Mon Dec 04, 2023 11:10 am
Forum: Preservation
Topic: Gra Hacker
Replies: 3
Views: 167

Re: Gra Hacker

It's a graphic utility allowing to search for sprites in Spectrum memory. It's similar to options built into some modern emulators, just more limited and akward ;) The title is weird. "Gra" means "game" in Polish. So would the title mean something like "Hacker game" in ...
by Ralf
Tue Nov 28, 2023 2:00 pm
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: Physics puzzles games
Replies: 23
Views: 588

Re: Physics puzzles games

I might be stretching the definition a bit too much. The player walks, jumps and falls. The goal of the game is to solve puzzles by doing these actions at the right time in the right places. Yes, you are. Calling Manic Miner a puzzle game is too much for me ;) But I get what you mean. You are inter...
by Ralf
Sat Nov 25, 2023 10:50 pm
Forum: Showcase your work!
Topic: Secrets of Castle Madness - Grid based dungeon crawler
Replies: 13
Views: 1038

Re: Secrets of Castle Madness - Grid based dungeon crawler

I suppose the truth is somewhere in-between here ;) Yes, you can use labels (and comments) in native Spectrum assemblers but they use up memory very quickly. Assembler code always takes much more memory than compiled machine code,so if you want to make a game occupying all Spectrum memory then you h...
by Ralf
Sat Nov 25, 2023 10:33 pm
Forum: Brand new software!
Topic: Turdle ZX
Replies: 11
Views: 570

Re: Turdle ZX

Original Wordle checks if the word that you entered is correct.
So it involves keeping a big dictionary of words.

Here you can type anything.
It's not better or worse. It's just a slightly different game, requiring a different strategy.
by Ralf
Sat Nov 25, 2023 7:35 pm
Forum: ZX Spectrum Next
Topic: Target; Renegade
Replies: 2
Views: 247

Re: Target; Renegade

Looking nice. The graphics are Amiga/SNES level and the the same time you can immediately recognize the good, old game in it.
by Ralf
Fri Nov 24, 2023 10:16 am
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: Why no Puzzle Bobble port for Spectrum?
Replies: 5
Views: 305

Re: Why no Puzzle Bobble port for Spectrum?

Yes, colour clash may be a problem here but Cannon Bubble manages to deal with it.


Speaking of similar games, nobody did Zuma for Spectrum, probably exactly due to problems with colour clash.
Image
by Ralf
Wed Nov 22, 2023 2:44 pm
Forum: Brand new software!
Topic: XT-Engine: small, but powerful platform game engine in asm
Replies: 129
Views: 5694

Re: XT-Engine: small, but powerful platform game engine in asm

As long as you are having fun with it, it's okay. My experience is that guys who mess too much with tools never deliver the final product. I remember a guy who wrote a code on some archaic assembler from 1980s running on Pc running Dos and connected to a real Spectrum for testing. And I remember a g...
by Ralf
Wed Nov 22, 2023 12:05 pm
Forum: Other Retro Stuff
Topic: RetroTINK recreates the beauty of CRT displays for serious and seriously deep-pocketed retrogamers
Replies: 14
Views: 450

Re: RetroTINK recreates the beauty of CRT displays for serious and seriously deep-pocketed retrogamers

It's a weird thing with these CRT blurred displays. We used it in the past because there was nothing better. When technology allowed clear LCD displays everybody switched to it. Today, even on retroparties, most people use modern TVs or monitors. In emulation, while many emulators allow blurred mode...
by Ralf
Mon Nov 20, 2023 6:35 pm
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: Kickstarter for ex-spectrum programmers?
Replies: 11
Views: 421

Re: Kickstarter for ex-spectrum programmers?

And when it's a hobby, the pressure of people's expectations because they've put money in a pot starts to make the whole thing feel more like work... Exactly. And when you fail to deliver what they expect, they can become really toxic. Remember the Vega saga? The guys who promised Vega to the backe...
by Ralf
Mon Nov 20, 2023 4:07 pm
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: Kickstarter for ex-spectrum programmers?
Replies: 11
Views: 421

Re: Kickstarter for ex-spectrum programmers?

Sorry to say that but there would be probably too little interest to gain any real money from that. Retrofans are spoilt by getting stuff for free :twisted: Here you have some failed attempt: https://www.eurogamer.net/oliver-twins-admit-defeat-in-dizzy-returns-kickstarter It's exactly the same Olive...