Spectrum Computing

R-Tape wrote: ↑Mon Aug 14, 2023 1:53 pm if anyone can put me in touch with the mysterious Inufuto I'd like to ask a few questions.

Please, gentlemen, no bloodshed on the premises! If you want to have at each other, take it outside.

Joefish wrote: ↑Wed Aug 16, 2023 9:56 am And "Buzzsaw+" was apparently written by John Hollis and published by Quicksilva in 1983.

And that’s how history is rewritten—not by a clique of malevolent scribes, but by a mindless AI bot.

Also, where’s Zythum (by Mirrorsoft)?

sn3j wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 9:08 pm Mole on the Dole

Indeed it is.




Your turn!

Waldroid wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 8:05 pm Yeah, but it's not the bleedin' entrance exam to Cambridge, though, is it mate?

Ain’t gonna make it a gimme either, though. ’Cause where’s the fun in that?

Joking aside, I’ve already doled out two clues. Possibly more . . .

sn3j wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 7:12 pm Holy Moly, this looks a bit hard to get.

They’re supposed to be hard. They are Speccy games after all.

(But I think you’re onto something there with your opening exclamation.)

Waldroid wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 5:14 pmTerminus?

Guess again! (Well, when it’s your turn.)

Waldroid wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 2:39 pmZoom out...?

Awrighty.

stupidget wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 2:11 pm Dynamite Dan 2?

Nope, not Dynamite Dan 2.

Morkin wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 1:19 pm Slightly Magic?

Just because of the clue

Ha! Nah, you’re reading too much into it.

Waldroid wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 1:13 pm Yes please!

Well, which one?

Waldroid wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 11:33 amSabre Wulf?

Nope.


Do you, gentlemen, want a clue or a zoomed out snippet?

sn3j wrote: ↑Mon Aug 14, 2023 8:46 pm I was thinking Dynatron but can't really place it.

No, it’s a slightly earlier game.

Lee Bee wrote: ↑Sun Aug 13, 2023 2:33 pm When someone gets it right, I always like to see the full screenshot. Do others agree that it would be nice if we could all try to reveal the full screen, when convenient?

Sure, why not?

Anyway, here’s a bigger crop:

Van_Dammesque wrote: ↑Sun Aug 13, 2023 9:31 am Wheelie?

Nope, but I see now how it might look reminiscent of that.

Right. On your mark, gentlemen!

Batty.

(That’s the ball deflecting thingy from Level 2, I believe.)

it works fine on an old SCART-capable LCD TV, so whatever's out-of-spec isn't out-of-spec enough to confuse an old TV. Well, you kind of answered your own question. The Spectrum’s video signal is quite quirky. Some newer TVs can handle it; some can’t. Older (analog) TVs are perfectly fine with it, ...

Looks like the Z80 is not operating; could be dead. Check its power supply and clock (if you happen to have an oscilloscope).

Pull out the ROM and/or try the diagnostic ROM again.

Do the contents of the display change in any way when you press the reset button?

It would be great if you could test the system over the RGB connection, although I suspect the results will be identical. Now, this got me thinking that the problem might lie with one of the switching ICs (such as IC27, IC29, or IC30) and associated circuitry. I looks like the CPU can read and write...

A thought occurs . . . How do you have the machine connected to the TV—via RGB or RF?

It is indeed a stuck key. If it’s mechanical (i.e. the membrane or the key caps themselves), you could try gently pushing on each key and wiggling it around a bit.

I’m not entirely convinced it’s the RAM, but from the pictures you posted it looks like it’s either IC 22 or IC 13. If you don’t have spares, try swapping them with any other RAM IC and see if the vertical lines change position.