Search found 781 matches

by XTM
Sat Nov 11, 2023 4:41 pm
Forum: Sinclair Miscellaneous
Topic: Users Online Count
Replies: 18
Views: 410

Re: Users Online Count

I know it is ludicrous. I was being a little sarcastic when I wrote the above. The premise is this. Our "Ex-USSR friend" claims that most today's users came to ZX Spectrum after 1992. I read into that statement that most of the western people who grew up with Spectrums in the 80s aren't us...
by XTM
Sat Nov 11, 2023 12:41 pm
Forum: Sinclair Miscellaneous
Topic: Users Online Count
Replies: 18
Views: 410

Re: Users Online Count

No worries Peter, I also don't give a jot. Apples and Oranges and all that ... It might well have been a sunny day all over the UK (yeah right) so the users quickly decided to get out of the house and not waste their time on a forum, drastically skeweing the numbers ;) Or maybe 99% of the UK/Western...
by XTM
Sat Nov 11, 2023 12:33 pm
Forum: Sinclair Miscellaneous
Topic: Users Online Count
Replies: 18
Views: 410

Re: Which year did you get your first Spectrum?

(lol, Peter split off his post that I was replying to into another thread. Oh well, I'll keep it here for now). Heh, I was being a little sarcastic as forum members "currently online" doesn't really tell you anything about them still being active Spectrum users. They simply might not be re...
by XTM
Sat Nov 11, 2023 12:00 pm
Forum: Sinclair Miscellaneous
Topic: Users Online Count
Replies: 18
Views: 410

Users Online Count

Editing this here since it was split off from another thread by PeterJ just a few minutes ago and I can still edit ... This stems from a discussion about what is a Spectrum and what isn't (clones), when this claim came up. By the way, the claim that "most today's users came to ZX Spectrum after...
by XTM
Fri Nov 10, 2023 8:08 pm
Forum: Sinclair Miscellaneous
Topic: Which year did you get your first Spectrum?
Replies: 44
Views: 1144

Which year did you get your first Spectrum?

Due to a discussion on another place (not WOS) where someone boldly claimed "most today's users came to ZX Spectrum after 1992", I was interested in seeing what year the people active on this forum obtained their Spectrum. I decided to make it a poll with various years to pick from. Please...
by XTM
Thu Nov 09, 2023 5:34 pm
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: Games with huge maps?
Replies: 52
Views: 1251

Re: Games with huge maps?

Tilemap! Excellent, thanks for posting Stefan!
by XTM
Thu Nov 09, 2023 5:25 pm
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: Games with huge maps?
Replies: 52
Views: 1251

Re: Games with huge maps?

Your misunderstanding is that he means a proper, running game, not just a map. I believe there is something like this for Jet Set Willy (or could it have been Dynamite Dan), where you will see all the meanies in the other rooms moving. But I'm not sure what that was called. Edit: It's not quite the ...
by XTM
Wed Nov 08, 2023 1:45 pm
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: Games with huge maps?
Replies: 52
Views: 1251

Re: Games with huge maps?

I'm wondering why people claim Wonderful Dizzy has a huge map when it is dwarfed by some of the other (and also some unnamed/unshowed) examples? Sure, it is bigger than other Dizzy games, but certainly not "huge" in the context of this thread. No disrepect to the game though. It is absolut...
by XTM
Sun Nov 05, 2023 12:34 pm
Forum: Announcements
Topic: 24 Hours of Dizzy
Replies: 38
Views: 1047

Re: 24 Hours of Dizzy

I echo the sentiment brought forth by stupidget! I never liked that bloody egg, give me a Kinder Egg instead. If I were in your shoes, I'd feel much more comfortable spending those 24 hours with Boy Wander, Einstein and Angelface, for example. Thinking of it, I'm sure it will not be possible to surv...
by XTM
Wed Nov 01, 2023 3:45 pm
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: Devfinitive Edition (Derek Brewster): discussion
Replies: 9
Views: 299

Re: Devfinitive Edition (Derek Brewster): discussion

Did I make any mistakes? Let me know before next Sunday. Leave it to the German to point out ze mistakes zis Englishman has made, then :twisted: (btw, should I just use "Brit" when in doubt? I know you are from the Midlands, though) - Derek became an adventure review (er) - Code Ma d ster...
by XTM
Fri Oct 27, 2023 2:17 pm
Forum: Brand new software!
Topic: Time Sniper
Replies: 14
Views: 556

Re: Time Sniper

At first, simply judging from the loading screen, I thought it was an old game from back in the day that had only been released now. But the dead giveaway it is modern was ... the game title is in Comic Sans ;) I see that font everywhere whenever I walk around populated areas, started pointing it ou...
by XTM
Tue Oct 17, 2023 2:53 pm
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: Klass of '99 & Lethargy: The Apathetic Dream
Replies: 5
Views: 239

Re: Klass of '99 & Lethargy: The Apathetic Dream

While I wouldn't want to discourage the author (so apologies if he ever turns up here and reads this, but the project seems to be dead since 2012 anyway), I will point out my view on the graphics and why I prefer the look of the original Skool Daze games. What I'm observing about Klass of '99s graph...
by XTM
Wed Oct 11, 2023 6:45 pm
Forum: Sinclair Miscellaneous
Topic: Using A.I to recreate ZX Spectrum loading screens.
Replies: 343
Views: 7695

Re: Using A.I to recreate ZX Spectrum loading screens.

I'm very torn on this whole AI thing. If we keep it purely in Speccy context, I don't think many Speccy homebrew creators who want to have an inlay image for their game will ask real artists do to them anymore.
by XTM
Tue Oct 10, 2023 2:59 pm
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: SQIJ! map
Replies: 19
Views: 863

Re: SQIJ! map

They could have forced the player to patch the game by telling a lie: To load the game, type LOAD "SQIJ" - you need to type it exactly this way, no lower case etc., otherwise the game will not be playable. This was a deliberate choice to (insert some bs excuse, something about copy protect...
by XTM
Sat Oct 07, 2023 2:46 pm
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: If you could turn any 1-player game into a 2-player (simultaneous) game
Replies: 32
Views: 711

Re: If you could turn any 1-player game into a 2-player (simultaneous) game

I think Brainstorm would have to be a co-op, as the score is increased/decreased whenever a ball moves into a coloured square, so it's not really attributable to any player. But I reckon it'd work well as you could work together to trap it. If the game engine was slightly changed with unique colour...
by XTM
Thu Oct 05, 2023 7:45 pm
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: If you could turn any 1-player game into a 2-player (simultaneous) game
Replies: 32
Views: 711

Re: If you could turn any 1-player game into a 2-player (simultaneous) game

SteveSmith wrote: Thu Oct 05, 2023 7:41 pm The Great Escape - one player controlling the prisoner, the other the commandent, who has to try and identify the player based on their movements.
How would that work when both are on the same screen? That would only work in a LAN/Online setup where people are not looking at the same screen.
by XTM
Thu Oct 05, 2023 6:49 pm
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: If you could turn any 1-player game into a 2-player (simultaneous) game
Replies: 32
Views: 711

Re: If you could turn any 1-player game into a 2-player (simultaneous) game

Action Force 2. With more enemies, where one player actually controls Gary Bracey (Quick Kick) and has a bunch of attacks but there are also enemies he can't reach and that will shoot him, that's where the 2nd player comes in with the crosshairs.
by XTM
Tue Oct 03, 2023 4:39 pm
Forum: Sinclair Miscellaneous
Topic: Spectrum memes
Replies: 1216
Views: 197414

Re: Spectrum memes

I know it's a little off-topic now, but since you guys are talking trains, I hope some of you know about Geoff Marshall's Least Used Stations videos. Hmm, could make for a good crap games compo entry, Advanced Least Used Station Simulator, with animated bin bags breezing in the wind.
by XTM
Thu Sep 28, 2023 6:38 pm
Forum: Sinclair Miscellaneous
Topic: Spectrum memes
Replies: 1216
Views: 197414

Re: Spectrum memes

Not strictly Speccy related, but I spotted this doing the rounds and thought folk here might appreciate it: https://i.imgur.com/Z8iNr47.jpg Reminds me of a photo I once saw in an "urbex exploration" forum where this guy had taken dozens of photos and I mentioned one reminded me of the ED-...
by XTM
Tue Sep 26, 2023 1:19 pm
Forum: Sinclair Miscellaneous
Topic: Did Pope John Paul II own a ZX Spectrum?
Replies: 12
Views: 313

Re: Did Pope John Paul II own a ZX Spectrum?

Funny paywall on that site ...
Image
by XTM
Sat Sep 23, 2023 5:33 pm
Forum: Sinclair Miscellaneous
Topic: ULA+ palette question
Replies: 22
Views: 550

Re: ULA+ palette question

If you enable ULA+ and define your own palette, classic games will use it. ULA+ games will, obviously, override it with their own palette selections, of course. But what is the behaviour when you have just turned on your machine and enable ULA+? Am I correct in assuming by that point in time, you h...
by XTM
Sat Sep 23, 2023 2:04 pm
Forum: Sinclair Miscellaneous
Topic: ULA+ palette question
Replies: 22
Views: 550

Re: ULA+ palette question

So in closing, am I correct in assuming ULA+ palettes are only turned on by software? Or is there a function where you can define your own custom palette (similar to the palette editors available in some Speccy emulators like Spin) and have it always active, so that for example you turn on your syst...
by XTM
Fri Sep 22, 2023 11:13 pm
Forum: Sinclair Miscellaneous
Topic: ULA+ palette question
Replies: 22
Views: 550

Re: ULA+ palette question

Ewww, your Dizzy screenshot looks like a shoddy Speccy port on the CPC :lol: Yes, it appears the games he showed after he got his ZX-HD are all AGD games. But he got it only a few months ago, the vast majority in his playlist was made using an original 48k Speccy that broke eventually, triggering hi...
by XTM
Fri Sep 22, 2023 9:19 pm
Forum: Sinclair Miscellaneous
Topic: ULA+ palette question
Replies: 22
Views: 550

Re: ULA+ palette question

Thanks for all the responses. So what I gather from this is, these old games where the authors didn't intend any ULA+ palette so didn't define one, the AGD game just initializes one. I'm still wondering where these specific colours are coming from, like if they are the default ULA+ palette values fo...
by XTM
Thu Sep 21, 2023 10:28 pm
Forum: Sinclair Miscellaneous
Topic: ULA+ palette question
Replies: 22
Views: 550

ULA+ palette question

I wasn't really sure what section to post this in, so it goes in here. Disclaimer: I don't use ULA+ myself. Let me explain the "issue". There's a German guy on YouTube who occasionally uploads videos of himself playing Speccy games, which already is remarkable in itself because this an inc...