Search found 1908 matches

by Alessandro
Mon Aug 14, 2023 5:24 pm
Forum: Brand new software!
Topic: Hopman
Replies: 10
Views: 683

Re: Hopman

R-Tape wrote: Mon Aug 14, 2023 1:53 pmLDd
Eh?? :o
by Alessandro
Mon Aug 14, 2023 11:49 am
Forum: Other Retro Stuff
Topic: Why did you NOT upgrade to a CPC in the 80s?
Replies: 142
Views: 3060

Re: Why did you NOT upgrade to a CPC in the 80s?

Pizza with pineapple is considered blasphemy here. I had the misfortune of experiencing it myself at a self-service eatery in Finland. I mistook the little yellow bits for potatoes. I can say it was one of the most disgusting things I ate during my travels abroad, second only to marmite (the horror,...
by Alessandro
Sun Aug 13, 2023 6:40 pm
Forum: Design/Ideas
Topic: decolourizing games
Replies: 53
Views: 1674

Re: decolourizing games

The colour clash like it is shown in the Wally Week series is just horrible. A good amount of Spanish games suffer from this, too. I find it much less offensive when the sprites take on the colours of the background instead. Again, I was never bothered that much by it back in the day, and continue ...
by Alessandro
Sun Aug 13, 2023 3:08 pm
Forum: Other Retro Stuff
Topic: Why did you NOT upgrade to a CPC in the 80s?
Replies: 142
Views: 3060

Re: Why did you NOT upgrade to a CPC in the 80s?

Italy as well, although they were very rare, coming well behind the C64, Spectrum and MSX.

Software for them was harder to find than the philosopher's stone here.
by Alessandro
Sun Aug 13, 2023 3:05 pm
Forum: Design/Ideas
Topic: decolourizing games
Replies: 53
Views: 1674

Re: decolourizing games

Not for me. Especially games like Cybernoid which manage to keep colour clash at a minimum.

Mind you, colour clash has never bothered me that much.
by Alessandro
Sat Aug 12, 2023 9:17 pm
Forum: Programming
Topic: Editing basic on a spectrum
Replies: 10
Views: 605

Re: Editing basic on a spectrum

You must associate an emulator with the file format you wish to open first. For example: click on the first icon on the left and choose to create a simple TAP file. Select "no loader" (default) and click on "OK", then in the following window, enter a program name in the box on th...
by Alessandro
Sat Aug 12, 2023 3:23 pm
Forum: FPGA Devices
Topic: Long Filename Browser for ZX-UNO / esxDOS
Replies: 1208
Views: 154442

Re: Long Filename Browser for ZX-UNO / esxDOS

I do not understand what is the point of loading a tape image file at normal speed off a memory card-based interface :?
by Alessandro
Fri Aug 11, 2023 9:44 am
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: TAP files for DivIDE/DivMMC
Replies: 99
Views: 9160

Re: TAP files for DivIDE/DivMMC

Many new files for this update :dance ACE 2088 (48K) Ali Baba (from the fixed version by Metalbrain, +2A/+3 compatible) Battle Of Britain (Classic Conflicts release, +2A/+3 compatible) Bedlam (IBSA release, +2A/+3 compatible) Blasteroids (MCM release, +2A/+3 compatible) Bubble Bobble (Musical 1 rele...
by Alessandro
Thu Aug 10, 2023 12:15 pm
Forum: Programming
Topic: Editing basic on a spectrum
Replies: 10
Views: 605

Re: Editing basic on a spectrum

Also consider ZX-Editor, part of the ZX-Modules suite: https://www.alessandrogrussu.it/zx-modules.html
by Alessandro
Thu Aug 10, 2023 12:03 pm
Forum: Preservation
Topic: How to load from tape than save as a tap file
Replies: 4
Views: 151

Re: How to load from tape than save as a tap file

You can run Taper in DOSBox, but in native Windows it won't have run since... Windows 98, most likely. Sergey Gordeev created a new version of Taper that will run under later Windows version. Download it at: http://sg-software.ru/taper/ (click on the black button with "Скачать Taper 3.1" ...
by Alessandro
Wed Aug 09, 2023 12:20 pm
Forum: Music
Topic: The Ice Temple menu screen music
Replies: 9
Views: 339

Re: The Ice Temple menu screen music

Thank you R-Tape :D I suspected it was a traditional tune in fact. Meanwhile, I found the version I most probably heard first. It was in Angelo Branduardi's musical score for State buoni se potete, a 1983 film by Luigi Magni broadcast on TV by RAI the following year. Which is actually earlier than 1...
by Alessandro
Wed Aug 09, 2023 7:00 am
Forum: Music
Topic: The Ice Temple menu screen music
Replies: 9
Views: 339

Re: The Ice Temple menu screen music

Chords and rhythm of the first few bars sound vaguely similar. However I surely did not hear it there, I played the Monkey Island series up to the third chapter.
by Alessandro
Tue Aug 08, 2023 9:51 pm
Forum: Music
Topic: The Ice Temple menu screen music
Replies: 9
Views: 339

The Ice Temple menu screen music

Lately I was wondering about the tune playing in the menu screen of The Ice Temple. I think I heard it somewhere else, not a long time ago, certainly not back in the day.

Does anyone know its title? Or is it an original composition?

by Alessandro
Tue Aug 08, 2023 11:36 am
Forum: Other Retro Stuff
Topic: Why did you NOT upgrade to a CPC in the 80s?
Replies: 142
Views: 3060

Re: Why did you NOT upgrade to a CPC in the 80s?

CPC? What's that? Codice di Procedura Civile? (*) Seriously though, Amstrad was known in Italy mostly for rebranding low-end hi-fi and car stereo systems in the 1980s, so that their home computer range did never take off here. Neither did their business machine one, for the strong presence of Olivet...
by Alessandro
Mon Aug 07, 2023 2:27 pm
Forum: Brand new software!
Topic: Hopman
Replies: 10
Views: 683

Re: Hopman

Image
by Alessandro
Fri Aug 04, 2023 11:15 am
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: TAP files for DivIDE/DivMMC
Replies: 99
Views: 9160

Re: TAP files for DivIDE/DivMMC

Fantasy Zone Escape from the Pyramid only works without in-game music, perhaps there are multiple .TAP files of this one for that reason. Correct: you have to load the files marked as "128" in fact. EDIT: @Alessandro wrote both volumes...700+ pages all about speccy :shock: :o :o :shock: Y...
by Alessandro
Fri Aug 04, 2023 9:29 am
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: Piracy of new Games today on the ZX Spectrum and Next
Replies: 22
Views: 874

Re: Piracy of new Games today on the ZX Spectrum and Next

On other side, I don't understand why anyone is selling Spectrum games this days. Well it's not "anyone", the majority of contemporary authors (including yours truly) just encourage you to give a small optional donation. Anyway - I shall give my motivation for it. When I put Italia 1944 o...
by Alessandro
Fri Aug 04, 2023 8:57 am
Forum: Hardware
Topic: I got my 1st Speccy!! (+2A) advice on compatibility?
Replies: 5
Views: 138

Re: I got my 1st Speccy!! (+2A) advice on compatibility?

I didnt realize DivMMC (which I got) adds even /more/ compatibility issues, lol. But hey, good excuse for me to look into tape loading the old fashioned way! Perhaps some indie devs do this on purpose to make people buy the tape? :shock: No, contemporary games usually come in TAP and sometimes TRD ...
by Alessandro
Fri Aug 04, 2023 8:53 am
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: Piracy of new Games today on the ZX Spectrum and Next
Replies: 22
Views: 874

Re: Piracy of new Games today on the ZX Spectrum and Next

Completely agree with @AndyC. No one in their right mind would ever think about making a profit out of Spectrum games - apart from the proverbial pack of Rolos (or whatever candies you fancy, Ricolas and Golias in my case).
by Alessandro
Fri Aug 04, 2023 8:42 am
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: TAP files for DivIDE/DivMMC
Replies: 99
Views: 9160

Re: TAP files for DivIDE/DivMMC

Hi segasonicfan , if you wish to know everything about Spectrum file formats, I cannot but recommend you my Spectrumpedia. You will find all the information you need written in a concise and exhaustive way in Vol. 2, Chapter 2, pages 229-246. The link to download a free PDF copy is in my signature. ...
by Alessandro
Fri Aug 04, 2023 8:39 am
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: Kempston - Why dont games make it default?
Replies: 20
Views: 484

Re: Kempston - Why dont games make it default?

What for? There are lots of people here who cut their teeth on the keyboard, including yours truly :)
by Alessandro
Fri Aug 04, 2023 8:36 am
Forum: Hardware
Topic: I got my 1st Speccy!! (+2A) advice on compatibility?
Replies: 5
Views: 138

Re: I got my 1st Speccy!! (+2A) advice on compatibility?

Welcome on the forum :) I must admit have a soft spot for the +2A, it is the only historical Spectrum (apart from the old rubber-keyed model) I hold more than one unit of in my collection. At least on my LED TV and VGA monitor, colours are much more vibrant than the previous models and beeper and AY...
by Alessandro
Thu Aug 03, 2023 4:30 pm
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: Games with their own "Airwolf Wall"
Replies: 50
Views: 1341

Re: Games with their own "Airwolf Wall"

Wizball was and still is one of my favourite games of its era on the Spectrum, and I never found its beginning that difficult. Just, as Jason wrote, bounce very slightly and acquire left-right movement, then full directional movement. The rest should be rather straightforward. On the other hand, Ka...
by Alessandro
Thu Aug 03, 2023 11:25 am
Forum: Emulators
Topic: New release of SpecEmu
Replies: 217
Views: 44776

Re: New release of SpecEmu

Same for me. Windows 10 x64, no option present.

Not something I shall miss anyway, I already made a TAP file out of it following the instructions, and played it on real hardware through the DivMMC.
by Alessandro
Thu Aug 03, 2023 11:24 am
Forum: Games/Software
Topic: Just a minor detail...
Replies: 18
Views: 664

Re: Just a minor detail...

... that I found while playing Atic Atac: This is the starting room: https://i.postimg.cc/Kz8BMwwp/ROOM.jpg If you see the ACG helmet down left, we can see it has the letters ACG printed on it, but in a way according to the perspective of the whole screen, but if we turn the screen around, the helm...