Spectrum Computing

Ast A. Moore

Happy 0x7e8!

Ast A. Moore

Back to my question how did anyone learn when the reference books (and magazine type-ins) were riddled with errors? Yeah, that was a bummer. Here’s the thing, though. It’s a mistake to think you need to learn machine code . In reality, machine code in and of itself is quite simple. What you really ...

Ast A. Moore

Merry Christmas, my fellow 8-bit aficionados! May it be red, yellow, green, and cyan!

Ast A. Moore

So far, I think I’m most impressed with the methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylarginyl . . . demo.

Ast A. Moore

Sorry for not participating this year—was too busy with other things. Looking forward to checking out this year’s issue!

Ast A. Moore

It’s a bird! No . . . It’s a plane!

Ast A. Moore

Pobulous wrote: ↑Wed Nov 29, 2023 4:48 pm After I reaslised it wasn't one of the Pixys, I thought it looked a bit similar to UCM, so I looked at the other games from the same author and thought it looked a bit like that one.

That’s some impressive detective work!

Ast A. Moore

Pobulous wrote: ↑Wed Nov 29, 2023 1:32 pm Die Alien Slime?

Right you are!

Ast A. Moore

No takers, eh?

Zooming out:

Ast A. Moore

redballoon wrote: ↑Mon Nov 27, 2023 10:27 pm Emlyn Hughes International Soccer was the definitive football game on the ZX Spectrum.

I concur. Would could do a poll, but the winner is obvious. I, for one, would be voting for it.

Ast A. Moore

Squares, squares, wonderful squares!

Ast A. Moore

Little Puff in Dragonland.

Ast A. Moore

There was also the Currah MicroSource @1024MAK. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/1000080/Hardware/Currah_MicroSource I don't realise until today that this device offered Forth too! I used the µSource a few years back under emulation. (Fuse has support for it.) It’s pretty nifty, if a little cu...

Ast A. Moore

Pretty sweet!
Sound is a bit distorted and lags a little, but that’s a minor thing.

Ast A. Moore

stupidget wrote: ↑Thu Nov 09, 2023 11:18 am Where's the saucy lady!!!??? When I adjust my eyes I see a square hole then below that a floating square. No smutty content for me

There’s a couple. Their sauciness, however, will be determined by the jury of their peers.

Ast A. Moore

GreenCard wrote: ↑Wed Nov 08, 2023 11:08 am Pop along, it'll be a hoot.

Not worth it for me. I’d consider popping along for a hoot and a half, though.

Ast A. Moore

R-Tape wrote: ↑Sat Oct 28, 2023 8:46 am It must have been Ast's nifty optimisation

Wait until you write your first turbo-loader. You’ll cut down loading times to mere seconds.

Ast A. Moore

R-Tape wrote: ↑Fri Oct 27, 2023 11:11 am Yep not shy here. Here's the code (all ORGd below 32768):
Code: Select all
	;
	ld a,255 ;255 means data not header
	scf ;means load not verify
	call 1366 ;ROM loader routine
	;

You could save a byte here by doing this:

Code: Select all

	scf		;sets Carry
	sbc a,a		;subtracts Carry (0 – 1 = 255)
	call 1366

Ast A. Moore

TheMartian wrote: ↑Tue Oct 24, 2023 8:20 pm At this very moment this +2A is sitting on my desk with the Arkanoid tape in the datassette. (Not the THS version; the original modified by myself so it runs using the +2A floating bus - thanks to @Ast A. Moore for all the info on this phenomenon.)

Aww . . . Glad I could help!

Ast A. Moore

I wonder if there is a simple cookbook how to secure compatibility across all 128K models. I'm aware of slow/fast pages problem but are there any other issues ? A few, yes. There are a couple of places (including my own; see signature) that maintain a collection of fixes that improve (or restore) c...

Ast A. Moore

Academy
Micronaut One

Ast A. Moore

Matt_B wrote: ↑Wed Sep 13, 2023 10:25 pm I'd say that it's much easier on an emulator, because you can slow it down or savescum if you mess up.

Dang it. Hadn’t thought of that!

Ast A. Moore

R-Tape wrote: ↑Wed Sep 13, 2023 8:38 pm Crash on the other hand is more of a mixed bag:

Well, I see where they’re coming from, but I kind of got “in the zone” with those mini games. Similarly, I got very good at the bomb defusing sequence in Deviants.

Ast A. Moore

. . . or that bloody random thumbs up/down game in Firefly. It’s not random, strictly speaking; but it’s much easier to bean on real hardware than in an emulator, because of the video/audio/input lag the latter exhibits. I remember I got pretty good at it back in the day; didn’t even think it was t...

Ast A. Moore

Joefish wrote: ↑Mon Sep 04, 2023 5:29 pm Cobra is the best technical achievement, but I still prefer the look and gameplay of Hysteria.

Well put! Gameplay-wise, Hysteria is definitely a head above Cobra.

My personal favorite, though, is Firefly. Hysteria is a close second.

Spectrum Computing

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