CSSCGC 2020

[TMD2003]

It'd have made it into the pages of Sinclair Programs back in the day. If only it was 1982, eh?

Hopefully Sarah was considerably more chuffed with having a game named after her then she sounds from the text file...

[R-Tape]

I've fallen behind with the CGC, the next update will contain all this stuff. It'll also give me a chance to appreciate the crap (and mostly not crap actually) that I've missed.

The reviews keep rolling in! This time, we have a Cambridge Z88 game by Jamie Bradbury, entitled Ronaprise USS 19-2020!

Well done on getting this to work (something I have no intention of doing). And ZXDB will see a new machinetype in the next update!

[R-Tape]

Hopefully Sarah was considerably more chuffed with having a game named after her then she sounds from the text file...

If uglifruit's idea of gardening is deadheading every flower in sight, I suspect he's not allowed near the oleanders...

[Juan F. Ramirez]

And ZXDB will see a new machinetype in the next update!

[R-Tape]

Hehe. That's not a million miles from the Speccy I once bought on ebay.

[PROSM]

A new review has been posted on the compo website, this time for Blind Sweeper by [mention]uglifruit[/mention].

Click here to view: https://www.connosoft.com/csscgc2020/reviews/022.html

[R-Tape]

Argh and now my Speccy is calling me a failure!

This is actually pretty good, and the spech accurate - but the voice lagging behind the gameplay saves it.

You can play the game without the unit by just using the visual indicator – and I highly recommend that you do so

It took me a while to work out the "and you're getting warmer/cooler". Managed to get the case and escape with a high (yes, high) score of 68.

There's a lot of untapped potential with Currah speech. More games could do with using it, so badly.

[R-Tape]

There's a lot of untapped potential with Currah speech. More games could do with using it so badly.

Sorry. Fixed typo

[TMD2003]

That's a cracking crap game - it could probably have been sold in 1983 as well, if only anybody had heard of the original Minesweeper back then.

I'd been wondering, recently - how many more games are in the pipeline? It'd all gone quiet in the last month or so...

I'm involved in trying to move house at the moment, but the thought occurs I should spare some time to write a ZX81 game at some point, as there hasn't been one so far this year (and it also means I'd have the three main Sinclair machines all covered - it'd be a bit of a stretch to write anything for the QL at this stage, despite the practice I had typing in some QL listings earlier in the year).

[PROSM]

There's a lot of untapped potential with Currah speech. More games could do with using it so badly.

Sorry. Fixed typo

It would've worked in the context of the CSSCGC

Yes, I agree with you though, it'd be nice to see more programs with speech support. There's a brilliant game on the Intellivision called Bomb Squad where the speech is a crucial part of the experience - it gives you directions on disarming the bomb's circuits whilst also building the tension with its frantic and hurried tone of voice. I think it would be a great candidate for a Spectrum/uSpeech port, being as it's a game of a similar vintage.

(Youtube video in spoiler)

Spoiler

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLguCUMi4BQ[/media]

That's a cracking crap game - it could probably have been sold in 1983 as well, if only anybody had heard of the original Minesweeper back then.

I'd been wondering, recently - how many more games are in the pipeline? It'd all gone quiet in the last month or so...

There's a few games still waiting to be reviewed, but that'll be fixed very shortly

[uglifruit]

It took me a while to work out the "and you're getting warmer/cooler". Managed to get the case and escape with a high (yes, high) score of 68.

Was that in normal or Deluxe mode?


...And I flipping love the Currah uSpeech. It's really good fun to play with.

[R-Tape]

Was that in normal or Deluxe mode?

Normal. When there's a choice of versions or settings, I usually choose standard class

...And I flipping love the Currah uSpeech. It's really good fun to play with.

Aye I'd never really considered it before. It is pretty neat.

[NotTheActualTrashman]

A new review has been posted on the compo website, this time for Blind Sweeper by @uglifruit.

Awesome - do you have a backlog of games to get on the site? I think I've missed the deadline for challenge 4.

[PROSM]

A new review has been posted on the compo website, this time for Blind Sweeper by @uglifruit.

Awesome - do you have a backlog of games to get on the site? I think I've missed the deadline for challenge 4.

Yes, there is a bit of a backlog at the moment, and yes, I'm afraid you've missed the deadline for challenge 4. That doesn't mean you can't make a game about Sinclair, but it does mean it won't be counted towards the challenge.

[TMD2003]

I wouldn't worry too much abut deadlines - Sir Clive never did, and Douglas Adams commented on the "whoosh" sound they made as they passed by. I intended to take the ZX80 challenge but had no ideas that were any good, until the deadline was well and truly gone. Then, suddenly... "I wonder if I could make the ZX80 handle complex numbers?" And sure enough, it can, in a way.

I had no ideas for the Sir Clive's 80th Birthday challenge either, which probably means I'll think of something in November.

[PROSM]

Presenting Advanced Greta Thunberg Simulator by Matt Rudge! Review and download at: https://www.connosoft.com/csscgc2020/reviews/023.html

[PROSM]

[mention]ketmar[/mention] sends us his new game, ZX Super Spelunky Ultimate!

Review and download: https://www.connosoft.com/csscgc2020/reviews/024.html

[ketmar]

[mention]PROSM[/mention] thank you!

we can propel ourselves as high as we want, if we keep pressing the jump key whilst in mid-air

oops. this definitely wasn't planned! i swear i debugged it!

p.s.: ok, i guess i will declare it "gameplay mechanics feature".

[PROSM]

Matt Rudge sends us another game, this time for the Sinclair Birthday challenge, called "Sir Clive's C5 Adventure".

Review and download at https://connosoft.com/csscgc2020/reviews/025.html



P.S. I am making an effort to catch up on the backlog and right the wrongs of my crap time management. Expect to see more reviews coming soon (famous last words!)

[TMD2003]

And I thought my vision of the future was bleak.

What John also hasn't told you all is that there are THREE editions of the game on the tape! The first is the one that's been reviewed, the second is a dismal-weather version where the sun has ceased to exist (to the sound of excited squealing in a Liverpool accent), and finally... the action is transferred to a part of rural Cambridgeshire that I'll soon be moving to.

Meanwhile, I've got a couple more games in the pipeline, and I'm still aiming for that "high quality" category, even though I'm obviously going to be stretching one idea thinner than Bilbo Baggins over a piece of toast (or whatever the analogy is supposed to be). Connoisseurs of lesser-used Spectrum formats will have cause to celebrate...

[PROSM]

And I thought my vision of the future was bleak.

What John also hasn't told you all is that there are THREE editions of the game on the tape! The first is the one that's been reviewed, the second is a dismal-weather version where the sun has ceased to exist (to the sound of excited squealing in a Liverpool accent), and finally... the action is transferred to a part of rural Cambridgeshire that I'll soon be moving to.

[...]

I forgot about that actually! Yes, there are three versions, each in varying states of development. Matt actually sent me an email with the corrected tape only a few hours after his first message, but I got the files completely mixed up. Apologies to Matt!

[PROSM]

Another entry, this time from [mention]uglifruit[/mention]: Sir Clive's Ink Lair!

Review and download at: https://connosoft.com/csscgc2020/reviews/026.html

[TMD2003]

A Crap Game, in machine code? I need to learn more of it and up my game! It is, as the review says, horribly hard, though. I challenge D.A.R.Y.L. to get to the end of it in one piece. Billy Mitchell's probably got a lot of time on his hands these days...

Although, let me tell you this, CGC aficionados: you haven't heard the last this year, from a certain former Tottenham Hotspur owner who likes winners, but is no gambler. And if you want to know what I mean... sharpen up on your third-party Spectrum floppy disc formats. That's all I'll say for now...

[ketmar]

A Crap Game, in machine code?

yeah. it is almost cheating. almost...

[uglifruit]

A Crap Game, in machine code?

yeah. it is almost cheating. almost...

I do feel I let myself down there, but rest assured the game is crap, I promise.

In my defence "Frogger" (Cassette 50, side 1, game 4) uses a Machine Code routine.