Spectrum Computing

MH threads are back!!!



This time issue #2 from april 1985:

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=13555



10 amazing programs including a text adventure (YES, A TEXT ADVENTURE!!!), plattform, sports, board games, ... even a UDG editor! (because you haven't got any UDG editor, have you?).

Stay tuned in your fave thread!!!

Yipppeee!

I always liked the loading screen for Alicia. Another one of those, usually interesting, looking Spanish text adventures. There's an interview with the author here, by the way, http://spac.caad.es/1/spac42.htm#a1 and this is his map for game http://www.caad.es/sites/default/files/ ... alicia.gif

Alicia by Luis E. Juan




As @8bitAG said, it's a cute loading screen

An interesting text adventure made in BASIC based on the famous tale "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll.

55 screens where you must solve different puzzles and treat different characters. According to the instructions, it's easier if you have read the book.

There's a list of words to be used in the adventure:

N, S, E, O (north, south, east, west)
Subir (go up)
bajar (go down)
nadar (swim)
mirar (see, stare)
coger (pick up)
dejar (leave)
abrir (open)
cerrar (close)
comer (eat)
beber (drink)
seguir (follow)
mover (move)
inventario (inventory)
puntuacion (score)

A very good adventure that gets the first 'Seal of Approval' in the thread.

So, you know... follow the white rabbit!

I started the adventure and entered a dense forest and easily got lost (I'm not a great adventurer, as you can presume )


Lost in the dense forest

8BitAG wrote: ↑Sat Nov 02, 2019 8:58 pm I always liked the loading screen for Alicia. Another one of those, usually interesting, looking Spanish text adventures. There's an interview with the author here, by the way, http://spac.caad.es/1/spac42.htm#a1 and this is his map for game http://www.caad.es/sites/default/files/ ... alicia.gif

Thanks for the link. It's surprising to know Alicia is the second spanish text adventure ever after Dinamic's Yenght!

Also... if you like the loading screen, then how about a version of it flipped around with a blue border on a different game...
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=5942

There's a story there, presumably?

'Strongly inspired'

Dados (Dice)
By R. Victoria



It's a variety of poker dice. Up to 5 players can play. You'll be asked for every players' initials (three letters maximum). Then, a table is shown with the players and their points.

In turns, every player throw the dice three times. In the second, you are allowed to change your selection ('DESEAS CAMBIAR (S/N)' (y/n)), but only in the second turn.

The 'TOT' column shows the total of points.

In the issue brochure, the magazine warns us in case we have a B/W telly: the aspect of the figures may be logically confused. In that case, they wisely advise us to change the UDG located at line 9000 onwards... 80's problems and their solutions

Squash by M. Sánchez



When we read 'Squash' we can't avoid thinking of the great Jonah Barrington's game by New Generation Software, based on the popular game of the 80s and 90s. Then, we come across this program (written in machine code) that erm, it's slightly different.

The keys are P up, O down and I reset (recommended option). After it, you may select the ball speed (1, 2 or 3). You suspect 1 is the lowest and 3 the fastest and is just the opposite actually. Anything but 3 will you make get mad.

You have ten balls and have a contender (the red square). The game starts and you must try to hit the ball and at this point you realize your contender does a regular movement from down to up, a very WTF feature I'm sure you all will find very funny.

So just try to 'survive' by hitting the ball while you contender suffers some kind of compulsive obsession of moving from down to up the screen (if he happens to hit a ball close the eyes and make a wish!).

It's great to see these again! Is the text in the text adventure compressed? If it's not, we could translate it to English. My favorite Spanish text adventure is La Aventura Espacial (for a pair of reasons), but this one looks interesting.

Desemsamblador (Disassembler)


It sounds M/C to me!!!

Now we're coming across a disassembler, useful for machine code fans, but I presume this programs gets some years late!

It starts asking you the starting and ending address of the block to disassemble. Then, if you want to get a paper list via printer (y/n).

After the list is displayed, the program asks you if you want more positions to be shown. In the instructions brochure it is said that you can previously load any M/C program (LOAD "" CODE) after a CLEAR n instruction (n=starting address -1).

Too boring stuff for you? Think of the squash program and then you'll find this disassembler interesting!!!

Don Cosme by Paco Martín





The second 'Seal of Approval' program of this issue was coded in machine code by Paco Martín, who also coded 'Tiro de Pichón' (see issue #1 thread), but also, according to ZXDB, his name appears in some very interesting Dinamic games.

Cosme is a mix of Manic Miner & Pyjamarama. He's a brickie and one night, he has a nightmare; he's in his workplace, a building, and must collect some tools to pass to the next screen (there are five).

There's a map made by [mention]pavero[/mention]:

https://maps.speccy.cz/map.php?id=DonCo ... art=4&ath=

A lovely game but a bit hard. You can use kempston or keys: O left, P right, SPACE/M jump.

Hmm, probably a good idea to avoid that disassembler. It's showing the wrong instructions! 175 should be XOR A, not XOR L.

That Manic Miner clone looks interesting though.

Ataque de Naves (Ships Attack)



Our city it's been attacked by 'Commodore' ships, the radar system have warned us and must get on our 'ZX' ships to repel the atack. We move a cursor with O P Q A & M to hit the enemy ships.

A very cute city drawn with some PLOT and DRAW command plus some UDGs, but obviously very slow to draw it. Hard to hit any enemy ship.

I recognise that game - it's UFO Attack, written by Anthony Sherwood and featured in the February 1985 issue of Sinclair Programs.

djnzx48 wrote: ↑Thu Nov 07, 2019 7:28 am I recognise that game - it's UFO Attack, written by Anthony Sherwood and featured in the February 1985 issue of Sinclair Programs.

Errmm... that's why no author's name is included in the brochure...

Let's suppose there was a 'legal' agreement to include the program in the MH issue...

Pretty cool that you got adventures and machine code games on these tapes.

Even nicer that they seemed to be mostly games instead of utility and educational programs..

G.D.U.(UDG)



A simple and easy UDG designer. First, select the UDG letter (A-U). Then, move the cursor with 5,6,7 & 8. 1 prints a block in the 8x8 grid. 0 erases it.
Other keys are:

2 chooses another character
3 stops
4 prints

As you print dots, the corresponding decimal value is display to the right. And the designer enables you to see your character (to the left) at the same time you're printing it.

But I'm afraid there are tons of GDU designers with similar features out there...

In the pic above there's my GDU version of Daley Thompson. Cool, isn't it?

Dominó (Dominoes)
By J. Alberti





The classic Dominoes game on your Spectrum. A simple but enjoyable BASIC game. The pieces should have been bigger but their size is enough.

You (1) play against three contenders (2,3,4) controllated by the computer. First, you're asked for the reaction time of them. 0 means 'indefinite time' according to the instructions brochure. When it's your turn, select the corresponding piece marked with Z, X, C, V, B, N or M.

Press P to 'pass' when your remaining pieces can't be offered.

This game have the enough quality to get a 'Seal of Approval'.

Spectrum Musical

]
Starting screen

This utility is about sol-fa. Making music and then listening to it, correcting, saving on tape and loading.

First, a menu offers us:

1 - Program tune
2 - Listen it
3 - Correct
4 - Save
5 - Load
6 - Repeat a block


Programming a tune

When in option 1, you'll be asked for the number of note. Then, you select the suitable option for every note:

Redonda - whole note
Blanca - half note
Negra - crotchet
Corchea - quaver
Semicorchea - semiquaver
Fusa - demisemi quaver
Semifusa - ?
Tresillo - triplet
+ - increase/decrease octave
# sharp
b flat
. dotted

0 goes back to the menu.

Now there's no excuses for making music, my fellow Mozarts!

I can't keep up! Don Cosme is pretty good, probably mainly due to the crazy jump dynamic. I've come close, but I still can't finish screen 1.

R-Tape wrote: ↑Sat Nov 09, 2019 10:11 pm I can't keep up! Don Cosme is pretty good, probably mainly due to the crazy jump dynamic. I've come close, but I still can't finish screen 1.

I think nobody could!

I got to screen 2



But I haven't got any further - the jump dynamic definitely does take some getting used to.

Nice game though - I would definitely have loved something like this on the 16/48 tape mag.

Rescate (Rescue)


I could reach second floor!!!

It's just jumping Jack coded in BASIC. With the limitations of BASIC. With the speed of BASIC. You know what I mean...

Horrible game that will get you mad before reach the upper plattform where your heroine (a guy with the same graphics that yours, wtf -Ed) awaits.

Beware the final danger: the hanging bomb.

But don't worry, you'll never reach it!

Keys: O & P, M jump.

... and this was the last game. It's means this is the end of the thread.

So you know, now's your turn. Try the games and tell your views!

See you in the next issue, #3!!!