First and final: Ocean Software

[Pegaz]

Thanks, I didnt know about these interesting information.
I also thought that Nigel Mansel might be a latest commercial game, but now we know it was Dalek Attack.
Well, it remains to clarify what is the first Spectrum game or Spectral Invaders is still the most serious candidate?

btw, I'm not sure you're right about Lemmings (by Psygnosis) for c64.
According to this information, the game was released in 1994 and it looks like it has a big chance of being the last (or one of the last) full-priced commercial games for c64.
http://www.gamebase64.com/game.php?id=4344&d=18

[PeteProdge]

Thanks, I didnt know about these interesting information.
I also thought that Nigel Mansel might be a latest commercial game, but now we know it was Dalek Attack.

Hmm, having thought about it, it seems Doctor Who: Dalek Attack was only available through mail order in the end, from what I see in YS. It had been intended as a shop-bound release, but got pulled from that and it was only YS's campaigning that got it a release and it really does seem that you had to buy through mail order. I don't count mail order as commercially significant, anyone can do that (and indeed, Jonathan Cauldwell still does today).

I think Gremlin have got this with Nigel Mansell's World Championship. Which incidentally was the first game I played on the Amiga 1200 I bought when I decided to move on from the Speccy.

Well, it remains to clarify what is the first Spectrum game or Spectral Invaders is still the most serious candidate?

I didn't have a clue as to the first ever commercially-released Spectrum game and can't confirm anything, but I've given Spectral Invaders a go and it's pretty damned good if it holds that accolade. Considering the first game most early Speccy users would have played would be Thru The Wall on the Horizons tape, it's quite a leap forward.

btw, I'm not sure you're right about Lemmings (by Psygnosis) for c64.
According to this information, the game was released in 1994 and it looks like it has a big chance of being the last (or one of the last) full-priced commercial games for c64.
http://www.gamebase64.com/game.php?id=4344&d=18

You are indeed right. That C64 wiki site I linked to seems to have taken the year of release from the lead version (Amiga I think). Pretty amazing to think the Speccy version came out a long time before the Commodore!

[MrPixel]

i find point #2 laughable given the vic's sound capabilities

[PaulJ]

I know that Orbiter (Silversoft) was written before the Spectrum was commercially available. The author Andrew Glaister wrote it out on paper first, and when he got the machine, he quickly typed it all in and released it. Maybe a contender?

[Pegaz]

I didn't have a clue as to the first ever commercially-released Spectrum game and can't confirm anything, but I've given Spectral Invaders a go and it's pretty damned good if it holds that accolade. Considering the first game most early Speccy users would have played would be Thru The Wall on the Horizons tape, it's quite a leap forward.

I'm not sure at all that Thru the wall is the first Spectrum game.
Somewhat I read that Sinclair did not deliver Horizons with Spectrum during 1982, but later.
If that's true, then Spectral Invaders is definitely the first one.

You are indeed right. That C64 wiki site I linked to seems to have taken the year of release from the lead version (Amiga I think). Pretty amazing to think the Speccy version came out a long time before the Commodore!

Well, c64 Lemmings is a remarkable achievement, compared to the average b/w Speccy conversion.
The introductory demo is a really good, almost Amiga quality.
The game definitely came out at the end of the 1993 or early 1994.
Both GB64 and Lemon database referring to the same.

i find point #2 laughable given the vic's sound capabilities

What point #2 and vic sound ???

[PeteProdge]

I know that Orbiter (Silversoft) was written before the Spectrum was commercially available. The author Andrew Glaister wrote it out on paper first, and when he got the machine, he quickly typed it all in and released it. Maybe a contender?

The first magazine reviews for Orbiter were in early 1983, whereas Spectral Invaders had reviews around Aug-Sep 1982.

Orbiter was certainly advertised in late 1982, but doesn't seem to have got into the wild until 1983.

[PaulJ]

I know that Orbiter (Silversoft) was written before the Spectrum was commercially available. The author Andrew Glaister wrote it out on paper first, and when he got the machine, he quickly typed it all in and released it. Maybe a contender?

The first magazine reviews for Orbiter were in early 1983, whereas Spectral Invaders had reviews around Aug-Sep 1982.

Orbiter was certainly advertised in late 1982, but doesn't seem to have got into the wild until 1983.

Interesting. If Spectral Invaders was being reviewed in Aug/Sep, then there must be cases of games before that as the Speccy was released in April!

[PeteProdge]

Interesting. If Spectral Invaders was being reviewed in Aug/Sep, then there must be cases of games before that as the Speccy was released in April!

Well, it's not as clear cut as that. That era took a while to have computer games on shop shelves. The earliest computer magazines didn't cover gaming as priority, it's almost a footnote. You could acquire games by mail order or at computer enthusiasts' events. The most common way was to use magazine type-in listings. Throughout much of 1982, the ZX Spectrum gaming scene was hobbyist (a bit like today). It took a while for shop chains to be convinced of the commercial value that computer games could provide. Crash magazine didn't start until early 1984. The superb documentary From Bedrooms To Billions covers this really well.

[MrPixel]

I didn't have a clue as to the first ever commercially-released Spectrum game and can't confirm anything, but I've given Spectral Invaders a go and it's pretty damned good if it holds that accolade. Considering the first game most early Speccy users would have played would be Thru The Wall on the Horizons tape, it's quite a leap forward.

I'm not sure at all that Thru the wall is the first Spectrum game.
Somewhat I read that Sinclair did not deliver Horizons with Spectrum during 1982, but later.
If that's true, then Spectral Invaders is definitely the first one.

You are indeed right. That C64 wiki site I linked to seems to have taken the year of release from the lead version (Amiga I think). Pretty amazing to think the Speccy version came out a long time before the Commodore!

Well, c64 Lemmings is a remarkable achievement, compared to the average b/w Speccy conversion.
The introductory demo is a really good, almost Amiga quality.
The game definitely came out at the end of the 1993 or early 1994.
Both GB64 and Lemon database referring to the same.

i find point #2 laughable given the vic's sound capabilities

What point #2 and vic sound ???

I'm referring to the features stated about the game. the Vic 20 computer has barebones sound when compared to the c64 and 128. therefore, how can they promise great sound. they are selling a lie

[Vampyre]

Although it doesn't really mean all that much, as titles might not have been submitted for review, the earliest review of a Spectrum title in the ZXSR database was in C+VG for...

Spectral Invaders in Issue 10 - August 1982. (Ignore that the SPOT-ON database has reviews from earlier issues (Pyramid of Doom and Savage Island - they are not Speccy reviews)).

Sinclair User didn't start reviewing Speccy software until December 1982.

[eudemian]

The first Ocean game, strictly speaking, was Kong as it was the first released under the Ocean title. Although there were inlays printed for Spectrum Games KONG but never used. The first title under Spectrum Games was Road Frog as this was the first title completed (early Nov 1982) and duplicated for Spectrum Games. The next was Monster Muncher and Caterpilla followed by Frenzy. There was a bit of a rush to get the games to the tape duplicators so I quickly wrote a few lines of basic to plot the loading screen which is why all Spectrum Games load screens looks like vector graphics. I had written my own graphic editor for the parts that couldn’t be created with the basic plot command and we bought a copy of Melbourne Draw later for the screens but I kept the basic theme. (The only reason for the load screen look was the film Time Bandits, I liked the poster art which had a perspective plot but it was a bit empty so added a pyramid which was easy to plot given I already wrote the plot basic whilst messing around one day previously)

How do I know this? I was there and wrote Road Frog, helped David review the games coming in and mastered all games for duplication including the loader and creating the load screen (I was never known for my graphic abilities). Road Frog was my very first game so I accept and forgive the criticism. There was a ZX81 version of Road Frog but David Ward didn’t want to release ZX81 games. A Missile Command like game was late and eventually released as Armageddon under Ocean following the name change. (Another quickly cobbled load screen but no pyramid this time). Some games in the early adverts were what we came to call vapourware.

I have been rummaging through my loft and have all the mastered Spectrum Games titles except Rocket Command that I put away at the time. The mint ones are at a picture frame shop for framing but these are spares.



We eventually became organised and had tape inlays printed for masters and pre production samples. Here is a cropped picture of the first printed preprod inlay (printed around Aug/Sept 83) whilst still at the old building and I was still using them when we moved.



Paul

[Ralf]

Hi, welcome to the forums !

I guess you may have quite a lot of interesting stories to tell

[Vampyre]

Excellent post, thoroughly enjoyed that.

Dunno if I'd call Daley Thompson a "little known" athlete in 1984. By the time the game came out he'd already won Commonwealth, European, World and Olympic Golds, won 1982's BBC Sport Personality of the Year and been given an MBE in 1983. Along with Carl Lewis, Maradonna and Seb Coe I would say he was one of the most recognisable athletes in the world across all sports. Having his face on it was a massive endorsement of the game at the time.

[Einar Saukas]

The first Ocean game, strictly speaking, was Kong as it was the first released under the Ocean title. Although there were inlays printed for Spectrum Games KONG but never used. The first title under Spectrum Games was Road Frog as this was the first title completed (early Nov 1982) and duplicated for Spectrum Games. The next was Monster Muncher and Caterpilla followed by Frenzy. There was a bit of a rush to get the games to the tape duplicators so I quickly wrote a few lines of basic to plot the loading screen which is why all Spectrum Games load screens looks like vector graphics. I had written my own graphic editor for the parts that couldn’t be created with the basic plot command and we bought a copy of Melbourne Draw later for the screens but I kept the basic theme. (The only reason for the load screen look was the film Time Bandits, I liked the poster art which had a perspective plot but it was a bit empty so added a pyramid which was easy to plot given I already wrote the plot basic whilst messing around one day previously)

How do I know this? I was there and wrote Road Frog, helped David review the games coming in and mastered all games for duplication including the loader and creating the load screen (I was never known for my graphic abilities). Road Frog was my very first game so I accept and forgive the criticism. There was a ZX81 version of Road Frog but David Ward didn’t want to release ZX81 games. A Missile Command like game was late and eventually released as Armageddon under Ocean following the name change. (Another quickly cobbled load screen but no pyramid this time). Some games in the early adverts were what we came to call vapourware.

I have been rummaging through my loft and have all the mastered Spectrum Games titles except Rocket Command that I put away at the time. The mint ones are at a picture frame shop for framing but these are spares.



We eventually became organised and had tape inlays printed for masters and pre production samples. Here is a cropped picture of the first printed preprod inlay (printed around Aug/Sept 83) whilst still at the old building and I was still using them when we moved.



Paul

Welcome!

Releases from Spectrum Games are listed here (just click on each game title to see further details):

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... l_id=13639

We currently don't have author names for some of these titles, including Road Frog. This information is also missing from other game databases that I checked (like MobyGames). Could you please provide this information?

It will be even better if you can also provide each author's role(s) for each title, according to this list:

• Code
• Game Design/Concept
• In-game Graphics
• Inlay/Poster Art
• Level Design
• Load Screen
• Localization/Translation
• Music
• Sound Effects
• Story Writing

[ZXDunny]

I have been rummaging through my loft and have all the mastered Spectrum Games titles except Rocket Command that I put away at the time. The mint ones are at a picture frame shop for framing but these are spares.

If you have a copy of Cosmic Intruders, it may be worthwhile getting in touch with one of the preservation chaps - the game is currently MIA and we'd love to get it archived if that's acceptable to you.

[Morkin]

I quite liked those early Ocean loading screens. Quite iconic.

[DouglasReynholm]

Just when I think I've heard everything about the Spectrum's glory days (not really), someone posts some gold, great stuff and more please? Kong actually was my first Spectrum game, can't actually remember my last, possibly Robocop on the Spectrum?

Edit: Paul Owen's '0 lives left' at the game over screen still rankles.