Spectrum Computing

Yesterday I tried v 0.1 and I was amazed with the multitude of options available. It is a complex game indeed, in the good tradition of games like Dictator, President and a few more... It will not be the cup of tea for some people, but I´m loving it (and the thematic as well). Will prepare a full review only with the final version, 'cause I´m sure you'll find some more nice additions to include...

[mention]Andre Leao[/mention] Glad you liked v0.1 Try v0.2 then, there's a lot more there, although many of the changes will be "under the hood" and evident only if you peruse the source files.

Of course I wish the game to be judged in its final version, although this does not mean that the proper release could not also be improved later, should there be any necessity to do so.

However I can say, even at this time, that I am satisfied at the result. Again, it is a proof of concept essentially - to proof that a game of such complexity and detail could be made for the humble Spectrum. In addition to that, I wanted to have a try at something completely different from what I had done so far. As always, I like variety

Alessandro, when training the pilots, option 1 has no name (2 is Eva, 3 is Docking, ...).

Thanks [mention]Andre Leao[/mention], try it again now, the issue you reported should be fixed.

Thanks, meanwhile prepared a draft of the review. Will only release it you when you're ready.

All right, please report any other issues you might find. Of course everybody else is invited to do the same

Version 0.3 is here!

What's new:

• Choose one out of three difficulty levels at the start. Parameters affected are: funds, prestige, fund multiplier factor, mission control handicap
• Chance of random events at the end of each turn. Some will need certain prerequisites to happen, e.g. available pilots
• Italian version now available
• Various bugfixes and code optimizations

The game is now close to its definitive form. Again, memory left is still very scarce; I guess graphics and sound will be postponed to a prospective 128K version. What is needed now is a lot of fine tuning. This can only be done through playing sessions. Let's see what happens next.

Work for v1.0 still goes on, after a long pause due to "real life" matters. Code has been further optimized, more fine tuning has been performed on game mechanics and several more bugs have been squashed. It is now being developed with the latest (1.9.6) version of ZX-Basic.

Optimization created some space for a few beeps and short tunes, i.e. the beginning of each one of the two national anthems, which is played at game start, when the player reaches a milestone first, and if the game is won.

Furthermore, game and manual are now almost completely translated into Spanish. Here are some screenshots for our Castilian-speaking folks:

Finally, exactly five months after the first announcement, version 1.0 is here! As promised, game and documentation are available in three languages: Italiano, English and Español. Source files included. Download the whole package from the usual address.

I worked hard to correct bugs and make some other adjustments, the game is now playable and completable. However, given its complexity, there could still be some imperfections. Please report any feedback in this thread.

Enjoy!

Hi folks,

some little inconsistencies in the English version have now been fixed. Please download the game again.

Oh dear. The Politburo are not going to like this...



This is really impressive. I'm only at the manned earth orbit stage, but it's already clear there's going to be a scary amount of planning needed to progress. A 128K version with graphics sounds great (especially for a more dramatic playout of the missions), but that sounds like a huge & challenging BASIC program.

Either way, this 48K version is great. Bloody well done Ale!

Thank you so much Dave

A 128K version with some graphics and AY sound would be great indeed. However I have other plans at the moment, since you read the annual you already know what they are Maybe later this year?

Another "silent update". Translation errors and some not completely deleted mission messages in the Spanish version have been fixed.

In addition to that, an outdated information in the manuals regarding the number of turns for pilot training has been corrected.

GLENN is dead. He did not even make it to orbit. He vaporized right on the launchpad.
I hope I will not kill ARMSTRONG before landing on Moon. Actually, is it possible to fail just because you killed all your pilots ?

Unfortunately John Glenn suffered the fate that historically befell to the crew of the Apollo 1, which included Virgil Grissom and Ed White, present in the US roster in the game.

In abstract, there is nothing in the game mechanics that prevents all of your pilots from being killed. Such occurrances are extremely rare anyway, so that the game does not end up being impossible to complete. In order to send a crew on the Moon, you need at least two pilots, should you choose the two-seat capsule equipped with a docking module, an A-type service module and a one-seat lunar module, which by the way was the historical Soviet approach.

Alessandro wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 4:33 pm Unfortunately John Glenn suffered the fate that historically befell to the crew of the Apollo 1, which included Virgil Grissom and Ed White, present in the US roster in the game.

Yes, I have seen First Man with Ryan Gosling. It somehow suggests that being first man on the moon was not only matter of being best pilot in NASA but also matter of being lucky enough to survive the whole space program.
Just 12 years from Sputnik to Apollo 11, literally over dead bodies of colleagues and comrades.

Hi everyone, the game has been updated to version 1.01. Here are the changes:

- To exit the technician choice screen it is no more necessary to insert a number of technicians,
then press "0" to cancel. Just insert "0" and you will be brought back to the previous menu.
- Some slight modifications in the text for both manual and game.
- The Spanish translation has been revised by EquinoxeZX.

And now it is the time for version 1.1. Many of the changes were made for consistency with Ad Lunam Plus; in addition to that, several potential bugs discovered when the code was taken as the basis for Ad Lunam Plus were fixed.

Note: savegames for this version are not compatible with those from version 1.01.

• At game start, you now have to choose your country first, then the difficulty level.
• ­Some specifications have been changed, see user manual for details.
• The initial funds amount for easy, medium and hard difficulty changes from 150, 120 and 90 to 170, 135 and 100 respectively.
• Initial prestige for easy, medium and hard difficulty changes from 90, 80 and 70 to 105, 90 and 75 respectively.
• Calculation of funds assigned every year according to prestige is slightly more favorable.
• Possible extra funds/budget cuts at the end of a turn are fixed at +20/-20.
• The criteria for the calculation of the final score have been modified.
• Various corrections and optimizations in the game code and messages.
• New “Tips” section in the user manual.