Little bugs in the database

This is the place to request ZXDB corrections (add missing data or fix incorrect information)

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Alessandro
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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by Alessandro »

StooB wrote: Wed Mar 20, 2019 7:18 am
druellan wrote: Tue Mar 19, 2019 11:44 pm the liked site is no longer there: http://www.kov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7586
It should be klov.com rather than kov. This affects every entry that has an arcade licence link, not just Dingo.
That, and "coin-up" should be corrected to "coin-op" as well.
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mzx
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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by mzx »

This may not be the right topic...
Bobsleigh's real machine type: 48K/128K (after loading the game asks, what should the sound be like? 48K or 128K?)
And a different kind of error: there is an error in the Byte Back TZX: the pause is short (1002ms) before the last block, so the last block does not start loading. By increasing the pause value (~2000ms), the game loads properly.
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8BitAG
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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by 8BitAG »

StooB wrote: Wed Apr 03, 2019 8:06 am Last page of the PAW manual:
What should I do next?
HAVE FUN!
OK
Tim Gilberts – January 1987
Conclusive proof of a 1987 release?
Yep... I'll give you that. :) :P lol. And I have that manual sitting open here on my desk too.
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R-Tape
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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by R-Tape »

Fellas, once we've finished discussing the issues regarding bugs already mentioned in this thread, can I lock it and all new small bugs go in little bugs 2?

It'll help us keep on top of things.

Apologies—I'm/we're struggling to get around to doing these fixes, but someone else will be helping with them soon :)
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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by druellan »

I was checking this one:
viewtopic.php?p=19838#p19838

About the game Imperator:
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=2455

And looking for the author, seems that there is an almost identical game, filled as "Emperor"
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=12874
It even says "Also know as: Imperator"

One entry has a TAP file, and the other a TRD. Both seems to lack some information provided by the OP. [mention]R-Tape[/mention] can you look into it? Seems that we can merge the two into one entry and fill in the missing information.
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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by Ralf »

One entry has a TAP file, and the other a TRD. Both seems to lack some information provided by the OP. @R-Tape can you look into it? Seems that we can merge the two into one entry and fill in the missing information.
I agree, it's the same game.
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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by druellan »

mzx wrote: Wed Apr 03, 2019 6:15 pm This may not be the right topic...
It is! :D
mzx wrote: Wed Apr 03, 2019 6:15 pm And a different kind of error: there is an error in the Byte Back TZX: the pause is short (1002ms) before the last block, so the last block does not start loading. By increasing the pause value (~2000ms), the game loads properly.
Confirmed using FUSE all fastloading options disabled. I wonder if the original has that problem too.
[mention]R-Tape[/mention] [mention]Einar Saukas[/mention] what do you think? Worth fixing the file or just ad a note?
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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by R-Tape »

[mention]Ralf[/mention] [mention]druellan[/mention]

Hope this doesn't confuse anyone, but I've moved your posts from bugs#2 to bugs#1, as it's referring to a bug in this thread.

Can we keep this thread for discussing the bugs already reported in it (then perhaps I can lock it in a few days), and little bugs 2 for new bug reports.
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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by Ralf »

[mention]R-Tape[/mention] Sure.

Do anything that helps you to oraganise the subject better.
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Einar Saukas
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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by Einar Saukas »

druellan wrote: Thu Apr 04, 2019 2:37 pm
mzx wrote: Wed Apr 03, 2019 6:15 pm This may not be the right topic...
It is! :D
mzx wrote: Wed Apr 03, 2019 6:15 pm And a different kind of error: there is an error in the Byte Back TZX: the pause is short (1002ms) before the last block, so the last block does not start loading. By increasing the pause value (~2000ms), the game loads properly.
Confirmed using FUSE all fastloading options disabled. I wonder if the original has that problem too.
@R-Tape @Einar Saukas what do you think? Worth fixing the file or just ad a note?
If the TZX is authentic (i.e a faithful reproduction of the real tape including duration of pauses between blocks, not faked from converting a TAP for instance), then it doesn't make sense to replace it with a non-authentic version.

In this case, it makes more sense to keep the original, but also add a second version properly marked as "(BUGFIX)".
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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by druellan »

8BitAG wrote: Sat Jan 19, 2019 8:48 pm Loony Bin
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=16874
(Tim Gilberts has just discovered it in the "Gilsoft archive" :) )
I'm roaming old entries :)
Has anyone recovered this? I can see Tim has a copy in his bag of wonders: https://twitter.com/timbucus/status/1086686871621697536
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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by 8BitAG »

druellan wrote: Fri Apr 19, 2019 1:53 pm Has anyone recovered this? I can see Tim has a copy in his bag of wonders: https://twitter.com/timbucus/status/1086686871621697536
Tim has a load of MIA and unarchived stuff. But he's also really busy!
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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by druellan »

Rorthron wrote: Fri Jan 18, 2019 10:04 pm The programming credits for Gyron (the "compilstion") are missing. They should be:
Ricardo Pinto, Dominic Prior, Philip Machan, Mark Whigton (all Torus)
https://archive.org/stream/sinclair-use ... 7/mode/1up
That article is quite interesting, I think that can be added to the RIcardo Pinto and Dominic Prior's ZXDB profile as an interview.
[mention]Einar Saukas[/mention] [mention]R-Tape[/mention] what do you think?
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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by druellan »

8BitAG wrote: Fri Apr 19, 2019 2:12 pm
druellan wrote: Fri Apr 19, 2019 1:53 pm Has anyone recovered this? I can see Tim has a copy in his bag of wonders: https://twitter.com/timbucus/status/1086686871621697536
Tim has a load of MIA and unarchived stuff. But he's also really busy!
Oh, ok, we'll keep an eye to see if he manages to recover something, in the meantime we can drool over that photo :lol:
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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by 8BitAG »

druellan wrote: Fri Apr 19, 2019 4:13 pm Oh, ok, we'll keep an eye to see if he manages to recover something, in the meantime we can drool over that photo :lol:
As you've spotted on Twitter, judging by your recent like, there is also the uMIA game 'The Rubber Maze' in that collection (which has the already archived 'The Semi-Detached at the End of the Street' on the B-Side https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=15138

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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by druellan »

8BitAG wrote: Fri Apr 19, 2019 4:31 pm
druellan wrote: Fri Apr 19, 2019 4:13 pm Oh, ok, we'll keep an eye to see if he manages to recover something, in the meantime we can drool over that photo :lol:
As you've spotted on Twitter, judging by your recent like, there is also the uMIA game 'The Rubber Maze' in that collection (which has the already archived 'The Semi-Detached at the End of the Street' on the B-Side https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=15138

Image
Yes! Confirmed and just finished adding everything to the database. The only odd thing I've found is a company named "Simplesoft" (no spaces) from the Netherlands and owned by Bert Vierstra (https://zxinfo.dk/search/bert%20vierstra?listtype=grid), but I don't think is the same company.
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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by druellan »

Rorthron wrote: Fri Jan 18, 2019 9:41 pm The Cholo PDF instructions are actually for the BBC Micro.
Confirmed!
[mention]R-Tape[/mention] Seems that cholo.pdf and cholo_Instructions.pdf are the same document, and you can read "Cholo for the BBC Micro" and the BBC Micro loading instructions at the beginning.

The instructions on Cholo.zip are multisystem for "BBC B, Commodore 64/128, Spectrum 48/128 and Amstrad CPC".
THe keyboard on Cholo_KeyGuide.txt is titled "Spectrum Cholo Key Guide", so, it is the correct one.

So, we can pretty much remove the BBC instructions at this point, but perhaps we can retitle one of them (and remove the copy) to make clear the system?
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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

druellan wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 12:48 am
Rorthron wrote: Fri Jan 18, 2019 9:41 pm The Cholo PDF instructions are actually for the BBC Micro.
Confirmed!
@R-Tape Seems that cholo.pdf and cholo_Instructions.pdf are the same document, and you can read "Cholo for the BBC Micro" and the BBC Micro loading instructions at the beginning.

The instructions on Cholo.zip are multisystem for "BBC B, Commodore 64/128, Spectrum 48/128 and Amstrad CPC".
THe keyboard on Cholo_KeyGuide.txt is titled "Spectrum Cholo Key Guide", so, it is the correct one.

So, we can pretty much remove the BBC instructions at this point, but perhaps we can retitle one of them (and remove the copy) to make clear the system?
In @mort 's archive.org site there's the complete scanned instructions for the spectrum plus the novella, key guide and even a map.
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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by druellan »

Juan F. Ramirez wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 7:05 am In @mort 's archive.org site there's the complete scanned instructions for the spectrum plus the novella, key guide and even a map.
Yeah, I was taking a look at Archive.org. It is the same information we already have, but in a better format, including covers. Since the manual is multisystem, we can pretty much link this one, even when it is tagged as Commodore 64: https://archive.org/details/c64man_cholo
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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by druellan »

Fahnn wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 4:16 pm I've just been looking at Microsphere's games and David Reidy is only credited on the Skool games, Contact Sam Cruise and a book, but didn't he program all their stuff, Wheelie and Skyranger and so on? Actually none of the other releases have author credits as far as I can see (unless I'm doing it wrong).
I was investigating this a bit. The information out there is pretty confusing.

The website Spong (https://spong.com/people/8727/David-S-Reidy) states:
David S Reidy's first video game work that SPOnG is aware of is the 1983 title, "Wheelie" (Spectrum 48K) as Lead Artist.
Full credits on that site:
Lead Programmer: David S Reidy
Lead Artist: David S Reidy
Packaging/Manual Design: Keith Warrington
I don't think this is a reliable source of information, but Reidy as the main artist makes sense, since Keith Warrington was not involved in graphics until Skool Daze.

I also found an Hungarian magazine: http://sinclair.hu/kiadvany_download.ph ... Zci2U9NpZm
The translation reads: "David Reidy says, "Wheelie broke very slowly, but we sold it for more than 12 months, which is remarkable." The games were still made in the simple roles already outlined, and the graphics of Wheelie were entirely David's work, but he was waving an ambitious plan that he could no longer have as a sow graphic. Well, I had a really knowledgeable man who could have had a choice, like Keith, who had been working for them for a long time."

That seems to be part of the Sinclair User #36 article: https://archive.org/details/sinclair-user-magazine-036 , but I can't find that part! :?

PD: don't let me start about the Computer History page (http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/3791/Wheelie/) that has an "E J Estcourt" as the author, which sounds very similar to "M J Estcourt", author of Deathchase and Full Throttle. :roll:
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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by StooB »

druellan wrote: Sun May 26, 2019 8:47 pm I also found an Hungarian magazine: http://sinclair.hu/kiadvany_download.ph ... Zci2U9NpZm
The translation reads: "David Reidy says, "Wheelie broke very slowly, but we sold it for more than 12 months, which is remarkable." The games were still made in the simple roles already outlined, and the graphics of Wheelie were entirely David's work, but he was waving an ambitious plan that he could no longer have as a sow graphic. Well, I had a really knowledgeable man who could have had a choice, like Keith, who had been working for them for a long time."

That seems to be part of the Sinclair User #36 article: https://archive.org/details/sinclair-user-magazine-036 , but I can't find that part! :?
Sounds more like Retro Gamer #17:

"The graphics in everything up to Wheelie were Dave’s own work (“as you can probably tell”), but it was clear that the ambitious plans for building a complete school on the Spectrum meant getting a proper artist in. Luckily, he had one handy – Keith Warrington, who’d already illustrated the ads and packaging for all of Microsphere’s games since Crevasse/Hotfoot."


Fahnn wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 4:16 pm I've just been looking at Microsphere's games and David Reidy is only credited on the Skool games, Contact Sam Cruise and a book, but didn't he program all their stuff, Wheelie and Skyranger and so on? Actually none of the other releases have author credits as far as I can see (unless I'm doing it wrong).
The same Retro Gamer suggests Sky Ranger was his too:

"Microsphere’s only misfire. Sky Ranger made an ambitious and largely successful stab at proper 3D. But Dave – like other coders who spent too much time fiddling around with show-off graphics routines on underpowered home micros – forgot to put a decent game in."
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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by druellan »

Thanks [mention]StooB[/mention] I think we can conclude the code & graphics was Reidy's, there is little room to speculate otherwise.
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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by druellan »

StooB wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2019 9:48 am Italia '90
Loading screen has (C) 1989 on it, but there are no magazine references until April 1990 so the year of release should be 1990.
The 1990 release by "Virgin Mastertronic" can be removed - Virgin Mastertronic own Virgin Games at this time.
Hi StooB.
I'm trying to reach a consensus about what to do on cases like this one.
Here we have Virgin Games and Virgin Mastetronic, both are the same company. The inlay has Virgin Games logo, but on the back it says "copyright Virgin Mastetronic"

Image

So, I think the idea is to honor the label chosen by the core company to represent the game publication?
[mention]Einar Saukas[/mention] is that correct?
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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by StooB »

The Magnum lightgun games are the only ones specifically on the "Virgin Mastertronic" label:

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Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by 8BitAG »

8BitAG wrote: Mon Nov 12, 2018 6:18 pm The games...

Lost in the Desert
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=9914

and

Crash
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=15920

are actually the *same* game.

The game was billed as 'Lost in the Desert' when it appear on The Guild's Quill Thrill Volume 1 compilation, so 'Lost in the Desert' seems the best title to list it under.

Quill Thrill Vol 1
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=13168

I hope to discover the name of the author at some point.
An update on this one... as I've just been on this entry having seen it being played in the 'text adventure attempt thread'.

We've actually got a second game here with the same title!

The 'white text on blue' game Lost in the Desert (also referred previously to as Crash) *is* as I said The Guild game 'Lost in the Desert' from the Quill Thrill compilation...

Image

Image

This is the game detailed here https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=9914
and listed in the TZX https://archive.org/download/World_of_S ... rt.tzx.zip
and all the associated compilations such as Quill Thrill and the Adventure Probe offer tape.

There is nothing wrong with that entry.

BUT there is also a Z80 snapshot on that page is a completely different game with the same name!

It's blue on white. Is also called 'Lost in the Desert'. But is not the game that was sold by The Guild.

Image

It seems to have been incorrectly linked to the other game back in the WOS days!

So... the Z80 file, is a separate/different game and needs its own game page.

https://archive.org/download/World_of_S ... rt.z80.zip

I will do some research to see if I can track down any information about this "new" title!
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