Little bugs in the database

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

Moderators: druellan, pavero

User avatar
Frankie
Manic Miner
Posts: 215
Joined: Sat Mar 09, 2019 8:09 am

Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by Frankie »

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.php?cat=96&id=764

This is not a: "Sport Game: Management" game :)

It more like a Utility, where you can enter the results from the Bundesliga football matches, and then this program keeps track of records and stuff. Like the file until have result put in from the 1986 season.

So this is a Utility, not a Management game :)
✓ Reviewed
User avatar
Frankie
Manic Miner
Posts: 215
Joined: Sat Mar 09, 2019 8:09 am

Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by Frankie »

About Blam:

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=34337

That company is not from the UK, but from Ireland. Take a look at loading screen, Cork, Eire ;)
✓ Reviewed
User avatar
druellan
Dynamite Dan
Posts: 1466
Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2018 7:19 pm

Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by druellan »

Frankie wrote: Fri Mar 22, 2019 9:59 pm It more like a Utility, where you can enter the results from the Bundesliga football matches, and then this program keeps track of records and stuff. Like the file until have result put in from the 1986 season.
I can see that also one option is supposed to provide some "tips" for the Toto/Lotto prediction game, so, I think this is also an Utility: prediction software.
User avatar
StooB
Dynamite Dan
Posts: 1073
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:03 am
Contact:

Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by StooB »

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.

Double Dragon II
Continental Circus
Gemini Wing

The publisher for these should be "Virgin Games" rather than "Virgin Mastertronic" to be consistent with all the other Virgin Games/Virgin Mastertronic titles which are filed under "Virgin Games" - like Ninja Warriors, Shinobi, and Silkworm.

Mind Stretchers

Publisher should be Leisure Genius, whose logo is prominent on the box and the advertising, rather than owner Virgin Mastertronic.

Dynamix
There's no evidence that this was ever anything other than a budget release, so the original publisher should be Mastertronic Ltd, rather than Virgin Mastertronic.
✓ Reviewed
User avatar
PeterJ
Site Admin
Posts: 6859
Joined: Thu Nov 09, 2017 7:19 pm
Location: Surrey, UK

Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by PeterJ »

This came via email to me:

Cobra's Arc (Dinamic Software, 1986)

I have just found your web site and I would like to provide you additional information about this video game:
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=6093

Authors/contributors:
Luis Mezquita Raya / Team: No team / Role: Game designer, programmer and composer
Snatcho / Team: Dinamic Software / Role: Graphic designer
Manuel Cubedo / Team: Dinamic Software / Role: Main theme composer
Alfonso Azpiri / Team: No team / Role: Inlay/Poster art designer
✓ Reviewed
User avatar
StooB
Dynamite Dan
Posts: 1073
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:03 am
Contact:

Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by StooB »

The Professional Adventure Writer

year of release should be 1987 rather than 1986 - all magazine reviews are from May/June 1987

The Ticket

this is the tutorial adventure from the PAW manual, so "Original Publication" should be Type-in, and the year of release should be 1987 again

Dragon Slayer

is presumably authored with The Quill rather than PAW, as it was released in 1984 and appeared on two compilations in 1986
✓ Reviewed
User avatar
8BitAG
Dynamite Dan
Posts: 1487
Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2017 9:25 pm
Contact:

Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by 8BitAG »

StooB wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 9:22 am The Professional Adventure Writer
year of release should be 1987 rather than 1986 - all magazine reviews are from May/June 1987
The Ticket
this is the tutorial adventure from the PAW manual, so "Original Publication" should be Type-in, and the year of release should be 1987 again
Dragon Slayer

is presumably authored with The Quill rather than PAW, as it was released in 1984 and appeared on two compilations in 1986
Yes, to that version of Dragon Slayer being produced with the Quill, that's how we've got it listed on CASA and I've just double-checked the game file too. I think someone has confused it with the Dreamworld Adventures game of the same name that was PAWed.

I'm checking with Tim about the PAWs release date. The original intention was to get it out the door before the end of 1986 and as far as I know that's what happened.
✓ Reviewed
8-bit Text Adventure Gamer - games - research.
User avatar
StooB
Dynamite Dan
Posts: 1073
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:03 am
Contact:

Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by StooB »

8BitAG wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 12:21 pm I'm checking with Tim about the PAWs release date. The original intention was to get it out the door before the end of 1986 and as far as I know that's what happened.
Rescheduled to January 1987 according to Mike Gerrard (YS March 87):
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/mag.php ... 36&page=55
User avatar
8BitAG
Dynamite Dan
Posts: 1487
Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2017 9:25 pm
Contact:

Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by 8BitAG »

StooB wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 12:52 pm Rescheduled to January 1987 according to Mike Gerrard (YS March 87):
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/mag.php ... 36&page=55
Tim Gilberts, of Gilsoft, says he's sure it was the end of 1986. The release of GAC brought forward their plans a bit.

(Mike's column isn't necessarily the most accurate for dates... The March issue would've been out in February, I think. So he would've probably written that news piece around November '86, I guess. I've mentioned the column to Tim but unless his says otherwise, I would say that his opinion on the date should stand.)
✓ Reviewed
8-bit Text Adventure Gamer - games - research.
User avatar
8BitAG
Dynamite Dan
Posts: 1487
Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2017 9:25 pm
Contact:

Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by 8BitAG »

Many of the files on The Blood of Bogmole page...
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=6018

are listed with a 1986 date, rather than the 1991 date that the game was released.

The same here with 1986 instead of 1992 for Zogan's Revenge...
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=6020

and the Wizard's Skull...
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=6021
(again 1986 is on some of the files rather than 1992)
✓ Reviewed
8-bit Text Adventure Gamer - games - research.
User avatar
StooB
Dynamite Dan
Posts: 1073
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:03 am
Contact:

Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by StooB »

8BitAG wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 1:18 pm
StooB wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 12:52 pm Rescheduled to January 1987 according to Mike Gerrard (YS March 87):
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/mag.php ... 36&page=55
Tim Gilberts, of Gilsoft, says he's sure it was the end of 1986. The release of GAC brought forward their plans a bit.

(Mike's column isn't necessarily the most accurate for dates... The March issue would've been out in February, I think. So he would've probably written that news piece around November '86, I guess. I've mentioned the column to Tim but unless his says otherwise, I would say that his opinion on the date should stand.)
We can only go on the documented evidence:

- the first advert appearing in April 1987
- earliest review appearing in May 1987
- Mike Gerrard specifically stating that it wasn't released "last year" as other magazines had claimed

Memories are usually wrong!
User avatar
8BitAG
Dynamite Dan
Posts: 1487
Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2017 9:25 pm
Contact:

Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by 8BitAG »

8BitAG wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 1:18 pm
StooB wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 12:52 pm Rescheduled to January 1987 according to Mike Gerrard (YS March 87):
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/mag.php ... 36&page=55
Tim Gilberts, of Gilsoft, says he's sure it was the end of 1986. The release of GAC brought forward their plans a bit.
Tim is going to check his Gilsoft files tonight. :)

You could be right and 1987 could be the date, but Tim should be able to let us know that. As I've said before Mike's column is not accurate when it comes to dates and even news... because, as he was a freelancer, it was written so far in advance of publication.
✓ Reviewed
8-bit Text Adventure Gamer - games - research.
User avatar
StooB
Dynamite Dan
Posts: 1073
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:03 am
Contact:

Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by StooB »

Fists 'n' Throttles
Frank Bruno's Big Box
Flight Ace
Command Performance

- release year should be 1988 as they all appear in this ACE article on compilations to buy for Christmas 1988
✓ Reviewed
User avatar
Fahnn
Microbot
Posts: 135
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2019 7:56 pm
Location: Redcar, UK
Contact:

Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by Fahnn »

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).
✓ Reviewed
User avatar
Juan F. Ramirez
Bugaboo
Posts: 5102
Joined: Tue Nov 14, 2017 6:55 am
Location: Málaga, Spain

Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

The inlay shown in the Hobbit entry is this:

Image

Checking the scanned files at [mention]Mort[/mention] 's archive.org site, it seems these are the instructions instead (first and last page of the instrutions brochure).

The Sinclair re-release inlay also seems the instructions (with the 'Sinclair' logo instead the Melbourne one).

Unfortunately, the scanned inlay at [mention]Mort[/mention] 's seems wrong.

Inlay v1.2 seems ok.
✓ Reviewed
User avatar
Fahnn
Microbot
Posts: 135
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2019 7:56 pm
Location: Redcar, UK
Contact:

Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by Fahnn »

8BitAG wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 1:18 pm
Tim Gilberts, of Gilsoft, says he's sure it was the end of 1986. The release of GAC brought forward their plans a bit.
I realise that Tim should know best, but that timescale is puzzling to say the least. If it was released in 1986, why did none of the magazines give it a review for another (at least) four months? That's got to be an unusual state of affairs. I didn't get my copy until 17th June 1987 (found the receipt!) but I think - as a sensible boy - I waited until after my 'O' Levels to buy it. As I mentioned elsewhere, I apparently had the first PAWed game reviewed in CRASH (issue 44, out in August 1987) and I sent it off to them in late July. Surely if PAW had been available since 1986, there would have been plenty of PAW-authored games released prior to that? Especially as, If you'd used The Quill, PAW wasn't much of a stretch and it didn't take long to learn the new features.
User avatar
8BitAG
Dynamite Dan
Posts: 1487
Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2017 9:25 pm
Contact:

Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by 8BitAG »

Fahnn wrote: Tue Apr 02, 2019 4:30 pm I realise that Tim should know best, but that timescale is puzzling to say the least. If it was released in 1986, why did none of the magazines give it a review for another (at least) four months? That's got to be an unusual state of affairs. I didn't get my copy until 17th June 1987 (found the receipt!) but I think - as a sensible boy - I waited until after my 'O' Levels to buy it. As I mentioned elsewhere, I apparently had the first PAWed game reviewed in CRASH (issue 44, out in August 1987) and I sent it off to them in late July. Surely if PAW had been available since 1986, there would have been plenty of PAW-authored games released prior to that? Especially as, If you'd used The Quill, PAW wasn't much of a stretch and it didn't take long to learn the new features.
Like I said earlier, it may have been 1987... Tim just needs to check the details and see when the earliest copies were sold. But it's either the very end of 1986 or the very beginning of 1987 so there really isn't much in it. All the PAWs stuff is copyrighted 1986 so it was all produced in 1986. There were testing versions floating around then and some of the fanzines ran previews in the latter part of the year. As Tim has said, the aim was to publish at the end of 1986, to try and follow GAC's release as close as possible.

Why no reviews until a few months later? Well, all the magazines are written well in advance! The cover date often refers to the following month, and columns and specialist freelance reviews were often submitted a month or two earlier... reviewing a authoring tool isn't quite as quick as reviewing a game (if you do it properly).

[Edit: For example... in StooB's post above, he refers to Mike Gerrard writing in the "March 1987" issue of Your Sinclair about a delay to the PAWs release until January 1987. So Mike must've been writing that prior to January 1987... for the March 1987 issue... which was presumably published in February.. I'm guessing, from what Mike has said about lead-in dates in the past, that he was probably writing that in November 1986]
8-bit Text Adventure Gamer - games - research.
User avatar
Fahnn
Microbot
Posts: 135
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2019 7:56 pm
Location: Redcar, UK
Contact:

Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by Fahnn »

8BitAG wrote: Tue Apr 02, 2019 5:57 pm Like I said earlier, it may have been 1987... Tim just needs to check the details and see when the earliest copies were sold. But it's either the very end of 1986 or the very beginning of 1987 so there really isn't much in it. All the PAWs stuff is copyrighted 1986 so it was all produced in 1986. There were testing versions floating around then and some of the fanzines ran previews in the latter part of the year. As Tim has said, the aim was to publish at the end of 1986, to try and follow GAC's release as close as possible.

Why no reviews until a few months later? Well, all the magazines are written well in advance! The cover date often refers to the following month, and columns and specialist freelance reviews were often submitted a month or two earlier... reviewing a authoring tool isn't quite as quick as reviewing a game (if you do it properly).
Yes, that makes sense and I would certainly trust Tim's records over my faulty memory! It'll be interesting to hear what he concludes.
User avatar
8BitAG
Dynamite Dan
Posts: 1487
Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2017 9:25 pm
Contact:

Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by 8BitAG »

Fahnn wrote: Tue Apr 02, 2019 6:48 pm Yes, that makes sense and I would certainly trust Tim's records over my faulty memory! It'll be interesting to hear what he concludes.
The whole issue of publication dates is interesting, though, especially when you start using magazines and reviews as evidence... For example, these following titles are all currently listed as "1986" text adventures in the database... however Winter Wonderland & the Serf's Tale weren't reviewed in Your Sinclair until the April 1987 issue... and Kayleth wasn't reviewed until the May 1987 edition!
8-bit Text Adventure Gamer - games - research.
User avatar
StooB
Dynamite Dan
Posts: 1073
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:03 am
Contact:

Re: Little bugs in the database

Post by StooB »

Last page of the PAW manual:
What should I do next?
HAVE FUN!
OK
Tim Gilberts – January 1987
Conclusive proof of a 1987 release?
✓ Reviewed
User avatar
Alessandro
Dynamite Dan
Posts: 1908
Joined: Wed Nov 15, 2017 11:10 am
Location: Messina, Italy
Contact:

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.
✓ Reviewed
User avatar
mzx
Dizzy
Posts: 52
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2018 7:56 pm

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.
✓ Reviewed
User avatar
8BitAG
Dynamite Dan
Posts: 1487
Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2017 9:25 pm
Contact:

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.
8-bit Text Adventure Gamer - games - research.
User avatar
R-Tape
Site Admin
Posts: 6353
Joined: Thu Nov 09, 2017 11:46 am

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 :)
User avatar
druellan
Dynamite Dan
Posts: 1466
Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2018 7:19 pm

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.
✓ Reviewed
Post Reply