Little bugs in the database 2

[8BitAG]

Mad in Cas$hcais...
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=6623

was created with The Quill.

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[moroz1999]

Same person:
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... el_id=6023
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... el_id=6400
Ivan Roshchin, Moscow, Russia.

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[moroz1999]

Infected Pixels is same person as Miguel (Mikhail Ershov, Rybinsk, Russia)
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... el_id=6294
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... el_id=9777

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[druellan]

Five Star Games was released on 1st November 1986, not in 1987. The release date is given on the inlay of 10 Computer Hits 3 which means that 10 Computer Hits 3 was also released in 1986.

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Hi! Excellent detective work on the Five Star Games. About the 10 Computer Hits 3 there is also confirmation it was released October 1986, as you can see on Popular Computer Weekly: https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/mag.php ... 31&page=45

[jlsoler]

Many of the games of Microparadise Software (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... el_id=9750) are marked as Availabletype=MIA but the games are in fact preserved inside the "10 Juegos" and "10 juegos II" compilations. The games never got published outside the compilation, so, they are not missed.

An example: https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=16079

Well, I'm not the guy to say it, but I wouldn't touch anything in ZXDB regarding to Spanish releases without getting an OK from SPA2 first. It's my humble opinion. What you see there is the product of having gone through lots of written documentation (i.e. magazines, adverts, software catalogs) and, what it's not less, direct contact with some software houses well related people.

For this time and about Microparadise (and sorry, not completely sure right now), I remember magazine adverts in which some of the programs today considered MIA were supposedly on sale back the time. So it might be better to keep them there for if eventually they 'decide' to appear someday.

@Einar Saukas This is a leftover from WOS right?

No, not a leftover, and not specifically from WOS. As said, this info comes from SPA2, and I consider it still in value.

[druellan]

Valley of Rains should have machine type 48K/128K, rather than 48K, as the 48K and 128K versions are different.

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Hi! Is there a 128k version? Is that the one they plan to sell as physical copy?

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[djnzx48]

Valley of Rains should have machine type 48K/128K, rather than 48K, as the 48K and 128K versions are different.

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Hi! Is there a 128k version? Is that the one they plan to sell as physical copy?

No, there's only one release (that I know of), but the game features additional graphics when loading it on a 128K machine.

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[druellan]

Hi! Thanks very much for the clarifications.

For this time and about Microparadise (and sorry, not completely sure right now), I remember magazine adverts in which some of the programs today considered MIA were supposedly on sale back the time. So it might be better to keep them there for if eventually they 'decide' to appear someday.

Well, that is exactly the point. Sorry if my inquiry was not clear enough. Let's see.
I already checked SPA2, and there are Microparadise games released on their own, like like Backgammon (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.php?cat=96&id=371) those are ok and listed as Available on the ZXDB.

BUT Microparadise released some compilations like 10 Juegos (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=13358). The titles on this compilations are not listed as individual releases on SPA2, but on the ZXDB each game must have their own entry, so we have Carrera Mortal (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=16069) correctly marked as released "as part of compilation", but it has also a MIA flag.
Perhaps I'm not understanding correctly how the SPA2 database works, but since this games have no individual entry there, I was intrigued about the origin of this flag.

[druellan]

No, there's only one release (that I know of), but the game features additional graphics when loading it on a 128K machine.

Ah! Gotcha, didn't noticed that. Perfect, thanks!

[8BitAG]

The authors of Horrorscope (Aura Scope)
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=5974

were Pete Jones and Pam Jones.

(information from the inlay of the original Square Peg release)

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[jlsoler]

Well, that is exactly the point. Sorry if my inquiry was not clear enough. Let's see.
I already checked SPA2, and there are Microparadise games released on their own, like like Backgammon (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.php?cat=96&id=371) those are ok and listed as Available on the ZXDB.

BUT Microparadise released some compilations like 10 Juegos (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=13358). The titles on this compilations are not listed as individual releases on SPA2, but on the ZXDB each game must have their own entry, so we have Carrera Mortal (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=16069) correctly marked as released "as part of compilation", but it has also a MIA flag.
Perhaps I'm not understanding correctly how the SPA2 database works, but since this games have no individual entry there, I was intrigued about the origin of this flag.

On the contrary, thanks to you. Now I see your point, and it's correct, sorry for the misunderstanding.

I also don't know why these entries are marked as MIA if they were releases as part of a compilation only, and the latter is already preserved. And, in fact, you're right again when comparing this to SPA2 website: if you can see an individual entry in SPA2, that comes to mean that an individual release was supposed to be (preserved or not). SPA2 doesn't list individual programs if weren't released on their own.

Thanks again

[moroz1999]

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... el_id=5014
G. Kovrov is not a person, that's a Kovrov city.

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[druellan]

and the inspiration should be John Buchan's book rather than the film, as it features a dying American spy called Scadder who is obviously derived from Franklin P Scudder.(https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Miss_Annabella_Smith).

Also, I can see indication that the game has an official licence by Alfred Hitchcock. and I don't think it is the case, this is more a free adaptation of the story.

[8BitAG]

Also, I can see indication that the game has an official licence by Alfred Hitchcock. and I don't think it is the case, this is more a free adaptation of the story.

Well, it's listed as an "inspiration" (on Spectrum Computing anyway) rather than an official license. But, as the previous posts mentioned, that isn't true anyway as it was inspired by the book rather than the Hitchcock film.

[druellan]

I also don't know why these entries are marked as MIA if they were releases as part of a compilation only, and the latter is already preserved. And, in fact, you're right again when comparing this to SPA2 website: if you can see an individual entry in SPA2, that comes to mean that an individual release was supposed to be (preserved or not). SPA2 doesn't list individual programs if weren't released on their own.

Let's see if [mention]Einar Saukas[/mention] can solve the mystery

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[R-Tape]

The Dark Hospital is 128K minimum model, not 48K.

QAOP fails as a result (gives 'out of memory' message). The TAP works as 128K in an emulator.

That was a mistake on my part. Sorry to give you another job dru!

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[moroz1999]

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... el_id=4628 - Falcon is a person, musician from Shahty, Russia.

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[moroz1999]

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... el_id=4638
Fantasy (Fantasy Software) is a group from Kirov, Russia.

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[Einar Saukas]

I also don't know why these entries are marked as MIA if they were releases as part of a compilation only, and the latter is already preserved.

Let's see if @Einar Saukas can solve the mystery

Whenever a game entry didn't have a playable file, it was classified as M.I.A. in the original WoS internal files... even if a playable file never existed because it was originally released as part of a compilation.

When this information was imported into ZXDB, it was kept this way. I will fix it in a future release.

Since SC doesn't display "M.I.A." in these cases, I didn't recall to fix it earlier. Thanks for pointing this out!

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[druellan]

When this information was imported into ZXDB, it was kept this way. I will fix it in a future release.

Perfect! Thanks Einar!

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[moroz1999]

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... el_id=4084
E-Mage is a group from Grodno, Belarus.

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[moroz1999]

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... el_id=5324 - Not Georgy Kwiring, but Grigoriy Kviring.

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[moroz1999]

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... l_id=18956
Author: Darklight
Group: Ghostown
Real name: Szymek Paluchowski
Location: Poland

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[pavero]

Diamond Man was release in 1995, how we can see from the last level of the game.
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=27221
https://maps.speccy.cz/map.php?id=DiamondManPart3

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[moroz1999]

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... el_id=2870 - Cristiano Cremonini (Italy)
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... el_id=2869 - Cristiano Cremolini
Seems to be the same person: both produced similar-looking adventures, same publisher.

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