Spectrum Computing

Just a quick note for new content fans: I won't be able to do my part of an update until near the end of Feb. I'm keeping track of everything that needs doing though, including [mention]Alessandro[/mention]'s and [mention]Ersh[/mention]'s updates. Cheers.

In the meantime... A new ZXDB update is available!

Another ZXDB update is now available!

It contains new titles (thanks both [mention]R-Tape[/mention] and [mention]pavero[/mention]!), new hires inlays and instructions (thanks again [mention]pavero[/mention]!) and more fixes (thanks [mention]druellan[/mention]!) as usual. Also the first few issues of Load'n'Run are now cataloged (thanks [mention]Alessandro[/mention]!)

Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Mon Dec 23, 2019 5:50 am Another ZXDB update is now available!

Merry Xmas!!!

I missed my chance in December to say update #69, Head over heels!

But we're on #72 now*, so the point is moot

*plus previous, as yet uncounted updates from BSCE.

Ah! Got it:



Mr Do!... Update number 72!

Yet another ZXDB update is already available!

It contains lots of Czech program files, new hires inlays and instructions (thanks [mention]pavero[/mention]!), new fixes (thanks [mention]druellan[/mention]!), and a few more catalogued issues of Load'n'Run (thanks [mention]Alessandro[/mention]!)

Also there's now a new classification group called High-Quality CSSCGC Software. If you are running a ZXDB-based site that filters search results based on the "is_crap" flag, please update your filter to consider this group instead. The "is_crap" flag still exists, but it will be removed in the next ZXDB update. Please see this post for more details.

A large ZXDB update is now available! As usual, many thanks to [mention]R-Tape[/mention], [mention]pavero[/mention], [mention]druellan[/mention], and [mention]Alessandro[/mention].

As announced in my last post, flag "is_crap" was removed from ZXDB. Now if anyone wants to find out if a certain title is CSSCGC, they must simply check if this title belongs to any CSSCGC group. In practice, this change will only affect site owners. If anyone needs assistance with this change, please let me know!

Another fairly large ZXDB update has been released!

Lots of thanks to [mention]R-Tape[/mention], [mention]pavero[/mention], [mention]druellan[/mention] and [mention]kolbeck[/mention]!!!

Thank you [mention]Einar Saukas[/mention] [mention]R-Tape[/mention], [mention]pavero[/mention], [mention]druellan[/mention] and [mention]kolbeck[/mention] .

The update has been applied.

A new ZXDB update is available!

As usual, many thanks to [mention]R-Tape[/mention], [mention]pavero[/mention], [mention]druellan[/mention] and [mention]kolbeck[/mention]!

Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2020 7:43 pm A new ZXDB update is available!

As usual, many thanks to @R-Tape, @pavero, @druellan and @kolbeck!

Thanks everyone. Update applied.

PeterJ wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2020 8:08 pm Thanks everyone. Update applied.

That was fast! Thank you!


PS: [mention]R-Tape[/mention] stay safe!

Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2020 8:13 pm That was fast! Thank you!

Its down to having a 10 second trip home from work (study to kitchen), rather than 2 hours each way!

Another ZXDB update is now available!

This time we didn't have much time to add recently released titles, but there are new screens (some of them for the SAM Coupé and Next) and tons of additional information (mainly author credits).

Special thanks to [mention]PeterJ[/mention], [mention]druellan[/mention], [mention]pavero[/mention], and [mention]kolbeck[/mention]!

A technical note for anyone running websites and apps based on ZXDB:

Column "magrefs.feature_id" is now obsolete and it will be removed in the next ZXDB update. There's already a separate table called "magreffeats" to store this information.

I doubt anyone is using this column, but I always provide notice in advance for all upcoming ZXDB changes, so everyone has enough time to update their systems accordingly!

Thanks [mention]Einar Saukas[/mention]. Database being updated now. The main site will not work whilst I do this.

Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Wed May 27, 2020 6:57 pm Another ZXDB update is now available!

This time we didn't have much time to add recently released titles, but there are new screens (some of them for the SAM Coupé and Next) and tons of additional information (mainly author credits).

Special thanks to @PeterJ, @druellan, @pavero, and @kolbeck!

Sophistry, SAM MOD player and EFTPOTRM loading screens have all incorrectly been classified as 'opening screen' - what's going on?

Hi [mention]Stefan[/mention],

The team were having a discussion about the traditional loading screen and screens that appear as soon as the game has finished loading. This came to the forefront when I started taking screens for Next games.

Do Sam Coupe titles have the same concept as Spectrum games in terms of loading screens?

Note that in terms of ZXDB a game can have either loading screens or intro screens and not both. This is because our game detail layout allows for two screens to be displayed.

I assumed they were intro screens. If not it's my error and I apologise and we can fix in the next update.

Stefan wrote: ↑Wed May 27, 2020 10:00 pm Sophistry, SAM MOD player and EFTPOTRM loading screens have all incorrectly been classified as 'opening screen' - what's going on?

"Loading screen" is the image that's display on screen while a program is loading. It's typical of Spectrum games loaded from tape.

"Opening screen" is the image that appears on screen immediately after a program is loaded. It's common for program loaded from disk, or ZX81 titles that cannot display a loading screen while loading from tape.

We have decided to add "opening screens" to our database based on a recent discussion here. If we have classified these screens incorrectly, or you have a different suggestion, please let us know!

PeterJ wrote: ↑Wed May 27, 2020 10:21 pm Do Sam Coupe titles have the same concept as Spectrum games in terms of loading screens?

Yes, even when using a disk drive, the larger amount of data that needs to be loaded can still take enough time to want to stare at something nice.

PeterJ wrote: ↑Wed May 27, 2020 10:21 pm I assumed they were intro screens. If not it's my error and I apologise and we can fix in the next update.

No problems, they are loading screens - when I submitted them the opening screen concept was still being fleshed out.

Stefan wrote: ↑Wed May 27, 2020 10:47 pm No problems, they are loading screens - when I submitted them the opening screen concept was still being fleshed out.

Thanks for the information! I will change them back to "loading screen" for the next ZXDB update.

If you notice anything else wrong, please let me know!

Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Wed May 27, 2020 7:19 pm A technical note for anyone running websites and apps based on ZXDB:

Column "magrefs.feature_id" is now obsolete and it will be removed in the next ZXDB update. There's already a separate table called "magreffeats" to store this information.

Thanks for the heads-up, I'll figure out with next ZXDB release

ZXInfo + API updated to latest release

/Thomas

kolbeck wrote: ↑Wed May 27, 2020 11:01 pm Thanks for the heads-up, I'll figure out with next ZXDB release

If you are using "magrefs.feature_id", then you can already modify your site. The information that was previously stored in this column is already available in table "magreffeats" now. You would just need to use "magrefs r LEFT JOIN magreffeats f ON r.id = f.magref_id".

Stefan wrote: ↑Wed May 27, 2020 10:47 pm No problems, they are loading screens - when I submitted them the opening screen concept was still being fleshed out.

We also have "opening screens" for Bowin and the Count Dracula, Batz 'n Balls, Boing!, and Booty.

Are they really opening screens, or loading screens?

Stefan wrote: ↑Wed May 27, 2020 10:47 pm Yes, even when using a disk drive, the larger amount of data that needs to be loaded can still take enough time to want to stare at something nice.

Thanks. It's going to be important to load disk games at real speed to sometimes tell if a screen is loading or intro.