Little bugs in the database 2

[PeterJ]

Please start a new discussion on inlays, I can then.move the posts at some point on Sunday.

Peter

[8BitAG]

Behind Closed Doors 4...
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=6001

Was *not* released in 1989. It was released in 1994. [See Zenobi Newsletter Nov 1994]

So the release date needs to be amended to 1994, as do all the files listed with it; except the +D file which can remain as 1995.

The original release was with Elfin Wars on the B-Side. i.e...
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=15441

So that should have the release date of 1994 too, rather than the 1995 it currently has.

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[PeterJ]

Please start a new discussion on inlays, I can then.move the posts at some point on Sunday.

Peter

Don't believe this has been done yet. PM me when done and I will move the posts.

[R-Tape]

Can Fabian Alvarez be given his full title: Fabián Álvarez López

Please

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[StooB]

Spectrum Zap and ZX Reactor should be connected to the compilation Spectrum Zap + ZX Reactor.

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[PeterJ]

Artic inlay posts now moved to:

viewtopic.php?f=32&t=2418

Let me know via PM if I have missed any.

[druellan]

Mark Strachan, cofounder of DoMark is not from NL, but from UK - https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/offi ... pointments

Probably shouldn't have credits on Thunderceptor and Fast 'n' Furious as a member of Ernieware either.

I'm checking again this one. For sure Mark Strachan should not be listed as part of Ernieware. As a publisher, we can perhaps keep him there because he used to be part of the design process for many Domark titles.

And as roles, Ruud Peske can be credited for the code and Ernest Peske for in-game graphics and load screen.

Source: http://www.crashonline.org.uk/31/goulash.htm

[druellan]

Star Runner
Authors should be in the team "Special FX" according to the title screen.

I'm trying to fiend evidence that this "Special FX" is in fact Jonathan Smith's "Special FX". Pretty sure Smith and Urquhart know each other since their time on Ocean, and this is around the time Special FX was formed but also Urquhart's Cybadyne Systems.

[StooB]

Star Runner
Authors should be in the team "Special FX" according to the title screen.

I'm trying to fiend evidence that this "Special FX" is in fact Jonathan Smith's "Special FX". Pretty sure Smith and Urquhart know each other since their time on Ocean, and this is around the time Special FX was formed but also Urquhart's Cybadyne Systems.

No, I cant find any evidence either. It could just be an odd coincidence that they both came up with name around the same time.

[Alessandro]

Camel Trophy '86:

https://www.spectrumcomputing.co.uk/ent ... _Trophy_86

was not part of a tape magazine. The misunderstanding probably stems from the fact that it was sold in newsagents; its authors were part of the group behind the RUN tape magazine, which published, like Load 'N' Run, a mixture of original and hacked software, games, utilities etc. and distributed the game as a sort of "supplement" to RUN. The "magazine" was in fact the booklet containing the game instructions. Tape and instructions were placed into a plastic case similar to that of a VHS video cassette.



(Image taken from Stefano Kulka's website, where you can read the game's history.)

Camel Trophy '86 should then be removed from the "unidentified covertapes" list.

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[Alessandro]

Lo Zoom:

https://www.spectrumcomputing.co.uk/ent ... um/Lo_Zoom

is a hack of Distron:

https://www.spectrumcomputing.co.uk/ent ... um/Distron

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[druellan]

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=21635 Bobik game is made by:
Axor - Alexander Shushkov, Russia, Vologda

Hi [mention]moroz1999[/mention] We have a "Alexandr Shushkov" (withour the E) in base, nickname Alex Xor, author of The Last Courier - https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/1 ... st_Courier
And we have also an Axor, author of Vera - https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/2 ... ctrum/Vera

Are those the same person? Thanks!

[druellan]

Rocman/Rockman

The UK release was first previewed as a £2.99 Alligata release in Sinclair User January 1987, then reviewed as a £2.99 Budgie release in Sinclair User March 1987 and reviewed again as a £1.99 Alligata release in Sinclair User October 1987. The Crash and ACE reviews are both for the £1.99 Alligata version in September/October 1987.

As there is no Budgie cover, and Budgie were owned by Alligata, it's probably safe to assume the Budgie release never actually happened and Alligata, for unknown reasons, decided to put it out on their main label.

The blocker here is that we have a TZX flagged as the Budgie release. Doing a quick comparison seems pretty similar to the Alligata release, but it is not the same file.



I might speculate that probably someone sent this "Budgie" version and the Budgie release was created just to preserve this image, anyway, I'm going yo try and dig a bit more into this, since I don't want to change the releases and left this file orphan.

[druellan]

Camel Trophy '86:

What a nice box!
BTW, Alessandro I bet you posted this here thinking that it was the Little Bugs thread #4, but this is actually the #2 thread I'm reviving to close some bugs on the backlog

[StooB]

The blocker here is that we have a TZX flagged as the Budgie release. Doing a quick comparison seems pretty similar to the Alligata release, but it is not the same file.



I might speculate that probably someone sent this "Budgie" version and the Budgie release was created just to preserve this image, anyway, I'm going yo try and dig a bit more into this, since I don't want to change the releases and left this file orphan.

I'm not an expert on the tzx format, but I think the difference in the pauses is just the result of cassette players running at slightly different speeds. The actual data is exactly the same on both files.

[druellan]

I'm not an expert on the tzx format, but I think the difference in the pauses is just the result of cassette players running at slightly different speeds. The actual data is exactly the same on both files.

Another funny thing I've found is about the pricing: Sinclair User's preview and all reviews crediting Alligata as the publisher, set the price to 1.99
https://archive.org/stream/crash-magazi ... 1/mode/1up
https://archive.org/stream/sinclair-use ... 5/mode/1up

But on this review Budgie is credited and the price is the one we have in base: 2.99
https://archive.org/stream/sinclair-use ... 5/mode/1up

Also looking at the dates, seems that the Budgie release was in fact the first in UK, and the Alligata one the second with a drop in the price?

[StooB]

Another funny thing I've found is about the pricing: Sinclair User's preview and all reviews crediting Alligata as the publisher, set the price to 1.99
https://archive.org/stream/crash-magazi ... 1/mode/1up
https://archive.org/stream/sinclair-use ... 5/mode/1up

But on this review Budgie is credited and the price is the one we have in base: 2.99
https://archive.org/stream/sinclair-use ... 5/mode/1up

Also looking at the dates, seems that the Budgie release was in fact the first in UK, and the Alligata one the second with a drop in the price?

The first mention of the game is in Sinclair User January 1987 as an Alligata release at £2.99, but then they go on to review it two months later as a Budgie release at £2.99. This review seems to be the only time that the release is credited to Budgie rather than Alligata. It's possible they sent it to SU for review then abandoned the release after the lukewarm review it got - it gets a much better reception later in the year as a £1.99 release.

By the time of the September/October £1.99 release, they seem to have given up on the Budgie label altogether, with Table Football being its last release in August.

[druellan]

Thanks Stoob. I think I'm going to first correct the order and the price of the releases. I'm still keen not to remove Budgie just because the TZX. I know it looks like the Alligata release, but I believe that also might be the case if the publisher just changed labels and dropped the price, I bet they did not bother to change the cassette master (or the already produced copies). We know that perhaps ONE copy of the Budgie version was around SU, so this might be it. Anyway, I'm going to leave a note about all this, because I think you are right and the Budgie release never hit the streets.

[Alessandro]

BTW, Alessandro I bet you posted this here thinking that it was the Little Bugs thread #4, but this is actually the #2 thread I'm reviving to close some bugs on the backlog

All right, I have posted my other observations in the other thread (n. 4)

Will you also take the one about Lo Zoom / Distron into consideration anyway?

[druellan]

BTW, Alessandro I bet you posted this here thinking that it was the Little Bugs thread #4, but this is actually the #2 thread I'm reviving to close some bugs on the backlog

All right, I have posted my other observations in the other thread (n. 4)

Will you also take the one about Lo Zoom / Distron into consideration anyway?

Yes! No worries, I have both noted.

[8BitAG]

The following post is marked as reviewed... But not all the information has not been amended in the database.

Referencing this advert from Adventure Probe (Volume 1 Issue 10 March 1987)...


The following games should have a first publication date of at least 1986, under the publisher name 'Anthony Collins' [this release pre-dates Pegasus Software/The Guild]

Nythyhel
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=6752

Miami Mice [Note: this title was Quilled]
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=27701

Theseus ***
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=7094

Teacher Trouble ***
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=27701

*** NOTE: Both Theseus and Teacher Trouble were QUILLed games in these 1986 releases, before being recoded as PAWed games for the later releases by The Guild/Zenobi etc. The Quilled versions seem to be MIA.

I don't think that we have yet decided on a firm line for whether we combine games as a single entry, even if completely different versions exist.

There are both instances where we do... e,g. Quest for the Golden Eggcup

and where we don't!

...e.g. Federation / Quann Tulla

Presumably, the use of a different title would be a deciding factor?

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[druellan]

The following post is marked as reviewed... But not all the information has not been amended in the database.

Yeah, the complete fix should be ready on the new DB released today (that's why it is marked as fixed). Lets wait for Peter to update the site, and then if you can please check again to see if everything is fine.

[druellan]

Camel Trophy '86:

https://www.spectrumcomputing.co.uk/ent ... _Trophy_86

was not part of a tape magazine. The misunderstanding probably stems from the fact that it was sold in newsagents; its authors were part of the group behind the RUN tape magazine, which published, like Load 'N' Run, a mixture of original and hacked software, games, utilities etc. and distributed the game as a sort of "supplement" to RUN. The "magazine" was in fact the booklet containing the game instructions. Tape and instructions were placed into a plastic case similar to that of a VHS video cassette.

I'm taking a closer look at this to see if I can extract the roles, and seems that the name for Simone Maiocchi is misspelled on the database:
Simone Maiocchi -> Simone Majocchi

Roles
Simone Majocchi - Design/Concept
Eugenio Ciceri - code, ingame graphics - Digiteam
Bruno Molteni - code, ingame graphics - Digiteam
Gianluca Magnani - load screen

I can't find information about Giorgio Arcangeli, but a Giorgio Arcangeli was involved on the Camel Trophy organization for the italian team, so, perhaps is not part of the team but the contact inside the organization?

Also, the article is written on first person, I don't know who "I" is (perhaps Stefano Kulka?). Any idea [mention]Alessandro[/mention] ?

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[StooB]

Street Hawk - Subscribers Edition

This inlay - StreetHawk_2.jpg - should be moved to the catalogue edition.

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Despite being marked as reviewed, this inlay is still listed as a second cover of the 1986 version.

[druellan]

Despite being marked as reviewed, this inlay is still listed as a second cover of the 1986 version.

Well spotted and, yeah, I need help with this one, because is not a matter to reassign the inlay, there is also a full directory structure legacy from the WOS site we need to change, so, because this is going to be overlooked again, I'm going to do the changes in the DB and ping SC team about the directory changes.

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