Apulija-13 V2.0 real hardware testing

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Alessandro
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Apulija-13 V2.0 real hardware testing

Post by Alessandro »

The enlarged and revised version of Apulija-13, a game I released five years ago, is almost done, and as usual I tested it on real hardware before release. I did a successful test on the 48K and now I would like to show the test I did with my other "guinea pig", one of my two +2As.

I apologize for the poor quality of the video - unfortunately I had no other available device for recording the scene but my cell phone, which I also had to hold in my right hand while playing the game with the left!

The game is being loaded by feeding the data to the computer from a laptop PC running Spectaculator, which in turn emulates a +2A loading the TZX file, accelerated with the SetoLOAD turbo loading scheme which I also wrote.

The PC earphone socket is connected to an old PC desktop speaker, which amplifies the signal and sends it to a car stereo cassette adapter placed in the +2A's Datacorder. The computer then loads the data as if it were read from a real tape.

Notice that it is not necessary to press the PLAY key on the Datacorder - a peculiarity of the +2A which I discovered by chance and verified on another specimen.

Download for the final game will be announced here soon, on the Brand New Software sub-forum. The game will be available in two separate versions for both 48K and 128K models, and in the usual six languages: Italian, English, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/pJMZDgGTlL4[/youtube]
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R-Tape
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Re: Apulija-13 V2.0 real hardware testing

Post by R-Tape »

Top stuff Ale. I need to look at a new setup, my latest laptop doesn't output enough volume for me to record a tape.

Why are you using the stereo cassette adapter (I didn't even know these existed)? Couldn't you just have another jack going from the speaker into the 'sound' port at the back?

Nice one handed playing! You still make it look easy.
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Ast A. Moore
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Re: Apulija-13 V2.0 real hardware testing

Post by Ast A. Moore »

Alessandro wrote: Mon Jan 29, 2018 8:51 pm The PC earphone socket is connected to an old PC desktop speaker, which amplifies the signal and sends it to a car stereo cassette adapter placed in the +2A's Datacorder.
Heh. That’s a somewhat convoluted way of loading programs into a +2A. :D It’s much simpler to modify its sound socket and use a regular audio cable. That’s what I did with mine.

I’ve always loved turbo loaders. OTLA is by far fastest I’ve seen, but I like yours, too. I might write my own at some point.

Keep up the good work, Alessandro!
Every man should plant a tree, build a house, and write a ZX Spectrum game.

Author of A Yankee in Iraq, a 50 fps shoot-’em-up—the first game to utilize the floating bus on the +2A/+3,
and zasm Z80 Assembler syntax highlighter.
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Alessandro
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Re: Apulija-13 V2.0 real hardware testing

Post by Alessandro »

R-Tape wrote: Mon Jan 29, 2018 9:26 pmWhy are you using the stereo cassette adapter (I didn't even know these existed)? Couldn't you just have another jack going from the speaker into the 'sound' port at the back?
Not with the +2A, that port is meant to send the audio signal from the computer to an external amplifier or tape recorder. You can do that with the +3 though; I managed to do that as well. On a side note, I don't use my +3 very much because my specimen suffers from the dreaded sound distortion problem. I have not yet understood how to cure it (there seem to be at least four different ways to deal with it) and I do not want to run the risk to make it unusable or to worsen the problem.
R-Tape wrote: Mon Jan 29, 2018 9:26 pmNice one handed playing! You still make it look easy.
Thank you!
Ast A. Moore wrote: Mon Jan 29, 2018 9:29 pm Heh. That’s a somewhat convoluted way of loading programs into a +2A. :D It’s much simpler to modify its sound socket and use a regular audio cable. That’s what I did with mine.
I wish to preserve my +2A as it is ;-) Moreover, I am not skilled at soldering or modifying components and I am afraid I would make a mess.
Ast A. Moore wrote: Mon Jan 29, 2018 9:29 pmI’ve always loved turbo loaders. OTLA is by far fastest I’ve seen, but I like yours, too. I might write my own at some point.

Keep up the good work, Alessandro!
Thanks!
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Ast A. Moore
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Re: Apulija-13 V2.0 real hardware testing

Post by Ast A. Moore »

Alessandro wrote: Mon Jan 29, 2018 10:45 pm I wish to preserve my +2A as it is ;-)
I know exactly what you mean. I would have been a little hesitant myself, but then I’m not a collector per se. I’m a developer, so the extent of my preservation instinct does not go beyond keeping the original functionality from the programmer’s perspective. For example, I wouldn’t dream of modding a +2A/+3 to restore compatibility with the previous models’ floating bus (there are such mods), but simple things like the sound socket and replacing the value of the resistor that feeds 12V to one of the video output pins to make it compatible with the TVfor the BLANKING signal are something I’d be only happy to perform.

Likewise, I’ve improved the balance between the ULA and AY sound volume on my 128K, as well as greatly improved the video output quality via RGB.
Every man should plant a tree, build a house, and write a ZX Spectrum game.

Author of A Yankee in Iraq, a 50 fps shoot-’em-up—the first game to utilize the floating bus on the +2A/+3,
and zasm Z80 Assembler syntax highlighter.
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