Spectrum Computing

Joefish wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2019 2:23 pm The biggest problem I have with it is the inconsistency of colours between emulators and renderings of ZX Spectrum graphics, and across different monitors as well.

I loaded up IK+ the other day and I was wondering why on earth they used bright blue right near non bright blue in the sun's reflection on the water. It appears to spoil an otherwise impeccable bit of artwork but then I remembered that the difference between these colours via a real ULA is hard to even see, and even harder via RF picture on a 14inch TV

There’s also the fact that the 48K Speccy displays color intensities completely differenly from all the later models. The darker the color, the less of a difference there is between the bright and the non-bright version.

When I was finalizing the loading screen for Yankee, I was doing it on a real Spectrum hooked up to a CRT TV. Boy, was I in for a surprise. Had do rethink a lot of dithering and color/brightness choices.

OK, latest rework. Removed the title completely for now and tried to add in the other two pilots. This is more like what I had in mind originally. I've detailed the suit and hair in the foreground a bit more too. Struggling with the smaller faces though. Drawing the rockets at angles was really hard too. The white blocky area is roughly where I plan to put big white fluffy clouds, though I'll firm that up once I've had another crack at the logo. If anyone wants to try some pixel work to improve the two smaller faces I'd be glad of any help!

It's a nice picture! I had a quick go at the faces, couldn't resist laying a few pixels on their hair and bodies as well. You're of course free to keep/modify whatever you like.

Ersh wrote: ↑Tue Aug 13, 2019 10:28 am couldn't resist laying a few pixels on their hair and bodies

Dang it. That’s pretty brilliant!

Oh that's much better, thanks! Those faces are brilliant; the lowered fringes are a great improvement, as are the way you've done the eyes. The smaller yellow body is a lot better but I know I needed to work on that anyway; it looked like it was turned to the left instead of the right! The magenta suit may have been a bit too shiny at the front on mine so I'll take a closer look at what you've done there this evening. I really wanted the hair to be green there though as that's the character design in-game, but the lack of contrast with cyan is pretty poor compared to the blue. Anyway, the smller of those two rockets is green in the game, and her hair is cyan, but I don't think that's going to happen with attributes, nor on a white background!

I really should have spotted they needed a fringe based on all the animé faces I've tried to find for references, but thanks again, that's great!

Actually, I just noticed that you've given the magenta pilot short sleeves; that's how they are in game, the arms are mostly bare. And it looks much better than my trying to outline coloured sleeves. So it's the girl lying down at the bottom that I've drawn wrong! But I think I'll leave that. I might try it with white for the arm, but I quite like the patches of colour for shoulder / elbow pads for a bit of variety - and the ability to use BRIGHT on and off for shading these parts.

Much as I want to keep this game strictly 48K for original Speccys, I think I'm going to need a bit of code that detects a 128K model and saves the loading screen to flash up as an attract mode...
And make it so the title part is entirely within the cyan background area, so that it can be faded in and out via attributes...

Great! Yeah, I took some liberty with the short sleeves, thinking that it would provide greater contrast between the arms and body, but if that's how they appear in-game then that's even better.

I think you're allowed some liberty with your own work when it comes to colour choices (options really) and the like on the spectrum, so I'd say, just go with what ever you think looks best and it'll be fine.

The girl on the bottom looks great as she is! Perhaps she's sporting a long sleeved suit on her day off.

Noticed a couple of bits of illegal colouring around the attributes when I imported the changes to ZX-Paintbrush. One pixel in the hair which was easily covered, but the ankle is a bit tricky. I changed a few pixels in the shoulder so there was less magenta in the 'hair' area. But I think I need to re-work the ankle around the attributes. Maybe by adjusting the rocket fin on that side somehow...

I tried green hair and it really doesn't show up, so instead I've changed the other girl's to black. They don't match the in-game characters, but at least there's a difference between them on this screen.

I found that by moving the flying creature up a pixel I could add another character square of white paper, which makes his eyes a bit clearer.

I wondered why she had a crucifix sticking out of her head! Those are ears? A bit linear sort of straight, hard edged for rabbits ears, aren't they? But then I don't know the game so perhaps they are meant to be like wood. Colour is a bit dark too.

Yep, moved the leg down a pixel and shortened the calf to avoid the corner of the character square with cyan paper. Not perfect but I think it's passable.

llewelyn wrote: ↑Thu Aug 15, 2019 10:39 pm I wondered why she had a crucifix sticking out of her head! Those are ears? A bit linear sort of straight, hard edged for rabbits ears, aren't they? But then I don't know the game so perhaps they are meant to be like wood. Colour is a bit dark too.

I thought it was clear it's some sort of technical headband with sensor antennae? (I got the idea of angling one down from the two aerials on a Wi-Fi card). They're the latest in Battle Update Navigation Equipment - BUN-E ears.

(I've thickened up the line below where they cross, to maybe make it a bit clearer they're not joined. That's right on the edge of what's possible with the attributes though as there are four colours vying for that space!)

I did try and make the Hoon (the Pokémon-thing) bigger, based on a teddy-bear, and covering more attribute squares. But I think it spoils the overall look if it's too big. And it pushes the character further to the right, meaning less room for a title.

I beg your pardon. Actually they're jolly good now I know what they are.

(I particularly like the girl on the vibrator chasing the teddy bear genie!) GRIN

Don't get mad Joefish I'm just having a leg pull is all. Its better than I could have managed considering the Spectrums graphical limitations.

I think your artwork is bloody excellent, especially the rocket blasting off, the Fairlight and the clifftop scene is my favourite because of the composition and colour.

I am an artist too so those are genuine appreciation.

Um - those others weren't mine!
(My ZXArt link in sig).

And anyway, they're rockets! This isn't Parodius you know!
Earthworm Jim never had to suffer this kind of bawdy insinuation!

Sorry about the illegal pixels, should've double checked before posting. Your modifications are spot on though, looks really good to me.

The big Hoon looks good but I think the size of the smaller one works a bit better. Also like its new eye-spacing and the use of white for its face features.

I'm not sure when I decided on the word 'Hoon' - I think I just thought it sounded a ridiculous word as the surname of the utterly and ridiculously incompetent MP of the same name. I suppose if I needed another one now it'd be a 'Grayling'!

I do love though how Doctor Who manage to come up with simple yet original one or two-syllable names for the aliens. You'd think all such possible short words would be used up by now, kind of like three-letter domain names!

I think something @llewelyn said about the Hoon is right - the bigger one looks like she's chasing it; the smaller one looks like it's trailing just off her shoulder, so it looks more like a pet or a familiar.

Thinking about it, the whole pin-up girls on bombs thing for bomber squadrons is just an update of witches flying on broomsticks. (I did like the gag in Hocus Pocus, where there's only one broom so the other two witches fly away on a mop and a Hoover). Though the whole broomstick thing isn't entirely innocuous... Though it does bring us back to Kiki's Delivery Service...

llewelyn wrote: ↑Fri Aug 16, 2019 1:05 am Don't get mad Joefish I'm just having a leg pull is all. Its better than I could have managed considering the Spectrums graphical limitations.

No worries. Honestly, the more engagement and discussion there is over this game, the more likely I might actually finish it one day!

OK, I've redrawn the titles in the new space. See what you think...



That leaves the clouds to outline, and I think I need some more grass detailing and texturing on the green area. I can't seem to do much with the blades of grass I have done already - any sort of line or attempt at stippling just makes them look worse.

Much much better now

Will the game have ingame 128K music?

That looks really great! The colours makes it stand out nicely.

Much better!

Perhaps you can use the more detailed teddy bear, but swapping its position with the closest rocket girl (so it will be on her left side)?

Ivanzx wrote: ↑Mon Aug 26, 2019 8:58 pm Will the game have ingame 128K music?

No idea. My intention is to write a 48K game, but some people seem so insistent on background chiptunes that they overly criticise games that don't have it. But that would mean having someone else write a piece for me that I'm not even sure I really want in the game.

I'm adding clips of beeper tunes between levels, so I don't think then playing a chiptune afterwards would really sound right.

Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Mon Aug 26, 2019 9:33 pm Perhaps you can use the more detailed teddy bear, but swapping its position with the closest rocket girl (so it will be on her left side)?

Not really enough room, as it spills over a few pixels into a much wider area of magenta attribute squares. If I move the title over and push the other rocket across and up a square I can fit it in.

Is the bigger one better then?
It looks a bit too cluttered to me, with the title off-centre now as well.

Ah, wait, the title can come back a little closer to centre, putting the smaller rocket back where it was:

Where can I download this game from? The download on here only has the Firing Demo TAP:

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=34612