Little bugs in the database 2

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R-Tape
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Re: ZX Parachute

Post by R-Tape »

abelenki wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2020 1:44 am https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=3470

this should be transliterated as:

Nu, pogodi!

please correct this entry in the database.
Agreed. And the language should be Russian, not Czech. Correct [mention]abelinki[/mention], [mention]pavero[/mention]?
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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by StooB »

Spectrum Six Pack

  • should be split into two separate entries - "Spectrum Six Pack - 48K Spectrum Version" and "Spectrum Six Pack - Spectrum+ Version" - as they have different contents
  • original release year is 1984, not 1985
  • publisher is Sinclair Research, not whoever Polanglia were
  • original price should be "Free" not £8.50
  • genre should be "Box Set" rather than "Compilation"
  • comment of "contents vary" is not helpful and should be deleted, the actual contents are:

    48K Spectrum Version: - Chequered Flag, Scrabble, Make-a-Chip, Survival, Chess, Horace Goes Skiing
    (from Popular Computing Weekly, 2nd August 1984)

    Spectrum+ Version: Chequered Flag, Scrabble, Make-a-Chip, Tasword 2, Chess, Vu-3D
    (from Popular Computing Weekly, 18th October 1984)

    (these two articles also need adding as a News/Note magazine reference for each pack)
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Re: ZX Parachute

Post by pavero »

R-Tape wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2020 5:07 am
abelenki wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2020 1:44 am https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=3470

this should be transliterated as:

Nu, pogodi!

please correct this entry in the database.
Agreed. And the language should be Russian, not Czech. Correct @abelinki, @pavero?
I would say the language is correct. The author is Czech. And there are some texts in Czech language in the game, only some of them are in Cyrillic.
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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by Stefan »

StooB wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2020 10:35 am Spectrum Six Pack
  • original release year is 1984, not 1985
  • publisher is Sinclair Research, not whoever Polanglia were
  • original price should be "Free" not £8.50
  • comment of "contents vary" is not helpful and should be deleted, the actual contents are:
Agreed.

The current entry is most likely based on this 1985 Sinclair User advert. Polanglia Ltd probably ran into a mixed stash of six packs and were selling them off. At most this advert could remain linked to both proposed new entries. The company was wound up in 1990.
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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by patters »

patters wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2020 8:56 pm I have been quite intrigued by La Abadía del Crimen and noticed there were several mentions of an unofficial English translation including this full playthrough on YouTube but no obvious download links for an English version. After a lot of dead-end searches I discovered that MAME supports it (well, the English Beta at least), and from that I got the "ROM name" which led me to a serviceable TZX image here at TZXVault. It doesn't use a turbo loader so it converted fine to a TAP which works with my DIVMMC Future (having used tapeconv from fuse-utils).

Please can this file be added to the ZXDB entry to save someone else the hassle in future?
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I notice that the current ZXDB entry in fact contains the attached readme that would have accompanied this unofficial English translation. For the record, the translator is Eddie Duffy. Based on what I've read, Juan Delcan wasn't only the cover artist (as the current ZXDB entry shows) - it seems he was the artist for the game.

Interestingly, the English version I linked to above isn't even available at the Virtual TR-DOS archive (http://vtrd.in), so it was very difficult to find.

While we're updating the ZXDB record, here is decent and recent review of the Spectrum version which is worth linking to. Most other mentions of the game online just parrot the same superficial stuff about it being one of the crowning achievements for 8bit systems, but make it fairly clear the reviewer hasn't actually played it.
There is also a nice showcase of the in-game artwork here which is worth adding onto the related links also.
I also found two more good quality Spanish language items of content on YouTube worth linking to:
Here is what seems to be a radio programme which includes interviews with the creators (I haven't yet listened to it in full).
Here is a good overview of the game in its various incarnations and its history.
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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by patters »

Another couple of good YouTube sources to collate with the entry for La Abadía Del Crimen, which were very hard for me to find once again having partially viewed them on my searches for the game:
  • Here is a good history of the game in English and in particular it shows some interesting early art sketches at two minutes in.
Perhaps some of the difficulty I experienced to find this information is that my own personal 'search bubble' is rooted in English language content.
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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by StooB »

Rabbit Software

John Cain didn't start Rabbit, and doesn't own it either. The company was started by Cream Computers, a computer shop (Crash, Feb 84), and was eventually bought by Virgin Games (Crash, Nov 85).

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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by R-Tape »

Desert Island SCREEN$ doesn't give appropriate credit to djnz or uglifruit. My fault - sorry fellas.

Author 2 should be [mention]uglifruit[/mention] : ID 18714
Author 3 should be [mention]djnzx48[/mention] : ID 18778

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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by 8BitAG »

As referenced in this thread... viewtopic.php?f=32&t=2216

...the release dates for...

Colossal Adventure https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=6097
Adventure Quest https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=5923

...should be 1982, not 1983. Various adverts (including several linked to on the games' pages) date from September 1982.

As stated in the advertising, a 16K version was available (in this initial release window) at £8, which is MIA. The launch price of the, more familiar, 48K ("32K") version was £10.

The ZX81 16K versions of both games are not currently listed in the archives.

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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by 8BitAG »

The Thirty-Nine Steps
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=7103

...isn't a Spectrum 48K game... it's a Spectrum 128K *only* game.
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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by druellan »

An interesting one:

Arañas o Tarántulas, a Spanish game that was published on several formats, many of them with modifications. We have two entries for this game in the database, both are about the same game, BUT there is a version that can be considered a mod, due to the modifications on the code. So, perhaps we can do this:

Original entry: https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=18241

Original name is Tarántulas
Author López Martinez (1983)
Published on 1983 as a type-in, Enciclopedia Práctica de la Informática #24 P478
So, original publisher Enciclopedia Práctica de la Informática from Ediciones Ingelek S.A. (4220)

Image

Image

Alternate name: Arácnidos
Published in 1984 as part of the compilation Tus Juegos 2 from Monser S.A. (11388)

Alternate name: ¡Arañas!
Same game, but published in 1985 as a type-in on Run #14
Also published as part of RUN Cassette #4

The other entry is this one: https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=5147

Here we have the reference about "Tus Juegos" editions, but only the "Tus Juegos Single" version has modifications to the code, the other one can be considered the same game. So, we can change this to:

Arácnidos (Tarántulas)
López Martinez (1983) and Andromeda Inc. (based on the first line on the code)
Published 1984, Tus Juegos Single (24024)

Image

This entry also has a .z80 that seems to be the "Tus Juegos 2" version, perhaps we can move that to the other entry
Also there is a screenshot "Individual running screen", again, seems to be the "Tus Juegos 2" version.
(Also, the instructions seems to be a description of the game by some source)

[mention]R-Tape[/mention] I know this is a lot, but what do you think? :)
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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by StooB »

8BitAG wrote: Wed Jan 22, 2020 5:48 pm The Thirty-Nine Steps
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=7103

...isn't a Spectrum 48K game... it's a Spectrum 128K *only* game.
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).
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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by 8BitAG »

StooB wrote: Fri Jan 24, 2020 12:33 pm
8BitAG wrote: Wed Jan 22, 2020 5:48 pm The Thirty-Nine Steps
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=7103
...isn't a Spectrum 48K game... it's a Spectrum 128K *only* game.
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).
Well, the inspiration could be a film, but not the Hitchcock one as the shadowy organisation's name follows the book rather than the film. Jack usually used books as inspiration, rather than films, so I would say, yes, change the inspiration source.
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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by Rorthron »

PeterJ wrote: Mon Jan 06, 2020 7:03 am Sent to me via email from Graham Richards:

Spectrum Computing erroneously states the original release of Balachor's Revenge as being by Lasasoft.
Lasasoft are the programming team. Original release for this sequel was by Monument Microgames and was not distributed by Lasasoft until the physical release had been out a while.
I have discussed this with Graz. The Lasasoft and Monument releases came out at the same time. Can they be marked as co-releases in ZXDB/SC, as that would be most accurate?
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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by Einar Saukas »

Rorthron wrote: Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:34 pm
PeterJ wrote: Mon Jan 06, 2020 7:03 am Sent to me via email from Graham Richards:

Spectrum Computing erroneously states the original release of Balachor's Revenge as being by Lasasoft.
Lasasoft are the programming team. Original release for this sequel was by Monument Microgames and was not distributed by Lasasoft until the physical release had been out a while.
I have discussed this with Graz. The Lasasoft and Monument releases came out at the same time. Can they be marked as co-releases in ZXDB/SC, as that would be most accurate?
There's no concept of "co-releases" in ZXDB. It's either:

a) A single release, jointly co-published by 2 publishers
b) Two different releases, each one by a different publisher

In this case, we are talking about 2 different releases. Lasasoft's release is electronic and free, Monument's release is physical and have a commercial price.

When they are released simultaneously, we usually list the electronic release first, because users get immediate access to the electronic version, and it takes them a few days to obtain the physical version afterwards. That's how they are currently listed in the game entry. However if the authors prefer to list the Monument's release first, there's no problem, just let me know!
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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by Rorthron »

Einar Saukas wrote: Wed Jan 29, 2020 4:41 pm
Rorthron wrote: Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:34 pm I have discussed this with Graz. The Lasasoft and Monument releases came out at the same time. Can they be marked as co-releases in ZXDB/SC, as that would be most accurate?
There's no concept of "co-releases" in ZXDB. It's either:

a) A single release, jointly co-published by 2 publishers
b) Two different releases, each one by a different publisher

In this case, we are talking about 2 different releases. Lasasoft's release is electronic and free, Monument's release is physical and have a commercial price.

When they are released simultaneously, we usually list the electronic release first, because users get immediate access to the electronic version, and it takes them a few days to obtain the physical version afterwards. That's how they are currently listed in the game entry. However if the authors prefer to list the Monument's release first, there's no problem, just let me know!
In that case I'd suggest leaving it as it is.
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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by moroz1999 »

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... l_id=18950 - Scoopex is a demoscene group, not nickname of a person.

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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by druellan »

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

[mention]Einar Saukas[/mention] This is a leftover from WOS right?
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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by 8BitAG »

[Weren't we meant to be starting a new, third thread in 2020?]

Investigations
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=10833

...was created with the Professional Adventure Writer not the Quill.

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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by patters »

Based on this info:
NSFW!
Spoiler
Can we add Artem Orlov into the DB as the real name for Oleg Origin? Could be useful one day if someone wants to look him up for an interview or something.
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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by R-Tape »

patters wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2020 11:46 pm Can we add Artem Orlov into the DB as the real name for Oleg Origin? Could be useful one day if someone wants to look him up for an interview or something.
Argh! NSFW link! I put it in spoilers.

As Ralf said in the other thread, Oleg Origin is a mysterious character. Maybe it should be added as yet another nickname?
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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by druellan »

Watching the stream by Arnau Jess
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUm-xtqTuoM

about that Spanish publisher I realized there are many games "inspired" on old type-in games, some of them are correctly related, but there are more, this are the ones I managed to catch:

Galaxians (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=16079)
is related to Spectrum Galaxians by C. Fisher (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=23705)

Comecocos (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=16076)
is related to Spacman by Sinclair User (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=26817)
and modded by Pacman 96 (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=3582)

Misiles (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=16082)
is related to MIssile Command (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=3226)

Huevos Alienígenas (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=16066)
is realted to Egg Saviour by Virgin Books (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=15165)

Bombardero (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=16081)
City Bomber by Sinclair Programs (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=14292)

Conductor Nocturno (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=16068)
3D Driver by Virgin Books (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=15159)

Conductor Novato (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=16070)
Learner Driver by ZX Computing (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=13289)

Carrera Mortal (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=16069)
Death Race by Virgin Books (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=14295)

Escudo (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=16074)
Splodgies from Space by ZX Computing (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=25955)

Golf (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=15039)
Graphical Golf by ZX Computing (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 6&id=25792)

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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by StooB »

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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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by 8BitAG »

Puzzled!
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=6836

The original release is listed as being by The Guild in 1990. The Guild wasn't established until the end of 1991. The game was, in fact, re-released by The Guild in 1991.

The original release was actually by the author (Tony Marsh) in 1989.
See the original YS review linked to on the game page... https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/mag.php ... 73&page=60
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Re: Little bugs in the database 2

Post by druellan »

Crossfire (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... id=4000017) is the Timex version of Cruising on Broadway (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.p ... 96&id=1174)

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