Nirvana/Bifröst-esque static graphics in t'olden days

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TMD2003
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Nirvana/Bifröst-esque static graphics in t'olden days

Post by TMD2003 »

But no, I am not referring to Messrs. Railton and Saukas being burned at the stake for witchcraft due to conquering the Spectrum's colour clash with moving graphics. I've found plenty of games from the Spectrum's original commercial era that managed to perform the trick on static graphics (say, on a menu, etc.) which was nowhere near as difficult, but I'd imagine still impressive at the time.

Since I first discovered Buzzsaw+, the earliest game I'd been able to find with multicoloured static graphics was LED Storm, from 1990. But today, a random comment about Mel Croucher led me to look at Automata games (and their hisariously terrible loading screens), which in turn caused me to load Pi-in-'Ere. What's this? A multicoloured copyright symbol on the title screen... in 1984?

So, is this the earliest use of un-clashed graphics, or does anyone with more extensive knowledge know of something even earlier? I'll take it from the earliest date of a magazine review, which in Pi-in-'Ere's case was the October 1984 issue of Home Computing Weekly.
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Re: Nirvana/Bifröst-esque static graphics in t'olden days

Post by Einar Saukas »

Here's a list of all Spectrum programs that use any kind of multicolor effect:

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/list?gr ... p=2&list=1

Both games you mentioned were missing from this list, I'm adding them now. Thanks!
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Re: Nirvana/Bifröst-esque static graphics in t'olden days

Post by DenisGrachev »

We find a earler one at twitter, recently

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/2 ... m/Aquarius
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Re: Nirvana/Bifröst-esque static graphics in t'olden days

Post by TMD2003 »

Einar Saukas wrote: Sat Aug 08, 2020 4:35 pm Here's a list of all Spectrum programs that use any kind of multicolor effect:

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/list?gr ... p=2&list=1

Both games you mentioned were missing from this list, I'm adding them now. Thanks!
There are probably quite a few more that I'll find eventually, but I have to ask, how thoroughly has this list been checked? I was surprised to see Zub in there. I've had that game since I was a nipper and I've never noticed any multicolour effects. Plenty of rapidly-cycling colour, but no multiple-colours-per-square effects that I know of.

And now that I've had a look at a few more of the games in the list, Hyper Sports reminds me of something with a very similar effect on the title screen - another sports game (probably football, though also probably not Joffa) that I've got on a compilation somewhere. Now, I just have to remember what it was...
Last edited by TMD2003 on Sat Aug 08, 2020 7:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Nirvana/Bifröst-esque static graphics in t'olden days

Post by Alone Coder »

Einar Saukas wrote: Sat Aug 08, 2020 4:35 pm Here's a list of all Spectrum programs that use any kind of multicolor effect:
Many programs are missing, for example:
by me: 8color editor, Hexagonal Filler game, MCX viewer, ZX-Guide #1,2,3 intros, New View 48K demo
by Codebusters: Eye Ache, Eye Ache 2 demos etc
by X-Trade: Rage demo
by Real Masters: Emergency, Anamnesis demos
by CPU: Pressure demo, Adventurer #11,12 intros
by Brainwave: Tryptomine Dream, Stellar Contour demos
by DeMarche: Paralaktika etc.
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Re: Nirvana/Bifröst-esque static graphics in t'olden days

Post by PeterJ »

The information was carried over from the WoS original archive so probably in need of a review.
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Re: Nirvana/Bifröst-esque static graphics in t'olden days

Post by PeterJ »

Alone Coder wrote: Sat Aug 08, 2020 7:09 pm Many programs are missing, for example:
by me: 8color editor, Hexagonal Filler game, MCX viewer, ZX-Guide #1,2,3 intros, New View 48K demo
by Codebusters: Eye Ache, Eye Ache 2 demos etc
by X-Trade: Rage demo
by Real Masters: Emergency, Anamnesis demos
by CPU: Pressure demo, Adventurer #11,12 intros
by Brainwave: Tryptomine Dream, Stellar Contour demos
by DeMarche: Paralaktika etc.
[mention]Alone Coder[/mention],

When listing titles please could I ask you to link to the game page on SC (or an external page if not in ZXDB). It makes our lives just so much easier, and avoids any issues with us unintentionally picking the wrong title. Thanks very much
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Re: Nirvana/Bifröst-esque static graphics in t'olden days

Post by patters »

Zynaps had multicolour text for the interstitial screens like the start of a level. Not moving graphics, but it's an example of multicolour nonetheless.
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Re: Nirvana/Bifröst-esque static graphics in t'olden days

Post by XTM »

PeterJ wrote: Sat Aug 08, 2020 7:15 pm@Alone Coder, when listing titles please could I ask you to link to the game page on SC (or an external page if not in ZXDB). It makes our lives just so much easier, and avoids any issues with us unintentionally picking the wrong title. Thanks very much
What he linked to aren't games but scene demos. Well, I think demos and games shouldn't be in the same category. There must be hundreds of demos using this kind of effect!
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Re: Nirvana/Bifröst-esque static graphics in t'olden days

Post by PeterJ »

Good point [mention]XTM[/mention],

Let's stick to games for now.
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Re: Nirvana/Bifröst-esque static graphics in t'olden days

Post by Alone Coder »

If we only keep games:
48 Irons (1995) https://worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0012735 - game menu
Dizzy XII: Underground (2001) https://worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0015212 - border effects in intro
Hexagonal Filler (2004) https://worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0021064 - gameplay, victory screen (MCX)
Nocturnal Illusion (2005) https://worldofspectrum.org/archive/sof ... -sam-style - gameplay (interleaving lines)
X-Melody (2004, released in 2007) https://worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0021116 - border picture in title card

✓ Reviewed
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Re: Nirvana/Bifröst-esque static graphics in t'olden days

Post by TMD2003 »

Alone Coder wrote: Sat Aug 08, 2020 11:52 pm If we only keep games:
48 Irons (1995) https://worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0012735 - game menu
Hexagonal Filler (2004) https://worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0021064 - gameplay, victory screen (MCX)
Present and correct!

I had to check all the colour modes on Hexagonal Filler - Spectaculator 8.0's Pentagon setting works with 224t, but it's out of sync with 216t and 232t, and Hard just appears in black and white. (I assume that's for some top-secret Russian hardware that's never been emulated.)
Alone Coder wrote: Sat Aug 08, 2020 11:52 pm Dizzy XII: Underground (2001) https://worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0015212 - border effects in intro
Note that this will need to be the Russian-only .TRD version as the tape versions don't contain the intro. I wasn't specifically looking for border effects (impressive though they are, it's as if the border is a continuation of the rest of the screen...), and if we were going to go down that route, then TV-Game (2004) and Gnarly Simon (late teens?) could be included, but I reckon that's a thread for another day.

It's always been a curiosity, this game - did nobody ever attempt to use Gogin's non-Codemasters-derived game engine for other Dizzy-clone-style games, or did he not allow it?
Alone Coder wrote: Sat Aug 08, 2020 11:52 pm Nocturnal Illusion (2005) https://worldofspectrum.org/archive/sof ... -sam-style - gameplay (interleaving lines)
X-Melody (2004, released in 2007) https://worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0021116 - border picture in title card
Nocturnal Illusion wasn't found on the link (which is to WOS so maybe it's Lee chewing on the wires again) - and I couldn't find it here either. Does it have a Russian title? X-Melody is listed as MIA, even though there are screenshots.
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Re: Nirvana/Bifröst-esque static graphics in t'olden days

Post by druellan »

Oh, thanks for this! Multicolor and border effects games are on the "wanted" list to keep populating the groups, specially "border effects" that is still on the infancy.

About the topic, the game I remember from back in the day using multicolor for static graphics is Action Force II (https://i.postimg.cc/X7pRBzZm/action-force2.png)

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Re: Nirvana/Bifröst-esque static graphics in t'olden days

Post by Alone Coder »

TMD2003 wrote: Sun Aug 09, 2020 12:32 pm I had to check all the colour modes on Hexagonal Filler - Spectaculator 8.0's Pentagon setting works with 224t, but it's out of sync with 216t and 232t, and Hard just appears in black and white. (I assume that's for some top-secret Russian hardware that's never been emulated.)
Hardware multicolor is the same as in Timex 2048/2068, but with bit 5 of port #eff7 (bit 0 in old release, changed for ZX Evo compatibility).
TMD2003 wrote: Sun Aug 09, 2020 12:32 pm It's always been a curiosity, this game - did nobody ever attempt to use Gogin's non-Codemasters-derived game engine for other Dizzy-clone-style games, or did he not allow it?
Maybe that's because every Russian Dizzy author started with their own engine :) This changed only when DizzySE SDK appeared.
The intro was something special because there was a smooth horizontal border scroll across the screen (previously appeared only in Insult megademo).
TMD2003 wrote: Sun Aug 09, 2020 12:32 pm Nocturnal Illusion wasn't found on the link (which is to WOS so maybe it's Lee chewing on the wires again) - and I couldn't find it here either. Does it have a Russian title? X-Melody is listed as MIA, even though there are screenshots.
https://vtrd.in/full_ver/X_MELODY.ZIP
https://vtrd.in/full_ver/NOCTURSE.ZIP (18+!!!)
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Re: Nirvana/Bifröst-esque static graphics in t'olden days

Post by Alone Coder »

The same engine as in Action Force 2 was used in Dan Dare 2 SU Edition:

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Re: Nirvana/Bifröst-esque static graphics in t'olden days

Post by druellan »

Oh! We don't have that version on the database, probably because it is a non-official version? https://zxart.ee/eng/software/game/dan- ... id:163474/ [mention]Einar Saukas[/mention] Perhaps worth adding it to have more parity with ZX-Art?
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Re: Nirvana/Bifröst-esque static graphics in t'olden days

Post by PeterJ »

Interesting find [mention]druellan[/mention].

It is available within this .tzx

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/1 ... Megatape_3

But not as an individual listing. I don't know what the policy is regarding versions of released games given away with magazines ([mention]Einar Saukas[/mention] will know), but this looks like a special case maybe?
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Re: Nirvana/Bifröst-esque static graphics in t'olden days

Post by Ralf »

The same engine as in Action Force 2 was used in Dan Dare 2 SU Edition
Thanks. I didn't know about it and suppose many people didn't know either.
When this picture is displayed?
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Re: Nirvana/Bifröst-esque static graphics in t'olden days

Post by Joefish »

I remember that - I think it was a cut-down version of Dan Dare II (the one with JetPac-style bouncy hoverbikes) with just a single maze level to complete, then you got to see that graphic if you completed it.

As you can see from the text, it was done more as a promo for AF II that Dan Dare II, which I think had been out for a while by then.
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Re: Nirvana/Bifröst-esque static graphics in t'olden days

Post by Alessandro »

I confirm that the Sinclair User special version of Dan Dare II is a promo with just one level. It was on the Megatape 5, bundled with issue 74, May 1988. I still have the magazine and tape in my possession by the way.

My suggestion is to create a specific entry for it as a modification of the original title.
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