Little bugs in the database 5

[druellan]

Thanks to Isidro Zaroza we now know that Valente Computación is the original publisher for the Argentinian game Pacman's Revenge (https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/3 ... ns_Revenge). Isidro commented that they had a relationship with Valente Computación so, after the K64 magazine contest, they decided to give the game to Valente for distribution.

He also shared the official poster by Papu:

https://twitter.com/druellan/status/1440640196152729604

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[StooB]

Test Match / One Day Cricket (CRL)

On Cue (Mastertronic Added Dimension)

Yankee (CCS)


None of these should be listed as "compilations". They contain two versions of the same game, the term "compilation" should only be applied to collections of different games.

[StooB]

Mazeman

Release date is 1982 - it was number one in December 1982.

[StooB]

Thor 4 Pack

is a box set rather than a compilation.

[StooB]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

is missing the licence from Konami.

From the back of the box: "Published by Mirrorsoft Ltd under licence from Konami".

[Stu]

Stormbringer has an Atari ST version.

[Audionautas]

Hi

According to this preview ffrom Crash Magazine issue 64, the coder of the Spectrum version of System 3's Dominator is LAURIE SYNNETT.

Cheers

[PeterJ]

[mention]TMD2003[/mention] never released this:

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

We fixed a pile of these some time back, but this one seems to have been missed. This was carried over from WoS

[TMD2003]

"Fixed" should be used in the loosest sense of the word. Most haven't been fixed at all. Looking through my Type-Ins Plus page where they're indexed, I've kept links to the SC page if the game has already been indexed here. In three cases, the program hasn't been indexed here but can be found on The Type Fantastic.

Cricket still has a screenshot with the umpire in it - I added that, it wasn't in the original. The only downloadable version of the game is still my mod, and the original can be found in this package, which Jim Grimwood has yet to add to the Type Fantastic (for reasons which are understandable):
https://www.rickdangerous.co.uk/zx/ttfn ... ch2020.zip

The same is the case with Frogger, Gold Digger and Scrumper - there aren't any differences in the screenshots (that I can tell), but the only downloadable versions from SC are my mods. But these do have original versions hosted on The Type Fantastic, in multi-program packages:
Frogger: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~jg27p ... 01-005.zip
Gold Digger and Scrumper: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~jg27p ... 830304.zip

Golf 80 is in a similar situation to Mini Bank Raid in that it was originally a ZX80 game that I converted, and added colour to. The ZX80 originals of both are on The Type Fantastic in multi-listing packges, in .O format:
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~jg27p ... 01-005.zip

Demolition, Fire Trap, Grumphers and Move It! all still show my mod on the screenshot, and my version is downloadable alongside the original (and shouldn't be).

Learner Driver and Pontoon still have my version available alongside the original, but the screenshot is fine as it is.

Finally, Jim Grimwood always opted for the name the programmer had chosen within the listing rather than the name that Sinclair Programs or Sinclair User assigned to it, hence Shuttle Master should be renamed to Space Shuttle if we're to keep in line with his way of doing things.

[PeterJ]

[mention]TMD2003[/mention],

We're all the changes we made in the email lists to [mention]Einar Saukas[/mention] done? I thought they were.

I will email you during the week and let's handle one title at a time. Sorry about this.

[TMD2003]

I would have been very thorough at the time as to what needed to be reverted. What I've listed there is the comprehensive list of what still needs to be done.

[Einar Saukas]

"Fixed" should be used in the loosest sense of the word. Most haven't been fixed at all.

When Peter wrote "fixed", he was referring to old WoS incorrectly crediting you for "re-publishing" certain type-ins.

This information was fixed in ZXDB. Moreover your modified versions of these type-ins were properly marked as "(modified)".

There's a reason these modified files were only marked, instead of removed. Sometimes the modified version file is all we have. Sometimes we also have another version file for the same title, but no confirmation if it's any better. It would be unfortunate to remove certain files, then find out later that the remaining files don't really work.

The task of uploading new files for these type-ins is still pending. Also the much larger task of integrating full content from TTFN into ZXDB is also part of our very long TO DO list. However there are thousands of type-ins at TTFN, so it won't happen anytime soon unless others are willing to help.

If anyone can help in these tasks, we will really appreciate it! Just get the TAP or TZX file for a certain type-in from TTFN, then zip and rename it properly (filename without spaces with extension ".tap.zip" or ".tzx.zip"). Find the corresponding page at SC to obtain the correct entry ID. Use Pavel's online tool (option "Add new files for existing ZXDB title/entry"). Afterwards, if there was already a modified file in this entry, please post here indicating what's the original and the modified file, and we will remove the other.

The same applies to screenshots. There are detailed instructions here on how to prepare and upload them.

Thanks!

Finally, Jim Grimwood always opted for the name the programmer had chosen within the listing rather than the name that Sinclair Programs or Sinclair User assigned to it, hence Shuttle Master should be renamed to Space Shuttle if we're to keep in line with his way of doing things.

Martijn considered the name assigned by the original magazine publication as the main official name, and the in-game name as an alias. Regardless of the order, we should certainly have both. I will take a look at this!

[TMD2003]

Finally, Jim Grimwood always opted for the name the programmer had chosen within the listing rather than the name that Sinclair Programs or Sinclair User assigned to it, hence Shuttle Master should be renamed to Space Shuttle if we're to keep in line with his way of doing things.

Martijn considered the name assigned by the original magazine publication as the main official name, and the in-game name as an alias. Regardless of the order, we should certainly have both. I will take a look at this!

Eish.

This is going to result in quite a few changes along the way, and it's likely that there'll be no coherence in which names is used and when.

I can see JimG's point about using the names the original authors put into their games, because it was Sinclair User making editorial decisions over their heads that resulted in all the changed names. Sometimes it might have been necessary - such as a game based on "Play Your Cards Right" being called "Play Your Cards Right" by the author but being renamed "Higher Lower" by SU when they got scared of ITV's lawyers paying them too much attention - but in many cases I can't see any good reason why SU would have overruled the author of the program. What is for certain is that the name the author intended will always be the first one given on The Type Fantastic, with the italic title afterwards either being one that the magazine in question gave, or is the title of the main article in which the program was a subsection (which is more likely in ZX Computing, for instance, than in Sinclair Programs).

I would favour using the names JimG indexed the programs under, with the "Also known as" section reserved for the italic title.

Example: Baseball, a.k.a. Every Pitcher Tells A Story from ZX Computing.

[Einar Saukas]

Martijn considered the name assigned by the original magazine publication as the main official name, and the in-game name as an alias. Regardless of the order, we should certainly have both. I will take a look at this!

Eish.

This is going to result in quite a few changes along the way, and it's likely that there'll be no coherence in which names is used and when.

I can see JimG's point about using the names the original authors put into their games, because it was Sinclair User making editorial decisions over their heads that resulted in all the changed names. Sometimes it might have been necessary - such as a game based on "Play Your Cards Right" being called "Play Your Cards Right" by the author but being renamed "Higher Lower" by SU when they got scared of ITV's lawyers paying them too much attention - but in many cases I can't see any good reason why SU would have overruled the author of the program. What is for certain is that the name the author intended will always be the first one given on The Type Fantastic, with the italic title afterwards either being one that the magazine in question gave, or is the title of the main article in which the program was a subsection (which is more likely in ZX Computing, for instance, than in Sinclair Programs).

I would favour using the names JimG indexed the programs under, with the "Also known as" section reserved for the italic title.

Example: Baseball, a.k.a. Every Pitcher Tells A Story from ZX Computing.

But according to this criteria, Insector Hecti in the Interchange should be renamed to "Inter-Change", because that's the title that the author intended (as seen in-game). It was the publisher that decided to release it under a different title. Many other commercial games would be renamed too.

We are opening a can of worms

[Einar Saukas]

I would have been very thorough at the time as to what needed to be reverted. What I've listed there is the comprehensive list of what still needs to be done.

It's not so simple!

For instance, in your previous post you wrote:

Demolition, Fire Trap, Grumphers and Move It! all still show my mod on the screenshot, and my version is downloadable alongside the original

However you sent us new originals for all these 4 games. If these games already had originals, why did you send new files? What's wrong with existing originals and why should we replace them? Or should we add your new originals and keep old ones too (only removing the modified versions)?

Look, I fully understand you sounding frustrated for reporting inconsistencies in the archive that were not fixed yet. But as you can see, even when someone was "very thorough as to what needed to be changed", we are still required to spend quite some extra time checking details. Especially considering we double-check every change we make, because if we make mistakes, it can be really hard to undo them (for instance to recover a file that was incorrectly deleted). Keep in mind that we produce literally hundreds of updates in ZXDB every week. If a certain change involves too many details to be sorted out, then we usually have to take note of this task for later and move on, or wait for others willing to help.

If anyone thinks I'm exaggerating about how much effort is involved on each weekly ZXDB update, here's some exact numbers from last 2 months:

ZXDB version 1.0.104 (released Aug 03, 2021): script "123_zxdb_UTF8.sql" with 2493 lines of SQL (782Kb)
ZXDB version 1.0.105 (released Aug 09, 2021): script "124_zxdb_UTF8.sql" with 1859 lines of SQL (434Kb)
ZXDB version 1.0.106 (released Aug 13, 2021): script "125_zxdb_UTF8.sql" with 912 lines of SQL (242Kb)
ZXDB version 1.0.107 (released Aug 23, 2021): script "126_zxdb_UTF8.sql" with 1261 lines of SQL (411Kb)
ZXDB version 1.0.108 (released Aug 31, 2021): script "127_zxdb_UTF8.sql" with 1708 lines of SQL (444Kb)
ZXDB version 1.0.109 (released Sep 08, 2021): script "128_zxdb_UTF8.sql" with 880 lines of SQL (220Kb)
ZXDB version 1.0.110 (released Sep 16, 2021): script "129_zxdb_UTF8.sql" with 1109 lines of SQL (319Kb)
ZXDB version 1.0.111 (released Sep 23, 2021): script "130_zxdb_UTF8.sql" with 3111 lines of SQL (489Kb)

This is all public information. Every single change in ZXDB since it was created is always available for download from the link provided in the second post of this thread.

We usually avoid talking about all this work because we don't want to sound boring. But there's really a lot more work "under the hood" behind each ZXDB release than the list of new titles and files published after each update. For instance I mentioned last month that ZXDB had over 7,500 catalogued paper magazine issue numbers, more than 6,000 of them available online. Right now it has almost 8,500 catalogued paper magazine issue numbers, almost 6,500 of them available online. And so on... My point is, everyone please be patient!

[PeterJ]

However you sent us new originals for all these 4 games. If these games already had originals, why did you send new files? What's wrong with existing originals and why should we replace them?

Hi [mention]Einar Saukas[/mention], that's probably down to the way I asked [mention]TMD2003[/mention] to package the files. I asked him with each game to make sure we had as close to the original listing as possible. The only changes being if the game didn't run as published. He would have just included it for completeness. Use the one in the archive we sent over.

We all value the huge number of changes in ZXDB and this stuff is a legacy of files that Jim submitted to WoS many years ago.

[R-Tape]

I think we need to keep TMD more occupied with the CGC (Einar! Peter! Get coding!)

[TMD2003]

For instance, in your previous post you wrote:

Demolition, Fire Trap, Grumphers and Move It! all still show my mod on the screenshot, and my version is downloadable alongside the original

However you sent us new originals for all these 4 games. If these games already had originals, why did you send new files? What's wrong with existing originals and why should we replace them? Or should we add your new originals and keep old ones too (only removing the modified versions)?

What I'd have sent in those cases would be the file from The Type Fantastic, extracted from the multi-listing packages that Jim hosted - identical to what I've linked to above, so there'd be no inconsistencies there.

I think we need to keep TMD more occupied with the CGC (Einar! Peter! Get coding!)

Listen to Dave, everyone. And listen to this:

MUSH!

[Stu]

Vampire's Empire roles:

Holger Ahrens - code
Udo Graf - graphics

[pavero]

If anyone can help in these tasks, we will really appreciate it! Just get the TAP or TZX file for a certain type-in from TTFN, then zip and rename it properly (filename without spaces with extension ".tap.zip" or ".tzx.zip"). Find the corresponding page at SC to obtain the correct entry ID. Use Pavel's online tool (option "Add new files for existing ZXDB title/entry"). Afterwards, if there was already a modified file in this entry, please post here indicating what's the original and the modified file, and we will remove the other.

[mention]Einar Saukas[/mention] If you use the online tool, you don't care about entry ID, zipping and proper renaming at all. It's the main point of that tool, just upload the file and the rest is fully automated proccess.

[StooB]

Anco Software

"Anco Software", run by Philip Sands in Coatbridge in Scotland, who published these titles in 1983/84:
The Ultimate Experience
Sam Slug
Defender
50 Arcade Games for Your Micro
6 Games
60 Games for the Sinclair Spectrum
Arithmetic Quiz
Chess + Connect 4
Flipwind
Haunted House
Kong
Super Defender + Fruit Machine
Zapper

Is not the same publisher as "Anco Software", descendent of Anirog Software, run by Anil Gupta in Kent in England who published from 1987 onwards starting with The Kingdom Of Krell.

[StooB]

Magnificent 7 Software

was owned by Anirog Software according to this post from Trevor Gamon, son of Roger Gamon, the Rog part of Anirog.

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[StooB]

Gary Ritchie author of Atlantis by Anirog
and
Gary Michael Ritchie author of Indoor Soccer by Magificent 7 Software

are probably the same person.

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[StooB]

Time Flight

comes with Summer Santa on the B side

Cyrox

comes with Death Ball on the B side


(the free game with Swat! is already listed)

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[StooB]

The Power House

All the magazine references and adverts listed under Powerhouse Software should be under The Power House instead.

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