Spectrum Computing

"Doodle Bug" in the database is actually called "Doodlebug" (without a space), judging by its title screen:

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/3 ... Doodle_Bug

arttu wrote: ↑Mon Nov 08, 2021 4:00 pm Hello, and sorry if this is a wrong place - just registered here to post this:

Wizard's Lair by Yodasoft has a magazine review link to Your Sinclair issue 19. This is incorrect.
Your Sinclair issue 19 page 60 does mention Wizard's Lair, but it's the more common Bubble Bus Wizard's Lair, not the Yodasoft game.

Welcome and thanks for the report, and yes! This is the correct place.

Btw, sorry everyone for the lack of news about fixes, life proved to be a great distraction but I'm working on a new patch, mostly complex fixes and reports left behind. I hope I can release that soon!

It seems like...

A. O. Kalderon (Spain)
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/list?label_id=1179

Should instead be
Antonio Olvera Calderón

See the loading screen of Federico Jones

and of Zhor


(Pointed out by Gonzo in a submission to CASA)

Simon Butler had nothing to do with Dan Dare II. He was involved with the 3rd game, just not the 2nd.

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

The Real Stunt Experts

There isn't an original release by Alternative and a re-release by Winner. The original release is by Winner - it says Alternative Software on the loading screen because Alternative own the Winner label.

Skool Daze has an unofficial Atari 8-bit port.

Psygnosis and budget label Psyclapse were based in Liverpool and should be listed as UK not USA/UK.

8BitAG wrote: ↑Tue Nov 09, 2021 5:06 pm A. O. Kalderon (Spain)

The author asked to be credited by his nickname when authorizing the distribution of his games.

Adventure 1
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/1 ... dventure_1

Is *not* referred to as Adventure 1 in any of the three listed advertisements.

It's name is given as Adventure One

Conversely...

Adventure One
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/3 ... enture_One

is actually titled Adventure 1 on the inlay, which is how it was initially titled on the Spectrum
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/6 ... dventure_1

About A Harvesting Moon:

According to old WoS, it was released as part of a compilation. But it doesn't say which one.

However release dates suggest it was originally published individually, and only appeared in compilations later.

Does anybody have more details?

Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Tue Nov 23, 2021 3:34 pm About A Harvesting Moon:

According to old WoS, it was released as part of a compilation. But it doesn't say which one.

However release dates suggest it was originally published individually, and only appeared in compilations later.

Does anybody have more details?

I'm confused as to why that entry has references to Faerie plastered all the way down it, as those would seem to be better included on either the Faerie entry or the Powerplay release of Harvesting Moon/Faerie, which I presume might be the compilation you're looking for?
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.ph ... 92&page=71
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/1 ... oon_Faerie

I'll do a bit more research on this. My initial recollections was that it was published individually. The current date we have it listed under seems wrong, though. Certainly it's been touted as a "new" release here https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.ph ... 71&page=96 (albeit bundled with the old Faerie)

(That Harvesting Moon/Faerie entry is currently a bit of a mess as all the reviews seem to be for the original release of Faerie, rather than the Powerplay doublepack)

The mention in Mike Gerrard's 1987 column here, makes it sound like A Harvesting Moon is a new title... so I don't think the date of publication we have is right, as that'd put it in the realms of the early 8th Day Games without Frontiers releases...
https://archive.org/details/Your_Sincla ... 8/mode/2up

I can't see anything that suggests A Harvesting Moon was published before 1987.

It's inclusion in the February 1988 Adventure's Club dossier here https://archive.org/details/vgmuseum_ad ... ng+moon%22 suggests that 8th Day were potentially selling it individually before the Powerplay "arrangement", that was documented in that similarly dated other news article https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.ph ... 71&page=96

Edit: Actually it is listed in the previous dossier, under 8th Day, so that's October/November 1987. 1987 feels like the right date.
https://www.mocagh.org/advclub/advclub25-26.pdf

Edit: The August/September 1987 issue announces the release of A Harvesting Moon as part of the GRAFIX series.
https://www.mocagh.org/advclub/advclub23-24.pdf (see page 35, plus it's also in the price list there)


Similarly Skelvullyn Twine has completely the wrong release date, going off the YS review
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/6 ... llyn_Twine
It should be 1988.

These magazine references came from old WoS. I will recheck them all.

8BitAG wrote: ↑Tue Nov 23, 2021 4:13 pm The mention in Mike Gerrard's 1987 column here, makes it sound like A Harvesting Moon is a new title...

Perhaps 8th Day Software original release was text-only, and Powerplay "re-launched it" as illustrated so they marketed it as a "new game".

Or perhaps 8th Day Software only produced this game but never released it, thus Powerplay was the original publisher.

Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Tue Nov 23, 2021 4:31 pm Perhaps 8th Day Software original release was text-only, and Powerplay "re-launched it" as illustrated so they marketed it as a "new game".

Or perhaps 8th Day Software only produced this game but never released it, thus Powerplay was the original publisher.

No, it was the first* release in the 8th Day GRAFIX series and the 8th Day release predates the Powerplay release. See the sources I've edited in above, which I probably did after you were reading the post originally.

(*although various sources differ as to which was the first game in the series... Earthshock is referenced as being the first in several places)

OK, thanks!

Do you have more information about GRAFIX series? This information is not in ZXDB.

Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Tue Nov 23, 2021 4:58 pm OK, thanks!

Do you have more information about GRAFIX series? This information is not in ZXDB.

I'll see what I can put together. The sources don't all agree but I think we've manage to piece together most of the games that were either released in the GRAFIX series, or had a re-release (with graphics added) for that series. Many of the games already have their GRAFIX inlays associated with them in the database, e.g.


Edit: I know that Luis has Earthshock, Ronnie Goes to Hollywood and Raven in the Grafix! inlays as we were discussing the series on a Facebook thread a while back.

A Harvesting Moon and Four Minutes to Midnight were also released in that form. I think I've found Ice Station Zero in the past too.

Gremlins 2

release date for the Elite Systems version, re-release #1, is 28th November 1990 (source)

Sorcery+ is also on Amstrad, Amiga and Atari ST.

Hello

The author of Orb Run is Matt Davies not Garry Lancaster

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/3 ... xt/Orb_Run

([mention]emook[/mention] Ta for the fix. Moved it to the bugfix queue thread. R-Tape)

This game...
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/1 ... s_of_Death

is called Golden Figures of Death not The Golden Figures of Death.

Personal Computer Games

Issue 1 "Summer 1983" was published in July 1983, not September (advert).

About the adventures compilation Deep Waters 2:

According to old WoS, it includes the adventure game The Jade Necklace. But according to ZXSR, it includes the adventure game "The Jade Stone" (presumably this).

The Crash review also refers to "The Jade Stone", but YS and New Computer Express refer to "The Jade Necklace".

What's the correct? If it's "The Jade Necklace", then should we add "The Jade Stone" as alias for this title, or was it just a mistake?

Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Fri Dec 03, 2021 1:59 am What's the correct? If it's "The Jade Necklace", then should we add "The Jade Stone" as alias for this title, or was it just a mistake?

It's a mistake. Deep Waters 1 and 2 are a collection of Jack Lockerby/Roger Betts aka River Software adventures. The Jade Necklace is the correct title for the River adventure. https://www.mocagh.org/zenobi/deepwaters.pdf

The Jade Stone is a completely unrelated Linda Wright game; albeit, like the River games, it was also re-published by Zenobi.

"Hanoi" is listed as a game, but I think it should be a scene demo. It looks like a Towers of Hanoi game from the screenshot, but it plays itself and is not interactive. The real content is the scroller and music, which are typical of a scene demo.

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/alt/211 ... trum/Hanoi

Found some Creators for the Spectre Comms Pack that is currently empty: (https://www.spectrumcomputing.co.uk/ent ... Comms_Pack)

On page 25 of Your Computer August 1986 it mentions Laurence Cook (hardware designer of the Prism VTX5000 modem) setting up Spectre Communications to create this. It also mentions Dave Gorski writing the terminal software for it.

https://archive.org/details/yourcompute ... 3/mode/2up

There's no reference to this in ZXDB as far as I can see. I believe that's because this is an issue that has only recently surfaced.