Spectrum Computing

Ralf wrote: ↑Tue Dec 17, 2019 4:40 pmZynaps is very good and smooth. It's not as splendid as R-Type bur I find it easier and more playable.

Zynaps is polished but quite boring, smooth scroll and little else - reused enemies, reused bosses, few colors per level, etc
to be fair, it's 48k game, but still - even just one first level of R-type has more of, well, everything

More tea is still more fun to play than R Type

ZxSpence wrote: ↑Tue Dec 17, 2019 5:04 pmMore tea is still more fun to play than R Type

more fun than zynaps but still two leagues down

Contributing to my own thread again...

Rasterscan looked the nuts. The video-digitised graphics really stood out...



...but there's barely a game in there. The game's authors have since [url=http://www.zee-3.com/pickfordbros/softo ... 22admitted how poor it is and the elements of a game were kind of bolted on[/url].

An aside from a stalker on these forums... Bob Pape's book on making R-Type is an excellent read. Free download from http://www.bizzley.com/

Captain Blood.

Ralf wrote: ↑Tue Dec 17, 2019 10:51 am

ZxSpence wrote: ↑Mon Dec 16, 2019 10:29 pmR type

And I can understand it.

It looks great.
But does it play great?
Personally I'm unable to finish the first level. I tried several times and always failed.

Wow some truly shocking opinions on R-Type. I didn't think there would ever be anyone who didn't like it besides maybe the type of game not being their cup of tea.

Yes it plays very well all the way to the end. Actually I never got much practice on the last level as I had a version missing level 8 when I was playing it a lot. Graphics are well done, the character movement works (the background is pixel), the gameplay is quite good with a lot of variety from level to level.

Not getting off the first level, though, that just means you haven't figured it out. You need the power ups and the right ones at the right time. I won't lie though -- I did often use snapshot saves (on my ts2068!) between levels so I wouldn't end up restarting from the beginning.

Ask yourself a question - do you play R-Type from time to time? Once for a month, once for six months,
once for a year?

Once in a while for a quick go. I don't play a lot of spectrums games anymore so it sees about the same play as the other games I liked.

Shocking, but right.

Rainbow Islands

ZxSpence wrote: ↑Tue Dec 17, 2019 9:23 pm Rainbow Islands

Massively, massively wrong.

ZxSpence wrote: ↑Tue Dec 17, 2019 9:19 pm Shocking, but right.

I don't think so. If you sample 100 spectrum games players, I don't think you'll find many more than 5 who think similarly about R-Type. Some may not like the type of game but that doesn't stop people from acknowledging the merits of a particular game. We are talking fringe opinion here

Way too easy. Shiboleth.

I stand by R-Type and Captain Blood. But I am teasing you with Rainbow Islands which is one of my favourite Speccy muck about games

ZxSpence wrote: ↑Tue Dec 17, 2019 7:24 pmCaptain Blood.

I was twatty enough as a child to join the mail order computer club and I ended up getting Captain Blood from them as there was bugger all else to get.

I remember seeing screenshots in crash and being impressed but after the initial excitement of planetary exploration and trying to speak to aliens the novelty soon wore off. Very similar to the way I felt about No Mans Sky on the PS4.

Morkin wrote: ↑Mon Dec 16, 2019 9:05 pm How about Explorer? I thought the graphics looked great. Couldn't really find much of a game in there though...

I must agree with this one. After playing Lords of Midnight this looked very interesting, but the gameplay is kind of weird and very slow. Still, the way it generates the screens is really nice, and not a bad game if you have the patience to walk the jungle.

druellan wrote: ↑Wed Dec 18, 2019 9:59 am [...] this looked very interesting, but the gameplay is kind of weird and very slow. Still, the way it generates the screens is really nice [...]

For similar reasons I'd say Asterix.



Being a huge fan of the comics, I was amazed first time I read it about it and the pics I saw in the magazines. But I felt annoying when I first played it. Slow and boring.

Graphics seems the proper ones for a text adventure, not this kind of game.

Any Priestly game.

ZxSpence wrote: ↑Tue Dec 17, 2019 3:35 pm That is perhaps it in a nutshell. When you get past the initial shock and awe you are left underwhelmed.

That's life in a nutshell isn't it?! For me the initial shock and awe of R-Type begins with the graphics, then there's the rotaty thing, the massive bosses, the hyperzonky-mega-big-ship and everything inbetween! Where does it end?!

I even enjoy zynaps more as a game or more tea vicar.

I love MTV, despite the treacle scroll, but I struggle a bit with Zynaps. It could do with a bit more personality. It borders on technical exercise for me.

Nick wrote: ↑Tue Dec 17, 2019 4:45 pm Final Fight is another style over substance release from US Gold.

Yeah this came to mind for me too. I never played it back in the day, and wondered if my PC was playing up when I loaded it in an emulator. It's a total nightmare to port, and I don't know what should be done differently, but the 'game and watch' approach certainly doesn't work.