Spectrum Computing

Posted: **Wed Sep 16, 2020 12:36 pm**

R-Tape wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 11:21 pm I'd say that Kosmic Kanga is the best game I've ever played.

Posted: **Wed Sep 16, 2020 1:59 pm**

R-Tape wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 11:21 pm In fact, if push came to shove, I'd say that Kosmic Kanga is the best game I've ever played.

Posted: **Wed Sep 16, 2020 3:27 pm**

Rev_Stuart_Campbell wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 7:41 pmThat's all very well in the horizontal levels, but it's a real shitshow on the vertical ones.

cmal wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 7:25 amI agree. That vertical 3rd stage gets me every time. I'm better off spending all my time in stage 1 and 2 to rack up as much points as possible.

akeley wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 9:20 amSo, just channel your inner marsupial, embrace the spirit of the "mighty Kanga" and conquer that pesky 3rd stage (avatar changing is optional)

Wait, what? There are other stages?!

*mind explodes*

Posted: **Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:03 pm**

Say what you will about Kanga, it definitely is the most talked about game of this HSC and a board-wide trend. That's gotta count for something!

BONUS GAME BONUS GAME BONUS GAME BONUS GAME BONUS GAME BONUS GAME BONUS GAME

So this being Marmite Round, we will of course stay in this spirit for the Bonus Round.

And what's a better candidate for that than a roguelike?

Ernesto's Adventures (2019, NedoPC Group & Outsiders)

It's a game from the last year's Yandex compo. One of this genre's staples is learn-as-you-go, so there is no handy manual, but it ain't rocket science either. If you're really stuck though we can always hash it out here.

I think you win the game if you get to level 5 and find that "cave king Maraken", so that's one of the aims. We can also see who amasses most money/experience. The problem is that once you die it all disappears, so maybe take scr$ when you're feeling flush.

Have fun

Posted: **Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:07 pm**

Pinball 4370:

Kosmic Kanga - This game is horrendous and I hate it. The fact that my best score was only 400 and summit has nothing to do with how much I hate this game

Posted: **Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:50 pm**

Every time i load Pinball, it has a different Hi Score:

That Hi Score of 7465 is not mine.

Posted: **Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:51 pm**

Midweek score update... by way of inspiration to hit your highest heights.

Posted: **Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:58 pm**

I can see I've chosen the wrong hobby! Perhaps I should take up knitting?

Posted: **Wed Sep 16, 2020 5:38 pm**

RWAC wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:58 pm I can see I've chosen the wrong hobby! Perhaps I should take up knitting?

Definitely, you could knit one of these for us all:

Anyway, I think I'm probably pretty much done for this week, so I'll submit now.

Code: Select all

KfK -      1,701
Pinball - 11,935
Ernesto - Level 5, 63 money

KOSMIC 'EFFING KANGA

I know it's already been said. What a pile of carp this game is. The fact that some Spec-chum scores have been beaten by starting the game and doing nothing but holding down the fire key says a lot about the total crappiness of the controls. This is another game character that needs to be fired into outer space (along with Dizzy).

PINBALL

I found I enjoyed playing this game - in short doses. When I was repeatedly trying to beat my high score (that I got on my first game) it became highly frustrating - a lot of the scoring is down to luck rather than skill, though you can exercise a bit of tactical paddle control here and there. I still think it's probably my favourite Speccy pinball game.

ERNESTO

(Spoiler tags used as screenshot is from Level 5)

Spoiler

A well-presented game, that Yandex comp has a pretty high standard of entry from what I've seen. Fairly simple game but quite tactical. Level 5 is a massive difficulty spike though - I guess the trick might be to grind out the levels and equipment before you get there. I do like Rogue-like games. If anyone manages it, give us a shout!

Hint: turn on the Kempston mouse in your emulator for this one.

Posted: **Wed Sep 16, 2020 5:54 pm**

akeley wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 9:20 am
cmal wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 7:25 am That vertical 3rd stage gets me every time. I'm better off spending all my time in stage 1 and 2 to rack up as much points as possible.
CHEESING ATTEMPT DETECTED! Yes, folks, the point-based loitering is a no-no. Especially that you'd have to die on purpose to do that, since the game is always pushing you forward.

So, just channel your inner marsupial, embrace the spirit of the "mighty Kanga" and conquer that pesky 3rd stage (avatar changing is optional)

Actually in my case it was "accidental cheesing". I accidentally lost a life near the end of stage 2 so was forced to replay it. However, I still made it to round 3 and am still on a mission to get past that stage.

Posted: **Wed Sep 16, 2020 6:45 pm**

Kosmic Kanga was written by Dominic Wood, who's also responsible for a few other titles on the Spectrum. I've always wondered if Dominic Wood is related to Julian R.E Wood. Julian Wood released a number of type-ins for Your Computer magazine. Does anyone know if they're related or not?

Posted: **Wed Sep 16, 2020 8:41 pm**

Getting the hang of this... slowly

Kosmic Kanga: 1335

Posted: **Wed Sep 16, 2020 9:19 pm**

cmal wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 6:45 pm Kosmic Kanga was written by Dominic Wood, who's also responsible for a few other titles on the Spectrum. I've always wondered if Dominic Wood is related to Julian R.E Wood. Julian Wood released a number of type-ins for Your Computer magazine. Does anyone know if they're related or not?

This leads to another question

: There's a Julian Wood and Dominic Wood who both worked on Project Future. In the database, Julian Wood and Julian R.E Wood are listed as two different people. Are they indeed two different people?
I guess I'm straying off topic a bit...

Posted: **Thu Sep 17, 2020 6:49 am**

My new scores:

Kosmic Kanga: 1,550
Pinball Wizard: 7,140 (no change)
Ernesto's Adventures: money: 5

Posted: **Thu Sep 17, 2020 2:27 pm**

My current scores...

KfK - 2,155
Pinball - 8,780
Ernesto's Adventures - Level 5, Money 121

Posted: **Thu Sep 17, 2020 6:23 pm**

What a fantastic game - this is a total gem.

Ernesto's Adventures: Level 4: 69 Money - nice

Posted: **Thu Sep 17, 2020 8:41 pm**

Bloody brilliant game this!

Level 5
Money 68

Posted: **Thu Sep 17, 2020 10:12 pm**

Kosmic Kanga - 5209
Pinball - 7815
Ernesto's Adventure - Level 5 / Money 104

Also loving the bonus game!

Posted: **Fri Sep 18, 2020 11:36 am**

I doubt I'll be playing these again over the weekend, so here are my final scores and screenshots for the week...

KfK - 2,155 (no change)
Pinball - 8,780 (no change)
Ernesto's Adventures - Level 5, 121 Money (no change)

Really enjoyed the bonus game this week too. It's definitely one I'll come back to after the HSC is over.

Posted: **Fri Sep 18, 2020 7:44 pm**

Ernesto's Adventures is a true Marmite game. I'm still getting into it!

Posted: **Sun Sep 20, 2020 10:27 am**

Kosmic Kanga - 2480
Pinball - 8965
Ernesto - No idea, I had a good run but I didn't take a screenshot in time.

Posted: **Sun Sep 20, 2020 4:51 pm**

Kosmic Kanga - 2,411
Ernesto's Adventures - L3, 37$

Seems you have beaten me at my own game, coz I did not achieve anything of merit in Ernesto...yet! Really great little gem, this.

Kanga is great, even without the whole deliciously daft angle. It's a welcome, novel concept and the gameplay can be quite hypnotic. Though the vert stage does break the flow somewhat.

Posted: **Sun Sep 20, 2020 7:09 pm**

Finally made it past level 3 in KFK to find the next 2 stages a breeze in comparison. Patience is key on level 3. Wait for that bouncing ball to be out of your way before advancing upward.
Need to spend some more time on Ernesto after this round. I keep on getting trapped and forced to lose health.
Here are my final scores:

Kosmic Kanga: 2,675
Pinball: 12,470
Ernestos Adventures: Level 2 Money 42

Posted: **Sun Sep 20, 2020 8:07 pm**

Kosmic Kanga 1455
Pinball 8090
Ernesto level 5 money 54, Tools 05

Pinball was the highlight for me this week. Despite playing it a fair bit, I couldn't better my 8090 score from early in the week.

I didn't make much time to play Ernesto, but I can see that it's a top quality dungeon crawler.

Kosmic Kanga is a great big pile of crap.

Posted: **Sun Sep 20, 2020 8:23 pm**

Managed to improve my score on Pinball Wizard:

Pinball Wizard: 7940

Spectrum Computing

ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

Re: ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball