Guess the screen$

Oloturia · Post by **Oloturia** » Tue May 30, 2023 10:43 am

Maybe I found it: Howzat?

Wizwords · Post by **Wizwords** » Tue May 30, 2023 10:46 am

Oloturia wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 10:42 am Ian Botham's Test Match?

nope, it ain't that good

Wizwords · Post by **Wizwords** » Tue May 30, 2023 10:47 am

Oloturia wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 10:43 am Maybe I found it: Howzat?

YES! A genuine ZX Nightmare, 11% in Crash.
But curiously, a best seller for Alternative as it was released just as the England Cricket team were triumphing down under.

Edit- re-released, as it was originally by Wyvern and licensed to Somerset batter, Brian Rose.

Oloturia · Post by **Oloturia** » Tue May 30, 2023 10:56 am

YAY!
It was hard because the game didn't have "cricket" on its name, nor it's listed under the "cricket" category. So I found this little guide about cricket videogames, that I found just by asking uncle Google (Images) "ZX Spectrum cricket":
https://www.antstream.com/post/howzat-t ... videogames

(btw: being not from a Commonwealth country, I never fully understood how cricket is played, but the relaxing pose of the foot on the first image made me think of that sport)

Just a minute, next turn will arrive shortly.

Wizwords · Post by **Wizwords** » Tue May 30, 2023 10:57 am

Oloturia wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 10:56 am YAY!
It was hard because the game didn't have "cricket" on its name, nor it's listed under the "cricket" category. So I found this little guide about cricket videogames, that I found just by asking uncle Google (Images) "ZX Spectrum cricket":
https://www.antstream.com/post/howzat-t ... videogames

(btw: being not from a Commonwealth country, I never fully understood how cricket is played, but the relaxing pose of the foot on the first image made me think of that sport)

Just a minute, next turn will arrive shortly.

lol, I wrote that feature

Oloturia · Post by **Oloturia** » Tue May 30, 2023 11:03 am

OK, what game featured this... thing...

StooB · Post by **StooB** » Tue May 30, 2023 11:29 am

Wizwords wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 10:47 am YES! A genuine ZX Nightmare, 11% in Crash.
But curiously, a best seller for Alternative as it was released just as the England Cricket team were triumphing down under.

Howzat wasn't a best seller on the Spectrum - it was on the Acorn Electron in 1988. Alternative's best-selling cricket game in 1987 was Cricket International (#1 CPC, #5 C64) which wasn't released for the Spectrum.

Wizwords · Post by **Wizwords** » Tue May 30, 2023 11:35 am

StooB wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 11:29 am Howzat wasn't a best seller on the Spectrum - it was on the Acorn Electron in 1988. Alternative's best-selling cricket game in 1987 was Cricket International (#1 CPC, #5 C64) which wasn't released for the Spectrum.

Well maybe best seller is overegging it a bit. I was just going on what Roger Hulley told me admittedly

SteveSmith · Post by **SteveSmith** » Tue May 30, 2023 1:29 pm

Wizwords wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 10:47 am YES! A genuine ZX Nightmare, 11% in Crash.
But curiously, a best seller for Alternative as it was released just as the England Cricket team were triumphing down under.

Edit- re-released, as it was originally by Wyvern and licensed to Somerset batter, Brian Rose.

I've just done a bit of armchair research into this (it's always fun looking into games that scored so low). I've discovered that John Gilbert in SU, in 1984 wrote "Howzat, from Wyvern Software, is one of the best cricket games available". And then same person in 1987 wrote "Simulation? Ha! It's a fairly futile game, duller than the real thing."

Oloturia · Post by **Oloturia** » Tue May 30, 2023 2:15 pm

SteveSmith wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 1:29 pm I've just done a bit of armchair research into this (it's always fun looking into games that scored so low). I've discovered that John Gilbert in SU, in 1984 wrote "Howzat, from Wyvern Software, is one of the best cricket games available". And then same person in 1987 wrote "Simulation? Ha! It's a fairly futile game, duller than the real thing."

Well, he said "one of the best". Perhaps the others were worse.

Morkin · Post by **Morkin** » Tue May 30, 2023 2:59 pm

SteveSmith wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 1:29 pm I've just done a bit of armchair research into this (it's always fun looking into games that scored so low). I've discovered that John Gilbert in SU, in 1984 wrote "Howzat, from Wyvern Software, is one of the best cricket games available". And then same person in 1987 wrote "Simulation? Ha! It's a fairly futile game, duller than the real thing."

What a difference 3 years can make..!

The armchair research is catching, maybe it's something to do with the sport

. YS seem to have done something similar (unless I've missed something) for D&H's Cricket Captain.

Side note: this appears to be a 1988 release, the first SU 'Magazine review' - #24 - from 1984 listed for this game can't be right? I'm guessing it refers to this Cricket Captain by Allanson Computing - which is also linked to the same review?

Anyway, so we've got:

YS - Apr 1990 - 38%

"Ridiculously poor - programmed by people who haven't a clue what they're talking about"

YS - July 1991 - 67%

"If you like management sims and cricket, this might 'bowl' you 'over', but the appeal is limited."

YS - Apr 1992 - 24%

"Personally, I'd rather take a babe on an all-expenses paid holiday to Hawaii than play this boring, unoriginal and unrealistic management re-release."

...I suppose on this occasion it may have been different reviewers at least...

"I don't like cricket.... I hate love hate it..."

blucey · Post by **blucey** » Tue May 30, 2023 3:57 pm

Oloturia wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 11:03 am OK, what game featured this... thing...

Lords of Midnight or the sequel?

Pobulous · Post by **Pobulous** » Tue May 30, 2023 4:26 pm

Swords and Sorcery?

Oloturia · Post by **Oloturia** » Tue May 30, 2023 4:29 pm

Not Lords of Midnight (or sequel) nor Swords and Sorcery.

bluespikey · Post by **bluespikey** » Tue May 30, 2023 5:17 pm

Mandragore?

Oloturia · Post by **Oloturia** » Tue May 30, 2023 5:35 pm

XTM · Post by **XTM** » Tue May 30, 2023 5:48 pm

Burglars have to put up with quite a few things, but a moving turd ...

Juan F. Ramirez · Post by **Juan F. Ramirez** » Tue May 30, 2023 6:01 pm

Moving? Seems a smelling turd!

Waldroid · Post by **Waldroid** » Tue May 30, 2023 6:54 pm

Halls of the Things?

Oloturia · Post by **Oloturia** » Tue May 30, 2023 7:26 pm

Juan F. Ramirez wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 6:01 pm Moving? Seems a smelling turd!

...and yet it moves!

Oloturia · Post by **Oloturia** » Tue May 30, 2023 7:27 pm

Waldroid wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 6:54 pm Halls of the Things?

negative

(XTM gave a big hint, anyway)

Wizwords · Post by **Wizwords** » Tue May 30, 2023 8:11 pm

Sam Stoat Safebreaker?

Oloturia · Post by **Oloturia** » Tue May 30, 2023 9:03 pm

Wizwords wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 8:11 pm Sam Stoat Safebreaker?

We have a winner!

Oloturia · Post by **Oloturia** » Tue May 30, 2023 9:05 pm

This is the full image:

Wizwords · Post by **Wizwords** » Tue May 30, 2023 9:53 pm

Would XTM like to have a go as they gave such a big clue, I'm sure they knew

Spectrum Computing

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