Spectrum Computing

Does anyone have instructions for Myla Di'Kaich.?

The snapshot works fine, but I can't get the TZX to load. Is it faulty?

I quite like this game. It's fairly standard early 80s platforming fare (released in the late 80s), but it has so much personality that it stands out, to me at least. The combination of hypnotic beeper FX, disturbing sprites, trippy colours and so many moving platforms make the whole screen seem possessed.

It's fun to have a wander, but I'm not sure what the specific goal is—which bits are collectable, which are deadly etc. The magazine reviews shed a bit of light on this: it's the usual story of a faulty interstellar supermarket and the hackneyed task of gathering the scattered parts of your spaceship from it, but the magazine references hint at O2 topup areas and more.

It's funny reading the reviews, especially taking their context into account, it seems in 1986 people are tired of platform games:

If you're one of those cut-off-from-society people still playing JSW, then wake up because you might like this.

It's a pretty of strange game really, but then with a name like Myla Di'Kaich what did you expect?

What are your thoughts?

Loads fine. Turn off the Fast Tape Loading option in Fuse. (Might have to play the “tape mechanism” manually in the middle of the process, though.)

Ast A. Moore wrote: ↑Sun Sep 16, 2018 9:42 pm Loads fine. Turn off the Fast Tape Loading option in Fuse. (Might have to play the “tape mechanism” manually in the middle of the process, though.)

Cheers, good to know it works, but I'm still struggling to make it happen in SPIN, FUSE or Spectaculator, with varying tape options. At least the snapshot works. Will try again tomorrow.

Instructions:

Myla di'Kaich - not a long string of Italian, but a malfunctioning space-mart. Can you make sense of it. I can't!
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Myla di'Kaich — the largest and most weirdly named space supermarket. From rubber band motor drives to coat hanger aerials, from blancmange mix to gravy powder, dehydrated — anything could be supplied for the discerning spacer.

But when all the life support computers fail and the remote stock robots go into memory overload then its anybody's guess where the right parts are located. Add deranged escalators and a manic travellator or two, and then you have some idea of the enormity of the task faced.

All I wanted was a dozen bits to get my craft on its way again, but where to start looking? and how to avoid robots puncturing my suit? and where is the oxygen supply?...

To load the game: Press LOAD "".
Once the game has loaded full instructions will appear on-screen.

Game written and programmed by Roderick MacFarquhar.
Design and illustrations by Ranel.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

All rights reserved Worldwide. The name and contents of this program and associated graphics, illustrations and text are the exclusive property of Global Software. It is forbidden to copy, transmit, reproduce, hire or lend in any form without the prior written consent of Global Software.
© 1985 Global Software, PO Box 67, London SW11 1BS
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URGENT TELEFAX URGENT TELEFAX URGENT TELEFAX

Myla Di 'Kaich life support computer malfunction — immediate action required.

Diagnostics check show your craft requires twelve parts for full operation. Locate parts and proceed to check out area for assembly. Computer predictions show that there exist 65536 potential parts/position combinations. Central computer wishes you luck and warns of potential malfunctions in following areas:

Lifts operating continuously
Floaters activated by weight sensors
Pistons operating continuously
Electrical short circuiting
Platforms fatal if touched when unstable
All moving bodies heavily radioactive — fatal on contact

Your individually calibrated statmeter (TM) will show your energy remaining, radiation level, space suits remaining and number of spare parts collected. This super deluxe statmeter (TM) also has a facility for time distortion, but the instructions are not kept on file at central computer.

TELEFAX ENDS TELEFAX ENDS TELEFAX ENDS

mzx wrote: ↑Mon Sep 17, 2018 12:24 pm Instructions:

Beauty. Thanks. These will be in the next update.

It has a very non-standard loader which is difficult to reproduce in .tzx - .pzx can handle it fine. ZXSpin's loader acceleration only works on .tzx files, so it fails on this game. FWIW, it's the only game we have found that it cannot accelerate.

mzx wrote: ↑Mon Sep 17, 2018 12:24 pm Instructions:

<snip>

Game written and programmed by Roderick MacFarquhar.
Design and illustrations by Ranel.

<snip>

Do you have a photo of these instructions?

Myla Di'Kaich was written by TFMG according to the in-game scroller and now has Roderick MacFarquhar in the instructions.
Sophistry was written by TFMG according to the in-game credits, The review of Sophistry in the Games Machine #7 page 49 has:

Sophistry marks the commercial debut of Roderick McSarquar, a young Scottish programmer currently attending Glasgow university.

Assuming that TFMG is the same person - McSarquar / MacFarquhar are awfully similar (and odd).