C.S.S.C.G.C 2024 is/will be/has open/ing/ed

[+3code]

The +3e roms offer several new features that I may use in an entry, perhaps "a first" in the csscgc, no problem in making a spoiler as I'm not sure, but nice to give others some ideas.

[+3code]

In case I make it, it will be the "Turbo Super Mega Fishing Simulator", of course.

[EdToo]

Not long to go

[TMD2003]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we're open!

Barely two minutes into 2024 and I've thrown the first spanner in the works. @uglifruit may know what I mean. @Jbizzel doesn't because I spared him last time out.

As the Mojon Twins once said: Bwa ha ha ha.

[EdToo]

And the first review of the first submission of the year is up. Jim Waterman has set a high bar with his entry for the Lambda 8300. The game is available for download at the itch.io location here. Number Board Plus is a remake of a much older type-in. Does it improve the original or add little value? You have my verdict above, post yours below.

[R-Tape]

And that's got the boulder rolling, downhill, mercilessly pursuing Ed like in Raiders of The Lost Ark

I've learned a bit about the Lambda too. I had a >25000 score on my first go, and didn't stop to think on the second and went for speed: 109 x 80 = 8720

[EdToo]

And hot on Jim's heels we have ZXKerl with not one, but two games GFM and GFM2. The review is here and the game can be downloaded here.

[TMD2003]

Top banana! Prompt reviews and you've picked up on the fine points (of my game, at least - Kerl's efforts must be a lot simpler). You'll make a fine host and if we keep up the current rate, you'll have over a thousand submissions by the end of the year.

I should probably have mentioned SHIFT+5 for the quotes on the Lambda. That machine plays havic with my muscle memory and losing a line because I've accidentally pressed SHIFT+M (EDIT) rather than SHIFT+N (cursor right) does get annoying after a while.

The coloured lines of numbers were my way of hiding what is either a bug in the Lambda's colour module, or in EightyOne's implementation of it (it's hard to know without real hardware). If I'd printed all the numbers on the screen in white, it'd overwrite the right hand border in white as well.

[EdToo]

if we keep up the current rate, you'll have over a thousand submissions by the end of the year.

[R-Tape]

I know way out Ed. It involves two pencils, and a pair of underpants...

[EdToo]

I know way out Ed. It involves two pencils, and a pair of underpants...

I'll be fine my friend has a cunning plan.

[equinox]

Erm, the rules say that the competition begins and ends in the year 2021:
https://csscgc24.blogspot.com/p/rules.html

I did e-mail the guy but I guess he didn't get it, or had already blacklisted me for being a drunky.

[EdToo]

Erm, the rules say that the competition begins and ends in the year 2021:
https://csscgc24.blogspot.com/p/rules.html

I did e-mail the guy but I guess he didn't get it, or had already blacklisted me for being a drunky.

Or he was full of xmas spirit when he read your message and forgot about by the next day

[R-Tape]

@EdToo I can't see in the rules - will you be strictly enforcing the 'game' aspect, or are crap utilities and demos allowed? Ideas are starting to crystallise* and i want to check what's viable.

*well, ferment †

† compost

[EdToo]

I've mulled on this overnight. My instinct is that it is all in the name. Otherwise, heaven forbid, someone could enter a C64 game. However, looking at the wide range of programs that last year's host had to endure I don't want to diminish the creative effluence of Sinclair users. So I'm going to say that the loser of this year's C.S.S.C.G.C and host of the next year will be the author of a game.

There will be two winners;

One the author of the crappiest game who will be the winner of C.S.S.C.G.C in the truest sense.
The other will be the winner of the crappiest non-game.

Happy to listen to any arguments to the contrary.

[R-Tape]

That sounds fine to me.

Not that I want to risk losing, but thinking again, a utility can be made even crapper by crowbarring a game element onto it (see most games in the Education genre category!).

[EdToo]

That sounds fine to me.

Not that I want to risk losing, but thinking again, a utility can be made even crapper by crowbarring a game element onto it (see most games in the Education genre category!).

That sounds like a great winning strategy.

[TMD2003]

Not that I want to risk losing, but thinking again, a utility can be made even crapper by crowbarring a game element onto it (see most games in the Education genre category!).

Fun To Learn would have made an excellent CSSCGC entry. It's a bunch of educational games (Hangman being one of them), it's got errors in the text... but it still wouldn't be Most Crap Game Of The Year because of its sheer size (24,918 bytes of BASIC) that packs in a lot more content than your average entry, and... gasp! It's got machine code - a mere 491 bytes of it, some of which will be the "print double-height characters" routine.

I promise no Etch-a-Sketch programs this year, even on the Next - although it did teach me a few tricks with layers and transparency and various delights that the programmers of 1983 would never have believed.

[EdToo]

I promise no Etch-a-Sketch programs this year, even on the Next - although it did teach me a few tricks with layers and transparency and various delights that the programmers of 1983 would never have believed.

You keep dangling the carrot about a Next entry, my inbox is waiting

[TMD2003]

You keep dangling the carrot about a Next entry, my inbox is waiting

I've just been making* some tiles and sprites for the last three days. At least some of the test routines can be dropped straight into the game with very little fuss. You'll be waiting a bit longer, though - even crap Next games aren't going to be built in a few hours, and with my limited artistic talent... it's even less instant. Right, better get on with it... the Next is in the spare room, which is the one I've been heating this evening. Away from the heater it's a roasting hot 14°C and my fingers are getting numb.

* well, ripping them off from existing Spectrum games and getting shot of the colour clash...

[Jbizzel]

Oh! I remember now. It's more fun to make games.

Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha.

Anyway - fire in the hole! (ie - Ed, I sent you a game/application)

[EdToo]

The latest review it up, enjoy Porridge Roulette.

[R-Tape]

Thanks for the great review Ed

Now I have to decide whether I can stomach what it suggests tomorrow...

[EdToo]

And the first definitely not game Etch A Sketch Delux.

[R-Tape]

Vengeance is bizzel's! Compliments on the out of screen errors.

I've done this screen to go in the DB (Tokyo at sunset). If anyone has anything better save a snapshot and we can use that instead.