Spectrum Computing

Dr Who fans will be familiar with the concept of time travel which is the only way to explain how a crap game was entered before the close date of the last competition and reviewed before the start of the next.

As the reviewer for 2024 it gives me no personal pleasure to announce that the 2024 competition is open for entries https://csscgc24.blogspot.com. Entries before Jan 1st may be reviewed before 2024, but reviews won't be released until after that date.

From now until then, enjoy Xmas. Avoid family disagreements and second helping of turkey. Revel in Woot! And prepare for the countdown to midnight and New Year of crap. Will it be the crapiest year yet or will the Gods be good to this reviewer?

To be continued...

You made me type "MOW LAWN" one hundred times. I won't forget that in a hurry.

ED, good luck for the year ahead. Thanks for the review of my crap game. I promise I sent you the best of my pile!!

For everyone else - I throw down the hardcore hangman challenge... Can you play through my 12 hangman words without dying, or breaking into the program to cheat?

I went to some effort to make this a little polished...

The tune is the first few bars of the last post.

Thanks

I'm still waiting for the article announcing the 2023 compo...

*refreshes his newsreader again*

@EdToo have you published the itch page? I can't download the game, or even access the page?

Jbizzel wrote: ↑Sun Dec 17, 2023 1:58 pm @EdToo have you published the itch page? I can't download the game, or even access the page?

That's why it worked for me and not you! [Insert facepalm emoji]

What a noob.

Well, I just downloaded the tap file, so it works now.

Good luck hosting this for 2024!

Also, it'd be nice if somehow the year 2024 is inserted in the thread name, just for future reference. (Because it'd easier to find it in like 5+ years.)

Strong start there & the first Speccy game I've completed in ages, must be all that Wordleing I've been doing.

R-Tape wrote: ↑Sun Dec 17, 2023 10:58 am You made me type "MOW LAWN" one hundred times. I won't forget that in a hurry.

Like they say "actions have consequences. ". Maybe I should have thought this through

Timmy wrote: ↑Sun Dec 17, 2023 9:30 pm Well, I just downloaded the tap file, so it works now.

Good luck hosting this for 2024!

Also, it'd be nice if somehow the year 2024 is inserted in the thread name, just for future reference. (Because it'd easier to find it in like 5+ years.)

I agreed I couldn't find an edit option when I tried earlier.

EdToo wrote: ↑Sun Dec 17, 2023 10:24 am Dr Who fans will be familiar with the concept of time travel which is the only way to explain how a crap game was entered before the close date of the last competition and reviewed before the start of the next.

I've never seen one before, no-one has, but I'm guessing it's a white hole.

Will it be the crapiest year yet or will the Gods be good to this reviewer?

You may have noticed, during your initial inspection of CSSCGC Towers, on the walls of the cupboard under the stairs is scrawled an ancient curse:

"May your pencil case be full of crayons".

Whatever could it mean? Either way, take it as a reminder that the Programming Gods can throw up... idiosyncrasies.

Also, if you didn't see it on the other thread, make sure you are up to speed with every possible Sinclair and "Sinclair-adjacent" machine that is and ever has been emulated. There is a non-zero probability that I'll attempt some very simple FORTH programming on the Jupiter Ace, and there is a 100% probability of multiple entries for a sparkly new and highly capable machine that's waiting a week to be unboxed.

Prepare to be hit squarely in the inbox with your first challenge at approximately midnight on 1st January. You have been warned!

TMD2003 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2023 10:09 am You may have noticed, during your initial inspection of CSSCGC Towers, on the walls of the cupboard under the stairs is scrawled an ancient curse:

"May your pencil case be full of crayons".

Whatever could it mean? Either way, take it as a reminder that the Programming Gods can throw up... idiosyncrasies.

Was that what it said? I was convinced it said canyons?! I thought it explained why I could never find a pencil in there despite religiously adding one each week.

Ahh, but was there 0x15 of them?

Mark

TMD2003 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2023 10:09 am I've never seen one before, no-one has, but I'm guessing it's a white hole.

I'll go get the red lamp bulb then....

Mark

EdToo wrote: ↑Sun Dec 17, 2023 10:01 pm I agreed I couldn't find an edit option when I tried earlier.

You need to feed a moderator with nice words via PM/DM...

Mark

Good luck with the contest this year.
It will be a full time job that will keep you away from family and friends.
Many hosts quit their job to find time to do the judging.

Just a small suggestion @EdToo : put the term C.S.S.C.G.C 2024 in the title to make easier to find.
Have fun

Ed is to be commended for spelling the name of the competition correctly in the title.
A good start!

Mpk wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2023 4:37 pm Ed is to be commended for spelling the name of the competition correctly in the title.
A good start!

I think there needs to be a host's handbook for people like me who just thought what a fun thing to enter without realising the whole weight of history behind it.

I had forgotten all about Usenet until looking up what the competition letters stood for.

firelord wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2023 4:35 pm Good luck with the contest this year.
It will be a full time job that will keep you away from family and friends.
Many hosts quit their job to find time to do the judging.

Not a good year to be moving house then

firelord wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2023 4:35 pm Just a small suggestion @EdToo : put the term C.S.S.C.G.C 2024 in the title to make easier to find.
Have fun

Fixed by the powers of the moderators. Thank you @PeterJ .

Your mission, @EdToo, should you choose to accept it

Spoiler

at least two more Sinclair forums need announcements...

As always, should you or any of your Speccy/Zeddy farce be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This message will not self-destruct in ten seconds. Good luck @EdToo!

Mark

1024MAK wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2023 9:18 pm Your mission, @EdToo, should you choose to accept it

Spoiler

at least two more Sinclair forums need announcements...

As always, should you or any of your Speccy/Zeddy farce be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This message will not self-destruct in ten seconds. Good luck @EdToo!

Mark

I'm still waiting for my accounts to be activated on other forum

Thanks Ed for taking on this terrible burden -- I look forward to shovelling some crap on you next year.

(SC Forums Peter took me up on my offer to send my list of "CGC game ideas I might never use", last year — so, if you get two Screwball Scrambles this year, you'll know why.)

1024MAK wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2023 9:18 pm Your mission, @EdToo, should you choose to accept it

Spoiler

at least two more Sinclair forums need announcements...

As always, should you or any of your Speccy/Zeddy farce be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This message will not self-destruct in ten seconds. Good luck @EdToo!

Mark

Also, if you have masochistic tendencies you can start a Jam on itch.io

EdToo wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2023 6:17 pm I think there needs to be a host's handbook for people like me who just thought what a fun thing to enter without realising the whole weight of history behind it.

Acknowledge submissions (even if it's replying to an email that says "I've got it"), get reviews out promptly but make sure to dig through the program in as much depth as is necessary to do the review, and read any waffle and bunk that comes alongside it.

Maybe even dig through the listing to find a VAL$ or an INPUT AT or use of weird streams, or something rarer than a Manchester United fan on the Kop...

TMD2003 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 19, 2023 5:46 pm Acknowledge submissions (even if it's replying to an email that says "I've got it"), get reviews out promptly but make sure to dig through the program in as much depth as is necessary to do the review, and read any waffle and bunk that comes alongside it.

Maybe even dig through the listing to find a VAL$ or an INPUT AT or use of weird streams, or something rarer than a Manchester United fan on the Kop...

There has, over the decades (!), been a slightly varying idea of the CGC. Basically whether "the worst one is the winner" or "the most tortuous one is the winner". I am strongly in favour of the latter because it's funnier and I like reading the reviews. If the compo was literally just "make the worst game" then no effort would be involved. I really enjoy seeing high-effort sxxt.

Also listen to TMD, he works a bit too hard but his CGC maintainership was a gem we can learn from. When I hosted it (2002) I gave most submissions a three-sentence lashing, and I'd do it again! But errr really now I think we get as much enjoyment from the blogging as from the game. Did you play them all this year? Of course not.