Spectrum Computing

This is the thread where you can put your Spectrum graphics that have nowhere to go. Y'know, the ones where you were just doodling or trying things. Ones that didn't make it into a finished project and are now out on the streets looking for a warm place to sleep at night. In here, you can give those graphics a place to shine.

I'll make a start. I, sadly, don't have time to commit to any Spectrum stuff at the moment, but I do still do the odd thing just to practice or pass the time when on the train to and from work or when I get into a good conversation on Twitter regarding Spectrum stuff.

First up, a mock-up for a new proper version of H.E.R.O. for the ZX Spectrum. Here, I created a new H.E.R.O. sprite and quickly grabbed some of my Vallation rock graphics just to see how it could look.


Secondly, a 16x16 pixel sprite of a Spectrum loving YouTuber. Nothing will ever come from this, but we got to discussing what her sprite would be like in her own ZX Spectrum game.


I've got other stuff I can post in here but now it's your turn...GO!

I'll make a start. I, sadly, don't have time to commit to any Spectrum stuff at the moment

Aye, shame, great stuff though.

It would feel strange and slightly wrong to see H.E.R.O with 'proper' graphics, but it's got 'collaboration with Sokurah' written all over it!

Are you sure about the Octavius game being a dead end? It'd be fun and popular, I'd buy it.

I found this in my 'Documents': toilet.scr



I can't remember exactly what it was going to be used for, but it might have been a cut scene in a game about working in a 'crazy office'.

Or something.

R-Tape wrote: ↑Sat Apr 28, 2018 9:24 pm Aye, shame, great stuff though.

Thanks Dave!

R-Tape wrote: ↑Sat Apr 28, 2018 9:24 pm It would feel strange and slightly wrong to see H.E.R.O with 'proper' graphics, but it's got 'collaboration with Sokurah' written all over it!

The discussion came about after talking about the remake for the C64 version. H.E.R.O is a fantastic game but like those early Activision releases, they fell short of the mark, even though you played them to death back in the day. Sokurah has too many other games to get finished first and I keep trying to persuade Blerkotron to go for it.

R-Tape wrote: ↑Sat Apr 28, 2018 9:24 pm Are you sure about the Octavius game being a dead end? It'd be fun and popular, I'd buy it.

Who knows. I certainly think it'd be a goer and would be a great wee project. I would produce all the graphics in any spare time I had to pass on to "a programmer".

R-Tape wrote: ↑Sat Apr 28, 2018 9:26 pm I found this in my 'Documents': toilet.scr



I can't remember exactly what it was going to be used for, but it might have been a cut scene in a game about working in a 'crazy office'.

Or something.

Thaaaaat's it! This is the stuff! This looks aces, too.

The first sprite on this topic reminded me of the jetpack+bazooka+elvis scene from a certain movie

The toilet.scr sprite reminds me of one or more scientists seen in cartoons in the past few years. Professor Farnsworth? :-p

redballoon wrote: ↑Sat Apr 28, 2018 5:42 pmThis is the thread where you can put your Spectrum graphics that have nowhere to go.

Please also consider uploading it to zxgraph!

redballoon wrote: ↑Sat Apr 28, 2018 5:42 pmFirst up, a mock-up for a new proper version of H.E.R.O. for the ZX Spectrum. Here, I created a new H.E.R.O. sprite and quickly grabbed some of my Vallation rock graphics just to see how it could look.

Wow this is awesome!!! I'm feeling tempted to implement this game, just to see him alive

However I cannot avoid the impression he's missing his feet. What about this?

R-Tape wrote: ↑Sat Apr 28, 2018 9:26 pm I found this in my 'Documents': toilet.scr

Perfect material for next WOOT!

redballoon wrote: ↑Sat Apr 28, 2018 9:57 pm
The discussion came about after talking about the remake for the C64 version. H.E.R.O is a fantastic game but like those early Activision releases, they fell short of the mark, even though you played them to death back in the day. Sokurah has too many other games to get finished first and I keep trying to persuade Blerkotron to go for it.

H.E.R.O. seems like a pretty simple game and I'm sure I could knock it out pretty quickly, but what's holding me back is that I don't really like it. To me it always seemed like a boring and repetitive game. With redballoon on board it would look great though

I'm actually only working on one project at the moment and that's my Spectrum Next game, but I'm so behind on it that I really should concentrate on that and H.E.R.O. hasn't got what's needed to ... distract me from that

Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Sun Apr 29, 2018 7:09 am Please also consider uploading it to zxgraph!

I totally forgot all about zxgraph!!

Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Sun Apr 29, 2018 7:09 am
Wow this is awesome!!! I'm feeling tempted to implement this game, just to see him alive

However I cannot avoid the impression he's missing his feet. What about this?

Thanks, Einar!
If I remember correctly, there was a reason why I didn't include the 2 pixels for his feet - possibly due to the design of the suit I had in my head, I dunno - but yeah, that looks good!
I think I had the idea of a really minimal UI, no big fancy border or anything, but still display the number of people to rescue, bombs, fuel and energy. No score! No need for a score. It's not about the score.

I have some of similar stuff myself. A single sprite or two, some object from a game that never appeared and will never appear.

Here are for example some RPG style characters:

Here's a sprite I created for use within an isometric game. Course, nothing ever came of that and over the years, I've converted him slightly for use within a "side-on" game using a SNES palette and created a starfish sidekick for him. It was to be called Starfish and Hutch.



The top of the ears aren't animated correctly but the walk cycle is...*kisses tips of fingers*

Maybe one day.

While updating the sprites for Yankee, I went through a series of sketches. This is what I call “The Evolution of a Sprite: From an Inflatable Attack Guppy Fish to a Badass Attack Helicopter.”

Aside from doing screens, I've never really dabbled with drawing sprites and the one below was born out of getting frustrated with the Firetrap alternative loading screen I did just before Christmas last year trying to draw the hero's face. Had right fun in the end drawing them lol. Who does the face remind you of?

Maybe I should have a go at drawing sprites. Animating them is probably where I'll get stuck.

Here are a few unreleased/unfinished 1-bit screens pixeled back around 2003 or so. They were originally drawn in the breadbin's highres bitmap mode but I converted them last year thinking I could use them as potential padding if I ever released a ZX pixel collection on tape. Had to crop a couple of them slightly due to the Speccy's lower resolution (how about that? ).

I’ve always been partial to ducks.

Here's a loading screen for a game that would have played out on a hexagonal grid, where you would go around avoiding enemies and holes in the floor that would appear over time. I had some of the basic routines working, but I never really had enough interest to keep it going, so I abandoned it. I've got the screen from it, though. I had to do this on paper first so that I could draw in perspective lines as guides.

This was started for a game about Pirates, which main goal would be cannon ship battles, looting, etc ...

It was a study, on making the 8 views for rotating the ships around for navigation, with a bit of ISO perspective.


I probably will never have time to actually implement this.

Ersh wrote: ↑Sun Apr 29, 2018 3:15 pm Here are a few unreleased/unfinished 1-bit screens pixeled back around 2003 or so. They were originally drawn in the breadbin's highres bitmap mode but I converted them last year thinking I could use them as potential padding if I ever released a ZX pixel collection on tape. Had to crop a couple of them slightly due to the Speccy's lower resolution (how about that? ).

Very cool Ogre, duck, a music gal

That city, reminds me of one of the scenes in "Conan -the boy from the future".

RMartins wrote: ↑Mon Apr 30, 2018 7:44 am This was started for a game about Pirates, which main goal would be cannon ship battles, looting, etc ...

This needs to happen, looks great and sounds awesome!

Yep these are all great, I wish this was an "I am currently working on" rather than a "these will probably never see the light of day otherwise" thread.

Ersh wrote: ↑Mon Apr 30, 2018 12:23 pm

RMartins wrote: ↑Mon Apr 30, 2018 7:44 am This was started for a game about Pirates, which main goal would be cannon ship battles, looting, etc ...

This needs to happen, looks great and sounds awesome!

Yeah I also though so.
that's why I started it, but meanwhile, too much projects have piled up on my queue, that I have given priority to.

My idea was to make something similar to the Sid Meier's "Pirates" on the Amiga500/PC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7i6MHFPkdQ

But with a little more emphase on the ship battles, and a bit less of sword fighting (or at least improve the sword fighting).
I wanted to do more dynamic battles like in the new PC remake version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3if7ls_sBc&t=6m47s

RMartins wrote: ↑Mon Apr 30, 2018 7:44 am This was started for a game about Pirates, which main goal would be cannon ship battles, looting, etc

Awww. I thought you were working on porting Warcraft to the Spectrum.

RMartins wrote: ↑Mon Apr 30, 2018 2:01 pm ...But with a little more emphase on the ship battles, and a bit less of sword fighting (or at least improve the sword fighting).

I like the idea of having the focus on ship battles, they were always my favourite part. Are there any existing Spectrum games that features bird's eye realtime ship-to-ship combat in any form?

Ast A. Moore wrote: ↑Mon Apr 30, 2018 2:36 pm

RMartins wrote: ↑Mon Apr 30, 2018 7:44 am This was started for a game about Pirates, which main goal would be cannon ship battles, looting, etc

Awww. I thought you were working on porting Warcraft to the Spectrum.

If you can pull that off, I'll stand up and applaud for a full minute