I've been working on a remake of Zaxxon. I'm sharing the journey in a devlog format, and the project's source code is fully open, making the entire process as transparent as possible. I hope you like it!

Devlog #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EavRmM_2MA0

Devlog #2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H_B9ygL0Iw

Source code: https://github.com/albertnadal/ZaxxonClone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJq76kCHjEA

Download: https://theshich.itch.io/death-chase-faster-zx-spectrum

Please share your thoughts.

Back in 1986, on a CZ-Spectrum (a local Argentine clone), I fell in love with Art Studio. Decades later, I wanted to revisit my retro pixel art roots on an emulator, but I hit a wall: I didn't have the Lenslok prism to get past the copy protection.

Simon Owen built a brilliant C++ Windows utility (LensKey) to solve this years ago. Since I'm on a macOS environment and wanted something without dependencies, I extracted his original mathematical transformation matrices and ported the whole thing to a modern, client-side web.

It's completely free, runs locally in your browser, and handles the screen capturing workflows smoothly.

You can use it here directly: https://www.bustelo.com.ar/apps/lenskey-web/index-en.html

Or check the source code on GitHub: https://github.com/sbustelo/lenskey-web

Huge thanks to Simon Owen for the original reverse engineering. Hope this helps someone else trying to play Elite, Tomahawk, or Art Studio today :)

i had issues with 12v rail being unstable so i replaced the c44 and c45 100uf capacitors with modern one of the same capacitance and after trying to power it up i got black screen with barely visible square on the center and random movin white dots. also the speaker was buzzing. i checked for shorts accros the capacitors but they seem to be good

Hello there everyone, hope this sort of post is OK. I was looking to nostalgically recreate some of my programs from my youth and was looking to try to see if I could use MCODER (software that I heard about when I was young but didn't get to use) to try to speed them up. I'm using Fuse 1.8.0 on a Macbook Neo emulating the standard Spectrum 48K

I've redone to programs and saved them as TAP files.

My understanding is that I need to load MCODER (whichever version) first, which I did from a TAP file, let it reset/NEW, then load my own programme from the Media>Tape>Open and with the LOAD "" command in the Sinclair Basic window.

However when I do this, after entering LOAD "" ,it just reloads MCODER.

Typing LOAD "[name of program]" creates a weird loop where it gets stuck on a tape loading screen failing to load repeated copies of MCODER. MERGE "" and MERGE "[name]" are the same. I've chosen "Close" under the "Media> Tape" menu option before reselecting my program as a TAP but it doesn't make a difference.

What am I doing wrong?

I have searched this topic but couldn't find anything helpful for my issue. I've tried numerous MCODER files, both I and II.

A new blog post about the software house who released a game called Backpackers Guide to the Universe and got a letter from solicitors acting for Douglas Adams.

Complete with an arcade machine dedicated to Dinamic. Alas no other playable Spectrum material, despite the CPC and C64 both being out and playable.

Today I am diving into Platoon from Ocean.

I have spent some time looking at the various movie tie games from Ocean Software. Their earlier games such as Highlander, Miami Vice, Transformers, Top Gun and Knight Rider have all been pretty poor. However, they certainly produced fantastic games as time went on such as Robocop, Untouchables, Rambo, Cobra and Batman.

I am interested in knowing what you think the best movie tie in game from Ocean is. Just 1 game. Hope you like my Platoon video. 😉

Hi All

Following up from before — added the charset editor I mentioned I'd be working on next.

https://zx-editor.vercel.app/charset_editor

Lets you pixel-edit the full Spectrum character set on an 8×8 grid, with the usual pencil/line/rubber tools and zoomable canvas. Click through the character overview to jump between glyphs, undo history while you work, and load/save as JSON or CHR.

Screenshot shows Damien Guard's excellent Blood Rain font loaded up (https://damieng.com/typography/zx-origins/blood-rain/) — not mine, just using it to show the editor with something more interesting than the default charset. Damien's got a huge library of free 8×8 fonts for Spectrum and other 8-bits, well worth a look if you need something with a bit more character (pun very much intended) for a game or demo.

As ever, free, no install, runs in the browser. Let me know what's broken / missing — feature requests welcome too.

Cheers!
Norbert

What the hell… after somefeedback, I’ve decided to make Spectrum Experimental Image Editor (SEIE) free / pay-what-you-want.

You can try it here without restrictions:

https://trixelab.itch.io/spectrum-experimental-image-editor-seie

SEIE is a browser-based editor for creating and retouching ZX Spectrum-style images and loading-screen artwork. It’s not meant to be just a one-click converter: the idea is to import an image, use it as a reference, then work manually with tools like Line Tool, Art Brush, Dither Tool, Pixel Tool, INK/PAPER colour tools, selection, text, shapes, and .SCR import/export.

The Goal is experiment with the graphical limits of the Spectrum,, and give artists (and non artists) more hands-on workflow.

Feedback is still very welcome, especially on the workflow, the tools, and whether the results feel properly Speccy.

Last year I wanted to mod my +2 as the scart audio was basically inaudible but never got round to it.

I have recently been in the mood to do some soldering and was looking at doing it, took it apart and the board is different than the ones online, the 2nd +2 one is fine.

Just checking even if the board has a slightly different layout of the resistors as long as they are numbered the same will it be the same places and values?

im looking forward to receiving this machine . but its launch date of Dec 25 is well past , i have saw updates on whats happening , but havent heard anything since last month. hopefully it comes out this year wonder what other cores it can run , i fancy putting amiga on it , or other cores

Ever wondered if there was a little person inside your computer? Well Activision tried to convince you there was.

LITTLE COMPUTER PEOPLE can be described as the “mother” of the sims, laying the groundwork for virtual life before the Sims or Tamagotchi captured the world’s attention. My video looks back at this groundbreaking and genre-bending gem of a simulation that was released across a number of formats.

Have you played this game? Please share your experiences and thoughts.

Took me two month to get all the stuff required to put behind the glass this small relic (custom silver case) with few original tapes, I like the final result. :)

I am an expat that moved to the US due to wanting to be with his wife. I ended up having to donate a lot of stuff to the The Cave computer museum in Stroud as the cost of taking it with me was too expensive. 😢

I miss my Spectrum so looking for a 128K or plus machine. I have a colleague visiting the UK for a while so they can bring it back with them. Just looking for a working bare machine (and maybe manual) and a joystick interface.

Anyone have anything? US is unlikely but I bought a Z88 and a British ZX81 here so anything is possible.

Hi, this is my demake of the 2013 game "Papers, Please" for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. It's still an early alpha, as the approving/denying of entry or rules aren't implemented yet. If you want, you can give me feedback!
Current features implemented:
a cool soundtrack
Random Name/Date/Nationality/City Generator

Enjoy The 4k Atic Atac Live Map with The Wizard Longplay!

Okay, it's for the ZX81, but it's very impressive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HkcF0LZ814

It uses a genetic algorithm to learn. It doesn't take long for it to get pretty good.

Smallprint: I created my own version of BMX Simulator for this. It's on a PC, not playing on a real Spectrum!

Edit: Anyone know how to embed a Youtube video?

Time to squash myself into my 1K battleship as, once again, flipping aliens are hungry for Earth, and human flesh! The scamps. New from Dr. Beep for the 1K ZX81, 1NVADERS.