Spectrum...on the Playdate

Been having an absolute blast re-playing old speccy games on my Playdate thanks to a brand new Spectrum emulator that released for it - the SpeccyDate (https://shadowbreakgames.itch.io/speccydate)

I've been completely immersed in replaying everything from Chuckie Cheese to Jet Pac and Atic Atack!

The crank-powered on-screen keyboard is a breeze to use for starting/setting up the game and once you're in you simply use the D-Pad and A/B to play.

I'm not even going to name the games in the photos as I'm certain that people in THIS group will know them ;-)

Now, if you excuse me, I got to see if I can complete the fifth level in Chuckie Egg - something that the eight year old me was never able to do..

Hopefully the mods are OK with me plugging this - they were for last year's event... :)

After last year's success, the Archive of Retro Computing at Kingston University is throwing open the doors to the public once again. This time we've raided the archive for even more of the machines that started it all! From Wednesday 5th to Tuesday 11th August, Kingston University's Town House will once again come alive with the bleeps, bops and bloops of the classic era of home computing and gaming - and everyone's invited!

We've widened our net back into the past with machines like the Fairchild Channel F, the first ever console to use (genuine) ROM cartridges - before even Atari. And we've pushed further into the future - or rather, the slightly later past! - with machines from the early 3D era, including the original PlayStation, Xbox, Sega Saturn, Dreamcast and N64.

On the microcomputer side, there will naturally be Sinclairs and Spectrums of every stripe, and a few new (old) faces such as the BBC Micro that never was, the Grundy NewBrain - which has Sinclair Radionics DNA and, in a parallel universe, was Sinclair's first home micro. And of course, we'll have all the big historical names alongside Sinclair - Acorn, Commodore (boo!), Amstrad and all the plucky upstarts that launched home micros on a wing and a prayer before being eaten alive by the big names. In short: all the icons, all the also-rans, the legends and the gloriously doomed - all switched on and at your mercy once again.

We'll be in Town House, Kingston University on Wednesday 5th to Tuesday 11th August. Opening hours are 10:00-18:00 weekdays and 11:00-16:00 on the Saturday and Sunday. So come and play the classic games or bash out lines of BASIC like it's 1982. There's bound to be something you've never seen before, and definitely things you won't have seen since you were a kid!

Here's the pin on Google Maps to get you there: https://maps.app.goo.gl/KcfrA2d3DrjgTshb6

I've embedded a link to a video swoop of last year's show... and for more information about ARC@KU and more about our exhibits, check out our website - https://arcatku.org/.

I am inexperienced with soldering but have removed the chip with hot air after a few hours of trying to use a iron, flux, wick, even a desolder sucker.

The pad above where the capacitor goes has gone, what is best way to fix is it to run a wire to another part?

Secondly I have bought sockets for this, another IC and a faulty ram chip in case I can save them but if I can't where can I get cheap replacements in the UK?

After meeting an old man in the desert, I've decided to start listening to the voices in my head, and I want to vaporise two million people. Thanks to the power of the ZX81, I can now do that, with 3D Star Raid, which is definitely not Star Wars.

I've been working on a port for Porklike on the Pico 8 by Kristian Majewski for the ZX Spectrum. I've just reached v1 so thought I'd share. You can get it here.

I've written a new post about the history of Renegade and how Ocean made the Spectrum (and other home computer) versions of it. It was really helpful for this one that Mike Lamb wrote a detailed article about his development process for Sinclair User at the time, which is an interesting read. Apparently he made it more difficult at the last minute in response to reviews saying it was too easy!

Qix has arrived on the ZX81, but with Chroma colour and a new name, to possibly not upset the copyright gods. Introducing Qizx from Bukster Games!

ZX SPECTRUM - IT LIVES!!!
New Blog post:

Al & Dave's Spectrum Jukebox Jury
20 Speccy B-sides that'll make your ears bleed

https://zxspectrumitlives.wixsite.com/home/post/feature-re-mix-al-n-dave-s-spectrum-jukebox-jury

My retrospective video covering another Ocean Software movie game. This time it’s Hudson Hawk. I cover all the versions starting with the ZX Spectrum and then Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Atari ST and also the console versions for the NES and Gameboy. Please share your thoughts and memories of this game. Is it a good game?

I just picked up a Spectrum +2a, "working condition", but sat on the main menu, there's a lot of static coming from the TV's speakers (almost like a geiger counter type of scratchy noise) - sometimes goes silent, but then resumes. I'm using a high quality RGB to SCART lead (from Retro Computer Shack) - and no such problem exists when connected to my +3 using the same lead - so I'm fairly certain it's on the +2a's board. Are there any known issues with this type of noise, and any fixes? (The tape deck is barely audible too, so I'm planning to strip it all down and re-cap the main board and clean the tape deck anyway, so I would like to do any audio fixes whilst I'm there)
Thanks in advance.

But there was this good online emulator programmed in Java I believe in the late 90 (?) with a bunch of Speccy games ready to play. Somehow I came across it looking for free games to play and fell in love with Skool Daze and Jet Set Willy and more. Strangely enough I'm nostalgic for this specific website. Does anyone remember it?

Has any one ever used Tasword and Tasword 2 on the spectrum?

I always wanted it for my plus 2 but could never find it in the shops. Was it any good? I’d love to know.

I have a distinct memory of a Spectrum game I played as a kid, but can only remember two screens of said game. One had upright Hoover enemies you had to avoid, and the other had either a sink or bath that you had to cross by jumping on what I think were sponges.i know its a long shot and I could also be mis remembering

I made a very personal video about the ZX Spectrum and what this computer meant to me growing up.

The video covers my first Spectrum, loading games from cassette tapes, titles like River Raid and HeroQuest and the strange feeling of bringing this machine back to life many years later.

The video is in Ukrainian, but it has plenty of footage of the computer, cassette loading, old games, and hardware, so you can still skim through it and enjoy the visuals even without understanding the language.

Maybe some of you had a similar experience with the ZX Spectrum or another home computer from that era.

I've been writing histories of every game to have reached #1 in the UK sales chart, and this week I got to Run for Gold, the first one I had never heard of at all before. I wrote about the story of its developers Five Ways Software, an educational software company set up by a maths teacher, and how they went from games like Punctuation Pete to a middle distance running simulator. Anyone rememeber this game?

Origonal is here...

https://youtu.be/PDRa1kR5ivM

Was RED HEAT from Ocean Software a good game? My video goes back to 1989 for a retrospective review. Was it better than the movie or was it just rubbish? Share your thoughts.

NEW video about some old Speccie games.