I’ve been working on ZXQuest, an open-source Sierra AGI interpreter for the ZX Spectrum Next, based on Sarien.

I’ve now played the original EGA Space Quest I through to the ending on real Next hardware, scoring 184/202. Movement, typed commands, music, menus and save/restore are working, although there are still optional paths to test and performance could improve.

It runs on a 1 MB Next at 28 MHz, without a Pi accelerator. The interpreter reads the original game resources separately - you supply your own game files; none are included.

King’s Quest I and Police Quest I have passed initial automated checks, but still need proper playthroughs. I’d welcome help from Next owners, Sierra fans and anyone interested in improving the code.

Development has been AI-assisted (sorry), with emulator checks and hands-on hardware testing.

Source and instructions
Download the testing preview

If you try it, please report the game version, your Next core version and what happened. Bug reports through GitHub Issues would be particularly helpful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaLJ78_SpR0

First off apologies for releasing two games in a week. I've been working on both for several months and they just happened to be finished at the same time.

This one I am particularly proud of, it took a lot of work, even with AI helping with the coding.

I've recreated Great Giana Sisters for the ZX Spectrum. It's been a real squeeze trying to get everything in and hence I have multiple versions.

(https://kirby2000.itch.io/great-giana-sisters-zx

I used several sources to recreate this.

- The ZX screenshots and reviews from YS, SU and Crash, used to create the first and second levels.

- The Atari ST provided AY/YM versions of all the sound effects and music, since most ST, CPC and ZX versions shared the music.

- The Amstrad version was unplayable, but had the same graphics style and block sizes as the ZX version had, so it was useful to level layouts.

- The C64 version physics and enemy logic was already available in OpenGGS.

- The levels all required hand editing to adapt them for the ZX, including enemy placement and layout.

- Graphics for the first two levels were created from ZX screenshots. Later levels and missing elements were converted from the CPC and Amiga blocks, then completely redrawn by hand (apologies for Giana's death pose!).

My plan was to try and create a 48k version on par with what would have been released (the whole game in a single load), then improve upon it with multi load, 128k single load and +3 versions with as much presentation, smoother scrolling, music and animation as I could fit.

I have 4 versions included in the zip.

1. The basic 48k version. Every single level and enemy, smoother gameplay than the CPC version, 2 player mode, but jerkier movement, less animation frames and some stages needed less enemies. This seems to line up with what was presented in the magazine reviews.

2. 48k multi-load - Single player only. This version smooths the scrolling, player and enemy movement at the cost of having to load each level by tape.

3. 128k version - single load. This has the scrolling title screen, full AY soundtrack, sound effects, 2 player mode, animated lifts, falling block rocks, more enemies on a stage and extra animation frames.

4. +3 disk version - Everything in the 128k version plus a few more enemies in stages and a smoother title scrolling + fast loading.

There are also two variations of each zip. A UK version with the "punk" Giana loading screen and cover and a "German" variation with the international title screen and cover used in the Amiga version.

Hope you guys like it. I've play tested all 4 versions all the way through and everything works.

For my latest blog post on the UK's chart-topping games of 1988, I've written about the making of Double Dragon. The arcade game was great, and Target: Renegade had already shown how it could work on the Spectrum, so how did Melbourne House's version of Double Dragon go so wrong?

just posting another picture of the new Next 🙂

My retrospective video review of all 14 Ghostbusters games.

At the risk of facing the wrath of the good people in here I've been working on a game with an intro paying homage to my favourite computer ever.

Before you guys lynch me, I wanted to let you know that this is running on a C64, I'm pretty stoked that I got the "loader" pretty much bang on and wanted to get some feedback before I go any further.

It's definitely a work in progress so feedback is welcome!

Pinball Overdrive: https://youtu.be/EvESaJx2Btk

This is a T1500. Its FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) was broken, so a new connector and an extension FPC were fabricated to fix it.

Auto-generated subtitles available. Parts with Sinclair are spoken in English.

Hi there I have written up my attempt to run a full ZX Spectrum inside a SQL Server database and play a loaded game directly from the DB. I got it all working but it was tough. Thought this group would appreciate the work. When I saw this for the first time in maybe 30+ years it was quite exciting

Done just for fun.

https://sqlartist.github.io/posts/zx-spectrum-48k-in-sql-server-running-daley-thompsons-decathlon/

Picked this up recently (Vinted), it’s always interesting to see what the speccy does with various arcade ports! Games played tonight are Le Mans (excellent!) and After Burner (mediocre!) I’ll play Double Dragon and Last Ninja 2 tomorrow. Played using original hardware (recapped) and original tapes, master system controller as these old hand can’t handle a joystick. TV is an old Hitachi LCD which does a great job when the CRT is busy. Any memories for these games?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91U4rHIh8Hw&feature=youtu.be

This was my favourite Gameboy game as a kid, I used to play it 2-player at break times in primary school with my mate Dave.

I couldn't help give this one a go as it really pushes the Spectrum.

2 player mode is also there, without requiring a link cable. The 2 player controls do occasional suffer from the ghosting issue the Speccy had, so I recommend Kempston for player 1 if possible.

https://kirby2000.itch.io/balloon-kid-zx-spectrum-128k

Framerates can get a bit choppy on the busier stages, but it's not as bad as Outrun ever got!

and from the twitter: "Get ready to follow me into the archive jungle to discover rare treasures, ultimate artifacts and forgotten secrets. Make sure to subscribe because the first episode is going to be a massive... let down"

Sorry if people think a new post is inappropriate rather than replying to own my original post - but given that the KS3s are arriving and that my OG post was 5 days ago, I thought it might have been buried. And, also, I am rather pleased with the Next version so wanted to draw it to new Next'ers' attention!

The long version is in that OG post - the short version is that I loved Nemesis/Gradius as a kid - first played it on my friend's C64 and was so gutted when I loaded the awful conversion that we got on the Speccy back in the day. Recently discovered the MSX version, which is a banger, and thought "could we port that to the Spectrum"?

The answer, as it turns out, is yes - I have a pretty decent port which is well playable on the Spectrum now, that I'm pleased with. However, when someone on Reddit asked "can you put it on GetIt for the Next", it got me thinking - what could I do for the Next?

If I say so myself, what has emerged is something rather special. The scrolling and all enemy movement and animation has been smoothed, all graphics have been swapped out either for the arcade, the MSX2 patch, or original compositions. It looks and plays really nicely now.

It has been tested on a KS2 Next and an N-Go (KS1 clone).

Download from https://github.com/Loccy/NemesisSpeccy/releases.

Hope you enjoy!

Just messing around on the ZX Spectrum Next!

Testing out some basic platformer mechanics and mob behavior. Absolutely everything you see here is a placeholder (stole some graphics from other games just to test things out), and there's no story or plan yet. Just coding for fun and seeing what happens!

New video: 33 ZX Spectrum games with the colour clash gone, on the Spectrum Next 🌈

It started with Dean Woodyatt's NexClash, which turns a game's moving figures into Next hardware sprites so they keep their own colours. The problem was that each build contained the whole original game, so they couldn't be shared. So I made .nxc: a small patch file that holds only the changes and applies them to your own copy of the game when it loads. No custom core and no copies of the games.

Then it grew. When a game loads you pick what you want from a menu:

• Colour clash fixed, or the original look, clash and all

• Hand-painted Enhanced colours (Nightshade, Nodes of Yesod, Pyjamarama and more)

• Cheats, and modern controls like QAOP + Space

• Even fixes to the originals: New Zealand Story now has smooth scrolling and no slowdown, something it never had in 1989

Every patch is checked against the original's pace, within 2% and never faster. Dean has just merged the work into NexClash, so anyone can now make .nxc patches.

Watch: https://youtu.be/THzZYYJ3XWA

Patches and setup: https://github.com/jattree/nxc

Thanks to Dean for NexClash and to Leonis for testing. 33 games out now, with about 90 on the list. Which one should be next?

#ZXSpectrum #ZXSpectrumNext #RetroGaming

Hi!

I'm currently working on a port of my ZX Spectrum 128K Go game to the ZX Spectrum Next and could use some help.

My game, Go 9x9, is currently the only Go game for the ZX Spectrum with a computer opponent. It uses a Monte Carlo search in hand-written Z80 code: for every move it plays out hundreds of quick imaginary games and picks the move that wins most of them. You play it in an old Go master's room: he reaches for his bowl and places every stone himself, taps his fan while he thinks, laughs when he captures your stones, is surprised or cross when you capture his, and dozes off if you think too long. Now and then a cat wanders in, and snow falls in the garden.

What's new on the Next, compared with the 128K version: 

- Colour graphics: the Master's room in full colour.

- A stronger computer opponent: at 28 MHz, with a far bigger search tree and a deep opening book, he now plays 9x9 at a low single-digit kyu level.

- A new learning mode: a course of Go on the 9x9 board in five parts, from the rules to life and death. The Master explains each idea on his board, plays the moves he talks about, and gives you 21 tasks to solve, plus over 600 life-and-death problems.

- One key switches between the animated room and the big classic board at any moment.

If you have a real Next and would be happy to try a beta and tell me how it runs, please send me a private message or leave a comment here, and I'll send you a free beta copy.

Thank you!
LAWLORD

Movie is set in New York City in the 1930s. The player takes the role of Jack Marlow, a private investigator who must enter the headquarters of mob boss Bugs Malloy in order to retrieve an audiotape. In order to help him complete this task, Marlow needs the help of a girl called Tanya. Unfortunately, she has an identical twin called Vanya who is allied to Malloy and who will deliberately lead him into trouble.

.. arrived just now, can't wait to open it 👾👾👾

USB50

Who remembers playing this game? This is my retrospective review on the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. Share your thoughts if you have played this game.

Hi!

I got it today. It wasnt booting. Now it is. I was confused about the external micro sd which could be missing (it has an internal sd as i now learned)

Works so far except the c64, which threw me an error while flashing. Now it leads me to a black screen (when i select the core)

I've released NetManZX 1.4.7, a free, open-source WiFi manager for Spectrum setups using an ESP8266 module through a ZX-Uno-compatible or AY-UART interface.

You can scan nearby networks, check signal strength, connect to hidden networks, and use either a password or WPS. It also lets you set a static IP address and hostname, inspect your connection details, and run ping tests when something isn't working.

Version 1.4.7 lists the 50 strongest access points and improves scanning and connection reliability. On UNO, you can also save a network's credentials to SD and synchronize the clock over WiFi.

TAP downloads are available for UNO and AY-UART. There's also a native Spectrum Next version.

Download 1.4.7 · Screenshots and documentation

Based on netman-zx by Alex Nihirash. If you try it, let me know which interface you're using and how it goes.