Yes, the humble Sinclair ZX Spectrum was launched in the UK thirty years ago on this very day...
Click here (http://sociable.co/gaming/1982-go-to-2012-happy-birthday-sinclair-zx-spectrum-part-one/) to read the first part of my Speccy article on The Sociable!
-- Mike
(http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showscreen.cgi?screen=screens/load/j/gif/JudgeDredd.gif)
Great article, Mike. It all comes flooding back...
SPECTRUMS ARE FOR WANKERZ! COMMODORE 64 ROOLZ!
Ha ha! Look at those rubbish graphics! Look at the pitiful amount of colours! Listen to the garbled music!
GET A DECENT COMPUTER! Peasants...
Quote from: Lee Bates on 23 April, 2012, 02:58:23 PM
Ha ha! Look at those rubbish graphics! Look at the pitiful amount of colours! Listen to the garbled music!
Yep, C64 did suck didn't it? Blocky gfx, horrible pastelly colors, and.. yeah OK, the sound chip was good, I'll give you that...
C64 was kind of like the Xbox of its day, in that it wasn't actually any better, it was just a different system that for some baffling reason had a loud fanbase that was fun to poke to see what would happen. See also: NES vs Master System, Megadrive/Genesis vs SNES, N64 vs A Freshly Painted Wall, Saturn vs PSX, Xbox vs PS2, PS3 vs 360, Mac vs PC, and there's probably even some argument over tablet PCs or MP3 players that has thankfully passed me by.
I think I know why Mac users are such smug cunts, though, as I've had a Vista computer for years now. Keep on trucking, lads: you are absolutely right.
I bought a second-hand C64 in about 1985 and discovered that - unlike the Spectrum - it was a right bugger to program. Never got it to do anything interesting, whereas I knew my Spectrum inside-out by that stage. What I really hated most about the C64 was the dedicated cassette recorder, the single most unreliable piece of computer kit I've ever owned. I went through five of them in eighteen months, then just gave up.
But the C64 did have one thing that the Speccy couldn't match: Dropzone (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzrhBQXmpD8) - a classic cross between Jetpac and Defender - shame that it was never ported to anything other than the Atari 400/800 series.
That and Iridium were my two favourite C64 games!
-- Mike
Speccy roolz. C64 droolz.
V
Quote from: Lee Bates on 23 April, 2012, 02:58:23 PM
SPECTRUMS ARE FOR WANKERZ! COMMODORE 64 ROOLZ!
Ha ha! Look at those rubbish graphics! Look at the pitiful amount of colours! Listen to the garbled music!
GET A DECENT COMPUTER! Peasants...
At least Speccys
looked like the future whereas Commodores looked like they were 60's beige left-overs. I was 8 when I got a 16k Spectrum so there was no fear of me learning
machine code or
basic no matter what programs the mags at the time printed -Input, Basic etc.- especially with a pirated C-60 tape of Jet Set Willy and about a dozen other games were asking to be played.
Quote from: Mike Carroll on 23 April, 2012, 05:20:43 PM
But the C64 did have one thing that the Speccy couldn't match: Dropzone (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzrhBQXmpD8) - a classic cross between Jetpac and Defender - shame that it was never ported to anything other than the Atari 400/800 series.
Ah, but it did have the plagiaristically similar Hyper Active (http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0002413).
Incidentally, I did this for the Speccy's birthday : Crap Games Corner (http://malcolmkirk.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/malcolm-kirks-crap-games-corner.html)
Part two (http://sociable.co/gaming/1982-go-to-2012-happy-birthday-sinclair-zx-spectrum-part-two/) of my Speccy article is now up on The Sociable..
Quote from: M.I.K. on 23 April, 2012, 11:35:54 PM
Ah, but it did have the plagiaristically similar Hyper Active (http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0002413).
Ooh! I've never seen this before - I would have loved that on the Speccy!
Quote from: M.I.K. on 23 April, 2012, 11:35:54 PM
Incidentally, I did this for the Speccy's birthday : Crap Games Corner (http://malcolmkirk.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/malcolm-kirks-crap-games-corner.html)
Cool! I have no idea what happened to the source code for any of the Spectrum games or programs I wrote - though I never really finished any of the games. Once I'd worked out the hardest part - usually the graphics - I tended to give up and move on to something else.
-- Mike
I still own a 16k speccy, still boxed and everything. weirdly the only thing i don't have is a tape deck and tapes for it.
My ZX Spectrum still works after all these years, the tricky thing is finding a working tape recorder.
Quote from: Professah Byah on 23 April, 2012, 04:53:30 PM
C64 was kind of like the Xbox of its day, in that it wasn't actually any better, it was just a different system that for some baffling reason had a loud fanbase that was fun to poke to see what would happen.
I realise you don't like Xbox but that's no reason to make shit up about the C64.
It had better graphics AND better sound. Theres no arguing that. Speccy had more games and a bigger fanbase because it was cheaper.
Compare The Eidolon to 3d Monster Maze for instance.
Saying that I'm currently playing the spectrums classic isometric Head over Heels & Batman games on my phone. They're still great.
Oh and theres a cracking update of Jetpac on Xboxlive which is quite cheap. All should buy it and weep at my Hi-score!
Quote from: Emperor on 24 April, 2012, 08:58:59 PM
My ZX Spectrum still works after all these years, the tricky thing is finding a working tape recorder.
Grab a copy of TZX2Wav and then grab the TZX file of the game you want. (Should be able to get all this from World of Spectrum). then make the wav and stick it on your mp3 player - plug it into your Speccy and it should just work (tm).
Then experience the joy of being on the train and realising that your mp3 player has added the game to your music playlist...
Quote from: Satanist on 25 April, 2012, 11:06:54 AM
Quote from: Professah Byah on 23 April, 2012, 04:53:30 PM
C64 was kind of like the Xbox of its day, in that it wasn't actually any better, it was just a different system that for some baffling reason had a loud fanbase that was fun to poke to see what would happen.
I realise you don't like Xbox but that's no reason to make shit up about the C64.
It had better graphics AND better sound. Theres no arguing that. Speccy had more games and a bigger fanbase because it was cheaper.
No, they were just different systems, both had advantages and disadvantages. Yes, the C64 had nice colours, but had a really blocky resolution in order to display them. Spectrum had a much faster processor which made doing 3D games a lot better.
Oh and 3D monster maze was released on the ZX81, not on the Spectrum, which is why it doesn't look as good as the Eidolon. Eidolon on the speccy looked very nice (if a bit monochromey...)
Xbox360 and PS3 are pretty much the same system nowadays - they've both got the same hardware, just the processors are a smidge different, and one has Halo.
C64 had a Hi-res mode which enabled larger less blocky sprites if memory serves. Never had a spectrum so wasnt sure about 3d Monster maze, maybe comparing Last Ninja would give more direct results?
I did however play on them at my poorer friends houses ;)
If ye really want to put the boot into C64 then the fact it had none of the good Ultimate games is the way to go. Used to drive me nuts as a child.
Oh and happy birthday Speccy! Will read those articles above when I get home.
Quote from: Pyroxian on 25 April, 2012, 12:25:07 PM
Grab a copy of TZX2Wav and then grab the TZX file of the game you want. (Should be able to get all this from World of Spectrum). then make the wav and stick it on your mp3 player - plug it into your Speccy and it should just work (tm).
Thank you. what a brilliant idea.
Now, i just need to know how to make a Kempston joystick out of a wooden spoon and an empty dvd case
Quote from: Pyroxian on 25 April, 2012, 12:29:24 PMXbox360 and PS3 are pretty much the same system nowadays - they've both got the same hardware, just the processors are a smidge different, and one has Halo.
Though I recall enjoying Halo 3, Star Trek: Legacy was a more significant 360 exclusive in my eyes (even if it forced you to play Voyager levels), but different controllers, dashboards, and the level of codec support for multimedia files are oddly what were deciding factors in which machine I ended up using more, even though I bought both as gaming machines, not multimedia hubs.
The Spectrum: You took my youth away and I loved you for it.
Quoteespecially with a pirated C-60 tape of Jet Set Willy
How did you manage that? Given that dreadful colour-code chart that you needed to start it.
Also, last week I found the city from 3D Ant Attack (now mercifully free of giant ants).
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r153/brnwlsh/IMG_0621.jpg)
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 24 May, 2012, 05:14:18 AM
Quoteespecially with a pirated C-60 tape of Jet Set Willy
How did you manage that? Given that dreadful colour-code chart that you needed to start it.
Well I for one spent an entire evening copying the colour chart. It was worth it!
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 24 May, 2012, 06:38:19 AM
Well I for one spent an entire evening copying the colour chart. It was worth it!
So it was
you who destroyed that whole fledgling 'computer games' industry thing!
Yeah I also invented the pirate music industry 20 years before the media would have us believe the internet, by sitting by the radio with my fingers nervously twitching over the record and pause buttons... along with just about every other kid my age.
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 24 May, 2012, 09:12:43 AM
... along with just about every other kid my age.
I have no idea what you're talking about, my huge pile of C60s and C90s were purely for, err, umm, were they all for again?
Anyway, FACT has been informed, please remain calm.
I knew this thread was to blame.
Last night i dreamt i found a spectrum laptop (speccy with hinged monitor, that opened and closed like a laptop) for fifty quid in woolworths, that came loaded with a hundred speccy games like those mentioned on this thread- and spent xmas playing lunar jetman, jet pac, sabre wulf, attic attack and dig dug. It was arsom, and i am now mightily pissed off i cant have one. Sir clive, what the fuck is wrong with you!!??
Also i dreamt of miranda hart in holdups and no knickers, scratching her arse outside my local post office while i waited for a plane to take me to dublin. But, er...
SBT
Nomen Luni.