ZX Confessions

spider

Think there was a similar topic about this many moons ago. Anyway just wondering if there's any Speccy related confessions perhaps people would like to share, as daft as they may or may not seem these days.

I'm happy to start ;) If someone prompts me and is willing to post something too.

dm_boozefreek

I played Manic Miner on my cousin’s Commode, before I ever played the Speccy version...oh the shame :))

polomint

dm_boozefreek wrote: »

I played Manic Miner on my cousin’s Commode, before I ever played the Speccy version...oh the shame :))

dm_boozefreek

Well that seems like a good start :))

LevelUp

I scratched my Zaxxon tape so I could take it back to the shop exchange it. The Spectrum conversion was a bitter disappointment after playing Fortress on the BBC.

spider

OK.

I've never really liked Jetpac , even though it does seem a popular game, I did try it over the years but no, not for me. I've never really played Atic-Atic, Elite (on the Speccy) or SabreWulf too, I have tried the ACG games but those ones never appealed to me sorry. I do like Pssst though even now, but Cookie/Trans-Am do not do it for me in the same way.

I once pulled a Kempston interface out of my 48K while it was powered on in anger :( at games not loading. I did know it would likely cause damage too. I ended up £20 poorer for my moment of rage to have said Speccy fixed at that time, was one of the local "fixed fee for most issues" places.

I don't really like FindersKeepers that much either (Really really sorry David if you see this, I do love the other games in the series and purchased them 'back then' and more recently repurchased the other 48/128 editions as well to complete my 'set') , I did try hard with it too, I could see it being a really good game but I just could not get along with it somehow.

I've never ever been able to qualify on Daley's Supertest 128 on Diving or Slalom despite trying over the years, never managed it to this day. I still struggle with High Jump on Decathlon too! :D

I still play KnightLore quite a bit with a few small 'home made' cheats added, but I've never really played other than a few quick blasts Alien8 or Pentagram, something did not quite appeal with them. Similar for Kokotoni Wilf too, although it shows it ages its still fun on occasion.

I'd not seen ManicMiner for about six months maybe a bit more after getting JSW in late 84/early 85. I was aware of it but have not seen it 'in action' or played it. Talking of that we used to call what became the 'Attic Bug' the "Bad Program Bug" back then locally amongst friends as we'd not seen any immediate fixes in the mags at that point.

I wrote down all the lists of battles in SkoolDaze on a bit of paper over time (this was before the mags published them!) to help me on my quest to complete it.

I think I'll stop there.

EDIT... One odd thing not really a confession but an oddity. About 85/86 I brought a used copy (original!) of Chuckie Egg from a market stall in town, as those who were about then will know they had plenty of originals and sometimes 'under the table' ahem backups. Anyway this original Chuckie Egg tape, the game was great, still is but on the reverse side of the tape was The Key, the header version. Yes really. No real idea why the previous owner had done this! I still to this day have the tape too.

Oh and Three Weeks In Paradise was the only 'Wally Week' game I was ever able to complete without any cheating or magazine help. Thinking about that it was relatively simple I may not of needed a map etc or any hints, the others I got close but never managed it! :( :D , Knight Tyme was the only Magic Knight game I was again able to do on my own without any form of help. I did not buy many magazines anyway. :)

EDIT2... I think I've about finished my list of Speccy related bits. Maybe.

spider

dm_boozefreek wrote: »

I played Manic Miner on my cousin’s Commode, before I ever played the Speccy version...oh the shame :))

:o Its OK , it looked / played similar iirc, unlike JSW with its curious erm stairs, but lets not get into that! Appreciate the honesty. :)

LevelUp wrote: »

I scratched my Zaxxon tape so I could take it back to the shop exchange it. The Spectrum conversion was a bitter disappointment after playing Fortress on the BBC.

:o Naughty but honest. I guess in some ways were lucky they would do anything other than exchange it for another copy of the same game on the same platform, perhaps a well 'tech savvy' assistant would insist on that and the others would not really be bothered or know either way!

Your Spec-chum

Mine would be dumping my original Speccy +2A, 2 x +3's, and a loads of games at my local tip back in 2008. This was after discovering them whilst clearing out my mothers home after she passed away. My collection had been stored in the loft of the house a good 15 years prior and the cold damp air had not been kind to it all. I kept a few bits and my Atari 2600 games, but unfortunately I dumped most. Biggest regret is I had a few +3 disks I did some of my own basic programs on, nothing special really, but I did a re-do of the Fishing game from cassette 50 where I changed the fish to silly stuff like an old boot, or a beer bottle. I changed the intro too to something quite schoolboy toilet humor and thought comical at the time also. Would've been good to see those again just to see what a little nutter I was then. :))

zxbruno

I modified Sabrina's loading screen a little bit.

Gwyn

I was going to say I never really played Jet Set Willy. I wouldn't be critical of it, but it just never interested me much.

But Spec-chum's post reminded me, that I too have a similar confession. When I left England to move to Ireland in 2001, I also had a big clearout and dumped my whole collection of Spectrums, games, tapes, books, workbooks into the tip :-O

I was being ruthless with my clearout, but ironically it wasn't long afterwards that I twigged about the whole retro scene, emulation, WoS etc. Ever since, I've really regretted chucking everything, especially all my own coding projects. I had tapes of stuff from back in that day and how I'd love to be able take a look at all that stuff again.. :((

1024MAK

Spider, are you sure you’re name is not Simon Mayo?

Anyway, here’s mine: Back when I thought the Spectrum scene was on the wane, when the Spectrum mags were getting thinner and there were less games and software releases, I decided to upgrade to an Atari STFM. In order to help fund it, I sold all the ZX Spectrum games that I owned (or at least, I thought I did, as it happens I just missed one game and Machine Code Tutor).

I didn’t actually sell the Speccy, as by now it was in a dk’tronics keyboard/case and it had been modified to run from a bespoke power supply that I had built. The original case and keyboard having long been thrown out. And the UK1400 PSU having been adapted for something else (it runs the LED star on top of our Christmas tree).

But my Speccy did get put up in the loft and forgotten about for many, many years...

Mark

Vampyre

The only thing I've ever stolen from a shop was a Speccy game. I was 13 and WH Smiths had a bargain bucket just filled with tapes. All the school kids surrounded it, helped themselves and legged it. I'm ashamed to admit I joined in and nicked a copy of Chequered Flag. So I could have got into a whole world of sh!t, been whipped raw by my parents, all for a copy of Chequered f***ing Flag. A game I already owned.

It haunts and ashames to me to this day.

(Yes, I had a boat load of pirated games but that doesn't really count as stealing does it? ;-) )

dm_boozefreek

Why is it was always WHSmiths, or Boots people nicked Speccy games from? :))

Also my copy of Harrier Attack was from the library, but it wasn't me that nicked it it was my mate up the road, but I ended up with it somehow. So did I swipe an already stolen copy of Harrier attack from him, or did I get it in the bundle I got from him in 1993 with my +3?

I feel like I had Harrier Attack long before I ever got my second Speccy from him....but I'm not 100% sure any more?

I still remember the almost impossible to remove sticker the case had on it, the ends were shredded where removal had been attempted, but the sticker still had a barcode, and in big bold black lettering "Property of Newcastle Central Library" stamped on it :))

Zup

I never liked Knight Lore and I hated Alien 8.

spider

I don't think I've ever really tried to play Horace/Spiders or HungryHorace properly apart from very short attempts. I know I probably should of given them a bit of time but...

spider

Another from me that I'd forgotten about. I did in about 90-91 try to swap a +3 (with broken drive or controller***, so it was a tape only machine, but I did not mind) for an Acorn Electron with an ex-school friend. We did do a week swap as a trial but I was declined :) , possibly a blessing in disguise as said machine was purely the bare bones tape one, no +1 or +3 disk pack , cant' remember offhand which one that was and its off topic here.

*** I did take it to the local repair place who told me it wanted a mainboard (apparently) iirc as there was a controller problem, "we tried a drive etc etc". I never did find out as it died a few months maybe a year later. I think the gate-array (the square chip) had had its day.

1024MAK

I’m quite happy to educate you about Acorn machines if that’s what you want :))

Mark

Luny

I COPIED GAMES! :))

dm_boozefreek

Calls F.A.S.T. on Luny!

“Hello I believe I know somebody who has an illegal copy of See it! Shoot it!”...

Luny

I'd just like to add.. I was young, I went with the flow. I stopped and now feel ashamed. ;)

Terrible really, to think we all added to the destruction of the thing we loved the most, the 8 bit games market. Incredible to think how we could have changed that with a bit of knowledge and maturity. Actually strike that, it wasn't just us kids. My teacher use to borrow games from me and gave me copies. He actually bought one of the early precursors to the Multiface to make copying easier. And I knew a guy on the dole who pirated on a massive scale to make money.

spider

Would there be logic in suggesting those doing it for profit ('home sales' or perhaps more likely a market stall) were far worse for damaging the industry ?

If nothing else I suppose there's some ethics with that just about "copying my mates game so I have it" vs "lets make 20 copies of this 9.99 game and flog them on my stall at £3 a go"

:)

Antiriad2097

We as kids copying didn't hurt the industry. I'm betting that pretty much all of us spent what cash we had on games and games mags, with just a bit left over for Monster Munch and Quatro.

I was at the centre of a network of copiers from school, all trading copies of games. You had to buy some games to keep in the circle, otherwise you'd have nothing to trade, since we had all the older stuff already.

We may not have individually bought all the new releases, but we certainly spent a shedload of cash, as much as we could afford. If we didn't have the copies, we just wouldn't have got to play the games, as the cash was finite.

That said, I did buy the odd favourite game more than once when they were lent out and never returned.

XTM of TMG

I bet all of you copied Bloggo's Pow.

Your Spec-chum

Off topic a little, but if this thread was copying confessions I didn't copy Speccy tapes, but I did the old VHS tapes I'd get from rentals like Blockbusters etc. You did need a device called a Macrovision scrubber to get round the copy protection though and they weren't cheap. I remember purchasing mine mail order from an advert in a satellite television enthusiast magazine. They were advertised in those as a way to get round the Microvision protection Sky tv used on there pay-per-view box office service back then, and yes I used it on that a few times too, but don't tell Sky. :D

spider

I do recall reading a bit about Macrovision way back, I've not looked since but I seem to think it would play havoc with the video's gain control resulting in a much jumping picture if any at all. I suppose 'back then' the regular method was via composite video in/out unless one had a later model with RGB / Scart or a professional type unit.

Having said that I would take a wild guess that a "pro" unit would probably be more able to deal with the Macrovision concern.

spider

I've tried to like 3D Deathchase but although its a game I should like, somehow I just can't get on with it :( I do fully see the fun factor in it though.

I think somehow if I'd of seen or heard of it "back then" I may of been more able with it perhaps.

arttu

I like Chuckie Egg 2 A LOT more than the original Chuckie Egg.

polomint

arttu wrote: »

I like Chuckie Egg 2 A LOT more than the original Chuckie Egg.

Agreed, CE1 is meh, CE2 is excellent..

spider

:-O :D

1024MAK

spider wrote: »

I suppose 'back then' the regular method was via composite video in/out unless one had a later model with RGB / Scart or a professional type unit.

VCRs did not use RGB SCART, if supported on the SCART sockets, it was just a pass through to the second SCART socket.

The higher quality VCRs used S-Video.

Mark

spider

Was not aware of that , thanks Mark. I'd somehow assumed it did have RGB output. Do realise that some TV's (we had one like this) had two input Scarts and only one of them was RGB capable it seemed, the other was composite video only in from memory.

We were not rich enough to have such luxuries as S-Vid sockets :D