Very tough question. I'm both an Amiga-lover and a Speccy-lover. The Spectrum taught me programming basic and gave me much enjoyment with loads of great games, while the Amiga set me free as a graphics artist and led me into the demo-scene (something sorely lacking on the Spectrum, at least outside of russia).
With 17.6 Gb of Amiga-stuff on my HD and 2 Gb Speccy-stuff, I'd say it's a tie for me. It's cruel having to pick one of them over the other!
I have a bit of a gripe with MicroMart: ( If you dont want to read my common ramblings then just skip )
yes i agree, about the fact that the Amiga being a capable machine, but while the Spectrum being relatively limited in so many ways in comparison and not intended for games like other systems, was pushed to it's limits and amazing things were done on it in spite of its power and thats really something to awe at.
by seeing all the advancements, pushing it to do things it wasn't supposed to do. making music on a 48k that sounded great by the right hands, breakthroughs in graphics creating, at least near photorealistic images in multicolor and interlace with it's 8 color palette ( okay some may say 15 and so have i but its really a lighter shade of the same color and cant be used within the same 8*8 attr., so technically it's 8 colors, black and white are also technically not colors but on a computer i guess it could be considered so, i wont even get into the RGB thing when the primanry colors are RYB, i guess it's a method used for photography and electronics, which i think is stupid but maybe im just ignorant, so i digress from that, okay so i say 8 colors, which will only give power to the points i plan to make in this post ).
even screen$ done in normal zx graphics that are beautiful take skill to make, and this is probably what i understand the most, even if im not so great at it, that to create a picture with this palette, limited to two colors in a 8*8 square and creatively working it so that you end up with a masterpiece is qute a feat and says alot about those who have done them, and all this is impressive, ( btw. as cool as the rutherford pic is, i think the Snowman pic at F4 should have won, but, there you go )
you need a an eye for detail and good problem solving skills and knowing your limitations and maybe at least a basic understand of how your speccy works. at its core it's not unlike the same principles of coding. a good spectrum graphician is alot more tuned and skilled than maybe most other graphicians for other systems, imho, because they did so much with so little. if they were to move onto a computer with a more liberal graphics environment they would fly, but take most anyone who's only drawn and used to 256 - 24bit color, or even another 8-bit with somewhat more unlimited graphics capabilities, and ask them to make something kosher on a spectrum: more than likely - FAT CHANCE. unlike other 8 bit computers where you may get shades of brown and orange and more blues and grays, etc.
these stupid companies always want stupid bloated photoshop as a requirement, id like to tell them to stuff photoshop, but then they often say they want people who can make nice sprites within a limited palette. so why cant i use Mspaint or Dpaint on Amiga? what's all this photo hop crap? I never use it. i had it and deleted it. PSP - much better bargain and ill deal with that if i have to instead. whats a limited palette considered now-a-days anyway? at least on a handheld like a GBA? 256 colors? i really dont know. well how about 8? I CAN DRAW ON A SPECTRUM! DAMMIT! HOW'S THAT FOR A LIMITED PALETTE???
its like seeing a picture done on a pc in 24 or 32 bit color, and even if it's good and well worth the praise, to see something comparable on the spectrum is a reason to go "wow". ie. you woudn't be as surprised seeing a marathon runner zip by you running like lightining ( because they are athletes and i suppose youd expect them to ), like you would, as your jaw falls to the floor, if you suddenly saw a person get up from their wheelchair and be able to walk again all of a sudden.
look at the C64. it has a graphics mode where only 2 colors are also allowed per character block. like the Spectrum ( and DOE have color clash ). but when they show off screens, it's hardly ever in this mode. id say the majority cant do it, they run to the 2*1 pixel low res high color mode so they can use 5 colors within a 24*21 area, or 4 colors if it's a character sprite as one color needs to be set for transparency. they all have it much easier. and they use just as many, if not more 'tricks' ( grfx modes ) to get even better results. therefore some of their arguments that the Spectrum can only do half decent graphics with grafx trickery is something they better not are say, or they are being hypocrites, as they have wider palette and two grafx modes and was made to make game making easier, yet they still do it. it's like a more complex but similar in a way to Klik n' Play where you can setup your sprites and your play area and collision etc. I love my C64, dont get me wrong. But I am trying to be fair and honest,as far as how I really feel about all this.
the Spectrum had none of this, and look at what it has been capable of.
the same can be said for the zx programmers who dont have the luxury of custom hardware sprites and other things, and musicians who can combine the beeper and underrated AY and demonstrate fantastic music/sound capabilities. i will not say other platforms don't have extremely talented people, but as unbiased and objective as i believe myself to be, and am trying very hard to be right now, the cream of the crop lies here, in this place where we all congregate and share an enthusiasm for a wonderful micro, from all parts of the world we come and we share at least this in common. we are smart enough to know what realy counts and judge things by their merits. - a clcihe but - it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, as long as you gave it all youve got - ad the Spectrum gave much more than it had, or was thought to have, ontop of it all.
i think in the right hands the AY can hold its own against the Sid chip anyday ( listen to Silkworm and tell me if thats not one well composed and kick ass rocking composition! you'd be wrong! i listen to that and know from hearing the other versions that it is the best version and it's on the speccy .. and yea, i know the sid is in the c64 but im just making a point. For me, it's also better than the Amiga version. I ike that raw sound, i like the way the percussion was made, i think the drops ain the notes sound like real guitar harmonics or high notes being pulled back on the whammy bar. it kicks ass. whoever did that is a great Spectrum musician )
as great as the Amiga is ( not was, but IS, like the speccy IS ), it did exactly what it was intended to do, even though it is great it was made to do what it does, regardless of whether or not many amazing things have been done on it, the ability is there for you to learn and make happen and you'd know it usually. and as a high end computer for me it wins hands down. I really want a high end Amiga but with the Amiga One and OS4 i think i'll wait.
but what was done with the Speccy was like turning water to wine, and i dont believe it will end. So for a higher end computer the Amiga is my choice, for the 8 bits Spectrum is my choice. the Spectrum is like the frog prince, embraced by dedicated and talented people who "kissed" it and made it into something more than maybe most thought it could ever be.
I cannot base a decision based on power or ability because that's comparing apples to oranges, an 8bit vs. a 32bit computer. ridiculous. you can't compare specs ( no pun int. ) in this case. ( although the Sam Coupe not being in the contest is a shame. its like the Spectrum in many ways, and loosely based on the LC3 'Loki Super Spectrum", which was unfortunately canned because it was to have spectrum compatibility that wouldve infringed on Amstrad's ownership rights of the Spectrum, and besides in an interview with Clive Sinclair he said they had no interest in developing it even if they could anyway. and Amstrad couldnt develop it because it was a future project and owned by Sinclair, which they did not have the rights to other than the Spectrum compatibility mode, but also showed no interest. if you really know the Sam it seems like youre on a 16 bit computer able to hold it's own against the ST and Amiga, and thats impressive. had it been in the competition and lost, at least to other 8 bits, that would have been a major injustice, and just another proof that it's a popularity contest. The Sam, although short lived licked the C64 and CPC and other 8bits no doubt about it. even if it beat the Spectrum i wouldnt feel so bad because it is an extension of it, so in my heart the Spectrum wouldn't REALLY have lost )
i was also irked at what i read on Micromart, which is something i read many times in many places. what is said is just unfair, in this case when speaking of the Amiga they generalize from the A500 to the A1200 but when speaking of the Spectrum they always refer to the 48k, as if there were no later models with some more features, memory, more ports and three channel sound besides the beeper. ( and ill always feel the beeper is better than the stupid pc speaker. even sampled or synthesized speech on the 48k sound timees better than the stupid pc speaker which is still part of current 'pcs' sold today ) this is very unfair in my opinion. when comparing the Spectrum, and they mean only the 48k, to the c64 and c128, the Amiga 500 all the way to the 1200 and 4000, and whatever else ( paraphrase from Micromart: "oh ,but it would be unfair to compare it to higher end Amigas than thesemodels", ie. power pc, etc ... as if this comparison to stock Amigas is not ridiculous already) mentioning all models of others in comparision to only the first and original Spectrum, is not fair at all.
and i say it's ridiculous because if people in general would put their pride aside and really look at things objectively they would have to give the Spectrum its due props if they are to be truly honest with themselves and open minded, but they do not, they don't get it and are just stubborn and stuck in their ways, which is to me what makes it all ridiculous, and as someone who frequented Amiga news sites, newsgroups and forums often I can tell you that they , many of them, are some stubborn bastards who'll listen to no reason and get into the dumbest arguments that almost makes me ashamd to ay i use an Amiga with these morons around.
this is also not a case of "first love" as someone said, thats a trendy, trite and overrated cliche with no substance except sounding 'nice'. that has nothing to do with anything, many first loves are very forgettable. its about "truth", and the "truth" is that the Spectrum is like a child born into poverty, who grows up and makes a success of itself, a selfmade man - from rags to riches by its own sweat and blood making something of itself, while the others are where they are because they inherited their fortune from momma and poppa.
so although i didnt want to vote, and i still feel the Spectrum may not win, and it will not reflect or change my opinion about either computer, youll be happy to know, i hope, that i did end up voting; and my vote went to the Spectrum
By the way everyone, *this* week in Micro Mart I've reviewed Cronosoft's Egghead in Space. A full page review in the mainstream press for a new Spectrum game in 2003 - not bad, eh?
Wow! Colin, you're right. It's a full-page review on page 101, complete with colour screenshot and all. I must be dreaming, a Spectrum game review in a publication with a readership of over 20,000 is something I never thought I'd see again as long as I lived. Top job! It reminds me of the old days when I used to wander down to the newsagent to buy a copy of a magazine for posterity 'cos it had one of my games on the covertape.
I hope Simon can continue to provide Spectrum games for you to write about, I'll certainly be doing my little bit, though one or two games a year is about as fast as I can go these days. Amigo and David are still working on Sid Spider of course, and I've received emails from one or two others who've decided to attempt some Spectrum games too. I wonder if anyone else might be persuaded to pick up the old Z80 assembler manual again?
Wow! Colin, you're right. It's a full-page review on page 101, complete with colour screenshot and all. I must be dreaming, a Spectrum game review in a publication with a readership of over 20,000 is something I never thought I'd see again as long as I lived. Top job! It reminds me of the old days when I used to wander down to the newsagent to buy a copy of a magazine for posterity 'cos it had one of my games on the covertape.
Comments
With 17.6 Gb of Amiga-stuff on my HD and 2 Gb Speccy-stuff, I'd say it's a tie for me. It's cruel having to pick one of them over the other!
( If you dont want to read my common ramblings then just skip )
yes i agree, about the fact that the Amiga being a capable machine, but while the Spectrum being relatively limited in so many ways in comparison and not intended for games like other systems, was pushed to it's limits and amazing things were done on it in spite of its power and thats really something to awe at.
by seeing all the advancements, pushing it to do things it wasn't supposed to do. making music on a 48k that sounded great by the right hands, breakthroughs in graphics creating, at least near photorealistic images in multicolor and interlace with it's 8 color palette ( okay some may say 15 and so have i but its really a lighter shade of the same color and cant be used within the same 8*8 attr., so technically it's 8 colors, black and white are also technically not colors but on a computer i guess it could be considered so, i wont even get into the RGB thing when the primanry colors are RYB, i guess it's a method used for photography and electronics, which i think is stupid but maybe im just ignorant, so i digress from that, okay so i say 8 colors, which will only give power to the points i plan to make in this post ).
even screen$ done in normal zx graphics that are beautiful take skill to make, and this is probably what i understand the most, even if im not so great at it, that to create a picture with this palette, limited to two colors in a 8*8 square and creatively working it so that you end up with a masterpiece is qute a feat and says alot about those who have done them, and all this is impressive, ( btw. as cool as the rutherford pic is, i think the Snowman pic at F4 should have won, but, there you go )
you need a an eye for detail and good problem solving skills and knowing your limitations and maybe at least a basic understand of how your speccy works. at its core it's not unlike the same principles of coding. a good spectrum graphician is alot more tuned and skilled than maybe most other graphicians for other systems, imho, because they did so much with so little. if they were to move onto a computer with a more liberal graphics environment they would fly, but take most anyone who's only drawn and used to 256 - 24bit color, or even another 8-bit with somewhat more unlimited graphics capabilities, and ask them to make something kosher on a spectrum: more than likely - FAT CHANCE. unlike other 8 bit computers where you may get shades of brown and orange and more blues and grays, etc.
these stupid companies always want stupid bloated photoshop as a requirement, id like to tell them to stuff photoshop, but then they often say they want people who can make nice sprites within a limited palette. so why cant i use Mspaint or Dpaint on Amiga? what's all this photo hop crap? I never use it. i had it and deleted it. PSP - much better bargain and ill deal with that if i have to instead. whats a limited palette considered now-a-days anyway? at least on a handheld like a GBA? 256 colors? i really dont know. well how about 8? I CAN DRAW ON A SPECTRUM! DAMMIT! HOW'S THAT FOR A LIMITED PALETTE???
its like seeing a picture done on a pc in 24 or 32 bit color, and even if it's good and well worth the praise, to see something comparable on the spectrum is a reason to go "wow". ie. you woudn't be as surprised seeing a marathon runner zip by you running like lightining ( because they are athletes and i suppose youd expect them to ), like you would, as your jaw falls to the floor, if you suddenly saw a person get up from their wheelchair and be able to walk again all of a sudden.
look at the C64. it has a graphics mode where only 2 colors are also allowed per character block. like the Spectrum ( and DOE have color clash ). but when they show off screens, it's hardly ever in this mode. id say the majority cant do it, they run to the 2*1 pixel low res high color mode so they can use 5 colors within a 24*21 area, or 4 colors if it's a character sprite as one color needs to be set for transparency. they all have it much easier. and they use just as many, if not more 'tricks' ( grfx modes ) to get even better results. therefore some of their arguments that the Spectrum can only do half decent graphics with grafx trickery is something they better not are say, or they are being hypocrites, as they have wider palette and two grafx modes and was made to make game making easier, yet they still do it. it's like a more complex but similar in a way to Klik n' Play where you can setup your sprites and your play area and collision etc. I love my C64, dont get me wrong. But I am trying to be fair and honest,as far as how I really feel about all this.
the Spectrum had none of this, and look at what it has been capable of.
the same can be said for the zx programmers who dont have the luxury of custom hardware sprites and other things, and musicians who can combine the beeper and underrated AY and demonstrate fantastic music/sound capabilities. i will not say other platforms don't have extremely talented people, but as unbiased and objective as i believe myself to be, and am trying very hard to be right now, the cream of the crop lies here, in this place where we all congregate and share an enthusiasm for a wonderful micro, from all parts of the world we come and we share at least this in common. we are smart enough to know what realy counts and judge things by their merits. - a clcihe but - it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, as long as you gave it all youve got - ad the Spectrum gave much more than it had, or was thought to have, ontop of it all.
i think in the right hands the AY can hold its own against the Sid chip anyday ( listen to Silkworm and tell me if thats not one well composed and kick ass rocking composition! you'd be wrong! i listen to that and know from hearing the other versions that it is the best version and it's on the speccy .. and yea, i know the sid is in the c64 but im just making a point. For me, it's also better than the Amiga version. I ike that raw sound, i like the way the percussion was made, i think the drops ain the notes sound like real guitar harmonics or high notes being pulled back on the whammy bar. it kicks ass. whoever did that is a great Spectrum musician )
as great as the Amiga is ( not was, but IS, like the speccy IS ), it did exactly what it was intended to do, even though it is great it was made to do what it does, regardless of whether or not many amazing things have been done on it, the ability is there for you to learn and make happen and you'd know it usually. and as a high end computer for me it wins hands down. I really want a high end Amiga but with the Amiga One and OS4 i think i'll wait.
but what was done with the Speccy was like turning water to wine, and i dont believe it will end. So for a higher end computer the Amiga is my choice, for the 8 bits Spectrum is my choice. the Spectrum is like the frog prince, embraced by dedicated and talented people who "kissed" it and made it into something more than maybe most thought it could ever be.
I cannot base a decision based on power or ability because that's comparing apples to oranges, an 8bit vs. a 32bit computer. ridiculous. you can't compare specs ( no pun int. ) in this case. ( although the Sam Coupe not being in the contest is a shame. its like the Spectrum in many ways, and loosely based on the LC3 'Loki Super Spectrum", which was unfortunately canned because it was to have spectrum compatibility that wouldve infringed on Amstrad's ownership rights of the Spectrum, and besides in an interview with Clive Sinclair he said they had no interest in developing it even if they could anyway. and Amstrad couldnt develop it because it was a future project and owned by Sinclair, which they did not have the rights to other than the Spectrum compatibility mode, but also showed no interest. if you really know the Sam it seems like youre on a 16 bit computer able to hold it's own against the ST and Amiga, and thats impressive. had it been in the competition and lost, at least to other 8 bits, that would have been a major injustice, and just another proof that it's a popularity contest. The Sam, although short lived licked the C64 and CPC and other 8bits no doubt about it. even if it beat the Spectrum i wouldnt feel so bad because it is an extension of it, so in my heart the Spectrum wouldn't REALLY have lost )
i was also irked at what i read on Micromart, which is something i read many times in many places. what is said is just unfair, in this case when speaking of the Amiga they generalize from the A500 to the A1200 but when speaking of the Spectrum they always refer to the 48k, as if there were no later models with some more features, memory, more ports and three channel sound besides the beeper. ( and ill always feel the beeper is better than the stupid pc speaker. even sampled or synthesized speech on the 48k sound timees better than the stupid pc speaker which is still part of current 'pcs' sold today ) this is very unfair in my opinion. when comparing the Spectrum, and they mean only the 48k, to the c64 and c128, the Amiga 500 all the way to the 1200 and 4000, and whatever else ( paraphrase from Micromart: "oh ,but it would be unfair to compare it to higher end Amigas than thesemodels", ie. power pc, etc ... as if this comparison to stock Amigas is not ridiculous already) mentioning all models of others in comparision to only the first and original Spectrum, is not fair at all.
and i say it's ridiculous because if people in general would put their pride aside and really look at things objectively they would have to give the Spectrum its due props if they are to be truly honest with themselves and open minded, but they do not, they don't get it and are just stubborn and stuck in their ways, which is to me what makes it all ridiculous, and as someone who frequented Amiga news sites, newsgroups and forums often I can tell you that they , many of them, are some stubborn bastards who'll listen to no reason and get into the dumbest arguments that almost makes me ashamd to ay i use an Amiga with these morons around.
this is also not a case of "first love" as someone said, thats a trendy, trite and overrated cliche with no substance except sounding 'nice'. that has nothing to do with anything, many first loves are very forgettable. its about "truth", and the "truth" is that the Spectrum is like a child born into poverty, who grows up and makes a success of itself, a selfmade man - from rags to riches by its own sweat and blood making something of itself, while the others are where they are because they inherited their fortune from momma and poppa.
so although i didnt want to vote, and i still feel the Spectrum may not win, and it will not reflect or change my opinion about either computer, youll be happy to know, i hope, that i did end up voting; and my vote went to the Spectrum
toodles.
Well done is all I can say. It's a shame some of the Amiga voters over at Micromart won't be reading this.
Good for you Amigo! :)
By the way everyone, *this* week in Micro Mart I've reviewed Cronosoft's Egghead in Space. A full page review in the mainstream press for a new Spectrum game in 2003 - not bad, eh?
Colin
Colin seems to be on a song! Way to go Colin! I hope this is just the start of the new age Speccy wave around the world! :)
Bytes:Chuntey - Spectrum tech blog.
eck, Hollywood? ;)
I hope Simon can continue to provide Spectrum games for you to write about, I'll certainly be doing my little bit, though one or two games a year is about as fast as I can go these days. Amigo and David are still working on Sid Spider of course, and I've received emails from one or two others who've decided to attempt some Spectrum games too. I wonder if anyone else might be persuaded to pick up the old Z80 assembler manual again?
Egghead Website
Arcade Game Designer
My itch.io page
Yeah, it brought back a few memories for me :)
Colin