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Other computers used to develop Speccy games

Anonymous XAnonymous X
edited December 2008 in Games
Y'know. "Other" 8-bit computers. Ones with Zilog 80 or cloned processors, usually. Quite often they were used to make Spectrum games.

Matthew Smith's Speccy games such as Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy were programmed on a TRS-80 (Model 4?).

Malcolm Evans of Trashman fame used a Sharp MZ-80B, according to an interview in the old Retrogamer fanzine (not the current magazine).

Bernie Drummond switched from a Speccy with Microdrive to an A*****d CPC according to an article I read in Crash years ago.

Any more commonly know examples out there?
Post edited by Anonymous X on

Comments

  • rich_chandlerrich_chandler
    edited December 2008
    Rafaelle Cecco used to use an IBM PC.
    I wanna tell you a story 'bout a woman I know...
  • Matt_BMatt_B
    edited December 2008
    Psion used a Digital VAX to develop their software.
  • LazarouLazarou
    edited December 2008
    The Oliver twins ported their stuff using a CPC too, I think. Unclean!

    Edit: Didn't a hell of a lot of 8-bit devs switch to PCs with PDS once that came out too? It's certainly mentioned a lot in interviews as I recall. But then, I guess those aren't other 8-bits, so don't technically count.
  • ADJBADJB
    edited December 2008
    Ultimate used a custom development system but I don't have any details.
  • Unknown
    edited December 2008
    Zari and Chris Wood used an Amstrad PCW 8256 for Super Hang On
  • Anonymous XAnonymous X
    edited December 2008
    ADJB wrote: »
    Ultimate used a custom development system but I don't have any details.
    A SAGE II computer apparently. I think.
  • JPickfordJPickford
    edited December 2008
    Tatung Einstein (MSX variant)
  • zxbrunozxbruno
    edited December 2008
    There was a particular system and I remember reading the story behind it at Speccy.org, but I can't find the link! :(
  • MetalbrainMetalbrain
    edited December 2008
    zxbruno wrote: »
    There was a particular system and I remember reading the story behind it at Speccy.org, but I can't find the link! :(

    It's the PDS, already mentioned by Lazarou:
    http://www.speccy.org/trastero/cosas/JL/PDS/Introduccion.html
  • zxbrunozxbruno
    edited December 2008
    There is someone else, can't remember if it was a company or individual, who use two 48Ks linked via RS232. One was used to code, and the other one to test the code. :)
  • ShiruShiru
    edited December 2008
    Oliver Twins used Amstrad CPC and later IBM PC to develop all his games.
    Raffaele Cecco used IBM PC for programming and Atari ST for graphics.
    Developers of A.T.F. used IBM PC and Atari ST too.
  • LCDLCD
    edited December 2008
    The GFX for Crackdown was done on Amiga with Deluxe Paint. There was a article series "Blueprint" in SU if I remember correctly. It described how some games was created.
  • rich_chandlerrich_chandler
    edited December 2008
    Metalbrain wrote: »
    It's the PDS, already mentioned by Lazarou:
    http://www.speccy.org/trastero/cosas/JL/PDS/Introduccion.html
    the classic PDS, written by Andrew Glaister, used by almost every game developer during the 1980s, and blindingly quick even on an 8086 PC).

    I've still got the old 6502 & Z80 versions of PDS 1, but they need the PDS parallel I/O card to run (they check for it on bootup), and you need the target computer interface. It was amazing to use after having hacked about with assemblers on the target machine though. You could use all the RAM in the target machine too, you only had to leave about 150 bytes for the PDS downloader software, you didn't need to bother about the OS memory at all. Gorgeous.
    http://www.glaister.com/History/Andy/Andy%20History.htm

    I think I've got a copy of it and the documentation on my desktop PC which unfortunately is broken at the moment.
    I wanna tell you a story 'bout a woman I know...
  • GeoffGeoff
    edited December 2008
    zxbruno wrote: »
    There is someone else, can't remember if it was a company or individual, who use two 48Ks linked via RS232. One was used to code, and the other one to test the code. :)

    I used two 48Ks connected by the network lead that came with Interface 1.
    It was a great setup when there was quite a bit of BASIC and look-up tables that had to be jigsawed together with Z80 code - just pass the code over to the machine with BASIC. No need to save every time I tested.

    "Spectrum Globeplotter" and "Other Worlds" (coming to WOS soon) were developed this way. They were not Games though.
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