Creating a Spectrum game that won't load...
Dear All,
I have recently been using my ZX Spectrum as a reference for the production of a new body of art work and something I keep coming back to is the loading screen. I have been trying understand the process of loading a game. I have an idea that would compromise of a Spectrum game that never loads, just continues to attempt to load, producing that amazing signature screen with yellow, blue, red and turquoise lines running up and down the sides. One idea I thought about was actually opening up a game cassette and cutting several different parts out, creating a continuous loop inside the cassette so that the same information just keeps feeding through. Would this just end up crashing the Spectrum? Any suggestions? I'd rather not go breaking apart all my 25year old games!
Thanks.
I have recently been using my ZX Spectrum as a reference for the production of a new body of art work and something I keep coming back to is the loading screen. I have been trying understand the process of loading a game. I have an idea that would compromise of a Spectrum game that never loads, just continues to attempt to load, producing that amazing signature screen with yellow, blue, red and turquoise lines running up and down the sides. One idea I thought about was actually opening up a game cassette and cutting several different parts out, creating a continuous loop inside the cassette so that the same information just keeps feeding through. Would this just end up crashing the Spectrum? Any suggestions? I'd rather not go breaking apart all my 25year old games!
Thanks.
Post edited by Rhys Coren on
Comments
If you want to show all headerinfo from tape then you should try to load a non-existing program.
Something like this LOAD "NON EXISTING PROGRAM"
If your tape was looped, then you'd get a continuous sequence of images being loaded, headers and all.
Or you could just use the SCREEN$ screensaver.
D.
years ago a friend showed me a Randomise USR command..and if you didn't know better you'd think it was a game loading..
as for the loading screen.. make one up in ya pc or speccy.. it needs to be in SCR format.. I guess you can use BMP > scr etc.. load into an emulator and use a virtual tape..
the first thing.. you'd want a very simple loader as mentioned before...
10 load "" screen$
90 goto 10
now if you wanted to fake it loading a speccy game, you could put code in between 11-89
to get that to auto run.. you need to do
save "whatever" LINE 10
and that'll auto run line 10...
that'll load pics full stop..
you might wanna disable the break key also.. if the keyboard is near also.. someone might be tempted to re-live their youth and do a "kev is cool" type program :)
the infinate loop.. ah easier than ya think.. use either a pc or mp3 player and loop the sound file :) and keep them tapes safe.. it'll only load up screen$ files again and again..
RANDOMIZE USR 1234
for that last bit, fog, creating the infinite loop on the actual spectrum itself?
Yes, just set it up SAVING random junk. That way you'll get the loading stripes but won't need a cassette or anything.
Of course, you'll want to skip the "Start Tape" message, so you should just call the relevant pieces of ROM... Don't have my Logan & O'Hara to hand right now though....
&e7
I was gonna suggest using a DivIde into the back with a virtual tape.. but event thats too fast.think of it like this the mp3 or computer is ONLY replacing the tape deck.. you still load the sound via it into the spectrum...
to get something like a tape that would loop..hhmm is tricky.. with an pc or mp3 player you just put the "song" in loop mode and done.. and it's infinite.
3 options really
1) code something to fake the loading / saving.. maybe you would need assembler.. maybe you could get away with using data statements etc.. but with that you have the limit of memory..
2)the far easier method.. use an mp3 on loop or a pc on loop to a REAL spectrum.. you can of course generate the tape in a pc and it'll give the same loading tones etc..
3) TOTALLY fake it by using video editing and play it back via a pc.
Only lasts a few minutes.
D.
In "Ah, the tape loading era!" I went to some trouble to sync up the audio of gfx loading with the visual effects of gfx loading.
(the tape audio is too quiet in this YouTube link to really hear the effect though)
Awesome, thanks for the help but can I just ask, for option 2, what do you mean exactly by use an Mp3 on loop? I am a novice and apologise for needing this explained so thoroughly!!!!
e.g.
[/QUOTE]
This basic program will load in a screen, then look for another so if your mp3 conisted of the basic loader, then a screen (header + 6912 bytes of screen), then another and another you could produce a long mp3 with gaps inbetween the screens so people could admire them.
Just the screens, not the whole game. Also you would need to consider turbo loads as they would not load in a standard loader. You may be best loading games into an emulator and saving the screens one at a time, then creating the mp3.
are you on about various loading screens from different games OR ones you have made yourself?
the thing is , if they are from games / others work they will probably use custom none standard loaders..
so you'd want to do a grab of the screen via say an emulator or use the scr's listed on here... and make / put them on a tape..
the loops I'm on about... well 2....
1) for the program.. so it runs forever
2) for the pretend tape (aka mp3 player) .. remember speccy files are just sound and the computer changes that to code..
give more detail.. u gonna use a real speccy , which model.. also do u use emulators?
the bottom line is, far easier to prepare using an emulator to make the "tape" then just use a REAL machine to show it.
as for leaving a gap between the pics .. i'd do a track play list.. and make 1 track silent for say 30 seconds or whatever... and just call that as every 2nd "song" if your machine has a playlist facility.
That is an excellent idea! It's unknown at the moment if the feed is going to be tape, pc, mp3 player or other. If its pc then I would have each screen as mp3 with the pause track in between. If the source is an mp3 player you would have to make a long mp3 complete with gaps.
and it flipped pics etc.. the pic was nodes of yesod, but they'd messed about with it..
also a image of popeye animated was on it as well, does it ring any bells with anyone
there is no way you can't do it without either an mp3 / cd or pc dealing / sending the audio to the spectrum.. simply due to the loop.. try to find a tape deck that does loop, from what I understand old ansa-phones use to do loops.
if your trying to remain faithful to the original thing, thats impossible for 1 reason.. custom loaders.. unless you know how they work and know assembler/z80.. then you can't be 100% true to how they were.. even the coders here, I bet most of them wouldn't bother going to that much detail, simply because people wouldn't recall UNLESS they are proper speccy heads.
lets face it how many people will remember how most games load.. its a LONG time ago, unless it had a special feature like a counter /scroller etc?
it's a bit like your using a sledge hammer to crack a walnut :)
it's a bit like the loader I made using advice from here.. if a game is problematic on the 128.. I just copy / paste it onto the front of the wav file, save it out again..tzx it.. job done :)
Both of those programs were in Your Spectrum #19: Movin 'n' Groovin and Sprite High, No Limit.
All you need is an auto-reverse tape deck, surely? You know, one of those which plays to the end of side A, goes 'clunk' and then plays side B without having to turn the tape over...
would you still go for the mp3 solution.. I mean you have the option of coding something, but would you be bothered to out of curiousity?
I remember having a tape to tape (I still have it somewhere).. and deck 2 you could set as continuous play, but not auto reverse.. obviously thats the ONLY reason I bought such a unit :D *cough *
thanks Battle Bunny for the help :)