And speaking of making music with a Spectrum, this is probably my favourite "Fred Harris demonstrates something" clip - this time the SpecDrum.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cLfYT6yXgEc
MORE COWBELL FRED!
― snoball, Friday, 28 September 2007 23:36 (5 years ago) Permalink
presumably they were just using the Spectrum as a sequencer rather than as a sound source.
I think this was the case, yes. Prob seems less cool now than using it as a sound source*, but ooth they must've made their own interface to plug into the raw circuitboard exposed at the back-right, which is cool in its own right.
*) also cmon twas a simple on-off-to-the-speaker thing, that would not be specific to the computer and sound exactly the same made by one's own flipflop circuits or whatever.
― anatol_merklich, Friday, 28 September 2007 23:50 (5 years ago) Permalink
they must've made their own interface
The interface was a commercial product, but maybe the band were involved in designing it? There's a whole pile of stuff here: http://www.worldofspectrum.org/ ...including a lot of information on hardware. As a BBC Micro owner that was the thing I envied Spectrum users, because they had a vast range of hardware for that expansion slot.
― snoball, Saturday, 29 September 2007 00:12 (5 years ago) Permalink
-- snoball, Saturday, 29 September 2007 00:36 (1 hour ago)
AWESOME
― max r, Saturday, 29 September 2007 01:18 (5 years ago) Permalink
"it's like a word processor for drum beats"
― max r, Saturday, 29 September 2007 01:22 (5 years ago) Permalink
There's another Speccy/puter mag thread somewhere where I bigged up Sinclair User, which, I believe, became the daddy Speccy mag from issue 56 onward.
― DavidM, Saturday, 29 September 2007 09:07 (5 years ago) Permalink
It always had really really awful covers though, which went from cheesy photo-covers in the early days to garish, messy drawings in its heyday.
Okay, WHAT were they thinking?
― DavidM, Saturday, 29 September 2007 09:09 (5 years ago) Permalink
I am gonna play the shit out of Marsport today.
― Noodle Vague, Saturday, 29 September 2007 10:52 (5 years ago) Permalink
b-b-but he's not dancing with a spectrum. he's dancing with a ZX81, isn't he?
fools.
i started with sinclair user, then progressed to crash and -- occasionally -- your spectrum. when your spectrum became your sinclair and started ripping off smash hits left, right and centre, it became my core speccy read, and i heartily wish i'd kept all my back issues. t'zer! markus berkmann! phil south! these people helped define my youth. and the free viz giveaway helped define my puerile adulthood.
xpost lucky sod. i need to shuttle about between hospitals and in-laws' houses and shit.
― grimly fiendish, Saturday, 29 September 2007 10:57 (5 years ago) Permalink
:-(
Hope everything's okay there dude.
― Noodle Vague, Saturday, 29 September 2007 10:59 (5 years ago) Permalink
ach, it's a slowly ongoing process involving my ageing father-in-law and his surprising lazarus-style japes ;)
― grimly fiendish, Saturday, 29 September 2007 11:07 (5 years ago) Permalink
i did keep all my back issues :(
there's always this
― DG, Saturday, 29 September 2007 11:09 (5 years ago) Permalink
First snag: can't find any squared paper in the house and I'm too hungover to go buy some. But Marsport is the most user-friendly of the Gargoyle adventures because of its grid layout, so I'm going for it freehand on plain paper.
― Noodle Vague, Saturday, 29 September 2007 12:17 (5 years ago) Permalink
I dunno, I had Marsport, but I never liked it as much as TNN and DD. Partly cos it didn't quite have the atmosphere, but partly also because it was an example of a software house coming up with an innovative idea and then repeating it with diminishing returns.
It was like Ultimate after Knight Lore. Alien 8 was OK, but then they just churned out further Knight Lore copies to ever reduced effect.
As to the plastic/rubber keyboard thing, I seem to remember that this was keenly debated by connoisseurs of Daley Thompson's Dectathlon. iirc, the plastic keyboard was WELL-favoured for the running events
― PhilK, Saturday, 29 September 2007 12:55 (5 years ago) Permalink
Oh yeah grimly - wasn't there a pre-"Urban Upstart" game by the same fella? I seem to recall that it involved a desert island. It was my second favourite adventure game iirc (out of two, natch), but I only got about 1/3 the way through it.
― PhilK, Saturday, 29 September 2007 12:59 (5 years ago) Permalink
the plastic keyboard was WELL-favoured for the running events
The Spectrum +3's keyboard was essential for my dominance in Hypersports. Rubbish for typing but excellent for doing the tricky left/right/breathe combination for swimming, and also hair trigger enough for me to get a perfect score in skeet shooting practically every time.
xpost
― snoball, Saturday, 29 September 2007 13:00 (5 years ago) Permalink
Yeah, the plastic keyboard had quite a responsive kickback, iirc.
― PhilK, Saturday, 29 September 2007 13:06 (5 years ago) Permalink
I'd forgotten how irritating it is when one of those Sept warrior things mugs you and you have to go back to the start and go through all the same tasks again like a soft fucking bastard.
― Noodle Vague, Saturday, 29 September 2007 13:08 (5 years ago) Permalink
I seem to recall that it involved a desert island.
This narrows it down to 90% of adventures.
There's an I Love Games thread about modern text adventures somewhere.
― Raw Patrick, Saturday, 29 September 2007 14:02 (5 years ago) Permalink
No.
90% of adventures involve dwarves.
― PhilK, Saturday, 29 September 2007 15:13 (5 years ago) Permalink
Both are true. 85% of adventures involve dwarves on desert islands.
― Alba, Saturday, 29 September 2007 15:20 (5 years ago) Permalink
The very best thing for Daley running etc was a joystick which was both
a) very small (ie fingertip control rather than grabaround) and b) programmable (ie up, down, left, right, fire could be assigned to the keys of your choice).
My devious trick was to assign the running buttons to Down and Right, so that the distance between the two was very short.
― anatol_merklich, Saturday, 29 September 2007 15:56 (5 years ago) Permalink
Yes. I remember insanely waggling my Kempston from side to side, while a vein no doubt bulged on my forehead. Didn't think of the down/right trick though.....
I remember that you couldn't do this in front of anyone else (esp. brothers etc.) as the proto-masturbatory symbolism was bound to provoke laughter.
― PhilK, Saturday, 29 September 2007 16:27 (5 years ago) Permalink
Ha! Pashmina!
I've just done a bit of googling and found out that the "Forbidden" part of Dun Darach was originally called "Lady Q's" and was a brothel.
I got a very early copy, and mine said "Lady Q's" (not "Ladyo's" apparently) and NOT "Forbidden".
I still couldn't find a way in, but some early copies must have got out before the sign was changed to "Forbidden".
Still the intriguing possibility exists that some may have got out with the centre bit still in.....
― PhilK, Saturday, 29 September 2007 17:31 (5 years ago) Permalink
"invincible island", it'll be. never played it myself, but think i will:
― grimly fiendish, Saturday, 29 September 2007 20:23 (5 years ago) Permalink
cocks, obviously no hotlinking to that one. WoS wanks.
http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseek.cgi?regexp=^Invincible+Island$&pub=^Richard+Shepherd+Software+Ltd$&loadpics=on
― grimly fiendish, Saturday, 29 September 2007 20:24 (5 years ago) Permalink
JESUS CHRIST SIMON
http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0006490
― grimly fiendish, Saturday, 29 September 2007 20:25 (5 years ago) Permalink
― Summer Slam! (Ste), Wednesday, 14 March 2012 11:54 (1 year ago) Permalink
gaming has gone downhill since the 1980s: discuss
― Kony Montana: "Say hello to my invisible friend" (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 14 March 2012 12:42 (1 year ago) Permalink
challops have gone downhill.
― ledge, Wednesday, 14 March 2012 12:56 (1 year ago) Permalink
― Summer Slam! (Ste), Wednesday, 14 March 2012 13:00 (1 year ago) Permalink
RIP Joffa (3:23 into the first docu)
was looking through Javascript books recently and discovered one by Raffaele Cecco of Exolon/Cybernoid fame
― instant coffee happening between us (a passing spacecadet), Wednesday, 14 March 2012 23:08 (1 year ago) Permalink
barry mcguigan boxing. has still never been bettered for pugilistic thrills and strategy. daley thompson sports a close runner up
― darraghmac, Thursday, 27 September 2007 13:47 (4 years ago)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
― truth fromgbs (darraghmac), Wednesday, 14 March 2012 23:18 (1 year ago) Permalink
Frank Bruno Boxing had better racial stereotypes tho
― Kony Montana: "Say hello to my invisible friend" (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 14 March 2012 23:33 (1 year ago) Permalink
pretty sure this game finished off my keyboard
― Kony Montana: "Say hello to my invisible friend" (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 14 March 2012 23:34 (1 year ago) Permalink
spectrum keyboard held up better than a, b megadrive buttons under the stress of olympic gold 'battery' technique
― truth fromgbs (darraghmac), Wednesday, 14 March 2012 23:35 (1 year ago) Permalink
the old rubber spectrum keyboard eventually stopped working on some keys, the contacts on the sheet underneath must have worn out
― Kony Montana: "Say hello to my invisible friend" (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 14 March 2012 23:36 (1 year ago) Permalink
luckily this happened just as i was getting old enough to buy booze
― Kony Montana: "Say hello to my invisible friend" (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 14 March 2012 23:37 (1 year ago) Permalink
'play the big fist' lol
― a dramatic lemon curd experience (snoball), Wednesday, 14 March 2012 23:37 (1 year ago) Permalink
IIRC the +2/+3 keyboard held up better especially to the rigours of Hypersports.
― a dramatic lemon curd experience (snoball), Wednesday, 14 March 2012 23:38 (1 year ago) Permalink
i spent some of my student grant on a Spectrum 128K, obviously they were right to abolish the grant system
― Kony Montana: "Say hello to my invisible friend" (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 14 March 2012 23:41 (1 year ago) Permalink