8-bit topics!
bsc
How come that all you people are talking about Win95/98 and all that
crap in an amstrad 8 bit related newsgroup? I wonder if anyone
of you actually owns/owned a REAL amstrad CPC.
Anyway, those 8-bit days were the best I had concerning computers.
BSC
Lazy Bone
Hey BSC,
I have owned around 15 in my life - 9 at one stage - but now I have
still got 1 very expanded CPC 664 that I really really really really
really really want a hard drive for...
Julian Cassin
Andrew P. Cadley
On Tue, 4 Nov 1997, bsc wrote:
> How come that all you people are talking about Win95/98 and all that
> crap in an amstrad 8 bit related newsgroup? I wonder if anyone
> of you actually owns/owned a REAL amstrad CPC.
I've got 3, none of which work perfectly. :-(
> Anyway, those 8-bit days were the best I had concerning computers.
You mean they're over?
AndyC
Matthew Breckon
bsc <b...@cmiag.com> wrote in article <345FA2...@cmiag.com>...
> How come that all you people are talking about Win95/98 and all that
> crap in an amstrad 8 bit related newsgroup? I wonder if anyone
> of you actually owns/owned a REAL amstrad CPC.
>
>
>
Maybe times have moved on a little bit. Even so, I still have my CPC on the
floor of my room, whereas my PC now sits on my desk. I even use my CPC
sometimes!
I got quite into the CPC scene towards the end although I never wrote
anything outstanding.
I wrote the Interrupt Demo 1 which was reviewed in BTL 2 69% (Well it was
my first demo), I even started work on the Purple is Not A Crime Demo but
the other person working on it with me didn't finish their part of it so it
never got released. In fact it's still on a disc at home somewhere.
The Amstrad is the best computer I have ever written programs for. I'm now
programming in C/C++ and Assembler on the PC but it's not the same.
The CPC had a fixed architecture unlike the PC. You knew that if you were
writing it for a 6128 it would work on most of the computers in the Amstrad
world (Sorry 464 users!).
Nowadays to make sure you get compatability for everybody you must write
drivers for soundcards/2d video cards/3d accelerators. (Or borrow someone
elses such as Univbe etc).
As for emulators on the PC, well neat idea but if possible I still transfer
the discs back to the Amstrad to play them.
I've just started playing games on it again and I reckon Rick Dangerous and
Rick Dangerous II are probably two of the best games I've ever played (even
better than most PC games!)
The whole concept of the PC is both exciting and really annoying.
So just remember the CPC is and was the best!
Matt (Interrupt)
Richard Fairhurst
Kev Thacker <ktha...@krisalis.co.uk> wrote:
> At that time, I didn't know the CPC could do it. I was very suprised
> and eager to learn how to do the demo effects. I collected a few demos
> and watched them for hints and new effects.
And it'd be nice if people were still coding CPC stuff instead of
writing yet more f***ing emulators... anything, even demos. Some of the
new French demos are very nice, but just as many are horribly derivative
(message writer, plasma, etc. etc.), and there hasn't been anything
decent from Germany for ages - not since the Face Hugger Ultimate
Megademo, in fact, and I never even concurred with the general adulation
heaped on that.
It saddens me that nothing has yet beaten Logon's "The Demo" - a six
year old production.
--
Richard Fairhurst http://www.systemed.u-net.com/
A million years on and still in trouble:
put down your fists and enter with a shovel
Sam Holloway
>On Tue, 4 Nov 1997, bsc wrote:
>> How come that all you people are talking about Win95/98 and all that
>> crap in an amstrad 8 bit related newsgroup? I wonder if anyone
>> of you actually owns/owned a REAL amstrad CPC.
Sadly, it's owned, but that may all change in the future after Alan's comments
on Granada Plus last night. (Anyone remember SugarMan the cartoon in one of
the Amstrad mags?)
I would have thought most of our readership here has, too, judging by the
conversations I see. And, yes, the 8-bit days really were the best of
<someone's> life, naturally.
----------------------------------------
The number you have dialled is imaginary
Please rotate your phone by pi/2 radians
and try again. Thankyou.
Sam Holloway sr...@cam.ac.uk
----------------------------------------
Kev Thacker
On Tue, 04 Nov 1997 23:31:10 +0100, bsc <b...@cmiag.com> wrote:
>How come that all you people are talking about Win95/98 and all that
>crap in an amstrad 8 bit related newsgroup? I wonder if anyone
>of you actually owns/owned a REAL amstrad CPC.
>
>Anyway, those 8-bit days were the best I had concerning computers.
Same here. I had many hours of fun trying to copy disc protections
using my own FDC code, converting Atari ST musics to the Amstrad,
converting Atari graphics to the CPC, writing my own sprite routines.
One of the best days was writing to a contact in Switzerland, part of
the UNIX demo team. He sent me some cool demos and explained how to
use vertical splitting technique in demos.
At that time, I didn't know the CPC could do it. I was very suprised
and eager to learn how to do the demo effects. I collected a few demos
and watched them for hints and new effects.
I've got two Amstrads sitting on the floor next to my PC. I'm not
using them because I'm developing a CPC+ emu for the PC running under
Win95 and DirectX.
The current status (it is still in development and not ready for
testing release yet):
- it supports ASIC sprites, raster interrupts and line split
- it emulates CPC CRTC type 0, and some demos work.
- it has a built in debugger (+ you can view those ASIC sprites)
Look forward to it, I hope that it will emulate all the demos and
games properly.
Kev
http://andercheran.aiind.upv.es/~amstrad
Author of A-CPC for Amiga and soon Arnold for PC.
Richard Fairhurst
bsc <b...@cmiag.com> wrote:
> How come that all you people are talking about Win95/98 and all that
> crap in an amstrad 8 bit related newsgroup? I wonder if anyone
> of you actually owns/owned a REAL amstrad CPC.
Sure - I do believe I talked to you at Euromeeting '92 about 'em. Hi
Oliver. :-)
Nich Campbell
Richard Fairhurst wrote:
> It saddens me that nothing has yet beaten Logon's "The Demo" - a six
> year old production.
>
But Palatine will change all that, we hope.
--
Nicholas "Nich" Campbell (N.A.Ca...@durham.ac.uk)
Richard Fairhurst
Matthew Breckon <BreckoMJ.i_don...@bp.com> wrote:
> I wrote the Interrupt Demo 1 which was reviewed in BTL 2 69% (Well it was
> my first demo), I even started work on the Purple is Not A Crime Demo but
> the other person working on it with me didn't finish their part of it so it
> never got released. In fact it's still on a disc at home somewhere.
Hey, release it anyway! I was really looking forward to that.
(And 69% isn't a bad mark by BTL standards... (-: )
Angela Cook
Kev Thacker wrote in message <3460388c...@reading.news.pipex.net>...
>On Tue, 04 Nov 1997 23:31:10 +0100, bsc <b...@cmiag.com> wrote:
>
>>How come that all you people are talking about Win95/98 and all that
>>crap in an amstrad 8 bit related newsgroup? I wonder if anyone
>>of you actually owns/owned a REAL amstrad CPC.
I have a nice Plus on my desk (even though I spilt coffee on the keyboard
the other day) along with my PC. In this room (the computer room) we also
have another PC, a quite nicely expanded PCW, a slightly modified 6128,
another 6128 and various other odds and sods lying around. My bedroom is
also full with computer pieces and my parents bedroom (which was huge) now
can just about fit the bed in it. The house is over run with CPCs/PCWs and
older PCs (including a 1640/1512 I think. And A Nimbus 186...)
- Angela
Angela Cook
Nich Campbell wrote in message <3460B6...@durham.ac.uk>...
>Richard Fairhurst wrote:
>
>> It saddens me that nothing has yet beaten Logon's "The Demo" - a six
>> year old production.
>>
>
>But Palatine will change all that, we hope.
I saw some of it at the BTL meeting in the summer. It has a nice font...
Ivar Fiske
Sam Holloway wrote:
> Sadly, it's owned, but that may all change in the future after Alan's comments
> on Granada Plus last night. (Anyone remember SugarMan the cartoon in one of
> the Amstrad mags?)
What did he say?
---
Ivar Fiske
Kev Thacker
On Wed, 5 Nov 1997 18:05:35 +0000, ric...@systemeD.u-net.comma
(Richard Fairhurst) wrote:
>Kev Thacker <ktha...@krisalis.co.uk> wrote:
>
>writing yet more f***ing emulators... anything, even demos. Some of the
I believe it creates more interest.
>It saddens me that nothing has yet beaten Logon's "The Demo" - a six
>year old production.
I hope that once I have mastered emulation of it, I might be able to
find some interesting new effects to try out on the CPC (especially
CPC+).
The aim of my emulator is that you might be able to try and develop
some demos and games using it.
Kev
Matthew Breckon
Richard Fairhurst <ric...@systemeD.u-net.comma> wrote in article
<199711051...@p23.nas3.is3.u-net.net>...
> It saddens me that nothing has yet beaten Logon's "The Demo" - a six
> year old production.
>
I still think The Demo was the best on the CPC and it's probably one of the
most polished demos I have ever seen on any computer. (even PC)
Any comments?
(Apart from the fact that it was all scrolling messages ;-)
Matt
Matthew Breckon
Richard Fairhurst <ric...@systemeD.u-net.comma> wrote in article
<199711051...@p23.nas3.is3.u-net.net>...
>
>
> (And 69% isn't a bad mark by BTL standards... (-: )
>
Does the newsgroup accept zipped binaries?
Matt
Lazy Bone
> I would have thought most of our readership here has, too, judging by the
> conversations I see. And, yes, the 8-bit days really were the best of
> <someone's> life, naturally.
Yep, definately the best - that is when you had some CHOICE in buying
a computer at the local computer store. Now if you want choice, you
have to use mail order :(
Besides - is anyone willing to sell me a harddrive for my CPC?
Regards
Julian Cassin
Simon Matthews
Angela Cook wrote:
>
> Nich Campbell wrote in message <3460B6...@durham.ac.uk>...
> >Richard Fairhurst wrote:
> >
> >> year old production.
> >>
> >
>
> I saw some of it at the BTL meeting in the summer. It has a nice font...
And large nipples.....
Hmmmm.
--
Simon Matthews
s.j.ma...@nospam.lhmc.ac.uk
It's 1500 miles to Ankh-Morpork. We've got 363 elephants, 50 carts of
forage, the monsoon's about to break and we're wearing...we're wearing
...sort of things, like glass, only dark...dark things on our eyes...
--------------- Terry Pratchett, Moving Pictures ---------------------
Richard Fairhurst
Matthew Breckon <BreckoMJ.i_don...@bp.com> wrote:
> [Purple is not a Crime demo]
> Whats the best way to release it these days? E-mail, disk or what?
> Does the newsgroup accept zipped binaries?
It doesn't, but you can upload anything to the incoming directory of
that splendid site, ftp.nvg.unit.no . Alternatively, e-mail a uuEncoded
version to me and I'll get it distributed postally...
James Coupe
In article <01bcea93$f8e23e40$fa31...@euwyfw10209.WYF.EU.BP.COM>,
Matthew Breckon <BreckoMJ.i_don...@bp.com> writes
>Richard Fairhurst <ric...@systemeD.u-net.comma> wrote in article
><199711051...@p23.nas3.is3.u-net.net>...
>>
>> Hey, release it anyway! I was really looking forward to that.
>>
>> (And 69% isn't a bad mark by BTL standards... (-: )
>>
>Does the newsgroup accept zipped binaries?
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Don't post a zipped binary here but you could post a URL for it. Try
uploading it to ftp.nvg.unit.no or ftp.ibp.fr (? - correct address,
don't use it). Then post us the URL.
Coming on-line expecting to download say 200 messages from newsgroups
(about average for me, I'd say) and finding that in amongst them are a
few 120K files is more annoying than the most annoying thing you can
think of. Had to download a Duke map the other day :( (on another
newsgroup).
--
James Coupe (remove items of food to reply via e-mail)
Dick: I lost your number....
Lucy: I work at the sheriff's office! You could have dialed 911!
Andrew Cadley
Matthew Breckon wrote:
>
> Richard Fairhurst <ric...@systemeD.u-net.comma> wrote in article
> <199711051...@p23.nas3.is3.u-net.net>...
> I still think The Demo was the best on the CPC and it's probably one of the
> most polished demos I have ever seen on any computer. (even PC)
>
> Any comments?
No, best demo has to be Zap T Balls. :-)
AndyC
Marcus Durham
In article <3462F0...@uea.ac.uk>, Andrew Cadley
<A.P.C...@uea.ac.uk> cheerily wrote:
[snip]
>
>No, best demo has to be Zap T Balls. :-)
>
mark as high as it did is beyond me! Once you have played the superb
Pang there is no comparison. I'd give Pang 95%, I'd give Zap T Crap 15%!
--
Marcus E. Durham
http://www.zenn.demon.co.uk/index.htm
"We're the Sweeney son and we haven't had our dinner"
Andrew P. Cadley
On Fri, 7 Nov 1997, Marcus Durham wrote:
> In article <3462F0...@uea.ac.uk>, Andrew Cadley
> <A.P.C...@uea.ac.uk> cheerily wrote:
> [snip]
> >
> >No, best demo has to be Zap T Balls. :-)
> >
> What an over-rated piece of crap. How the hell AA managed to give it a
> mark as high as it did is beyond me! Once you have played the superb
> Pang there is no comparison. I'd give Pang 95%, I'd give Zap T Crap 15%!
>
True, but it did have *marginaly* more playability than the average demo. :-)
AndyC
Richard Fairhurst
Marcus Durham <Mar...@zenn.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> [Zap't'Balls]
> What an over-rated piece of crap. How the hell AA managed to give it a
> mark as high as it did is beyond me! Once you have played the superb
> Pang there is no comparison. I'd give Pang 95%, I'd give Zap T Crap 15%!
Although ZTB's collision detection does widdle all over Pang's...
The main problem with ZTB is that, despite the clever coding, it smells
too strongly of "amateur release". It wasn't well enough playtested,
there were some idiotic compatibility faults, the multiload design was
tatty, and although the intro was a lovely demo, it has no place on a
commercial game.
To my mind, that missing level of polish is the crucial detail which
marks the difference between an ok game like ZTB and a classic like
Spindizzy (or, to be fair, Prehistorik II).
Oh yeah, and the fact you don't get nerds like Knutschfleck deifying
Spindizzy was another strike against Zap't'Balls (ctd. BTL 1). :-)
Marcus Durham
In article <199711081...@p22.nas2.is2.u-net.net>, Richard
Fairhurst <ric...@systemeD.u-net.comma> cheerily wrote:
[snip]
>The main problem with ZTB is that, despite the clever coding, it smells
>too strongly of "amateur release". It wasn't well enough playtested,
>there were some idiotic compatibility faults, the multiload design was
>tatty, and although the intro was a lovely demo, it has no place on a
>commercial game.
The graphics are also tatty, the balls don't bounce realistically, and
it has the playability of a mouldy banana.
Richard Fairhurst
Marcus Durham <Mar...@zenn.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> The graphics are also tatty
I wouldn't say that - the artists of Rainbow Islands might be reading
this. :-)
Nich Campbell
Richard Fairhurst wrote:
> Oh yeah, and the fact you don't get nerds like Knutschfleck deifying
> Spindizzy was another strike against Zap't'Balls (ctd. BTL 1). :-)
>
And what's wrong with Spindizzy?
Sam Holloway
In article <3465C5...@durham.ac.uk> Nich Campbell <N.A.Ca...@durham.ac.uk> writes:
>From: Nich Campbell <N.A.Ca...@durham.ac.uk>
>Subject: Spindizzy (was: Zap't'Balls - WGAS?, which in turn was: 8-bit topics!)
>Date: Sun, 09 Nov 1997 14:14:06 +0000
>Richard Fairhurst wrote:
>> Oh yeah, and the fact you don't get nerds like Knutschfleck deifying
>> Spindizzy was another strike against Zap't'Balls (ctd. BTL 1). :-)
>>
>And what's wrong with Spindizzy?
Marvellous game, IMHO. I loved it when you were on a screen with enemy wotsits
out to get you. You changed shape and REALLY confused everyone else...
Matthew Breckon
James Coupe <ja...@obeah.demon.co.uk.SPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMEGGSCHIPSSPAM> wrote
in article <4qBmcAA7...@obeah.demon.co.uk>...
>
> No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
>
> (about average for me, I'd say) and finding that in amongst them are a
> few 120K files is more annoying than the most annoying thing you can
> think of. Had to download a Duke map the other day :( (on another
> newsgroup).
>
> --
Sorry I wasn't thinking straight coz I'm using a link through my company.
It seems to be quite fast! Sorry!
I'll upload it to my web page sometime or send it to the correct place
Thanks
Matt
Andrew P. Cadley
On Mon, 10 Nov 1997, Simon Forrester wrote:
> Right then. Here's how it goes. It was my first EVER day on the job, and
> so I was understandably in a good mood and feeling generous. And even when
> we gave it the mark we did, everybody started screaming! So why, now, does
> everyone suddenly agree with me?
Because sometimes Simon, even you are right. ;-)
AndyC
James Coupe
In article <sforrester-10...@172.18.62.107>, Simon Forrester
<sforr...@futurenet.com> writes
>In article <jelTbHAi...@zenn.demon.co.uk>, Marcus Durham
><Mar...@zenn.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> In article <3462F0...@uea.ac.uk>, Andrew Cadley
>> <A.P.C...@uea.ac.uk> cheerily wrote:
>> [snip]
>> >
>> >No, best demo has to be Zap T Balls. :-)
>> >
>> mark as high as it did is beyond me! Once you have played the superb
>> Pang there is no comparison. I'd give Pang 95%, I'd give Zap T Crap 15%!
>
>so I was understandably in a good mood and feeling generous. And even when
>we gave it the mark we did, everybody started screaming! So why, now, does
>everyone suddenly agree with me?
>
Because it doesn't really matter now;)
But seriously, the only people who I know really screamed loudly about
it were the Continental types and, not meaning to use sweeping
generalisations (but doing it rather effectively), they (the French, in
particular) seem to value graphics over gameplay any day (though they do
sometimes come up with some cracking games at the same time).
Richard Fairhurst
Matthew Breckon <BreckoMJ.i_don...@bp.com> wrote:
> I still think The Demo was the best on the CPC and it's probably one of the
> most polished demos I have ever seen on any computer. (even PC)
>
> Any comments?
>
> (Apart from the fact that it was all scrolling messages ;-)
Scrolling messages are great, though: I'd far rather read opinionated
spleen about other demo coders than watch jerky vector balls chug around
at 25Hz. Speaking of which, I loaded Face Hugger's Ultimate Megademo for
the first time in ages the other day: nice intro, nice Lemmings part,
but the rest just seemed to prove that the Amstrad will never be an
Amiga...
Marcus Durham
[snip]
>So why, now, does
>everyone suddenly agree with me?
Because these days a few people have actually played it. I rather think
it's the same problem as the new Elite games had. The magazines said it
was great, then it turned out that they were a pile of doggy do. If
you've played Pang beforehand there is no comparison.
Richard Fairhurst
Nich Campbell <N.A.Ca...@durham.ac.uk> wrote:
> Richard Fairhurst wrote:
>
> > Oh yeah, and the fact you don't get nerds like Knutschfleck deifying
> > Spindizzy was another strike against Zap't'Balls (ctd. BTL 1). :-)
>
> And what's wrong with Spindizzy?
There's nothing wrong with Spindizzy, which is why I called it a classic
in one of the paragraphs you snipped... :-)
Simon Forrester
> In article <3462F0...@uea.ac.uk>, Andrew Cadley
> <A.P.C...@uea.ac.uk> cheerily wrote:
> [snip]
> >
> >No, best demo has to be Zap T Balls. :-)
> >
> What an over-rated piece of crap. How the hell AA managed to give it a
> mark as high as it did is beyond me! Once you have played the superb
> Pang there is no comparison. I'd give Pang 95%, I'd give Zap T Crap 15%!
Right then. Here's how it goes. It was my first EVER day on the job, and
so I was understandably in a good mood and feeling generous. And even when
we gave it the mark we did, everybody started screaming! So why, now, does
everyone suddenly agree with me?
--
Simon Forrester http://www.futurenet.com sforr...@futurenet.com
-SFNet- -cult tv- -MacWeb-
Trek, B5, Dwarf, For the cooler kind THE independent UK
and loads more of couch potato Mac resource
Simon Forrester
In article <199711081...@p22.nas2.is2.u-net.net>,
ric...@systemeD.u-net.comma (Richard Fairhurst) wrote:
> The main problem with ZTB is that, despite the clever coding, it smells
> too strongly of "amateur release". It wasn't well enough playtested,
> there were some idiotic compatibility faults, the multiload design was
> tatty, and although the intro was a lovely demo, it has no place on a
> commercial game.
I just didn't think it played very well - you couldn't run off the side of
platforms, there was no good weighting to the characters, and the garish
colours got in the way.
Richard Fairhurst
Simon Forrester <sforr...@futurenet.com> wrote:
> Right then. Here's how it goes. It was my first EVER day on the job, and
> so I was understandably in a good mood and feeling generous. And even when
> we gave it the mark we did, everybody started screaming! So why, now, does
> everyone suddenly agree with me?
Originally, a small minority of vociferous "szeners" (principally the
HJT, BENG! and cronies) had this great vision of Zap't'Balls being the
start of a bright new future for the CPC, envisaging thousands of
fabulous new releases all coded by enthusiasts. The fact that the game
wasn't that great got lost in this quasi-religious crusade - "we are the
new saviours of the CPC, etc." - and when you make even the slightest
impartial criticism of someone's religion, such as awarding it 85%
rather than 99%, they sometimes react beyond all proportion.
Of course, despite the szene-crazed bleatings of a certain PD columnist,
this wonderful future never actually materialised. Since most of the
nutters have pissed off to the Archimedes by now (no, really), you can
say what you like about ZTB and no-one cares.
It's quite telling to read the intro to Elmsoft's Chain Demo, which is
basically the precursor of Zap't'Balls - all the programming techniques,
but no gameplay (so no difference there then). He actually writes his
own Amstrad Action review of a game using these techniques, awarding
himself 99% and Mastergame status...
Andrew Cadley
Marcus Durham wrote:
>
> Because these days a few people have actually played it. I rather think
> it's the same problem as the new Elite games had. The magazines said it
> was great, then it turned out that they were a pile of doggy do. If
> you've played Pang beforehand there is no comparison.
If you've ever played Bubble Buster on the speccy there's no comparison.
;-)
AndyC