@flatduckrecords.co.uk You can see why the Spectrum mags were going bananas about it!
@flatduckrecords.co.uk It was billed at the time (overhyped, really) as a Super Spectrum. It’s not exactly compatible but the architecture is similar. (Z80 like the Speccy, MSX) but no hardware sprites or scrolling. Think Spectrum but with no colour clash, stereo sound, LOADS (512k) of memory, and floppy disk as standard.
@flatduckrecords.co.uk The definitive resource is really World of SAM but they don’t (AFAIK) have a games list as such. Spectrum Computing (via ZXDB) has a SAM category, which is a good place to start: spectrumcomputing.co.uk/list?machine…
@flatduckrecords.co.uk Thanks, yeah it’s a great system to explore. Not sure of a definitive top games summary, but Pixel Gaiden did a system overview that features a few of the well-known titles. There’s so much interesting indie and hombrew stuff as well though.
youtu.be/FAXmRGX-cvc?…
@breakintoprogram.co.uk Oh yes! 🐇🐇
🥕 c:\nextzxos\enmenu.cfg
I think the (very terse!) syntax is covered in the manual, but em00k made a nifty editor tool:
@breakintoprogram.co.uk Yep, when you SAVE a basic file with LINE (e.g. SAVE “batch” LINE 10) it will run when selected by the browser.
Also yeah, e.g. SAVE “autoexec.bas” LINE 10 in the NEXTZXOS directory. If the last statement is ERASE it will run then erase from memory.
@wretchedmorgan.bsky.social “Gold?! What bloody use it that to me?”
@flatduckrecords.co.uk Hahaha. When I eventually figure out how it works I’ll add the voice-over in post.
@breakintoprogram.co.uk Watch out!
@jimblimey.com No probs! I only discovered it after I needed it last Chrimbo. I made a thing with music that I could only get it to work in 48K. Busy’s wee routine just hooks into the ERRSP etc (and catches it) so it cleanly bumps the Speccy into 48 without the user having to choose. (Can load in either mode).
@jimblimey.com Here’s a handy wee routine by Busy that you can use to enable USR 0 mode. It’s a machine code routine but the archived TAP file can just be concatenated onto the front yours to make a universal 48/128 tape file. (Source available too).
spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/27522/…
@fuzzweed.co.uk Look, you caught me out last time. But this one is DEFINITELY Brodick Castle.
@breakintoprogram.co.uk Ah, thank you. I was just being a wally. I didn’t realise you could specify a NEX file to be loaded in launch.json; I’m so used to using SNA with DeZog I never thought to try that, sorry! 🤦♂️
It’s working now, but I did manage to upset ZEsarUX in new and exotic fashion along the way! 😎
@breakintoprogram.co.uk Can I ask a wee toolchain question? Are you building/debugging a NEX or a SNA? I’d like to use Z80n mnemonics (NEXTREG etc) in a SNA so it can be debugged, but sjasmplus won’t do that 48 mode, conversely it won’t SAVESNA in Next mode! I just wondered if you had a workaround (DEFB the Z80n opcodes?)
@wretchedmorgan.bsky.social Maybe because Apple/Google would immediately take 30%
@flatduckrecords.co.uk I mentioned it in the alt text, but this is using the English language patch by TrekkiesUnite118.
segaxtreme.net/resources/gr…
@vektxr.bsky.social Ace, have fun!
@vektxr.bsky.social Oh according to the instructions L.C.P. can be saved to tape. (I’m sure I saw an LGR or RetroRecipies episode about the C64 version which faked all that!)
@vektxr.bsky.social I think it could be the de facto standard the Spectrum never really had for disks, so do I wonder if it will lead to more novel ideas like your virtual pet suggestion. (There were plenty of incompatible drives in the past of course!) Then again with emulation tape load/save is near instant anyway.
@vektxr.bsky.social Those Cubes were a bit after my time! I never had a Tamagotchi either, but I DID import a Godzilla Dreamcast VMU. I was the coolest kid in the playground for about one afternoon in 1998.
@vektxr.bsky.social Ahh! Yeah, those do look familiar.
@vektxr.bsky.social Would be a nice project for a modern DivMMC etc where your pets’ stats could be saved and recalled very easily. 🤔
@vektxr.bsky.social I forget how it works exactly, I think the “research ID” is a sort of password system that tracks progress. IIRC the disk-based versions had a unique serial number but didn’t actually save anything to disk either.
@vektxr.bsky.social How about Little Computer People?
spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/2897/Z…