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[Airola]

I would love to own one!

Never had one growing up and never knew anyone who had it.
I've only tried some games on emulator but would love to play them on the real thing.

I love how the machine really has its own style what comes to the look of games.
Back then multiplatform games looked and felt unique in all the consoles and computers they were in. Nowadays the only differences are frame rates and resolution and that's so damn dull.
Like, damn, compare Robocop on different platforms. Almost all of them have their own different style and feeling, and often are actually different games too. The MSX and Spectrum versions are almost identical though, but still... I miss the days when different consoles and computers had their own identity.

And although you C64 zealots don't admit it, you got a lot of Speccy ports on your machine, just with more colours.

Yeah, there were lots of them.
Comparing videos I would say the C64 port of Karnov was worse than the Spectrum version. It was super slow and I never got anywhere. I have fond memories of it though.

 

[SaucyJack]

I loved my Speccy.

Looking back it is incredible what was achieved with 48 K of RAM. Thats about the size of blank word document these days.

 

[scalman]

those times when codemasters where famous for making amazing Dizzy series. what a times

 

[muteZX]

I would love to own one!

About – ZX SPECTRUM NEXT

www.specnext.com

ZX Spectrum Next

A brand new Speccy! The Spectrum Next is a reimplementation of the original at a hardware level, ensuring it runs all the software out there. It is also compatible with most expansions made for the...

www.facebook.com

than ZX Spectrum Next for you .. but you have to wait for 2nd Kickstarter /or buy it on ebay .. soon/.

 

[captainraincoat]

i remember the of sound of me smashing a zx speccy over the head of my best freinds sisters head because she pulled out the power cord in the middle of a game of outrun
the tape drive lid snapped off but damn...it still worked afterwards

i got grounded for a month and she has a nice scar on the side of her head near her ear.....years later i hooked up with her and we talked about video games and in particular me giving her a scar on head
she paid me back by sticking a finger up my exhaust port during routine chimney maintenance

Zx does live up to the hype

 

[DoctorEkkoUK]

I had one when I was like 5-8 years old and Even though I loved it in some ways, it was always shit. I remember numerous times youd wait 10 minutes for the tape to load only for it to fail and you had to start it again. I remember my dad buying me a Star Wars arcade game for it and it was pretty expensive as spectrum games go only for it to finish loading then there was a message saying due to the limitations of the spectrum there was no sound on this version of the game. So yeh it was always kind of shit but when there was no other option for most people it was still good enough.

 

[TeddyShardik]

It was never good to begin with.

C64 boy all the way.

 

[M0G]

I can't say if it holds up really as to me it's a place in time and that's it. I wouldn't really say anything pre-16bit holds up particularly well imo but hey to each their own. It is definitely the machine that is responsible for the person I am today though. I must have been 6 or 7 when I had a +2 128k and a box full of tapes and books handed down to me by my cousin. Fuck all explanation as to what it was or how to use it but it was the closest I got to owning a gaming machine at the time. I would save up for weeks to buy a £3.99 budget game instead of buying sweets. Using the books that came with the computer I learnt a bit of basic, made images and generally learnt to fuck around with technology. This is why I think it's fantastic we have things like the Raspberry Pi out there now, even if they're not really sold as family home computers etc.

I don't remember the C64 being massively better. I liked the cartridge slot when it got used and I remember at least one game had limited digitised speach but c'mon these machines all kinda blur into one another

 

[Ar¢tos]

"Chaos: Battle of Wizards" and "Back to Skool" are the reasons why I think the Spectrum was amazing for its time.
(and the porn game, kinda GTA predecessor "Paradise Café")

 

[kurisu_1974]

I tought it was pretty shitty when it was new too. Spectrum owners were really the bunglers of the home computer world, where C64, Atari 8-bit and MSX systems reigned supreme.

The Sinclair QL was a bit better, but they had NO GAEMES.

So yeah. No.

 

[TriSuit666]

those times when codemasters where famous for making amazing Dizzy series. what a times

They're still finding, making and releasing Dizzy games. Yes, even in <<CURRENT_YEAR>>

 

[TriSuit666]

"Chaos: Battle of Wizards" and "Back to Skool" are the reasons why I think the Spectrum was amazing for its time.
(and the porn game, kinda GTA predecessor "Paradise Café")

Go play it in your browser.

http://torinak.com/qaop#!chaos

 

[Ar¢tos]

Go play it in your browser.

http://torinak.com/qaop#!chaos

There is a free android version of Chaos, I play it often when I'm waiting for things. I haven't looked for Back to Skool, since that one requires more time, can't just play for 5 min like Chaos.

 

[The Brooklyn Brawler]

My first Introduction to gaming

A British institution. Amazing memories.

And some proper ridiculously named games that bedroom coders with fantastic imaginations could not do today

Everyone's a Wally. How to be a complete bastard etc

 

[The Brooklyn Brawler]

That cover art. Those loading screens. That music.

I love it. You had to "be there" at the time to understand.

Games for sale for 2.99 in your local supermarket or newsagents. Copying games onto blank tapes

The long awaited release of magic land dizzy

What a time

 

[TriSuit666]

There is a free android version of Chaos, I play it often when I'm waiting for things. I haven't looked for Back to Skool, since that one requires more time, can't just play for 5 min like Chaos.

Yes, it was written by the original author of the Speccy version, I believe (at least one of the remakes for modern machines is by him, anyway).

 

[64bitmodels]

Seems this is the 'Ok, Boomer' thread for shitting on what came before, but machines likes the Spectrum and C64 really pioneered the software industry and without it you wouldn't be sat on that Throne feeling entitled enough to throw your nose at your 8-bit ancestry. Without them you wouldn't have Rare, you certainly wouldn't have Psygnosis or Gremlin or any numbr of companies they became.. 'but waaaaahh, I wanna play Rare Replay on my PS4... waaaaaaaahh'.. Fuck. Off.

Instead of snootily dismissing them, why not take the time to learn from the vibrant and passionate communities STILL creating games right now, some of which you've been signposted to a few posts up, not to mention that prices of the hardware still hold up.

And although you C64 zealots don't admit it, you got a lot of Speccy ports on your machine, just with more colours.

Ok boomer

 

[scalman]

anybody got work that es.pectrum emulator with that new ULA+ game ??

 

[muteZX]

anybody got work that es.pectrum emulator with that new ULA+ game ??

not me .. just looking at the manual - http://www.habisoft.com/espectrum/Manual/EN.htm

Hardware:

In this window you can choose the hardware options to emulate. The acceptance of them will cause a reset of the emulation. The options are divided into several tabs:
- ULA+ Adds ULA+.

 

[Afro Republican]

For those saying "you had to be there" or similar statements, many people here were actually there. You do realize during that tie there was competition right? Sure a bit of it the ZX spec was there, but all those C64 or Atari 8-bit buyers are basically being dismissed as "not being there" which is silly.

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

Kim Justice: Top 100 ZX Spectrum Games of All Time

I couldn't visit a Speccy thread without sharing this excellent video by the great Kim Justice, who shares her love of the computer and its eclectic range of games. For me, it's a great history lesson on a home computer that I had never seen in the States.

I have no direct experience with the Spectrum computers, but I have played a couple games that were ported to the Atari 8-bit like Starquake, which I greatly enjoyed for its alien weirdness and Metroid-style exploring.

A very nice little computer, overall. Not sure what is meant by "fad," although its appeal today would largely remain with personal nostalgia, although dedicated players with a love of the classic home computer era will have a lot of fun. The hardware isn't anywhere as advanced as Atari 8-bit and Commodore 64, but there's a certain charm with its distinct visual style.

 

[The Brooklyn Brawler]

For those saying "you had to be there" or similar statements, many people here were actually there. You do realize during that tie there was competition right? Sure a bit of it the ZX spec was there, but all those C64 or Atari 8-bit buyers are basically being dismissed as "not being there" which is silly.

For me and my friends at the age I was when I got my spectrum +2, probably about 6 or 7, and knowing nothing of computers or games, you got whatever your parents bought for you that xmas

The back of cassette boxes showing graphics and screenshotd for c64 and amstrad versions of the game always mystifies me. These unknown machines with their colourful graphics

 

[Geeks4Eva]

Hmmm, so the gorgeous iconic Speccy that introduced a generation of teens to computing, and 'created' the Gaming Industry Boom in the UK during 80s, and also went on to provide a talent pool for USA Game / Console Development teams during the 90s.... was just a fad was it??

Are you mad!

Raspberry PI is also a cheap and mass marketed hobbyist computer - for me that follows the same approach that Sinclair had back then...

For a nice window in the background of the Speccy scene you could check out Electric Dreams or The Micro Kids

 

[VooDooChicken]

does anyone play the original Pacman, Galaga or Space Invaders anymore? should they be considered a passing fad? the thing is even if people didn´t heard about the Spectrum back then because they were not in some place where the Spectrum was popular it does not mean it was not important, or is not actually what placed the basis for what many designers are doing today. Some of us are not impressed with unoriginal games with pretty pictures changed from a template, and back then people made an effort to make appealing games. Some of us actually prefer to play those games since we play to have fun and not to show off some scores to people we don't know

 

[VooDooChicken]

on a side note I was not aware of the Spectrum back then (I was in one of those territories where the Spectrum was not known, and I got to know it more or less recently), but I can still relate. I prefer many dos games than many games today

 

[stranno]

PSA: Almost all games in that video are UK developments so it is HIGHLY biased and not representative of the global Spectrum catalog at all. But the quality and production values are fine.

 

[scalman]

Back when first time i played ufo enemy unknow i played on speccy not msdos

I remember they where making lots more clones like dune or warcraft on spectrum.
And then later some dude has some monster spectrum with tr dos and 512k
All was what we can get in soviet union of course but it was lots spectrum clones back then.
There where lots machines there

 

[Deleted member 740922]

PSA: Almost all games in that video are UK developments so it is HIGHLY biased and not representative of the global Spectrum catalog at all.

And NeoGAF is HIGHLY biased in favour of the United States and can often dismiss non-American things.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Never was interested in the Spectrum, was a C64 lad back then but I did play Sam foxes strip poker round a mates when his mum and dad were out

It was racy, hot under the collar stuff that back in the eighties..

If it loaded.

 

[Afro Republican]

does anyone play the original Pacman, Galaga or Space Invaders anymore?

I you can't come up with good counter examples don't make any.

Those games were among the top titles during their time, on reliable hardware, and are software programs. The ZX was a computer platform that was not reliable, had among the worst graphics for it's time, and only really arguably succeeded due to a bargin bin price point. I know people who grew up with it will like it more than others but this is the dumbest comparison I've ever seen.

 

[Stiflers Mom]

Since this seems to be the GAF Spectrum thread in a way, I'll post this here:

The Spectrum next has been released last week...

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Tried Sabrewulf through the Rare Replay collection. It was... not fun. And those colors are just so trippy, LOL.

I have virtually zero experience with the machine, but it’s where Rare made its first steps towards greatness so I’ll always respect that.

 

[scalman]

its very nostalgic thing . shame you cant buy it anymore from devs but they saying it will be kickstarter volume 2 at some point so no need to pay lot more from resellers maybe

great things it got all old tricks , you can code on it too with next basic or old 48k basic , or write command line even if you know what you doing.
sega mega drive controllers fits
you can load your old cassette game with some luck if you want to go deep into that , it all works
you can upgrade ram put 2 x 512kb chips there for max.
4 speed modes 3.5mhz /7mhz / 14mhz /28mhz . for most games 7mhz is enough

 

[TriSuit666]

its very nostalgic thing . shame you cant buy it anymore from devs but they saying it will be kickstarter volume 2 at some point so no need to pay lot more from resellers maybe

It can already be emulated very effectively through a number of Speccy emulators.

 

[scalman]

it can but its not a thing that is called zx spectrum , and its not box that runs in 3.5mhz in 2020. my whole gaming age strated from it basicly, so i didnt wanted any NES mini or even some ps1 classic as they just emulator boxes, but this , imagine you see screen and its runs on 3.5mhz. just wow. i want ti write some program again on 48k basic.

 

[waltyftmus Prime]

Loved my Spectrum 128k +, so many good games, Bruce Lee was a personal favourite, as well as Knightlore, Pyjamarama, Bombjack, Head over Heels, Batman, and Fruit machine simulator, and who could forget How to be a complete Bastard, what a legendary machine.

 

[scalman]

but to emulate i better go for NES . SNES or even Amiga games , they kinda emulted and looks better then emulated sinclair games out there.

 

[Harlock]

So I got into a ZX Spectrum rabbit hole. My father have a brazilian clone from the 80s that never used very much. Keep stored for 30 years.

One month ago I was curious to try. One thing that helps a lot is that now you can load from the cellphone audio. I use an app called PlayZX.

So I have a mix of using old tech, waiting for various minutes each game, but with the help of new tech.

ZX games are a case apart. Most games are bad, but even those has a lot of personality. The system games, with the difficult to overlap colors, has a unique style. Kinda of monochromatic colored.

And of course I am playing in a CRT, with RF connection. You need a CRT to this style of graphics shine. I believe ZX games lost a lot in LCD pixel perfect.

Another very cool thing are the loading cards. Most games has beautiful loading screens. Is just another experience play in the original system than in emulator.

You can use Atari 2600 or Master System joysticks. Not Genesis. My ZX clones use the Sinclair interface for controller. You have to select the correct controller interface in the game, because the original ZX did not have a controller port and people used extensions. That is why I had problems with Retropie. Dont know you have to select a interface in the Retropie settings e choose that one in the game.

So you have to keep in mind the context. UK, no consoles, no game crash, a lot of indie releasing cheap K7 games, with a lot of trash, but a lot of cool experimentation. And the games has a unique DNA, different from Atari 2600 and Nintendo.

 

[theclaw135]

Where I'm from, C64 reigned supreme until being ousted by Windows. With DOS becoming stiff competition in the later days.
Apple was for schools.

 

[scalman]

I had zx custom made to 128k and sound chip and 5,25 floppy then i got pc 386sx then dx33 still games suck on pc so even after that pc power i got back to zx 128k for games mostly. And we had all stuff from russia and they had all new stuff there even like ufo and warcraft clones on zx. But sure c64 would rule that with its music, but we never had those here. After i got back to pc 486 and such, but zx was my way to real games from cassetes i mean thats super cool.

 

[TriSuit666]

it can but its not a thing that is called zx spectrum , and its not box that runs in 3.5mhz in 2020. my whole gaming age strated from it basicly, so i didnt wanted any NES mini or even some ps1 classic as they just emulator boxes, but this , imagine you see screen and its runs on 3.5mhz. just wow. i want ti write some program again on 48k basic.

Oh yeah, I totally get that. I think it's a testament to TBB and Jeff that they've managed to get the thing out of the door and it's had such an impact on the scene, so much so they've literally got a licence to print money if they can make as many as they can lay their hands on in the second Kickstarter.

Very envious.

 

[Harlock]

Played Dan Dare - Pilot of the Future. Very cool game. Is like Zillion on Master System.

 

[NAI1210]

Loved my Spectrum 128k +, so many good games, Bruce Lee was a personal favourite, as well as Knightlore, Pyjamarama, Bombjack, Head over Heels, Batman, and Fruit machine simulator, and who could forget How to be a complete Bastard, what a legendary machine.

The best version of robocop in my opinion even better than the arcade game, 180 (the darts game) target renegade, dizzy, World games, bmx simulator, one of my favourite gaming memories revolves around trans am

 

[Bootzilla]

As a piece of hardware? Of course not. It was not a system that lent itself well to gaming, ever. Even by standards of it's day. For multiplatform games, Spectrum versions were almost never the best.

But there remains some great games on the platform, which are still worth playing today.

 

[waltyftmus Prime]

The best version of robocop in my opinion even better than the arcade game, 180 (the darts game) target renegade, dizzy, World games, bmx simulator, one of my favourite gaming memories revolves around trans am

Target Renagade was an unbelievable beat em up, so many hours playing that game, hehe high score0010101010000

 

[scalman]

just think saboteur ... it was loaded from cassete into 48k spectrum without sound chip yeat still it was something new ygou could take items and then use them ... imagine how cool that was on 82-86 . it was mindblowing game righ then and so hard one.

 

[NAI1210]

Fist II, loved that game never finished it I don't think, cause of those poison filled caves, fuck u Melbourne house

 

[_Spr_Drnk]

Got my 48k Spectrum xmas day '83, got my accelerated ZX Next coming very soon. All the machines from that era had their own issues, but the Spectrum had its charms, despite its limitations.

 

[Harlock]

I like how ZX Spectrum get new games almost every week. The hobbie/indie scene still going strong. Nixy and the Seeds of Doom is a very cool puzzle/platform. And run a 48k machine!

Try on emulator. It is a game that holds very well.

 

[scalman]

Is it any specific site for new games that comes out on speccy?

When you think of all times when you was calibrating your cassete player head to load games properly. It was skill that you needed to learn if you wanted use your own cassete player for spectrum games on cassetes.
And to thin that on new model you could do that again. Wow. I still have have cassete player that o used then it was my fathers and now its mine. Legendary Sharp GF 9191