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40 years later, a game for the ZX Spectrum will be again broadcast over FM radio

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Re: 40 years later, a game for the ZX Spectrum will be again broadcast over FM radio

#61

Post by tombert »

SillyUsername wrote: post #53
tombert wrote: post #50

It's a bit before my time, and tape based games never really caught on in the US as far as I'm aware, but I've always been kind of fascinated by storing programs in audio. There's something bizarrely cool about the idea of taking something designed for an analog medium and using it for something sort of definitionally not analog. It was traditionally cassette tapes, but I saw a YouTube video where some companies dist…

Dialup modem did the same thing but with more efficient protocol and error control via a network stack. ADSL also took a step further and used the shielding on copper cables to attain higher (inaudible) frequencies. The tech in some form is still about this is just the granddaddy version :D

Yeah, I knew all that actually, but I guess I just associate dialup with the next generation of computers. Fundamentally I know it's a very similar tech to the tape-based game distribution, but for some reason it's categorized differently in my brain.

Re: 40 years later, a game for the ZX Spectrum will be again broadcast over FM radio

#62

Post by PaulHoule »

bitwize wrote: post #38
dj_gitmo wrote: post #25

Was cassette tape storage more common in Europe than the U.S? I’m too young to have been around for this era, but I’ve just never seen it over here.

Back in the 80s, data storage on cassette was commonplace for 8-bit micros, because disk drives were expensive add-ons. I know I used them with my VIC-20 and TI-99/4A.

I had a TRS-80 Color Computer and struggled with a cassette tape interface that was faster than many competitors but wasn't reliable for me. The disc drive I added was more expensive than the computer but it was reliable and could support the OS/9 operating system

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OS-9

which was better than the MS-DOS I used later on the much more powerful 286 machine that replaced my Coco 3.

Re: 40 years later, a game for the ZX Spectrum will be again broadcast over FM radio

#64

Post by cronopios »

qingcharles wrote: post #46
dj_gitmo wrote: post #25

Was cassette tape storage more common in Europe than the U.S? I’m too young to have been around for this era, but I’ve just never seen it over here.

You've never had the pleasure of twiddling the volume control on a tape deck for the 15th time trying to get exactly the right setting for your game to not die two minutes into loading :(

It wasn't the volume, but the azimuth.

Re: 40 years later, a game for the ZX Spectrum will be again broadcast over FM radio

#65

Post by grujicd »

magnusmundus wrote: post #58
nilamo wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The PS1 used CDs. Many games could be dropped into a cd player, and if you skip the first track (the data track), the rest of the game's music/audio could be played.

It was possible to do the same with some PC games! I have fond memories of listening to the soundtracks of Driver, and Knights and Merchants, on my little stereo.

Cassette tapes for Atari 800XL used just a single channel for data. The other one could have music and you would listen to it during game loading.

Re: 40 years later, a game for the ZX Spectrum will be again broadcast over FM radio

#66

Post by Bene592 »

tombert wrote: post #50

It's a bit before my time, and tape based games never really caught on in the US as far as I'm aware, but I've always been kind of fascinated by storing programs in audio. There's something bizarrely cool about the idea of taking something designed for an analog medium and using it for something sort of definitionally not analog. It was traditionally cassette tapes, but I saw a YouTube video where some companies dist…

Both the CD and the ZX Spectrum came out in 1982

Re: 40 years later, a game for the ZX Spectrum will be again broadcast over FM radio

#67

Post by dingaling »

theblazehen wrote: post #23
Angostura wrote: post #16

I fondly remember the Pete Shelley album “XL-1” which had a final track that contained a spectrum program. You dropped the needle on the record and pressed ‘Run’ simultaneously and it would display an animated set of patterns in sync with the music - and the song lyrics

For those curious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhKQy580STQ

Fascinating, here's the story from the programmer:

http://www.headen.com/XL1.htm

I'm not sure why he felt he had to write it all in machine code though, sadly he doesn't discuss that decision. Perhaps it was due to the time-dependency of the lyrics?

Re: 40 years later, a game for the ZX Spectrum will be again broadcast over FM radio

#68

Post by surfingdino »

npongratz wrote: post #54
surfingdino wrote: post #3

Is this meant to confuse the aliens by suggesting we've decided to go back to 8 bits? (Love it, btw.)

Not just confuse them, but convince them we're not a threat, and thus not worth exterminating.

Don't broadcast PSSST! then. They may take it the wrong way.

Re: 40 years later, a game for the ZX Spectrum will be again broadcast over FM radio

#69

Post by [deleted] »

tombert wrote: post #50

It's a bit before my time, and tape based games never really caught on in the US as far as I'm aware, but I've always been kind of fascinated by storing programs in audio. There's something bizarrely cool about the idea of taking something designed for an analog medium and using it for something sort of definitionally not analog. It was traditionally cassette tapes, but I saw a YouTube video where some companies dist…

[deleted]

Re: 40 years later, a game for the ZX Spectrum will be again broadcast over FM radio

#70

Post by qingcharles »

cronopios wrote: post #64
qingcharles wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You've never had the pleasure of twiddling the volume control on a tape deck for the 15th time trying to get exactly the right setting for your game to not die two minutes into loading :(

It wasn't the volume, but the azimuth.

The azimuth adjustment screw :(
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