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

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

#71

Post by opencl » Wed, May 08, 2024, 3:41 PM UTC

jimmytucson wrote: post #59

This is so cool! Does anyone know how the data is encoded in the signal? Is it just data for the game that's transmitted (and the logic resides on the ZX Spectrum) or is logic also transmitted?

The format is very simple, basically a square wave with different pulse widths for 1s and 0s [1]. Spectrum software was typically sold on audio cassettes and the radio broadcasts are the exact same format, typically people would record the broadcasts to cassette. The loader program in ROM just copies all the data from tape (or radio) into RAM so yes any game logic would be included in that.

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX_Spectrum_software

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

#72

Post by rightbyte » Wed, May 08, 2024, 3:45 PM UTC

bronikowski wrote: post #12

I sometimes mention that our radio used to broadcast games you could tape off the air to young people and they fail to grasp the futuristic glory I experienced when I explained to myself it's like one-way modem.

Honestly, I miss teletext so much. I was my primary news source until it was in practice abandoned.

It was so nice. No pictures at all. Just text of different sizes and block art. And the wait time made you read in order once and not 'doomscrool'.

The limited text length forced the writers to keep it short.

My point being, one way coms are underrated.

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

#73

Post by tombert » Wed, May 08, 2024, 3:50 PM UTC

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.

Yeah, X-Wing vs Tie Fighter had a lot of the popular Star Wars music in redbook audio so it would work fine in a CD player, a fact that I was super excited to find out when I was a kid playing with my action figures.

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

#74

Post by nlawalker » Wed, May 08, 2024, 3:57 PM UTC

FYI, there's a fun indie game from 2016 on all the major platforms called Lumo[1] that's an homage to the isometric puzzle/adventure games of the ZX Spectrum era. I didn't really know anything about said era, as it was mostly before my time, but I ended up looking up a bunch of stuff as I played and it gave me an appreciation for it. The director/developer has a full walkthrough with commentary on YouTube where he explains everything.[2]

[1] https://store.steampowered.com/app/345480/Lumo/

[2] https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHaRTzqB6QC9uzqnwNViw...

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

#75

Post by A_Venom_Roll » Wed, May 08, 2024, 4:01 PM UTC

rightbyte wrote: post #72

bronikowski wrote: post #12

I sometimes mention that our radio used to broadcast games you could tape off the air to young people and they fail to grasp the futuristic glory I experienced when I explained to myself it's like one-way modem.

Honestly, I miss teletext so much. I was my primary news source until it was in practice abandoned. It was so nice. No pictures at all. Just text of different sizes and block art. And the wait time made you read in order once and not 'doomscrool'. The limited text length forced the writers to keep it short. My point being, one way coms are underrated.

In The Netherlands the teletext system of the Dutch public broadcasting system does still exist and has a loyal following. It's also available on the web [1] and as a mobile app.

Even nowadays I still use it a lot myself for a quick catch up of the news. Some of the benefits: - Since space is limited, the news stories are ultra short and to the point - No ads - No "related stories" - No toxic comment sections - No misleading 'thumbnails'

It doesn't take longer than a minute or two to catch up on the most important stories.

[1] https://teletekst-data.nos.nl/webplus?p=100

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

#76

Post by Bene592 » Wed, May 08, 2024, 4:09 PM UTC

rwmj wrote: post #8

For those far away from Slovenia, is the broadcast available over the internet (I know, I know)? This link says it's not available because of "regional restrictions": https://tunein.com/radio/Radio-Student-893-s25182/ Edit: Found a working link: https://onlineradiobox.com/si/tudent/?cs=si.tudent&played=1

How well does this work with lossy compression? I would trust only lossless formats and analog with digital data encoded as audio, but I have zero hands-on experience with this

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

#77

Post by rwmj » Wed, May 08, 2024, 4:13 PM UTC

Bene592 wrote: post #76

rwmj wrote: post #8

For those far away from Slovenia, is the broadcast available over the internet (I know, I know)? This link says it's not available because of "regional restrictions": https://tunein.com/radio/Radio-Student-893-s25182/ Edit: Found a working link: https://onlineradiobox.com/si/tudent/?cs=si.tudent&played=1

How well does this work with lossy compression? I would trust only lossless formats and analog with digital data encoded as audio, but I have zero hands-on experience with this

The bit rate of a speccy tape recording was only about 1500 bps, and we routinely recorded on the cheapest tapes, and tape machines that were little better. I'm sure it'll be fine.

Technical details for those interested: https://sinclair.wiki.zxnet.co.uk/wiki/Spectrum_tape_interfa...

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

#78

Post by Bene592 » Wed, May 08, 2024, 4:56 PM UTC

apples_oranges wrote: post #6

Now could be the right time to put your old tape recorder on eBay (If you are in Slovenia) ;)

You can record it with a PC. Just make sure to use a lossless format

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

#79

Post by anthk » Wed, May 08, 2024, 6:45 PM UTC

A_Venom_Roll wrote: post #75

rightbyte wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, I miss teletext so much. I was my primary news source until it was in practice abandoned. It was so nice. No pictures at all. Just text of different sizes and block art. And the wait time made you read in order once and not 'doomscrool'. The limited text length forced the writers to keep it short. My point being, one way coms are underrated.

In The Netherlands the teletext system of the Dutch public broadcasting system does still exist and has a loyal following. It's also available on the web [1] and as a mobile app. Even nowadays I still use it a lot myself for a quick catch up of the news. Some of the benefits: - Since space is limited, the news stories are ultra short and to the point - No ads - No "related stories" - No toxic comment sections - No mi…