Resource centre for ZX Spectrum games
using Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy game engines
Versions and minor mods of the original Jet Set Willy
jsw011
Authors: Joan Heemskerk and Dirk Paesmans (JODI)
Year: 2003-2016
Language: English (on the title screen and in the scrolling message; there are no room names)
jsw011 is one of JODI's artistic Jet Set Willy Variations. It shows all of the elements of the game as squares of colour attributes.
At least four versions of jsw011 can be found among the various editions of Jet Set Willy Variations available on the web. TAP, SNA and WAV files bearing a time stamp of July 2016 are hosted on JODI's website. SNA files modified in 2004 and 2010 can be retrieved from the older versions of JODI's download via the Wayback Machine. Finally, a SNA file dated March 2003 is hosted on Andrew Broad's archived website.
The only difference between the 2010 and 2016 SNA files is at the address #CAA0, which defines the attributes of Air in room 10 - unnamed as they all are - corresponding to "The Front Door" in the original JSW. Air is BRIGHT cyan in the 2010 file and BRIGHT blue in the 2016 file. As this difference is minimal, these two revisions will henceforth be discussed together as the 2010/2016 version. Furthermore, the title jsw011 will be spelled in lower case for all versions, corresponding to the current spelling on JODI's website.
Independently of its being meant to be a work of art, jsw011 can be played as a "normal" game. The protagonist (a BRIGHT white square) can pass through guardians and fall from heights safely; the only thing that can kill him (her?) are Fire cells. As a result, the gameplay is much easier than in the original JSW (although maximum-length jumps from the edges of the platforms are more difficult, because it is hard to tell the protagonist's exact position) and the game can be completed faster. There are no ropes or arrows.
The layout is almost identical to that of the original JSW. One major difference is that room 46 (corresponding to "Tree Root") has an opening to the right, which allows the player to exit to room 04 (corresponding to "The Drive"). Other differences are that room 51 (corresponding to "Tool Shed") is passable in both directions, while it is impossible to climb the Banyan Tree.
jsw011 (2010/2016 version) suffers from a critical bug, which makes the game incompletable. The colour of the ramp in room 05 (corresponding to "The Security Guard") is the same as the colour of the (unused) Fire cells. As a result, Willy gets killed every time he touches the ramp and cannot get out of the cluster of rooms starting at the bottom of room 49 (corresponding to "Wine Cellar") and including all of the rooms to the right of "The Security Guard".
Furthermore, the 2003, 2004 and 2010/2016 versions of jsw011 suffer from the same problem at the end of the toilet run: the BRIGHT white square representing Willy goes only halfway into the grey (non BRIGHT white) square representing the toilet and stops there. Consequently, Game Mode 3 (corresponding to Willy being head down inside the toilet, with his legs kicking wildly in the air) is not triggered.
Both of these problems have been corrected and the fixed versions are available for download below as JSW Central Specials.
The information below refers to these fixed editions and is the same for all three files unless indicated otherwise.
Number of edited rooms: 60
Number of rooms accessible without cheating: 60
Number of rooms which need to be visited to complete the game: 54
(Rooms corresponding to "Entrance to Hades" [06], "East Wall Base" [26], "Halfway up the East Wall [32], "A bit of tree" [36], "The Attic" [41] and "Back Door" [53] do not have to be visited if the player chooses a route aimed at minimising the number of rooms visited. Incidentally, "Entrance to Hades" is not lethal in jsw011; the player can pass through it and land in room 00 [corresponding to "Off Licence"] safely.)
Bugfix needed after original release? YES
Third-party bugfix released? YES
Spare lives at the start: 7
Completable without loss of life?
2003 version: YES
2004 version: YES
2010/2016 version: NO
Lives which need to be sacrificed to complete the 2010/2016 version: 1
(A life has to be sacrificed to collect the rightmost [second from the top] item in the room corresponding to "Cold Store" [25].)
Starting time and the best documented completion time with no unnecessary loss of life:
2003 and 2010/2016 version: N/A
(There is no clock visible in the game.)
2004 version: 7:49 am
Download links
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Jet Set Willy Variations on JODI's website |
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Current ZIP package on JODI's website |
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Game files of all known variants of the game, both original and bugfixed, in various formats |
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Game files of the bug-fixed versions in SNA format plus a Readme |
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RZX walkthroughs of the bug-fixed versions of all known variants of the game |
Screenshot gallery |
The 2003 version
The 2004 version
The 2010/2016 version
Room 10 in the 2010 version
Room 10 in the 2016 version
