Resource centre for ZX Spectrum games
using Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy game engines
VI. Other game engines
A. The original Manic Miner recreated/modified/extended using other game engines
2. Manic 40 Miner
Authors: Norman Sword and LiganTM
Year: 2020 (v. 6c)
Reissued: 2021 (v. 6c6)
Language: English
Manic 40 Miner is a game that runs in the original 48K, but thanks to a rewrite of the code features 40 caverns, a built-in editor and various additional features.
The first 20 caverns are rooms from the original Manic Miner, with some modifications that illustrate the extended abilities of the game engine. The following 20 caverns are rooms from LiganTM's 2018 game Manic Miner: Back to the Mine modified to various extent (with the exception of "Mercinary-Kongs on Hire Perches" [23], which is a new room).
The game engine supports numerous features which are not available in the original MM engine. The gameplay is much faster. Each cavern can be drawn from 16 cell types. Kongs are movable. A room can have multiple conveyors. Switches are movable. You can have any combination of sprites in any room. You can have Kongs, Skylabs (which can move downwards or upwards) and Solar Light Beam at the same time in any room. You can also have Eugene in any room.
Cavern 23 "Mercinary-Kongs on Hire Perches" illustrates how vastly the game engine has been expanded in relation to the original MM engine. It features a moving Solar Light Beam, a movable Eugene (whose routine can specify which item Eugene reacts to or whether he reacts only when all collected), multiple movable Kongs with a definable drop and colour (it can also be defined where each Kong removes a wall section from) and a Skylab that moves upwards, with a definable image, animation stages and crash sound.
Manic 40 Miner has a modified title screen with improved title-screen piano graphics. It also features a sound effect when the player collects an item and a variable tune speed playing routine in the last cavern.
The game has a built-in cheat mode, which is enabled by default. The player can jump caverns by pressing the combination of "3" and "1" to move to the previous cavern, or "3" and "2" to move to the next cavern. Pressing "3" resets the current cavern.
The built-in editor can be activated by pressing "3" and "0" together. It allows the player to edit a number of features, including room layouts, cells, sprites, items and the start position of Willy and of the portals. A detailed manual of how to use the editor is included in the ReadMe accompanying the game.
The game was started as a test routine and proof of concept (with version 1 released in February 2020), but ended up being a fully playable and completable (and partly self-editable!) game, with the final version 6c6 released in August 2021.
Number of rooms: 40
Highest documented score:
- upon reaching the swordfish sign: 66,454 points;
- upon first re-entry into the first cavern: 67,853 points.
Download links
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The game's home page on JSW & MM Community |
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Game file in TAP format and the Readme |
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Game file in TAP and TZX formats |
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The game's map on Speccy Screenshot Maps |
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RZX walkthrough of the game |
Videos
A walkthrough of the game on the JSW Central YouTube channel
A walkthrough of the game on the RZX Archive YouTube channel
Screenshot gallery |
