Resource centre for ZX Spectrum games
using Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy game engines
VI. Other game engines
C. The original Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy recreated as one game using a new game engine
1. Manic Jet Set Willy
Author: Norman Sword
Year: v. 1.05a - 2021; v. 2.00 - 2022; v. 3.01 - 2023
Language: English
Manic Jet Set Willy is a 48K game which contains both the original Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy in one game file, with additional graphics. The game has undergone a progression from v.1 through to v.3. V. 1 was the compression of the two games into 48K, which allowed both games to be played separately or one after the other. V. 2 removed the game independence of each other and integrated the games. In this version, the main game is JSW and the option to visit MM caverns is spread around the Mansion. Both JSW and MM part need to be finished to complete the game. V. 3 is not a great deal different from v. 2 - the focus of changes was adding more seamless transitions throughout the demo and additional title graphics.
V. 1
V. 1 of the game was created by Norman Sword as a response to a self-imposed challenge of compressing Jet Set Willy enough to also fit Manic Miner into the same 48K. The challenge was met successfully. Matthew Smith's original code was used as the basic core, but also rewritten and compressed exntesively, with a great deal of changes in program flow and logic. Several revisions of v. 1 of the game were released in December 2021, culminating in v. 1.05a.
The story has Willy, an "intrepid explorer" and "mega socialite", cleaning up after another wild party, as Maria is yet again refusing to lift a finger to tidy up. Bottles, glasses and various other items are scattered in pretty much the same places as of old. This time, though, simple economics are being exercised on Wiily's petty cash: time takes cash to cover simple and everyday running costs. Nevertheless, the rewards are plenty for completing the whole JSW and MM.
In addition to the 60 screens of JSW and the 20 screens of MM, Manic Jet Set Willy features a significant number of enhancements and new features. It runs at a far higher speed than both original games, and it also offers variable game speed (the in-game music changes accordingly; when playing at the fastest speed, there is no music). The so-called Jagged Finger/Delayed Attributes visual imperfections have been greatly reduced or eliminated (flaws caused by the fact that the copying of the display and attribute buffers to the display and attribute files can instantaneously fall 'out of sync' with the physical updating of the screen's raster scan lines and the colour attributes printed across each character row). The game features an attract mode (preview of all screens after the title-screen scrolling message). The Manic Miner part has item sound collection. The Solar Beam in the penultimate cavern turns red on contact with Willy and there is a sound to denote contact. A temporary invincibility features protects Willy from most multiple-death scenarios.
In order to complete the game, the player has to play the JSW rooms first (by pressing ENTER on the title screen) and then the MM caverns. There is a special effect after completing the JSW screens, and a special victory message after completing the whole game. The player can also start to play the MM screens directly from the title screen by pressing "H", "J", "K" or "L", but then will not be able to complete the whole game.
Pressing "H" during gameplay will increase the music speed and game speed, and pressing "J" will decrease them. ENTER toggles the sound on and off. Pressing "A", "S", "D", "F" or "G" will display the high score and also pause the game; any other key unpauses it. The movement keys are the same as in the original MM and JSW.
Manic Jet Set Willy features a cheat mode, which can be activated by typing "herojokerkilt" on the floor in "First Landing" (28). The activation is confirmed by a copyright symbol which appears on the status bar at the next room change (after Willy enters another room or loses a life in this room). After activating the cheat, Willy can teleport to other JSW rooms (only - the cheat does not work in MM caverns) using the usual combination of "9" and "1", "2", "3", "4", "5" and "6". Similarly to what happens in the original JSW, the cheat mode stays on after losing all lives or resetting the game. Contrary to what happens in the original JSW, the cheat will not work during the toilet run or after Willy has reached the toilet.
V. 2
A few days after the release of Version 1 Norman Sword decided to undertake a revamp on the method of compression. It allowed more free memory to be released. Version 2 of the game was thus created before the end of December 2021, but the author decided that it would not be released until 12 months after V.1. It was indeed released in December 2022.
V. 3
In mid 2022, Norman Sword came up with a new method of drawing the sprites, which also stored the data differently. The concept worked and it also released more free memory, so Norman Sword implemented it in Manic Jet Set Willy. He created Version 3 of the game in the second half of 2022, changing v. 2 with the help of Andy Ford (Spider) and adding a lot more data and graphics. V. 3.00, which "is probably more in keeping with" what the author "had originally planned on doing", was released on 1st January 2023, with v. 3.01 following a weak later.
Game-wise v. 3 is only modified slightly from v. 2. It features 4 more rooms and slight edits in some rooms. The main scope of the changes was adding graphics and making the transistions between screens more flowing. V. 3 - which of course contains both Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy - contains more graphics (such as title screen varieties) than either of the original game versions, and yet everything is compacted to fit into the 48K of each of the original games.
Version 1.05a
Number of edited rooms: 80
Number of items to collect: 168
Bugfix needed after original release? NO
Spare lives at the start: 7
Completable without loss of life? YES
Starting time: 7:00 am
Best documented completion time / cash reward without loss of life:
When playing at the slowest speed: 8:37 am / £ 45,862,430
When playing at a high speed with music: 8:39 am / £ 45,819,730
When playing at the highest speed: 8:40 am / £ 45,808,330
Information about versions 2.00 and 3.01 will be presented here in the future.
Download links
|
The game's home page on JSW & MM Community |
|
The home page of v. 3 on JSW & MM Community |
|
V. 3.01 ZIP file, including the game in TAP format, a description of the project and other items |
|
Game files of v. 1.05a, 2.00 and 3.01 in TAP and TZX formats |
|
RZX walkthrough of v. 1.05a of the game played at three different speeds |
Video
A walkthrough of v. 1.05a of the game on the JSW Central YouTube channel
(the completion of the game at the slowest speed is inferior to the best publicly available RZX recording)
Screenshot gallery (presenting v. 1.05a of the game played at the slowest speed, as the most "visually complete" mode - with the music icon and the whole word "SPEED" visible) |
JSW rooms
Victory screen after completing the JSW part
MM caverns
Victory screen after completing the MM part
Cheat icon on
Game Over screen
| Back to the list of games using other game engines |