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Message: 5163

Author: andrewbroad

Date: 26/11/2005

Subject: Re: Group activity, WoS and TZX Vault - a suggestion from Daniel

 

Daniel wrote:

I absolutely agree that group activity is a great source of
inspiration and I am very happy about its high level recently
:-) .

I read every single message very carefully - no skim-reading for me
as far as MM/JSW is concerned! :-) I process each message
appropriately (e.g. update my List of MM/JSW Games, or add the
message-number to my list of messages to be processed later). And
recent messages have induced me to open RealSpectrum or JSWED on
numerous occasions.

This Group seems to have exploded into action since the release of
_Maria on Tour_, and is branching out in various directions as we
all reply to each other. Though we still have a way to go to break
the record of 313 messages in a month - set in September 2000!

Personally, I look forward to the message-rate subsiding a little,
so that I might have time to reply to more messages, or to work on
my MM/JSW projects, after I have finished reading my emails for the
day. But don't let that discourage anyone from posting! :-)

After releasing "Willy's New Mansion", I uploaded it to WoS using
their regular upload tool. I read their information that they
would typically upload a .tzx file within a week, but non-tzx
files had to wait for to two to three years, so I didn't expect my
game to appear there very soon.

A week for TZX, but *years* for non-TZX?!

I also sent "WNM" to Steve Brown of TZX Vault, and I received a
very nice reply from him with the assurance that he would include
the game in the Vault. However, that has evidently not happened
yet, but I understand that it is not that easy and that he hasn't
had the time to do it yet.

When I emailed Steve Brown in January 2005, I included the following
in my email:
The .TZX Vault is a great site - in fact my first port of call for
Spectrum games these days. I notice there are several MM/JSW games.
However, the collection is far from complete.

Among those missing are my MM games...
* Ma jolie
* Manic Miner: Neighbours - Allana Truman

...and my JSW games...
* Goodnite Luddite
* Party Willy.

In fact, I have released special editions of...
* Manic Miner 4
* Manic Miner: The Buddha of Suburbia

...and updated the documentation for...
* Manic Miner: The Hobbit
* Jet Set Willy: The Lord of the Rings
* Jet Set Willy: We Pretty
...since the versions currently at the .TZX Vault.

All my games can be downloaded from here:
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/spectrum/download/

I maintain a list of downloadable MM/JSW games on my website, which
is complete to the best of my knowledge:
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/spectrum/willy/list.html

<
Now, TZX Vault and WoS evidently exchange their files between each
other, and that's what they say.

Since a number of newer JSW and MM games are not available from
those excellent .tzx sites yet, and I think it would be great for
all JSW lovers if they were, I would like to put forward a
following suggestion: perhaps if all the authors agreed, we could
agree on it and somebody could send Steve Brown (or WoS, but I
mention Steve because it would be more personal, so perhaps more
effective) a .zip file with the final versions of all the games
which are not included yet (and the proper versions of older
games, like "Time Hole"), on behalf of this Group and the
respective authors, with the kind request to transfer them to .tzx
format and include them? This might perhaps be a bigger incentive
to Steve and the other .tzx people to process the files than
receiving just individual files from time to time?

Now, in my humble opinion Andrew Broad would be the man on whom
such high-level mission should be bestowed, wouldn't you agree?
What do you think, Andrew, and what do other authors think?

I give permission for the latest gamma-released versions of my games
to be included in the .zip file you mention, but I don't accept the
mission of compiling and sending it myself.

It's not one of my life's priorities to make sure that the MM/JSW
collection is complete and up-to-date on WoS and the TZX Vault -
just to make sure that my own List is as complete and up-to-date as
I can manage.

Steve Brown of the TZX Vault is very much aware of my List, and I'm
pretty sure I brought it to the attention of Martijn van der Heide
of WoS a few years ago too.

This is the current situation regarding Broadsoftware ("version"
refers to the dates on which they appeared on my own website, and is
unaffected by subsequent TAP->TZX conversions):

Manic Miner 4 (1997)
- latest gamma-version.......... 2nd August 2003 (Special Edition)
- latest version on WoS......... 2nd August 2003 (Special Edition)
- latest version on TZX Vault... 25th February 1998

Manic Miner: The Buddha of Suburbia (1998)
- latest gamma-version.......... 2nd August 2003 (Special Edition)
- latest version on WoS......... 2nd August 2003 (Special Edition)
- latest version on TZX Vault... 23rd April 1998

Manic Miner Screen Editor (1998)
- latest gamma-version.......... 7th July 2003 (Version 1.0.1)
- latest version on WoS......... 7th July 2003 (Version 1.0.1)
- not hosted on TZX Vault

Jet Set Willy: 1.WE PRETTY (1999)
- latest gamma-version.......... 16th November 2004 (documentation)
- latest version on WoS......... 23rd December 1999
- latest version on TZX Vault... 23rd December 1999

Manic Miner: The Hobbit (2000)
- latest gamma-version.......... 7th July 2003 (documentation)
- latest version on WoS......... 5th January 2000
- latest version on TZX Vault... 5th January 2000

Jet Set Willy: The Lord of the Rings (2000)
- latest gamma-version.......... 7th February 2005 (documentation)
- latest version on WoS......... 5th January 2000
- latest version on TZX Vault... 5th January 2000

Java: SPECSAISIE (2000)
- latest gamma-version.......... 7th July 2003 (documentation)*
- not hosted on WoS
- TZX Vault doesn't host non-Spectrum-based software
---
* SPECSAISIE 1.2 is the latest gamma-version; however SPECSAISIE 1.3
has been beta-released (see Files section), and the alpha-version
(to which I alone have access) is more advanced still. I think WoS
should wait for the gamma-release of SPECSAISIE 1.3, rather than
host SPECSAISIE 1.2 at this stage.

Jet Set Willy: 2.GOODNITE LUDDITE (2002)
- latest gamma-version.......... 7th July 2003 (documentation)
- latest version on WoS......... 2nd December 2002
- not hosted on TZX Vault

Manic Miner: Ma jolie (2003)
- latest gamma-version.......... 12th August 2003 (documentation)
- latest version on WoS......... 12th August 2003 (documentation)
- not hosted on TZX Vault

Jet Set Willy Construction Kit (2003)
- latest gamma-version.......... 29th July 2003 (Version 1.0)
- latest version on WoS......... 29th July 2003 (Version 1.0)
- not hosted on TZX Vault

Jet Set Willy: Party Willy (2004)
- latest gamma-version.......... 7th February 2005 (documentation)
- not hosted on WoS
- not hosted on TZX Vault

Manic Miner: Neighbours - Allana Truman (2004)
- latest gamma-version.......... 7th February 2005 (documentation)
- not hosted on WoS
- not hosted on TZX Vault

There is also a question of preparing .tzx files. I am not sure
what procedure should be applied in case of our games, which have
never existed on a real Spectrum.

Actually, all Broadsoftware except Party Willy, MM:N-AT and
SPECSAISIE was created on a real Spectrum, then transferred to
emulator-format.

And I had typed into my real Spectrum all MM/JSW games up to Still
Stealin' - which I was actually typing in when the motor of my
Spectrum's Datacorder gave up the ghost on 13th April 2003, leaving
me with no way of loading or saving.

I actually want to volunteer to prepare the .tzx files if it
doesn't require a HUGE amount of time and if it is within my
technical abilities.

Try TAP2TZX from tzxutils:
ftp://ftp.worldofspectrum.org/pub/sinclair/tools/pc/tzxutils.zip

e.g. "TAP2TZX JSW-MC.TAP" generates JSW-MC.TZX

N.B. TAP2TZX only recognises 16-bit MS-DOS filenames, i.e. up to 8
characters (not including ".TAP"). So to convert JSW-MC-Club.tap,
you need to type:
"TAP2TZX JSW-MC~1.TAP"
or rename the TAP file first.

P.S. 2 Soa1000, where is the best place to download the final
version of "Time Hole" from? (I probably have it, but I just want
to make sure)

I'm almost certain I have it on my website ("The Time Hole SE.tap",
modified 22/04/2001 18:24; "The Time Hole SE readme.txt", modified
18/04/2003 13:28).

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/spectrum/
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/spectrum/willy/
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/spectrum/download/

 

 

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