Hey all,
I'm hoping some knowledgeable person might be able to help me out here.
I'm fairly certain that Sultan's Maze had a horrendously long loading time of 17 minutes, but does anyone know of any other CPC games which compared to this? I don't recall anything quite so bad, but this might just be blind luck that I never played them!
Sharky
I distinctly remember Spellbound taking something like 20 minutes to load from tape.
I clearly remember Operation Wolf. I you load the tape in a 6128 it uses all the RAM and all the levels are loaded in one go. It takes eons :-X Another one that takes an incredibly long time for a floppy disc game is Hero Quest. You cannot compare with a tape but still, it is crazy :blank:
20 minutes for Spellbound? Crikey! And I thought Sultans's Maze was bad!
Thanks for the replies, guys.
Quote from: SharkusMaximus on 21:47, 25 November 19
Hey all,
I'm hoping some knowledgeable person might be able to help me out here.
I'm fairly certain that Sultan's Maze had a horrendously long loading time of 17 minutes, but does anyone know of any other CPC games which compared to this? I don't recall anything quite so bad, but this might just be blind luck that I never played them!
Sharky
Any time I got fed up with the long CPC loading times, I just went around to my friends house. After an entire afternoon waiting for his C64 games to load, my CPC seemed lightening fast in comparison.
Bryce.
Quote from: Bryce on 08:30, 26 November 19
Any time I got fed up with the long CPC loading times, I just went around to my friends house. After an entire afternoon waiting for his C64 games to load, my CPC seemed lightening fast in comparison.
Bryce.
I feel like the CPC was generally more reliable at successfully loading games too. My friend's C64 failed a lot, whether it was dodgy tapes or a dodgy tape deck i dunno. Never had much issue with my CPC at loading.
And yeah Sultan's Maze... 17 minutes of loading for crap.
The AA52 Christmas Covertape with The Untouchables "demo" was a shocker because it had to Load a Tune which got loaded in the upper 64k region, so you got this buzzing sound on the 64k 464, as well as the main game and all using Speed Write 0 AMSOFT standard. It was made worse when I'd realised it was only a demo, so I was terribly disappointed with it, made worse when I had to wait for it to load and actually go out before loading was completed! >:(
I had plenty of issues with my 464's tape deck, kept going out of alignment. Yet had a friend that had a 464 with a perfectly fine tape deck. I was happier when I eventually a 6128, 3" disks much faster and more reliable.
(Except for a few games with copy protection that just wouldn't work... Two different copies of Double Dragon II, and neither would boot. Both were returned.)
I seem to remember Harvey Headbanger being unbearably slow. The loading tune didn't make up for it.
I can't remember the exact loading times but wasn't Dr Dooms Revenge and Beyond the Ice Palace particually long loaders - especially block loaders. ;Added to the fact Dr Dooms Revenge was multi-load!
In 1997 a friend did lend me his C64 with tape and USV (needed!) ... well, still loading ... :picard: :picard2:
Was Commando a slow loader for anyone else or was it my, ahem, backup copy? I remember it being written on one side of a 46min tape, and every time I wanted to play it I'd go out on some chores before it finished loading!
Don't recall it being that bad but then again, it was one of Elite's block loaders.
Quote from: Carnivius on 09:04, 26 November 19
I feel like the CPC was generally more reliable at successfully loading games too. My friend's C64 failed a lot, whether it was dodgy tapes or a dodgy tape deck i dunno. Never had much issue with my CPC at loading.
After experiencing the C64 disk loading time at a mate, I remember thinking it was the equivalent of the CPC 1000 baud tape loading time. I think CPC tape loading time could even be faster than the C64 disk loading time, when using 2800 baud.
Quote from: zeropolis79 on 19:46, 28 November 19
Don't recall it being that bad but then again, it was one of Elite's block loaders.
I had the original Space Harrier game with standard block loading at 1000 baud. A real torture :'(
Quote from: Urusergi on 15:44, 29 November 19
I had the original Space Harrier game with standard block loading at 1000 baud. A real torture :'(
Might time some of them over the weekend. I recall Thundercats on tape being a long loader.
@zeropolis79 (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=115): I'd be very interested in your findings! I'm looking for some definite numbers.
I'm going to do them in the morning - got a bit sidetracked by a very lengthy Zelda Ocarina of Time stream..
OK - Research #1 - Games by Elite Systems.
All Elite games are unprotected block loaders but a few do switch to tape loading, others have BASIC loaders which can be modded in the event of transfer to disc. This is a selection of games by Elite.
1942 - 10:16.19
First part of loading screen loads then appears. Then rest loads in like typical block loader screen. 61 individuaal loading blocks.
Airwolf - 10:26.46 (Amsoft)
Loading screen same as 1942. 53 individual loading blocks. Despite having 8 less loading blocks, it took an extra 10 minutes to load. Encore version the same.
Beyond the Ice Palace - 7:08.38 (to get to intro), 17:51.11 in total.
Has 89 individual loading blocks. No loading screen. Title screen. Stops at block 35 for Intro screen and plot telling. Timer stopped as soon as this seqeunce was in action. Loading timer resumed straight after. Blue screen all throughout loading.
Bomb Jack - 11:25.20
Does not show loading screen build up, only appearing after loading screen finishes loading. 55 individual loading blocks.
Buggy Boy - 19:41.57
Game has two loading screens. Block 73, scrren goes blank. 89 indivudiual loading blocks.
Commando - 11:27.20
Tape file used did not have loading screen. 53 individual loading blocks.
Ghosts N Goblins - 9:08.16
Loading screen scheme same as 1942. 55 individual blocks.
Thundercats - 8:48.76 (64k) 16;24.72 (128k)
Four block opening file. Loading screen part of this file. 101 individual loading blocks. 64k version finishes loading at Block 55 - screen goes blank two blocks before. 128k version also goes blank at Block 53 and remains blank until 101.
@zeropolis79 (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=115) This is awesome stuff! Thanks for your dedication and hard work.
Quote from: SharkusMaximus on 00:37, 01 December 19
@zeropolis79 (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=115) This is awesome stuff! Thanks for your dedication and hard work.
No problems.. I got a load of abuse on Facebook for posting there - mostly asking me what was the point!
Going to compare Dizzy loading times next..
Quote from: Gryzor on 20:07, 27 November 19
Was Commando a slow loader for anyone else or was it my, ahem, backup copy? I remember it being written on one side of a 46min tape, and every time I wanted to play it I'd go out on some chores before it finished loading!
Auch yes, I had the original Commando tape back in the day & it at least felt like ages loading. However Commando also is just a Completely Black screen for the entire loading time, so for a kid that is mentally like staring at a wall for 10 mins straight :D Of cause in reality it isnt that bad & in most cases i recall loading incredible fast & reliable.
Multi level games like Altered Beast & Karnov was a bit of a chore of cause. Then there is games like Prince of Persia that has litterally everthing on the tape like cutscenes with music & even though its loading fast with amstrad single records, you still gotta wonder if anyone actually managed to finish the game on tape.
Heroes of the Lance however probably "takes the cake" as the longest loading tape game i know of. The game starts by loading a intro picture & music (& pauses waiting for input), then it loads a picture/description of all 8 heroes .. each with a pause "press any key" after each picture .. untill it gets to the copyprotection question. Hopefully you had your manual ready & dont have to dig for it (hehe). Then it loads some more untill it finally pause for the swap to side 2 (about 200kb later im guessing). And then it loads some more untill .. it pauses for loading map1, When that has loaded you are finally in the game. Yay!.
To be hornest it does load all that data pretty fast with some kinda speedloading. Still i doubt you can get past all that in less than 17 mins.
Gryzor - check my posting..
Might give Heroes of the Lance the timing treatment - I recall it took an age to load from tape - I had it on the Kixx label back in the day. now I have it on disc so that helps.
Quote from: zeropolis79 on 21:09, 01 December 19
No problems.. I got a load of abuse on Facebook for posting there - mostly asking me what was the point!
Going to compare Dizzy loading times next..
Ah Dizzy, one of my favs from way back when, would be interested to see the load times, would check myself if my 464 was working :(
Really need to sort it out soon.
Amusing Pie chart:
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-01-07-how-amstrad-action-changed-my-life (https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-01-07-how-amstrad-action-changed-my-life)
Du to his lovely introduction, trantor isn't a quick loading.
Shinobi on tape was awful, after a game over the loading was really long.
The (big-box) cassette version of North & South is pretty much unplayable due to being a French disk game hastily crammed on two cassettes for the UK market. It's also missing the train sequences, animations and most of the battle maps.
Load the language selection screen (takes ages)
Load the menu (takes ages)
Turn over tape rewind, load map screen (takes ages)
Move your men
Put in tape two rewind to the beginning to load the fort sequence (takes ages)
die
Rewind tape for map screen (takes ages)
Move your men
Put in tape for battle, rewind to the beginning to load the battle screen (takes ages)
Battle is won, rewind tape for map screen (takes ages)
Move your men again...etc
Unless you experienced it, it's difficult to convey how much this ruined the entire experience. Since battles/fort sequences happen almost every other move, you are literally rewinding the tape and re-loading a mini game almost every time you move a piece.
I have no idea if the AA cover-tape version suffered the same issues, the disk version was fantastic but the tape version was nothing but a paper weight.
I never got the tape working on my 6128
Quote from: RocketRanger on 13:10, 11 December 19
The (big-box) cassette version of North & South is pretty much unplayable due to being a French disk game hastily crammed on two cassettes for the UK market. It's also missing the train sequences, animations and most of the battle maps.
Unless you experienced it, it's difficult to convey how much this ruined the entire experience.
My brother had the cassette version of
North and South. I don't know how he had the patience to play it, but he did. :laugh:
QuoteI have no idea if the AA cover-tape version suffered the same issues, the disk version was fantastic but the tape version was nothing but a paper weight.
The AA covertape version had a bug that meant it didn't work on CPC6128 machines. When @ChaRleyTroniC (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=16) was compiling the tape, he was running out of time and didn't get a chance to test it properly on a CPC6128. :( There is a patch included with issue 3 of
Better than Life (https://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=8276), but I'm not sure if it works. I tried using it, and as far as I can remember, the game still didn't work even after being patched - although I could be wrong about this.
I'm lucky I have the retail North and South on real 3" disc.
I remember Pac-Land to be crazy long (even back then !) from tape
Oh I've a few easy candidates for long-ass tape loaders.
Fiendish Freddy's Big Top O' Fun. It was sequence, event, judges all loaded separately from tape. Great game, but a real bad multiload nightmare on tape. It took ages.
World Class Leaderboard. All the levels were block loaders and really sapped any momentum during the game play.
Road Runner: Same as WCL. In fact, I think it was developed by the same team and used the same loaders.
WWF Wrestlemania: The multiload on that wasn't too bad, but if you wanted to change your wrestler, the whole game needed to be re-loaded from scratch.
Blood Valley: Even for Dual Master fans, the loading time for this was as pleasant as a root canal without anesthetic!
APB: You had to reload the entire side B for every level. That tape got smashed to bits back in 1990 in my house.
I can probably come up with more later.