6128 (128k) ONLY Games

[Xyphoe]

In honour of the CPC 6128's birthday this month.... https://twitter.com/Lord_Sugar/status/1554405747806593024

What are the 6128 *only* commercially released games? That are 128k only?

I don't mean games that detect you have 128k ram and load in extra content (eg Robocop that loads in all the levels and gives you the sampled speech).
That has been covered before in other topics (https://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/games/games-using-128k-ram/ & https://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/games/amstrad-6128-only128k-games/) and then in the Wiki - https://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Extended_RAM_Software

Although it would be nice to have a section in that wiki article specific to 128k ONLY games I suppose

Back to the topic, the ones that I can think of so far are -

Addams Family
Pirates!
B.A.T.
Double Dragon (Richard Aplin)
Double Dragon II (Richard Aplin)
Gauntlet III

Are there any more?

[Carnivius]

Was Final Fight one?

[Gryzor]

It'd be nice to tuck those titles under the 6128 section indeed. 

[Xyphoe]

Was Final Fight one?

Oooh good shout.

I'm not 100% sure on this one.

CPC Power dumps list the disk and tapes as 128k - https://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&onglet=dumps&num=875

But the box art scans are not conclusive.

The disk version does specifically say "128K CPC DISK" ->




But the KIXX re-release doesn't specify it's 128k or 6128 only....





Which reminded me of another 128k only game!!! Which is SWIV and that DID get a KIXX re-release that specifically stated that it was 6128 only....

[Xyphoe]

I tried loading Final Fight tape (Kixx) version in WinApe in 464 mode and it corrupts as soon as it loads.
Then I reset and loaded it in 6128 mode and it's fine after loading.

So I guess Final Fight is deffo 128k only.

Bit naughty of US Gold not to specifically label the Kixx release as 128k only though..... tut tut !

[trocoloco]

I believe Xyphoes Fantasy, Thargan, Atic attack or Deva Drifter are 128k only

[TotO]

This link on cpc-power to list all the "extended RAM" programs:
https://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=database&lemot=extended%20RAM

1499 entries... If you filter for games only, there are 349 entries.

[Xyphoe]

I believe Xyphoes Fantasy, Thargan, Atic attack or Deva Drifter are 128k only

How could I forget my name-sake game!!!!
Of course Xyphoes Fantasy. In fact checking the rest of the Silmarils games they appear to all be 128k only games... so yea -

Targhan

and also...

Wind Surf Willy
Bunny Bricks


But I'm not looking for homebrew games (discarding Deva Drifter, Atic Atac, etc) for now just commercial games or the list will be hundreds   I think that will be a topic for another time

[Xyphoe]

This link on cpc-power to list all the "extended RAM" programs:
https://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=database&lemot=extended%20RAM

1499 entries... If you filter for games only, there are 349 entries.

Thanks, but that includes normal 64k titles that detect if you have 128k ram and load in extra content. But that is still useful and helpful to look through.

[Carnivius]

Which reminded me of another 128k only game!!! Which is SWIV and that DID get a KIXX re-release that specifically stated that it was 6128 only....

The heck? Why was SWIV 128k only? Those Speccy graphics and lack of music can't have taken up much memory surely... Jeez.

[dthrone]

Does Space Gun count (6128+ only)?

[andycadley]

Which reminded me of another 128k only game!!! Which is SWIV and that DID get a KIXX re-release that specifically stated that it was 6128 only....

The heck? Why was SWIV 128k only? Those Speccy graphics and lack of music can't have taken up much memory surely... Jeez.

Probably because the Speccy version was 128 only. By that time most users had 128 machines, multiloads were frowned upon (the Speccy market never really embraced disk) and the effort to get things also working in just 48K wasn't worth it.

[Nich]

Are there any more?

Some games that I can think of:

• BAT
• Bumpy's Arcade Fantasy
• G-LOC
• Magnetic Scrolls adventures - The Pawn, The Guild of Thieves, Jinxter and Corruption
• Several Microïds games - Grand Prix 500 2, Highway Patrol, Killerball, Sliders and Swap

[Gryzor]

Didn't Magnetic Scrolls games also come on tape? Am I mistaken? 

[Nich]

Didn't Magnetic Scrolls games also come on tape? Am I mistaken?

You're probably thinking of Level 9.

[Gryzor]

Didn't Magnetic Scrolls games also come on tape? Am I mistaken?

You're probably thinking of Level 9.

Hmm, perhaps. 

[Nich]

You're probably thinking of Level 9.

Hmm, perhaps.

All of Level 9's games were released on cassette. Some of their later adventures (e.g. Gnome Ranger, Ingrid's Back, Knight Orc, Lancelot, Scapeghost) were also released on disc and featured full-colour graphics, which required 128K of RAM. The cassette versions of these games only required 64K of RAM, but they were also text only.

[Xyphoe]

Are there any more?

Some games that I can think of:

• BAT
• Bumpy's Arcade Fantasy
• G-LOC
• Magnetic Scrolls adventures - The Pawn, The Guild of Thieves, Jinxter and Corruption
• Several Microïds games - Grand Prix 500 2, Highway Patrol, Killerball, Sliders and Swap

Thank you Nich!

I had completely forgotten about G-LOC ... wow I wonder where all the memory went on that game?!

Cheers for the headsup on Bumpy's Arcade Fantasy and those Microïds games - you are indeed correct (and I think those are the only Microïds ones too). AGAIN though, they are not labelled on the boxes as '128k only' and it's surprising they are not. I know that Loriciels and Microïds are French companies and the 6128 was the dominant Amstrad machine in France... but still! There might have been the odd 464 or 664 owner out there!

[Xyphoe]

Does Space Gun count (6128+ only)?

That is its own separate list and CPC Wiki entry and article....


Complete List Of Commercially Released 6128 Plus Only Games

Space Gun

Game Count - 1

 

[eto]

, they are not labelled on the boxes as '128k only'

G-LOC was labelled "128K DISC" on the bottom of the box.

For "Grand Prix 500 2" there are two scans on CPCRulez, which might give a clue, why we don't see 128K being mentioned: The box itself does not carry any information regarding the target system but in the second scan you can see, that an additional label was put on the box. There is the information that it's for Amstrad and 128K.

Maybe this add-on label was more common in the late years when sales were no longer so strong and they could use the box for more than a single system. I guess many people have removed these stickers, especially when scanning the box art work.

[Nich]

A couple more games to add to the list:

• Carrier Command
• Meurtres à Venise (a French detective adventure released by Cobra Soft)

[Gryzor]

Ah I must play Meurtres, only played it on my ST! 

[Nich]

And I've discovered another one while watching @Xyphoe's stream - Gunboat by Accolade (not the Piranha/Alternative Software release with the same name).

[Axelay]

What are the 6128 *only* commercially released games? That are 128k only?

There's a difference between 128k only and 6128 only though.  That Kixx tape version of SWIV you mention loads and plays on a 464 in WinAPE where you select the 464 with a RAM expansion, so it doesn't 'require' a 6128.

Which reminded me of another 128k only game!!! Which is SWIV and that DID get a KIXX re-release that specifically stated that it was 6128 only....

The heck? Why was SWIV 128k only? Those Speccy graphics and lack of music can't have taken up much memory surely... Jeez.

It depends on the techniques you use, it looks like they have taken the opportunity to use the memory available on a 128k spectrum.

I took a quick look, and one of the things it is doing is using pre-shifted sprite frames.  That means each sprite frame is stored 2 or 4 times at different pixel offsets within a byte to not have to pixel shift the sprites within a byte on the fly, to speed sprite display up.  If you didn't shift the sprites within a byte, or pre-shift the frames, the sprites could only move horizontally in 1 byte steps, which on a spectrum is 8 pixels (on a CPC it would be 4 pixels, but SWIV on the CPC appears to be 'spectrum code' until it translates the 1 bit per pixel buffer to the CPC screen).

The other consequence of using pre-shifted frames is each sprite frame is 1 byte wider in memory than it appears on the screen.  In many cases it's also storing a masking byte for each sprite byte, which doubles the memory usage per frame again.

Between all those things you're looking at sprite frames taking sometimes more than 8 times the memory they would appear to require from looking at them on the screen.  That enemy homing missile for example has 16 tiny frames, but takes 1kb of memory.

[CrookieMonster]

How about Guild of Thieves, S.W.I.V, The Pawn, Jinxter, Corruption, Iron Lord, Nigel Mansell WC, Zap T Ballsl?