Recent posts

#1

Games / Re: Converted GX4000 .cpr - Th...

Last post by iXien - Today at 14:02

But we are able to see the true potential of the machine. It's just that we're discovering it a little late... I mean... more than 30 years late 

I am not so sure, I am waiting until @norecess464 launches Sonic for seeing a real GX4000 game 

Funny thing about the cold reception of Flipull+, specially in general retro news sites and youtube channels, it looks that the people thinks that it is only a minor hack and nobody understand the graphical look that RedAngel brings to the game, as I said I prefer this clean look to the original one (for me all those tiles are too much noise for my eyes).

But the detail that nobody is getting, and it's logical because they are not playing, they are only looking pictures or videos; it is that now the game is less arcade and more puzzle. You can create strategies for finishing every screen, everything is less random. And that, plus the minimalist look, makes possible than now I can enjoy the game (even if the music is annoying and I worked hard to change it).

Honestly, I think the NES backgrounds can be blamed a little. Nowadays, when an old arcade game conversion is upgraded, it's usually to make it nearer to the arcade experience, at first visually. Here, you prefered to take the NES look of the game. You start to play and you discover that the arcade backgrounds disappeared, replaced by monochrome ones (and less detailed, due to the mode 0 constraincts). Strange for people that didn't really played the game and can consider these simplier graphics as a regression.
That's why I'm so puzzling why you didn't decide to prefer starting the game with nice backgrounds based on the Amiga version and closer to the arcade, making the NES backgrounds as a bonus remembering a nice conversion. You can be sure people would have told "whaooo, nice improvement to the original". Your upgrades are very nice but people judge a game to their first contact with him, the reason why first levels of lot of arcade games are more nice looking than their second half.

More seriously, you already got it. People looking at this new version doesn't really play it, while the biggest improvements you made are in the game mechanics. It's also something difficult to show in videos.

And simply, don't forget that Plotting/Flipull is a games far less famous than Pang. You can't expect as interest in this nice but very little puzzle game 

#2

A

General Discussion - Introductions / Re: Interview with James Higgi...

Last post by Anthony Flack - Today at 13:41

Also it was a logistic nightmare to deliver 300 copies of our magazine when at its peak and only in Spain. No wonder the editor would hang himself if he has to deliver hundreds more and worldwide 

There's worse problems to have than being too popular! Maybe you should have just put the price up.

Your interviews are great and very much appreciated. I played the heck out of The Apprentice when I was a kid and only owned a few games. I sure would have liked to know that pressing S uses the scroll to open locked doors! 

#3

S

Games / Re: Converted GX4000 .cpr - Th...

Last post by SyX - Today at 13:17

But we are able to see the true potential of the machine. It's just that we're discovering it a little late... I mean... more than 30 years late 

I am not so sure, I am waiting until @norecess464 launches Sonic for seeing a real GX4000 game 

Funny thing about the cold reception of Flipull+, specially in general retro news sites and youtube channels, it looks that the people thinks that it is only a minor hack and nobody understand the graphical look that RedAngel brings to the game, as I said I prefer this clean look to the original one (for me all those tiles are too much noise for my eyes).

But the detail that nobody is getting, and it's logical because they are not playing, they are only looking pictures or videos; it is that now the game is less arcade and more puzzle. You can create strategies for finishing every screen, everything is less random. And that, plus the minimalist look, makes possible than now I can enjoy the game (even if the music is annoying and I worked hard to change it).

#4

General Discussion - Introductions / Re: CPCRadio module

Last post by Prodatron - Today at 11:45

Is a Spotify client doable on CPC? Maybe on RSF3 or M4?

Not Spotify, but there is a SymbOS webradio client, which works with the RSF3:

Here is a video by DoctorCPC (it was recorded very close to your city ):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6j99_DHYhI

Not sure, if this works with the SF3 as well.

As said, the RSF3 has the same features (not the SF3)

The MP3 part is included in the SF3 as well, but not the FM/DAB radio features.

#5

D

General Discussion - Introductions / Re: Interview with James Higgi...

Last post by Dubliner - Today at 09:03

And thanks too for the English translation.

The user with the nickname of the Irish city, living in the German metropolis of Cologne, would conduct interviews with several English people in Spanish? That would be something! :-)

But I'm definitely interested in this question, because I'd be lost without an online translator for writing. (Deepl.com from Cologne, in my case.)

I am actually Spanish, but a big The Dubliners fan 

#6

D

General Discussion - Introductions / Re: Interview with James Higgi...

Last post by Dubliner - Today at 08:50

Thanks for the nice words guys.

I've been covering the CPC scene for more than one decade. I used to write a lot about all things Amstrad in Retromaniac until I had too much on my plate and had to slow a little bit.

Retromaniac is a Spanish retro and indie magazine that started almost 15 years ago. It was first an online PDF only magazine that grew with the years. At its peak, we produced a 300+ pages magazine every year. After the first issues, it mutated to a website for the news and the PDF magazine for more elaborate writing. After the number ¿6-7? (Can't remember exactly) it was also punished on paper. It grew so much that was actually unsustainable and the production of both pdf and paper stopped. They do now a nice Spanish podcast and I still collaborate in the web doing interviews to bring out as much "hidden" CPC history as possible. The web and the podcast are in Spanish, but when I interview someone in English I always leave the English original as well, since it doesn't cost much effort (just adding some pics), and more people can read it.

I started my own CPC only podcast in December 2018, but since it's only in Spanish I never promoted it here. I have done some voice interviews as well, but only in Spanish. I do not have the time to translate and dub them to English, as well as I don't have time to translate from English and dub to Spanish. That's why I always publish text interviews when I talk to developers in English and voice interviews when they are Spanish. For the podcast I interviewed already people like Paco Suárez (Roland in the Caves) or the Arevalo Brothers (Stardust).

I realized that many developers who worked with the CPC as well are always asked about their work in other machines. It really annoys me when I read an interview to someone who did Spectrum and Amstrad games and they are never asked about their Amstrad works. That's the reason behind doing these kind of interviews. Sometimes I have luck and for example I was able to interview the Oliver twins in Alicante ¿8? Years ago, and of course the conversation really flows. Most of the time however I can only send some questions and wait for their answers, and I have to think in advance what will they tell me in order to prepare the questions. Sometimes I don't have the chance to further questions for clarifying, sometimes there's no problem with that and we can produce a very interesting reading indeed.

One can think that we already know everything after so many years but the deeper we dive, the more we realize we almost know nothing. Sometimes when doing my Spanish podcast together with SyX we realize suddenly that there may be an interesting story behind some games. Then starts the "hunting". There's a lot of people who I've been unable to find (I was just last week at a plant market in Germany just to ask a seller named Paul Shirley if he was the same Paul Shirley from Mission Genocide. It wasn't ) and there are also some that sadly already died before we could talk to them. But when we find someone, then we try to know as much as possible about his story with the CPC.

Unsurprisingly, most of them if not all of them were REALLY happy to talk about the CPC because they have good memories of it and they are barely to none asked about it. That's the reason behind these interviews: I want to read their story with the CPC and most of time they are not asked about.

There are no plans at the moment to produce paper, but if it came the chance it would probably just be Spanish since none of us are native English speakers and I've also done Spanish interviews. But any new interview will always be available at the website in English as well. Also it was a logistic nightmare to deliver 300 copies of our magazine when at its peak and only in Spain. No wonder the editor would hang himself if he has to deliver hundreds more and worldwide 

#7

General Discussion - Introductions / Re: Interview with James Higgi...

Last post by Herman - Today at 08:42

It's been an honor being able to speak to such a nice guy as James. It's one of the longest interview that I ever made but it was absolutely worth it. Thanks everyone for reading and follow him on Twitter if you still use it

Thank you very much for your great interview with James Higgins. (Also for your other recent interview with Dave Rogers! And all the others.)

Are the interviews conducted in English and then translated into Spanish or vice versa?

Rather in English, as several British developers were interviewed?

#8

General Discussion - Introductions / Re: Interview with James Higgi...

Last post by Herman - Today at 08:42

And thanks too for the English translation.

The user with the nickname of the Irish city, living in the German metropolis of Cologne, would conduct interviews with several English people in Spanish? That would be something! :-)

But I'm definitely interested in this question, because I'd be lost without an online translator for writing. (Deepl.com from Cologne, in my case.)

[New prices (mostly cuts):]

#9

I

Amstrad CPC hardware / Re: USIfAC II:Convert a PC or ...

Last post by ikonsgr - Today at 08:31

New prices (mostly cuts):

USIfAC II Board:15 Euros
Edge connector Ribbon cable: 3 Euros
Centronics connector Ribbon cable: 4 Euros
Registered/tracked postage: 8 Euros (+1euro for overseas Australia,US,Canada)

[New prices (mostly cuts):]

#10

I

Amstrad CPC hardware / Re: ULIfAC:Usb Mass storage,Wi...

Last post by ikonsgr - Today at 08:20

New prices (mostly cuts):

ULIfAC Board:32 Euros
Edge connector Ribbon cable: 3 Euros
Centronics connector Ribbon cable: 4 Euros
Registered/tracked postage: 8 Euros (+1euro for overseas Australia,US,Canada)