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#1
General Discussion - Introductions / Re: C64 Vs Speccy: Which one d...
Last post by eto - Today at 11:44Quote from: cwpab on Today at 11:22Because seriously, guys, don't you feel an emotional attachment to the Speccy games because of the simliarity with CPC mode 1 games?Exactly the opposite. Whenever I see the Speccy in action I am reminded that it's the reason (okay, okay, not the Speccy per se but the decision makers) we got so many crappy ports.
But: it's also clear that without the Speccy we would not have gotten the CPC. It was a great example for Amstrad how to build a cheap computer based on standard components and at the same time it was the perfect example for what to avoid.
#2
General Discussion - Introductions / Re: C64 Vs Speccy: Which one d...
Last post by eto - Today at 11:34Quote from: Sykobee (Briggsy) on Today at 10:25that awfulness came cheap.oh I love that comment :-)
#3
C
General Discussion - Introductions / Re: C64 Vs Speccy: Which one d...
Last post by cwpab - Today at 11:22The 64 is winning here because people are more technical, but I suspect the ZX Spectrum would win among regular CPC users.
Because seriously, guys, don't you feel an emotional attachment to the Speccy games because of the simliarity with CPC mode 1 games? But running at their original faster speed! (and with color clash).
I mean, I know it's not possible that everyone has its CPC broken due do disk drive belt at 12 and then "recovers" it thanks to a Speccy emulator when he's 17 because somehow the CPC emulator arrived many months later to me, but... Don't you feel anything when you run the original Saboteur 1 and 2 and Matchday 2?
Because seriously, guys, don't you feel an emotional attachment to the Speccy games because of the simliarity with CPC mode 1 games? But running at their original faster speed! (and with color clash).
I mean, I know it's not possible that everyone has its CPC broken due do disk drive belt at 12 and then "recovers" it thanks to a Speccy emulator when he's 17 because somehow the CPC emulator arrived many months later to me, but... Don't you feel anything when you run the original Saboteur 1 and 2 and Matchday 2?
#4
General Discussion - Introductions / Re: C64 Vs Speccy: Which one d...
Last post by asertus - Today at 10:43C64 was amazing by the time it came. Just comparing C64 games to Atari 8bit games, C64 wins far.. I compare these computers because pricing was similar.
ZX was same year, but waaay cheaper. Of course I would prefer a C64.., but price counts.
Btw, I met first a C64, a cousin got one along with a BASIC course.. and 2 years later, 1985, I got my CPC...
ZX was same year, but waaay cheaper. Of course I would prefer a C64.., but price counts.
Btw, I met first a C64, a cousin got one along with a BASIC course.. and 2 years later, 1985, I got my CPC...
#5
General Discussion - Introductions / Re: Why 80 Columns? Very inter...
Last post by Prodatron - Today at 10:41I think here you get all answers:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characters_per_line
72CPL was the standard for US typewriters. Some punchcards extended it to 80CPL for storing additional information per line.
In general 80 CPL provides a very good ratio between readability and utilization of the space when using A4 paper and monospaced characters.
That's probably the reason why 80 CPL became the standard for printers at least in the 80ies.
So it was a very professional feature, if the computer system supported a 80char screen as well, as then you already had a kind of WYSIWYG when editing texts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characters_per_line
72CPL was the standard for US typewriters. Some punchcards extended it to 80CPL for storing additional information per line.
In general 80 CPL provides a very good ratio between readability and utilization of the space when using A4 paper and monospaced characters.
That's probably the reason why 80 CPL became the standard for printers at least in the 80ies.
So it was a very professional feature, if the computer system supported a 80char screen as well, as then you already had a kind of WYSIWYG when editing texts.
#6
Quote from: GUNHED on Today at 02:15and also to be able to put 50% more data on an disc.Ho wdo you exchange data with this CPC? Are other expansions compatible and can be used, like the M4 or Symbiface?
#7
@Narkhos It is working on my CPC, thanks!!! Without surprise, it looks even better than an emulator. I probably won't play in on a real CPC since it has no savegame 
. But I'll continue my game on emulator and is dedicated to finishing it 
.
. But I'll continue my game on emulator and is dedicated to finishing it . #8
General Discussion - Introductions / Re: Why 80 Columns? Very inter...
Last post by eto - Today at 10:26I can't believe that punch cards have anything to do with the 80 column display. The holes in punchcards are basically bits. Why should it have any relevance to map those bits to characters on screen?
But... I don't know - just based on observations I could imagine that 80 was the "sweet spot", at least based on restrictions from the early/mid 70s.
But... I don't know - just based on observations I could imagine that 80 was the "sweet spot", at least based on restrictions from the early/mid 70s.
- CRTs needed to have borders, so you can't use the full width of a monitor
- the screens were probably quite small. At least that's what I assume from pictures of vintage computer systems. Much more columns and lines might have been hard to read
- 80x25 almost perfectly fits into 2K of screen RAM - anything even slightly above requires twice as much screen RAM.
- 80 characters fit fine on a normal letter page with typical borders and well readable (monospaced) font size (10 points).
#9
General Discussion - Introductions / Re: C64 Vs Speccy: Which one d...
Last post by Sykobee (Briggsy) - Today at 10:25C64
I say this since I got a Spectrum Next, and truly realised how awful the plain old Spectrum was.
However on a 'preferableness / £' metric they are about equal - that awfulness came cheap.
C64 has SID, some ability to mix colours, sprites and hardware scrolling and 64KB. As a games machine it was far superior to the Spectrum. It also, due to its massive US sales, had a lot of business software that may have paled in comparison with the CPC due to 40 column limitation and overuse of blue, but at least wasn't 32 column.
However if you had a Spectrum as your first computer, I can understand the nostalgia weight that applies.
I say this since I got a Spectrum Next, and truly realised how awful the plain old Spectrum was.
However on a 'preferableness / £' metric they are about equal - that awfulness came cheap.
C64 has SID, some ability to mix colours, sprites and hardware scrolling and 64KB. As a games machine it was far superior to the Spectrum. It also, due to its massive US sales, had a lot of business software that may have paled in comparison with the CPC due to 40 column limitation and overuse of blue, but at least wasn't 32 column.
However if you had a Spectrum as your first computer, I can understand the nostalgia weight that applies.
#10
C
General Discussion - Introductions / Re: Why 80 Columns? Very inter...
Last post by cwpab - Today at 08:47Interesting! You're probably right about point 2 (printers).
About point 1, however, please note the article I mention as being wrong is the one written in late 83 ("Consumer Reports" magazine, not specialized in computers). So it's not a "contemporary" take.
About point 1, however, please note the article I mention as being wrong is the one written in late 83 ("Consumer Reports" magazine, not specialized in computers). So it's not a "contemporary" take.