jetsetdanny

Yes, the linear nature of the route doesn't allow for dropping down into Styx twice during the same game AFAICT. The question would be whether there isn't some kind of exit somewhere which allows Terry to go back to an earlier part of the route and drop down into Styx again. However, I couldn't find any such exit, and the layout of the map doesn't suggest there is one.

Ian, thank you SO MUCH for analysing this issue! Indeed, you have put my mind at rest that I haven't missed anything. And the timing has been very helpful as I will soon set out to re-record the first file in question (the Yellow version). I also congratulate you on collecting the last remaining items in the Cheat mode 👍. This is not pertinent to my YouTube videos (as I don't use any cheat modes in them), but a testament to your tenacity in pursuing the specified goal 😉.

Thanks for the link, AukonDK! It looks very nice, I must say. This kind of "moderate scrolling" solution works very well. And please don't apologize for resurrecting an old thread 🙂 . New info is always appreciated, and the JSW games scene (at least the Spectrum one) has seen a number of projects resurrected and released after many years - and it's just awesome to see such things happen! 🙂

Thanks for your posts, MathUseMyth! It's a cool little mystery, and I've posted similar queries related to the completability of some of the new JSW games for the ZX Spectrum in the past, so I fully sympathise with your desire to know whether or not the game can be completed. In fact, I am also waiting for any concrete input regarding this little mystery (being able - or not - to collect some specific items in some of the versions of "Terry The Turtle"), and, unfortunately, time is running out for this (in terms of when I play to present videos of my walkthroughs of the game on the JSW Central YouTube channel). Going back to your question - no, I have not ever tried to complete "Jet-Set Willy II" remade for Windows computers by Dan Richardson. I did play the game a bit and remember enjoying the graphics and the varied music, but I've never tried to complete it (my focus being on Spectrum games). Nevertheless, I do hope that someone will provide a definitive answer to your question here 🙂 .

I'm pretty sure trampoline cells are a standard feature in the JSW64 game engine. They have been used in some released games. I don't know if they work exactly like the ones in the SAM Coupé version, but even if they don't, it's certainly better to use them than not to use any kind of 'trampoline-like' cell where they should be (as per the original version).

I used zx32 back in those days, but it's definitely out of date now. I believe this list of emulators may be useful, and also this one (the latter featuring direct download links).

Welcome to the forum, Byron! 🙂 Thank you for creating the two versions of "Manic Miner: The Lost Levels" and releasing them here - it's greatly appreciated! 👍 Thank you also for mentioning myself and JSW Central 🙂 . You seem to be a fast worker, with a conversion of the SAM Coupé levels already underway! That's impressive. I couldn't give you any legal advice as such, but I generally don't think anyone should be after you for converting them to the ZX Spectrum (and making the conversion public, of course). One thing to possibly consider regarding this project would be whether using one of the 128K JSW64 game engines could help overcome at least some of the problems related to the game engine differences. Furthermore, since there are more than one set of caverns in the SAM Coupé version (three IIRC? - is is the original set and two additional ones???), they could all be put together in the same game file - if you considered it a good idea, of course.

That makes perfect sense. I think people who have tweaked the code usually did it to make the game run *faster*, though - or at least that's what they usually referred to or seemed to be aiming at. Hence my observation (paired with the often-heard complaints or comments about the difficulty level of various games).

Thanks, Gary!

It's good to know (from the other thread) that you did get your old laptop working. I use two emulators: ZX Spin (which is free) for playing (I pretty much always play using Rollback, i.e. RZX-recording games and being able to roll them back to cue points if I lose a life or want to repeat a manoeuvre) and Spectaculator (of which I own a registered copy) for watching RZX recordings and for playing them back when I record videos for the JSW Central YouTube channel. However, these are just my personal preferences. I know people use other emulators, like Fuse or Qaop. It would actually be interesting to hear what other emulators people use these days 🙂 .

Great news! 😁 Indeed it is! And you've come back at just the right time, because 2023 was an exceptional year for the MM and JSW games for the ZX Spectrum with a record number (compared to the previous decade and a half, at least) of releases of brand-new games, as I tried to summarise here. So now you've got a chance to contribute to this positive dynamic! 😉

Either is fine. Outside of the MM/JSW world I usually use "Daniel". Here many people refer to me as "Danny", probably because of the nickname "jetsetdanny", which I created as a username for e-mail and forums, but I've never been particularly attached to (never used it as a nickname to sign my games or other projects I've been involved in). But I kind of like "Danny" and I've grown quite used to it 🙂 . It'll be a pleasure 🙂 . I'm looking forward to it already! A great list! 😁 It's your call, of course, but I would definitely second finishing "Voyager" first, given how much work you have put into it already. It just seems such a waste when advanced projects don't get finished... Later on, let's see about the Mass Collab. I did mention that 'outside-life' circumstances (not to say 'real-life', since MM and JSW are as real to me! 😉) may not allow me to attend to it for quite a while, but we'll see. Perhaps your active involvement (in one way or another, taking "Phantasmagoria" into account) could help me prioritise it over some other projects/activities. After all, it's a very advanced project, too, so it must not go to waste. I definitely won't let it go to waste, it's beyond any doubt for me that it should be finished (with some involvement from the new generation of JSW authors, if they wish to contribute), it's just a question of proper timing and harmonising the time and effort it will require with 'outside' pressures...

Thanks for the file, Andy! 🙂 It does run visibly faster than the original.* * One thing that has always puzzled me is why some people are so excited about speeding MM and JSW up (there have been various attempts to do it, some admittedly very successful), while others complain that these (and many newly created MM/JSW) games are so difficult. It seems to be a contradiction. If you take a difficult game (where manual dexterity is involved) and make it run faster, it will be even more difficult. So anyone who thinks these games are difficult (and they are, *unless* you use Rollback, for example), should be thinking of slowing them down rather than speeding them up. That's what I think would be logical, at least...

Thanks, Gary! 👍 Could you give us the link to where Erix1's site is preserved though? I'm aware of this page, but it doesn't look like a whole site of his. One obvious thing I could link to from JSW Central would be his (preserved) home pages of "Manic Miner Mythologies: Eugene - Lord of the Bathroom" and "Maria vs. Some Bastards".

We have gone over 16,000 posts on the forum today, 25th April 2024! 😁 You can't see it on the main page with this new version of the software (because it only shows a rounded-up number), but we have been tracking it on the admins' side and it's just happened. A big thank you to everyone who keeps the forum going! 🙂