MtM

I have just gotten around to playing this a bit more properly, there have been so many top releases of late. I particularly like the early screen Subatomic Collapse Imminent, the tiny platforms remind me of a few levels out of Turmoil which is a very good thing, I really like the visual look of it all. Mind you it is a hard screen that. I can't imagine the amount of work that has gone into it Danny, it's a completely new game really. I wonder what MS himself would make of such a rework of his work? I can only say Bravo yet again! I don't know if Carl reads these forums as well but he and you should be rightly proud of it, it's a great contribution to the world of JSW & MM. Merci beaucoup!

Excellent work Danny as ever, I don't know how you find the time to do it all! That Ultimate Manic Miner I have never heard of or seen before, it looks very colourful - another one on the need to play list. Thanks again!

It makes me smile a bit to see that preview, the photography is just about as unflattering as it could be barring being black and white. It doesn't exactly look like the world beater it became in those pictures. Thanks for posting it Andy!

I remember the Lantern advert Andy, not sure I have really seen the other one before?

I have just played the the online version a few times, it locked up under the latest Firefox on MacOS Ventura latest version the first time, but has seemed stable after that. It looks and sounds and plays superbly! Absolutely Bravo for this PS, it is superb work! I have downloaded the Windows version, I will give it a go on my pc next time it is on. I would happily pay for this game or make a contribution/donation if you have the facility, or a link to a charity you want supporting etc. if that helps. If you could port it to MacOS too then that would be even better 😉 I can see that the online version saves certain info, if there was an actual save game facility say if you needed to go to sleep! that would be really good too, it is so vast, you will need several sittings to play it all, and map it. But again what a tremendous achievement, thank you for bringing it to fruition! This and Sendy's recent RR have been superb, incredible contributions to the JSW & MM world.

It doesn't give off those vibes. It's a great game which is of benefit to all JSW & MM fans around the world, thank you very much for it!

We are all waiting with baited breath Sendy for the release! I think it would be a really good idea if you named a screen after me 😉

Ah, my mistake, apologies! I just saw what looked like the original Amiga version being mentioned. I thought it was a very poor version imo, it was the map scrolling that just didn't work well, I know other people on these hallowed forums have since come up with again imo better implementations of the scrolling screen idea. A new version of the game really ought to have some kind of game save feature to it for me anyway, especially if we are talking about a vast map of a game. Just for everyone's reference, I am sure you have seen it before, here is the official Amiga version of JSW2 https://hol.abime.net/790 Norman, did you know anything about this version or the people behind it at the time? Or likewise the Amiga version of Manic Miner https://hol.abime.net/2407 Written by two of the same people, Stephen/Steve McMaster and Paul McMaster. I am surprised at some of the generous reviews given at the time to the above games, perhaps I need to go and re-visit them myself 🙂

I agree about the platforms. Games have gone the way of films, big sequels, franchises, it doesn't excite me like it used to do. Oh well.

Sorry folks not been monitoring for a bit. Are you talking about the Amiga version of JSW, which used the map of JSW 2? It was written by Stephen McMaster as I recollect, and I think his brother Darren was it? did the music. I have the original on my shelves but not to hand, I can take pics and post them if that helps? Apologies if I am on completely the wrong track! It is a distant memory though, it may not be 100% correct. Personally I thought it was a poor conversion of JSW / JSW 2, as soon as you lose the flip screen element ...

These are exciting times!

Incredible! Thank you Norman!

A list of _all_ known MM & JSW games, both official and unofficial that covers all formats would be an interesting and useful list to have. I think some criteria might be helpful, either they are official versions of the games, such as the Amiga version of Jet Set Willy, an official version albeit if memory serves it was JSW II really and scrolled, but it was still an official release, so part of the 'Canon'. For that matter JSW II is an official game, but not the original engine etc. Any 'home-brew' that uses an engine from the original could count as an unofficial version? This could include Danny's quiz game for me anyway, if it uses the engine. I note on Danny's list there are titles such as 'Roller Coaster' by Elite, which are technically at least nothing to do with JSW or MM, other than having some kind of similarity in appearance, game play etc. Maybe they are a third category, such as 'unofficial clones / inspired by' etc? Perhaps a fourth category for works in progress or demos, I was just thinking of that MM 3D from a few years ago, I can't remember if it ever became playable or not? Such a list could soon be knocked up, it might not be complete for a while but it could be done if everyone chipped in something that they knew of.

A few things I have forgotten to mention about this new version. I love the sun on the title screen shimmering in the water. There are some real proverbial quality of life features too, number of screens visited, how many MM screens have been completed and items found, the attract mode and the multicoloured words look great, those little details really help set it apart. The only downside is I started to complete version 2, and now I will have to start again on version 3! Still it's a good problem to have. Thanks again Norman for this, truly a great piece of work, and if it is your last then it is a good way to sign off.

In truth I had forgotten about the paying for the lives feature of the game, Norman, is it possible for a definitive tape inlay-card style explanatory paragraph to be put somewhere that explains all the features, keys etc? I remember reading one at perhaps the start of this thread but maybe a slightly updated definitive version? - apologies, edited, as I had forgotten about the word doc in the archive! Stand down! I try not to lose lives playing games, but I do it by re-loading saves if I get killed.

Very sorry if this is your last game Norman, that will be an incredible loss for all Spectrum fans, but if it is better for you then completely understandable.

Just seen this lovely piece of MM inspired art on this webpage in case other people haven't seen it. https://zxonline.net/do-you-have-other-friends/ Very Christmassy!

It's Christmas time! I hope everyone has had or is having a wonderful day! Time for Norman's MJSW!

I remember all those games SS, some classics there, and I remember going into retailers like Woolworths etc to buy Spectrum Stuff. In fact if you remember John Menzies, they used to have big shops in town centres, a year after I got my first Spectrum I had saved up my Christmas money and Menzies was the only place that had a Microdrive and Interface 1 in stock near where I live, I think it cost £95, but briefly I had a colour portable, an int 1 and micro drive, an amazing set up! But I took the micro drive back and got a CBM128 instead - but that is a different story. But I can relate to going into the likes of Boots, WH Smiths etc to buy Speccy games, as well as issues of Crash of course too. Great times! Thanks for telling us about them.

That is a good story Danny, really good you had a Timex and it got you into the MM/JSW world, and you have never looked back! Your knowledge of all the different versions is a constant source of amazement, and I imagine like the rest of us you probably never thought all these years later since the 80s you would still be so involved. I hope I can do like you did and one day and the time to use an editor and release a new MM and then a JSW mod. We live in hope! it is a labour of love though and you know you will not make any money off spending all that time writing it, i can't really afford that at the moment. I have downloaded JSW Baby on the Go to give it a go and find that screen at least! So thank you for that.

Thru the Wall was very good fun as I recollect, yes, I played that too, like you it was a rubber keyed 48k model, never got the Six Pack you had Andy, but did have a fair few other tapes, mainly originals, I had managed to get hold of, I may have had original MM but I suspect I had a copy of JSW, or maybe the other way around. I did have an original JSW at one point with the colour code card in it. Although simple that is a really good clear diagram above about computers and how they input and output and would not take much changing today I think, names are different but the process is the same. I reckon anyway! Thanks for that Andy a great trip down Memory Lane. Anyone else? There must be other good stories out there about Spectrum Christmasses etc.

Yes go on Andy lets hear it! It took several months before I managed to get hold of a colour portable tv for the old Spectrum, my goodness that was such luxury then it really was. Not sure what people would make of the concept of a portable now, certainly not a b&w one! I kept that portable for years too it was a Ferguson, great little colour tv.

Hello all, Just thought I would start a topic about the above, i.e. this coming Christmas, if anyone has anything they want to say about what they are doing this year, what it means to them in terms if MM & JSW, or anything really. Personally, I got my first Spectrum at Christmas 1984, which meant from that time onwards I was playing MM & JSW and gave myself a royal headache on Boxing Day that year due to staring at the screen on MM for hours! Great times! But I always have an association of being happy and playing those games at Christmas, so naturally I will be firing them up this Christmas too. It is a pity there are no Christmas related mods that I can think of to play though I am sure JSWDanny will correct me if I am wrong about that 🙂 I suppose to broaden it a bit there are other games I associate with Christmas too, not least The Little Computer People Project, from 1986, I think I had just got a disk drive for my CBM and that was something I spent a lot of time on. But nothing will ever replace playing MM on a large old CRT telly with the red gun of the crt not working properly sometimes so the colours being off on Boxing Day 84. As the saying goes you never forget your first time, and that Christmas playing MM & JSW has stayed with me ever since. Happier, easier times, even if we were on the edge of a nuclear war with the USA & Russia at the time 😉 So in between family time this year that is an important tradition for me firing up those games and experiencing a tiny bit of the same excitement from nearly 40 years ago. I daresay I am not alone! Strange when MS wrote those games could he have ever thought all these years later people would still be playing them and writing new ones? Let's hear those recollections everyone has about Christmas and JSW & MM! There must be a lot better tales than mine! I hope we all have a great Christmas and New Year!

I have just rung the cell number Danny and left a message from Maria for him 😉

Hello All, Given the time of year thought it might be time to dust this thread off, as Christmas is clearly approaching - I have seen it in the supermarkets! How about some Christmas style demos and music being posted again? I can only apologise for my lack of ability in creating such materials but I know there are uber talented folks on here who can do it! It is still my plan one day when I have time to do an MM mod, called Manic Christmas, with 20 Christmas themed rooms etc and a suitable story to accompany it, but it will have to wait until I retire I expect 😉