jetsetdanny

Updates on the JSW Central YouTube channel since the last video I mentioned in this thread (effectively, what follows is a list of videos posted on the channel since the beginning of this year until now): "Ma jolie" "Ma jolite" "Jet Set Willy: The Colossal Cave" "Jet Set Willy 5: ZX Heroes" "Manic Miner - Norman Sword's version" "Winer Milly" "AmAZiNG WiLLY" (v. 4) "JSW64: Dragon Jet Set Willy" "JSW64: Dragon Manic Miner" "A Bulgarian Requiem" "Manic Mixup" "Jet Set II" "Willy Comes Home" "Manic Miner: Neighbours - Allana Truman" (standard version) "Manic Miner: Neighbours - Allana Truman" (easy version) "JSW: The Sun Is No Longer Producing Heat" "WiLLY iN ThE MiRRoRVeRSE" (v. 3) "Terry The Turtle" (Yellow - Normal) "Terry The Turtle" (Cyan - Intermediate) "Terry The Turtle" (Red - Hard) "Terry The Turtle" (Vektor - Special Edition) "Escape of the Snails" Some comments: The videos of "Ma jolie", "Ma jolite" and "Manic Mixup" were made from RZX walkthroughs I had recorded in the past (I hard worked really hard on them back then and didn't see room for improvement). Similarly, the old recordings of "Terry The Turtle" (Cyan - Intermediate), "Terry The Turtle" (Red - Hard) and "Terry The Turtle" (Vektor - Special Edition) were used, because I considered them good enough - they could be improved, but since there is no clock in the game, there is no incentive to work on the improvement, either. As for "Terry The Turtle" (Yellow - Normal), a large part of it was re-recorded in order to showcase the collection of some items I had failed to collect in my initial walkthrough recorded back in February 2015. My walkthroughs of "AmAZiNG WiLLY" (v. 4), "WiLLY iN ThE MiRRoRVeRSE" (v. 3), "Jet Set Willy 5: ZX Heroes", "Willy Comes Home" and "Jet Set II" were presented publicly for the first time ever. I managed to complete: v. 4 of "AmAZiNG WiLLY" at 8:49 am in-game time; v. 3 of "WiLLY iN ThE MiRRoRVeRSE" at 8:53 am; "Jet Set Willy 5: ZX Heroes" at 7:57 am (7:02 am via the Secret Passage); "Jet Set II" at 7:56 am; "Willy Comes Home" at 8:57 am. I replayed and re-recorded the following games, achieving the following respective improvements: "Jet Set Willy: The Colossal Cave" - completion time improved from 8:32 am to 8:19 am. "Manic Miner - Norman Sword's version" - Bug-Byte version completion score improved from 38,873 pts. to 39,240 pts., Software Projects version completion score improved from 38,873 pts. to 39,250. "Winer Milly" - completion score improved from 8800 pts. to 9550 pts. "JSW64: Dragon Jet Set Willy" - completion time improved from 8:27 am to 8:18 am. "JSW64: Dragon Manic Miner" - completion time improved from 7:44 am to 7:40 am. "A Bulgarian Requiem" - completion time improved from 8:24 am to 8:18 am. "Manic Miner: Neighbours - Allana Truman" (standard version) - completion score improved from 27,159 pts. to 31,144 pts. "Manic Miner: Neighbours - Allana Truman" (easy version) - completion score improved from 30,703 pts. to 35,421 pts. "Escape of the Snails" - completion time improved from 8:59 am to 8:47 am. "JSW: The Sun Is No Longer Producing Heat" - the efficiency of my walkthrough has been improved, but it's difficult to quantitate it because there is no clock in the game. All of the newly-recorded RZX files can be downloaded from the games' respective pages on JSW Central.

In view of lack of any further feedback that would contradict what has been established so far, I published the videos of walkthroughs of the four versions of "Terry The Turtle" on the JSW Central YouTube channel. Here they are: Yellow (Normal) Cyan (Intermediate) Red (Hard) Vektor (Special Edition) There is one correction I need to add, though, to what I wrote before. There is one uncollectable item in the Yellow and Cyan versions that I failed to mention. It's in the room "Shell Shock!" (023). I am pretty sure it cannot be collected, because, first, there is no way to get where it is to grab it, and, more importantly, the player gets trapped in that section of the map, so even if they could reach it and collect the item, they would have to desist from it in order not to get trapped. So my final verdict on the collectability of the items in "Terry The Turtle" is as follows: Yellow version: It is possible to collect 93 out of 157 items. 89 items can be collected without loss of life. Four more can be collected if you deliberately sacrifice one life in the room "U-852 Secret Load & Kill Screen" (124). The uncollectable items are: the uppermost item in "Hidden Chamber" (012), the item in "Shell Shock!" (023) and 62 items in "U-852 Secret Load & Kill Screen" (124) (including 13 items in the enclosure at the upper left and 49 items in the central part of the room). Cyan version: It is possible to collect 61 out of 73 items, all of them without loss of life. The uncollectable items are: the uppermost item in "Hidden Chamber" (012), the item in "Shell Shock!" (023) and 10 items in the enclosure at the upper left in "U-852 Secret Load & Kill Screen" (124). Red version: It is possible to collect all 48 items, without loss of life. This is the only version that is item-completable. Vektor version: It is possible to collect 72 out of 135 items (even though the message on the status bar suggests there are 68 items to collect). In fact, 68 items can be collected without loss of life. Four more can be collected if you deliberately sacrifice one life in the room "U-852 Secret Load & Kill Screen" (124). The uncollectable items are: one item (either one) in the room "STYX - THE RIVER OF HATE" (068) (when the player falls down from "DESCENTION" [069], they can collect either one or the other item; later on, there is no way to go back and fall down again in order to collect the other item) and 62 items in "U-852 Secret Load & Kill Screen" (124) (including 13 items in the enclosure at the upper left and 49 items in the central part of the room).

I have just added "Manic Miner: The Lost Levels" and "Manic Miner: The Lost Levels DS" (as one entry) to the list of MM games on JSW Central. I have also created a separate page for the game with a complete screenshot gallery of both variants of the game. You can also download my RZX walkthroughs of both variants, showing the completion of "Manic Miner: The Lost Levels" with a score of 35,787 points upon the first re-entry into the first cavern, and the completion of "Manic Miner: The Lost Levels DS" with a score of 35,376 points (I will make videos of them for the JSW Central YouTube channel once it seems certain that Byron will not make new versions of the game. JSW Central is still missing "Manic Miner: Deeper and Down". I hope to add it there, with a dedicated page, in the near future.

Richard, John Elliott described the music format used in the JSW128 game engine here. I believe it is exactly the same in the JSW64 game engine. Furthermore, JSWED's manual is attached. It discusses using JSWED's Music Editor in section 7.11 (the original music player can be replaced by the one from SoundTracker, which is one of the options to modify the music). jswed.pdf

Personally, I'm not fond of this idea. It would contradict (what I feel is) the original premise behind the whole project, i.e. presenting (all of) the MM levels that were 'lost' for the ZX Spectrum (because they only existed on other platforms). If only some ('the best') levels were chosen, the ones that were left behind would continue 'lost' in a sense... Furthermore, choosing the 'best' levels would have to lead to some arbitrary and possibly controversial choices regarding which rooms to include, and which to leave out. That's just my personal feeling about it 🙂 .

Yes, to quote from JSWED's manual: "Bonus Room If this is ticked, each item collected gives Willy an extra life." If I understand correctly, if this option is ticked in JSWED's GUI, each item collected in the room where this option is ticked will give Willy an extra life. So if there are e.g. 5 items in this room, Willy will receive 5 extra lives if he collects all of the items. This would be one way of doing things. Other things could be done, too, but would have to involve manual modification of the game engine (e.g. using JSWED's Hex Editor). I'm not sure the question quoted above is directed at me or @The-Red-Bayron. I don't have a strong opinion here. I do think adding extra lives along the way could be used, by all means, but it's Byron's call if and how to modify the game further.

Using the JSW64 game engine, it is possible (and easy) to add extra lives. I would just caution against adding too many of them, in order to avoid what happens e.g. in "Terry The Turtle", where it is actually necessary to lose lives during the gameplay to prevent potential game corruption. Initially, the player has 7 visible spare lives, with 4 more appearing as extras are gained. With the 15th spare life acquired, flickering begins on the bottom left turtle icon. Subsequent extra lives cause flickering on additional turtles. Once the life count exceeds 28, room name display is affected, with letters disappearing starting from the left. Having more than 28 lives can slow down or crash the game due to issues like paths blocked by "rogue" cells. Therefore, it is advisable (especially if you're playing using Rollback or saving/loading snapshots and do not normally lose lives) to repeatedly commit suicide throughout the game, especially when the life count approaches 28.

Paolo has let me know that he had launched a new retrogaming channel a few days ago. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/@ARetroGamesLook Among the videos he has created and posted there so far, there are: A "Full Game Runplay" of "Manic Miner" A "Full Game Runplay" of "Jet Set Willy" The two "WILLY, 48k about a Legend" trailers mentioned in my previous post are also on that new channel. I have updated the links in my previous post and I will repeat them here, also adding a third trailer Paolo has created: Enjoy! 🙂

This has been mentioned before in other topics (most notably, in the one about JSW's 35th birthday party at Manchester PLAY Expo, where it had its UK premiere), but it hasn't had its own thread on this forum AFAICT, so here's one. "WILLY, 48k about a Legend" is a documentary about "Manic Miner" and "Jet Set Willy" by Paolo Santagostino. Some useful links: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwpzmsqlvTHCMzzil-cHugw https://vimeo.com/santagostino http://www.retrogamingplanet.it/intervista/intervista-a-paolo-santagostino-willy-amarcord-a-8-bit/ (in Italian) https://www.gamescenes.org/2019/03/doc-paolo-santagostinos-willy-48k-about-a-legend-2019.html Recently, Paolo has prepared two clips to celebrate JSW's 40th Anniversary: It's JET SET WILLY 40th ANNIVERSARY - The Banyan Trailer It's JET SET WILLY 40th ANNIVERSARY - The Mega Trailer Enjoy! 🙂

Something related to this download was updated 10 hours ago, but I don't see what. The file is still the same, isn't it?

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! 🙂