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jetsetdanny

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  1. Like
    jetsetdanny reacted to Spider in Manic Miner: The Lost Levels   
    There are videos here of those caverns too.
    The 'full' game itself is denied (afaik) however there are a few variants, some don't have the extra caverns and some do, plus the freebie 'demo' one that only contains a couple of caverns.
    The actual 'layout' is very similar in the code itself.
  2. Like
    jetsetdanny reacted to The-Red-Bayron in Manic Miner: The Lost Levels   
    Hi Spider,
    I have found this video "SAM Coupé Longplay - Manic Miner - The Deeper Caverns" it looks very interesting and yes I would need a workaround for the trampolines or vacuum descents.
    All the best
  3. Like
    jetsetdanny reacted to Spider in Manic Miner: The Lost Levels   
    Thank you. That's impressive. 🙂
    I did look closely at the other two level sets for the Sam Coupe with a thought to porting those over, as in either one "40 cavern" game or perhaps two separate ones but it is still very much on the back-burner.
  4. Thanks
    jetsetdanny reacted to The-Red-Bayron in Manic Miner: The Lost Levels   
    After watching Manic Miner Ports by RetroGamerDiaries I wondered if it would be possible to convert these levels back into the original Spectrum format.
    The levels are from the Oric-1, Dragon 32, Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro and the Gameboy Advance releases and tries to replicate them as close as the original 48K game mechanic allows.
    Here is the screen from the Dragon 32 against the Spectrum conversion, one of the limitations is that the level Guards all need to be the same sprite, so they are all Penguins.
     
     
    Here is the screen from the Gameboy Advance against the Spectrum conversion, the level Guards can’t move over other objects, so the Seal is above the conveyor.

     
    The Space Shuttle level from the Oric-1 uses the lever to remove a section of wall and The Meteor Storm level from the BBC Micro has a beam effect that I wasn't able to replicate.

    As with the original version there are only 20 levels, but apart from that all the gameplay is identical to the original. As far as I have tested the usual pokes and the 6031769 boot will work.
    This is the gameplay order and where all the levels came from.
    Level Title System Level 01 Not Central Cavern Oric-1 Level 28 02 The Dragon Users Bonus Dragon 32 Level 21 03 The End Of The World Oric-1 Level 22 04 Flunky Punky Munkie Gameboy Advance Level 1 05 The Catacombs Gameboy Advance Level 4 06 Mummy Daddy Gameboy Advance Level 7 07 Nightmare Before Last Night Gameboy Advance Level 10 08 Helium House on the Highlands Gameboy Advance Level 13 09 Metropolis Bingo Gameboy Advance Level 16 10 Eugene’s Other Lair Gameboy Advance Level 19 11 Tokyo Uh Oh Gameboy Advance Level 22 12 Jester Under the Bed Gameboy Advance Level 25 13 Clockwork Satsuma Gameboy Advance Level 28 14 The Space Shuttle Oric-1 Level 23 15 The End Dragon 32 Level 22 16 The Meteor Storm BBC Micro Level 19 17 The Channel Tunnel Oric-1 Level 27 18 At The Centre Of The Earth Oric-1 Level 21 19 The Final BBC Barrier BBC Micro Level 20 20 This, folks, is the Last Cavern Amstrad CPC Level 20 While making The Lost Levels I found out that there was a port for the Nintendo DS that includes all the Oric-1 levels  that I hadn’t converted along with some of the ones that I have already done (typical) but missing most of the Gameboy Advance versions.
    So there are 2 versions, it’s a compromise.
    This follows the DS level order the levels that are missing from my first attempt are highlighted.
    Level Title System Level 01 Home at Last? Oric-1 Level 17 02 The Airlock Oric-1 Level 24 03 The End of the World Oric-1 Level 22 04 The Hall of the Mountain Kong Oric-1 Level 20 05 Back to Work Oric-1 Level 18 06 The Dragon Users Bonus Dragon 32 Level 21 07 Not Central Cavern Oric-1 Level 28 08 Down the Pit Oric-1 Level 19 09 Metropolis Bingo Gameboy Advance Level 16 10 At The Centre Of The Earth Oric-1 Level 21 11 Eddie’s Forest Nintendo DS Level 11 12 In a Deep Dark Hole Oric-1 Level 26 13 The Channel Tunnel Oric-1 Level 27 14 Tokyo Uh Oh Gameboy Advance Level 22 15 The Space Shuttle Oric-1 Level 23 16 Where's the Hyperspace Button? Oric-1 Level 25 17 The Meteor Storm BBC Micro Level 19 18 The End Dragon 32 Level 22 19 The Final BBC Barrier BBC Micro Level 20 20 This, folks, is the Last Cavern Amstrad CPC Level 20  
    Both versions are intended to give the experience of what these versions could have been like if they had been coded for the spectrum and try to follow the originals as closely as possible.
    This is my first attempt at something like this and there are some things and people to mention.
    This version was made using the JSWED v2.3.7 by John Elliott, and a big thanks to John for his support with some of the questions that I had when first using the editor.
    The loading Screen was created in Multipaint by Tero Heikkinen.
    All the levels were tested on original hardware from Cassette and 3” Disk as well as the ZX Spin v 0.666 and ZXBaremulator version 3.2 emulators.
    The .tap and .tzx files were assembled in BASin release 14b.
    Labels for Cassette and Disk were created in LibreOffice Impress.
    One Final Credit:
    A big thanks to Daniel Gromann at JSW Central for testing all the levels, all the advice about the gameplay. It would not be possible without his support.
    For me this was just a bit of tinkering to just see if it was possible and It was a great learning experience putting these levels together.
    I’m thrilled to see it made available to anyone that wants to give it a go.
    All the best,
    Byron
     
     
     
     
    Lost Levels DS.zip Lost Levels.zip
  5. Like
    jetsetdanny reacted to DigitalDuck in Why was Manic Miner never properly optimised?   
    Making something run more efficiently doesn't have to mean speeding it up - it can be used to make the game run at a smooth speed (syncing to display refresh and counting frames) instead of speeding up when there are less enemies and slowing down when there are more, or add other more complex elements to the game.
    Personally I think somewhere between original Manic Miner's Central Cavern with music off (about 12fps) and the GBA version (20fps) is a good speed, which is why I set the default speed to 15fps in Redux.
  6. Like
    jetsetdanny reacted to GawpGRP in Hello (again)!   
    Yes that is the correct link - there are many sub pages, and certainly at the time Carl was confident he had it all, and I uploaded everything he saved. Obviously some of the external links may not still work. Sadly I don’t think I have it saved anywhere now - I will double check though. 
  7. Thanks
    jetsetdanny got a reaction from Spider in "Willy Comes Home"   
    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! 😉
  8. Like
    jetsetdanny reacted to GawpGRP in Editors / Emulators for Mac   
    Thanks - I’ll have a look at that. To be honest I haven’t looked that hard yet! 
    I guess I was lazily hoping someone would point me at one hehe. 

    On the plus side I have got my very old windows laptop working (Win10), and will try JSWED on it this weekend. May be easier as my Mac is an iMac so not portable. 
    I’ll likely have to find a newer emulator as my 20 year old one is a bit glitchy!
  9. Like
    jetsetdanny reacted to GawpGRP in "Willy Comes Home"   
    Totally agree. I had a very quick look today (got the old laptop working for now) and seems I added quite a lot to Phantasmagoria form the original MC version I have. 
    It would be a shame to waste both so I’m happy to work it out depending on MC interest down the line. 
    I will prioritise Voyager though. 

    Yeh I totally understand about “real life” as it’s all busy here too. For me a bit of JSW-MM editing is good downtime I can jump in and out of quickly. 
    I’m happily surprised that the scene is so vibrant 😊
  10. Like
    jetsetdanny got a reaction from Spider in "Willy Comes Home"   
    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...
  11. Thanks
    jetsetdanny got a reaction from GawpGRP in Hello (again)!   
    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". 
  12. Like
    jetsetdanny reacted to GawpGRP in "Willy Comes Home"   
    Hi Daniel (or do you prefer Danny?),
    Excellent digging there - I did find the files, but can't see them yet until I either get the Emu/Editor for mac // my old windows laptop working. (It feels like getting the Windows laptop working will be easier).
    You're quite right - my memory was fuzzy! (it is is 20+ years) - for The MC Utility Cubicles, and I had added quite a lot to it. I can't recall exactly how much was added since to Phantasmagoria separately, but I will check. If you manage to get the MC going again at some point I'm happy to contribute what I done already. I'll confirm what I have used for Phantasmagoria, and if that's still worth working on. I'll be trying to finish Voyager first, so I'm happy to go with the flow on the mass collab. Either way I'll let you know when I get the files working.
    And I'll definitely be up for you play testing Voyager 🙂
    So to summarise:
    Get laptop, make it work...
    Voyager - Top priority - I will finish this!  Phantasmagoria - I will see how much extra was done, and decide to either carry on or leave it for the MassCollab. UC Mass Collaboration - either keep what I did, or give something new if Phantasmagoria is a go-er. Ants Invasion - I remember planning it and starting some rooms, so will evaluate when I see it. King Willy - was just an idea, nothing created. I'll finish the other stuff first and see if I still fancy it. I've never done a Manic Miner game, so... 😉 - Gary
  13. Thanks
    jetsetdanny reacted to Spider in Why was Manic Miner never properly optimised?   
    The above 'test file' ( while I learned, thank you N.S! 🙂 ) has the following changes (excluding cosmetics like loading picture and slightly altered piano on title screen)
    The main change is to the four main copy routines which originally used LDIR in the main loop are now replaced with a routine using a number of LDI's resulting in an increase in speed. These copy routines being:
    Copy master attributes to attribute buffer , 512 bytes
    Copy master screen pixels to screen buffer , 4096 bytes
    Copy pixels from screen buffer to real screen , 4096 bytes
    Copy attributes from attribute buffer to real screen , 512 bytes
    The relative increase in speed is quite noticeable. 🙂 
     
    The only other changes were three small insignificant ones:
    Willy faces the correct way upon entry on each cavern
    The highscore is preset to 010000 instead of 000000
    Amoebatron's Revenge conveyor is alive.
    These are something I'd automatically do anyway, probably.
     
    EDIT... Update:
    New loading screen (as logo then full) , Andy Green 2018
    Item collection sound (not in exactly the same place as other games)
    Score status line flicker reduced (not eliminated but reduced)
    Demo mode now plays the full ingame tune per cavern instead of half of it
    Pressing BREAK during gameplay will update the highscore if its new
    MM_SP_Faster V2.tap
    No other changes, plenty I want to do but it is a demo/basic building block for others.
  14. Like
    jetsetdanny reacted to MtM in Editors / Emulators for Mac   
    Hello Gawp. I have asked about Mac editors previously, I do have a pc, but tend to use my macbook
    more these for most things, so a Mac editor would be really good. In truth I have not looked that hard, it
    may be that someone has compiled JSWED for Mac and it is currently on github or the like, have you had
    a good look for it?
     
    EDIT: this looks interesting?
     
    https://github.com/muckypaws/Manic-Miner-Engine
     
  15. Like
    jetsetdanny reacted to GawpGRP in Editors / Emulators for Mac   
    Thank you all - I'll look into the options. Appreciate the pointers 🙂
     
  16. Like
    jetsetdanny reacted to GawpGRP in Hello (again)!   
    That's good news for me playing wise - though it may impact my creating time haha 😄 I'm looking forward to playing these
    Great to see some of the old crew is active, and as you say many more besides! 
    As a side note, you have probably already noticed, Erix1's old Manic Miner Tech site was saved in the JSW remakes site. Vidar gave full permission for that so I'm sure he won't have an objection if you use it or link to it on JSW central. There's some good stuff in there.
  17. Like
    jetsetdanny got a reaction from SymbolShift in Post number 10000!   
    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! 🙂 
  18. Like
    jetsetdanny got a reaction from GawpGRP in Post number 10000!   
    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! 🙂 
  19. Like
    jetsetdanny got a reaction from GawpGRP in Hello (again)!   
    (in no particular order)
    Sendy is back and her long-lost "Jet Set Willy: Role Reversal" and "Manic Person" have been finally gamma-released (with some input from yours truly). Furthermore, she has created "Strangel 2"! It's in a beta stage, I would say. I had the privilege of playtesting it, it's an amazing game. It still needs some finishing touches before the official release, but it's really another demonstration of Sendy's genius as a JSW author 🙂 .
    Adban de Corcy (Fabián Álvarez López) was active on the forum a couple of years ago. He worked on "Jet Set Jason: In Roddënwald" and developed it much further, but it's not ready for release yet and I don't think he has worked on it recently. I do hope he will complete the project one day, though.
    Geoff Eddy is a member. He released a very nice new game "Willy does the Great Pyramid!" back in 2021.
    Richard Hallas posts on the forum from time to time as well as on the "Central Cavern - The Wonderful World of Willy" Facebook group.
    Andrew Broad was active here in the past, but hasn't been seen for some time now.
    John Elliott is a member and, hopefully, reads the posts from time to time. He hasn't posted for a while though.
    Igor Makovsky is a "double member", but hasn't posted here yet.
    Vidar Eriksen (Erix1) has joined the forum, but unfortunately his presence was only momentary (he contributed 4 posts).
    The Drunken Master!!! is active on WoS, not here.
    I don't believe Stuart Hill has joined this forum, but he has commented on "Monstrum" on the JSW Central YouTube channel (revealing interesting info about the ending).
    That's a quick overview. I may have missed some people (sorry about this!), this "old-timers" list is not necessarily exhaustive. And there are some wonderful people here who were not active in the Yahoo! Group days but have done A LOT for JSW and MM in the last decade - I'm sure you will be pleased to e-meet them 🙂 .
  20. Like
    jetsetdanny got a reaction from GawpGRP in Editors / Emulators for Mac   
    I don't ever use Macs, so I don't know.
    However, I can share some info about running JSWED on a Mac.
    Igor Makovsky asked about it recently. The conversation is in the comments under the video here, starting with Igor's comment "Game author here. It was a dedication to my lovely SO, btw".
    As mentioned there, I reached out to John Elliott, JSWED's author, of course, to see if he can help. He got back to me and said that he hadn't tried to build JSWED on a Mac. He said it would be necessary to install the software development tools, download the source for JSWED and the libraries it uses, and compile it. Alternatively, it might be worth trying to run the Windows version under emulation, if the Mac has a suitable Windows virtual machine or emulator installed. John currently doesn't have access to a recent Mac, so he can't really offer detailed advice for this.
  21. Like
    jetsetdanny got a reaction from MtM in Hello (again)!   
    (in no particular order)
    Sendy is back and her long-lost "Jet Set Willy: Role Reversal" and "Manic Person" have been finally gamma-released (with some input from yours truly). Furthermore, she has created "Strangel 2"! It's in a beta stage, I would say. I had the privilege of playtesting it, it's an amazing game. It still needs some finishing touches before the official release, but it's really another demonstration of Sendy's genius as a JSW author 🙂 .
    Adban de Corcy (Fabián Álvarez López) was active on the forum a couple of years ago. He worked on "Jet Set Jason: In Roddënwald" and developed it much further, but it's not ready for release yet and I don't think he has worked on it recently. I do hope he will complete the project one day, though.
    Geoff Eddy is a member. He released a very nice new game "Willy does the Great Pyramid!" back in 2021.
    Richard Hallas posts on the forum from time to time as well as on the "Central Cavern - The Wonderful World of Willy" Facebook group.
    Andrew Broad was active here in the past, but hasn't been seen for some time now.
    John Elliott is a member and, hopefully, reads the posts from time to time. He hasn't posted for a while though.
    Igor Makovsky is a "double member", but hasn't posted here yet.
    Vidar Eriksen (Erix1) has joined the forum, but unfortunately his presence was only momentary (he contributed 4 posts).
    The Drunken Master!!! is active on WoS, not here.
    I don't believe Stuart Hill has joined this forum, but he has commented on "Monstrum" on the JSW Central YouTube channel (revealing interesting info about the ending).
    That's a quick overview. I may have missed some people (sorry about this!), this "old-timers" list is not necessarily exhaustive. And there are some wonderful people here who were not active in the Yahoo! Group days but have done A LOT for JSW and MM in the last decade - I'm sure you will be pleased to e-meet them 🙂 .
  22. Like
    jetsetdanny got a reaction from MtM in "Terry The Turtle" - item completability?   
    Platforms - yes. These are the so-called "Forbidden Hallowed Grounds". Please see this thread for more info.
    Items - no. If items were put in really inaccessible areas in a regular JSW game, the game would be incompletable, because you couldn't collect these items if you couldn't reach them. Hence you couldn't make Maria disappear or reach the bed to trigger the toilet run.
    This basic problem does not occur in "Terry The Turtle", because this game is not Maria-, bed- or toilet-completable - there is no Maria, no bed and no toilet run, so the fact that not all items can be collected does not matter. As defined by the author, "flashing Terry Tokens (...) do not have to be collected to complete the game, you just have to get Terry to deep water".
     
     
  23. Wow
    jetsetdanny got a reaction from Spider in Why was Manic Miner never properly optimised?   
    Could you provide the code you are referring to? I mean what exactly needs to be modified and how.
  24. Like
    jetsetdanny reacted to Spider in Why was Manic Miner never properly optimised?   
    Must say even with one small change to how the four main copy routines are done in the main loop, the relative speed increase is quite impressive all in all. JSW did not quite seem "as fast" doing the same however it did make a large difference still.
  25. Like
    jetsetdanny reacted to IRF in Editors / Emulators for Mac   
    I think @Richard Hallas uses a Mac, so he may have some experience in this regard? 
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