Hervé AST

Hello
Here's the game image (attached for search engine optimization).
I'm making good progress on creating the rooms. I'm cruising along!
See you soon!
Hervé

Jolly good old chap! Looking forward to this one

Hello Daniel,
Thank you for your advice.
I've updated the list accordingly and modified the title screens.
Regarding the number of rooms completed in the "JSW in London" game, I calculated the percentage for 64 rooms instead of 128...
I hope to reach 24% in the coming weeks! 😉

I'm also taking this opportunity to show you the title screen for the next game "JSW IN LONDON".

Project 8 - JSW in London :
I'm prioritizing the creation of this game
JSW game, 64W version - 128 rooms.
Its release is planned for 2026.
The title screen is finished. I've created and tested 15 rooms (12%). The paper plan is finalized.
The file is created, and the rooms are in order.
The final sequence is complete.
 
Project 11 - Christmas Day. Version 64 [- 64 rooms 
The title screen is finished.  I'm starting to create the rooms and the guardians. The paper plan is finished.
The file is created and the pieces are ready.
Its release is planned for December 2026.
 
Project 12 -  Time Machine : Middle Ages. Version 64 [- 64 rooms  
I'm keeping this title because Willy returns to a location from one of my games (which you'll have to discover for yourself) to use a time tunnel, "the time machine". It's not his invention, which is why the game can't be called "Willy's Time Machine."
I've also separated the titles, putting "Time Machine" first, because I might one day, who knows, add other journeys... to ancient Rome, the ancient empires of Central and South America... the door remains open to that idea.
The title screen is finished.  I'm starting to create the rooms and the guardians. The paper plan is finished.
The file is created and the pieces are ready.
I've made good progress; I hope to release it in 2027.
 
Project 10 - Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Version 64W - 128 rooms.
The title screen is finished.  I'm starting to create the rooms and the guardians. The paper plan is finished.
The file is created and the pieces are ready.
I've made good progress; I hope to release it in 2027.
 
Project 9 - Exploration of Rama III. Version 64 [- 64 rooms.
The title screen is finished.  I'm starting to create the rooms and the guardians. The paper plan is finished.
The file is created and the pieces are ready.
I've made good progress; I hope to release it in 2028.
See you soon!
Hervé

Hello Daniel,
Thank you for your advice.
I've updated the list accordingly and modified the title screens.
Regarding the number of rooms completed in the "JSW in London" game, I calculated the percentage for 64 rooms instead of 128...
I hope to reach 24% in the coming weeks! 😉

I'm also taking this opportunity to show you the title screen for the next game "JSW IN LONDON".

Project 8 - JSW in London :
I'm prioritizing the creation of this game
JSW game, 64W version - 128 rooms.
Its release is planned for 2026.
The title screen is finished. I've created and tested 15 rooms (12%). The paper plan is finalized.
The file is created, and the rooms are in order.
The final sequence is complete.
 
Project 11 - Christmas Day. Version 64 [- 64 rooms 
The title screen is finished.  I'm starting to create the rooms and the guardians. The paper plan is finished.
The file is created and the pieces are ready.
Its release is planned for December 2026.
 
Project 12 -  Time Machine : Middle Ages. Version 64 [- 64 rooms  
I'm keeping this title because Willy returns to a location from one of my games (which you'll have to discover for yourself) to use a time tunnel, "the time machine". It's not his invention, which is why the game can't be called "Willy's Time Machine."
I've also separated the titles, putting "Time Machine" first, because I might one day, who knows, add other journeys... to ancient Rome, the ancient empires of Central and South America... the door remains open to that idea.
The title screen is finished.  I'm starting to create the rooms and the guardians. The paper plan is finished.
The file is created and the pieces are ready.
I've made good progress; I hope to release it in 2027.
 
Project 10 - Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Version 64W - 128 rooms.
The title screen is finished.  I'm starting to create the rooms and the guardians. The paper plan is finished.
The file is created and the pieces are ready.
I've made good progress; I hope to release it in 2027.
 
Project 9 - Exploration of Rama III. Version 64 [- 64 rooms.
The title screen is finished.  I'm starting to create the rooms and the guardians. The paper plan is finished.
The file is created and the pieces are ready.
I've made good progress; I hope to release it in 2028.
See you soon!
Hervé

Hello everyone,
Here is an update on the progress of my projects
Project 8 - JSW in London :
I'm prioritizing the creation of this game
JSW game, 64W version - 128 rooms.
Its release is planned for 2026.
The title screen is finished. I've created and tested 15 rooms (24%). The paper plan is finalized.
The file is created, and the rooms are in order.
The final sequence is complete.
 
Here's an update on my other projects:
 
Project 11 - Christmas Day. Version 64 [- 64 rooms 
The title screen is finished.  I'm starting to create the rooms and the guardians. The paper plan is finished.
The file is created and the pieces are ready.
Its release is planned for December 2026.
 
Project 12 - Time Machine : Middle Age. Version 64 [- 64 rooms  (new name)
The title screen is finished.  I'm starting to create the rooms and the guardians. The paper plan is finished.
The file is created and the pieces are ready.
I've made good progress; I hope to release it in 2027.
 
Project 10 - Journey to the Center of the Earth. Version 64W - 128 rooms.
The title screen is finished.  I'm starting to create the rooms and the guardians. The paper plan is finished.
The file is created and the pieces are ready.
I've made good progress; I hope to release it in 2027.
 
Project 9 - Exploration of Rama III. Version 64 [- 64 rooms.
The title screen is finished.  I'm starting to create the rooms and the guardians. The paper plan is finished.
The file is created and the pieces are ready.
I've made good progress; I hope to release it in 2028.
 
Project 7: Willy Saves Maria. Version 64W - 128 rooms.
->I'm deleting this project permanently
 
I've given a lot of thought to what to do next with this list.
I want to create these five games because I think they can stand out from the ones I've already made and offer players a unique experience.

After that, I've decided not to add any new projects to the five games already planned. In other words, these will be my last creations.
I have many other creative passions that I'd like to explore more seriously.
I'd also like to be able to dedicate more time to video games. I miss them.
See you soon
Hervé

Thank you so much !
that means a lot to me.
This motivates me to give my best for the upcoming games.
See you soon!
Hervé 

Thank you so much !
that means a lot to me.
This motivates me to give my best for the upcoming games.
See you soon!
Hervé 

That's great @Hervé AST
Yours are the last four games I've played - Islands of Mystery parts 1 and 2, Transatlantic Cruise and Paris. I've really enjoyed each one.
I'm looking forward to London!!

Hello everyone,
Here is an update on the progress of my projects
Project 8 - JSW in London :
I'm prioritizing the creation of this game
JSW game, 64W version - 128 rooms.
Its release is planned for 2026.
The title screen is finished. I've created and tested 15 rooms (24%). The paper plan is finalized.
The file is created, and the rooms are in order.
The final sequence is complete.
 
Here's an update on my other projects:
 
Project 11 - Christmas Day. Version 64 [- 64 rooms 
The title screen is finished.  I'm starting to create the rooms and the guardians. The paper plan is finished.
The file is created and the pieces are ready.
Its release is planned for December 2026.
 
Project 12 - Time Machine : Middle Age. Version 64 [- 64 rooms  (new name)
The title screen is finished.  I'm starting to create the rooms and the guardians. The paper plan is finished.
The file is created and the pieces are ready.
I've made good progress; I hope to release it in 2027.
 
Project 10 - Journey to the Center of the Earth. Version 64W - 128 rooms.
The title screen is finished.  I'm starting to create the rooms and the guardians. The paper plan is finished.
The file is created and the pieces are ready.
I've made good progress; I hope to release it in 2027.
 
Project 9 - Exploration of Rama III. Version 64 [- 64 rooms.
The title screen is finished.  I'm starting to create the rooms and the guardians. The paper plan is finished.
The file is created and the pieces are ready.
I've made good progress; I hope to release it in 2028.
 
Project 7: Willy Saves Maria. Version 64W - 128 rooms.
->I'm deleting this project permanently
 
I've given a lot of thought to what to do next with this list.
I want to create these five games because I think they can stand out from the ones I've already made and offer players a unique experience.

After that, I've decided not to add any new projects to the five games already planned. In other words, these will be my last creations.
I have many other creative passions that I'd like to explore more seriously.
I'd also like to be able to dedicate more time to video games. I miss them.
See you soon
Hervé

Tonight is the Year of the Loong New Year's Eve. I wish you all a happy Spring Festival in year of the snake in advance!😄

View File Willy in the Islands of Mystery : Part II : The Temple
Hello everyone
I am thrilled to announce the release of my sixth game, "Willy in the Islands of Mystery: Part II: The Temple."
It uses the JSW64 engine with the variant [].
This game is a direct sequel to the first game, "Willy in the Islands of Mystery: Part I; Exploration," created in 2007.
I encourage you to start by playing Part I.
It is available for download via this link:
https://xa.bi/jsw/islands1.htm
Part I, "Exploration":
The story: For some unknown reason—perhaps after the sinking of his cruise ship—Willy is alone on a raft in the middle of the ocean. One morning, he discovers a mysterious island on the horizon. He will have to explore it and find a way back home...
Part II, "The Temple,"
Begins in the exact same room where Willy finished the game in Part I.
The story: After exploring the islands, Willy discovers an ancient temple. To leave the Isles of Mystery, he must face its dangers and collect all the flashing objects scattered inside. Perhaps the Temple holds the key to his freedom.

Part II, "The Temple," has many surprises in store for you.
Technically, it's the first JSW game with different music for each room.
The theme is therefore different depending on the room.
This game also has many effects that greatly enhance the game's atmosphere.
I won't say any more; you'll have to discover it all for yourself...
And I've saved the best for last: I didn't create this game alone. Daniel (JetSetDanny) worked incredibly hard on all these improvements: music programming, visual effects, adding traps, scrolling messages, loading screen, end screen, game translation, title colors, complete testing, promoting the game on social media and websites dedicated to classic games… I think I'm forgetting some things, and I apologize to him.
It was a colossal and time-consuming undertaking. I want to thank him for his dedication and availability.
This is why this game is co-signed (Hervé and Daniel), as you can see on the home screen.
The game is available in two languages: English and French, In TAP and TZX formats

Have fun!   
Hervé


Submitter Hervé AST Submitted 12/31/2025 Category Jet Set Willy [Remakes]  

I actually fancied a bit more exotic scenery so I've gone for Transatlantic Cruise rather than Paris! I'm a little way in and still haven't consulted a map. Although I note that it's 128 rooms, rather than the right 64 of Temple, so I don't know if I'll be able to hold out til the end.
The part in Temple that gave me a pleasant surprise was a reference to a certain game 😉

Hello,
after more than 40 years, I haven't stopped playing with the Zx Spectrum and spreading the enthusiam for it.

I've recently bought 'The Spectrum' from RetroGaming and I have to say that it delivers an experience very similar to the orginal Speccy.
It is so close to the 'original' that it doesn't have a "modern" way to enter pokes.

Thus, to play and practice Manic Miner I had two possible choice:
- breaking to basic and poking the old fashion way... quite nostalgic, but very boring and unpractical;
- hack Manic Miner to add a "cheat menu".

I choosed the latter.

It took a while for the memories of Z80 assembly to arise, but little by little I remembered enough to hack into MM code.
Thanks to the complete disassembly by Richard Dymond I had a solid base to work on.

The project, as well as the assembled TAP files, can be found in the GitHub repo:
https://github.com/pacrox/MANIC-MINER_PAK


This is an extract from the README:



Some screenshots taken with Zesarux:





 
Running on 'The Spectrum':


Best,
P.

Thanks for playing and finishing The Temple, Mike, and for telling us about it! I believe you are the first person in the world other than Hervé or myself that is known to have completed The Temple! 👍😁
I would kindly suggest that you have a go at "Jet Set Willy in Paris" next, as "Jet Set Willy in London" is... still on Hervé's side of the screen. It will be released later this year, hopefully 😊.
Oh, and what is this genuinely wonderful moment that made you laugh out loud in surprise? 🤔

I finished The Temple. It's such a great game! It was totally doable even without a map, although some of the puzzles had me scratching my head for a while....
Also, there's a genuinely wonderful moment that made me laugh out loud in surprise 🙂
I'm probably gonna give London or Paris a go next.

Congratulations!!! 😁👏🍾🎉

End of Part I 
Roll on Part II 🥳

Yes, I'm definitely using lots of save states on my little handheld when playing. I save every time I'm about to enter a new room (you never know what's in there) or when I've just done a tricky bit that I don't feel like having to do again if I lose a life.
Funnily enough, when I first started watching your playthroughs on YouTube to help me when I got stuck, I just assumed that you were a really, really good player and could not only remember the ideal route through every map, but also execute it flawlessly each time 😂. I'm sure you are a very good player aside from that. But it was a bit of a relief to read that you use the rollback feature when recording the videos!
Nevertheless, I think the Temple will be a bit of a challenge for me as I won't have a map to rely on. I'm just about finishing up Part I now, so I'm looking forward to seeing what's in store. I think 64 rooms is a bit more on the manageable side.

Wonderful! I'm currently working my way through Part I, which has blown my mind with the lush graphics and clever traps... I really feel like I'm on the island!
I'm looking forward to tryung the temple. I'm glad to hear that it's relatively easy as this will be my first attempt at a JSW game without the aid of a map. Can't wait!

Hi Mike,
Thank you so much for posting here and for your kind words! 😊
Your post is really exceptional, because it’s not often that we get this kind of elaborate testimony related to the MM and JSW games. I am particularly thrilled to learn that you appreciate the homebrew games that have kept the scene going, as I have spent a lot of time and effort over the years emphasising their value and fighting the concept — sometimes found outside the MM/JSW community — that a game is “just another MM/JSW clone” and, for that reason, not even worth taking a look at. I have always argued that there are many *new games*, made using the exquisite game mechanics and some concepts of the original games, but new titles in their own right, to which their authors dedicated a great deal of time, effort and skill — in many cases probably hundreds of hours of work — with excellent results.
I am also very pleased, of course, that you have found JSW Central and the related YouTube channel useful 😁.
Your post reminds me of that time back in the early 2000s when I first discovered the existence of ZX Spectrum emulators for PC computers, and then the existence of numerous fan-made MM and JSW games. It was still a couple of years before I started playing them one by one, and before I started work on my first JSW game, but the seed of interest had already been sown by then, and I had it at the back of my mind that I should check out those games that seemed to compensate “with interest” for the earlier lack of more rooms in JSW and JSW II.
In case you might be interested, my personal testimony about my involvement with the MM and JSW games is available here.
If your trajectory should happen to be similar to mine, the next stage of it will be a desire to actually design some new JSW rooms… or an entire new JSW game! JSWED makes this very easy (v. 2.3.7 is recommended; John Elliott’s calling it the “Latest Unstable Version” is false modesty). CAUTION: It’s addictive! 😉
And meanwhile, it will be a pleasure to hear more from you, or to discuss any aspect of the MM and JSW games you may be interested in 🙂.

Absolutely! 😀

I just discovered the Jet Set Willy homebrew scene about 2 months ago and have been steadily ploughing my way through the back catalogue. Wow! I am so impressed with what people have achieved and the scene that has grown up around JSW and Manic Miner over the last forty years.
I remember playing Jet Set Willy on my older cousin's Spectrum 48k with him when I was very young. I remember that it was hard, that it had an incredible atmosphere and that it sparked something in the imagination. I don't think either of us were very good at it, but we loved playing it nonetheless. Fast forward to a couple of years ago and I got into retro gaming handhelds. This was a huge nostalgia blast, and let me re-live some of my favourites from the Speccy, C64 and Amiga. Just before Christmas I gave Manic Miner a go. It was a game I had never played back in the day, but with the advantage of save states I was able to really get into it. Then I thought to have another look at JSW and noticed there was at least a dozen remakes included in the rom pack I had found. This was intriguing to me, as some of the best games I had recently played on other platforms (such as NES) had been homebrew games. I started dipping my toe in and I got hooked!
Now I'm playing a JSW remake every day. I load it up on my handheld with my morning coffee. I bring it with me in the car when I take the kids to activities. And after they're finished their homework I delve in again. They say "Dad, you're always playing Jet Set Willy!".
One of the "problems" of the retro gaming handheld thing is that with almost every title ever published available at your fingertips it can be quite hard sometimes to choose what to play. At the moment I'm loving the idea of playing a series of games with the same mechanics, but different concepts. I am absolutely loving the experience of exploring Middle Earth, Egyptian pyramids, the life of Doc Shiels, space stations and lairs of dominatrix vampires. I think there's something really special about the ability to name each room that acts as a kind of springboard for the imagination.
I want to say a huge thanks to the people that have been involved in the scene down through the years. To have something to fill the idle hours of the day that is not served to me by a social media algorithm but has instead emerged from the dedication of an individual artist who loves their subject is priceless.
And I'd like to say a special thanks to the people who have been involved in efforts to preserve and present this body of work. I have consulted Danny's JSW Central and his YouTube channel many, many times when I've been stuck on a game, or need inspiration for what to play next. Without this I would be lost, literally!

Conclusion
This concludes my write-up on coding the 128K music. I hope it will be useful to those who wish to code their own tunes 😊. I also look forward to any questions, comments, or suggestions for improving what I have presented here 🙂.

Overview
The objective of this document is to allow, and make it easy for, authors of JSW games to code their own in-game music for games using the JSW128 and JSW64 game engines.
I have prepared one document, but I will post it in several parts to make it easier to read and to reply to the various issues I intend to discuss.
 
Credits
The following information draws heavily on (and at times quotes directly) information contained in John Elliott’s document “Jet Set Willy 128: Music format” and in his JSWED v2.3.7 manual (a PDF file that can be found in JSWED’s installation folder).
Richard Hallas’s document “A Miner Triad. Music in Jet-Set Willy and both versions of Manic Miner” was used for the JSW48 chart tone.
Andrew Broad’s specialised program SPECSAISIE was used to obtain the basic tone chart for the 128K games as equivalent to the basic tone chart of the 48K games.
 
Introduction
People interested in creating new JSW games using JSWED will likely design games using either the classic 48K game engine (JSW48) or one of the 128K game engines, i.e., JSW128 or JSW64.
How to code music for JSW48 games was described very clearly by Richard Hallas in his document mentioned above. More useful information can also be found in this thread.
This document discusses the coding of title-screen and in-game music in games using the JSW128 and JSW64 game engines. Most of the information presented here has already been available for a long time in John Elliott’s documents credited above. My aim is to present it in a slightly different way — which I hope makes it easier to understand what should and what can be done. I also share my own experiences and practices from coding the 128K music.
Music in JSW128 and JSW64 games is played by default via a built-in music player by Ian Collier. This music player can be replaced in JSWED with Soundtracker by BZYK (Piotr Baczkiewicz). I have had no experience with Soundtracker, so this document refers exclusively to the default music player.
My own experiences with coding 128K music relate to two games by Hervé Ast released in 2025. Hervé kindly allowed me to contribute musical arrangements to them. For “Welcome to Willy’s Fun Park!”, I composed both the title-screen tune and the in-game tune (the same in all rooms). In “Willy in the Islands of Mystery. Part II: The Temple”, I expanded my work significantly: I composed multiple in-game tunes and modified the game engine to allow each room to have its own tune, resulting in different tunes in various rooms.

Hello everyone,
I've just released my game, and it's available in the downloads section of this forum.
As always, it's a big moment, and I'm always a little anxious about the players' reactions.
This project is particularly close to my heart because I've been thinking about it for 18 years without being able to bring it to fruition. Now it's done; it's real and it will have a life of its own, independent of me.
I truly enjoyed my collaboration with Daniel. He's an extraordinary person who dedicated himself completely to this new game. He keeps JSW games alive through his website and videos, not to mention his invaluable advice and programming skills. Collaborating with Daniel on my two 2025 games was a tremendous honor for me.
As always, the sprites are free to use; you can use them for your own creations.
For me, this project is now complete. This thread is now closed. I'll tell you more about my upcoming creations in the coming weeks. Things are progressing well.
Thank you all for being on this forum and sharing this passion!
Take care,
Hervé