Posted November 20, 2019 by Adventuron
#zx spectrum #text-adventure #interactive fiction #text adventure #adventuron #daad #maluva #remake #8bit
Excalibur Remake on ZX Spectrum
I recently released a ZX Spectrum +3 disk version of Excalibur. This is a port of the adventuron remake, and contains zero lines of code, from the original game.
It is not based on any existing source code of the original game (which I believe to be lost), and it running in a completely different engine (more on that later).
To run the game requires an emulator, and note that these screenshots show Spectaculator, but that Spectaculator is a commercial emulator. There are several free emulators such as Fuse, and Klive, and it is out of scope to instruct players how to play the game in an emulator.
NOTE: I do not take responsibility for content or the safety of downloads in URLS.
The majority of players should play the web based version for its convenience, but there is undeniable charm to playing the game on 8-bit hardware, so this is a proof of concept, and a novelty for 8-bit text adventure enthusiasts.
ZX Spectrum Screenshots (Running in Spectaculator)
I recently made quite a large update to Adventuron 2 DAAD, so that it is now possible to export simple Adventuron games with Compliant ZX Spectrum Graphics via the DRC (DAAD Reborn Compiler) format
Graphic requirements:
A program such as multipaintwill let you create images in such a compliant format. Please check out the work of Andy Green and Shaun McClure for great examples of how it's possible to create great looking ZX Spectrum pixel art within these constraints.
How To Load
To play the game, download the .zip file containing a .dsk file at the bottom of the page, and then load into a modern spectrum emulator.
Issues
Playing this remake on original +3 hardware will result in noticable pauses when moving between locations, as the graphics stream from disk. When running on an emulator with fast (non accurate) disk IO, then graphic loads should appear near instant. There is very little that can be done to speed up this approach on original hardware, and it is not at all the fault of the graphic library used, but rather a quirk of ancient disk drive technology.
Copyright Information
All versions of Excalibur:Sword of Kings are copyright of Adventuron Software Limited.
This software is for personal use only, and not to be redistributed.
Tools Used
Libraries Embedded
Thank Yous
More Information On The Port
For more information on the port, either wait for a new detailed post, or mail info@adventuron.io
Please enjoy,
Chris