On man went to mow,
went to mow on a spectrum Z88...
Scandalous!
OK, I know I am this years host, but is there any rule saying I can't enter a competition I am also judging? It's surely poor form. But is it crap form? And if it is, does that mean I should do it? I think it would only be poor form if I either decided I had won, or come last. So I am, of course, ruling myself out of any placing. The truth is I love messing with these old machines, and making software and I can't wait a whole year sitting on my hands. Also, I feel like it's the first time anyone may have submitted a game while they were hosting, and the idea of a world first appeals to me.
With those caveats and apologies in the forefront of our minds, I present Advanced Lawnmower Simulator for the Cambridge Computers LTD Z88.
Recently I was contacted by a previous employee of Your Sinclair, who pointed out the true origins of this comp. I had to update my blog post (here), as I had always assumed the competition was inspired by Cassette50. But in fact it has more to do with a Your Sinclair April Fools joke about the game I have remade, and a regular feature that Your Sinclair ran called Crap Game Corner.
In the original ALS game you mow lawns. After a few lawns are completed, your mower hits a stone and then its game over. There is no way to 'complete' the game. Its just a bit of silliness. However, over the years it developed something of a cult following.
Anyway, a few days ago I was experimenting with Z88DK, and asked Dom Morris for a little help. No stranger to this comp himself (See some of his past entries here), he suggested I make an Etch-A-Sketch clone for the Z88. I started wondering if it would be acceptable to enter the comp this year, while I was host. The thought of entering yet another Etch A Sketch clone into this comp did strike me as comedy gold. However, I was worried that it was beyond me programmatically. After all you need four keys at least for Etch A Sketch, and only one key - 'm' for ALS!
If you are reading this, then Yes, I actually did enter a game into this year's competition.
So what is the game like? What are it features?
Anyway, enough preamble!
- ALS is written in C using the wonderful Z88DK.
- The player sprite (8x7 pixels) is masked - because why not!
- The game uses sprites that are 8x7 so that I have 9 lines of sprites in an 8 line display (256x64 pixels). That gives you one more line of lawn to mow than you otherwise would have.
- The sun moves through the sky as you mow the lawn.
- After you mow the first lawn the game quits. Type RUN to replay - if you really want to.
- It uses the Z88's BOLD font, sometimes.
So it does differ from the original in a number of ways:
- You cannot hit a stone and die.
- There is no choice of mowers to select from (I'll save that for the sequel).
- There is just one message when you complete the lawn. It never changes
What else can I say?
I think that's about it.
Z88DK is a rather wonderful way to make games for the Z88, I hope others will give it a go and make something. The Z88 is a proper computer with an excellent operating system, and it's a shame that not more people are discovering it.
If anyone is interested in porting a game to the Z88 using Z88DK, I can probably help you with the obvious pitfalls, so do get in touch.
Finally, Advanced Lawnmower Simulator - I remember trying very hard as a child to beat the confounded stone that kills you in the Spectrum version. 35 years latter, I've finally done it, by making my own version of the game, with the bloody stone removed!
In summary
Advanced Lawnmower Simulator for the Z88 is a silly bit of fun that helped me learn and test the sprite and keyboard routines of the Z88 in Z88DK. I cannot imagine for one minute anyone is going to try it for themselves, but if you that way out then you can get it here.
With special thanks to Dominic Morris and the Z88DK crew, without them, non of this would have been possible.
Instructions
- The best emulator is OZVM - it is missing sound, but apart from that it is flawless emulation.
- Z88 software was saved on EPROM cards that slot into the front of the Z88.
- Once you have my game file, you need to load it on the Z88 - mimicking a EPROM card.
- Select the pictured option, and then 'add file' (my game I hope!)
- Now you have to load the game into RAM. Do this with ❒J, go to slot 3 and select ALS.BBC and save to ram.
- Now hit ❒B to load BBC Basic, and type RUN"ALS.BBC" and hit enter.
This is an amazing port.
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