We’re up to 1986, Speccy Fans
Posted on June 6, 2006, by Conor O'Neill, under Entertainment, Personal, Technology.
Nick Humphries has done it again.The 1986 edition of “The Your Sinclair Rock n Roll Years TV Show” was released for download recently. All nostalgic ZX Spectrum fans should grab it and watch 8 minutes of great memories. Non-Speccy fans can listen to the music and Apprentice fans can laugh at how young Alan Sugar looks in it.
1986 was simultaneously the peak of my Spectrum involvement and also my last year. It’s all been downhill technically since then. Will I ever need to re-flex my Forth muscles and will I ever finish my Irish-themed Jet Set Willy clone which if memory serves, had “humorous” references to Big Ed Loves Mona? I got to over 20K of Z80 assembler, all on paper and never a line tested. Agile schmagile.
[tags]YSRnRY, ZX Spectrum, Sinclair, 1986[/tags]
7 Replies to "We’re up to 1986, Speccy Fans"
conor on June 11, 2006
I’ve only got the one Spectrum in the attic sadly. Let me guess on your collection - Vic-20, C64, TI 99/4A? Or are we talking Commodore Pet, Apple II or even Altair?
Branedy » My old Toys on June 11, 2006
[...] I was having a discussion of old computers, so I put up a list of my old toys. [...]
Cormac on June 13, 2006
Do you remember the “We must perform a Quirkafleeg” screen from Jet Set Willy?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quirkafleeg
http://www.russandem.co.uk/quirk/
I had a Commodore 64 myself. Oh the anxiety of watching the colours flash and listening to the screech as I waited 5 minutes + for a game to load via the tape player. And then the frustration as it failed at the last hurdle.
Speaking of hurdles, one of the favourites in our house was “Daley Thomson’s Decathlon”. We broke at least one joystick wagling it over and back to make him run. Never got past the first few events…
Other favourites were Attack of the Mutant Camels, Gridrunner and Jet Set Willy 2.
And above all “Elite” - the shoot-em-up and trading game. “That will be one military laser, some alien items and 4 ton of narcotics, please. No slaves today? Oh well…” - http://www.gamebase64.com/oldsite/gotw_elite.htm
conor on June 13, 2006
I remember the Quirkafleeg screen but not the popularity of the phrase - must have bypassed Kilkenny along with British Bulldog.
C64’s were for wussies! But your tape players were more reliable than the crappy one I got in Sherwoods with which I spent many hours tweaking its heads.
Never got to play Daley but I heard the stories of joystick destruction and despite knowing several fanatics, I never got the point of Elite.
Attack of the Mutant Camels stuck in my head so deeply that I installed a C64 Emulator last year just so I could play it. Still cool.
Branedy on June 14, 2006
Some day we will have to gather all the old hardware and software together and put on a show.
BTW: Did I hear EMC mentioned by you? I met an New Zealand guy from EMC last night.
conor on June 14, 2006
I was with EMC (both as employee and outsourcer) for two and a half years. Big place tho (1200-1300 people). I miss my country lane commute…….
Branedy on June 9, 2006
We should compare old computers, I have quite a collection in the shed.