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SCREECH

Vintage & Modern Tech Blog

Frequently Asked Questions

DISCLAIMER: This is NOT intended to be a general advice page and relates to software and other items PRODUCED MY MYSELF ONLY.
 
Q. How do I install the Cap'n Rescue Test Version or 3711A.D. under Windows 10 64-Bit?

A. The latest version has a proper Windows Installer. Grab the latest version on the Downloads page. Once the zipped folder has downloaded to your PC, run the file named 'setup'. Follow the instructions to install the game. It is recommended to choose the 'create desktop shortcut' option, to make starting the game easier.
 
Q. What are the system requirements for the Cap'n Rescue Test Version?

A. Exact details are not known at this stage but a minimum of 1.4Ghz Dual Core CPU, 4GB RAM, Windows 10 64-Bit Edition, 160 Megabytes of Hard Disk space seem to work okay. A Quad Core @2.4 GHz works better.
 
Q. How do I uninstall the Cap'n Rescue Test Version or 3711A.D. under Windows 10 64-Bit?

A. Restart the PC. Then navigate to System > Apps and Features and click on Cap'n Rescue or 3711A.D. a box named uninstall appears. Click on it. The game will uninstall. You may see a message stating some files are still left and can be deleted manually. If so, navigate to C:\Program Files (x86) and either run the program named unins000.exe or click on the files and delete them as you would ordinary files.
Q. What do I need to run your ZX Spectrum games?

A. There are a multitude of ways to use new & old Spectrum games including on the original 1982 - 1992  hardware, on a new device such as a Vega, ZX Spectrum Next, or with an emulator - a program that makes a phone or PC pretend to be a retro computer - such as Spectaculator or ZX Spin (the Spectrum community are lucky in having permission to use Sinclair operating system ROM images with their emulators).
 
Q. How do I actually load a game on the original hardware or an emulator?

A. On the original hardware or an emulator, you'll probably need to type in LOAD "" by pressing the J key followed by symbol-shift (try Ctrl on a PC) and P (you'll have to be in 48k mode on a 128k, +2, or +3).***If the game will run in 128k mode the process is a bit easier -just select TAPE LOADER when the machine/emulation has reset (you may need to make sure the (virtual) tape is 'rewound' to the start).***
 
Q. How do I load a game on the ZX Spectrum Vega?
 
A. At the time of this page being created, the Vega works best with games in directories.Create a folder on a micro SD card and drop the game e.g. cr2vega.tap  and the associated  keymap file e.g. cr2vega.zxk into the same folder. With your Vega switched on and the SD card inserted press button 'B' and navigate to the game with D-pad left and right.
Q. Why do the game graphics flash like crazy?

A. Your emulator is probably not set correctly for ULA Plus. ULA Plus gives the ZX Spectrum more colours than originally available in the 1980s (64 colours instead of 15) by replacing the bright and flash bits with CLUTs (Colour Look-Up Tables) during loading. 
 
Q. Why didn't you make the changes I suggested for your finished 8-bit or other retro game?

A. Working in a small amount of RAM comes with some limitations - for example, one part of my GAC
adventure has only 62 bytes (not even a 1 Kb) of free RAM. Other tools corrupt or do strange things if changes are made to text or sound too late on in a games creation.
 
Q. What's a Zee -Ex - Plectrum anyway?

A. The ZX Spectrum was created by British company Sinclair Research Ltd following the success of their ZX80 and ZX81 self-assembly kits, also available pre-built. First sold in 1982, the Spectrum's low-price point of £125 ($219 USD) for the 16 kilobyte model and £175 ($306 USD) (of the 48k model in 1982 money ("later reduced to £99 and £129 respectively" - Wikipedia) at a time when a Commodore 64 cost £350 GBP ($614 USD) (and a BBC Micro cost £235 ($412), proved very appealing to the British consumer. 5 million official Spectrums were sold worldwide, kickstarting the careers of many programmers and earning Sir Clive Sinclair his knighthood for 'Services to British Industry'. The Spectrum's cost was in part kept down by the use of a DIP-40 Ferranti Uncommited Logic Array (ULA), not dissimilar in function to a CPLD used today, as well as some clever coding, and - perhaps unbelievably today - 50% functional DRAM memory chips giving the computer user exactly the amount of RAM they expected but, presumably at a discount price to Sinclair.
 

 
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