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Phrase search: virtual2.tap

Year search: 2008
Judge: Digital Prawn [Official Site]

Virtual ZX Spectrum
AuthorJames Smith
Filenamevirtual2.tap
Year2008
Position6
FormatZX Spectrum 48K
Download Archive
Visit this game's wiki page for player comments, docs, discussion etc
DescriptionTo quote some fragments of James' Email to me:-

It emulates a Z80 CPU and traps hardware/memory access to create a virtual 16K Spectrum. By trapping the ROM LOAD and BEEP calls it can be made usable so you can load programs into the virtual machine and hear it play tunes. It is self contained and even if you do "RANDOMIZE USR 0" it still won't reset the host. The only way to reset the host is to press the reset button, generate a NMI or use an emulator's debugger to change PC.

The .TAP file I've enclosed does contain MTV at the end of it, but any 16K program can be used.

There are still one or two bugs in the Z80 core as I know the Psion Planetoids ROM cartridge doesn't work (Space Raiders & Hungry Horace do though). It is also around 1/10th the speed of a real Spectrum.

DP:- The screenshot I grabbed is from a one-liner program I co-wrote last year "1 Line Space Trader", running inside the 16K virtual machine provided by James' software.

The downloadable tapfile and the one in the "Crap Game Arcade" both include Gavin Callard's ZX Spectrum version of "More Tea Vicar", which demonstrates the virtual host in action. Just load it up as usual with LOAD"" from within the virtual machine.

*Updated 29/03/08* - James has released version 2.03 of this software, now downloadable via the download link. This version features some important bug fixes and improvements.

CommentsAn exquisite idea, and it actually really works! Certainly, this program has pushed out the limits of the crap game compo yet again and you can now run crap games within a crap environment, making them even more crap. I have to ask what level of motivation does someone have, going to such lengths to code something so brilliantly crap?
But then again the CGC relies on such hardcore dedication. This will be one to remember and we even had a stream of bugfixes and updates for it from the author who always provides an excellent level of support.


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