Update: Spectrum emulator running..and Flying Shark rocks!!

[dave4shmups]

This game is seriously the next best thing I've played to the arcade version-it has all the enemies and power-ups, and I suppose, all of the levels, too!

Love the late '80's synth. too!

[Herr Schatten]

Does Spectrum Flying Shark REALLY play better then the arcade version?? I read a comment saying as much on the ZX Spectrum portion of the Xenocide Files-

Certainly not. But it's a very well playable and enjoyable game. Don't expect anything that's remotely similar to the arcade version though. However, keep in mind that even if a conversion isn't really what you'd call an accurate port, this doesn't necessarily mean that it's a bad game. The C64 version of Flying Shark (along with the C64 versions of Slap Fight and Terra Cresta) is very good as well, but it doesn't have THAT much to do with the arcade original either and the Speccy version indeed plays a whole lot better. (Same with the Speccy port of R-Type.)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 50863&rd=1

Dunno if these are legit, as I have no idea who the company who made the Spectrum was, or if they're still around-and if not, who owns the right to their name.

I've seen similar compilation discs for Amiga games and I think they are more than just slightly dodgy.

[bcass]

arcade version?? I read a comment saying as much on the ZX Spectrum portion of the Xenocide Files-Plus, I've been seeing these on Ebay lately:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 50863&rd=1

Dunno if these are legit, as I have no idea who the company who made the Spectrum was, or if they're still around-and if not, who owns the right to their name.

Spectrum Flying Shark is great. It is absolutely 'no-frills' but it is a compulsive game nontheless. The fact that is plays better than plenty of modern shmups is testament to its excellence.

Those CDs on ebay are not legit. The company that owns the Spectrum technology is Amstrad. Of course, there are loads of other companies that actually own the rights to all the games that were released. Some are still around, in one guise or other, while others simply dissapeared.

[BrianC]

Does Spectrum Flying Shark REALLY play better then the arcade version?? I read a comment saying as much on the ZX Spectrum portion of the Xenocide Files-

Certainly not. But it's a very well playable and enjoyable game. Don't expect anything that's remotely similar to the arcade version though. However, keep in mind that even if a conversion isn't really what you'd call an accurate port, this doesn't necessarily mean that it's a bad game. The C64 version of Flying Shark (along with the C64 versions of Slap Fight and Terra Cresta) is very good as well, but it doesn't have THAT much to do with the arcade original either and the Speccy version indeed plays a whole lot better. (Same with the Speccy port of R-Type.)

Umm. There are actually two C64 ports of Flying Shark. One of them has better graphics and music, but less screen space. The other one (named Sky Shark) has more screen space and better gameplay. There is also a NES Sky Shark that is very good (from what I have played).

[aurang]

If I remember correctly the X68 Flying Shark / Sky Shark actually had better music than the arcade game.

[Herr Schatten]

Does Spectrum Flying Shark REALLY play better then the arcade version?? I read a comment saying as much on the ZX Spectrum portion of the Xenocide Files-

Certainly not. But it's a very well playable and enjoyable game. Don't expect anything that's remotely similar to the arcade version though. However, keep in mind that even if a conversion isn't really what you'd call an accurate port, this doesn't necessarily mean that it's a bad game. The C64 version of Flying Shark (along with the C64 versions of Slap Fight and Terra Cresta) is very good as well, but it doesn't have THAT much to do with the arcade original either and the Speccy version indeed plays a whole lot better. (Same with the Speccy port of R-Type.)

Umm. There are actually two C64 ports of Flying Shark. One of them has better graphics and music, but less screen space. The other one (named Sky Shark) has more screen space and better gameplay. There is also a NES Sky Shark that is very good (from what I have played).

I was referring to the Sky Shark version. The other one's cool too, though.

[serge]

Dave, if you're insterested in anything Spectrum-related then forget about this ebay junk, and visit the World of Spectrum site instead.
Distribution of system ROMs was approved by Amstrad PLC, and the same is true for the most of software titles, some were put into public domain by their authors in fact (like Vortex Software games).
Some do not allow redistribution of their old software, so you will not find Codemasters games there, for example.
Anyhow, Spectrum emulation is certainly not a problem.
I guess, those 5K+ games on that CD are straight from the WOS archive.

About FlyingShark on Speccy, it was the second shooter I ever played "seriously" (the first on was Zanac on MSX), so I just love this game. In fact my sister still refers to ALL the shmups as "flyingsharks".
Can't comment on how it compares to the original arcade version though, so I'll just second what others have said: it's great, especially considering its age and underpowered platform it was on.

[Shatterhand]

Codemasters is stupid.

I think emulation of Spectrum may be better than the real thing, unless you are willing to wait 10 minutes for a tape to load.

Ooohhh, those were the times

[zyloj]

I think emulation of Spectrum may be better than the real thing, unless you are willing to wait 10 minutes for a tape to load.

Ooohhh, those were the times

Well, nowadays you can use hard disks or compact flash adapters in a spectrum like this

[yojo!]

I played the Amstrad CPC version (which should be very similar to the speccy) and the gameplay is pretty decent. But the PCB is the only way to go IMO.

[dave4shmups]

If I remember correctly the X68 Flying Shark / Sky Shark actually had better music than the arcade game.

I wouldn't be surprised if it does, considering the quality of most X68000 ports.

I'd be willing to be that the FM Towns Marty port is arcade perfect, though!

And thanks for the advice Serge! Can you reccomend a good Spectrum emulator? I've been looking for one, but it seems that there aren't any that run on Windows XP, which is the operating system on my family's PC.

[serge]

About Spectrum emus, I'm using UnrealSpeccy, don't know if it's the best one around, but compatibility is high, it supports many hardware extensions (especially sound) and so on. Runs fine under Win2k, so should work under XP as well.
It's here:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/unrealspeccy/
Click on download link under Latest Software Releases, the file you're looking for is us029b-bin.rar

[dave4shmups]

Ok, thanks, I got it downloaded!

Now, how do I run a game on this thing? I just downloaded Flying Shark, but when I click on the emulator's logo, it says:

"This application has failed to start because MSVCR71.dll was not found."

What the heck does that mean? And, when I want to play a game on this emulator, do I need to unzip the game, or just drag-and-drop?

[serge]

That DLL is needed for programs developed with Microsoft tools, it's not a part of standard Windows install, it's on many download sites so just use Google to find it.

In the emu press F3 to open File Load dialog and select the zip file (no need to unzip). If actual game file in the zip is in .z80 format it should start right away.

[dave4shmups]

Ok, I have downloaded the dll program, but now I can't open it! WinRar is telling me that the might be corrupt.

Sorry for all the trouble, but I'd really like to get this emulator up and running.

[serge]

Hmm, must be corrupted download I guess. Just try re-downloading it (maybe from another site), or let me know your e-mail via PM and I'll send you that dll.

[dave4shmups]

PM Sent Serge!