Jo22 wrote:

Yup, it seems the PCW or "Joyce" really had lots of text adventures. In some way or another, it was like an 8bit version of an I […]
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Yup, it seems the PCW or "Joyce" really had lots of text adventures.
In some way or another, it was like an 8bit version of an IBM PC with Hercules graphics.
Too bad it lacked an AY-3-8912 sound chip, otherwise it would have been truly a more advanced version
of the CPC (who needs colours and low res graphics, anyway ? 😉 ) and great for musicans also.
Speaking of Amstrads and Z80 in general, there's a new OS called SymbOS -> http://www.symbos.de/

Thanks for mentioning symbos 😀

WolverineDK wrote:

Thanks for mentioning symbos 😀

Preemptive multitasking and 2TB file system for old CP/M machines? 😳

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote:

WolverineDK wrote:

Thanks for mentioning symbos 😀

Preemptive multitasking and 2TB file system for old CP/M machines? 😳

Yeah. it is a pretty impressive system, I was about mention the system myself. But I did not know, if it was allowed 😀

WolverineDK wrote:

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote:

WolverineDK wrote:

Thanks for mentioning symbos 😀

Preemptive multitasking and 2TB file system for old CP/M machines? 😳

Yeah. it is a pretty impressive system, I was about mention the system myself. But I did not know, if it was allowed 😀

Why wouldn't it be allowed?

Anyway, it is indeed an impressive system 😀 I would love to see a video review of Symbos 😀

WolverineDK wrote:

Anyway, it is indeed an impressive system 😀 I would love to see a video review of Symbos 😀

Especially the games that run on the OS.

The PCW8512 was my first 'proper' computer, and I've still got it - lovely machine.

At the time I didn't play anything more challenging than text adventures on it, mostly it was used for programming, DTP, college work. Yes, there's Head over Heels, Batman, and more modern action games. There is a (rare) addon to provide a sound chip that does more than beep, too.

It's not worth even trying to run more modern text adventures - I tried using zxzvm to run recent-ish adventures such as Curses; it was pausing ten seconds between each command..

If you really want (for some weird reason) to game on an Amstrad then CPC 464 and 6128 are the way to go. Terrible audio is the systems weakest point so I'd still recommend a C64 over any Amstrad model just to save your ears from bleeding. 😀

A sound interface for the PCW was apparently produced by DK'Tronics. Pictures of it are here:

http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/nc100-nc200-pcw-p … cable-possible/

Emulator video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7HsI460U2U

Thanks for the video! Some of the sound effects remind me of Super Mario Land II for the Gameboy.
I'm glad that this machine got a sound adapter, even though it perhaps wasn't the most popular add-on of its time (no idea).

I couldn't find clear pictures of how it connects to the back of the computer. It looks complicated.

It's an edge connector which goes direct onto the motherboard, there are screw holes to attach devices to the back. Some have a passthrough so further devices can be used, but it quickly becomes quite unwieldly.

The only addon I had at the back was a mouse port, but there were a whole lot of other options.

I was just reading about the CPC on another website. It was very popular in France apparently, more than the Spectrum or Commdore 64. Why was this?