it's just an XT with a slow CGA card so all xt/cga games will work
better upgrade to 640kb if you want to really use it
and also check this: Which Sierra games can use the PC1512.DRV so they have 16colors with an Amstrad 1512 system? (SOLVED!)

I can't remember ever running into any games that were compatible, but wouldn't run due to only having 512KB of RAM instead of 640KB.
I do remember the system-supplied boot disk would check a flag in the CMOS and create a ramdisk if it was enabled, which sometimes caused issues.

8 MHz with no turbo button so speed sensitive games for the original PC will run too fast.

I only ever ran across one CGA game that wouldn't run at all on the PC1512 (Astro Dodge, which modifies CRTC registers in a way that the PC1512's CGA implementation doesn't support). The additional speed did make some games more challenging (I was never able to complete Bruce Lee because of this). If you run into software that requires 640kB it shouldn't be difficult to find 64kBit DRAMs to perform the upgrade.

It uses a Plantronics video adaptor, IIRC

ETA: No, I was confusing it with the PC 1640, which uses a Paradise EGA clone with Plantronics mode compatibility.

reenigne wrote on 2020-10-25, 07:15:

(I was never able to complete Bruce Lee because of this)

I did, despite not knowing what I was looking at half the time because of the seemingly-designed-for-composite-only graphics.

No such luck with Bubble Bobble, even though I could get through the NES version pretty easily.

Does Moonbugs run on it?

jmarsh wrote on 2020-10-25, 10:56:

reenigne wrote on 2020-10-25, 07:15:

(I was never able to complete Bruce Lee because of this)

I did, despite not knowing what I was looking at half the time because of the seemingly-designed-for-composite-only graphics.

That's weird - the version that I played (with actually came bundled with the Amstrad PC1512) had both composite and RGBI modes.

Errius wrote on 2020-10-25, 11:40:

Does Moonbugs run on it?

I believe so. Though I haven't actually tried it - I no longer had the PC1512 when I learn of that game's existence.

reenigne wrote on 2020-10-25, 11:55:

That's weird - the version that I played (with actually came bundled with the Amstrad PC1512) had both composite and RGBI modes.

It was the bundled version (with Dam Busters, a wrestling game and a spaceship captain sim where you issued orders to crew), it just looked really bad in 4-color CGA. In the later screens it was basically trial and error to find out which areas were safe (ladders/conveyors/etc) or instant death (spikes/electricity/etc) because they all looked identical. Worst of all, the fat sumo guy called "The GREEN Yamo" was completely white!

I definitely had moonbugs as well, but it didn't get played nearly as much as digger.

Is it normal that Astro-Dodge has no sound effects?

Ok. So games like Donkey Kong and Castle Wolfenstein isn't playable because of the speed issue?
Is there a way to know which games that are speed sensitive?
Playing old CGA DOS games is awesome but if they run way to fast everything is ruined...
So is every DOS game from 1981 until 1984 to avoid? I Guess text adventures should be ok?
Just thinking so I know which games to get for the Amstrad 1512 and which ones to avoid because of this.

Thanks!

Some games have clever coding that corrects for the speed difference, but not many from that era have that.

Other games, although designed for 4.77 MHz, allow you to choose the starting difficulty, where easier difficulty = lower speed. These can also be played OK on faster machines.

Everything else will be too fast. You can try using programs like MOSLO to slow them down, but that will require more memory which may cause other problems (especially on a 512 KB machine).

Also, some games floating around the internet have been hacked to run more slowly.

Ok. So the only option is to get a 5150 or 5160 XT or AT computer to run these early games properly?

For the full, authentic experience, yes. (AT will still be too fast)

Or get a faster machine with a turbo button. When I built my XT I made sure it had this. It uses an 8088-2 CPU running at 8 MHz which can be dropped down to 4.77 MHz when necessary. Otherwise the specs are the same as the PC1512 (CGA with 512 KB RAM).