quinta-feira, 26 de janeiro de 2023

Special Action (MIA)


Já se conhecia uma compilação Special Action vinda da Ocean, que incluia jogos como Driller ou Captain Blood. Mas agora, graças a Steven Brown, sabemos que foi feita pelo menos mais uma compilação com o mesmo nome. Esta contém os seguintes jogos: Gryzor, Target Renegade, Salamander, Basket Master e Shao Lin's Road. Se alguém tiver mais informação sobre esta compilação ou o material que vinha dentro da caixa, por favor faça-nos chegar.

Poderão aqui descarregar a compilação.

17 comentários:

  1. Derek Glen31/1/23 18:38

    Looks like it could maybe be a French version? There is an Amstrad French version of 'Special Action' online at the moment which contains all the games you list, plus IK+. Here: https://www.ebay.fr/itm/154197697959

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    Respostas
    1. probably this one, yes :)

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    2. Hello again,
      I tried testing the tapes in the download. I used FUSE emulator. Tape 2 Side A does not seem to work, it does not start at all. It returns to the system menu/home. Every other side works. This is the side that has Gryzor.
      Were you able to check if it works in any other way? I think the original copy it was backed up from might have corrupt data. I really hope not :(

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    3. Yes, it is working just fine on Spectaculator. But you´re roght, it's not working of ZX Spin. May be an emulator issue, I guess...

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    4. Ah that's a relief! Thank you for checking. I will switch emulators. I always used Spectaculator before, only switched to fuse because of the recommendation of an emulation wiki. But often times, it seems clear they have a bias towards developers who support certain features or principles.

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    5. Spectaculator is always my first choice. Then ZX Spin. I also use Fuse for TC 2068 and FDD, and Eightyone for ZX81 :)

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    6. For sure, I'll be sticking with Spectaculator. I just wish it wasn't limited-time use before requiring purchase :)

      Question about that tape 2 side A. Do you know how to play the 128K version of Gryzor that comes after the 48K one? Similarly, there is the problem with the tape in the In-Crowd compilation where the 48K Gryzor that comes after Barbarian doesn't load. Tried in Spectaculator as well.

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    7. Nope, having the very same problem here... :(

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    8. Ah, that's unfortunate :(
      I'm hoping it's just an emulation issue, maybe the copy protection set off. Really hope it's not related to a problem with the tape or its dump.

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  2. Thank you so much for providing the download to this extremely rare compilation! I'm a huge Contra/Gryzor fan and run the Contra fan site, Contra Encyclopedia. I was researching this particular Ocean compilation A LOT in 2016.

    There are a few versions/variants of Special Action available. I've been interested in the versions that include Gryzor. The compilation is available for Amstrad CPC, C64 and ZX Spectrum. There are even tape vs disk editions. The ZX one is the rarest, IMO, and I only discovered it in 2016; before your post here, I only knew of one other copy of it.

    Anyway, if you want to see what the boxes for these look like, they are here: https://contrapedia.wordpress.com/compilations/#action

    Also, here is the person with the other ZX copy (Benoit): https://www.ordipedia.com/ordinateurs/zx-spectrum/special-action/

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    Respostas
    1. You're welcome!
      By the way, do you know if any tape backups are available for download of the ZX Spectrum version of The In-Crowd?

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    2. Perhaps here, but not sure if it´s complete: https://www.myabandonware.com/game/the-in-crowd-kli

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    3. Thank you! I will check it out.
      PS, where did this download of Special Action with Gryzor come from? Was it uploaded by the copy's owner?

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    4. It was sent to me by Steven Brown. I uploaded it to my dropbox

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    5. Hmm. Does Steven Brown dump the tapes from his own copy, or say where he got the image from? If it's his copy, maybe he has other packaging info. Unless the copy he bought was loose, with tapes only.

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    6. He didn´t say, but I believe he has all this files fot long ago...

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    7. Ah, I see. Well, thanks again for the download link, and if you have any update about this collection posted to this blog, I'll keep an eye here :)
      Will check Spectrum Computing as well for more info.

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