1980's home computer....
- Thread starter plasmahal
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The year was 1989. Kainzy got his first proper computer - an Amstrad CPC464 with Colour screen from Curry's for a £299. That was an absolute ton of cash back then and since my parents looked so skint, the salesman bundled in a huge Amsoft games pack and a digital paint program that had a LIGHTPEN, which I never got working because a year later I found out it was for the bloody spectrum - the program tapes and manuals had no references to the required computer then.
Target Renegade FTW. I wish I never sold the machine in the end because I rocked at BASIC.
Target Renegade FTW. I wish I never sold the machine in the end because I rocked at BASIC.
When I was about 5 or 6 I can remember my Dad getting one of his old computers down from the attic for me to play on. Absolutely loved it, though it was a bit massive.
A Next PC?
The first computer I can remember using was a ZX Spectrum (with the rubber keys), before this we had a green screen contraption that plugged into the tv and played basic pong like games. We also had some kind of PC (286 rings a bell) with 5.25 inch floppys. In Christmas 1989 we got an Amiga 500 Batman pack, New Zealand story got played a lot but can't remember us ever playing Batman much apart from it had one level where you got to drive the batmobile. My brother had *ahem* got his hands on lots of other games prior to Christmas anyway (Xcopy ftw). The Amiga lasted till about 96 when we got a PC
Soldato
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My first computer. Who had one of these?
I remember when you had a slightly dodgy game on tape that wouldn't load you could stick a small flat head in that whole just above the tape buttons and adjust the heads to get it to work. Boy did I do that a lot.
The +2 was the first computer that we were bought and the first game I played on the +2 was Cobra followed by Alien 8 and The Sentinel...
Them were the days
Its a Commodore CDTV, quite rare nowadays.
Oh, happy days. My first taste of computers was my elder brother's Atari 400 back in 1981. He also had a Memotech MTX.
I then got a 48k Speccy in the mid 80's, then a Speccy +3 a little later. My brother went for the Speccy + with the keys that fell out
Some of my favorite games were actually quite rubbish - Ghostbusters and Friday the 13th spring to mind. Awful gameplay and graphics, but they captivated me like nothing else since. Probably played Match Day 2 the most of all. The first Matchday was hilariously bad, even by the standards of the day
Other things I remember of the time: using a tiny screwdriver to adjust the position of the heads on the tape-deck if a game wouldn't load. Buying a twin-deck "ghetto-blaster" just to copy games. Making amazing 3D "art" by using only the BASIC circle command. The "Everyones a Wally" theme song that came on the reverse side of the tape. Advanced Lawnmower Simulator. They Sold A Million. Duncan "kangaroos in the top paddock" McDonald. Getting home and realizing you had bought the Commodore 64 version by mistake and having to get the bus straight back to WH Smith. The feel and smell of a Quick Shot II joystick.
I then got a 48k Speccy in the mid 80's, then a Speccy +3 a little later. My brother went for the Speccy + with the keys that fell out
Some of my favorite games were actually quite rubbish - Ghostbusters and Friday the 13th spring to mind. Awful gameplay and graphics, but they captivated me like nothing else since. Probably played Match Day 2 the most of all. The first Matchday was hilariously bad, even by the standards of the day
Other things I remember of the time: using a tiny screwdriver to adjust the position of the heads on the tape-deck if a game wouldn't load. Buying a twin-deck "ghetto-blaster" just to copy games. Making amazing 3D "art" by using only the BASIC circle command. The "Everyones a Wally" theme song that came on the reverse side of the tape. Advanced Lawnmower Simulator. They Sold A Million. Duncan "kangaroos in the top paddock" McDonald. Getting home and realizing you had bought the Commodore 64 version by mistake and having to get the bus straight back to WH Smith. The feel and smell of a Quick Shot II joystick.
For me...
Commodore Vic 20
Commodore 64
Amiga A500
Amiga 1200
Fantastic memories of Elite, Commando, Falcon Patrol, Dungeon Master, Cannon Fodder, Populous, Syndicate, Wizzball, Speedball, Defender of the Crown, Eye of the Beholder, Hired Guns and of course that Quickshot II joystick.
Commodore Vic 20
Commodore 64
Amiga A500
Amiga 1200
Fantastic memories of Elite, Commando, Falcon Patrol, Dungeon Master, Cannon Fodder, Populous, Syndicate, Wizzball, Speedball, Defender of the Crown, Eye of the Beholder, Hired Guns and of course that Quickshot II joystick.
Soldato
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Amiga era was the best years for gaming for me. Psygnosis!!!
The music was the best part of C64 ownership. Put the speccy bleeps and blops to shame,
Associate
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Andrew Braybrook did a great diary in that mag documenting his writing of the Morpheus game.
I was hacking away on the CPC at the time. Used to get in the Amstrad Action mag quite a lot. Here's one (Exolon, Elliot from N-U-L)
I had a Plus/4, I got mine bundled with a huge 5.25" floppy drive.
Spent ages writing database programmes to retrieve data from floppies
I seem to remember you pressed a key and a word processor appeared?
I should still have it somewhere if the last tenants haven't nicked all my stuff.
This +100000
C64 - best 8-bit machine you can ever get, I had mine for 14 years until I got my first PC in 1997!
As for the music, lets see someone post a better track then this from an 8-bit machine.
The Amstrad 464 worked in the same way. You could usually tell when a tape wasn't working because it sounded wrong when loading. Sometimes it would take 20+ mins of tweaking the screw to get the thing to load.