PASCALLAND (2024) Longplay, ZX Spectrum

PascaLand is the porting of the ParaZXLand game to Pascalated Boriel ZX BASIC. The gameplay is essentially the same, with a few simplifications (redefinable key, motion of the parachutist, multiple fonts, helicopter rotor). The graphics has been largely updated: the parachutist, the island, the cloud, the helicopter have been re-designed from scratch. The color scheme has been upgraded as well. The plot of the game and its rules are summarized in the attached instruction file and briefly recapped within the game itself. Taking advantage of the Pascalated Boriel ZX Basic features, the program is structured in functions and procedures. The graphics are done either by using UDGs or by directly drawing the character point by point to allow a pixel-by-pixel positioning of the main character. The helicopter – entering at the beginning of each game – is right-scrolled by a properly-prepared original 4-byte 2-bit scrolling routine (entirely in basic!) using the bit-shift operation included in Boriel ZX Basic, adapted to work on a 24 bit (4 byte) sequence. During the game, the keyboard and joystick (if enabled) are constantly monitored by means of the LastK system variable and the $1F I/O port, respectively. Please note that on an authentic ZX Spectrum 48k, if the Kempston joystick is enabled without a working interface, unexpected keyboard issues can occasionally occur. Finally, the physical model of the parachute landing. Due to the presence of the parachute, which results in a linear vertical speed, no gravitational effect has been introduced. However, the parachute itself induces a periodic oscillation in the horizontal position of the character, which is obtained with the trigonometric COSine function in dependence of the vertical position. The horizontal position is also affected by the wind (whose strength and direction can be found in the bottom line), which makes the descent even more difficult. The position of the parachutist is indeed determined by the lateral acceleration. The game was made by Massimiliano Arca and released as participant in the Pascalated BASIC Contest 2024. Read more and get download link here: