The ZX Spectrum is known for a lot of things, but it’s not really known for a rich and deep library of FPS titles. However, there is finally such a game for the platform, thanks to [Jakub Trznadel]—and it’s called World of Spells.
Like so many other games of this type, it was inspired by the 3D raycasting techniques made so popular by Wolfenstein 3D back in the day. For that reason, it has a very similar look in some regards, but a very different look in others—the latter mostly due to the characteristic palette available on the ZX Spectrum. A playable FPS is quite a feat to achieve on such limited hardware, but [Jakub] pulled it off well, with the engine able to reach up to 80 frames per second.
The game is available for download, and you can even order it on tape if you so desire. You might also like to check out the walkthrough on YouTube, where the game is played on an emulator. Don’t worry, though—the game works on real ZX Spectrum 48k hardware just fine.
The Speccy retains a diehard fanbase to this day. You can even build a brand new one thanks to a buoyant supply of aftermarket parts.
[thanks to losr for the tip!]
4 player lan deathmatch mode?
2/4 players split screen would be possible. No real network hardware was available for the platform back in time.
The interface 1 provided a local network called ZX Net allowing up to 64 speccy to be connected together
Loading from tape is done through a modem. I’ve used that to link two BBC Micros over a phoneline
Right, but CPU cannot do anything else when communicating; Interface 1 was more like a voltage adapter than real networking hardware.
Unsure about BBC micro;
Why so many artefacts when shooting? can something be done with this, or platform constrain? Great looking game anyway!
Cassette release by bitmapsoft will have it slightly corrected, but not eliminated fully.
Not everything is a platform constraint, but a lot of artifacts is due to design decisions avoiding colour clash while maintaining high speed of renderer.
Thanks for feedback :)
Doom has been on Speccy for quie a while, it aint great but it works, unles you meant to write first new fps
theres been Doom for the Speccy for ages, some even run on the 48
There are games called: “wolfenstein 3d”, “doom” and “quake” on zx spectrum. Unsure if they share anything with original source codes, besides trying to fit the same stylistic and atmosphere. There is also The Dark, and I am certainly missing some others as well.
But -> World of Spells is the only one that is running fast on original hardware.