RETRO The Spectrum - Page 36

36
Chapter 8
The 128K, +2 and +2A ZX Spectrum models are almost identical in functionality and
features, but as they were produced at different times during the life of the ZX Spectrum,
subtle changes in design meant that slight compatibility differences were introduced.
Games often had to be modied by the publisher and re-released when a new version
of the ZX Spectrum went on sale. Therefore it is often necessary to select the ZX
Spectrum model for which the program le is intended. To assist the model selection,
The Spectrum provides a Universal model which minimises these compatibility issues
by providing a model that is a blend of all the others, and should work in most cases.
ZX Spectrum border size
This option allows you to select how much of the ZX Spectrum border is shown around
the gameplay and overrides the default value that has been set in Display Options.
Tape loading speed
Both .tzx and .pzx cassette les will normally load at their original speed, which
can take over ten minutes for a 128K program in a worst case scenario. By increasing
the Tape loading speed you can accelerate time and reduce this period signicantly.
Any on-screen animations and loading effects will similarly be sped up while loading
proceeds, returning to normal speed once the loading process has completed.
Enable extended colours
This option takes its default from Display Options and controls whether ULAPlus™
palette support is enabled for the program. Some modern games have been written with
ULAPlus™ support and will automatically detect that it is present and provide a richer
colour palette. You can still make use of an extended colour palette even if the game
is not ULAPlus™ aware by pre-loading a palette le before loading the game itself.
Note: A modern game that has been written using the “Arcade Game Designer”
tool will be ULAPlus™ aware, however the game author may not have provided a
colour palette, in which case the default AGD palette will be used and the colours
will look strange and messy. In this case disable extended colours for this game.
Selecting the joystick type
The original ZX Spectrum computer did not provide any joystick ports and instead
allowed the user to provide their own joystick interface adapter, plugged into the rear
of the machine.