{"id":962,"date":"2014-04-10T11:45:24","date_gmt":"2014-04-10T11:45:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mertboru.com\/?p=962"},"modified":"2018-07-25T08:44:40","modified_gmt":"2018-07-25T08:44:40","slug":"nostalgic-8-bit-turbo-loader-for-amstrad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mertboru.com\/?p=962","title":{"rendered":"Nostalgic 8-bit Turbo Loader for Amstrad"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have always loved Sinclair ZX Spectrum<\/a>‘s characteristic tape loading method using yellow\/blue stripes in the border. Contrary to Amstrad CPC<\/a>‘s humble block-by-block loader with no visual feedback on screen, Spectrum offered a feast for the eye! So sexy, so catchy…<\/p>\n

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A bit of History<\/strong><\/p>\n

Major game developers\/publishers of the 80s (Ocean, US Gold, Gremlin Graphics, Firebird, etc.) used turbo loaders on Amstrad by imitating the landmark tape loading system that Spectrum had introduced, not only for visual attraction but also for software protection. For the average user, it was very hard to duplicate Amstrad games released with custom turbo loaders. Some of these loaders were even capable of displaying a countdown timer and\/or playing music while loading the game data. Thanks to the same CPU (Z80) used on both Amstrad and Sinclair, some of these loaders were cross-platform solutions. Speedlock, Alcatraz, Gremlin Loader and Bleepload were amongst these custom loaders.<\/p>\n

Nostalgic coding<\/strong><\/p>\n

A few years ago, I’ve written a tutorial (in Turkish) on coding a turbo loader in Z80 assembly language for Amstrad CPC home computers, demystifying the secrets behind the custom loaders of 8-bit era. Last year, it was released as an article on Retrojen<\/a>, a retro-fanzine published in Turkey.<\/p>\n

Although I’ve written the original turbo loader routine way back on December 24, 2010, I’m releasing the source codes<\/strong>, today!<\/p>\n

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For clarification purposes, I have tried to keep the code as simple as possible, and written descriptive inline comments where necessary. –\u00a0(So, the code is not<\/span> optimized for size\/speed.)<\/em><\/p>\n

These source code files are exactly the same files published in my article on Retrojen. With respect to editor-in-chief’s kind request, I am not putting a scan\/screenshot of this article on my blog. It is only available as a printed material… No worries, you can always subscribe<\/a> to this lovely fanzine. It is FREE!<\/p>\n

Time to rewind the cassette tape!<\/strong><\/p>\n

My turbo loader tutorial\/source files covers the following features:<\/p>\n