Every once in a while, a small, silly idea turns into a surprisingly fun little project. That’s exactly what happened with my latest ZX81 experiment, a reaction-based game inspired by the old nursery rhyme: Duck, Duck, Goose.
Building a Flip-Style Digital Clock on the ZX81
I’d been thinking about writing a better clock program for the ZX81 for some time but never acted on it. That is, until yesterday when I saw a flip-style digital clock program on the C64. The result is a sort of digital flip clock program for the ZX81 that ended up being quite a fun journey.
Experimenting with Binary Space Partitioning on the ZX81
I thought I’d try something a bit different this month. I’d been looking at different ways to build maps for years but never really did much with them. After watching a video on binary partitioning, I decided to see if I could build a simple map builder on the ZX81. This is the result.
Drawing a Twisted Cylinder on the ZX81
I wrote this back in August and I’m finally getting around to publishing it. It was first shared in my BASIC group, but the ZX81 lacks a lot of the functionality needed for it to run well. Undeterred, I hacked at the program to not only display the twisted cylinder, but also add a bit of randomness to the demo.
Fun with DATA — Building a Blocky World Map on the ZX81
I’d seen a few different BASIC programs that print out a map of the world. Generally blocky, they still looked decent, but much of the data was too big for the ZX81—until I ran across a C64 version based on a Spectrum program. Examples in hand, I built a version for the ZX81.
Speeding Up Truchet Tiles on My ZX81 with Machine Code
Having finished my last Truchet tiles program in BASIC, I wondered how fast it would run in machine code. Soon afterward, I gave it a try, writing a version that runs significantly faster than the BASIC one. Let’s dive in and see how it works.
Exploring Truchet Tiles on the ZX81 with BASIC
Sometimes ideas drop right into your lap. In the case of this month’s program, it was a mix of a post and a video that led me to this Truchet animation. A simple concept, but it worked way better on the ZX81 than I expected.
Recreating Font Art on the ZX81—With Some Limits
It’s funny how a random video can spark an idea. One moment I’m watching someone play around with ASCII art, and the next I’m thinking, “Hey, I could make something like that on the ZX81.” That little spark turned into a weekend project: a simple banner program using different fonts. How fun!
A ZX81 Puzzle Makeover: No More INPUT Drama
This month’s program is a bit of a departure. It is a take on the classic "Wolf, Goat, Cabbage" puzzle. The twist is, I didn’t write this one. Instead, I decided to update it to make the interface a bit easier to use. Let’s dive into the code.
Castle Quest Was My Late-Night ZX81 Adventure with AI
With little time lately, I decided to explore some Generative AI ideas to flesh out new concepts. I’ve dabbled in vibe coding for some time now and thought I’d see how the models would do with adventure-style games. One of the results of that was Castle Quest, a small text adventure for the ZX81.
A New Take on the Infinite Maze for the ZX81
After updating my print scroll routine, I started thinking about how I could use it to create a different version of my infinite maze program. The original used graphic characters and spaces since the ZX81 lacked a backslash. This new version takes a different approach, using alternate graphics to build a more visually interesting maze while leveraging a better machine scrolling routine.
Making Time for a Little Life on the ZX81
I’d read about and studied cellular automata but had never programmed any simulations for them. Conway’s Game of Life is the go-to simulation and something others had already implemented on the ZX81, even when I was a kid. I finally got around to typing in some of those programs but found them slow. My version aims to correct that.
A Present On The ZX81 For VC3 2024
Another year and another Vintage Computing Christmas Challenge (VC3 for 2024). I rushed a bit to get mine in so I do feel it wasn’t as short as possible. I did take a somewhat unique route to solving the problem which makes the build more interesting. I made an auto-run version for Present so you could see it in action.
Turning Hello World into a Creative ZX81 BASIC Program
The year is almost over and time to close out the year with a short program. Watching some videos on character displays in UNIX, I was inspired to create my own version of Hello World. This version scrolls through a stream of random digits until the message is displayed. How fun is that?
Making a better Mandelbrot Set on the ZX81 using High Resolution Graphics
One thing I hadn’t done before on the ZX81 was hires graphics. There are numerous reasons, but in general it was because I hadn’t tried. That changed after being encouraged in my ZX81 group to use with with Mandelbrot Set program. So I did.
Print Like a Pro on the ZX81 with This Updated Smooth Scroll Routine
After wrapping up the last print scroll routine, I immediately dove into improving it. While functional, the original version felt a bit limited. With this update, you’ll find more flexibility in printing displays, though at a slight cost to speed.
Living Dangerously With Math by Running the Collatz Conjecture on the ZX81
As plans go, I actually have a few programs teed up to share. Many are smaller programs that I could work on here and there. Occasionally, I run across an idea that upends those plans and I end up going another direction. So, here we are in September with a math program for the Collatz Conjecture.
Writing a Utility Program for the ZX81 Was Such Fun
Sometimes, you do things out of necessity. I spent an inordinate amount of time working on adding automatic scrolling to a PRINT command. In fact, I haver another version of my print scroll routine I’ll talk about later. But this is about a utility program. A way to print out BASIC code in hex. And this article is about what I did and why.
Infinite Scrolling on the ZX81 with Machine Code Magic
Finding inspiration again from my programming groups, the idea of an infinitely scrolling screen of text came up. There were a couple of different solutions posted, some quite ingenious. I had done something similar in the past, but this time I used a bit of machine code magic to create a more flexible solution. The result is Print Scroll.
Getting Creative with Custom Print Formatting on the ZX81
My ZX81 programming has taken a back seat of late as I focused on other activities. Whether family, work, or the latest video game update, I haven’t put as much effort into finishing projects. For this month, I decided to focus on tackling an interesting problem, emulating the PRINT USING command.
Making a Better Maze Display for the ZX81 Computer
Soon after sharing my Maze Generator for the ZX81, it was obvious that something didn’t quite click. I got a few comments about the maze didn’t work or that didn’t look right. It was clear the '70s style teletype display wouldn’t cut it. Fortunately, I could fix that.
Crafting Mazes for the ZX81
Something I’d been itching to do is write a maze generator. Even though they seem simple enough, for some reason, I struggled to code one. With so many different algorithms out there, the sheer number of choices can be overwhelming. It wasn't until I took a vacation that my mind settled down enough for me to finally tackle the task.
Crafting Black Hole Graphics on the ZX81
I had forgotten about this Black Hole program until I ran across it while cleaning up some directories. It is a conversion, not an original, program that was shared on one of my BASIC forums. It doesn’t look quite as good as the original, but it was interesting to see what the ZX81 could do with its simplistic graphics.
ZX81 Aquarium Makeover—Revamping Kimmie Fish in Assembly
While on vacation, I spent some relaxing time converting my Kimmie Fish BASIC program into something a bit more interesting. In addition to the normal speed improvements, I wanted to give it an aquarium like feeling with bubbles and depth. No color here, this is all stock ZX81 graphics. Only thing needed is the requisite 16K memory pack.
How I Made a Kimmie Fish Swim on the ZX81
Reading posts in the BASIC group I follow, I was I was inspired to write my own version of the kimmie fish animation for the ZX81 computer. It was such a cute animation that I had to see if I could replicate it. Although not quite the same as the original, the spirt is there.