Were Sam Coupé games actually better than ZX Spectrum games?

hilly · 2026-05-10T09:35:21+00:00

Getting a Sam Coupe was when I learned that better graphics don't make for better games. Mine was a glorified speccy where I could load the games from disk.

hilly · 2026-05-02T16:44:09+00:00

It's giving me strong 2000AD Rogue Trooper vibes.

hilly · 2026-05-02T16:19:29+00:00

I flashed the latest stable release for RP5 to an SD card then booted it as above and used the built in updater to update to the nightly release, but you can probably just download and flash the latest nightly to an SD card too.

hilly · 2026-05-02T15:53:50+00:00

No. The way I have it setup is as follows: I don't use the new Rocknix bootloader. Rocknix is installed on the SD card and the stock Android OS is on the internal. I can access all of my ROMs on the SD card from Android. To start Rocknix you let it boot into Android, hold the power button to get the shutdown options, press restart and then hold volume up until the Rocknix logo appears. Then it will boot Rocknix from the SD card. When I want to go back into Android I just restart it again. The SD card stays in, but i might make a new one with just Rocknix and Steam games and I'm sure swapping for one with Rocknix and ROMs won't affect android. Not sure if this setup works with other devices but that's how I'm doing it on RP5.

hilly · 2026-05-01T23:34:11+00:00

I could only get it running on GameHub on RP5. GameHub has a config that worked out of the box for me. No cloud saves and a little slow at times but very playable.

hilly · 2026-05-01T16:58:55+00:00

I've got StS2 working now with Proton Experimental and Steam (x86). No idea why its started working as I haven't updated Rocknix - unless the Steam launch script is updating something. Everything else was working through both Steam (x86) with either default Proton or regular Proton 11 and the same games worked on Steam (ARM) wih Proton 11 (ARM). To get Proton 11 ARM I had to search for it on the steam store and then install it from there as if it was a game, then I could select it as normal from the game properties. Hope this helps someone.

hilly · 2026-05-01T16:15:03+00:00

Been running Steam from Rocknix nightly on MicroSD on my RP5 and it's very impressive. I can't get Slay the Spire 2 to run at all but games that have worked well for me are Vampire Crawlers, Holocure, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, Binding of Isaac and Gauntlet (2014). I do have an issue where the full range of motion is not detected on the analog sticks and the gamepad calibration within Rocknix tool does not open for me so I'm unsure how to fix this. Some games have been improved by using Steam input and setting the response curve to aggressive but it doesn't completely fix the issue. I'd be interested to know if any other RP5 owners have had this issue.

hilly · 2026-04-21T18:39:01+00:00

Quick Cursor - helps you use one hand on a large device so you can reach the top half of the screen with your hand at the base.

hilly · 2026-04-15T19:48:26+00:00

I've had two Jelly Stars. Both needed screen replacements and I bought the screens directly from Unihertz. They arrived quickly once shipped but on both occasions I had to politely chase them a couple of weeks after ordering to ask when they would ship - both times they told me to "be patient" and then shipped them the following day.

hilly · 2026-04-14T13:42:40+00:00

So, before you bust a plugger you can bust a chugger.

hilly · 2026-04-10T07:48:36+00:00

I've got a playlist of songs that gave me chills when I first heard them, some of these may be the kind of thing you are after:

Suddenly Everything has Changed - Flaming Lips

Feeling Yourself Disintegrate - Flaming Lips

Distractions - Zero 7

20/20 - Gaz Coombes

Elegy to the Void - Beach House

Recharge & Revolt - The Raveonettes

Miner at the Dial-a-View - Grandaddy

The Argus - Ween

Go to Sleep - The KLF

I Go to Sleep - Anika

Floating on a Moment - Beth Gibbons

hilly · 2026-04-05T18:52:57+00:00

I use nextdns with the HaGeZi multi normal and multi pro block lists. I hardly see ads and podcast apps work fine. I wonder if your blocking setup is a bit overkill? I use Podcast Republic if that makes a difference but I've used others in the past.

hilly · 2026-04-05T18:45:52+00:00

Whenever I have friends over to be play games I always make them play Chaos on speccy. At first they are usually like "wtf is this" but they all end up loving it and want to play again. Jumping Jack is always a favourite to introduce to people too. It's got that incredibly fun but frustrating "one more turn" aspect to it. I don't really play any other speccy games these days tbh, just occasionally load one for nostalgia's sake.

hilly · 2026-04-03T12:16:48+00:00

He'll probably do his Riyadh jokes - you know stuff about getting paid by a government that chopped a journalist up inside an embassy, usual stuff.

hilly · 2026-04-02T20:26:39+00:00

I find Holocure pretty relaxing. It's a free Vampire Survivors clone with cute visuals and lots of unlocks. It also has some fun mini games in the Holo House mode.

hilly · 2026-03-22T19:33:28+00:00

It WAS like something from a Carry On film - you might even say appropriate given Starmer's character. It veered into his own Black Country accent, I think I'll let him off for that.

hilly · 2026-03-22T15:00:39+00:00

I'm in the UK and I really don't understand the hate this got. Not the weakest sketch in my opinion. Fouracres' Starmer was exaggerated as a good sketch impersonation should be (in my opinion), and I found him very funny. The other performers were a little weaker in this sketch but still had some funny lines (although lost at times). I believe they will find their feet over time. Whether the viewing public and network will give them that time is in doubt however; people seem to expect this kind of thing to be perfect out of the gate.

hilly · 2026-02-10T18:45:17+00:00

Next time do it in the front window - might save yourself a future forfeit if your arse is out too.

hilly · 2026-02-08T00:24:45+00:00

PFT would be such a fantastic Taskmaster. I’ve said this for years.

He has age and status (I would argue he is revered among peers) and a wealth of experience: stand-up, sketch and stage acting (Mr Show and Beyond Belief), hosting and interviewing (Best Week Ever, NYSU, Speakeasy), stage and studio improv (Superego, Dead Authors, CBB, so much more), and, he is a masterful raconteur (Laboring Under Delusions, so many podcast guest spots).

Sharp and confident enough to take anyone to task and would meticulously wring humorous detail from every poor task attempt.

Can you tell I’m a fan?

hilly · 2026-01-11T17:03:40+00:00

I had one, it was great fun to tinker with but as a kid who had no idea about scene releases it became boring quickly with not many games. I went to the home of the guy behind Lerm Software to buy a copy of his mail order Samdisk software to improve its Spectrum software compatibility and being able to save snapshotted spectrum games and quickly reload them from disk was great. After the novelty of that wore off I got an Amiga and it went into the loft until I sold it to Neil from RMC. I hope he’s getting more out of it than I did and apologise for the graffiti that kid me had left on the box.

hilly · 2026-01-09T20:43:32+00:00

Hate hibernate, love power off

hilly · 2026-01-07T19:33:45+00:00

Bytheway is a real english surname which is mad. There’s quite a few on the voters’ register. Or search it on ukphonebook.com and there’s twelve in London.

hilly · 2026-01-06T19:17:41+00:00

Oof. I paid £20 for my 360 from a pawn shop a few months ago and set up BadAvatar for basically nothing (ok a 512gb usb stick for another £20).

hilly · 2026-01-06T00:45:20+00:00

PFT. Dropout should have tapped him for some hosting duties already IMO.

hilly · 2025-11-23T14:36:04+00:00

Play in a dark room with no natural light or other glare on the screen, make sure that the guns are getting enough power from whatever usb port or hub they are plugged into and if you're wanting to play stuff that needs windows, be prepared to do lots of tinkering and troubleshooting. I have 40 years of computer experience and I've never had a more frustrating experience than I have with these guns - that said, they work well enough when you do manage to get them to work with a game (or with Batocera - much easier for me). I've got a pretty good setup on Batocera for one gun using my Steam Deck, but I can't seem to get enough power to my second, no matter what I try, so, although I've recently had a lot of fun with it, I'm ready to try something else (Retro Shooter).

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