09-02-2023, 01:54 PM
All Amstrad
Estimator Racer
A racing game that's educational? Yep, you learn maths. This game is pretty rare and the English version is not dumped (since it was published by Amsoft it would have been) but the Spanish one is in a compilation. A quick rip.
The fuel powerups are handled by a computer function since they are not in the graphics viewer along with the in game font. There is another font and not the BIOS one however it is unused.
Into the Eagle's Nest
The closest thing that the Amstrad has to Wolfenstein with a bit of Gauntlet and also considered a cult classic. Strangely it uses tilesets for the characters mixing the sprites with the background, meaning that it's designed only for this scenario.
Would have ripped this one earlier however the game has only been dumped since January 2023 and only been aware of it a few months ago.
Quick Draw McGraw
Video Card Arcade
Green Beret
Saint & Greavsie
On a technical note, noticed that Core Design on the 8-bit computers seem to focus on the C64 at first in terms of graphics and why? The sprite sizes are 24x21, the same dimensions as the hardware sprites on the C64 while on the Amstrad they don't need to be (even though only the Plus/GX4000 actually has sprites). My guess is to make cross platform development easier.
Miami Vice
At least we have GTA Vice City is all I can say... This game is just broken in every way.
Strider
Seems to crash for me after Stage 1 so that's as far as it goes...
Road Runner
Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote
The other Road Runner game, forgotten compared to its arcade port counterpart. The C64 version has an awesome title theme even though it's doesn't really fit with the tone being more rock/synth, the Amstrad version though has more fitting music for the series.
Had problems with the cutscene with Wile E. Coyote doing what I call the Rudy Larriva fall (since that nearly always appeared in episodes directed by Rudy Larriva and often more than once, not all Road Runner shorts were by Chuck Jones) where Wile E. falls with an explosion or a dust cloud appears. It appears to be glitchy in the graphics viewer similar to many other games e.g. Crystal Kingdom Dizzy, Top Cat, Hong Kong Phooey, Commando, etc. It's why Wile E's sheet isn't done...
Hunchback
Dempsey and Makepeace
One of those games ripped at a night time and forgot that it was nearly done. Feels like the driving parts was coded in BASIC due to when it loads or when you crash it reloads the entire screen. Then again it was a rubbish TV licensed game that's also missing Makepeace herself, rushed out while it was still airing.
MIG Busters
Squinting at the enemy planes took the longest in terms of ripping, only done it since it was in the backlog.
Skull & Crossbones
Another one that crashes me hearties... The disk version crashes when the 2 Player option is attempted and sometimes on 1 Player. Tried a later version of Caprice Forever (one that I use for GX4000/Plus ripping), turned out that both One Eye & Red Dog have the same sprites unlike the arcade original. Managed to get stuck on Stage 1 with no way of jumping off the edge of the ship, Stage 3 crashed during normal gameplay and even teleported around the screen when it tried to scroll. Apparently the game also crashes on Stage 4 on the tape version so probably down to Domark releasing an unfinished game that really needed some beta testing and checking what else Walking Circles developed all seemed to have some sort of issue (even Lemmings!). Ended up using a yarr... trainer version to rip the rest and even then, the Evil Wizard spawned off screen during the final boss part so I couldn't check him.
A shame really because the game itself is a Double Dragon styled beat 'em up (including the back attack, similar to the elbow) that's actually quite creative.
Agent X II: The Mad Prof's Back!
A surprise! Yes, the "sprites" are broken. Yes, the game was probably made with a lot of substances within the Software Creations team and it was still rushed out. Yes, it does have a Tim Follin soundtrack. Too bad the game doesn't have Jake Blues kicking karate ducks like the loading screen.
Knight Tyme
The Curse of Sherwood
Finders Keepers
180
Strike
Sport of Kings
Kane
Hero of the Golden Talisman
Radzone
Angle Ball
Ball Crazy
The Island of Dr. Destructo
Fly Spy
There are two compilations (PP15 for disk, KPP15 for tape and includes a joystick) that Amstrad made and seemed to have dumped the pile in Italy, a lot of these games came from Mastertronic but the tape also included some Amsoft games as well. I chose a few random games to rip from. First one was Knight Tyme, part of the Magic Knight series that were fairly popular on the Spectrum and actually ripped this at night time (har, har). Most of the graphics are in Mode 2 except Magic Knight who uses Mode 1. Next up was The Curse of Sherwood, uses Mode 1 graphics (4 colours) but seems a bit blocky like they were designed for Mode 0 instead... Weirdly both the Spectrum and the C64 versions have the same graphics. Then Finders Keepers, the first Magic Knight game and the only one in Mode 0 since it's a Manic Miner/Jet Set Willy styled platformer than the puzzle style of adventure game. Looked at Locomotion but the graphics are stored in such a way that it goes against most home computer rips (the correct size for the train is 3.5 bitplanes that doesn't exist) so that was skipped along with Crazy Golf that's just BASIC.
180 is considered a classic on both the CPC and the Spectrum, but still liked on the C64 as it is more or less the template of darts games in the UK until the simulation era. Apart from the dartboard and the rival preparing the throw (partially compressed but used a workaround for the rip), it uses Spectrum format graphics. Strike was a quick and easy rip, Sport of Kings had some issues with the menus. Then Kane where the Sheriff has a lovely walk cycle. The game also uses a trick to prevent sprite flicker and weirdly displays a coding address by the overscan... Hero of the Golden Talisman, a case where the cover doesn't match the game. Could only rip the player since not all the enemies show up on the graphics viewer. Angleball was another quick and easy rip. Ball Crazy just wanted to rip Erik. Looked at Kobayashi Naru and Xcel but backed out when they were uncontrollable adventure games on a literal sense. The Island of Dr Destructo took a bit due to the bitplane shifting and it links to the next game since the C64 version was done by the same person as below...
Finally Fly Spy and this uses a lot of programming tricks, Richard Aplin worked on this game before doing all those impossible or quickie rewrite arcade ports and the really long diaries (even the manual of this game is a lot to take in, he wrote it). Formula 1 Simulator, Hollywood or Bust and Speed King were already ripped. Regarding loading screens, had to get tape releases since they were cut out on the compilations but usually Mastertronic often didn't include them anyway.
Bravestarr
Glider Rider
This was actually in the backlog for a long time but it wasn't ripped due to technical issues. Tried one more time with more knowledge and it uses Spectrum format, it was not interleaving sprites (it might have been when ripping via WinAPE but not later versions of CapriceForever or probably that I haven't ripped from a Spectrum game at that time). Mainly ripped it because it has a great soundtrack, better than the game to be honest. Not happy with the rips.
Oh and in case people are wondering... The bike transforms into the hand glider if you're on a slope and back again, can be tricky to work though.
Power Boat Simulator
Another unhappy rip but more or less simple enough. Why is because the waves are a programming effect due to unable to find it in the Graphics Viewer.
Tales of the Arabian Nights (Version 1)
There are two versions of this game both by the same publisher and year but different developers, levels and screen modes making them different games based on the same idea of an Arabian clone. Version 1 got made however the publisher was not happy so a second version got made by a different developer. This gets even more confusing... Version 1 sold about 2-3000 copies at a trade show before pulling the plug on sales. Version 2 was widely released but... the publisher also decided to make copies of both versions on the same tape. Amstrad Action reviewed Version 2 but also mentioned the event in their January 1986 issue (so around November-December 1985). Version 1 was reviewed earlier in France. Oh and Aladdin's Cave was done by the Version 1 programmer and reuses some of the same graphics. Made matters worse that Version 2 has a game breaking bug where you can't get past the first level due to the controls not working properly which begs the question how Amstrad Action managed to review the game that's broken...
IMO, there's a lot more to this game that we don't know about. Why a publisher wanted to make a second version after already selling 2000-3000 copies? Was it to match the original C64 version more? Was it all down to Keith Purkiss working on Aladdin's Cave for Artic and Interceptor didn't want to pay him? Yet it wouldn't explain the BBC Micro and Spectrum versions that he did. Only thing that I can guess was that Kevin Parker who did the music, loading and protection systems (possibly mastering too?, he was heavily connected to Interceptor aka Players) was frustrated on Version 1, claiming that he had to rewrite half the game since they got a programmer who was more familiar with 6502* rather than "a real machine like the Amstrad" and it was "so bad" but Version 2, he just said that it was much better. All of this were written as hidden messages.
*-6502 is the processor used on C64, BBC Micro, Atari consoles/8-bit and NES sort of while the Z80 was Spectrum, Amstrad, Master System, Game Gear, MSX, Colecovision, SG-1000, many early arcade machines, Game Boy sort of.
Hyper Sports
Just the swimming I'm afraid... A shame since it's an iconic game...
Sporting Triangles
This suffers from really bad loading times even on a floppy disk, probably on par with some modern games. Oh and the Mode 2 graphics all have a dotted line in terms of the graphics viewer.
3D Stunt Rider
This game has both a "3D" cockpit view and a 2D side view. While the rider is ripped, the HUD used for the cockpit view cannot be easily ripped as the graphics viewer only displays a framebuffer of whatever is on screen. Even games from 1985 use compression...
Mermaid Madness
Spellbound Dizzy
Yay! Found the mine cart graphics as those were stored in Spectrum format unlike the rest of Dizzy's sprites, didn't think that it would have been done. This and Crystal Kingdom Dizzy are the only two mainline Dizzy games on the Amstrad that use the same design as the box art with the red gloves and shoes. No green tinted Dizzy in this game! It's still a 4 colour game though... Finishing the sheet at 3: 30AM... ooof...
Was working on Airborne Ranger but know that it wouldn't be ready due to the player and the enemy use the same sprites (the plane was ripped while writing). Motor Massacre, Nigel Mansell's Grand Prix (those small sprites...), Beach Volley are very close to being finished while Rick Dangerous, Strider 2, Run The Gauntlet, Pub Games, Skate Crazy have made some progress. Even started progress on Wacky Races, Super Cauldron and G-LOC so you can tell that it's getting towards the finishing line. Also looked at Rad Ramp Racer but that one was similar to Aussie Games and Super Stock Car in terms of how it is loaded so that's a nope.
Le Amstrad
Tintin on the Moon
Blistering barnacles... The only 8-bit version that was done in France and by Infogrames themselves (technically two versions however a Plus machine can run both), the others were outsourced to Probe. Also one of the few games that actually has an intro rather than a loading screen.
Grand Prix 500cc
Athlete
Rodeo
These are the earliest games fully published by Microids (GP 500cc is around July/August 1986 while Athlete was finished in October but wasn't released until November/December and their first outsourced game). GP 500cc was also developed by the founder too, I believe it was the first to be released outside of France so a bit of gaming history here. Rodeo was co-produced by Loriciels judging by the Thomson versions and it was outsourced (Loriciel -> Microids -> Phase).
(As a note MobyGames uses the name 500cc Grand Prix for some reason but if you look on the loading screen, the spine on the box, the disk and most of the manuals all say Grand Prix 500cc. CPC Game Reviews also use GP 500cc. The Activision and Loriciels English reprints did use the other name though on the back on the box and the manual.)
Oh and had to use the tape version of Grand Prix 500cc due to some sort of copy protection issue that popped up. Plus I had to re-rerip the entire sheet just before I finished due to a palette issue with the tyre. Ugh...
Also I have given up finding the missing background graphics on Athlete, which is why the athlete sheet is just well... the athlete even if it is baked into the background. Tried editing out the athlete on the Graphics Viewer*, didn't work. Even though at least 90% of graphics can be viewed without a problem, it's just that line and part of the pool that's compressed or even part of the coding...
*- Unlike most other emulators and systems, you can directly edit on the Graphics Viewer on CapriceForever on top of changing palettes. This is how I verify sprite boundaries if it's not simple to see by drawing a line that's a different color to the sprite, if it shows up it's part of the sprite, if it doesn't then it has gone beyond the boundaries or erase a sprite to make it easier for me to rip another. Hunchback 2 and a few other games makes the screen go glitchy by doing this. At worst case scenario, it can cause the game to crash. The old NESticle emulator also lets you do this but there might be a Game Boy emulator as well. I'm sure that's how people made the earliest hacks unless they used TileEd/TileLayerPro or something...
There are a few more Microids games on the way (Highway Patrol, Shufflepuck Cafe, Grand Prix 500 2, Les Aventures de Pepito au Mexique) however they are still WIP. For Shufflepuck Cafe, it is yet to be ripped.
Harricana - International Snowmobile Race
This is also one of the first games that has a pseudo widescreen effect along with Thunder Burner by the same developer. Oh and no loading screen in the traditional sense because some of the later Amstrad games (that aren't already GX4000/Plus games due to being mostly cartridges) have a different way of loading. It might be an intro, it might be a loading break like the Topo Soft logo.
Had to dropped Lee Enfield: Space Ace due to similar to Batman: The Caped Crusader. Oh that's such a common problem both on the Amstrad and more so on the Spectrum...
El Amstrad
Hundra
Lorna
At one point Spanish games were really into blonde beautiful women as the leading roles. There were a couple of fantasy artists in Spain who also helped in terms of game art, Lorna even came with a comic. Also yeah, there are a lot of THOSE poses in Lorna or more accurately Culorna...
Around 8 or so Spanish Amstrad games left to do in the backlog...
Estimator Racer
Car
A racing game that's educational? Yep, you learn maths. This game is pretty rare and the English version is not dumped (since it was published by Amsoft it would have been) but the Spanish one is in a compilation. A quick rip.
The fuel powerups are handled by a computer function since they are not in the graphics viewer along with the in game font. There is another font and not the BIOS one however it is unused.
Into the Eagle's Nest
Player
Enemy Soldiers
Tileset
Officer
Prisoner
Items
The closest thing that the Amstrad has to Wolfenstein with a bit of Gauntlet and also considered a cult classic. Strangely it uses tilesets for the characters mixing the sprites with the background, meaning that it's designed only for this scenario.
Would have ripped this one earlier however the game has only been dumped since January 2023 and only been aware of it a few months ago.
Quick Draw McGraw
Quick Draw McGraw
Enemies
Honcho
Items & Bullets
Video Card Arcade
Cards
Green Beret
The Green Beret
Enemies
Bosses
Saint & Greavsie
Players
On a technical note, noticed that Core Design on the 8-bit computers seem to focus on the C64 at first in terms of graphics and why? The sprite sizes are 24x21, the same dimensions as the hardware sprites on the C64 while on the Amstrad they don't need to be (even though only the Plus/GX4000 actually has sprites). My guess is to make cross platform development easier.
Miami Vice
Daytona Spider
Getaway Car
Explosion
At least we have GTA Vice City is all I can say... This game is just broken in every way.
Strider
Strider Hiryu
Flying Mosqueman
Strobaya
Novo
Ouroboros
Items
Seems to crash for me after Stage 1 so that's as far as it goes...
Road Runner
Road Runner
Wile E. Coyote
Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote
Road Runner
The other Road Runner game, forgotten compared to its arcade port counterpart. The C64 version has an awesome title theme even though it's doesn't really fit with the tone being more rock/synth, the Amstrad version though has more fitting music for the series.
Had problems with the cutscene with Wile E. Coyote doing what I call the Rudy Larriva fall (since that nearly always appeared in episodes directed by Rudy Larriva and often more than once, not all Road Runner shorts were by Chuck Jones) where Wile E. falls with an explosion or a dust cloud appears. It appears to be glitchy in the graphics viewer similar to many other games e.g. Crystal Kingdom Dizzy, Top Cat, Hong Kong Phooey, Commando, etc. It's why Wile E's sheet isn't done...
Hunchback
Quasimodo
Enemies
Dempsey and Makepeace
Dempsey
One of those games ripped at a night time and forgot that it was nearly done. Feels like the driving parts was coded in BASIC due to when it loads or when you crash it reloads the entire screen. Then again it was a rubbish TV licensed game that's also missing Makepeace herself, rushed out while it was still airing.
MIG Busters
F-16 Fighting Falcon
Enemies
Explosion
Squinting at the enemy planes took the longest in terms of ripping, only done it since it was in the backlog.
Skull & Crossbones
One Eye & Red Dog
Enemies
Executioner
Ninja Master
Medusa
Ship Captain
Items
Lusty Wench
Another one that crashes me hearties... The disk version crashes when the 2 Player option is attempted and sometimes on 1 Player. Tried a later version of Caprice Forever (one that I use for GX4000/Plus ripping), turned out that both One Eye & Red Dog have the same sprites unlike the arcade original. Managed to get stuck on Stage 1 with no way of jumping off the edge of the ship, Stage 3 crashed during normal gameplay and even teleported around the screen when it tried to scroll. Apparently the game also crashes on Stage 4 on the tape version so probably down to Domark releasing an unfinished game that really needed some beta testing and checking what else Walking Circles developed all seemed to have some sort of issue (even Lemmings!). Ended up using a yarr... trainer version to rip the rest and even then, the Evil Wizard spawned off screen during the final boss part so I couldn't check him.
A shame really because the game itself is a Double Dragon styled beat 'em up (including the back attack, similar to the elbow) that's actually quite creative.
Agent X II: The Mad Prof's Back!
Agent X
Stage 1 Enemies
Stage 1 Boss
Stage 2 Enemies
A surprise! Yes, the "sprites" are broken. Yes, the game was probably made with a lot of substances within the Software Creations team and it was still rushed out. Yes, it does have a Tim Follin soundtrack. Too bad the game doesn't have Jake Blues kicking karate ducks like the loading screen.
Knight Tyme
Magic Knight
The Curse of Sherwood
Friar Tuck
Enemies
Items
Weapons
Finders Keepers
Magic Knight
Enemies
180
Hand & Darts
Dartboard
Rival Throw
Portraits
Strike
Bowler
Pins
Sport of Kings
Horse
Commentator
Kane
Sheriff
Enemies
Hero of the Golden Talisman
Player
Radzone
Player
Angle Ball
Balls & Cursor
Ball Crazy
Erik the Ball
The Island of Dr. Destructo
Player 1
Player 2
Destructo Task Force
Fly Spy
Helicopter
There are two compilations (PP15 for disk, KPP15 for tape and includes a joystick) that Amstrad made and seemed to have dumped the pile in Italy, a lot of these games came from Mastertronic but the tape also included some Amsoft games as well. I chose a few random games to rip from. First one was Knight Tyme, part of the Magic Knight series that were fairly popular on the Spectrum and actually ripped this at night time (har, har). Most of the graphics are in Mode 2 except Magic Knight who uses Mode 1. Next up was The Curse of Sherwood, uses Mode 1 graphics (4 colours) but seems a bit blocky like they were designed for Mode 0 instead... Weirdly both the Spectrum and the C64 versions have the same graphics. Then Finders Keepers, the first Magic Knight game and the only one in Mode 0 since it's a Manic Miner/Jet Set Willy styled platformer than the puzzle style of adventure game. Looked at Locomotion but the graphics are stored in such a way that it goes against most home computer rips (the correct size for the train is 3.5 bitplanes that doesn't exist) so that was skipped along with Crazy Golf that's just BASIC.
180 is considered a classic on both the CPC and the Spectrum, but still liked on the C64 as it is more or less the template of darts games in the UK until the simulation era. Apart from the dartboard and the rival preparing the throw (partially compressed but used a workaround for the rip), it uses Spectrum format graphics. Strike was a quick and easy rip, Sport of Kings had some issues with the menus. Then Kane where the Sheriff has a lovely walk cycle. The game also uses a trick to prevent sprite flicker and weirdly displays a coding address by the overscan... Hero of the Golden Talisman, a case where the cover doesn't match the game. Could only rip the player since not all the enemies show up on the graphics viewer. Angleball was another quick and easy rip. Ball Crazy just wanted to rip Erik. Looked at Kobayashi Naru and Xcel but backed out when they were uncontrollable adventure games on a literal sense. The Island of Dr Destructo took a bit due to the bitplane shifting and it links to the next game since the C64 version was done by the same person as below...
Finally Fly Spy and this uses a lot of programming tricks, Richard Aplin worked on this game before doing all those impossible or quickie rewrite arcade ports and the really long diaries (even the manual of this game is a lot to take in, he wrote it). Formula 1 Simulator, Hollywood or Bust and Speed King were already ripped. Regarding loading screens, had to get tape releases since they were cut out on the compilations but usually Mastertronic often didn't include them anyway.
Bravestarr
Marshal Bravestarr
Enemies
Tex Hex
Stampede
Glider Rider
Mark 5 Glider & E37 Motorbike
This was actually in the backlog for a long time but it wasn't ripped due to technical issues. Tried one more time with more knowledge and it uses Spectrum format, it was not interleaving sprites (it might have been when ripping via WinAPE but not later versions of CapriceForever or probably that I haven't ripped from a Spectrum game at that time). Mainly ripped it because it has a great soundtrack, better than the game to be honest. Not happy with the rips.
Oh and in case people are wondering... The bike transforms into the hand glider if you're on a slope and back again, can be tricky to work though.
Power Boat Simulator
Catamaran
Monohull
Enemies
Another unhappy rip but more or less simple enough. Why is because the waves are a programming effect due to unable to find it in the Graphics Viewer.
Tales of the Arabian Nights (Version 1)
Imrahil
Enemies
There are two versions of this game both by the same publisher and year but different developers, levels and screen modes making them different games based on the same idea of an Arabian clone. Version 1 got made however the publisher was not happy so a second version got made by a different developer. This gets even more confusing... Version 1 sold about 2-3000 copies at a trade show before pulling the plug on sales. Version 2 was widely released but... the publisher also decided to make copies of both versions on the same tape. Amstrad Action reviewed Version 2 but also mentioned the event in their January 1986 issue (so around November-December 1985). Version 1 was reviewed earlier in France. Oh and Aladdin's Cave was done by the Version 1 programmer and reuses some of the same graphics. Made matters worse that Version 2 has a game breaking bug where you can't get past the first level due to the controls not working properly which begs the question how Amstrad Action managed to review the game that's broken...
IMO, there's a lot more to this game that we don't know about. Why a publisher wanted to make a second version after already selling 2000-3000 copies? Was it to match the original C64 version more? Was it all down to Keith Purkiss working on Aladdin's Cave for Artic and Interceptor didn't want to pay him? Yet it wouldn't explain the BBC Micro and Spectrum versions that he did. Only thing that I can guess was that Kevin Parker who did the music, loading and protection systems (possibly mastering too?, he was heavily connected to Interceptor aka Players) was frustrated on Version 1, claiming that he had to rewrite half the game since they got a programmer who was more familiar with 6502* rather than "a real machine like the Amstrad" and it was "so bad" but Version 2, he just said that it was much better. All of this were written as hidden messages.
*-6502 is the processor used on C64, BBC Micro, Atari consoles/8-bit and NES sort of while the Z80 was Spectrum, Amstrad, Master System, Game Gear, MSX, Colecovision, SG-1000, many early arcade machines, Game Boy sort of.
Hyper Sports
Swimming
Just the swimming I'm afraid... A shame since it's an iconic game...
Sporting Triangles
Players
Dice
Categories
This suffers from really bad loading times even on a floppy disk, probably on par with some modern games. Oh and the Mode 2 graphics all have a dotted line in terms of the graphics viewer.
3D Stunt Rider
Rider
This game has both a "3D" cockpit view and a 2D side view. While the rider is ripped, the HUD used for the cockpit view cannot be easily ripped as the graphics viewer only displays a framebuffer of whatever is on screen. Even games from 1985 use compression...
Mermaid Madness
Gormless Gordon
Enemies
Items
Spellbound Dizzy
Dizzy
Yay! Found the mine cart graphics as those were stored in Spectrum format unlike the rest of Dizzy's sprites, didn't think that it would have been done. This and Crystal Kingdom Dizzy are the only two mainline Dizzy games on the Amstrad that use the same design as the box art with the red gloves and shoes. No green tinted Dizzy in this game! It's still a 4 colour game though... Finishing the sheet at 3: 30AM... ooof...
Was working on Airborne Ranger but know that it wouldn't be ready due to the player and the enemy use the same sprites (the plane was ripped while writing). Motor Massacre, Nigel Mansell's Grand Prix (those small sprites...), Beach Volley are very close to being finished while Rick Dangerous, Strider 2, Run The Gauntlet, Pub Games, Skate Crazy have made some progress. Even started progress on Wacky Races, Super Cauldron and G-LOC so you can tell that it's getting towards the finishing line. Also looked at Rad Ramp Racer but that one was similar to Aussie Games and Super Stock Car in terms of how it is loaded so that's a nope.
Le Amstrad
Tintin on the Moon
Tintin
Moon Rocket
Captain Haddock
Professor Calculus
Colonel Boris / Jorgen
Items
Blistering barnacles... The only 8-bit version that was done in France and by Infogrames themselves (technically two versions however a Plus machine can run both), the others were outsourced to Probe. Also one of the few games that actually has an intro rather than a loading screen.
Grand Prix 500cc
Rider
Flagman
Athlete
Athlete
Rodeo
Cowboy
Cheerleader
Background
These are the earliest games fully published by Microids (GP 500cc is around July/August 1986 while Athlete was finished in October but wasn't released until November/December and their first outsourced game). GP 500cc was also developed by the founder too, I believe it was the first to be released outside of France so a bit of gaming history here. Rodeo was co-produced by Loriciels judging by the Thomson versions and it was outsourced (Loriciel -> Microids -> Phase).
(As a note MobyGames uses the name 500cc Grand Prix for some reason but if you look on the loading screen, the spine on the box, the disk and most of the manuals all say Grand Prix 500cc. CPC Game Reviews also use GP 500cc. The Activision and Loriciels English reprints did use the other name though on the back on the box and the manual.)
Oh and had to use the tape version of Grand Prix 500cc due to some sort of copy protection issue that popped up. Plus I had to re-rerip the entire sheet just before I finished due to a palette issue with the tyre. Ugh...
Also I have given up finding the missing background graphics on Athlete, which is why the athlete sheet is just well... the athlete even if it is baked into the background. Tried editing out the athlete on the Graphics Viewer*, didn't work. Even though at least 90% of graphics can be viewed without a problem, it's just that line and part of the pool that's compressed or even part of the coding...
*- Unlike most other emulators and systems, you can directly edit on the Graphics Viewer on CapriceForever on top of changing palettes. This is how I verify sprite boundaries if it's not simple to see by drawing a line that's a different color to the sprite, if it shows up it's part of the sprite, if it doesn't then it has gone beyond the boundaries or erase a sprite to make it easier for me to rip another. Hunchback 2 and a few other games makes the screen go glitchy by doing this. At worst case scenario, it can cause the game to crash. The old NESticle emulator also lets you do this but there might be a Game Boy emulator as well. I'm sure that's how people made the earliest hacks unless they used TileEd/TileLayerPro or something...
There are a few more Microids games on the way (Highway Patrol, Shufflepuck Cafe, Grand Prix 500 2, Les Aventures de Pepito au Mexique) however they are still WIP. For Shufflepuck Cafe, it is yet to be ripped.
Harricana - International Snowmobile Race
Snowmobile
This is also one of the first games that has a pseudo widescreen effect along with Thunder Burner by the same developer. Oh and no loading screen in the traditional sense because some of the later Amstrad games (that aren't already GX4000/Plus games due to being mostly cartridges) have a different way of loading. It might be an intro, it might be a loading break like the Topo Soft logo.
Had to dropped Lee Enfield: Space Ace due to similar to Batman: The Caped Crusader. Oh that's such a common problem both on the Amstrad and more so on the Spectrum...
El Amstrad
Hundra
Hundra
Enemies
Objects
Lorna
Lorna
At one point Spanish games were really into blonde beautiful women as the leading roles. There were a couple of fantasy artists in Spain who also helped in terms of game art, Lorna even came with a comic. Also yeah, there are a lot of THOSE poses in Lorna or more accurately Culorna...
Around 8 or so Spanish Amstrad games left to do in the backlog...