For Sir Clive Sinclair's rubber-keyed wonder!
LOAD "" CODE
R Tape loading error, 0:1
The ZX Spectrum implementation of Rachel - bringing the eternal card game to Britain's most beloved 8-bit computer! This is Platform #008 in the Rachel Multiverse, featuring Z80 assembly, the famous ATTRIBUTE CLASH, rubber keyboard input, and that iconic tape loading screech!
- Attribute clash - Each 8x8 block can only have 2 colors!
- Border effects - Classic rainbow borders during special events
- BEEPER sound - Making music from a single-bit buzzer
- UDG graphics - User-defined graphics for card suits
- Rubber keyboard - Q,A,O,P for movement (no cursor keys!)
- Tape loading - Complete with loading bars and screeching
- 48K/128K support - Works on all Spectrum models
- Full Rachel rules implementation
- Up to 8 players (memory permitting)
- All special cards working
- AI opponents with Z80 efficiency
- Color-coded cards (red/black) with attribute clash
- Sound effects via the beeper
- pasmo, z80asm, or sjasmplus assembler
- FUSE, ZEsarUX, or Spectaculator emulator
- Real ZX Spectrum (for authentic experience)
- Tape recorder or DivMMC/DivIDE for loading
# Using pasmo
pasmo --tapbas rachel.asm rachel.tap
# Using z80asm
z80asm -b rachel.asm -o rachel.bin
bin2tap rachel.bin rachel.tap
# Using sjasmplus
sjasmplus rachel.asm --raw=rachel.binfuse rachel.tap
# Then type: LOAD "" CODE
# Or use Tape -> Open -> Quick Load- Record TAP file to cassette tape
- Or use DivMMC/TZXDuino to load from SD card
- Type:
LOAD "" CODE - Press PLAY on tape deck
- Wait for iconic loading sounds...
- Experience attribute clash glory!
The Spectrum has no dedicated cursor keys, so we use:
- Q: Up
- A: Down
- O: Left
- P: Right
- M: Select/Play card
- SPACE: Draw card
- H: Help
- R: Rules
Alternative Sinclair joystick:
- 6,7,8,9: Directions
- 0: Fire
The Spectrum can display 8 colors at 256×192 resolution, BUT each 8×8 pixel block can only contain 2 colors (INK and PAPER). This creates the legendary "attribute clash" or "color clash" effect.
Card Display (8×8 blocks):
┌────┐
│ A♠ │ <- This entire block must be 2 colors only!
└────┘
Adjacent cards might clash:
[Red ][Black] <- Color bleeding between blocks!
We redefine characters A-D as card suits:
- A: ♥ (Heart)
- B: ♦ (Diamond)
- C: ♣ (Club)
- D: ♠ (Spade)
The Spectrum has only a 1-bit beeper, but we can create:
- Card play: Quick beep
- Draw card: Lower beep
- Special card: Two-tone beep
- Victory: Ascending scale
- Error: Buzz sound
All generated via OUT commands to port 254!
$0000-$3FFF: ROM (16KB)
$4000-$57FF: Screen display file (6KB)
$5800-$5AFF: Screen attributes (768 bytes)
$5B00-$5BFF: Printer buffer
$5C00-$5CBF: System variables
$5CC0-$5CCA: Reserved
$5CCB-$FF57: Program and data (~35KB on 48K)
$FF58-$FFFF: Reserved/Stack
Rachel loads at: $5B00 (23296)
This is our first Z80 implementation! Key differences:
- Z80: 8-bit with 16-bit register pairs
- More registers: AF, BC, DE, HL, IX, IY, SP, PC
- Shadow registers: AF', BC', DE', HL' for fast switching
- Block operations: LDIR, CPIR for memory operations
- I/O ports: IN/OUT instructions vs memory-mapped
- ZX Spectrum 16K: Too small, sorry!
- ZX Spectrum 48K: Full support ✓
- ZX Spectrum 128K: Enhanced with AY sound ✓
- ZX Spectrum +2/+3: Full compatibility ✓
- Spectrum Next: Works with enhancements ✓
We include a classic Spectrum loading screen:
- Multicolor loading bars
- "Program: rachel" text
- Border stripes during load
- That distinctive loading sound!
██░░██░░ Program: rachel
░░██░░██ Bytes: 32768
██░░██░░
SCREEEEECH-beep-beep-SCREECH
Due to color limitations:
- Cards are drawn with spacing to avoid clash
- Red/black suits use careful positioning
- Selection highlights use FLASH attribute
- Border effects for global state changes
- The Spectrum sold 5+ million units
- "Speccy" was UK's best-selling micro
- Rubber keyboard was... controversial
- Games came on cassette tapes
- Loading could take 5+ minutes
- Attribute clash became an art style!
- Attribute clash is a feature, not a bug!
- Rubber keyboard requires firm presses
- No hardware sprites (all software rendered)
- BEEPER sound can be grating
- Loading from tape is... patient work
The Spectrum defined British gaming:
- Bedroom coders revolution
- Your Sinclair magazine
- Jet Set Willy, Manic Miner
- The Oliver Twins
- Ultimate Play the Game (later Rare)
This implementation showcases:
- Z80 assembly programming
- Working within color constraints
- Creative use of 1-bit audio
- Efficient memory usage
- Classic 8-bit optimization
Full Rachel rules implementation in Z80 assembly, adapted for the Spectrum's unique constraints while maintaining gameplay integrity.
Platform #008 of ∞ complete. 192 platforms to go...
God Save the Speccy!
MIT - Because Sir Clive would want it that way.
"LOAD "" CODE"
"R Tape loading error, 0:1"
"RANDOMIZE USR 23296"
ZX Spectrum: Where attribute clash became art.