HAL-9000 Space Ship (Norio Yamada)

Title – HAL-9000 スペース・シップ (HAL-9000 Space Ship)
System – Sinclair ZX81
Author – 山田紀夫 (Norio Yamada)
Publication – Micom BASIC (マイコンBASIC) March 1982
Page Scans – 1 2 3
Preserved By – TWE
Recommended Emulator – EightyOne

Download ROM

Loading the Game –

Two versions of the game are included:
– hal.tzx, a cassette-tape image of the original game;
– hal_en.tzx, a cassette-tape image of the translated game.

NOTE: This game requires a RAM expansion of at least 8K.
NOTE: EightyOne emulates a wide range of Sinclair computers, so it must be configured to emulate a ZX-81.
– Options -> Hardware -> ZX81 (on the Sinclair tab), select at least 8K on the RAM Pack option)

Load the tape file, type J, Shift-P, Shift-P (the resulting output should be ‘LOAD “”‘), press Enter then play the tape;
NOTE: EightyOne does these steps automatically upon loading the tape image.

After the program finishes loading, press R (for ‘RUN’) and press enter to start the game.

Game Instructions –

After the game’s introduction screen goes away (or is skipped with Enter), you must guess a keyword composed of 3 letters; after inputting a guess, the game tells you how you peformed: ○ for correct guesses, ？ for letters in the worng position, and × for incorrect guesses.
After completing the first phase and entering the computer room, you must remove 7 of the 9 circuit boards by inputting their numbers; 2 of those boards are life units, and if both are removed the game is over.

Article Translation –

Sinclair ZX-81
HAL-9000 Space Ship
Norio Yamada

Invaders possible with only 1K!?

Hey Sinclair users, are you enjoying programming? As for me, related to this ZX-81 program I’ve published on Micom BASIC Magazine, the other day, I was given the chance to use a software tape from England (The Sinclair’s made in the UK). I used to think stuff like “The display speed is slow” and “The character set is dull” about the computer, but got to see it somehow being able to do hi-speed Invader-likes and more, all at the original 1K, and I was surprised.
Of course they were all made with machine language. I’m thinking of studying it and making speedy, fun software myself. As for everyone, keep going strong!

So, this time the program is…

“Bleep-bloop games are in the midst of their popularity, so why dont we have more computer-like games…?” This was what FCZ Research Center’s Tadashi Ōkubo, famous amongst amateur radio operators, wrote in FCZ magazine. Since then, I’ve thought about it as well, and as to whether this is “computer-like” or not, I don’t know, but I hope you input it and enjoy it.
In this game, you must enter the computer room of HAL-9000, the super large computer who suddenly became bent on threatening humanity, and remove its circuit boards. This theme has been seen many times already, so I hope you’ll forgive me.
Firstly, you must guess the 3 word keyword. Upon doing so the computer room’s door will open.
Next, you must remove the circuit boards one by one, but if both life units are pulled out, you won’t be able to keep yourself alive. You have to remove the remaining 8 boards (out of 9) through guesswork.
Well then, I’ll be praying for your success!

{Picture 1} Game Rules
{Picture 2} Find the keyword. ○ means both the position and letter are OK, ？ means it’s a letter in the wrong position, × means it’s completely wrong
{Picture 3} The door opens
{Picture 4} Oh no! Removed a LIFE UNIT
{Picture 5} The word HELP keeps getting repeated
{Picture 6} Nice! Huge success
{Picture 7} Game End