I am delighted to announce the second gamma-release of JSW64 Manic Miner: James
Bond (v1.1), which is available as a free download from:
http://tinyurl.com/andrewbroad-spectrum-download

v1.1 adds a room called "Quantum of Solace". I've also produced an easy variant
of the entire game (to reduce stressful or frustrating manoeuvres without
eliminating my beloved quirky features), and room-by room documentation -
including a thorough list of playing-tips that should cover anything you might
be stuck on.

The game is based on the James Bond character created by Ian Fleming, and has 22
rooms, each corresponding to one of the official James Bond 007 films produced
by EON Productions (please don't sue me; I'm making no money out of this
whatsoever, so just think of it as free advertising that might attract a few
more people to the James Bond franchise).

The game is based on John Elliott's JSW64 engine (Variant Z), which combines
almost all the features of Matthew Smith's classic Manic Miner and Jet Set
Willy, and adds novel features such as new guardians (e.g. diagonal guardians,
fast horizontal guardians, triggers and stoppers), new cell-types (Trap-cells
feature quite a lot in my game), the ability to have up to 16 different
cell-classes in a room (each with its own cell-type, pixel-pattern and
colour-attribute), and the ability to enable superjump on a room-by-room basis.
In particular, this game is based on John Elliott's conversion of Manic Miner to
JSW64.

Using the JSW64 engine has enhanced the game technically, visually and
atmospherically. The ability to have different-coloured Air-cells in each room
has helped me to capture the atmosphere of two or three locations from each
Bond-film.

Although JSW64MM:JB uses features that originated in JSW (such as ramps, arrows
and (non-swinging) ropes), it is essentially a Manic Miner game: the only way
out of each room is via the portal, which opens (turns red) after you have
collected all the items in the room without losing a life (in this game, you
only live twice).

On top of the JSW64:Z engine, I have applied several patches of my own: most
notably Broadsoft Lifts (allowing you to stand on certain horizontal and
vertical guardians), and I have knocked out all the exits at the edges of the
screen so that instead of being taken to another room, you wrap around just like
in the Manic Miner sequels that allow this. I have also reused Geoff Eddy's
patch-vector to flip Willy's horizontal position every 32 time-frames in "The
Man with the Golden Gun".

The difficulty of my MM/JSW games is always severe, and JSW64MM:JB is no
exception! It's full of quirky features and tight manoeuvres, often requiring
pixel-perfect jumps, sometimes with perfect timing. Each room is an intricate
network of constraints, forcing you to face every single one of my intended
challenges, though you do sometimes have to make difficult choices about the
order in which you do things. My use of Crumbly cells, the relationships between
guardians, and their relationships with conveyors, all mean that the
consequences of your mistakes may return to haunt you several minutes later!

I plan to extend my game as future Bond-films are released. Bond 23 is due in
cinemas in 2011, so that shall be added in v1.2.

I have also updated the MM/JSW section of my website (including my List of
MM/JSW Games):
http://tinyurl.com/andrewbroad-mmjsw

--
Dr. Andrew Broad