Next Core vs Spectrum Core Question?

[CartoonDonkey]

Forgive my lack of understanding, but doesn't the Next core make the Spectrum sort of a moot point, as the Next core does everything the Spectrum one does, plus run Next titles? (With the exception of .trd files - which I assume the Next can be made able to do using trdos?)

[nico24]

There are always purists out there. Also they 'say' that only the latest Next core is available on the Next. Not sure how true that is. I have a Next, but haven't updated it in a while.

[Stinky]

The next hardware can also load spectrum cores, despite the next core being compatible. You can run multiface or whatever, it's a bit more authentic.

[pgimeno]

The Next core has stability problems. Saving BASIC programs is not working and there are reports of other problems. I hear some Spectrum demos don't run properly, though I don't know which ones exactly.

I don't know how to load TRD / SCL / +D disk images with the Next, if it's possible at all.

[nico24]

For TRD files you need to be in the TSconf core.

[akeley]

Well, Spectrum core emulates Spectrum directly, and the original Spectrum is what I want to use. It's also most likely more mature, since it has been around for ages and had bigger exposure. Another thing is that it's much faster to fire up a game in it than in Next.

[Chilli_Vibes]

The ZX Spectrum was one of the most iconic computers in the 80s, along with the C64, and to a lesser extent - the Amstrad CPC.
The Spectrum deserves respect, and certainly deserves its own core.
Enough with this BS, it's irrelevant whether other cores can play other machines. ALL machines deserve to be preserved for history, and the NEXT has no history, and certainly is no iconic computer - it's a stupidly expensive machine that offers little over better machines released in the 80s, and 90s.

[bricabrac]

Althought I haven't tried the Next core yet but I do have a Next since its launch so I presume I can add something to this topic.

There are two very big advantages of Spectrum core over the Next core:
- it loads TZX files out of the box (real Next requires rpi for that and so Next core is missing that feature completly);
- it has a proper Pentagon mode with TR-DOS and TRD (r/w) and SCL (r) file support (Next has only "personality" with Pentagon timings and requires ESXDOS to be installed to load TRD and SCL files).

But if you are not into Russian demoscene or loading games as if they were loaded from a tape with all protection schemes and stuff, then I guess it makes no difference which one you use. Just remember Next is designed to have a direct access to sd-card so the Next core works best if you put all the software on a separate sd-card and insert into the second sd-card slot (the one on the io-board).

[akeley]

You can actually load tzxs in the Next core but, again, you have to wade through the OS. The main difference for me is the look/feel (I like the old one), boot-to-game speed, and the fact that the Next core is more likely to have some bugs.

Then there's the snapshot functionality, which I'm not sure is actually possible in the Next core?

[CartoonDonkey]

@akeley The snapshot is super easy on the Next core and works great. Just hit F9
And thank you @bricabrac -owned an N-Go -sold it and the price got me a full Mister system, which I've got in front of me in a nice 3d printed wedge case / keyboard. Don't miss the N-Go at all.

[aileron]

@CartoonDonkey just gotta ask. How do you deal with all the key mappings? I built and N-Go for two reasons.

1. Being an American I didn't get to experience the Speccy in my youth (80's) and I'm always curious about different systems.
2. The keyboard mappings has just killed the experience trying to get something done on emulators. So I gave up and built the N-Go. (Note: I want to know how the system ticked not just play games (though that's part of it.))

So far my experience has been pretty darn good (its allowed me to program a bunch of speccy basic)... the keyboard really helps even if its sorta-kinda painful. i.e. (Geeze... Clive could you at least have added one more column please; next to enter.)

Now I wouldn't mind selling it if I could actually use the keyboard properly to program, but so far I've had to read the keyboard to get stuff done and create habits that are a bit bizarre for someone use to a 101 keyboard. Im really curious how you manage that.

Side note and totally not important: Sadly I spend a lot of time on the N-Go in CP/M playing Infocom games (Planetfall) because I grew up using an Apple II+ with a CP/M card and 80 column card doing homework in Wordstar.

[_javi_]

@CartoonDonkey just gotta ask. How do you deal with all the key mappings? I built and N-Go for two reasons.

1. Being an American I didn't get to experience the Speccy in my youth (80's) and I'm always curious about different systems.
2. The keyboard mappings has just killed the experience trying to get something done on emulators. So I gave up and built the N-Go. (Note: I want to know how the system ticked not just play games (though that's part of it.))

So far my experience has been pretty darn good (its allowed me to program a bunch of speccy basic)... the keyboard really helps even if its sorta-kinda painful. i.e. (Geeze... Clive could you at least have added one more column please; next to enter.)

Now I wouldn't mind selling it if I could actually use the keyboard properly to program, but so far I've had to read the keyboard to get stuff done and create habits that are a bit bizarre for someone use to a 101 keyboard. Im really curious how you manage that.

Side note and totally not important: Sadly I spend a lot of time on the N-Go in CP/M playing Infocom games (Planetfall) because I grew up using an Apple II+ with a CP/M card and 80 column card doing homework in Wordstar.

Having had a 48k Spectrum in 1985, the N-Go (in a rubber keyb case replica) is a great experience, almost 40 years later. The nostalgia is unbelievable.
And as i cant just get enough (DepecheMode pun intended), i got a ZX Omni128.. another Speccy replica (no fpga, real Z80(a) inside).

The feel of the dead flesh keyboard is unique.. i dont remember it being that bad.. yet i love it. I typed in lots of BASIC lines (and even machine code hexadecimals) with it in the 80s.

I dont plan to get rid of any Speccy replicas. I also use this miSTer core now and then, nevertheless.
(Using a decent pad for Spectrum games feels like cheating )

[akeley]

Now I wouldn't mind selling it if I could actually use the keyboard properly to program, but so far I've had to read the keyboard to get stuff done and create habits that are a bit bizarre for someone use to a 101 keyboard. Im really curious how you manage that.

If you mean struggling with the ready-made BASIC commands which are inputted by key combos on the original Spectrums, then you can just use 128K BASIC from the later models. It has a normal interpreter where you just type everything letter by letter.

[ron]

Sorry, duplicated post.