Hello everyone!
I’d like to share a game I’ve created. It’s the very first thing I’ve ever developed for the ZX Spectrum.
It’s yet another *Arkanoid* clone; though, to be honest, I’ve lost count of how many similar games were released for the Spectrum;
from my childhood, only *Arkanoid* and *Batty* really stuck in my memory.
The story behind its creation is quite simple: I once decided to write an *Arkanoid*-style game using WebGL.
I was happy with the result, and at some point, I wondered: what if I tried porting it to the ZX Spectrum?
So, I gave it a try. I couldn’t implement everything I had planned; I simply ran out of memory.
I’m certainly no expert when it comes to Spectrum programming, so it’s quite possible that I made some mistakes
or that certain parts could have been implemented much more efficiently.
In the end, I decided to include everything I managed to complete in a version for the 48K model,
while aiming to incorporate the remaining ideas into a version for the 128K model.
I developed and tested the game using the Fuse emulator.
Unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance to test it on actual hardware yet, so I’d be very happy if someone else could give it a try.
I played a lot of games on the Spectrum as a kid, and I’m left with the impression
that most titles back then were grueling challenges; nearly impossible to beat.
Maybe I just wasn’t very good at them! In any case, I’ve tried to make my own game challenging, yet entirely beatable.
I won’t go into any more detail; if you enjoy *Arkanoid*-style games, give it a go!
I look forward to your feedback, comments, and bug reports.

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v1.1

- Improved the anti-looping system for the ball: increased the depth of analysis for detecting repetitive trajectories.

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v1.2

- Fixed an issue where the ball would get stuck in a loop when moving between portals.

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v1.3

- Fixed a display bug affecting the life counter (for 10 or more lives).

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v1.4

- Added extra protection against complex loops: if the ball fails to hit any breakable blocks or the paddle for an extended period,
  the game will subtly adjust its trajectory.
- Fixed an issue with how the game handles quick-saves in memory after a session ends.
- Made minor improvements to memory management and game loading.

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v1.5

Fixes and improvements (48K version):
- Fixed a bug where balls would occasionally teleport unexpectedly when using the MULTI or SWARM power-ups.
- Optimized game physics for scenarios with a large number of balls; reduced slowdowns during high-load moments.
- Reduced flickering of balls and falling power-ups.
- Improved the behavior of the AI ​​assistant (BOT): better selection of hit angles, smarter prioritization of brick destruction,
  awareness of indestructible blocks and specific ricochet patterns, and improved logic for collecting beneficial power-ups
  while avoiding harmful ones.
- Fixed the behavior of SAFE, CHAOS, and PIERCE effects after losing a ball; they now persist if the player still has remaining lives.
- Adjusted the spawn conditions and balance for certain power-ups.
- Updated power-up icons and the indicators for active effects.
- Corrected color attributes for the loading screen and the UI layout on post-loading screens.
- Additional optimizations and stability fixes.

I believe these are the final changes for the 48K version; there is simply no more memory available to allocate.
Everything else I originally planned is now being implemented exclusively for the 128K version,
which will be released at a later date. I think by the middle of November, probably.


10 october 2026
