Golden Seas (ZX Spectrum Next)
A downloadable game
This software runs on the ZX Spectrum Next home micro. To load, select the TAP file from the file browser and select N for Next mode.
Take to the seas and discover the islands and people who inhabit the Clasp. Can you find the meaning behind your dreams?
Golden Seas is a traditional text adventure with a huge open world (over 120 illustrated locations), multiple logical puzzle threads and no random deaths.
STORY
Martell was laying on his small outrigger as it floated slowly across the calm sea, watching the fluffy clouds overhead catch the golden rays of the sun. He had a peaceful, yet simple life, sailing the waters of the Clasp - an area of islands that sat between the Amber Sea, the Sea of Fire and the Candle Sea - collectively know as the Golden Seas. He had no permanent home and little in the way of possessions. The only thing he needed was the freedom to go wherever the wind took him.
He had been troubled of late by vivid dreams that had begun to haunt him; The voice and pale face of a young woman, beautiful and calming. But then there were visions - visions of blood in water, bright lights that are blinding, spectres that head straight for him….then the woman's voice calls out in distress, as though trapped and in imminent danger. A strong wind blows ships off course, the earth cracks, fire shoots up from under the ground and all is flooded in a great disaster.
Martell is driven by these dreams. He is sure that the woman can be found, and finding her might be the only thing that can prevent the apocalypse that he has foreseen. The only problem is that he doesn't know where to begin.
In Golden Seas, you play the part of Martell - his goal to uncover the truth behind his dreams, which he believes could save the world from a terrible catastrophe.
INSTRUCTIONS
The game uses standard VERB NOUN input (such as GET STICK, FILL BOTTLE etc). You can also interact with people using TALK TO BOB, GIVE FLOWERS TO MARY etc. Shortcuts, like X for EXAMINE and I for INVENTORY are also available.
SAVING YOUR GAME
Type SAVE. You will be prompted for a filename. You can restore by typing LOAD.
Written by Paul Weller (c)2022 Sunteam
Golden was written using Adventuron https://adventuron.io/ and converted to the Spectrum Next using DAAD Ready (converter by @uto_dev)
This game was tested on distro 1.3.2
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of £8.95 GBP. You will get access to the following files:
Development log
- Golden Seas Version 2 UpdateAug 14, 2022
- Golden Seas is launched!Mar 25, 2022
Comments
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Late to the party I know, but would it be possible to play this using the HTML output by Adventuron? I'll pay for the game of course.
In theory, yes. However I only want this as a Next exclusive release and have no plans to let an HTML version out into the wild (at the moment).
I understand. I will have to wait then as getting a Next Emulator on Mac is a pain :)
Hi, how do I download the version 2 ? Thank you
If you just re-download the file, it will be the latest version.
If only i could get the spec next I backed on kickstarter....
get the n-go
Hello.
I am stuck and would appreciate some hints.
I am missing whatever opens the fourth door.
Also I have no idea how/where to use the mermaid scale.
Have you SIRD NO MOOR TIRIPS EHT TSAP TOG? (reverse this text to read)
No.
I assume this is the location behind the archway, since it is the only area I am unable to enter on that island.
I do not know if the problem is with guessing the correct command, or if I am missing something I need.
To open the archway you need to SGNIVRAC EHT HTIW KCOR EHT DNIF
Thank you for the help.
I visited every location on the island already.
I did not realize that part of the boulder could be examined separately and was trying to interact with the wrong thing.
Now I believe I have what I was missing and can say goodbye to the island.
Beautiful writing and graphics for this game so far. I'm stuck in the cave with chest and handle, any hint?
Everything you need is in those two rooms. Have you looked outside? (also, examine EVERYTHING)
Tried but didn't progress, I found nothing to examine outside of the cave, I think I tried all the possible words. Only thing I found is a potato inside the cave... I am probably very bad at this, but you may want to add a hint system to your game ;)
Message me on FB or Twitter and I'll tell you (I want to avoid openly posting solutions if I can).
I will not do that. I will not ping you everytime I am stuck. I'd suggest you add a hint book to your game.
I won't be adding in-game hints, but once the game has been out a bit longer, I will be putting hints up on my website.
Looks great! Are there any plans for a physical copy?
There are no plans for a physical copy.
Do you think there might be other versions down the line, in a while? Amiga perhaps?
No, this is a Next exclusive.
Forever? I understand the love for a platform. I just love games that look like this one. Of which there are fairly few.
Never say forever, but I've no plans at the present. I'm moving on to new projects.
That looks lovely! I just purchased the game. Can you recommend me an emulator to play it with?
It should work fine with either ZEsarUX or CSpect. Thanks for the purchase!
Hmmm... I'm really struggling with both emulators. For ZEsarUX I downloaded the software distribution from zxspectrumnext.online and tried to load the .tap from within the ZX Spectrum Next OS by using "smartload" but it won't start. In the case of CSpect I don't have a clue of what parameters to use in the batch file, nothing I fill in will load the game... is it only me or is Spectrum Next emulation quite inconvenient?
With CSpect there is a bit of a set up required. IIRC there is a YouTube video explaining all of this. Failing that this topic has been covered many times in ZX Spectrum Next Facebook groups.
To be honest, I've never really worked out Next emulation myself. All my BASIC stuff is done on hardware and the adventures are made in Adventuron and converted.
Any DAAD game for Spectrum Next should work with ZEsarUX using the following call from command line, while being at the ZEsarUX folder:
zesarux --noconfigfile --zoom 1 --machine tbblue --realvideo --tbblue-fast-boot-mode --enable-esxdos-handler --nosplash --forceconfirmyes --nowelcomemessage --esxdos-root-dir "<PATH TO THE FOLDER>" --cpuspeed 100 <FULL PATH TO THE TAP FILE>
Where <PATH TO THE FOLDER> is the PATH in your computer where you extrated the file, and <FULL PATH TO THE TAP FILE> is the same path plus the name of the tap file.
If that doesn't work, try copying only the tap file to the ZEsarUX folder, and then <FULL PATH TO THE TAP FILE> is just the tap file name.
Thank you so very much Uto Dev! It works perfectly with your parameters.