Was the ZX Spectrum Horizons Tape TERRIBLE?

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

Check out Snorkers Thro' The Wall improvement video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fGauYp2Aisl2q6c Give him some love! Some weird, non-saucy love.

[@ctrlaltrees]

You can't tell me what to do! *Gives Snorkers saucy love*

[@Justin-TPG]

Shan't!

[@WhatHoSnorkers]

Oh my! @@ctrlaltrees

[@TheTurnipKing]

5:36 Thro the Wall was actually a commercially released Psion game for the ZX81, only here updated with colour to show off the fact that the Spectrum, as it's name implies, has some. Infact much of the Psion Horizons tape was a trawl through Psions ZX81 back archives, like Biorhythms.

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

Aha! That's interesting to know, didn't realise they were flogging them as full releases prior to this. I suppose it was a good way to quickly get software into this tape.

[@ctrlaltrees]

The way the ball "squishes" when it hits the paddle in Thro' The Wall is a nice touch.

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

It is! Until it's the only thing it does because it won't hit any of the last bloody bricks.

[@elmosexwhistle]

In my experience, balls always squish when hit by a paddle.

[@WhatHoSnorkers]

That was sheer joy from start to finish! Hooray!

[@gazarnott]

For you maybe! 😭

[@arostwocents]

Brilliant intro lmao

[@letsdiscussitoversometea8479]

My memories of the Horizons cassette were extremely positive ones. It was the first tape I ever used on my Spectrum - bought as a surprise gift by an adored close relative. More so because we were very poor, and so even owning a computer (this was years after its release btw) was absolutely remarkable. I really didn't mind (and still don't) the quality of the programs, as I knew they each served an important purpose in their own right. And I always liked to think that Clive Sinclair actually *wanted* the best for the Spectrum's users, whether it be for business, and educational use - something I think is just TOO overlooked in even the Spectrum community itself.

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

It is most definitely a tape that tries to show the scope of what Clive wanted from the Spectrum. It didn't truly go down that route, but it's an interesting piece of history.

[@arostwocents]

This is so true. It's a tragedy there was no £100 16 bit micro.

[@letsdiscussitoversometea8479]

@@arostwocents I really don't mind about that. :) The 48k Spectrum was (and has in recent times especially, been shown to be) PERFECTLY good as a home computer. A lot of utility software (which never really gets covered - there's definitely a gap in the market for anyone wanting to make videos about it) served perfectly good functions for business and domestic use, and then there's the demoscene... Absolutely breathtaking.

[@SonicAlpha]

Life was one of the first programs we made in my first year of Uni. I spent the entire time thinking I'd seen it somewhere before, and now 24 years later I know where I'd seen it!

[@Pai3000]

I got this tape with my 48k spectrum. I found it somewhat of an oddity. It was called "Horizontes" here in Spain.

[@weon_penca]

My grandma, believe it or not, played Thro the Wall. She asked me for it when she went to our home and played it for hours, it was annoying, haha, good memories after all. Beside that, I was interested in the routine for the big characters and used it sometimes in my own programs, and that was it. I was like 12 yo.

[@Vakantscull]

That Oh Wright OK visual gag was too clever for its own good and is now my new favourite edit/joke of yours!

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

Only took 30 minutes of faff for a 3 second joke.

[@Vakantscull]

@@RoseTintedSpectrum worth it!

[@robinboyns2753]

Haha, loved that. First time I have had the piss taken out of me on KZbin and couldn't be prouder! Watching the game playing now, I am a little bit disappointed, some things are better left as nice memories...

[@GenerationPixel]

Christmas 82, I had Horizons and Hungry Horace. I gave very fond memories Thro' The Wall and Evolution. Oh, I also loved Oh Mummy, Punchy, Crazy golf and even Disco Dan 😉

[@itnaklipse1669]

i never loaded the tape. Not once. i don't remember it even occurring to me to check what's on it.

[@schneil]

There was another one for the ZX spectrum + as well. From memory it was slightly less dull

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

I had the +2 and I don't remember any of this stuff, I had the 6 pack of games and I remember those, but it could also be that I just ignored anything that looked non-game related.

[@cycleranger]

Remember this was back in Christmas 1982 when I was 9 years old. Not many people knew about computers, Loading it for the first time with all of the strange loading noises. I remember by Boxing Day the p key broke. Soon bought more software

[@adamfreeman3652]

Being OLD it irks me no end that you keep referring to Thro' the Wall as an Arkanoid clone, WHEN IN FACT, it's a Breakout clone as Arkanoid wasn't released till '86! Can't wait till you start referring to Commando as a Call of Duty clone! You young baby whipper snapper, get off my lawn, time for my afternoon nap, somebody get me my slippers etc, etc ;P Awesome video :)

[@blatherskite3009]

Bought my Speccy second-hand off a mate at school, so I'm not sure I ever had the Horizons tape. Did have a BBC Micro, though, with its equivalent, the Welcome cassette, Only things I remember from that was a crappy Biorhythms program and some strategy game where you allocated numbers of villagers to tasks, the river flooded, bandits stole your food, everyone drowned or starved. Fun times.

[@wisteela]

My faves are Thro' the Wall, Foxes and Rabbits, and Waves.

[@nonprophyt]

Wait, was that the theme tune to Spatz? I haven't thought about that show in thirty years...!

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

It certainly was!

[@garrycowan4394]

Mate we had one BBC computer for the whole school so computer time was limited to say the least so to get your hands on a spectrum was unbelievable even Horace goes skiing seems amazing at the time

[@MikeOB1981]

Oh my lord, the nostalgia is through the roof! ❤

[@jasontaylor8658]

I got the ZX Spectrum+ User Guide Companion Cassette in 1985 with my Speccy+ and I fucking loved it!

[@billybollockhead5628]

I spent quite a few hrs on Thru the wall.... Mainly editing the basic code and tweaking it to my liking.. I learned a lot of coding messing around with it

[@lukmigindnuforhelved]

My parents wanted to buy me a computer. First we tried the C64 ... it had some ok games ... remember something with some pigs in baskets shooting arrows ... or something ... Then we tried the Spectrum .... my dad and I were both mesmerized by the Horizons tape ... my dad (an engineer who had done some programming) and me (the geekiest boy you could ever imagine) were both totally blown away by this wonderful experience. We were so the target group for this. I loved my ZX Spectrum

[@Hairyfoot_Studio]

Well done RTS, really funny 😁. I got the Horizons tape when I bought my Speccy second hand in about 1984, can't say I remember ever loading it up but Thro The Wall did look familiar. Probably played that and ignored the rest 🤣

[@BinnisRetro]

So much great editing here! And the Snorkers content in this video is very pleasing. Is 'Dressed for Success' now the new Snorkers theme song? I did have a 48K and I remember playing Thro' the Wall at least once or twice but not the rest. 5 year old me, with no prior video game experience, immediately figured that Thro' the Wall sucked though because it could only do 0° or 45° and nothing else. So boring to finish a level. For me the first good one was Horace goes Skiing which we got along the machine! How can Thro' the Wall compare to that?! I also have a lot more memories of the 128k pack-in...Treasure Island, Oh Mummy and Disco Dan! It's hard to beat that...

[@WhatHoSnorkers]

I looked at (but didn't DO) different angles. It doesn't come up in my video as it's too tricky.. but different angles makes so much sense!

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

Thank you! This one took a tonne of work to put together.

[@gazarnott]

@@WhatHoSnorkers James I just wanted to ̷b̷e̷g̷ ask if there were any vacancies left in your class for a senior pupil? That teacher really looks like and reminds me of the one that ̷h̷u̷r̷t̷ taught me back in the day and I'll never forget the levels of ̷p̷a̷i̷n̷ discipline he gave out. Is that something that you are able to ̷p̷a̷y̷ ̷f̷o̷r̷ offer in your own classes too? Please reply asap, PLEASE! 🙏

[@ChrisFranklyn]

I remember a distinct state of confusion because I didn't really know what to do with any of it and being disappointed that Life wasn't like the Game of Life board game. I think I had more than 10 minutes of fun with Thro' the Wall because of a sheer determination to enjoy all media back then. Rent a crap video from the video shop and it was still fun. Then we got Arcadia, Horace Goes Skiing and Percy the Potty Pigeon and never looked back.

[@arostwocents]

The Spectrum Life is more advanced than the PSVita Life 😂 Homebrewers may have brought the system Fallout 1 and 2, Bully and all the GTAs among dozens of others but im now disappointed with the post commercial life's library 😢

[@burbercat3558]

I had the Horizons tape. In the style of a Bad Influence reviewer, it was hard at first, but the more I played it, the easier it got. I liked it.

[@dwah1986]

Literally the only thing I remember about it is O'er the Wall, which for years and years I misremembered as actually being called "Horizons" itself. So I do have some nostalgia for it as it was possibly the first game I ever played. One of the very few games my dad has ever enjoyed, others being Peggle and winding my mum up when watching Coronation Street. EDIT See I'm even misremembering the bloody name of it now. Thro' the Wall, apparently. I prefer my name.

[@pentelegomenon1175]

Maybe the comment "chequered flag" is a reference to Monte Carlo, which was briefly thought to be a racing game by someone.

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

Chequered Flag!

[@fattomandeibu]

Not old enough to remember this, I'm from a time when you could get a C64 for the same price as a Spectrum, but I just try to go in remembering that before this you would've likely have only played Pong or Space Invaders. Simply seeing colour would've blown the mind. If coming from an Atari 2600, you could replace "colour" with "pixels smaller than an inch square on a 12" screen".

[@AndrewTSq]

I remember the arkanoid clone, and othello. but my spectrum came with horace triologi.. so I mostly played horace goes skiiing :)

[@simplesimonhadapie]

I got to game number 4. Life walked into my room as you said the title i sang the very song which came on a second later and thats when i knew its subscribe time 😂

[@TeZXSpectrum]

I truly couldn't remember any of the other games (well I say games) apart from Thru the wall. Nostalgia is surely blind. Excellent video Sir💥💥💥💥💥

[@gazarnott]

you blocked them out for a very good reason Tezmondo, never forget that! You owe you brain a pint or two or at least a courteous 'THANK YOU'! Now go say it out loud, you owe it that much! 👍

[@TeZXSpectrum]

@@gazarnott sound advice Gazza But if I say it out loud now I will wake up my wife 😂😂

[@RetroSegaDev]

*waves stick* I'll have you know I'm your age and remember this! After being reminded of it by this video...

[@RichardHallas]

Entertaining video - though I think you’re pretty unfair on Horizons, which was actually wonderful. You have to remember it was from a time before people even really knew what computers were, and before games we remember fondly (like Arkanoid…) were even written. For the computers and users of the time it was an absolutely essential inclusion, and in all honesty it’s hard to imagine how it could have been better. Horizons was aspirational, both for new Spectrums owners and for the machine itself. For the users, it taught them the basics of how to use the machine, what it could do and what it might be used for. For the computer itself, it showed how people might use it for interesting, diverse and useful tasks, and not merely for ephemeral games. So yes: aspirational for all concerned (and how badly Real Life let the poor Spectrum down, transforming it into a mere games console). Speaking absolutely honestly, I really loved Horizons and went through it several times with pleasure. As a 12-/13-year-old in 1982 I found it deeply engaging. OK, Side A was of limited interest once I knew how to use the keyboard - though it remained an excellent introduction to operating the machine. Side B was where all the interesting and exciting stuff was. Yes, Thro’ the Wall was great, and actually very impressively well written for a pure-BASIC game. I wasn’t stupid enough to think that Bubble Sort was actually a card game; it clearly demonstrated a very useful sorting technique, and it genuinely taught me something helpful that I went on to use myself later. Similar comments for Monte Carlo, which was a great demo of normal distributions, and interesting to watch. I enjoyed Evolution and found it interesting to experiment with; I especially enjoyed playing with Waves. And life was a great introduction to something that I saw a lot more of later. Beyond all that, the character generator was really useful when I wrote my own programs later, and I stole and reused the excellent little routine for plotting text in a range of sizes. All in all, Horizons was incredibly varied, interesting and useful. Moreover, its software was actually extremely well written, especially given that most of it was in pure BASIC: it genuinely demonstrated what ordinary users could aspire to write themselves. People who say it’s boring are themselves the boring ones, as they’re the people who take no interest in anything other than games, and don’t aspire to anything beyond entertainment. In fact, Horizons was probably the best ever example of its kind. The only other introductory cassette of a similar quality that I remember was that for the BBC Micro. It too was very good, but for my money, Horizons was better: more interesting overall, with more engaging contents. The most memorable item on the BBC’s Introduction cassette was the Yellow Valley Kingdom game, and while it had some limited appeal, it was quite boring and certainly lacked the engagement of Thro’ the Wall. So I defend Horizons vigorously. It was splendid, it did its job superbly and I enjoyed it and learnt things from it. I can remember now how exciting I found it, seeing it for the first time back in those youthful, much-missed days of 1982. It opened my eyes to the future.

[@SweetStevieAaron]

Hey, Treasure Island and Oh Mummy! were great fun. Not really showing off the 128K mind were they?

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

Those were my two favourites of the bunch, Treasure Island was such a crapshoot though. I replayed it a few years ago and it's all kinds of memory test + broken hitboxes.

[@gazarnott]

As the care home staff have blocked me from watching this video, could somebody please write to me to give me a quick breakdown on whether old people like the 'Horizons' tape or quite rightly refuse to ever retrieve it from their cats bumhole after only ever loading it up just the once? Oh and if you could include some meds in your envelope (the more colourful the pill the better please!) then please do, as their so strict here about how much I get each day and I really do need more to enable me to continue to use my arms to finish off my wall mural of 'KONG' in my cell using only my faeces. If you don't have any meds then I'll happily accept any foods that you have lying about that in extremely rich in fiber. Sincere thanks. ❤

[@mattcorby]

I was 8 (I'm 46 now) when I got my zx spectrum. I remember being mesmerized by these things, and breaking into the BASIC programs to see how they worked. They may be shite, but they taught me programming and I made a career from that so..

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

Yep! Exactly why I wanted some outside opinions, because this is the perfect example of "you had to be there". Coming at it fresh in 2022 it's almost impossible to be subjective alone.

[@mattcorby]

@@RoseTintedSpectrum imagine seeing your first boob. Except it's not a boob, it's a shit zx spectrum program. That's the feeling. I have no really strong nostalgia for seeing it again, like realising the girl who's boob it was was, in retrospect, terribly fugly, but it was amazing at the time.

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

Hahaha, YT hid your other comment behind 2 layers of concern because you said "b 00 b". Thanks papa KZbin.

[@mamehaze]

LOAD "sidea" LOAD "cidea" LOAD "cider" cider CIDER! and this is how it all started

[@mamehaze]

but um yeah.. I had a +2 and I had this.. or rather I had a copy of this, a copy. somebody had copied this tape. I remember hacking up the Wall game, I probably recorded modified versions of that over anything else that was on the tape.

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

You and Snorkers are clearly cut from the same cloth!

[@Yesterzine]

I never had this. I got a +2 as well. I have never played it. Literally everything in this video was new to me. All my other spectrum games are in storage. SO HOW IS THERE A COPY OF THIS ON MY SHELF.

[@primokarma9841]

You should've asked me to ask them, I don't give a frick I am bad to the bone

[@Infamousuk]

The James Corden face on the cabbage tickled me for far too long

[@julzmunckton]

What a brilliant video, I think the Horizons tape worked best when you had the New ZX Spectrum smell in the room as well, hope we managed to enthuse you with some of our elderly nostalgia for the tape!

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

This new, young, energetic video is powered by all of your dusty words, so thanks really should go to you all!

[@gazarnott]

Julz you really can't get away with using the words "the Horizons tape" and "worked best" in the same sentence! Remember, their listening, their always listening and when they find you they'll lock you up in here with me and then whose going to tell the people the truth? Hadn't thought of that had you! I hope this hasn't damaged the time line. Quick! delete your post and go activate 'Project Inferno' like we agreed, I want to be able to see all those caseette tapes burn from the small window inside my cell! DO IT! DO IT NOW! Muhahahaha......😆

[@julzmunckton]

@@gazarnott 😆😆😆

[@markbalaam9542]

Old?!? I'm only 53, you young oik!

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

Hahaha, I love this massively delayed but very on point response.

[@RetrogradeScene]

Great stuff! I'm also far too young for this!

[@kinghell9061]

Vague, happily forgotten memories you dredged up there.

[@Dunbar0740]

Aged 8 I didn't realise the "Spectrum" could do colour. My brother's bedroom tele was a portable black and white set from Tudor times. First thing we loaded was the Horizons tape; we selected the "Evolution" program because it implied sex. We were on the money, but not our species of interest, at the time. I can still recall the disappointment. Followed by the crushing realization the long list of software titles included weren't actually playable. It was just shit advertising.

[@arostwocents]

That's a Breakout clone not Arkanoid 😡😡😡😡 Arkanoid was Breakout with added stuff. I remember being furious about this the first time I watched this too! 😡 😂

[@Graeme_Norgate]

Love it.

[@impfinityspectrum3210]

I think mine came with: The lightgun pack 128k 6 pack and 4 pack and (for some reason) with the joystick: Screen Heroes Konami Collection Donkey Kong Mario Bros I think this must've passed me by. Entertaining video tho as usual 😁👍🏻

[@adamanonymous6885]

man that +2 starter pack of games is powerful nostalgia... Oh Mummy was a CLASSIC... well... I mean... it was decent... it was... you know... a game... mostly...

[@TheAwesomePandaLPs]

Time for a tea break Jeremy

[@stephenrobertson6025]

I never had a Spectrum back then - I was too poor and could only afford a ZX81, BUT I did have richer friends who had a Spectrum (but sadly none rich enough to have a BBC Micro). So I did spend some time playing with the Horizons tape as an intro to my friend's speccy, and I thought it was amazing - remember I had a ZX81 which had a rubbish touch keyboard, two colours, no sound, and a depressing tendency not to save my programs. It was however cheap. I recently bought a refurbed speccy and a tape emulator, and decided to load horizons to recapture my mispent youth, but looking at it now it is incredibly basic (and was probably mostly programmed in BASIC), and it shows that nostalgia isn't what it used to be. However, looking back at what was available then, in the early days of microcomputers, it served as a really good introduction to the Spectrum. Later it was superceded by much better software, but there wasn't much available when the speccy first released.

[@Justin-TPG]

I had this and went through it thoroughly on more than one occasion (we made do with what little we had in 1987) but still often confuse it with the Dorling Kindersley cassette that came with the Spectrum+ and contained the massively superior bat and ball game Demolition, along with Maze Chase, a paint the maze without getting caught game that you could insert the requisite cock and balls into with the accompanying UDG Designer. That tape was loads more fun. I also owned two copies of CHEQUERED FLAG.

[@mattioli2]

Foxes and rabbits.

[@martinr3993]

Thro The Wall an Arkanoid clone? Oh my blessed child…

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

I'm only 12, stop making fun of my Nintendo knowledge

[@martinr3993]

That aside, Horizons was the first tape I loaded on the Spectrum. I then loaded Cookie after exactly the same time it takes to play Thro The Wall for a bit, load all the other stuff and react with whatever the 1982 equivalent of ‘WTF?’ was for an eleven year old. And I’d like to say that I work in IT *despite* this tape, not because of it.

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

@@martinr3993 I've a big soft-spot for pieces of technology that are incredibly impressive for about a 3 month period in the distant past, and then they're just forgotten about entirely from that point onwards. It's like flash-frying futurism.

[@lanceuppercut3498]

Regarding Dales' seemingly random outburst of Chequered Flag. I can but meat of those bones. My first ever computer was the ZX Spectrum, I got for Christmas and came with the Horizons tape, which I loved. I mean yes it looks like a load of boring nonsense only good to be left and gather dust. But when you a young lad of 10 years and this is you first ever computer Horizons was like a doorway to as you said a different world and I like ZXDummy it was magical. Anyway with this bundle came a game, and that game was Chequered Flag. A great little game where you could race the F1 tracks in you F1 car. Yes ok it was racing alone with no other cars, just you and your skill to archive the fastest lap, and to try and beat your best lap, and well yes that's it. But that was okay. The challenge was to best yourself, beat that record time, be better and I had many hours trying. And Dale seems to not be the only one, nice one Dale.

[@L0wcash]

Thro' the Wall is NOT an Arkanoid clone! Arkanoid (1986) is a Thro' the Wall clone! Or better... both are Breakout clones..

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

Breakout is just a Pong clone. But they swapped the other bat for a load of bricks. And the direction changed. But that's what it is, and I stand by it.

[@jezz2k]

@@RoseTintedSpectrum Breakout and Pong are way more different from each other than Breakout and Arkanoid. Pong is for two players simulteanously, based on tennis. Arkanoid is and always has been an upgraded clone of Breakout. They just added music, sound effects, power ups and aliens. In any event, how can a game that came out 4 years before Arkanoid be a clone of it? Someone was bound to put bells and whistles onto something as basic as Breakout eventually.

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

@@jezz2k yeah, I was just being facetious, haha. I don't actually think that.

[@vinnythemackem]

It's 16th April. It's the 39th anniversary of getting my ZX Spectrum. I can't watch this video yet. My dad, inconveniently, died last month. Useless bastard. He could have hung on to see this bloody video. Arsehole. ❤️

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

Oh mate, im sorry to hear that

[@vinnythemackem]

@@RoseTintedSpectrum Well I finally got round to watching it. Glad I did. Made me laugh lots. Oh, and I got a "dog shite" zoom. Towards the end. My dad would have liked that. Loved his dog shite. 😁

[@Nocturnic]

I really liked this video but why are all the good questions put out on Twitter? Slow down wizz kid. I don't have enough life left in me to learn social media, I much preferred Ceefax. Well done though.

[@Nosaveddataretro]

You got the same crap games I've had when I got my speccy. First game I ever played was oh mummy and disco Dan was a Psychedelic trip. You need to review those games mate

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

@@Nosaveddataretro reviewed a few of them right back in the early days

[@Nosaveddataretro]

​@RoseTintedSpectrum oh, I'll have to have a look for those. Great video thank you

[@mr.a8315]

😅👍👍

[@consty715]

Breakout clone, not arkanoid. God your so…….young

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

And verile!

[@HolyGoddessMotherAnne]

@@RoseTintedSpectrum And strong! Don't forget that mate in the end we're all vikings here.

[@SuperJim]

If you're stealing nostalgia nerds content, does that mean I can steal yours? Like stealception. Only it won't have any speccy in it because speccy is for babies.

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

You're not allowed to say speccy any more, you have to call us bespeccyticled.

[@RoseTintedSpectrum]

It's political correctness gone mad.