BLAKE’S 7 — ZX SPECTRUM 128K
Port: 2026 by Outsoftware / using ChatGPT & Codex.
VERSION 1.0 — RAM SCROLL REVISION, 18 OCTOBER 2026

INTRODUCTION, COLOURS AND INTERFACE
The first part of the introduction is preloaded into RAM: it makes no new
disk reads while its music plays. The panorama scrolls in colour; ten static
images across the introduction and later sequences, plus the initial menu
logo, use NIRVANA+ 8×2 multicolour derived from the Oric artwork. Static images
and the logo use NIRVANA+ from their first appearance. Script pages and
dialogue for later images load before each image appears, avoiding disk
reads during multicolour text.

Originally monochrome images remain monochrome. The red/yellow faces after
the menu and the green computer retain their single Oric colour. The eye,
London cockpit and exterior, static objects and portraits use NIRVANA+;
the epilogue, animated characters and playable rooms use the normal engine.

All 19 opening captions are present. In the MGT video at normal speed, after
the full text appears the BBC/Terry Nation block remains for 7.74 seconds,
the five credit blocks for 3.00–3.46 seconds, and the dedication for 8.76
seconds. Music timing is unchanged. This evidence is reused for the new
disks through resource and presentation-path identity; it does not represent five
new introduction recordings.

The initial menu displays logo and controls together, without a caption
above the logo. Exiting the menu to gameplay, Continue or Help blanks the
whole screen while the next display is prepared. A failed load restores
the menu. Opening the pause menu during gameplay remains gradual; one
partial frame was observed when returning to gameplay before the complete
display appeared. Not every transition is instantaneous.

Colour cleanup covers screen changes and returns from monitors or special
images. The centred badge, opening pauses and masked pointer at its current
size are retained.

The selected verb is white; yellow marks the verb under the pointer.
Selection stays during the approach and clears when the engine returns to
walking. To use “Look at” on another object, select it again. “Use” and
“Give” retain selection while choosing the two objects they require.

The command line shows the verb and target, for example “Walk to Exit”.
In the original Oric game it sits below the scene; this port adapts it to
the top row. It uses masked text and gives dialogue priority. This is visual
feedback in every room: hovering starts no action and does not change the
selected verb. It also works over inventory; “Use” and “Give” show both
targets when required. No “Walk to” button is added.

Seven passages have easier floor approach areas, including the storeroom
exit with lockers, room 13. This applies only to walking, preserves object
priority and adds no doors or puzzle changes. L37 retains its original
area: find “Walk to Hallway” with the pointer. Return to the corridor was
checked from both the original and extended room 13 exit areas, and through
the original L37 passage.

SCROLLING, PERFORMANCE AND VALIDATION
The camera follows the character in wide rooms using the 128K dual screen.
Trigger thresholds follow the original Oric source; view changes appear in
larger steps. The static inventory covers all 19 wide room resources, with
none excluded from scrolling. The two scenes with local room number 200
are distinguished by their narrative context.

The edge audit also covers all 62 rooms and 242 object definitions. The
useful view retains the Oric’s 38 six-pixel columns, at Spectrum x14–241.
No new blocking crop of named objects or exits was found. Four partial
exits and several scripted character entrances from outside the view
already follow the original data. This is a geometric audit; it does not
execute every dynamic script expression or every possible story state.

Backgrounds for 11 resources are prepared in RAM; 361 camera positions
passed automated bitmap and attribute comparisons. The other eight retain
scrolling with a different preparation path: preparation time and cache
availability vary. Larger costumes can reuse cache space, and some view
preparations may still require a disk read.

In the MGT corridor tested at normal speed, the delay from the request to
the first new right-hand view falls from 3.437 to 1.661 seconds. No DOS reads
occurred during the two tested scroll directions. An initial pause remains;
this measurement does not promise the same time in every room. Walking may
still slow when other characters move; perfectly uniform cadence is not
claimed.

Native MGT checks cover boot, menu, loading an authentic save, corridor
scrolling in both directions, and entering/leaving L37.
DSK: fresh native coldboots with authentic saves and scrolling samples
in rooms 6 and 47. OPD, TRD and KDI reuse earlier native interface
checks; these three final disks were not freshly booted. All five
have complete disk-content readback, six archive parts, memory, badge
and empty-save checks.

Earlier MGT checks of the London cockpit and exterior, later portraits,
text and return to gameplay are reused. The palettes of all ten static
images and the menu were checked automatically; not every sequence was
replayed. Minor colour differences remain along some edges.

Earlier story checks used authentic saves in segments and included the
ending. This is not a new uninterrupted playthrough on all five formats.
Of the 880 original resources, 879 remain identical; only resource 2 has
changed timings before the menu. Text, story and the post-menu portion
remain unchanged. The wire2 save format and identity are preserved. No real
hardware validation or exhaustive optional-dialogue check is claimed.
Video inspection is not a music listening test.

X128 DOS boots KDI but does not render the 8×2 raster accurately, so NIRVANA+
colours may look different. In earlier checks, the same KDI menu RAM shown
with Fuse128 ULA emulation matched the other formats; the X128 graphics
limitation remains.

Choose Blake's_7 with the extension matching your disk interface. The five
distributed disks contain no saved games. Play on a writable copy and keep
the disk inserted throughout the game.

MGT LOADING AND BORDER
The Beta DOS fix and head recovery are retained. The reader uses the DOS
commands’ Carry flag and can retry up to three times after the specified
physical errors. A successful first read adds no head restore. CPU tests
cover 1116 cases; a physical error was not induced in the emulator to test
recovery. Boot and in-game reads were checked with G+DOS and Beta DOS with
Miles Kinloch’s Bug Fixer. This is not a fresh save-write test or a claim
that every DOS revision is qualified.

The included +D DOS has border flashing disabled; that preference is also
saved in the DISCiPLE SYSTEM. AUTO sets the black border and the code keeps
it. An external preloaded DOS may use its own settings before AUTO runs.
Start the new disk from reset: old snapshots may restore earlier border
settings. The DISCiPLE preference was verified; this is not a new complete
game qualification on that interface.

STARTUP
MGT: Spectrum 128K +D, drive 1; select 128 BASIC and enter RUN.
DSK: Spectrum +3, drive A, 80 tracks, double-sided, 9 sectors of 512 bytes;
     select Loader or enter LOAD"DISK" from +3 BASIC.
OPD: Spectrum 128K with Opus Discovery, drive 1; 128 BASIC, RUN.
TRD: Spectrum 128K with Beta Disk/TR-DOS, drive A; from 128 BASIC:
     RANDOMIZE USR 15619:REM:RUN
KDI: X128 DOS 0.95d, Spectrum128, SPDOSKemp = KDOS128_A6;
     KD21_A6.ROM, CRC32 69405CFB. Mount drive A and start AUTO.
     Example: x128.exe /128 /quiet /a C:\Blake's_7.kdi

MENU AND SAVES
SPACE or FIRE: start, or resume your current game state.
C: load the latest autosave. It does not save your current position.
On a clean disk, C displays NO VALID AUTOSAVE. This is normal until you
reach a story checkpoint, such as the Ravella key event. Autosave occurs
at specific story points, not after every move.
This edition retains the wire2 save format and identity of the
18 October 2026 edition. Saves predating wire2 remain incompatible.
The five supplied disk images contain no saved games.
M: open the menu when controls are active; M or SPACE/FIRE resumes.
I: help. From help, SPACE/FIRE returns to the menu.
ENTER: optionally skip scenes that allow it. The introduction advances
on its own; pressing ENTER is not required.

CONTROLS
Q/A/O/P moves the pointer; SPACE/FIRE confirms. Point at the floor to walk,
or choose a verb and target to act.
1 Give, 2 Pick up, 3 Use, 4 Open, 5 Look at, 6 Push, 7 Close, 8 Talk to, 9 Pull.
L: keyboard; K: Kempston; H: Sinclair 1; J: Sinclair 2.
QAOP and SPACE remain available. Numeric verb shortcuts are disabled
in Sinclair modes. Release FIRE after changing controls.

CREDITS
Static-image multicolour: Powered by NIRVANA+, engine by Einar Saukas.
Original game: José María (Chema) Enguita and collaborators.
Original credits, terms and manual are in the Documentazione folder.
NIRVANA+ terms and the ZX0 decoder licence are included as
NIRVANA_NOTICE.txt and ZX0_LICENSE.txt.
The manual’s Oric hardware directions are historical; use the Spectrum
instructions here for this port. Emulators and ROMs are not included.
