08322: spec128 and clones [strider and clones]: System reset after finishing first level

ID	Category [?]	Severity [?]	Reproducibility	Date Submitted	Last Update
08322	Crash/Freeze	Major	Always	May 22, 2022, 15:15	Nov 11, 2024, 10:39

Tester	ICEknight	View Status	Public	Platform	MAME (Official Binary)
Assigned To		Resolution	Reopened	OS	Windows 10/11 (64-bit)
Status [?]	Acknowledged			Driver	sinclair/spectrum.cpp
Version	0.243	Fixed in Version		Build	64-bit
		Fixed in Git Commit		Github Pull Request #

Summary	08322: spec128 and clones [strider and clones]: System reset after finishing first level
Description	The game reset's to the Spectrum's main menu instead of starting the second level. This also happens in the Erbe Software release from the TOSEC set (with turbo load for levels only).
Steps To Reproduce	-Load spec128 or one of its clones like specpls2 -Load strider from softlist -Press enter to enter Tape Loader -Enable UI controls, press F2 to start tape, throttle until it finishes loading -Start game, beat first level -Once the Level Clear music ends, the emulated system will reset Or just start specpls2 and load the attached snapshots.
Additional Information	One thing that might be of note is that this game shows some "snow effect" on screen, on real 128K hardware. Here's a video I recorded from a real UK Spectrum +2, showing how the game only resets (and proceeds to display a very noticeable snow effect) after finishing Level 4: Here's some directly captured footage, also from a +2: Points where a level is completed: - 04:24 Level 1 Clear (MAME resets) - 12.05 Level 1 Clear (MAME resets) - 14:23 Level 2 Clear - 16:58 Level 1 Clear (MAME resets) - 18:42 Level 2 Clear - 21:17 Level 3 Clear - 23:43 Level 4 Clear (real hardware resets) Note that, only after the "Level 1 Clear" card disappears, some of this snow effect always appears briefly on the HUD, momentarily freezes for a bit and then continues again before the "Level 2" message is shown. This momentary freeze doesn't seem to happen for the other levels, so it might be related to MAME resetting the emulation right there. (I've also uploaded a few more gameplay videos to the same channel, but this one's the longest)
Github Commit

Flags	Verified with Original
Regression Version
Affected Sets / Systems	spec128 and clones [strider and clones]

Attached Files	strider_snapshot.zip (113,330 bytes) May 22, 2022, 15:15 Uploaded by ICEknight Snapshots for Spectrum 128K/+2

No.20218 Haze Senior Tester May 23, 2022, 11:00 edited on: May 23, 2022, 11:02	There are a lot of Speccy disk games that still either don't boot or quickly fail (always have done) It might be worth doing a single report with the test results for the listed software, see if any patterns emerge (eg. if specific types of copy protection are causing issues) Outside of the disk games the compatibility is strong now, so it has to be something specific I think.
No.20219 Haze Senior Tester May 23, 2022, 11:44	I did notice some odd things, like the Speccy+3 defaulting to having 2 drives, rather than a standard configuration, and I know from Amiga copy protections this can sometimes cause problems, although it didn't seem to change anything with the games I tested on the Speccy when removed the 2nd drive.
No.21023 peterferrie Developer Jan 20, 2023, 04:52	This looks like a bug in the game. The game enables interrupts (at $A364) right before switching to bank 1 (at $A310) and calling into $C003. An interrupt occurs at $CC07, which reads the vector from bank 1 $F0FF instead of bank 0 $F0FF. The read vector address is $0000. That resets the machine.
No.21025 peterferrie Developer Jan 20, 2023, 15:03	According to the game instructions, "please play in 48K mode".
No.22403 peterferrie Developer Nov 4, 2024, 04:31	Playing in 48kb mode works perfectly. There is no bug here.
No.22406 Robbbert Moderator Nov 4, 2024, 10:00	Closed with input from dev.
No.22425 Robbbert Moderator Nov 11, 2024, 08:33	Op says problem is not fixed, so reopening.
No.22427 ICEknight Tester Nov 11, 2024, 09:35	Just added some footage taken from real hardware, which shows that the reset shouldn't happen until Level 4 is finished.