Published by Ocean Software in 1984.
Commodore 64 version:
Programming by David A. Collier, Bill Barna and Tony Pomfret.
Music by David Dunn.
Published by Ocean Software in 1984.
Amstrad CPC version by Choice Software, and published by Ocean Software in 1985.
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INTRODUCTION & GAME STATUS
After years of waiting, it is now possible for me to do a reliable comparison of one of these joystick-killing sports games that have been sorely missing from the archives of FRGCB. The reason for this is, that I finally have an actual Amstrad CPC in my collection, as well as a Sinclair ZX Spectrum and a Commodore 64, and because in my experience, emulation hasn't been accurate enough to get a realistic sense of how each version plays. Now, Daley Thompson's Decathlon has been made possible to compare from the trilogy, and therefore, has the honour of starting our Ocean October of 2022.
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HISTORY, DESCRIPTION & REVIEW
To those of you who don't know who Daley Thompson is, well, click on this Wikipedia link to read more about him. As the ZX Spectrum didn't have a high-profile athletic sports game yet, Thompson's olympic gold medal inspired Ocean Software to get a licence for using Thompson's name on a decathlon game.
Similarly to preceding decathlon games, namely Microsoft's Olympic Decathlon (1980) and Activision's Decathlon (1983), as well as Konami's arcade hit Track & Field (1983), which only had 6 events instead of the full ten, DTD is a very physical sports game. While the arcade controlling form in Track & Field was to smash two running buttons alternately and as quickly as possible to simulate running, DTD follows the method from Activision's Decathlon, where you use a joystick and waggle the joystick left and right as fast as possible. As those of us who grew up with these controllers and these games well know, many joysticks got broken by games like Daley Thompson's Decathlon, until joystick manufacturers learned how to make sturdier and more ergonomic sticks that would suit the waggling better and would last longer, such as Suncom's TAC-2 or Kempston's Competition Pro 5000.
Daley Thompson's Decathlon is your basic decathlon game, featuring all the usual events you would expect in a decathlon: 100 meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400 meter run, 110 meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500 meter run. Similarly to Track & Field, the game loops from the beginning after finishing the ten events, but with a higher difficulty, meaning harder qualifying limits. Unlike Track & Field, though, you get three spare lives to waste before the game is over.
Although by playing Daley Thompson's Decathlon now, you would never believe the attention and popularity it got back in the day, it was the ninth-best selling game of 1985 in the United Kingdom, and it won Computer & Video Games magazine's 1984 Golden Joystick award for the Best Arcade Style Game, as well as the Best Arcade Game title for Crash magazine's 1984 readers awards. But that's all Spectrum-based - things weren't quite as happy on the other machines, as you will soon find out. Part of the reason why is, Track & Field had already been ported quite successfully to MSX, Commodore 64 and Nintendo's Famicom/NES, and Ocean decided to fill the void on the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, with the C64 version being more or less a necessary evil in the mix. As it is, Daley Thompson's Decathlon is not the most recommendable decathlon-type athletic sports game on the 8-bits, but it is one of the most iconic ones.
All three machines have a few choices for alternative decathlon games, like Melbourne House's Sports Hero on the Spectrum, Activision's Decathlon on the C64, and the latter-day releases of Track & Field and even Daley Thompson's Olympic Challenge on all three, but Daley's first game entry was the first time the three usual suspects fought on the same ground in this particular genre.
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LOADING
With another classic threesome of Spectrum, C64 and Amstrad, we have another classic battle of tape loading times, which, as usual, will not be taken into account in the final scores. This time, the 48k RAM in the ZX Spectrum forces the game to be divided into two parts, but it remains to be seen, whether or not this makes the Spectrum version better for it.
C64, original & Hit Squad: 4 minutes 16 seconds
C64, Ocean re-release: 4 minutes 25 seconds
C64, They Sold A Million: 5 minutes 11 seconds
CPC: 3 minutes 50 seconds
SPE, original: 3 minutes 27 seconds (both sides)
SPE, Hit Squad: 5 minutes 5 seconds (both sides)
It should be noted, that there were some minor differences between re-releases, but basically, most Spectrum releases are similar in speed as the original Ocean release. Also, there are two Amstrad releases that use a different loading scheme, but load up just about as quickly. The C64 version, even at its quickest, is the slowest of the bunch, but then again, you have to double the loading times for the Spectrum releases to get the full amount.
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| Loading screens, left to right: Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC. |
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PLAYABILITY
Already from the title screens, we can see differences in gameplay, as the C64 version is the only one to allow for a second player to participate. The second player's participation doesn't really count as anything other than practice, really, because only Player 1 gets the scores counted. Also, both players can only participate simultaneously in the running events, but both joysticks can control the sole athlete in the single player events. The AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM versions are strictly single-player games, and the latter one only has options for various types of controllers, as well as a rather useless demo mode. This feels a bit of an underachievement, since Konami's C64 port of Track & Field already had a fully working two-player mode included.
Once you have decided to start the game, you are first required to input your three chosen initials to keep your possible high scores marked on the top three scores for each event. This happens in a similar manner to everything else in the game: left, right and fire. The C64 version skips the name input part.
If we compare Daley Thompson's Decathlon to Track & Field - its most direct source of inspiration - DTD is made more player-friendly by allowing the player three disqualifications before your Game is Over, whereas in Track & Field, you only had to mess once. Even so, DTD is a surprisingly difficult game due to reasons I shall get into shortly. Because the way the SPECTRUM version is divided into two separately loadable days (just as decathlons are competed officially), it also serves as the version, in which you are least likely to fail so bad as to not even get to attempt all the events in the game. The AMSTRAD and C64 versions have all the events played in a single load.
At the time, it seemed as if the game developers were uncertain of the official order of the events in decathlon. As Wikipedia informs us, the event order of Day 1 (for men's decathlon) is: 100 metres, Long Jump, Shot Put, High Jump and 400 metres. Day 2 follows with: 110 metres Hurdles, Discus Throw, Pole Vault, Javelin Throw and 1500 metres. The SPECTRUM version switches the places for Pole Vault and Discus, but otherwise it's all as it should be. The AMSTRAD version switches the places for 400 metres and High Jump, but again, otherwise it's all as it should be. The C64 version, however, butchers the order of events in the most peculiar way: the fourth and ninth events - High Jump and Javelin, respectively - switch places.
The order of events is the least of our problems, though. If you have ever played the Activision Decathlon on the C64, or any of Epyx's multi-event sport games, they can really ruin any enjoyment you might have had with Daley Thompson's Decathlon, and that goes for all three platforms. The biggest issue here is the power meter, which never seems to correspond fully to your joystick waggling - it might suddenly drop a quarter of the possible power you're generating, and after a couple of seconds, you might get a sudden spike of almost top power. Compared to all the properly good joystick-waggling games, Daley Thompson's Decathlon's biggest issue is the randomly acting power meter.
Now, let's examine the events more closely, starting with the running events. The 100 m and 400 m distances are played simply by waggling left and right as fast as you can. Nothing too exciting there. The Hurdles event has an awkward collision detection in the SPECTRUM version, while the AMSTRAD's problem is the lack of a sense of speed. The C64 version pulls it off otherwise nicely, except when you're getting near the finishing line, your athlete runs the last 10 meters at the exact speed you enter the last 10 meters, although it actually feels a lot slower, if it's anything less than a number below 09. The long distance run (1500 m) is more mindless waggling in the C64 and AMSTRAD versions, but the SPECTRUM version gives you a very different task instead: you need to balance between preserving energy and going as fast as you can afford to, but you don't have to waggle the joystick to do that - just adjust the speed with the stick and the fire button. In all running events, the SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions can give you penalty for a false start, but you get no such thing on the C64.
From the jumping events, Long Jump is similar in all three versions: you waggle to gain power, and smash the fire button and keep it down to adjust the angle, then let it go when you feel like you have a high enough angle. In the SPECTRUM version, you adjust the angle in mid-flight, whereas in the other two versions, you stop at the take-off board to adjust the angle. The optimal angle changes between the three versions, which is a continuous theme throughout the game.
High Jump is probably the most awkward event in the entire game. In the SPECTRUM version, your athlete runs automatically, provided that you first make him run by pushing the joystick right or left. When approaching the jump, you need to be really close to the crossbar holders to be able to cross the crossbar. Once you push the fire button, the game starts counting down an angle counter, but if you let go of the fire button, the angle stays still. The AMSTRAD version requires waggling, and when jumping, the fire button activates the angle countdown only once, so you need to find the correct angle to jump any height at once. The C64 version works otherwise the same way as the SPECTRUM version, but the actual landing angle is more difficult to get right. I don't think I have ever actually managed to successfully jump over the bar on the C64.
Oddly, Pole Vault is easier to handle. Again, the SPECTRUM version lets you off the waggling, and instead your only job is to hit the fire button almost exactly as soon as the vaulting spot comes into view, and only let go once you're high enough to be able to pass over the crossbar. This needs to be done so, because you also have to take the time to lower the pole before vaulting. The C64 version also lets you off the waggling, but for the vaulting, your athelete lowers the pole immediately, so you need to wait until the other end of the pole just about crosses the spot you would expect it to need to land on before slamming the fire button. The AMSTRAD version falls somewhere between the two, and as with High Jump, you need to waggle the joystick before vaulting. When you actually get to the vaulting spot, you need to leave a bit more room for the pole to get lowered on the ground than on the C64, but not much, but otherwise the vaulting method is the same as in the other versions.
And now, we get to my favourites: the throwing events. Only one of the events is played in exactly the same way on all three versions, and that is Javelin. It's just waggling and hitting the fire button to adjust the starting angle at the latest possible moment.
The SPECTRUM version also has the Shot Put event made to be played similarly as Javelin, but for Discus, you need to let the game automatically gather up speed for your athlete, and hit the fire button to choose the flight angle at the right moment. Uniquely, the right moment here also needs to be chosen according to your athlete's position on the throwing platform, as the visual presentation here is completely different to the other two versions, as you will see in the next section.
The AMSTRAD version has all three events played similarly to each other, so nothing of real value to report here. The C64 version, though, has automatic speed-up running for both Shot Put and Discus, but unlike in the SPECTRUM version, the only thing you need to worry about is the angle, and obviously, so you don't overstep while speeding up.
Considering the whole game is based on achieving an accomplishment through successfully completing all 10 events of the decathlon, the SPECTRUM version is the only one to offer anything resembling a closing celebration screen. The other two versions just loop the game from the beginning with no sense of accomplishment, and just give you more difficult qualifying limits than on the previous round. Although it doesn't affect the gameplay as such, if you do wish to have a full decathlon experience, the SPECTRUM version is the only way to go.
Unfortunately for a lot of retro enthusiasts out there, for these joystick-waggling sport games, you cannot get a completely correct experience through emulation, which is why I had to wait until getting my own Amstrad to make this comparison. Even playing the C64 version on VICE, which is the most exact C64 emulator out there, you can cheat your waggling by keeping the mapped left directional key pressed down while just frantically tapping the right directional key to get more power than you usually would when waggling a joystick proper for the occasion. For the Amstrad emulation, I usually go with WinAPE, which doesn't really take your input fast enough to make these sport games playable, which translates to having a randomly acting power meter and occasionally badly responding fire button. The Spectrum version seems to work close enough with Spectaculator, but one out of three isn't good enough. All three versions are perfectly playable on real hardware, once you actually know what you're doing, even though you still do get some problems with the randomness of the power meter.
Referring to real hardware, the most consistently playable version is the C64 one, but there are some specific event-based problems in each version. In the C64 version, High Jump felt the most awkward. In the AMSTRAD version, Hurdles and High Jump are the least playable events, although Discus is also surprisingly clumsy. The same goes for the SPECTRUM version, although for Discus, the problem has more to do with getting used to the very different presentation than actual gameplay problems. Another thing I really don't like about DTD, which was dealt with much better in Activision's Decathlon, is the way your athlete accelerates similarly to a cheap family saloon car compared to Activision's top range racing car. Just getting you to full speed takes almost the entire 100 m dash, because that's the way the game is programmed. But that's a problem for all three versions, so I can't really take that into consideration when giving scores.
Aside from the actual gameplay problems, there is one more thing that really irks me about the way Daley Thompson's Decathlon progresses. At the start of each event, you get an overly long fanfare to announce the new event, which is accompanied by an announcement screen in the SPECTRUM version. The other two versions skip the announcement screen, but the music still gets played, and you need to wait until the music is over to start performing. The C64 users have to bear with the worst, since in the running events, you also need to wait for the two athletes to take their places after the overly long fanfare has finished, before you get the "On your marks" and "Get set" positions displayed (without the texts) before the starting pistol is shot. Without the announcement screen, the music feels a bit unnecessary and harms the game's fluidity.
With the quality being inconsistent in all three versions, I would have to draw the important points from DTD's inspiration, that being Track & Field. The original form of presentation has clearly been taken from that game, so every bit of waiting between events makes at least some sense in the SPECTRUM version. Without the event cards in the other two versions, the fanfares should have been shorter, and the C64 version should have kept the running events less eventful. Also, when there is no closing ceremonies to be marvelled at, the lack of accomplishment is a considerable point to be considered. But still, the C64 version is the most consistently playable version of the three, even if it's the least comfortable - and the least interesting of the lot. The only thing I can say with a 100% certainty is, that the AMSTRAD version is the overall worst one to play, though not by far.
1. ZX SPECTRUM / COMMODORE 64
2. AMSTRAD CPC
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GRAPHICS
Aside from the loading screen with a somewhat iconic status, the quality of DTD's graphics are questionable at best. Perhaps the SPECTRUM version is to be considered the point of reference, being the original of the trio, but whether it is best in all ways imaginable, remains to be seen.
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| Title screens, left to right: Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC. |
Just by looking at the title screen, you can tell the three versions will be looking extremely different to each other for the rest of the game as well. In the SPECTRUM version, Owens and Urquhart have clearly put some effort into the title screen to get the paper-white representation of Daley Thompson to run with some grace, and the title logo is also infinitely flashier than in the other two versions. Speaking of which, the C64 version doesn't even show the game title. Daley looks more like himself on the C64, at least in terms of colouring, but his sprite looks unnaturally flat and unathletic. The AMSTRAD title screen has, perhaps, the least horrible looking Daley, but all the other colour choices are a bit uninspiring.
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Name registration screens (ZX Spectrum left; Amstrad CPC right)
and an example of an event tag screen on the ZX Spectrum (middle).
Unless you are playing the C64 version, the game starts with your name registration, which in both SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions, is a joystick-controlled circular line of letters. The latter version also features instructions on how to enter your name. However, the screen is almost unbearably dark on the AMSTRAD, since the dark blue letters are visually impairing. At least you have the highlighted letter shown in red.
The SPECTRUM version is the only one of the threesome to feature an event name tag prior to the events themselves. It's nothing particularly interesting, with a fairly simple red plate with yellow borders, and white text in the middle, but at least it's a unique element.
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| Collection of screenshots from the running events (100m, 400m, 110m Hurdles and 1500m). Top to bottom: Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC. |
From the events of the decathlon, we find that certain types of events share a uniform look. The running events are shown from the same distance, which is logical, since they all take place, supposedly, at the running track, so you see the same sponsor logos and audience graphics in all four events. The only thing that graphically sets these four events apart is the unassumingly drawn obstacles in the Hurdles event.
These events also start with a countdown, including a guy with a starter pistol, unless you're playing the C64 version, in which you can only see the countdown by looking at the athletes' positions. The C64 version of these events also features an odd background scrolling effect, in which the background at the top half of the action screen scrolls irrespective to which of the athletes is running, as long as one of them is.
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| Collection of screenshots from the throwing events (Shot Put, Discus and Javelin). Top to bottom: Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC. |
In the case of Shot Put and Discus, Daley's animation should also be noted, since in both events, he is supposed to be spinning when gathering speed. For Shot Put, only the C64 version has the spinning animation, although it's not particularly well animated, since you can see Daley's eyes at all time, so it looks as if he's doing a back-and-forth half-spin motion; the same animation is also used for Discus. The AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM versions go with running animation in Shot Put, but Discus has been handled differently. As the AMSTRAD version is shown from the side, Daley's animation resembles the C64 one a bit, but it has been handled better here. The SPECTRUM version shows Daley from above, possibly to make the spinning simpler to animate, but it works extremely well, and makes the event stand out to its advantage.
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| Collection of screenshots from the jumping events (Long Jump, High Jump and Pole Vault). Top to bottom: Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC. |
The C64 version feels like it's uncertain about its viewpoints, as Long Jump is shown as slightly angled, even though it definitely isn't, and the other two jumping events have a more ground-level view of things. Oddly, the speed-o-meters have different colours between Long Jump and the other two. The SPECTRUM version has gone with a fairly solid non-angled look, although there is a bit of camera skewing in Long Jump. Uniquely against all the other events in the SPECTRUM version, Pole Vault shows no audience, but with that, it shares a similarity with the AMSTRAD version.
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| Game Over screens and ending ceremonies where available. Left and middle: Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Right: Commodore 64. |
The SPECTRUM version does what the other two don't, and actually give you an ending ceremony for both days - albeit the same one for each day. Since the game still loops the five given levels for each day after completing a round, you also get a proper Game Over screen, which has no mentionable graphics, but it's still something different from a modified title screen.
Aside from the obvious colouring problems, the SPECTRUM version takes the lead here, quite easily, too. The amount of graphical variety and unique content is just too much not to give it credit. The C64 version comes second, thanks to its background details, animations and colours. Sadly for the AMSTRAD version, just having a good Daley sprite isn't enough to save an otherwise bland-looking game.
1. ZX SPECTRUM
2. COMMODORE 64
3. AMSTRAD CPC
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SOUNDS
If you're a big fan of Activision's Decathlon like myself, you will likely agree that sounds are not even nearly the most important thing in a sports game, particularly one that requires frantic joystick waggling. If the game has some sort of a theme song and a fanfare or two, and a few sound effects, it should be enough, provided you get all the necessary ones.
So, what do you get with Daley Thompson's Decathlon? A whole lot of mess, that's what. Naturally, I'm supposed to elaborate on that, so let me start by saying that the C64 version is the only one of the three to feature coherently programmed music, but the orchestration there is a bit too understated and timid to be suitable for a sports game. Don't get me wrong, the main title theme is impressive in its own right, and for all its 30 seconds, it manages to surprise in its complexity and sense of olympic majesty. It's just a bit nasal and unassumingly arranged for what it's supposed to be. The other two tunes are an uncomfortably long fanfare for starting a new event, which should have been reduced by cutting the first third of it, and a good performance is marked with a fanfare that's dubiously close to, but not exactly like the 20th Century Fox fanfare. As for the C64 version's sound effects, you get a starter pistol, feet tapping when running (the two players have a different pitch in the tapping) and a crowd cheering noise. Not much, but it's adequate, except that in some events, you don't hear the feet tapping noise for some inexplicable reason.
The AMSTRAD version starts with a three-voice rendition of Vangelis' "Chariots of Fire", in which the bass notes and the main melody voices don't really sync up like they're supposed to. Again, there are two in-game tunes, the qualifying tune being the same "20th Century Fox"-like tune, while the event starting tune is different from the C64 one, and slightly shorter too. The good thing about the CPC soundtrack is, that the music sounds more powerful, but the lack of attempt at making them all sound good is unfortunate. The sound effects amount to exactly the same as on the C64, but they are more abrupt, and the running tap-noises are less audible.
Finally, the SPECTRUM version has no title screen music, so the first thing you will hear is the high-pitched "pip" noises when punching in your initials. The other sound effects are a starter pistol when available and a crowd cheering noise when you cross the qualifying line. As for the music, there's the event starting fanfare, which sounds almost like the one you hear in the C64 version, but the ending half of it is less coherent and ends a bit out of rhythm; and then there's also a similarly dodgy single-voice rendition of the first part of "Chariots of Fire". Clearly, it was not a musician who programmed these tunes. Some might say, the dodginess adds its own charm, mostly because that's how it was on the 48k Spectrum, but if you want quality, it's the C64 version you're going to have to choose.
1. COMMODORE 64
2. AMSTRAD CPC
3. ZX SPECTRUM
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OVERALL + VIDEO
Uh-oh. Looks like the default FRGCB form of scoring doesn't really fit what I really think should be the results. Check this out:
1. COMMODORE 64: Playability 2, Graphics 2, Sounds 3 = TOTAL 7
2. ZX SPECTRUM: Playability 2, Graphics 3, Sounds 1 = TOTAL 6
3. AMSTRAD CPC: Playability 1, Graphics 1, Sounds 2 = TOTAL 4
Well, sure, the C64 version is arguably as playable as the Spectrum original, and the sounds are the C64 version's saving grace, if you can tolerate the slightly underwhelming orchestrations. All the real charm of Daley Thompson's Decathlon appears on the Spectrum, though, and despite the sheet-white Daley sprite, the Spectrum version has the most iconic graphics of the lot, and has the most to offer. The only let down is really the fact that the game was split in two separately loadable parts, which might justify the slight score decrease in Playability, but if I were to give an educated opinion, the Spectrum version would definitely win the entire thing, even if only by a small margin, because the sounds have the least importance in this game.
As usual, I have prepared an accompaniment video to go with all this text nonsense, but this time, I had to record it all on real hardware due to reasons pointed out in the Playability section.
That's it for now; another comparison of another Ocean classic will be coming up later this month, so look out for that one. Cheers!
Hi. Thank you for publishing.
ReplyDeleteRe: the Cover Art. I seem to remember that Wakelin admitted that he was never good at illustrating feet. No order that we see the feet cut off in the artwork!
Hey, thanks for the comment! Yeah, I remember reading a Wakelin interview where he mentioned this, but honestly, I can't see much fault with the other visible feet in the cover art... xD
DeleteOne of My favourite games in The zx
ReplyDelete