Hob
Java™ Spectrum Emulator
FAQ
General
Why call it Hob?
Who's the character with the fly-spray?
How can I download a copy?
Platform
Which browsers will work?
Should I use a JIT compiler?
What hardware is recommended?
How do I scale the screen?
How do I increase the framerate?
How do I use the 'Java Plugin'?
How can I syndicate Hob using RSS/Frames?
Emulator
What snapshot formats are supported?
Why is there no sound?
How do you get extended keyboard characters?
How can I emulate a Spectrum Joystick?
Compatibility Tables
Have you got any further information on compatibility?
Is that It?
General
Why call it Hob?
'Hob' is a reference to The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. As well as being a good book it was also a good adventure game on the Spectrum. Being an early piece of software and me originally playing it at such an impressionable age I've always considered it a classic.
'Hobbit' is also the name of a Soviet Spectrum clone. Here are two Your Sinclair articles written on the subject:
I also enjoy collecting old computer/console hardware (Sinclair, Nintendo, Sega) as well as writing emulators. If anybody out there wants to get rid of a Hobbit machine or a Dendy (Russian Nintendo Famicom clone), I'd be more than happy to give it a new home.Who's the character with the fly-spray?
The character's name is 'Robbie the Robot'. He's from a game called PSSST by Ultimate.How can I download a copy?
When the project stabilizes and reaches a release version I'll provide a download file.
Platform
Which browsers will work?
Hob is a Java Applet, so it must run under a Web Browser. The browser must be Java1.1 enabled. The two obvious choices for most people will be either Netscape or Internet Explorer. Only versions 4.0 and above will work though (See Compatibility Tables).Should I use a JIT compiler?
Yes. If your browser environment has a JIT option then enabling it will probably yield better performance. Chances are that if the option exists it will be enabled by default.
Take a look here for Sun's documentation on Java performance technologies.What hardware is recommended?
The JavaVM is supposed to be portable and platform independent, so no specific hardware should be recommended. A reasonable guide would be something around the speed of a mid-range Pentium (ie. P133/166). Your mileage will vary though and you may be satisfied on something slower.How do I scale the screen?
How do I increase the framerate?
How do I use the 'Java Plugin'?
Your browser needs to have Javascript enabled. If you have Javascript then toolbars will appear just above the snapshot links; otherwise not.
Around 80-90% of browsers used today will have Javascript support. Your problem may be that it has been disabled. If you disabled it then re-enabling will provide access to this extra feature. If you are sitting inside a corporation that has decided this for you then you may have to ask your sysadmin.
Note: I've had endless problems with Javascript compatibility. Consult the Compatibility Tables to see if Javascript is supported on your browser.How can I syndicate Hob using RSS/Frames?
The http://hob.classicgaming.gamespy.com/play.php page has an optional 'output' parameter, which defines the markup format that Hob should be rendered to.
- http://hob.classicgaming.gamespy.com/play.php?output=rss
Generates RSS output - http://hob.classicgaming.gamespy.com/play.php?output=frame
Generates barebone html output that's suitable for frames. - http://hob.classicgaming.gamespy.com/play.php?output=html
Generates full html output (Same as omiting parameter).
The XML·FRAME buttons at the footer of each page provide quick access to this functionality.
Example 1 - RSS - Copy & Paste into html.Above code section refers to http://www.rss-info.com/.<script language="javascript"
src="http://www.rss-info.com/rss2.php?
rss=http%3A%2F%2Ftwinbee.org%2Fhob%2Fplay.php%3F
output%3Drss&showrsstitle=1&showtext=1"></script>
Example 2 - RSS - Import into Microsoft's http://www.start.com/.
<opml><body><outline title="Hob - Java Spectrum Emulator" htmlUrl="http://twinbee.org/hob/" xmlUrl="http://twinbee.org/hob/play.php?output=rss" type="rss" /></body></opml>
Example 3 - IFrame - Copy & Paste into html.If you're not into things like XML and RSS, then IFrames are for you. Simply Copy & Paste the above code into your html, and it'll bypass all that RSS Reader nonsense.<iframe style="width:256px;height:192px;" src="http://twinbee.org/hob/play.php?output=frame" frameborder="no"></iframe>
Note: Hob's RSS Feeds use the <iframe /> html tag, which isn't allowed/supported by some RSS Readers.- http://hob.classicgaming.gamespy.com/play.php?output=rss
Emulator
What snapshot formats are supported?
SNA/Z80 in read-only are the only supported formats. In the emulator's applet form a save function would only have limited possibilities.Why is there no sound?
Java's audio support is rather primitive. Sound will be included when the implementation improves (and that implementation filters down into standard browsers).How do you get extended keyboard characters?
'\' - Caps Shift
'/' - Symbol Shift
Extended characters that are found in ASCII are accessible through normal typing.How can I emulate a Spectrum Joystick?
The spectrum's cursor keys are mapped onto your PC's cursor keys. Only the arrow keys are emulated though, so you will still have to use the '0' key as a fire button.
Compatibility Tables
Have you got any further information on compatibility?
Browser Version Platform JRE? JS? CSS? Comments Netscape 3.0.x Win32 i386 No No No Unsupported. Linux i386 No No No As above. 4.0.8+ Win32 i386 Yes No No Uses Symantec's JIT engine. Early 4.0.x versions didn't fully support the Java1.1 AWT. Linux i386 Yes No No Works but _very_ slowly. 6.2.x+ Win32 i386 Yes Yes Yes Based on Mozilla codebase. Requires J2SE 1.3.x+ Plugin. Linux i386 Yes Yes Yes As above. Mac OS X PPC ? ? ? Untested, but probably. Mac OS X i386 ? ? ? Untested, but probably. Mozilla / SeaMonkey / Firefox 1.0.x+ Win32 i386 Yes Yes Yes Requires J2SE 1.3.x+ Plugin. Linux i386 Yes Yes Yes As above. FreeBSD i386 ? ? ? Untested, but probably. NetBSD i386 ? ? ? Untested, but probably. Solaris 9 Sparc Yes Yes Yes As above. Mac OS X PPC ? ? ? Untested, but probably. Mac OS X i386 ? ? ? Untested, but probably. Internet Explorer 3.0.x Win32 i386 No No No Unsupported. 4.0.x Win32 i386 Yes No No Works just fine. 5.0.x+ Win32 i386 Yes Yes Yes As above. Opera 6.0.x+ Win32 i386 Yes Yes Yes Requires Java1.1+ JRE Plugin. Linux i386 Yes Yes Yes As above. Safari 2.0.x+ Mac OS X PPC Yes Yes Yes Requires J2SE 1.3.1+ Plugin. Mac OS X i386 Yes Yes Yes As above. 3.0.x+ Win32 i386 Yes Yes Yes As above. Hotjava 1.1.x+ NA Yes No No Java1.1+ application. Platform dependent on JRE rather than OS. Sun JRE 1.1.x+ Win32 i386 Yes NA NA Standard test environment. Sun J2SE 1.2.x+ Win32 i386 Yes NA NA As above. Linux i386 Yes NA NA As above. Solaris 9 Sparc Yes NA NA As above. Sun J2ME Wireless Toolkit 1.0.x+ Win32 i386 No NA NA As yet doesn't contain adequate media framework. Linux i386 No NA NA As above. Solaris 9 Sparc No NA NA As above. Sun J2ME Personal Profile 1.0.x+ Linux i386 ? NA NA Untested, but probably. Sharp Zaurus ? NA NA As above. Sun J2ME Personal Basis Profile 1.0.x+ ? ? NA NA Untested. Sun J2ME Foundation Profile 1.0.x+ ? ? NA NA Untested. Sun J2ME Mobile Information Device Profile 1.0.x+ ? ? NA NA Untested. Sun J2EE 1.2.x+ Win32 i386 Yes NA NA Targetted at multitier oriented applications. IBM JRE 1.1.x+ Win32 i386 Yes NA NA Contains IBM's fast mixed-mode JIT. Linux i386 Yes NA NA As above. Blackdown JRE 1.1.x+ Linux i386 Yes NA NA The overall quality of the Blackdown JRE's is very good. I've used JRE1.1.6v4 and it worked just fine. 'Suck it and see'. Apple J2SE 1.3.1+ Mac OS X PPC Yes NA NA Works fine. MAC OS X i386 Yes NA NA As above.
Times change and errors creep in, so if you can find fault with these tables then mail me.Is that It?
I'm very interested in knowing how Hob performs on different JRE/OS/CPU combinations. Any Mac OS, BeOS, Linux/BSD/Unix, ARM, Win16, etc.. users out there?
