TurboVektor

What is TurboVektor?

TurboVektor is an anti-gravity racer drawn in real vector 3D and written from scratch in Z80 assembly for the ZX Spectrum. It is playable in a browser frame and also ships as files for original hardware or an emulator, so the same race can be run in a tab or on a real machine.

The loop is quick to grasp. Choose one of three ships, line up and accelerate onto a track that rolls over hills, throws up jumps, threads tunnels, passes beneath neon arches and is lined with street lamps, while a city skyline slides past on the horizon. Missiles and repair kits sit along the route and turbo pads add speed. Rivals are active rather than decorative: they shoot, ram, scoop up items and can be knocked out of the race entirely.

Eight circuits spread across different scenery, among them desert pyramids, snowy peaks, industrial docks and neon cities. Championship mode keeps standings across the schedule and closes on a final podium.

The project is in active development and has been tested on real hardware as well as on The Spectrum by Retro Games Ltd.

How to play

The first decision is your ship. STRIKER is light and balanced and begins every race carrying 3 missiles. TITAN wears heavy armour, takes half the damage that comes its way and rams with twice the force. VIPER is the quickest and most nimble of the three, at the cost of being fragile.

On track, the job is to keep the hull together while still moving forward. Missiles, repair kits and turbo pads are picked up during a race, and a life bar tracks the punishment taken, culminating in a large explosion. Line choice matters as much as throttle, because the courses climb over hills, drop off bumps and run through tunnels below neon arches.

Opponents chase, fire and ram, and they also fight among themselves, which can thin the field without any input from you. The minimap shows where every racer sits, useful both for spotting a rival closing in and for judging how much of the field is still ahead. Championship mode adds the season layer: results accumulate into standings, and the schedule resolves with a final podium.

Controls

The title screen asks for a control scheme before anything else, chosen with the number keys. Key 1 selects the keyboard, where Q and A handle speed, O and P steer and SPACE fires. Keys 2, 3 and 4 switch to Kempston, Sinclair and Cursor joysticks respectively.

A few global keys sit outside the racing controls. 0 confirms selections in menus, H pauses a race, and M returns to the menu, but only while the game is paused.

Browser players have a shortcut: press 4 and use the arrow keys for movement, with 0 to fire. That puts steering on the arrows and shooting on the number row, which takes a lap to settle into. If the keys stop responding mid-race, clicking the game screen restores input.

Downloadable builds behave the same way on real hardware and in emulators. The .tap or .tzx files run on a Spectrum, on The Spectrum by Retro Games Ltd or in a preferred emulator, while .sna snapshots load instantly in any emulator. The 128K build runs on 128K, +2 and compatible machines, and the 48K build runs on any Spectrum.

Tips for your first run

Three ships means three opening strategies. STRIKER's starting missiles give a newcomer something to lean on while learning the layouts. TITAN suits anyone who keeps getting shoved around, since halved damage and doubled ram weight turn collisions into an advantage. VIPER is the tempting choice and the punishing one: speed and agility arrive with fragility, so clean lines matter more than aggression.

• Start in STRIKER while the circuits are unfamiliar; the 3 missiles at the start are a safety net.
• Switch to TITAN when rivals keep ramming, and let their hits cost you half as much.
• Save VIPER for layouts you already know, because the hull cannot absorb many mistakes.
• Sweep for repair kits before the life bar gets low rather than after.
• Glance at the minimap regularly, since rivals knock each other out and the field reshapes without you.

Content and replayability

A full run spans 8 circuits, each with its own landscape, among them snowy peaks, industrial docks, desert pyramids and neon cities. Because the field is competitive rather than scripted scenery, a race can end with rivals eliminated, which shifts the shape of the standings.

Three ships change how every circuit plays. STRIKER's balance and 3 starting missiles, TITAN's armour and ramming weight and VIPER's speed each push toward different lines and different risks, so a track is worth a second attempt in another hull.

Championship mode is where the long game sits: results accumulate, and the schedule ends with a final podium. Between races, the mix of missiles, repair kits, turbo pads and a life bar keeps each lap tense rather than a straight time trial, and the minimap gives a running read on the whole field.

Two builds are available. The 128K version adds AY music for every circuit and digitized speech, while the 48K version contains the full game with beeper sound.

Presentation and performance

The headline is genuine vector 3D on ZX Spectrum hardware, and the scenery carries it: hills that rise under the ship, jumps off the bumps, tunnels to thread, neon arches overhead and street lamps marking the edges, all with a skyline scrolling along the far horizon. The wireframe look fits the retro, 8-bit, cyberpunk styling.

Audio depends on the build. The 128K version has AY music for every circuit plus digitized speech, and the 48K version keeps the full game with beeper sound instead.

Stability has been checked on real hardware and on The Spectrum by Retro Games Ltd, which matters for a game written down to the metal in Z80 assembly. Browser play runs through the JSSpeccy 3 emulator by Matt Westcott, released under GPL-3.0, so the frame behaves like a Spectrum session rather than a native port. Four screenshots accompany the release for a look at the tracks before committing to a race.

Who should play it

This is aimed squarely at ZX Spectrum players: people with original hardware, a Retro Games Ltd machine, or an emulator and a folder of .tap, .tzx and .sna files. Anyone who enjoys seeing hand-written assembly pushed into vector 3D will find plenty to pick apart.

It also suits racing fans who want combat mixed in. Rivals that shoot, ram, collect items and get knocked out turn each circuit into a scrap as much as a time trial, and the life bar ending in a large explosion keeps the stakes visible.

Browser players with no Spectrum background can still get value from the immediate frame, the arrow-key shortcut and the three-ship choice, which lets a first race start within seconds.

Players wanting a fully settled product should note the active-development status, while anyone chasing high-score arcade purity will find the Championship standings and final podium are the intended long arc.