Release: 26/12/2025
Welcome.
Our mission was simple. We wanted to keep Starball simple and fun.A game you can enjoy and come back to time and time again.
Simple HUD, easy-to-read color-coded level progression, catchy music, and solid mechanics.
No over complicated power ups, impossible goals or a buggy bat and ball.
Starball is a game anyone can play.
Age does not matter. If you can press a button, you can play.
You have a number of special abilities to assist you.
These include rockets that destroy groups of blocks, exploding comets that cause massive damage, and a slower but more deadly comet with a devastating effect.
Use these carefully to achieve maximum impact they won’t regenerate.
Your mission is clear: smash as many StarRocks as possible and rack up a huge score.
Sounds easy. Then remember… this is the ZX Spectrum.
You have three minutes per level to blast your way across 20 exhilarating levels, weaving around the map
to the sounds of Cyndi Lauper and Starship pumping through your speakers.
The more rocks you destroy, the higher your score.
Finish fast and leftover time is added as bonus points.
Take too long and your score starts slipping away.
Space-time can be your best friend, or your worst enemy.
You start with five lives, with chances to grab extra ones along the way.
Survival takes quick reflexes, sharp thinking, and a steady nerve.
Three power-ups are ready to help.
One unleashes a self-destruct pulse that clears nearby blocks while keeping your life intact.
The other super-sizes your comet, slows down and then explodes.
Missles will take out entire columns of blocks.
Collect keys to unlock doors, plan your moves carefully, and stay one step ahead of trouble.
Keep your focus, keep moving, and whatever you do… never switch off.
Do you have what it takes to beat the odds, top the high-score table, and become the ultimate Starball champion?
Game Objective
Destroy all the blocks to advance to the next level.
The more blocks you destroy, the higher your score.
Finish quickly and any leftover time is added to your score.
Some levels require keys to unlock doors and progress further.
Power-ups are available to help you smash through blocks.
Take too long and time will be deducted from your score.
Purchase the game from our shop and become a legend!
Understanding Trajectory
The main challenge with bat-and-ball games is controlling the ball’s trajectory.
Many games use a three-angle system (45°, 90°, and 120°), but this approach comes with several issues.
However, increasing the number of angles too far (for example, to seven or even 9)
can make the game feel strange and overly dependent on luck rather than skill.
This happens because the bat often has only a few pixels in which to register a specific angle,
which can feel imprecise and unsatisfying.
We tested many games and watched closely how they interact with the blocks based on the 3-, 5-, and 7-angle approach.
We tested a range of options and ultimately settled on five angles.
This works extremely well and makes the game significantly more enjoyable.
The angles we chose were 135°, 120°, 90°, 60°, and 45°.
This setup also lets us place more emphasis on the wider 120° and 60° angles, giving players better control.
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Anti-Cheat
Our game also features our newly developed anti-cheat system.
We wanted to introduce something fresh to help prevent cheating.
Our anti-cheat, known as Byte Watch, actively monitors the game while it is running.
It is fully self-contained within the code and was designed specifically for use on real ZX Spectrum hardware.
Unfortunately, when running on a PC without external cross-checking, its capabilities are more limited.
This is only the first phase, and Byte Watch will continue to improve over time.
The goal was taregt the lives feature in this launch for Starball, but as we develop this it will advance.
We wanted to bring something new to the table.
It is important to understand that this system was built for an actual ZX Spectrum tape cassette environment, not for Windows, and not for the endless tools available.
Its all in good fun.
Understanding Your HUD
You start with 5 lives. (4 extra lives available)
Score is awarded for playing the game.
Sections are advanced for playing the game.
Timer starts at 3.00 minutes.
Blastwaves are set to 3.
Metorshocks are set to 3.
Rockets are set to 4.
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