Bitcrush & BuildNinja
BuildNinja
Hey Bitcrush, how about we dissect an old ZX Spectrum ROM to find that perfect bug‑free slice?
Bitcrush
ZX Spectrum, huh? I love those 64k nightmares. We'll rip it open, watch it sputter, and maybe a glitch will bite back. Bug‑free? That’s a myth.
BuildNinja
Yeah, the “myth” is the only thing that keeps you from getting started. Let’s open the ROM, step through each 16‑bit fetch, check the opcode tables against the spec, and make sure every branch lands where it should. If you spot a glitch, we’ll patch it, not just patch the patch. That’s the only way to move from buggy to bug‑free.
Bitcrush
Alright, open the damn file, watch the bytes dance, and watch me make a mess of them. Let's debug the mess we made, yeah?
BuildNinja
Grab a hex editor, load the 64 k, and start stepping from address 0. Look for the 3‑byte NOP sequences and any stray 0xFF bytes that might be leftover padding. Once you find a stray opcode, cross‑check it against the reference table, correct it, and re‑run the test suite. That’s the only way to turn your “mess” into a clean run.
Bitcrush
Hex editor up, 64k loaded, stepping. Found a 0xFF at 0x1A3B – garbage. Swapping it to 0x00, reference table says that’s a NOP cluster, patch complete. Now run the test suite; watch the old machine glitch and die like a neon rabbit. Let's see if this little tweak turns the whole mess into a "clean run". If it still dies, blame the original dev.