Multiface 1, 128 and 3

by Romantic Robot UK Ltd.

Image of MF1 "A Multi-purpose interface - you can stop and restart programs whenever you want and copy them to various peripherals. You can also study/modify programs using the built-in multi toolkit...

Each Multiface contains all its software in a ROM, is fully automatic, user friendly, menu driven with on screen instructions...

Fully universal and 100% automatic SAVE facility for tape, microdrive, Discovery, Disciple & Beta.
8K RAM extension - usable as a buffer, etc.
MULTI TOOLKIT to study/modify/develop programs.
Allows you to save any program at any point to any of the above media.
Allows you to format microdrive cartridges to 100+ k.
Allows you to PEEK and scroll through addresses or to POKE any value to any address.

The primary function of the device was to dump the computer's memory to external storage. As most games of the era did not have a save game feature, the Multiface allowed players to save their position. However, this also allowed users to create backups or pirate copies of sofware. Copyright infringement was hindered by requiring a Multiface to be present when re-loading the dumps into memory. The device featured an iconic 'red button' that could be pressed at any time in order to activate it.

Additional Features

All Multifaces had the ability to view and edit the contents of memory. This made cheating especially easy - magazines used to print codes every month, these codes were known as 'pokes'. By changing the memory, various aspects of the game could be altered, such as the number of lives one had before the game was over.
Some models of Multiface allowed the user to save a screenshot
Multifaces contained an extra 8 kilobytes of RAM that could be used by specially written software. Examples of such software included Genie, a machine code dissassembler, and Lifeguard, a program for analysing the memory of a game during play in order to identify which memory locations should be changed to aid cheating. These programs could be loaded into the Multiface RAM and activated by pressing the red button.
Some later Multifaces had a 'thru-port', an additional interface on the back of the unit which allowed other peripherals to be plugged into the back. This solved the problem of the Multiface using up the computer's only expansion port.

The Multiface 1 was introduced at a cost of £39.95

The Roms

Filename            Copyright           Description
 
mf1.rom             Romantic Robot      Multiface 1 ROM
mf128 vs.87.2.rom   Romantic Robot      Multiface 128 ROM
mfplus3.rom         Romantic Robot      Multiface +3 ROM
 
genie128.rom        Romantic Robot      Genie 128 Disassembler
geniedos.rom        Romantic Robot      Genie DOS ROM
geniedos-plusd.rom  Romantic Robot      Genie DOS +D ROM

Multiface 1/128/3

[from ebay auct, but i think the seller has copied it elsewhere]

The Multiface, product of Romantic Robot UK Ltd, was designed to be a multi-purpose interface.

The basic idea was quite simple. The Multiface 1, a small black box with a red button on top, was wedged into the expansion slot of your Spectrum where it would patiently sit, waiting to spring into action. One press of that red button later and up popped a menu allowing you to perform all manner of amazing feats.

Back up the entire contents of memory to cassette, cartridge, wafer or disk. Fill the 8k RAM extension with whatever sneaky code you could think up. Use the 'Multi Toolkit extension' to POKE around in the gubbins of your Speccy - infinite lives, anyone? And, last but not least, there was a Kempston-compatible joystick interface stuck on the side.

The Multiface 1 provided unprecedented access to the guts of your machine, and most importantly of all it allowed you to take a snapshot of your entire machine and 'back up' your games collection. And your friend's game collection. And, in fact, any games you could get your hands on. Depending on your moral standpoint, of course, which led Romantic Robot to make the following statement:

PIRACY IS ILLEGAL!
MULTIFACE 1 is NOT designed to encourage PIRACY!

Please note that you must not use it to copy, reproduce or
Infringe in any way any copyright material without the clear
permission of the copyright owner. ROMANTIC ROBOT
neither condones nor authorises the use of Multiface for
the reproduction of copyrighted material - to do so is illegal!

Technically, the Multiface was extremely cunning. The Z80 processor at the heart of the Spectrum had a non-maskable interrupt line. This means little to most of us, but rest assured that when the red button was pressed, a NMI was triggered, and the Multiface quickly paged out the Spectrum ROM, replacing it with an entirely new program: that of the Multiface. It was cunning, no doubt, but most importantly of all it allowed you to hack and crack those games with consummate ease...

Oh, and it only worked in 48k mode. So Romantic Robot developed the Multiface 128 and, in time, the Multiface +3, each designed to work specifically with those systems. With each incarnation came further benefits; compare the feature set of the Multiface +3, which offered transfer of programs from various formats, copying of screens to the printer, the use of DOS commands in 48k mode, and an expanded toolkit for fiddling about with memory contents.

In its time - that's October 1986 - the Multiface was one piece of equipment any hardcore Speccy owner had to have, despite its £40 price tag. The proof of this worth may well be its inclusion in so many emulators today, and you'd be hard pressed to find a latter-day Spectrum owner who doesn't have equally fond memories of their multiface.

Name	Letzte Änderung	Länge
GENIE Disassembler/	2019-08-20 05:25	9
Lifeguard - Unlimited Lives Finder/	2019-08-20 05:25	7
MF1/	2019-08-20 05:25	13
MF128/	2019-08-20 05:25	12
MF3/	2019-08-20 05:25	17
Romantic Robot Multiprint Interface/	2019-08-20 05:25	3

/Vintage/Sinclair/82/Peripherals/Multiface I, 128, and +3 (Romantic Robot)/