Amiga, Commodore and creativity

[Gerrard]

 

[Luzur]

I was just watching it now LOL

 

[Sukhāvatī]

 

[Daemongar]

Got one of those C64 Mini's a while back. It was kinda interesting - about $50 or so on Amazon - I had a gift card. Then I tried some of the games, lost interest and put it aside. I figured it was a static game emulator.

View attachment 13184

Just yesterday, I was searching for something. Then someone was talking about loading games on it off of USB, and other things, like loading games with multiple disks. So I started it up, upgraded the firmware, and downloaded some .D81 images. This thing is really good as a C64 replacement. HDMI built in, support for usb controllers, support for normal keyboards, save states for games, can load games off of USB.

Sorry if this was already posted, but what I thought was a semi-interesting emulator with 50 or so built in games turns out to be a very good emulator supporting almost any C64 game.

So there is an update. Another group of folks created an update for the Mini and Maxi C64 that allows you to add your own games to the game carousel - so add a description, screenshots, disk images, keymappings, all that to the base C64 emulator device. Now, I already do this with a C64 Forever software. But the concept of setting up my games just so, putting the device away, then busting it out here and there and having everything ready to go - very convenient. Also you don't have to screw around with USB keys and sub-menus and such, or go through the effort of remapping keys every time you plug the device into an HDMI TV.

Since most of the games on the base C64 Mini are junk, this is probably just what I need. Would be nice to play Archon or Mail Order Monsters on a larger TV - if only to show the world how much my reflexes have gone down the toilet in 30 years

 

[Luzur]

Got one of those C64 Mini's a while back. It was kinda interesting - about $50 or so on Amazon - I had a gift card. Then I tried some of the games, lost interest and put it aside. I figured it was a static game emulator.

View attachment 13184

Just yesterday, I was searching for something. Then someone was talking about loading games on it off of USB, and other things, like loading games with multiple disks. So I started it up, upgraded the firmware, and downloaded some .D81 images. This thing is really good as a C64 replacement. HDMI built in, support for usb controllers, support for normal keyboards, save states for games, can load games off of USB.

Sorry if this was already posted, but what I thought was a semi-interesting emulator with 50 or so built in games turns out to be a very good emulator supporting almost any C64 game.

So there is an update. Another group of folks created an update for the Mini and Maxi C64 that allows you to add your own games to the game carousel - so add a description, screenshots, disk images, keymappings, all that to the base C64 emulator device. Now, I already do this with a C64 Forever software. But the concept of setting up my games just so, putting the device away, then busting it out here and there and having everything ready to go - very convenient. Also you don't have to screw around with USB keys and sub-menus and such, or go through the effort of remapping keys every time you plug the device into an HDMI TV.

Since most of the games on the base C64 Mini are junk, this is probably just what I need. Would be nice to play Archon or Mail Order Monsters on a larger TV - if only to show the world how much my reflexes have gone down the toilet in 30 years

Yeah the Mini is kinda reviled in the C64 groups for being "just a locked emulator" but im kinda thinking on either getting both of them or the Maxi.

 

[Daemongar]

Yeah the Mini is kinda reviled in the C64 groups for being "just a locked emulator" but im kinda thinking on either getting both of them or the Maxi.

Now, I'm a longtime C64 Forever user but have used other emulators as well. Couple points where the perception of a locked emulator is wrong:

1. The mini is more or less unlocked. You can run .D64/.C64/.D81 images off of USB now, or jailbreak the device and load images on it permanently.
2. You can also program on it. Has support for any USB keyboard, you can store your programs, works like a standard C64. Some folks trying to get this started - haven't seen anything yet.
3. Easier to use than a standard software emulator (at the cost of configurability.) It's handy to have a device that works with a computer monitor or large tv (both by HDMI). The trade off is either programs work or they don't. There are some settings you can make, but can't get too granular.

On the other hand:

1. The Mini joystick is not that great/I hear others have been having problems. Don't have to use it, there are other USB devices you can use (the Maxi I hear has an improved joystick)
2. The Mini only has two USB ports. If you want to load a game off of USB, attach a game controller and a keyboard, you need a USB hub. (The Maxi has 3 USB ports.)
3. As I said earlier, the games that come with the Mini are mostly (licensed) junk. Does have Impossible Mission 1&2 - but not a good pairing with the included joystick
4. Lots of hacked C64 games have a menu requiring RUN/STOP to continue, or some manner of keyboard input. It's a large pain in the ass not having a keyboard hooked up, even though it may at first seem to be optional. You can press a button on the joystick to pull up a menu of keyboard commands, but it only takes forever to navigate.

Once the Maxi comes to the US - I'll probably be getting one of those. While the Mini at this time has given me more than $50 worth of things to futz with, not having a keyboard built in is downright painful.

 

[Luzur]

Joystick is shit, ive personally seen one break in his hand at a friends house during normal playing, but you can buy a original TAC-2 and mod it.

 

[Daemongar]

Joystick is shit, ive personally seen one break in his hand at a friends house during normal playing, but you can buy a original TAC-2 and mod it.

That would be nice. I have a large amount of C64 joysticks and was going to test out a Stelladaptor to see if it works, but just haven't tried it yet. As much as I enjoy Impossible Mission, dying because of crappy equipment puts me in a rage.

 

[Luzur]

Joystick is shit, ive personally seen one break in his hand at a friends house during normal playing, but you can buy a original TAC-2 and mod it.

That would be nice. I have a large amount of C64 joysticks and was going to test out a Stelladaptor to see if it works, but just haven't tried it yet. As much as I enjoy Impossible Mission, dying because of crappy equipment puts me in a rage.

https://gurce.net/c64mini/hardware_compatibility_lists

 

[Luzur]

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Not an Amiga - but close enough:

(Disclaimer: Not meant as an insult to the Amiga - it's just really old and really cool hardware.)

 

[Jarpie]

Amiga 4000 goes for quite a bit of money nowadays, lucky bastard got one for free.

 

[Daemongar]

Has anyone tried a Ultimate II+ ? I'm kind of getting obsessed with getting one. It's a cartridge that goes in your C64 and replaces the 1541 drive - with built in support for Fastloader and other cartridges. Since the 1541 is more likely to be on the fritz than the C64 itself, this would be an interesting addition. It also has a built in speaker to make the C64 drive sounds, which I would miss without a drive. Also has an Ethernet port.

Tech specs here.

• Full, cycle accurate emulation of two real Commodore 1541 diskdrives.
  • Uses .D64 and .G64 files stored on USB stick
  • Supports .G64 files as well (Read/Write)
  • Configurable IDs
  • Configurable ROM (1541/1541C/1541II or custom)
  • RAMBOard memory expansion (up to 40K)

• Built-in Speaker; outputs drive and floppy sounds

• Support for USB storage devices (stick, card reader, and even HD)

• 100 Mbps Ethernet port (for use with Telnet or FTP)

• FAT/FAT32 support, with sub-directories and long filenames

• ISO9660 support with Joliet, for reading .ISO files and access external CD/DVD drives through USB

• Battery backed up Real Time Clock

• Command Interface module with UltimateDOS
  • Accessible module through I/O space that allows direct commands to Ultimate-II
  • Ultimate-DOS, I/O space driven direct file access to SD/USB

• Dual SID implementation, optionally 8 voices each

• Ultimate Audio module

• Up to 7 voices of sampled audio simultaneously
• Accessible through I/O space
• 8- or 16-bit samples
• up to 48 kHz sample rate

• Built-in SID player; plays SID files on either 'real' SID or emulated SID.

• C64 cartridge emulation:

• • Final Cartridge III
  • Action Replay
  • Retro Replay
  • Super Snapshot
  • Turbo Assembler w/ Codenet
  • Epyx Fastloader
  • Custom 8K/16K carts
  • Custom Ocean / System3 carts (up to 512K)

• Commodore 1750/1764 REU
  • REU Compatible
  • Size selectable from 128K up to 16 MB
  • Can be combined with Retro Replay and SuperSnapshot compatible roms

• Flexible freezer menu
  • select, mount, create D64 images, browse disk images
  • create new directories, delete files
  • Ultra fast DMA load of single file programs (.PRG files on USB, inside .D64 or .T64)

• Configuration screen, with resident settings

• Tape emulation, through special USB3.0 cable to tape port of C64*
  • Load .TAP files to C64
  • Capture tape data from C64 to .TAP file
  • Capture tape data from a datasette and store it as .TAP file
  • Write .TAP files back to tape, using a Commodore tape deck

• Totally rewritten firmware, for easier expansion and maintenance

 

[Azdul]

I always found it fascinating how few seemingly insignificant decisions prevented Amiga from conquering professional world.

If they would install 68010 instead of 68000 (+5$), IDE instead of SCSI, flicker-free high res mode (+5$), offer CD-ROM addon instead of CDTV, install 1 MB of chip RAM by default, instead of interface for "slow" RAM expansions, improve chipset performance by 20% so the main CPU does not have to be downclocked - and you have perfectly reasonable business machine in late 80s.

Sun even wanted Amiga to become its default Unix workstation - but Commodore didn't believe in partnerships, only in exploiting suckers for few bucks - and the deal fell through.

Sure, games were great - but the real money and staying power lies elsewhere.

 

[Luzur]

 

[Luzur]

This morning, we found this computer at our doorstep with a small note from the KGB that we could put it in the museum. Appearantly, it's repaired by Commodore Repair Service Russia. We don't dare to put it out as interactive, it looks too scary to us.

However, we do have between 200 and 300 other computers working and they don't look so scary. They are all original as they were back when they are released. All these computers are set on their time-correct desks and chairs, so it's a full nostalgic feeling!

 

[Luzur]

THE WONDER COMPUTER OF THE 1980s RETURNS! Pre-order here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08BSMKXKV retrogames.biz/thevic20 (coming ASAP) A full-size version of the iconic 1980s home computer, THEVIC20 is available from October 2020. Following its launch in 1981, the original VIC 20 home computer went on to become the first computer of any kind to sell one million units, and even now still holds a special place in the hearts of its former owners. 40 years later and it’s back again!

 

[newtmonkey]

Has anyone tried a Ultimate II+ ? I'm kind of getting obsessed with getting one. It's a cartridge that goes in your C64 and replaces the 1541 drive - with built in support for Fastloader and other cartridges. Since the 1541 is more likely to be on the fritz than the C64 itself, this would be an interesting addition. It also has a built in speaker to make the C64 drive sounds, which I would miss without a drive. Also has an Ethernet port.



View attachment 13488

I have one of these and it's fantastic. I've not yet found a disk image that doesn't work with it, and you can even load it with a fastload cartridge image (or even JiffyDOS!) to speed up loading—which is otherwise just as slow as you might remember on actual hardware.
It's expensive, but it's worth it if you want to play disk images.

 

[Sukhāvatī]

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

So, I'm playing this old game, Midwinter 2: Flames of Winter. I'm playing the DOS version at first, because DOSBox is easier to play a game in than WinUAE. Its running fine, don't have a problem with it, nice old midi tune. I start up the game proper and this unbelievable screeching noise I believe is supposed to represent the engine noise causes my ears to burst. After screwing around with that for a bit, I try the Amiga version. The sound is so much better it isn't even funny. Check these two songs out and tell me you wouldn't want to play the Amiga version instead:

 

[Unkillable Cat]

I think the PC music track is better (the Amiga track goes tryhard with the instrument samples) but I get where you're coming from regarding the SFX on the PC version... or the lack of them, to be precise. The Amiga has seagulls and proper vehicle and explosion noises, while the PC is stuck in "everything go brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr"-mode.

 

[Luzur]

 

[Luzur]

Fairlight released some new demos.

 

[Daemongar]

So I found an online auction that has a Commodore 1581 3 1/2" drive. Now, I'll be honest, until about 8 months ago I didn't even know they existed. Just never came across one in all my years of buying old systems. I'll link it here since I doubt I'll buy it, just don't buy as much old stuff as I used to. The site also has a ton of Commodore stuff now (someone linked this on Facebook) but there seems to be a lot of high bids for such a dinky site. Not sure what to make of it.

Anyone ever have one or use one? This is also fascinating for me - but the next major C64 purchase for me will probably be some expansion port memory.

 

[Boleskine]