Shit, that's a blast from the past. I remember thinking that was programming and chucked in the course at high school.
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Commodore 64 Appreciation Thread
- Thread starter Deleted member 17210
- Start date
Shit, that's a blast from the past. I remember thinking that was programming and chucked in the course at high school.
The work in progress port of Eye of the Beholder is looking great.
http://www.indieretronews.com/2018/06/eye-of-beholder-work-in-progress-c64.html?m=1
http://www.indieretronews.com/2018/06/eye-of-beholder-work-in-progress-c64.html?m=1
North American preorders for the C64 Mini are finally up. $80, releases this October, Walmart only at the moment.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Retro-Games-LTD-THEC64-Mini-Computer-Gray-RGL001/228650387
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Retro-Games-LTD-THEC64-Mini-Computer-Gray-RGL001/228650387
Been up on gamestop for a while
https://m.gamestop.com/product/consoles/c64-mini-retro-gaming-console/166451
https://m.gamestop.com/product/consoles/c64-mini-retro-gaming-console/166451
OP
OP
I picked up a C64 Mini. The included selection is lacking but since you can add your own games by USB, that's not an issue. It's pretty awesome to add whatever I want to it. The emulation seems solid, much nicer than the Wii VC C64 stuff. The only thing I don't like so far is the joystick they included. It feels authentically '80s but not like a good '80s joystick. It's quite stiff and annoying for diagonals. Hopefully I will find another controller that works on it. I tried a wired PS3 controller but that didn't work.
I've seen people drill a long screw into the shaft of the joystick so it won't snap, but yeah, even then it's still not a good joystick.
How easy is it to find and port old/abandonware games to it?
OP
OP
It's easy to find disk images for it with a quick google search. I won't link to any here in case it counts as piracy.
As an Apple IIe kid, seeing Ghostbusters on a C=64 -- actually, HEARING it rather -- was a bit of a revelation. I couldn't believe how much better it sounded. Same with my friend's Atari 400/800. Games like Archon and Moon Patrol seemed like they were from the future compared to our versions.
Indeed! The SID keeps getting work after all these years. Awesome work.
I played Bruce lee, andfinished it, But Impossible Mission II was just impossible to me.
The HVSC summer update was released at the end of June. Unfortunately the site certificate has expired...
Bonus tune:
Bonus tune:
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The Way of the Exploding Fist and Barbarian/Death Sword were my favourites for the C64. I have an old C64 breadbin next to my ZX Spectrum and my Amstrad CPC and I enjoy them to this day. Great machines!
If we're talking favourite SID tracks, I have many, but if I had to name just one it would be Shogoon's titular track from Taboo's demo, Intrigue. Supremely moody which goes well with the odd poem and fantastic images.
Talking of tunes, this is currently going on with 14 days to go: Kickstarter: 8-Bit Symphony Pro - double orchestral CD of 8-bit classics Not really sure if it's going to get over the line but fingers crossed.
- Imagine Ocean (Comic Bakery, Ocean Loader Rambo) - when that Ocean Loader theme started, people cried.
- Green Beret (parts 1 and 2 - only part 1 was in the concert) - tells the full tale of war through the medium of Martin Galway's loading and main themes.
- W.A.R. - sophisticated and powerful arrangement from Rob Hubbard himself.
- William Wobbler - this Ben Daglish favourite wouldn't be out of place in "Home Alone".
- Forbidden Forest - a fan favourite: dramatic, scary builds and an amazing Elfman-esque waltz on the end in this medley from Paul Norman's crowning work.
- Kentilla - another Rob Hubbard epic, a fantasy epic for the ages.
- Ghosts 'n Goblins - bubbly fun, a fan favourite (especially with the children!) and catchy as hell.
- Flash Gordon - a highlight of the concert and a total sci-fi epic. Would stand proud in any 80s sci-fi epic you care to name.
- Barbarillax (Barbarian 2/Parallax High Score) - an astonishing John Williams-esque romp (not performed live in Hull for time reasons).
- International Karate - more like International Kung-Fu, amazing film-like journey through an oriental sonic landscape.
- Aztec Challenge - you can hear the Aztecs dying, but you won't care in this thrilling version of Paul Norman's magnum opus.
- The Last Ninja® Wastelands (massively extended from the concert version) - Chris Abbott's loving tribute to Ben Daglish's most famous work, combining the Wastelands loader and main theme. Delicate and beautiful recorder playing combines with an epic vision of Wastelands.
- Monty on the Run High Score - Rob's iconic tune matures into an achingly beautiful and moving tour-de-force.
- Firelord - Glyn R. Brown's beautiful and moving arrangement of Ben's towering original packs an emotional punch.
- Trap (extended ending from the concert version) - to Ben, Trap was his masterwork. Those giant drums celebrate him with every beat in this space epic.
- Monty on the Run - this project would be incomplete without Monty on the Run, and boy, did Rob put his heart into this one. From tension to frantic chase, exploration and then almost cartoon-ish joie de vivre, this is unmissable.
- Stifflip and Co - Richard Joseph's exuberant track paying tribute to his much-missed musical genius - with a drunk bit in the middle!
- and bonus track: ZOIDS. Rob Hubbard orchestrated this: imagine it played with a live orchestra:
My father had a C64. I remember he always had to key in a string of BASIC to boot up a game, something I was never able to figure out on my own. The games I remember him having on it were Raid Over Moscow, Bruce Lee, Ghostbusters, Stealth, H.E.R.O., Boulderdash, and Zaxxon. He may have had others, but I can't remember them. I also remember he had some sort of music program that ran on it, though the only song I remember it playing was Tubular Bells.
EDIT: Found it!
EDIT: Found it!
if by tape -
LOAD
If by disk -
LOAD"*",8,1
* being the first executable program on the disk, 8 being the drive number (since peripherals on the serial bus were numbered - printers were 4 iirc) and 1 telling the machine it was loading something in machine code and not BASIC.
Yes as kid i always played when visit cousin c64 games he only pressed F5 or so ,then when i was little older i bought a new c64 with terminator floppy bundled i come home floppy in press f5 nothing happens i call my cousin wt going on he said i not have the short cut cartdrige plug in for the back of the c64 i need type in commands he had to come to my place bec i had no clue wt to do when he said them on the phone
Alright, I was too young to experience this era of gaming but I have questions nonetheless since it seems interesting.
1. Most people make a distinction between "computer" (as in PC) gaming platforms at the time. I'm not used to this since modern day PC gaming is dominated by Windows compatible systems and many games are cross compatible with Mac and Linux OS. I assumed PC gaming back in the day had many distinct platforms and systems. Besides technical differences, was there anything that made C64 gaming different from say - IBM PC or Amiga gaming?
2. Speaking of technical specs - which computers were the most superior?
3. This might be dumb but was did the 64 in C64 refer to 64 bits?
4. When and why did the C64 stop being an viable alternative to IBM/PC and MCs?
5. Where does Amiga fit into all of this? I hear the name a lot and it seems they were owned by the same company. Along similar lines, Atari-ST?
6. Were there any other extenuating factors to IBM-compatible systems becoming the dominant option?
7. Were there any C64 exclusives? Which were the best?
1. Most people make a distinction between "computer" (as in PC) gaming platforms at the time. I'm not used to this since modern day PC gaming is dominated by Windows compatible systems and many games are cross compatible with Mac and Linux OS. I assumed PC gaming back in the day had many distinct platforms and systems. Besides technical differences, was there anything that made C64 gaming different from say - IBM PC or Amiga gaming?
2. Speaking of technical specs - which computers were the most superior?
3. This might be dumb but was did the 64 in C64 refer to 64 bits?
4. When and why did the C64 stop being an viable alternative to IBM/PC and MCs?
5. Where does Amiga fit into all of this? I hear the name a lot and it seems they were owned by the same company. Along similar lines, Atari-ST?
6. Were there any other extenuating factors to IBM-compatible systems becoming the dominant option?
7. Were there any C64 exclusives? Which were the best?
1. Not sure what you mean by differences in gaming. While people classes these computers as "home computers" and if you referred to a PC back in the day you were talking about an IBM/compatible. But yes they are more or less all PC's - the Commodore 64C model even has "Personal Computer" on its badge.
2. Loaded question here as each year would bring new more powerful computers. Each machine had advantages and disadvantages compared to each other. For example, the C64 had custom hardware giving it hardware sprites and great sound capabilities, but it had a slow CPU and some considered it's palette to be a little underwhelming. On the other hand, machines like the Spectrum had a faster CPU so 3D games ran better, but everything ran off the CPU so many games were slow moving and it had a very garish palette. The Amstrad had the same CPU but much better colour than either, but then it's graphics were quite blocky by comparison. So they all had their strengths and weaknesses.
3. No, these early computers were 8 or 16-bit. 64-bit is an extremely recent advancement for consumer processors. The 64 meant 64KB of RAM, which was considered quite a luxurious amount back in 1982 (even the IBM PC had only 48KB at the time).
4. Time is what kills all machines in the end - better hardware becomes available and people move on. Most of the Commodore 64 market had left by the late '80s but it still saw continued use by millions until the early '90s. It was never considered a viable alternative to an IBM PC/compatible because it had powerful video and sound hardware and these were seen as toys back in the day. Plus it ran in 40 column text mode and 80 column was seen as necessary for a good business machine. You could work around these things and a properly equipped C64 with extra hardware could be a decent office machine, but it just wasn't designed for that task and the user base reflected this. In the early days games weren't that big on the PC, where they would be equivalent to the C64's games, so again they were not considered competitors.
5. The Amiga was a computer being designed by an independent company led by Jay Miner, a veteran of Atari's hardware labs. It was powered by a 16-bit Motorola 68000 which was the hot new product at the time. There was some troubles with keeping the company going and they were bought by Commodore who then helped them finish the machine and bring it to the market. Unfortunately Commodore had no idea just how special the machine was nor how to market it (not entirely all on them as it was the first multimedia computer and nobody knew what that meant back then), and they pitched it as a business machine (which it was not) and priced it as such. The original team left and the Amiga line was continued by Commodore employees and mishandled in typical Commodore fashion right up until the end. The low cost Amiga 500 especially was in direct competition with the Atari ST line, and had advantages in it's powerful custom hardware.
6. It was just the standard of the time because it was great as a business machine and because IBM made it out of standard hardware which any other company could follow and do the same. As compared to say Apple, whose hardware and especially software was all proprietary and locked down, still to this day the advantage of the PC is it's open nature and the ability to add or change whatever you want. Next to a closed design like the Commodore 64, this is a massive plus.
7. The C64 had an active commercial life for eleven years, so thousands upon thousands of commercial software programs were released. Probably the most recognised as the best exclusives are Mayhem in Monsterland and Creatures II - Torture Trouble. Due to there being many competing machines there really wasn't a lot of exclusives - most games would see release on other machines, so most of the best games on the system aren't exclusive to the machine.
This is pretty neat, I hope it makes its goal somehow. There's an unfortunate underappreciation for C64 music.
OP
OP
In addition to Herne's excellent answers, I think it's worth noting for question 4 the overlap between C64 and console users. Speaking for North America, when Atari consoles declined, there was a rise in C64 gamers. It was a very game-centric platform compared to IBMs, and was priced closer to console levels. The Amiga was more niche in the region, probably due to its higher price and the huge success of the NES which became the most popular game system.
For question 7, the C64 may have been low on exclusives but I think it often it had the best versions of games. Its strength was being close to an "all-in-one" system for 8-bit Western computer games. There were some exclusives/best versions on others but, if you had to have one 8-bit computer, the C64 was a good choice.
A few of games I mentioned in the original post were exclusive as far as I know: Project: Firestart, Aztec Challenge (same name as the Atari 8-bit/Vic 20 game but it's more of a sequel and quite different), and Zamzara. Space Taxi was exclusive for a few years and then had a really shitty port to Amstrad.
Arise, thread!
First, my C64 story. Got a breadbin C64 (but of course we didn't call it that back then, or at least I didn't) in 1982 or so, maybe early '83. Initially we had only the cassette drive (still have Telengard by Avalon Hill on cassette) and a couple of cartridges. I remember Gridrunner in paritcular, by HES I think. Early favorites were games by Synapse like Fort Apocalypse, Survivor, and the like. Had the "Commodore" version of the Zorks and other early Infocom games. I remember going to a couple of "user group" meetings where afterwards it was a free-for-all copy-fest, though I did buy many of my own games (and still have most of them today). Archon I & II, Bard's Tale, Pinball Construction Set, Adventure Construction Set, learning art on my Koala Pad, etc. In 1983 I biked the couple of miles to our local independent software shop in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where I saw Ultima III: Exodus, a game that made me an Ultima fan for life. Also in the early 80s I started coding, at first typing in programs from Compute! Gazette and later my own. I didn't do much with sprites and mainly just used text and the extended character set. After moving in 1984 I eventually got a 300 baud modem (HES modem, maybe?) and coded my first game, Rings of Chaos, for the C-Net BBS system. I made a couple hundred dollars off of it at most but it was enough to set me on the path as a software developer. In 1986 I got an Amiga 1000 and the C64 fell by the wayside a bit but it is, indisputably, the most important piece of computer hardware in my life.
As for music, while I adored the songs found in the Ultima series my favorite is Master of Magic's theme by Rob Hubbard.
Unfortunately while I still have all of my C64 stuff -- including cassette drive, two 1541's, monitor, joysticks (the Waco red bat and the gray and black Boss) -- it no longer works. Not surprising, really, the hardware wasn't built to last 30+ years and I'd done none of the preventative maintenance on it. I haven't really the skill to fix it. I could find someone, perhaps, but I'm wondering if it'd be better to just gut the case and replace it with an Ultimate 64 (or Ultimate 64 Elite). As it is a breadbin I'm hoping that it'll be a fairly easy task even for someone that isn't very good with hardware. Anyone have experience with this? Do people generally pop the SID chip out and install it in the Ultimate or is the emulated SID good enough?
Anyhow, that's enough rambling on my part for now!
First, my C64 story. Got a breadbin C64 (but of course we didn't call it that back then, or at least I didn't) in 1982 or so, maybe early '83. Initially we had only the cassette drive (still have Telengard by Avalon Hill on cassette) and a couple of cartridges. I remember Gridrunner in paritcular, by HES I think. Early favorites were games by Synapse like Fort Apocalypse, Survivor, and the like. Had the "Commodore" version of the Zorks and other early Infocom games. I remember going to a couple of "user group" meetings where afterwards it was a free-for-all copy-fest, though I did buy many of my own games (and still have most of them today). Archon I & II, Bard's Tale, Pinball Construction Set, Adventure Construction Set, learning art on my Koala Pad, etc. In 1983 I biked the couple of miles to our local independent software shop in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where I saw Ultima III: Exodus, a game that made me an Ultima fan for life. Also in the early 80s I started coding, at first typing in programs from Compute! Gazette and later my own. I didn't do much with sprites and mainly just used text and the extended character set. After moving in 1984 I eventually got a 300 baud modem (HES modem, maybe?) and coded my first game, Rings of Chaos, for the C-Net BBS system. I made a couple hundred dollars off of it at most but it was enough to set me on the path as a software developer. In 1986 I got an Amiga 1000 and the C64 fell by the wayside a bit but it is, indisputably, the most important piece of computer hardware in my life.
As for music, while I adored the songs found in the Ultima series my favorite is Master of Magic's theme by Rob Hubbard.
Unfortunately while I still have all of my C64 stuff -- including cassette drive, two 1541's, monitor, joysticks (the Waco red bat and the gray and black Boss) -- it no longer works. Not surprising, really, the hardware wasn't built to last 30+ years and I'd done none of the preventative maintenance on it. I haven't really the skill to fix it. I could find someone, perhaps, but I'm wondering if it'd be better to just gut the case and replace it with an Ultimate 64 (or Ultimate 64 Elite). As it is a breadbin I'm hoping that it'll be a fairly easy task even for someone that isn't very good with hardware. Anyone have experience with this? Do people generally pop the SID chip out and install it in the Ultimate or is the emulated SID good enough?
Anyhow, that's enough rambling on my part for now!
OP
OP
C64 fans, the essential platformers thread needs your votes.
www.resetera.com
The C64-inspired VVVVVV has been getting good attention but actual C64 games are not. It would be cool if some 8-bit computer games could make the top 101 whether it's Pitfall II, HERO, Bruce Lee, Montezuma's Revenge, Aztec Challenge, Impossible Mission, Pharaoh's Curse, Spelunker, or something else.
Resetera's 101 Essential Platformers: Top 101 Posted, Honorable Mentions Posted
Welcome to the inaugural Essential Platformers thread on Era! Following in the footsteps of kswiston's 101 Essential RPGs thread and Gradon's 51 Essential Horror Games thread, this thread attempts to highlight all of the greatest jump 'n' runners in the industry, as chosen collectively by you...
www.resetera.com
The C64-inspired VVVVVV has been getting good attention but actual C64 games are not. It would be cool if some 8-bit computer games could make the top 101 whether it's Pitfall II, HERO, Bruce Lee, Montezuma's Revenge, Aztec Challenge, Impossible Mission, Pharaoh's Curse, Spelunker, or something else.
SIDs are back on Spotify!
Volumes 1-3 are up so far. There's going to be 9 covering all of Rob Hubbard's work.
Volumes 1-3 are up so far. There's going to be 9 covering all of Rob Hubbard's work.
Watch the 8-bit Guy on YouTube. He's a huge C64 fan and does a lot of great videos on the C64 and Vic20. I think he's even trying to build a modern C64-compatible machine with currently available components.
OP
OP
The unreleased C64 version of Joust has been found after all these years (this is the official Atarisoft Joust, not the rip off game Jouste that came out back in the day).
Joust (C64) found! - Games That Weren't
Ken Van Mersbergen (known to many as Dutchman2000) has found and preserved the long lost AtariSoft conversion of Joust.
www.gamesthatwerent.com
Loved my c64 as a child, fond memories of cops and robbers, bubble bobble, dizzy, and Ghostbusters.
I may have told this story before but back when I worked at Best Buy I was able to save a few gems from being recycled.
One day there was a Commodore 64 in a near mint box, original packaging and everything. Inside was about 30 pages of hand written notes about different games with perfect cursive penmanship. It was so cool to find!
I'm 33 and missed out on the C64 era by a little bit, but hope to bust it open and give it a shot someday to see if it works. Also probably one of the coolest gaming items I own because of the personal value it had to someone else. It's in storage now but ill post pics next time I see it.
One day there was a Commodore 64 in a near mint box, original packaging and everything. Inside was about 30 pages of hand written notes about different games with perfect cursive penmanship. It was so cool to find!
I'm 33 and missed out on the C64 era by a little bit, but hope to bust it open and give it a shot someday to see if it works. Also probably one of the coolest gaming items I own because of the personal value it had to someone else. It's in storage now but ill post pics next time I see it.
Was the games actually in the box too? If so you should do an lttp thread about it. That could be really fun!
Almost all of them had their original boxes though some of them were pretty damaged, smashed and flattened mostly. 15-20 of them if I remember correctly, its been awhile.
And yeah thats a good idea!
I'm there for the thread when (not if) you make it! Be sure to include the notations!
Cool. I just downloaded the whole thing last week, so now I can just get the update. Can't wait to hear more Axel F covers. Haha.