Looks like Amazon is getting another batch of TheC64 so I'll pin this here just in case anyone's been waiting: www.amazon.com/C64-not-machine-specific/dp/B08GMTJYXJ/ Slap!
Mid September 2022. Please give us a heads up if you hear of any more availability in the USA. I got one 11 months ago, but intended to buy another...then, they sold out.
@@Vector_Ze i just found out that they are in stock on amazon uk, I've been trying to get one myself but i don't have the money right now so i'm trying to save up
TheC64 is now "Temporarily out of stock" on amazon.com and I've been told there's been problems with pre-orders being fulfilled. Thanks to those who have politely informed me of this; when I started working on this episode TheC64 appeared to be available for order. I had no intention to SLAP PEOPLE IN THE FACE as one commenter has accused me of.
Ha, I just seen your note, I was one of the people who preordered this ages ago and got shafted by Amazon on my order. I was going to say maybe they only made enough for the reviewers.
@@DaveGagliardi That's TheC64 Mini that was released a couple years earlier. It's fine for what it is, but doesn't have a working keyboard and doesn't support many of the extra features that I show in this video unfortunately.
thanks for adding this..still waiting for this to show up in canada. also i think with the updates a lot of people may not be bothered to go to the trouble of downloading and updating their units since they may feel that it works just fine for them. maybe i should do a few extra dloads to add to the counter.:)
Maybe it helps. The VIC20 which is the same machine with a VIC20 style case is still available on amazon europe... www.amazon.de/dp/B08CFPBKS4?linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&smid=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF&creativeASIN=B08CFPBKS4&tag=geizhals1-21&ascsubtag=ZVxEj500M8DE15dH6id7A
Could anybody in the 80's truly foreseen the love that the C64 still gets nearly 40 years later in 2020. I mean the demo scene is still going and people are still writing and publishing games for the humble little micro.
the C64 is the one iconic 8-bit, early 80s home computer that best represents that era. so many were made that it is highly recognizable - even all these many decades later. and it really was a gaming console disguised as a general computer
You know, I'm in Ohio, and I've had the European version for about a year now. This update just about makes it perfect for me - to the point where it completely scratches the itch I had to get a 64 up and working again. Not having to worry about a CRT, or SD2IEDC or anything like that. It's not as perfect feeling as that Bare Metal project, but this has the real keyboard... I don't know. I think I'm at the conclusion that this is the best retro device I've ever seen.
Agreed! I hear the Spectrum remake is also pretty good (though it's the actual hardware, not an emu, and it's pretty expensive). I didn't have a Speccy as a kid but a C64, so this gadget is just the thing for me!
I used to reset my 64 many years ago with the tape drive. There was a ground strap that hung off it and you could ground the 3rd or 4th pin from the right on the user port (the port to the left of the machine) using that little ground strap. I read it in one of the magazines.
Hi Robin! I just wanna say I love your videos and your profound technical insights! I have one The C64 and your suggestions will be very useful! Greetings from Portugal!
The first computer I owned was a C64 and have recently bought the TheC64 and it's amazing. Thank you for your videos. I've coded in C, C++, Java and many others. I've built my own 8 bit computer using the modern 6510 but there is still the desire to do the things on the C64 I wasn't able to do as a kid. Your videos are helping make that come true. Thank you.
On the C64 Mini the first joystick you plugged in was "connected" to port 2 and the second joystick you plugged in was "connected" to port 1. So by always having two USB joysticks plugged in I could play games that used both port 1 and port 2. I also played Bruce Lee two player with my cousin using this setup.
Appreciated learning about Barnsley Badger - It's surprisingly difficult learning about the later releases for the 64. Titles like Mayhem in Monsterland and The Wolfling are gems. Really pushing what the system is capable of.
I translate this stuff to my dad who is a big fan of the computer since he started programing on it back in the days. Was his first computer ever. Keep up the fantastic work and thank you! The THEC64 is truly a blessing for us all. I hope Retro Games will support it for a long time to come and after that the modding community
Oh , that's some good news. Really, though, what I'd really like is the ability to apply those config switches directly inside the The C64. Perhaps even just by renaming the d64 file names with the various switches without having to remove the USB stick, take it to another computer, rename the files, etc. Still - you're abolsutely right about making sure the makers are aware of the uptake of the firmware and it's brilliant they're still developing it.
Oh man, Super Snapshot. I had one of those. Loved that cartridge. They were made in my home province. I knew the guy who made those and many of the contributors... some of who went to my school. The creator used to come to our C64 user groups. He once showed me a cartridge with a bunch of games on it. It's nothing incredible by today's standard, but back then before SS, my friends and I used to play darts waiting for games to load and this was with a disk drive. With a cartridge, the games would load instantly. I thought it was incredible. The creator (you can google his name) was a really cool guy. Being young and stupid, I once had an argument with him about notching floppy disks. I forget all the details, but I think his argument was that the reverse side isn't actually made for writing, but most disks do work just because of the way they're made, but that it's not a guarantee. We used to notch disks all the time and they worked fine so I thought he was full of it. If you want to know the details, it's that manufacturers ended up making only one version of floppy disks because it's cheaper to only make one product, but charged more for the double sided ones. The single sided ones were missing a notch on the side of the disk. So the Snapshot guy was technically right that it's not guaranteed, but I was stupid and called him a bunch of names. At the next C64 user group, who shows up but the Snapshot guy himself. Now, insulting someone over a BBS (yeah, remember those?) is easy. But in person, I felt like an idiot and apologized. This is when he showed me the cartridge with all the games and we got to talking a bit. Ended up being a really cool guy. At a later time, I wrote a character editor like the one on the cartridge with split screen so you could see the changes on half the screen, but not affect the editing part. They went with another friend of mine's implementation because his was under 1K IIRC and mine was over 1500 bytes or something like that and I was missing a few features (these numbers could be way off but you get the idea... funny it being literally handful of bytes). But I basically just wanted to see if I could do it. And yes, it was 100% assembly.
The "good music" during the interludes of Frantic Freddy is actually "Don't Bring Me Down" by Electric Light Orchestra (or ELO). Same guys who made "Mr. Blue Skye" used at the beginning of "The Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2". I've been a huge fan of ELO since the late '70s, so when my cousin first showed me Frantic Freddy on his C64, it kind of blew my mind a bit, since I only had a Speccy at that time. Electric Light Orchestra - Don't Bring Me Down: ua-cam.com/video/qj8kMmUxkSE/v-deo.html
People in the UK couldn't afford the $350 for a 1541. This drive was much cheaper in America. Hence, America went disk, UK went tape. Only 12% of UK C64'ers had the floppy disk. Luckily, I was one of them, so I could play a lot of this multiload tape games on disk.
"The Goonies" was one of my favorite games in the 80s next to "Mounty on the run" (if only because of the great music) on the C-64 as a floppy disk version. And after almost 40 years I can even admit that at the time I only borrowed the game and then removed the copy protection. I just didn't have the money to buy every game I like. And that's how I learned the 6510 assembler code, it was free "The Goonies" war in den 80er Jahren eines meiner Lieblingsspiele neben " Mounty on the run" (schon allein wegen der geilen Musik) auf dem C-64 als Floppydisk Version. Und nach fast 40 Jahren kann ich sogar zugeben, das ich damals das Spiel nur geliehen habe und dann den Kopierschutz entfernte. Ich hatte einfach nicht das Geld, mir jedes Spiel kaufen zu können, das mir gefällt. Und so habe ich den 6510 Assembler Code gelernt, das war kostenlos
Commodore Maxi??? Same size than original??? Woah!!! That's a good notice and the oversales too, because it's a hit!!!!! It's a home run , Commodore is back!!!
Mind you, it's not the real deal but a C64-like keyboard with some sort of ARM computer running a modified version of VICE. That said, it's pretty well made and just that fully functioning keyboard takes me back to my childhood!
Another great video from my favorite UA-cam channel! I got a super snapshot 5 last year, and still haven't tried it out yet. Trying it is on my todo list for next week (after I get some work deadlines done), and I had started reading through the documentation yesterday. This video had nice concrete use cases to jump start my playtime. :)
Video idea: Getting started with assembly programming on THE64. What I mean by this is everything you need to get familiar with programming assembly on THE64: Software, cart images, useful hotkeys, saving/loading code, compiling and producing a distributable binary.
I packaged up my original C64's in anticipation of TheC64's arrival. Guess I'll need to take them out of the boxes again. Thanks for the tutorial, can't wait to try out the new features.
I didn't even know about the Maxi until today! I know, I've been living under a rock. But, now that I am aware, I know I have to get it. It's possible the original C64 contributed to the end of my marriage back in 1983. My Ex was so jealous of the time I spent that she tried to destroy it while I was at work by cutting the ribbon cable to the keyboard. I surprised myself by splicing/soldering the cable and getting the computer working again. That infuriated her so much that she literally smashed it to beyond repair condition. I was into programming in BASIC with a few machine code subroutines. I wrote hundreds of useless programs of interest only to myself. There were actually only two games I spent much time with: Jumpman, and Fort Apocalypse. I notice the later is not included in the firmware loaded programs. But, I'll assume it is available somewhere.
Made me laugh when I saw the paper clip. Myself and friends before we understood how to correctly reset a C64 would just wiggle a paper clip around in the user port ( or might have been cartridge port) which would short out random tracks 🤦♂️ until the thing would reset! Surprisingly no C64 were damaged using this method!🤣
Laugh. I will say I had a paperclip bent to do thus... Then I installed a button on my westridge modem... Iirc the 14.4? 9600? I honestly can't remember the max speed commie could do, had a reset button built in.
TheVIC20 is now available on amazon.com in the US. It is a special C64 edition, meaning there are Vic-20 games as well as C64 games. You can program in either VIC-20 mode or C64 mode. A few other neat features. $15x.00 US. In stock by Koch Distribution. Ordered mine and it will be here Xmas Eve! The company can only afford to put out only a single version of the two models. Once "TheVIC20" is out of stock, they will again be manufacturing "TheC64" for a limited time. However, Germany is locked down until Easter 2021 so it may take longer than that if they come from there.
On the hard reset shortcut... A quick end user fix would be to hold down the C64 button, then tap the shift key, then hold down the shift key (basically pressing it twice,) then tap the power button. This would basically swicth to lower case, then switch to upper case, then do a hard reset.
@@EngineeringVignettes i dont think so, me personally at 31 who had never experienced the C64 in its prime find it an interesting device that id like to figure out
@@Spintechfilms - I was joking... :) I still have 5 C-54s, a C-128 and numerous disk drives in my collection personally. Had one as a kid, same as Robin. Was a great system though I moved on to an Amiga shortly after. I still have my Amiga 2000. Cheers,
Oh hey, Robin, will you please make a video showing us in pokes, assembly, and hex editing how there's a way to make the computer autorun at just the moment a certain amount of materal was loaded? And see if you can find other computers that do that (since it is 8-Bit S/T, not just Commodore S/T)?
Amazon was supposed to have The C64 Maxi on November 5th. But I've been checking almost daily, and it's been listed as Temporarily Out of Stock for the entire last 10 days, since the 5th. Not sure if the release was delayed, or they only had enough to fill pre-orders. But there's only a single review listed, and it's from someone that got one from Germany. So it looks like they probably still haven't gotten any of them in yet.
If you look on the manufacturer’s website, they say the first batch has been shipped from China. I got a message from Amazon for the one I have on pre-order that the delivery date is now unknown. I’m expecting it won’t arrive by the holidays, sadly.
I purchased THEVIC20 which is a special edition of THEC64 on Amazon-UK, although I reside in the U.S. It is basically THEC64 with the default mode being VIC-20 mode. You can go into settings and select C64 mode. The case is identical (except for THEVIC20 key substituting for the C= key) and the multi- color THEVIC20 branding sticker. A newer Joystick without the sticking fire buttons is included. Curiously there are more C64 games than Vic-20 Games. This is not a review merely a "Heads Up" post. It is THEC64 variant. Have fun!
I forgot to mention ... the case is identical to the Commodore VIC-20 complete with the key font styles and the colors of the function keys. I have not disassembled the case as I suspect it is identical to THEC64.
I don't mind having to use the flags on the file name - but havina a system to set these within the TheC64 to either rewrite the file names or use some sort of config/overlay file to manage these internally would be fine too - and porbaby easier to implement.
I really do not understand how this channel does not have 100K+ subscribers... The content this man produces, and everything he shares, is so good and very useful, not to even mention the educational wealth he shares with us... I just do not get it. Fred
Hi Robin. I'm currently trying to find a C64/C128 for regular use. I do have a restored C128D and unrestored C128 and C64C's. But very little money unfortunately. I don't really have many working 5,25" disks any more, so I load everything from a 1541 Ultimate II cartridge (which is great!). But.. The C128D has a 1571 disk drive built in that wants to be device 8. Single file games will still load if the cartridge is on device 9 (besides the annoying lack of shortcuts for device 9 loading), but multifile games won't. Also, the fan inside the C128D is pretty loud.. So, the options are to sell (some of the) hardware and restore the real C64 or C128, somehow manage to use the C128D or try the TheC64 Maxi. I'm sure the fan in the C128D could be replaced with a Noctua fan which would solve that problem. But are you aware of a hardware mod that would allow me to switch (hardware) the 1571 between device 8 and 9? I know the normal 1571 is able to do that (I still have one), but that option doesn't seem to be available in the C128D.. You've been playing games on the TheC64 Maxi using the USB joystick. Are the timings any better than those in the Speedlink II USB joystick years ago? Because for me, delay on joystick input completely destroys the fun... By the way, I almost finished Frantic Freddy on original hardware with original lives. I couldn't get past the last level (same with H.E.R.O.). I love(d) that game!. Oh, I am in Europe, so getting hold of a TheC64 Maxi is fairly easy. It's fantastic that hardware like that is still being manufactured! And Zzap 64.. Recently got them scanned in digital format (importing is a real faff), and I love it! Thanks for this great channel! I really enjoy it! Oh, and a new game to try: Chiller. Never heard of that one before!
Odd, I don't remember Frantic Freddy, exactly, but the fall, klunk, and bounce feel familiar. It's more sadistic than Wild E. Coyote. 😈 BTW, local Strack and Van Til grocery stores (Indiana) were selling C64 Minis for Xmas 2020.
Great video. Anyone that has an NTSC C64 from Amazon.com will get six games in their update. Mini consoles will get just two because it does not have a VIC20 mode; other full-sized THEC64s will get four (two C64 and two VIC20 games)
@@HelloKittyFanMan. I still have a 64, but not my original. My original broke around 1989. But I haven't brought it out in years. It is just too much hassle. It takes up too much room.
@@tarstarkusz: I still have the one that my parents owned -- our very first computer -- but I don't know if it still works now. It doesn't take up too much room for me to set up, but my home has had to go through a bit of a restoration process and was very messy before, so that computer has been in storage for a while, along with our C128, Amiga 500, and very first Macintosh, an SE. So it's been a while since I've seen those computers work, but I'll be setting the 128 and 500 back up fairly soon and seeing if they still work now. And then leaving them set up until if I ever need another space adjustment for some odd reason.
@@HelloKittyFanMan. Do yourself a favor and get an Amiga 1200. You won't need any disks. A disk drive, the computer, the power brick, the cable to connect the drive to the computer, plus the drive is pretty big. You really need a desk to dedicate. Then there is all the disks and cartridges and joysticks They create a lot of clutter.
I was already subbed but I would have subbed for sure because you have Aztec Challenge and B.C. Quest for tires. They are one of Favorite games on the C64
I hope they will provide support for the VIC-20 Megacart file which provides a great all in one solution to the VIC-20 portion of theC64 or theVIC20. It's present in VICE so it should be possible to add support for that in.
1:25 The hires/non-multicolor graphics makes it look like a Spectrum port. 4:24 Lots of type-in games from magazines for the VIC-20 and tape drive were multi-part as well, since the unexpanded VIC had so little RAM and the BASIC code to set up the programmable characters would take up too much space in the main program, as there would only be 3K left at that point. 3:48 Is a full and faithful replication of the extreme slowness of the hardware tape drive really a desirable feature? Since everything's emulated, can you warp-speed the whole system including the tape drive until the tape program is loaded? 13:31 That's how I did it on the VIC-20. I put tape over the "handle" of the paper clip to prevent the contact points from "creeping". 16:03 Interesting that the game is using Decimal mode at $59A1. 17:02 I suppose it doesn't matter in this case, but you'd think a BIT instruction would be less disruptive to the registers (though chases some flags), or three NOPs. In this particular case, an «STA $042E,X» wouldn't alter anything but takes one extra clock cycle. 19:21 Blindly swapping $DC00 and $DC01 seems kind of dangerous. Does it at least check for a Load opcode before the addresses?
Yes, Barnsley Badger does have that Spectrum vibe, but of course C64 does it better with no colour clash :) I now remember hearing about those VIC-20 multi-loads. I went from the Timex/Sinclair 1000, which I couldn't get to load or save at all, to the Commodore 64, so I didn't encounter that. All the C64 games I had on tape (including those typed in from magazines) just loaded in one part, since 64K or even 38911 bytes was huge at first. As far as I know, TheC64 doesn't have a warp mode at all. That would be a nice addition in a future firmware update. re: Joystick swap feature, yeah, it must have more intelligence than just swapping $DC00 and $DC01 blindly. I haven't dug into exactly how it does the detection; in the near future I may be helping to modify/improve the Super Snapshot ROM so that would be an opportunity to look.
"slowness of the hardware tape drive really a desirable feature?" Yes, actually. This is more obvious on the ZX Spectrum, where some UK users might have a huge library of tape cassette games, sometimes rather rare titles, and no way to copy them onto other medium except through the machine itself. It also gives users the ability to play straight from the original tape machines. Basically you are right about emulation, but the slowness actually gives more options. Like the "Turbo Button" on old PCs.
I'm very glad I caught one on Amazon US nearly a year ago (10/26/21). I intended at the time to buy a 2nd one for backup soon afterward. But, soon afterward they were sold out, and have remained out of stock since. I was an addict in the early 1980s, and I absolutely LOVE this device! Does anyone have a clue as to whether or not they'll ever be available again? How about a full-sized Amiga?
The new 1.5.2 uipdate is released. I was able to install it already. As the soft reset goes, I can confirm this works but it clears your BASIC program. Is this normal? Is there a way to keep that intact or to restore it? I also observe REU support is present in the emulator without cartridges. Please do a review of this for us. I sure wish there was a way to do things like renaming disk image files or create CJM files locally. It would be incredible if we could drop to a Linux command line and do those things and even have XC-BASIC set up. How amazing would that be? The TheC64 mini is now more relevant to my interests! They enabled "Classic" (boot to Basic) on it! Now if they will just sell us USB versions of the C64 keyboard, I'll have what I want.
AT LAST! Having a tape counter means I can load my old programs etc off the tap files I created from them. What I have been doing is creating the tap file and using VICE to help copy the programs over to a D64 image. Now if they add TAP recording support... Na, I can save to D64 ;)
Looking forward to a TheA600 which could be made using the same cheap motherboard and SoC used in TheC64 Maxi. It would be able to run Amiga software at full speed via emulation and the A600 form factor case would eliminate the numeric keypad to make the case/keyboard cheaper to make.
I think your issue with hard resetting and the text case changing when you press Commodore and shift and power has been addressed, I'm running firmware version 1.6.1 on my unit, I just tried the hard reset procedure you demonstrated. When I press Commodore and shift, the text indeed changes to lower case, but when I press power and the computer resets, it returns to upper case characters, it's possible that this was addressed in firmware version 1.5.2, but I don't know that for sure because I didn't know that feature was there until I watched your video tonight.
I preordered the c64 maxi us version from amazon 4 months ago and as of right now and ever sense it's release date I still get "Not yet shipped We will email you when we have an estimated delivery date."
If you go to Amazon to place an order now they are a bit more honest and just say “out of stock.” There was a shipment that is supposed to be in the US, but assuming neither you nor I get one from that shipment, Retrogames FB site posted on November 10th that they expect the next one “sometime in January”
Excellent work, my friend. Do you know if you can use a Wirelees 8bit do controller with a Bluetooth wireless adaptor. It will work on a Raspberry Pi but was thinking of buying a C64 maxi. Still have my original c64 in my loft. I haven't used it in 30 years.
Oh the memory's was "super kick off" the football game on the c64 amazing to think what the graphics are now the first ever games console I played was the Atari "pong" game I was very young
joystick port 1 interferes with keyboard data. I think they assumed when they designed the CIA chip you wouldn’t use keyboard and joystick simultaneously. So usually to keep things simpler, if there’s only one player, port 2 is used.
Well kind of. I place my order as soon as it became available, but then they send a message to me just last week that it has been delayed. Though I ordered the New Vic direct from the U.K.
Thank you for the update Robin - I've been and downloaded / installed the update and it works fine. One think I am having issues with is using TMP and SS at the same time. I write a simple assembly program and even though i have SS loaded in the cart slot i can never get in to the monitor - or it's vice-versa. I can SS up and running but my previously loaded TMP no longer starts at SYS32768 - help me Obi Wan, you're my only hope :-)
Hi Robin! Regarding the multi-load tape emulation: is the machine actively reloading the tape data after a rewind? It seems like it may be able to cache it using the tape counter as an index, given that all the loaded data is static.
in December 2021 the ultra famous SEGA console game, Sonic the Hedgehog, has been released for the Commodore 64, however it requires the memory expansion unit (at least 256K) - well worth it, of course, as this port is highly excellent quality. Nicely THEC64 supports the memory expansion unit and can be configured at 512KB, 2MB, or 16MB, so will be possible to play Sonic the Hedgehog - just be sure to update THEC64 to latest firmware. This may be the first C64 game that truly gives good reason for getting the memory expansion unit for those that are using vintage Commodore 64 hardware.
I did the pin reset with a pin. Killed my 64. Cost me $230 aud to fix it. Then i bought a freeze machine with built in reset button. My magazine of choice was Commodore User.
Hey great update. I just recently got the Vic 20 model. Do you know how to play games that require 2 D64 images? I can’t figure out how to load those games.
They should let their customers know that there is an update - or the stores we bought it from should pass the information on. But RetroGames wasn't even able to promote THE VIC20. I only noticed this by coincidence. There is also no information on the website. about the THE VIC20. THE VIC20 was delivered with firmware 1.4.1, On 7.Nov. (Firmware date is 4.Nov.) 1.4.2 was available as an update on the homepage. (good morning!) Also they don't answer email inquiries. Quite poor conditions!
Yes. It is a shame The Vic20 is not listed on the website. It now makes it unclear if 1.4.2 is safe for The Vic20. It seems to imply it does as the fix for Tank Battle implies The Vic20 as it is not a The C64 included game but I would rather have a little more clarity. I wrote to them about the lack of advert on the page...no response.
@@ianbuxton525 have made a video about the VIC20 i received, but it is in German. Next week 2. part A 3. part will follow with these new informations and additional topics. It should be safe to update the vic20, but I will leave it as it is, only updated my Maxi64
you didn't have pokes in the US.. us lovely folks in the euro zone sent the via modem and you got them trained already ;-) . many in the US / Canada had moved over to amiga land far earlier
Looks like Amazon is getting another batch of TheC64 so I'll pin this here just in case anyone's been waiting: www.amazon.com/C64-not-machine-specific/dp/B08GMTJYXJ/ Slap!
Ahh the special C64Maxipad edition, pickup up two just in case ;D
22:32 Frantic Freddie one of my all time favourite c64 games and one of the great games to show what the sid chip could do
I'm getting mine... FINALLY! this Christmas 2021.
Mid September 2022. Please give us a heads up if you hear of any more availability in the USA.
I got one 11 months ago, but intended to buy another...then, they sold out.
@@Vector_Ze i just found out that they are in stock on amazon uk, I've been trying to get one myself but i don't have the money right now so i'm trying to save up
TheC64 is now "Temporarily out of stock" on amazon.com and I've been told there's been problems with pre-orders being fulfilled. Thanks to those who have politely informed me of this; when I started working on this episode TheC64 appeared to be available for order. I had no intention to SLAP PEOPLE IN THE FACE as one commenter has accused me of.
is this not the one?
www.amazon.com/C64-Mini-not-machine-specific/dp/B07GMV1X1K/
Ha, I just seen your note, I was one of the people who preordered this ages ago and got shafted by Amazon on my order. I was going to say maybe they only made enough for the reviewers.
@@DaveGagliardi That's TheC64 Mini that was released a couple years earlier. It's fine for what it is, but doesn't have a working keyboard and doesn't support many of the extra features that I show in this video unfortunately.
thanks for adding this..still waiting for this to show up in canada. also i think with the updates a lot of people may not be bothered to go to the trouble of downloading and updating their units since they may feel that it works just fine for them. maybe i should do a few extra dloads to add to the counter.:)
Maybe it helps. The VIC20 which is the same machine with a VIC20 style case is still available on amazon europe... www.amazon.de/dp/B08CFPBKS4?linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&smid=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF&creativeASIN=B08CFPBKS4&tag=geizhals1-21&ascsubtag=ZVxEj500M8DE15dH6id7A
Could anybody in the 80's truly foreseen the love that the C64 still gets nearly 40 years later in 2020. I mean the demo scene is still going and people are still writing and publishing games for the humble little micro.
i miss older times going to a shop to get tapes.. that aspect is long gone..
@@fogvarious2478 I distinctly remember walking home from town with Wizball on cassette in my top pocket.
@@richpickings2845 The simpler days. Fred
the C64 is the one iconic 8-bit, early 80s home computer that best represents that era. so many were made that it is highly recognizable - even all these many decades later. and it really was a gaming console disguised as a general computer
If the excited kid I was in the 80s could see what those streets look like now they'd shudder
TheC64 is such a gem! I really hope Retro Games continues to release updated firmware upgrades.
It’s up to us customers. I bought 2 minis, a maxi and the VIC to support Retro and make them see that people love there systems
Yeah, agreed. Loving my maxi. Kudos to Retro Games. I also can't wait to buy "The Amiga" when they release it.
You know, I'm in Ohio, and I've had the European version for about a year now. This update just about makes it perfect for me - to the point where it completely scratches the itch I had to get a 64 up and working again. Not having to worry about a CRT, or SD2IEDC or anything like that. It's not as perfect feeling as that Bare Metal project, but this has the real keyboard... I don't know. I think I'm at the conclusion that this is the best retro device I've ever seen.
Agreed! I hear the Spectrum remake is also pretty good (though it's the actual hardware, not an emu, and it's pretty expensive). I didn't have a Speccy as a kid but a C64, so this gadget is just the thing for me!
Plenty of options nowadays such as a real C64, TheC64, MiniC64, UltimateC64, and Vice emu.
I used to reset my 64 many years ago with the tape drive. There was a ground strap that hung off it and you could ground the 3rd or 4th pin from the right on the user port (the port to the left of the machine) using that little ground strap. I read it in one of the magazines.
Handy.
Does anybody know if that ground connection was intended to attach to a screw on a PET/CBM?
Hi Robin! I just wanna say I love your videos and your profound technical insights! I have one The C64 and your suggestions will be very useful! Greetings from Portugal!
The first computer I owned was a C64 and have recently bought the TheC64 and it's amazing. Thank you for your videos. I've coded in C, C++, Java and many others. I've built my own 8 bit computer using the modern 6510 but there is still the desire to do the things on the C64 I wasn't able to do as a kid. Your videos are helping make that come true. Thank you.
Loved this video. Will give the update a go. Nice to hear you used to live in Australia. Love it here.
On the C64 Mini the first joystick you plugged in was "connected" to port 2 and the second joystick you plugged in was "connected" to port 1. So by always having two USB joysticks plugged in I could play games that used both port 1 and port 2. I also played Bruce Lee two player with my cousin using this setup.
This video is insanely great, had no idea my C64 had an update so I’ll get on that too
Appreciated learning about Barnsley Badger - It's surprisingly difficult learning about the later releases for the 64. Titles like Mayhem in Monsterland and The Wolfling are gems. Really pushing what the system is capable of.
Robin, you are just great man! I've learned more about C64 programming after all these years just watching your videos. Thank you very much!
I translate this stuff to my dad who is a big fan of the computer since he started programing on it back in the days. Was his first computer ever. Keep up the fantastic work and thank you! The THEC64 is truly a blessing for us all. I hope Retro Games will support it for a long time to come and after that the modding community
Oh , that's some good news. Really, though, what I'd really like is the ability to apply those config switches directly inside the The C64. Perhaps even just by renaming the d64 file names with the various switches without having to remove the USB stick, take it to another computer, rename the files, etc. Still - you're abolsutely right about making sure the makers are aware of the uptake of the firmware and it's brilliant they're still developing it.
Exactly. TheC64 is out now since a year and instead of putting more options into the menu they improve tape support? Mae.
Nice video, good to hear that these devices are provided with updates still.
Oh man, Super Snapshot. I had one of those. Loved that cartridge. They were made in my home province. I knew the guy who made those and many of the contributors... some of who went to my school. The creator used to come to our C64 user groups. He once showed me a cartridge with a bunch of games on it. It's nothing incredible by today's standard, but back then before SS, my friends and I used to play darts waiting for games to load and this was with a disk drive. With a cartridge, the games would load instantly. I thought it was incredible.
The creator (you can google his name) was a really cool guy. Being young and stupid, I once had an argument with him about notching floppy disks. I forget all the details, but I think his argument was that the reverse side isn't actually made for writing, but most disks do work just because of the way they're made, but that it's not a guarantee. We used to notch disks all the time and they worked fine so I thought he was full of it. If you want to know the details, it's that manufacturers ended up making only one version of floppy disks because it's cheaper to only make one product, but charged more for the double sided ones. The single sided ones were missing a notch on the side of the disk. So the Snapshot guy was technically right that it's not guaranteed, but I was stupid and called him a bunch of names. At the next C64 user group, who shows up but the Snapshot guy himself. Now, insulting someone over a BBS (yeah, remember those?) is easy. But in person, I felt like an idiot and apologized. This is when he showed me the cartridge with all the games and we got to talking a bit. Ended up being a really cool guy.
At a later time, I wrote a character editor like the one on the cartridge with split screen so you could see the changes on half the screen, but not affect the editing part. They went with another friend of mine's implementation because his was under 1K IIRC and mine was over 1500 bytes or something like that and I was missing a few features (these numbers could be way off but you get the idea... funny it being literally handful of bytes). But I basically just wanted to see if I could do it. And yes, it was 100% assembly.
The "good music" during the interludes of Frantic Freddy is actually "Don't Bring Me Down" by Electric Light Orchestra (or ELO). Same guys who made "Mr. Blue Skye" used at the beginning of "The Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2". I've been a huge fan of ELO since the late '70s, so when my cousin first showed me Frantic Freddy on his C64, it kind of blew my mind a bit, since I only had a Speccy at that time.
Electric Light Orchestra - Don't Bring Me Down: ua-cam.com/video/qj8kMmUxkSE/v-deo.html
Barnsley is a town in the UK - Barnsley Badger named after that town!
think you'll find it's named after a town called badger ;-)
New firmware 1.5.1 just released with added REU support 512k 2mb and 16mb.
People in the UK couldn't afford the $350 for a 1541. This drive was much cheaper in America. Hence, America went disk, UK went tape. Only 12% of UK C64'ers had the floppy disk. Luckily, I was one of them, so I could play a lot of this multiload tape games on disk.
"The Goonies" was one of my favorite games in the 80s next to "Mounty on the run" (if only because of the great music) on the C-64 as a floppy disk version. And after almost 40 years I can even admit that at the time I only borrowed the game and then removed the copy protection. I just didn't have the money to buy every game I like. And that's how I learned the 6510 assembler code, it was free
"The Goonies" war in den 80er Jahren eines meiner Lieblingsspiele neben " Mounty on the run" (schon allein wegen der geilen Musik) auf dem C-64 als Floppydisk Version. Und nach fast 40 Jahren kann ich sogar zugeben, das ich damals das Spiel nur geliehen habe und dann den Kopierschutz entfernte. Ich hatte einfach nicht das Geld, mir jedes Spiel kaufen zu können, das mir gefällt. Und so habe ich den 6510 Assembler Code gelernt, das war kostenlos
FRANTIC FREDDY! YESSS! All the great copywritten music, including Boggie Fever, Don't Bring Me Down, and Kodachrome. Loved it!
23:13 "Great music!" Yes... by ELO. ;) But back then no one really cared about copyright...
it features dar more well known tunes also .. but jeff was too busy making albums to worry .. hence why so many classical tunes were ripped off.
A speical shoutout to Robyn for managing to control a sprite with the 'switches' joystick that comes with the maxi. No mean feat!
Commodore Maxi??? Same size than original??? Woah!!! That's a good notice and the oversales too, because it's a hit!!!!! It's a home run , Commodore is back!!!
Mind you, it's not the real deal but a C64-like keyboard with some sort of ARM computer running a modified version of VICE. That said, it's pretty well made and just that fully functioning keyboard takes me back to my childhood!
Another great video from my favorite UA-cam channel! I got a super snapshot 5 last year, and still haven't tried it out yet. Trying it is on my todo list for next week (after I get some work deadlines done), and I had started reading through the documentation yesterday. This video had nice concrete use cases to jump start my playtime. :)
Video idea: Getting started with assembly programming on THE64. What I mean by this is everything you need to get familiar with programming assembly on THE64: Software, cart images, useful hotkeys, saving/loading code, compiling and producing a distributable binary.
that joystick sounds so dope. click click click click
I packaged up my original C64's in anticipation of TheC64's arrival. Guess I'll need to take them out of the boxes again. Thanks for the tutorial, can't wait to try out the new features.
I didn't even know about the Maxi until today! I know, I've been living under a rock.
But, now that I am aware, I know I have to get it.
It's possible the original C64 contributed to the end of my marriage back in 1983. My Ex was so jealous of the time I spent that she tried to destroy it while I was at work by cutting the ribbon cable to the keyboard. I surprised myself by splicing/soldering the cable and getting the computer working again. That infuriated her so much that she literally smashed it to beyond repair condition.
I was into programming in BASIC with a few machine code subroutines. I wrote hundreds of useless programs of interest only to myself. There were actually only two games I spent much time with: Jumpman, and Fort Apocalypse. I notice the later is not included in the firmware loaded programs. But, I'll assume it is available somewhere.
Made me laugh when I saw the paper clip. Myself and friends before we understood how to correctly reset a C64 would just wiggle a paper clip around in the user port ( or might have been cartridge port) which would short out random tracks 🤦♂️ until the thing would reset! Surprisingly no C64 were damaged using this method!🤣
I'm literally wincing while reading this.
@@DaveF. The nice thing is I still have that C64 which was working fine the last time I used it 😎
Laugh. I will say I had a paperclip bent to do thus... Then I installed a button on my westridge modem... Iirc the 14.4? 9600? I honestly can't remember the max speed commie could do, had a reset button built in.
TheVIC20 is now available on amazon.com in the US. It is a special C64 edition, meaning there are Vic-20 games
as well as C64 games. You can program in either VIC-20 mode or C64 mode. A few other neat features.
$15x.00 US. In stock by Koch Distribution. Ordered mine and it will be here Xmas Eve!
The company can only afford to put out only a single version of the two models. Once "TheVIC20" is out of stock,
they will again be manufacturing "TheC64" for a limited time. However, Germany is locked down until
Easter 2021 so it may take longer than that if they come from there.
On the hard reset shortcut... A quick end user fix would be to hold down the C64 button, then tap the shift key, then hold down the shift key (basically pressing it twice,) then tap the power button. This would basically swicth to lower case, then switch to upper case, then do a hard reset.
Wow, now im even more interested in getting TheC64 maxi now 🤔
Sounds like an incontinence product for the elderly gamer generation...
...
yes I went there. :D
@@EngineeringVignettes i dont think so, me personally at 31 who had never experienced the C64 in its prime find it an interesting device that id like to figure out
@@Spintechfilms - I was joking... :)
I still have 5 C-54s, a C-128 and numerous disk drives in my collection personally. Had one as a kid, same as Robin. Was a great system though I moved on to an Amiga shortly after. I still have my Amiga 2000.
Cheers,
That infinite lives feature. I've spent so many hours doing it by hand. My mind is blown.
Oh hey, Robin, will you please make a video showing us in pokes, assembly, and hex editing how there's a way to make the computer autorun at just the moment a certain amount of materal was loaded? And see if you can find other computers that do that (since it is 8-Bit S/T, not just Commodore S/T)?
"Soulless" actually reminds me of the Atari 8-bit game "Draconus".
They do look pretty similar: ua-cam.com/video/gRdbMEwLgsQ/v-deo.html
Amazon was supposed to have The C64 Maxi on November 5th. But I've been checking almost daily, and it's been listed as Temporarily Out of Stock for the entire last 10 days, since the 5th. Not sure if the release was delayed, or they only had enough to fill pre-orders. But there's only a single review listed, and it's from someone that got one from Germany. So it looks like they probably still haven't gotten any of them in yet.
If you look on the manufacturer’s website, they say the first batch has been shipped from China. I got a message from Amazon for the one I have on pre-order that the delivery date is now unknown. I’m expecting it won’t arrive by the holidays, sadly.
the next possible delivery will likely be in january, given the current situation , it seems the american distributor underestimated pre-orders
@@snakefriesia6808 Yes. If you check Retrogames’ FB page, there is a post from November 10th that says just that.
@@Doug_in_NC i checked their webpage
I preordered mine a month before and I still haven’t received mine.
11:00 : one could add a soft reset button in the stock c64 by short circuiting two pins on the board. We built it into the casing and used it a lot.
I purchased THEVIC20 which is a special edition of THEC64 on Amazon-UK, although I reside in the U.S. It is basically THEC64 with the default mode being
VIC-20 mode. You can go into settings and select C64 mode. The case is identical (except for THEVIC20 key substituting for the C= key) and the multi-
color THEVIC20 branding sticker. A newer Joystick without the sticking fire buttons is included. Curiously there are more C64 games than Vic-20 Games.
This is not a review merely a "Heads Up" post. It is THEC64 variant. Have fun!
I forgot to mention ... the case is identical to the Commodore VIC-20 complete with the key font styles and the colors of the function keys.
I have not disassembled the case as I suspect it is identical to THEC64.
Now I can finally get past the theatre level on Chiller :D
That's exciting. I just ordered a The Vic20. I'll be sure to update it right away.
Another great video! Keep up the great work! Would sure be neat to have those ram expansion carts emulated!
Now I wonder....did they license "Don't bring me down" by E.L.O. back in the day for Frantic Freddy
Every level was one of those.. And do they need to license it? Isn't it a creative remake, and therefore a new creation? :)
Very unlikely
So suggest to them that they update the firmware again to fix the joystick problem without having to use Super Snapshot or file name flags.
I don't mind having to use the flags on the file name - but havina a system to set these within the TheC64 to either rewrite the file names or use some sort of config/overlay file to manage these internally would be fine too - and porbaby easier to implement.
Zzap 64! such a great 80's British icon for the 8 bit era :) Still have many of them, and thedef guide to zzap64 website is a great resource.
I really do not understand how this channel does not have 100K+ subscribers... The content this man produces, and everything he shares, is so good and very useful, not to even mention the educational wealth he shares with us... I just do not get it. Fred
Thanks for going over the functions of the super snapshot!
Hi Robin. I'm currently trying to find a C64/C128 for regular use. I do have a restored C128D and unrestored C128 and C64C's. But very little money unfortunately. I don't really have many working 5,25" disks any more, so I load everything from a 1541 Ultimate II cartridge (which is great!). But.. The C128D has a 1571 disk drive built in that wants to be device 8. Single file games will still load if the cartridge is on device 9 (besides the annoying lack of shortcuts for device 9 loading), but multifile games won't. Also, the fan inside the C128D is pretty loud..
So, the options are to sell (some of the) hardware and restore the real C64 or C128, somehow manage to use the C128D or try the TheC64 Maxi.
I'm sure the fan in the C128D could be replaced with a Noctua fan which would solve that problem.
But are you aware of a hardware mod that would allow me to switch (hardware) the 1571 between device 8 and 9? I know the normal 1571 is able to do that (I still have one), but that option doesn't seem to be available in the C128D..
You've been playing games on the TheC64 Maxi using the USB joystick. Are the timings any better than those in the Speedlink II USB joystick years ago? Because for me, delay on joystick input completely destroys the fun...
By the way, I almost finished Frantic Freddy on original hardware with original lives. I couldn't get past the last level (same with H.E.R.O.). I love(d) that game!.
Oh, I am in Europe, so getting hold of a TheC64 Maxi is fairly easy. It's fantastic that hardware like that is still being manufactured!
And Zzap 64.. Recently got them scanned in digital format (importing is a real faff), and I love it!
Thanks for this great channel! I really enjoy it!
Oh, and a new game to try: Chiller. Never heard of that one before!
Odd, I don't remember Frantic Freddy, exactly, but the fall, klunk, and bounce feel familiar. It's more sadistic than Wild E. Coyote. 😈 BTW, local Strack and Van Til grocery stores (Indiana) were selling C64 Minis for Xmas 2020.
Always loved Frantic Freddie. I believe it was created in Ottawa; BC's Quest For Tires in Kemptville.
Great video. Anyone that has an NTSC C64 from Amazon.com will get six games in their update. Mini consoles will get just two because it does not have a VIC20 mode; other full-sized THEC64s will get four (two C64 and two VIC20 games)
watching basically all of your c64 videos as i was lucky enough to snag one from a private seller
when I had my C64 in the 80's I'd edit the save game file on the floppy instead of the memory when hacking my lives or health, money, etc.
Why don't you _still_ have it? Did it break down in the later years?
Not all games, in fact, most I would say, don't have a save function, at least not most of the games I play.
@@HelloKittyFanMan. I still have a 64, but not my original. My original broke around 1989. But I haven't brought it out in years. It is just too much hassle. It takes up too much room.
@@tarstarkusz: I still have the one that my parents owned -- our very first computer -- but I don't know if it still works now. It doesn't take up too much room for me to set up, but my home has had to go through a bit of a restoration process and was very messy before, so that computer has been in storage for a while, along with our C128, Amiga 500, and very first Macintosh, an SE. So it's been a while since I've seen those computers work, but I'll be setting the 128 and 500 back up fairly soon and seeing if they still work now. And then leaving them set up until if I ever need another space adjustment for some odd reason.
@@HelloKittyFanMan. Do yourself a favor and get an Amiga 1200. You won't need any disks.
A disk drive, the computer, the power brick, the cable to connect the drive to the computer, plus the drive is pretty big. You really need a desk to dedicate. Then there is all the disks and cartridges and joysticks They create a lot of clutter.
Can now follow everything you show on the channel without the need for a real c64, super snapshot pro cartridge etc.
I was already subbed but I would have subbed for sure because you have Aztec Challenge and B.C. Quest for tires. They are one of Favorite games on the C64
I hope they will provide support for the VIC-20 Megacart file which provides a great all in one solution to the VIC-20 portion of theC64 or theVIC20. It's present in VICE so it should be possible to add support for that in.
1:25 The hires/non-multicolor graphics makes it look like a Spectrum port.
4:24 Lots of type-in games from magazines for the VIC-20 and tape drive were multi-part as well, since the unexpanded VIC had so little RAM and the BASIC code to set up the programmable characters would take up too much space in the main program, as there would only be 3K left at that point.
3:48 Is a full and faithful replication of the extreme slowness of the hardware tape drive really a desirable feature? Since everything's emulated, can you warp-speed the whole system including the tape drive until the tape program is loaded?
13:31 That's how I did it on the VIC-20. I put tape over the "handle" of the paper clip to prevent the contact points from "creeping".
16:03 Interesting that the game is using Decimal mode at $59A1.
17:02 I suppose it doesn't matter in this case, but you'd think a BIT instruction would be less disruptive to the registers (though chases some flags), or three NOPs. In this particular case, an «STA $042E,X» wouldn't alter anything but takes one extra clock cycle.
19:21 Blindly swapping $DC00 and $DC01 seems kind of dangerous. Does it at least check for a Load opcode before the addresses?
Yes, Barnsley Badger does have that Spectrum vibe, but of course C64 does it better with no colour clash :)
I now remember hearing about those VIC-20 multi-loads. I went from the Timex/Sinclair 1000, which I couldn't get to load or save at all, to the Commodore 64, so I didn't encounter that. All the C64 games I had on tape (including those typed in from magazines) just loaded in one part, since 64K or even 38911 bytes was huge at first.
As far as I know, TheC64 doesn't have a warp mode at all. That would be a nice addition in a future firmware update.
re: Joystick swap feature, yeah, it must have more intelligence than just swapping $DC00 and $DC01 blindly. I haven't dug into exactly how it does the detection; in the near future I may be helping to modify/improve the Super Snapshot ROM so that would be an opportunity to look.
"slowness of the hardware tape drive really a desirable feature?" Yes, actually. This is more obvious on the ZX Spectrum, where some UK users might have a huge library of tape cassette games, sometimes rather rare titles, and no way to copy them onto other medium except through the machine itself. It also gives users the ability to play straight from the original tape machines. Basically you are right about emulation, but the slowness actually gives more options. Like the "Turbo Button" on old PCs.
@@8_Bit In the loader screen you can turboloaded the selected game. Its a button that looks like a rocket ship.
Super Snapshot v5 -- still proving its usefulness in 2020!
I'm very glad I caught one on Amazon US nearly a year ago (10/26/21). I intended at the time to buy a 2nd one for backup soon afterward. But, soon afterward they were sold out, and have remained out of stock since.
I was an addict in the early 1980s, and I absolutely LOVE this device!
Does anyone have a clue as to whether or not they'll ever be available again?
How about a full-sized Amiga?
The new 1.5.2 uipdate is released. I was able to install it already. As the soft reset goes, I can confirm this works but it clears your BASIC program. Is this normal? Is there a way to keep that intact or to restore it? I also observe REU support is present in the emulator without cartridges. Please do a review of this for us. I sure wish there was a way to do things like renaming disk image files or create CJM files locally. It would be incredible if we could drop to a Linux command line and do those things and even have XC-BASIC set up. How amazing would that be?
The TheC64 mini is now more relevant to my interests! They enabled "Classic" (boot to Basic) on it! Now if they will just sell us USB versions of the C64 keyboard, I'll have what I want.
AT LAST!
Having a tape counter means I can load my old programs etc off the tap files I created from them.
What I have been doing is creating the tap file and using VICE to help copy the programs over to a D64 image.
Now if they add TAP recording support...
Na, I can save to D64 ;)
I'd never seen a Mastertronic game on disk until youtube arrived.
thanks. I didn't know about the update. Feeding my maxi soon.
Looking forward to a TheA600 which could be made using the same cheap motherboard and SoC used in TheC64 Maxi. It would be able to run Amiga software at full speed via emulation and the A600 form factor case would eliminate the numeric keypad to make the case/keyboard cheaper to make.
Great! This update 1.4.2 must be rather new, because Retro Games Inc. has not announced it on Facebook yet.
I think your issue with hard resetting and the text case changing when you press Commodore and shift and power has been addressed, I'm running firmware version 1.6.1 on my unit, I just tried the hard reset procedure you demonstrated. When I press Commodore and shift, the text indeed changes to lower case, but when I press power and the computer resets, it returns to upper case characters, it's possible that this was addressed in firmware version 1.5.2, but I don't know that for sure because I didn't know that feature was there until I watched your video tonight.
I preordered the c64 maxi us version from amazon 4 months ago and as of right now and ever sense it's release date I still get "Not yet shipped
We will email you when we have an estimated delivery date."
Same here. I kind of doubt they actually got any stock like they said they were going to.
If you go to Amazon to place an order now they are a bit more honest and just say “out of stock.” There was a shipment that is supposed to be in the US, but assuming neither you nor I get one from that shipment, Retrogames FB site posted on November 10th that they expect the next one “sometime in January”
@@Doug_in_NC No one got them, zero have been shipped. It's not a case of having missed out, can't miss something that never shipped
In what part of the world do you live? I got mine in UK in September
Same here. Pre-ordered and it didn’t ship. So I bought the Vic 20 limited edition from Amazon.co.uk and they shipped it to the US in less than a week
DUDE you are amazing. This video is amazing and things i simply never knew. Thank you so much!!
Excellent work, my friend. Do you know if you can use a Wirelees 8bit do controller with a Bluetooth wireless adaptor. It will work on a Raspberry Pi but was thinking of buying a C64 maxi. Still have my original c64 in my loft. I haven't used it in 30 years.
Thanks so much for another great video! Love everyone you make
Oh the memory's was "super kick off" the football game on the c64 amazing to think what the graphics are now the first ever games console I played was the Atari "pong" game I was very young
As always very interesting :-) ! Do you know why the majority of C64 games used joystick port 2? I was always wondering about that...
joystick port 1 interferes with keyboard data. I think they assumed when they designed the CIA chip you wouldn’t use keyboard and joystick simultaneously. So usually to keep things simpler, if there’s only one player, port 2 is used.
Well kind of. I place my order as soon as it became available, but then they send a message to me just last week that it has been delayed. Though I ordered the New Vic direct from the U.K.
Great music in Frantic Freddie. I'm *SURE* they got permission to use it. LOL
I simple plug in another usb Joystick, so I can use JOY1 and JOY2, depending the need of the selected game.
Thanks for the heads up, I have updated mine :)
Thank you for the update Robin - I've been and downloaded / installed the update and it works fine. One think I am having issues with is using TMP and SS at the same time. I write a simple assembly program and even though i have SS loaded in the cart slot i can never get in to the monitor - or it's vice-versa. I can SS up and running but my previously loaded TMP no longer starts at SYS32768 - help me Obi Wan, you're my only hope :-)
Hi Robin! Regarding the multi-load tape emulation: is the machine actively reloading the tape data after a rewind? It seems like it may be able to cache it using the tape counter as an index, given that all the loaded data is static.
Is that Daytripper I'm hearing being played in Frantic Freedie? I also hear Don't Bring Me Down by ELO if I'm not mistaken.
Yes, they "borrowed" quite a few famous songs for Frantic Freddie. All unlicensed, as far as we know.
in December 2021 the ultra famous SEGA console game, Sonic the Hedgehog, has been released for the Commodore 64, however it requires the memory expansion unit (at least 256K) - well worth it, of course, as this port is highly excellent quality. Nicely THEC64 supports the memory expansion unit and can be configured at 512KB, 2MB, or 16MB, so will be possible to play Sonic the Hedgehog - just be sure to update THEC64 to latest firmware. This may be the first C64 game that truly gives good reason for getting the memory expansion unit for those that are using vintage Commodore 64 hardware.
How can the TheC64 handle an REU without an expansion port?
I did the pin reset with a pin. Killed my 64. Cost me $230 aud to fix it. Then i bought a freeze machine with built in reset button. My magazine of choice was Commodore User.
I used to do the user port paperclip soft reset until I got a freeze machine cart that had a soft reset button on the top.
A new update is coming soon including memory expansion. Info from their Facebook account. Can’t wait.
What is the best source for acquiring one of these The C64 Maxi machines? It seems like they are sold out everywhere.
Excellent video, fun and extremely informative!
Robin, do you have any idea why Super Snapshot can’t save a backup of Antonio Savona’s L’Abbaye des Morts?
I can't wait for this to come to the US market.
Hey great update. I just recently got the Vic 20 model. Do you know how to play games that require 2 D64 images? I can’t figure out how to load those games.
Sure would be nice if it had a modem or the ability to add a modem. Perhaps the nearly dead c64 bbs realm would get a much needed shot in the arm.
I played The Goonies a lot. The music seems different from my floppy version.
ntsc = 10% faster perhaps.. depends on version maybe
Amazon has the orders of the C64 Maxi on indefinite hold and the official website no longer has an American version of the Maxi version listed 😢
I don't have a TheC64 (yet?) but I will download the patch to boost the numbers.
Ditto, I did the same. Particularly after that impassioned plea. Great video.
They should let their customers know that there is an update - or the stores we bought it from should pass the information on.
But RetroGames wasn't even able to promote THE VIC20. I only noticed this by coincidence.
There is also no information on the website. about the THE VIC20.
THE VIC20 was delivered with firmware 1.4.1,
On 7.Nov. (Firmware date is 4.Nov.) 1.4.2 was available as an update on the homepage.
(good morning!)
Also they don't answer email inquiries. Quite poor conditions!
Yes. It is a shame The Vic20 is not listed on the website. It now makes it unclear if 1.4.2 is safe for The Vic20. It seems to imply it does as the fix for Tank Battle implies The Vic20 as it is not a The C64 included game but I would rather have a little more clarity.
I wrote to them about the lack of advert on the page...no response.
@@ianbuxton525 have made a video about the VIC20 i received, but it is in German. Next week 2. part
A 3. part will follow with these new informations and additional topics.
It should be safe to update the vic20, but I will leave it as it is, only updated my Maxi64
takes a lifetime to gain Your experience about c64 :). Regards
you didn't have pokes in the US.. us lovely folks in the euro zone sent the via modem and you got them trained already ;-) . many in the US / Canada had moved over to amiga land far earlier
Updating mine now. Thanks for the heads up!
edit: is there a way to turn on emulated drive audio like in vice?
Thanks for the update! Looks like it's unavailable on Amazon now. What's the MSRP?
Best Poke i know,is Canadian hard band song-Slow Poke.