The C64 (Electronic Games)

Product Information

The graphics chip, VIC-II, features 16 colors, eight hardware sprites per scanline (enabling up to 112 sprites per PAL screen), scrolling capabilities, and two bitmap graphics modes. California Games • Chips Challenge • Confuzion • Cosmic Causeway • Cyberdyne Warrior • Cybernoid II • Deflektor •

Gupta, Anu M. (June 1983). "Commodore 64 Programmer's Reference Guide". Compute! (review). p.134 . Retrieved October 30, 2013. Cost reduction was the reason for most of the revisions. Reducing manufacturing costs was vitally important to Commodore's survival during the price war and leaner years of the 16-bit era. The C64's original ( NMOS based) motherboard went through two major redesigns and numerous sub-revisions, exchanging positions of the VIC-II, SID and PLA chips. Initially, a large portion of the cost was eliminated by reducing the number of discrete components, such as diodes and resistors, which enabled the use of a smaller printed circuit board. There were 16 total C64 motherboard revisions, aimed at simplifying and reducing manufacturing costs. Some board revisions were exclusive to PAL regions. All C64 motherboards were manufactured in Hong Kong.You can post C64 games for THEC64 - C64 Mode here now, post VIC-20 games in there own board now for VIC20 Mode below this one. Holmes, Mike (April 15, 2012). "Gaming's Defining Moments – The Commodore 64". Gamereactor UK . Retrieved July 1, 2020. You can talk about all Amiga Games here, if you want help with a game and it does not work in the A500 or post a link to a game.

The C64's designers intended the computer to have a new, wedge-shaped case within a year of release, but the change did not occur. [6] In 1986, Commodore released the 64C computer, which is functionally identical to the original. The exterior design was remodeled in the sleeker style of the Commodore 128. [48] The 64C uses new versions of the SID, VIC-II, and I/O chips being deployed. Models with the C64E board had the graphic symbols printed on the top of the keys, instead of the normal location on the front. The sound chip (SID) was changed to use the MOS 8580 chip, with the core voltage reduced from 12V to 9V. The most significant changes include different behavior in the filters and in the volume control, which result in some music/sound effects sounding differently than intended, and in digitally-sampled audio being almost inaudible, respectively (though both of these can mostly be corrected-for in software). The 64KB RAM memory went from eight chips to two chips. BASIC and the KERNAL went from two separate chips into one 16KB ROM chip. The PLA chip and some TTL chips were integrated into a DIL 64-pin chip. The "252535-01" PLA integrated the color RAM as well into the same chip. The smaller physical space made it impossible to put in some internal expansions like a floppy-speeder. [73] In the United States, the 64C was often bundled with the third-party GEOS graphical user interface (GUI)-based operating system, as well as the software needed to access Quantum Link. The 1541 drive received a matching face-lift, resulting in the 1541C. Later, a smaller, sleeker 1541-II model was introduced, along with the 800 KB [74] 3.5-inch microfloppy 1581. Mega Apocalypse • Mission AD • Monty Mole • Monty on the Run • Nebulus / Tower Toppler • Netherworld • Nodes of Yesod • Looking at some stuff I programmed when I was 16-18 years old, I am moderately impressed by myself. Not that it was anything worth mentioning, but considering I learned everything by myself and from these two books at that age, I ask myself how unwilling my students are when in comes to learning Visual Basic .net... I believe modern school only produces mechanical problem solving without stimulating the mind.KB ( 9 KB Commodore BASIC 2.0; 7 KB KERNAL; 4 KB character generator, providing two 2 KB character sets) Another fast-paced run-and-gun. Your space ship crash lands on an alien planet, and you need to collect parts and fuel to rebuild it. But you also need to dodge (or shoot) flying meteors and aliens that threaten to smash into you. It’s fast and furious as you progress through the levels, and gather everything you need. a b Wagner, Roy (August 1986). "The Commodore Key". Computer Gaming World. p.28 . Retrieved November 1, 2013.

C64, C128 – Teil 2 – Retroport". Retroport.de. June 14, 2013. Archived from the original on June 4, 2013 . Retrieved June 16, 2013.TheC64 Maxi is a pretty neat replacement for the original C64, as it is more comfortable to load D64 images than using real disks or Pi1541. The C64 dominated the low-end computer market (except in the UK and Japan, lasting only about six months in Japan [7]) for most of the later years of the 1980s. [8] For a substantial period (1983–1986), the C64 had between 30% and 40% share of the US market and two million units sold per year, [9] outselling IBM PC compatibles, Apple computers, and the Atari 8-bit family of computers. Sam Tramiel, a later Atari president and the son of Commodore's founder, said in a 1989 interview, "When I was at Commodore we were building 400,000 C64s a month for a couple of years." [10] In the UK market, the C64 faced competition from the BBC Micro, the ZX Spectrum, and later the Amstrad CPC 464. [11] but the C64 was still the second-most-popular computer in the UK after the ZX Spectrum. [12] The Commodore 64 failed to make any impact in Japan, as their market was dominated by Japanese computers, such as the NEC PC-8801, Sharp X1, Fujitsu FM-7, and MSX. [13] MOS 6526 CIA datasheet (PDF format)" (PDF). 6502.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 4, 2008.

In 1987, Commodore released a 64C variant with a highly redesigned motherboard commonly known as a "short board". The new board used the new HMOS chipset, featuring a new 64-pin PLA chip. The new "SuperPLA", as it was dubbed, integrated many discrete components and transistor–transistor logic (TTL) chips. In the last revision of the 64C motherboard, the 2114 4-bit-wide color RAM was integrated into the SuperPLA. At a mid-1984 conference of game developers and experts at Origins Game Fair, Dan Bunten, Sid Meier, and a representative of Avalon Hill said that they were developing games for the C64 first as the most promising market. [37] By 1985, games were an estimated 60 to 70% of Commodore 64 software. [38] Computer Gaming World stated in January 1985 that companies such as Epyx that survived the video game crash did so because they "jumped on the Commodore bandwagon early". [39] Over 35% of SSI's 1986 sales were for the C64, ten points higher than for the AppleII. The C64 was even more important for other companies, [40] which often found that more than half the sales for a title ported to six platforms came from the C64 version. [41] That year, Computer Gaming World published a survey of ten game publishers that found that they planned to release forty-three Commodore 64 games that year, compared to nineteen for Atari and forty-eight for AppleII, [42] and Alan Miller stated that Accolade developed first for the C64 because "it will sell the most on that system". [43] Boosman, Frank (November 1986). "Designer Profiles / Alan Miller". Computer Gaming World (interview). p.6 . Retrieved November 1, 2013. Impact of the Commodore 64: A 25th Anniversary Celebration". Computer History Museum. Archived from the original on October 3, 2017 . Retrieved September 13, 2008. Although many early C64 games were inferior Atari 8-bit ports, by late 1983, the growing installed base caused developers to create new software with better graphics and sound. [34] It was the only non-discontinued, widely available home computer by then, with more than 500,000 sold during the Christmas season; [35] because of production problems in Atari's supply chain, by the start of 1984 "the Commodore 64 largely has [the low-end] market to itself right now", The Washington Post reported. [36] 1984–1987 [ edit ]VICE is a very popular option for C64 emulation and runs on multiple operating systems (including DOS!). I experimented with this a bit, and got it working so I could play my games. The user Interface and setup are not a plug-and-play experience. You’ll need to mess with it a little to get everything doing what you want, but it’s pretty cool. a b Yakal, Kathy (June 1986). "The Evolution of Commodore Graphics". Compute!'s Gazette. pp.34–42 . Retrieved June 18, 2019.