.
=====================================
      Commodore Free Magazine
=====================================

   http://www.commodorefree.com/

       Issue 34, October 2009

 Free to download magazine dedicated 
      to Commodore computers
  Available as PDF, HTML, TXT, SEQ
         and D64 disk image

=====================================

=====================================
              CONTENTS
=====================================

* Editorial
* Readers Comments
* NEWS
  - DOT BASIC Update
  - NEDFIELD(formerly Tulip) Bankrupt
  - GR9 STRIKE FORCE Released
  - Digital Talk 87 released
  - C&A Fan Issue 4 Released
  - ACID 64 Player Pro v3.02 released
  - High Voltage SID Collection Upd
  - IntroBase64 V1.4 released
  - Merlin Browser Updated
  - Realms Of Quest for the VIC 20
  - VIC-20 Sokoban Released
  - Tribbles 2009 Released
  - Supra Cobra for the Commodore 64
  - REMEMBER Releases
  - The SEUCK Vault - updated
  - Amitopia TV 31st of August
  - Jeri Ellsworth's Nintendo purse
  - MGMT Kids on C64's Music Studio
  - Forth Dimension BBS
  - Introducing Admiral 64
  - The Wild Bunch (c64)
  - EasyFlash C64 Cartridge
  - sd2brwse ROMs 4 MMC/Retro Replay
* Welcome to the Commodore
* SHREDZ64
* Welcome to Amigaworld!
* Update on the PDF Project
* Interview with Chris Snowden
* Interview with David W. Murray

=====================================

=====================================
              Editorial
=====================================

One thing that is really annoying; OK
one of the things that annoys me; is
cable and satellite television here
in the UK not forgetting the
Terrestrial ITV1 Channel4 and Channel
5 The choice of channels is vast on
cable/satellite the quality is
questionable.

The BBC are still making some good
programmes, funded from the
Television license we pay yearly;
with Doctor Who and Torchwood still
current on their schedules; yes there
are other factual and Drama
programmes I suppose I need to vent
my frustration on other providers as
I feel the BBC is doing quite well on
content.

The problem I see with cable and
satellite TV. Is this you "PAY" to
view a channel yet after 10 minutes
they show 5 minutes of adverts! So my
question is what are we paying for,
surely the channels should be free
and you pay to "remove" the adverts.
I would gladly pay more to get rid of
those annoying adverts that distract
the flow of a program, its got so bad
for me that I watch the program so
far; get frustrated and turn off  or
worse jump channels and start
watching something else. You end up
with a night of watching a few
minutes here and there and feeling
you just wasted your time. Why when
we pay extra for the channels do we
have to endure these adverts?

Strange that the Shopping channels
don't actually have any advert
breaks, I suppose they are just one
long advert but this is where I
usually spend most of my time, if I
cant find anything on the BBC I sit
watching shopping channels.

Recently I was emailed by at least 3
casino/poker online games companies
who wanted to PayPal me money; only
if I put a banner for there sites in
the middle of my Commodore Free
website! Getting money for free is
most welcome, heck the website isn't
free, but I do have a problem. Some
of you will remember I toyed around
with Google adverts in Text only on
my site and it cause a few emails
from people. I suppose no one likes
intrusive adverts, so I removed them.
A few people did click on them and
that generates cash for the Commodore
Free website but it didn't feel right
and so they were quickly removed.

Now I know companies are "in the
pinch" at the moment trying to save
every penny and generate sales but
adverts seem to be so old hat, OK
some are amusing and memorable
sometimes, but I would prefer them to
be shorter and honest

Like
"ABC white clothes wash, if used
regularly helps keep your clothes
clean"
Rather than

"ABC white clothes wash, makes whites
white restoring the New feel"

Because they don't; do they, no
matter how you read and follow the
instructions clothes that have faded
over time wont suddenly go white
unless heavily bleached, then if they
contain colours as well will start to
run and fade.

There is no escape from adverts,
radio, bus they are everywhere so my
question is do they work? And I
suppose if they didn't then they
wouldn't use them However in this day
and age there must be a better way,
like product placement where we have
a show that has no adverts except an
intro

"sponsored by XYZ shampoo for
giraffes"

and a footer with something else like

"ABC baked beans they make your mouth
turn to a spongy like jelly"

I am no marketing expert but this
would be acceptable as it wont spoil
the viewing also placements inside
the file like.

"he reaches over and pucks up his
favourite drink ABC cola and slowly
takes a gulp of the delicious drink ?
ahhhh he says that's good"

So you get the idea; to be as good as
the actor you need to drink ABCcola
its surely more memorable than when
the adverts come on; the thousands of
people all dash into the kitchen to
put the kettle on or worse channel 
hop

It does seem the UK Government is
warming to the idea of product
placement, whether this will replace
the current way of advertising; that
clearly doesn't work, I suppose only
time will tell. I for one wait with
anticipation, and don't mind any
placements of products on television.
Aaaaaaaaa sorry I have just drink a
sip of delicious ABCcola what a great
taste and refreshing smell of summer
meadows,

Even so I still added an advert to
Commodore computer club and other
items of Commodore interest but as
it's the last pages then you are safe
to ignore them, also this is relevant
to the target audience slightly more
than ABC cola

Take care
Here we go with another issue then ??

Regards
Nigel

Website www.commodorefree.com
Email commodorefree@commodorefree.com
Home address and personal mobile  Yeh
right dream on

=====================================

=====================================
         Readers Comments
=====================================

When you talk about machines someone
gets angry, my comments in the last
editorial were my own recollections
of the machines, I never owned a
Spectrum as I took preference with
the Commodore 64 here is what one
reader said about my comments

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I'm a fan of Commodore machines.
But infos in your magazine are pile
of shit.
ZX Spectrum 48K (and later models)
was the only machine in 80s with
audio-out on regular 'jack'. C64 had
nothing (most pitiful) - and also
Atari XE. Internal speaker was only
for persons poor enough to NOT to
have an amplifier and hi-fi setup.
I think you're too old for flame-wars
of platforms. Write truth or do NOT
write anything.
Jasio

COMMODORE FREE
Jasio
Many thanks for your Comments, this
is however a Commodore magazine so
some bias towards Commodore will be
inevitable I presume Spectrum based
magazines are bias towards spectrum
machines, I was often taunted at
school with the my machine is better
than yours, this wasn't the intention
of the Editorial, Personally I do
prefer the SID sound

BTW - I found a site:
http://z80.i-demo.pl/music.html
MP3 files from that what you call
"small internal speaker", which is
funny for readers who know other
platforms.

These tracks (from 3 channels to 8
channels) are incredible

http://z80.i-demo.pl/Tim_Follin-Chron
os_a_Tapestry_of_Time.mp3
http://z80.i-demo.pl/David_Whittaker-
Savage3.mp3
http://z80.i-demo.pl/Ben_Daglish-
Super_Sports_A.mp3
http://z80.i-demo.pl/Cobra-Magic_Show
mp3
http://8bitcollective.com/items/music
/MISTER_BEEP-A_crazy_boy_is_jumping_2
.mp3
http://z80.i-demo.pl/Kriss-Love_Rave
.mp3
http://z80.i-demo.pl/Prodigy_Game.mp3
http://8bitcollective.com/items/music
/Mister_Beep-Logos_Part_1_(Tangerine
_Dream).mp3

and others... Other 8-bitters are far
far below.
Jasio

Commodore Free
Jasio well personally I prefer the
sound of the Commodore Sid chip. What
do other readers think? this is a
Commodore magazine some Bias towards
Commodore is inevitable, I do know
some readers are multi platform and
every platform had its strengths' and
weakness, but this isn't a mine is
better than yours taunt towards any
machine.
I did find this information
http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/sinclair/
computers/zxspectrum/spec_
specifications.htm

Firmware:
  3.54 MHz Zilog Z80A CPU 16K / 48K
  RAM (later 128K RAM)
Display:
  32 x 22 character text display
  256 x192 pixel resolution 8 colours
Sound:
  1 channel, 5 octave (16/48K
  Spectrums) 3 channel, 7 octaves
  (128K Spectrums)
I/O:
  Z80 bus, tape, RF television (All
  Spectrums) External numeric keypad
  (Spectrum 128) RS232 - Midi Out,
  RGB, Joystick (Spectrum 128, +2,
  +2A, +3)
Storage:
  Built-in tape recorder (Spectrum +2
  +2A) Build-in 3" disk drive
  (Spectrum +3)

From Winkipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX_
Spectrum_%2B2  about the spectrum 2
"Sound output is through a beeper on
the machine itself. This is capable
of producing one channel with 10
octaves. The machine also includes an
expansion bus edge connector and
audio in/out ports for the connection
of a cassette recorder for loading
and saving programs and data."

And from Winkipedia about the
Commodore 64
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Commodore_64

Sound: MOS Technology 6581/8580 SID
* 3-channel synthesizer with
  programmable ADSR envelope
* 8 octaves
* 4 waveforms: triangle, sawtooth,
  variable pulse, noise
* Oscillator synchronization, ring
  modulation
* Programmable filter: high pass, low
  pass, band pass, notch filter

Features
* three separately programmable
  independent audio oscillators (8
  octave range, approximately
  16 - 4000 Hz)
* four different waveforms per audio
  oscillator (sawtooth, triangle,
  pulse, noise)
* one multi mode filter featuring
  low-pass, high-pass and band-pass
  outputs with 6 dB/oct (bandpass) or
  12 dB/octave (lowpass/highpass)
  rolloff. The different filter-modes
  are sometimes combined to produce
  additional timbres, for instance a
  notch-reject filter.
* three attack/decay/sustain/release
  (ADSR) volume controls,one for each
  audio oscillator.
* three ring modulators.
* oscillator sync for each audio
  oscillator.
* two 8-bit A/D converters (typically
  used for game control paddles, but
  later also used for a mouse)
* external audio input (for sound
  mixing withexternal signal sources)
* random number/modulation generator

COMMODORE FREE
The Commodore 64 has an Av output for
picture and sound it's a round Din
Connector on the back of the machine
although you need a cable its
possible to output sound to a hifi or
tape deck (how many recorded SID
tunes) and the picture to a monitor
instead of a TV for a superior
picture, but you knew that already

People always have a favorite
machine, maybe they grew up with one
and so it remains a favorite, I am
not claiming the Commodore 64 is
perfect it like every other machine
manufactured has strengths and
weaknesses, The filters are what
makes the sid special (in my opinion)
and as far as I know the Spectrum
doesn't have this as a feature on the
machine, as this is a Commodore
magazine I think it better I just
refer to Commodore machines rather
than create a Mine is better than
yours hole to dig myself into.

Sid Music can be found here
http://www.6581-8580.com/  Stone
Oakvalley's Authentic SID Collection
(SOASC=) compare these with the
Spectrum, which sounds better?

-------------------------------------

=====================================
NEWS
=====================================

=====================================
          DOT BASIC Update
=====================================

Disc Master asked for a way to scroll
text across a bitmap graphic. Here it
is! Plus a couple more small yet kewl
commands.
Dave

http://8bitcentral.com/dotbasic/forum
/index.php?topic=55.0

Regards,
The The DotBASIC Forum Team.

-------------------------------------

=====================================
NEDFIELD formerly known as Tulip goes
             Bankrupt
=====================================

Tulip Computers changes name to
Nedfield

http://www.tulip.com/Default.aspx?cms
=6&cat=2&art=169

06 June 2008
TULIP COMPUTERS CHANGES NAME TO
NEDFIELD Doorn, 6 June 2008 Tulip
Computers N.V. (Tulip) intends to
change its name as from 26 June 2008
to Nedfield N.V. (Nedfield). Tulip,
initially a computer manufacturer,
has developed into a listed company
focusing on selected segments of the
ICT market and the cutting edge of
ICT and CE.

Nedfield German subsidiary declared
bankrupt

http://www.tulip.com/Default.aspx?cms
=6&cat=2&art=211

Doorn, 25 February 2009
Tulip Beteiligungs GmbH (TB), a
German 100% subsidiary of Nedfield NV
(Nedfield), has been declared
bankrupt on 24 February by a court in
Braunschweig, Germany. This
insolvency procedure was initiated at
the request of a former
director-owner of Devil AG (Devil).
In accordance with the procedure
common under German law, the court
has taken this decision on the basis
of a report from a previously
appointed 'Insolvenzverwalter'. TB
holds 100% of the shares in Devil. At
this point, we cannot estimate the
consequences for the Nedfield group
as a whole.

In line with German regulations, the
provisional 'Insolvenzverwalter' has
been evaluating possible solutions
since 11 February 2009. During this
evaluation, the provisional
'Insolvenzverwalter' implemented
reappointments to the Devil
management. In this period, various
concrete proposals were received
which may provide a possible solution
to the current situation.

Nedfield cannot at this point
estimate the consequences of the
court decision for the rest of the
group. For the moment, Devil will
continue its operating activities as
usual. Devil recorded an estimated
turnover of around ? 307 million in
2008. We also refer to the press
release published on 20 February 2009
with respect to the provisional
turnover figures for 2008 and the
expectations regarding a net loss for
2008. As soon as there is more
information on the consequences of
the current situation for the
Nedfield group as a whole, Nedfield
will publish this.

About Nedfield

Nedfield invests in promising
companies in selected segments of the
ICT market and on the cutting edge of
ICT and CE. Through its subsidiaries,
Nedfield offers innovative solutions
in the form of products and services
that provide its clients with added
value. Nedfield was founded in 1979
and its shares have been listed on
NYSE Euronext Amsterdam since 1984.
Nedfield has its head office in Doorn
(The Netherlands). Nedfield has more
than 300 employees, spread across
nine offices in five countries.

-------------------------------------

=====================================
    GR9 STRIKE FORCE Released
=====================================

http://cosine.org.uk/products.php?
prod=gr9_strike_force&4mat=c64

Programming: T.M.R
Graphics: T.M.R
Music: Odie
Format: Commodore 64
Release date: 14th September 2009
Released for: Retro Reunited 2009

Pilot briefing: take control of your
GR9 harrier jet and navigate through
the terrorist occupied territory.
Your task is to clear the way for
ground forces by destroying as many
of their land and air defences as
possible. The GR9 Harrier can be
controlled with a joystick connected
to port 2 and the run stop key will
pause the assault at any point when
the player is in control of the
plane. Pressing the Q key from pause
mode will abort the current mission.

GR9 Strike Force was developed for
the Retro Reunited event (12th to
13th September 2009) in Huddersfield,
U.K. and stars the lucky winner of a
door prize at the event, who was
given a silly hat to wear before
being photographed, converted and
inserted into the game (and "loading"
picture) live at the event by T.M.R!
There are plans for a second release
of this game at some point fairly
soon, which will extend the current
levels and add a fourth, memory
permitting.

Trivia: the first player to complete
GR9 Strike Force (not including
T.M.R) was Retro Gamer editor Darran
Jones, playing it as part of a high
score competition at Retro Reunited
itself on the Sunday.

-------------------------------------

=====================================
     Digital Talk 87 released
=====================================

Issue 87 of the German language
diskmag Digital Talk is available to
download.
Feedback, texts and programs for the
next issue can be sent to the staff
up until the 26th September 2009.

DOWNLOAD:
http://noname.c64.org/csdb/release/?
id=82014

-------------------------------------

=====================================
    C&A Fan  Issue 4 Released
=====================================

Issue #4 of 'C&A Fan' - a PDF
magazine for Commodore computer users
( in the Polish language) - has just
been released. The articles include:
next part of the Amiga history by
Jeremy Reimer, mathX software for
Amiga computers, review of the 1541
Ultimate for C64, a lot of scene
information and more

DOWNLOAD:
http://noname.c64.org/csdb/release/
index.php?id=82007

-------------------------------------

=====================================
  ACID 64 Player Pro v3.02 released
=====================================

A new version of ACID 64 Player Pro
has been released and is available to
download http://www.acid64.com

-------------------------------------

=====================================
 High Voltage SID Collection Update
=====================================

High Voltage SID Collection Update 51
Date: August 22, 2009

After this update, the collection
should contain 36,937 SID files!
This update features (all
approximates):

- 950 new SIDs
- 93 fixed/better rips
- 6 PlaySID/Sidplay1 specific SIDs
  eliminated
- 14 repeats/bad rips eliminated
- 320 SID credit fixes
- 159 SID model/clock infos
- 8 tunes from /DEMOS/UNKNOWN/
  identified
- 6 tunes from /GAMES/ identified
- 38 tunes moved out of /DEMOS/ to
  their composers' directories
- 14 tunes moved out of /GAMES/ to
  their composers' directories

http://hvsc.c64.org

-------------------------------------

=====================================
     IntroBase64 V1.4 released
=====================================

IntroBase64 is a GameBase Collection
of intros that precede cracked games
on the Commodore 64. Intros can
easily be browsed and started with a
single mouse click in your favourite
emulator.

Changes in the new 1.4 version:

- 200 new intros added.
- Some small changes in the Windows
  Installer.
- IntroBase64 now uses GEMUS.DAT. The
  Emulator Setup Wizard will start at
  first run for automatic discovery
  and configuration of emulators.
- The intros.c64.org team is now
  properly credited for their work I
  used for IntroBase64.Thank you guys
  for your kind permission!
- Some changes and additions in the
  documentation.

This will probably be my last update
to IntroBase64. RL makes it
impossible for me to keep it up to
date. If someone is interested in
continuing IntroBase64, please let me
know. I can send the source files I
use for updating IntroBase64 and will
help anyone who will work on keeping
IntroBase64 up to date.

COMMODORE FREE
The website is in German
http://commodore-gg.hobby.nl/
crackersbase.htm

-------------------------------------

=====================================
Updated version of Merlin Browser for
       the Amiga Released
=====================================

About Merlin Browser:

The Merlin browser is simple web
browser that was developed as part of
NarrowCasting software. Support for
CSS and JavaScript is build in, but
not finished yet Its available for
AmigaOS4 PPC and Amiga 68K, Windows,
Apple macintosh.
(note that it also compiles on Linux,
but that that version doesn't have
JPEG and PNG support yet)

License:

This version is shareware but
copyrighted by A.P.Spijkerman. You
are allowed to download it for use on
your system. You are not allowed to
distribute it.

Development:

Fixed a lot of bugs and memory leaks,
and made a start portal. The emphasis
now is on the HTML and CSS engine,
and download thread. Also with a
recompile it should run on Morphos
natively. Changes log
http://spijk336.speed.planet.nl/
software/changeslog.txt

News:

Added a couple of photos of version
0.04 running on an A4000/040. Also
added a couple of pictures of the
browser Running on Fedora x86 Linux.

http://home.kpn.nl/spijk336/browser/
home.html

-------------------------------------

=====================================
   Realms Of Quest for the VIC 20
              Released
=====================================

Enter Realms of Quest III, the
computer game that offers you the
chance to assemble a party of six
adventurers who undertake heroic acts
in a vast world of deep dungeons to
explore, fantastic creatures to fight
you, and treasures to be won.

The adventure is not for the faint of
heart, it is a challenging but
rewarding experience. You are invited
to discover for yourself the
following features that await you in
this grand computer role playing game
for the Commodore VIC-20*:

* 12,000+ lines of assembly language,
  compiled into a fast and responsive
  game-playing experience.
* An easy to understand, intuitive,
  user-friendly menu system and
  interface.
* Multi-colour graphics along with a
  3D first person perspective whenyou
  explore the underground dungeons
* Over 70 monsters, where each of
  them is represented with it's own
  portrait during combat.
* 40 magic spells, 8 races, 8 classes
  and many different weapons, armour,
  potions and special items.
* In-context game music, a "surface"
  world map, along with joystick
  support (32K version).
* The double-sided disk includes the
  complete Realms of Quest Trilogy
  along with several other games by
  the author:  Dungeon II, Ringside
  Boxing, Break-Fast, Napoleon
  Simulator, plus many more. 20 games
  in all!
* A detailed and illustrated 36 page
  instruction manual with several
  tables and charts for easy
  reference.
* Realms of Quest III requires 32K
  memory expansion. Realms of Quest
  III: Dungeon Crawler
  requires 16K. The rest of the games
  in this package (including Realms 
  of Quest I + II) can be run on the
  unexpanded VIC-20.

REALMS OF QUEST III STORY

It has been a thousand years since
the great bards had written the epic
poem telling the legend of a hero who
had slain the demon wizard, Nikaedor.
The hero, though mortally wounded,
shouted a final cry of victory:
"Hark! The Evil Wizard and his
Eternal Orb no longer hold dominion
over this land".

It has been a thousand years since?

And now, bandits, orcs, highwaymen
and all sorts of vile creatures have
gotten bolder. Where they roamed
before as mere nuisance, they now
dare more often, and even well armed
escorts are no longer safe from their
attacks. They wander from their
wilderness and abandoned ruins of the
Land of Rivar to threaten cities
within our borders. Sanctuary can no
longer be guaranteed.

Then came a far worse day; a day that
saw superstition pierce to reality.
Dragons, as told in ancient tales
from a time beyond memory, began
terrorizing our lands. By these
tales, it was believed that upon
every new moon, the sacrifice of a
young maiden, pure in heart and and
virtue, would spare the fate of the
dragon's breath. And thus the
villages renewed these rituals of
terror in order to save themselves.

The dragons sounded a flood of orcs,
kobolds, ogres and all sorts of
deformed humanoids to rally and
attack. Once believed our symbol of
strength, peace and protection, the
King's castle was ransacked a year
after the first of the dragons was
seen. The great Land of Rivar was now
reduced to a vassal colony and would
pay tribute to all things evil.

Sages and scribes scurried through
the ancient texts, desperate to find
answers. In the scant remains of the
Lycaeum of the King's castle, only a
fragment of the ancient poem was
found:

"The daemon hath been defeated and a
new day begun.
A day to last a thousand years 'til
the setting of the sun."

The scholars argued on its meaning.
In the end, they settled to a one
common fear: "Nikaedor". The legends
told his power was so great that he
could reverse his own death by
himself.  All shuddered at the
thought.

The King sent forth his finest on a
scouting mission to the old ruins of
Nikaedor's lair; warriors of
unyielding strength, magic wielders
of cunning sorcery. After the passing
of several moons, their bodies
floated in the moat of our
once-beloved castle . Struck with
shock and grief, a journal was
retrieved from their watery grave.
The final entry petrified those with
ears to hear it:

"Nikaedor has returned. Death to
those who fail to pay tribute on this
day and forever. Hail Nikaedor!"

Video Preview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
1DMBlCaDlD8

-------------------------------------

=====================================
      VIC-20 Sokoban Released
=====================================

Name: Sokoban
Author: Hiroyuki Imabayashi
Conversion to VIC-20 by Michael
Kircher
Released: August 8th, 2009
Requirements: unexpanded VIC-20,
joystick, disk drive

Michael Kircher made a Commodore
VIC-20 version of the classic puzzle
game Sokoban. The game can be played
on a real (unexpanded) VIC-20 with a
disk drive and a joystick or with the
VICE-emulator. Sokoban was originally
developed by Hiroyuki Imabayashi in
1982

http://sleepingelephant.com/ipw-web/
bulletin/bb/viewtopic.php?t=3350&
start=20

-------------------------------------

=====================================
      Tribbles 2009 Released
=====================================

Name: Tribbles 2009
Author: Anders Persson
Released: August 12, 2009
Requirements: VIC-20 + 8K

Tribbles 2009
New version with an useful change!
The tribbles now sits on an
alphabetic shelf before they fall
down.

This makes it easier to play, for
example over the internet using
Skype's new function to share your
screen. Or if your opponents just are
too far from the computer keyboard.
Let's say you are by the keyboard,
then your opponent just have to say
the letter where he wants to place
his tribble, then you press the
letter on the keyboard and the
tribble will go there. Then when
everyone have placed their tribbles,
the shelf is removed and the tribbles
starts to fall down. (It's possible
to place tribbles with the cursor
keys or joystick as before too.)

The shelf also makes the game a bit
more logical I think... I mean, what
prevented the tribbles from starting
to fall before?

http://user.tninet.se/~pug510w/
datormuseum/tribbles.html

-------------------------------------

=====================================
  Supra Cobra for the Commodore 64
             Released
=====================================

DATA-LAND (Jörg Heyltjes) has
released a new game for the Commodore
C64 called Super Cobra. The game is a
clone of the arcade classic Scramble.

http://noname.c64.org/csdb/getint
ernalfile.php/78717/SUPERCOBRA.D64

-------------------------------------

=====================================
         REMEMBER Releases
=====================================

Remember have some more games fixed
and released

- Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles - The
  Coin-op (release number 378)
- World Games (release number 379)
- Aliens (Electric Dreams) (release
  number 380)
- LeMans (release number 381)
- Gumshoe (release number 382)

http://www.allgamebase.info/rem/_Rem_
Aug09/REM_Aug09.zip

-------------------------------------

=====================================
    The SEUCK Vault - updated
=====================================

More than twenty games have been
added to the Vault this August,
including some of the titles we had
on our "wanted" list - thanks to
Mason of C64Heaven
http://www.c64heaven.com/ for his
help.

www.seuckvault.co.uk

-------------------------------------

=====================================
    Amitopia TV 31st of August
=====================================

31 Aug 2009 by M. Bergseth
Welcome to Amitopia TV 31st of August

Program Today!

15.00: Amiga News
15.10: Efika usage
15.22: Gaming on A1200
15.25: Walls of Doom
15.30: Closed

In this release you get Amiga News,
contributions by RoqueFort and Cammy
and see how well MorphOS runs on
Efika.

Download the link here
http://www.amitopiatv.com/ATV/
amitopiatv31stofaugust.mp4

-------------------------------------

=====================================
  Jeri Ellsworth creates a Nintendo
                purse
=====================================

Retro enthusiast and designer of the
DTV and Hummer direct to TV games
system Jeri Ellsworth has created the
ultimate fashion accessory a Nintendo
Purse.

Jeri Ellsworth has managed to get a
Nintendo-on-a-chip and a Commodore
64-on-a-chip into a stylish hand bag,
along with an LCD screen, then
connected a Nintendo controller to
produce the ultimate fashion 
accessory

"This was a Nintendo on a chip and
C64 that I installed into a purse for
episode 7 of
www.fatmanandcircuitgirl.com . It
used a LCD from a portable DVD player
and an 8 amp hour battery, which
last..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPlBe
Wy8Xwo&feature=PlayList&p=5371927805F
C2784&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&
index=13

-------------------------------------

=====================================
  MGMT Kids on C64's Music Studio
=====================================

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isFxq-
Us2J8

You know what its like when you get
bored you "Google" or hit "YouTube"
well I do just to test my home
network is still working and
wondering why my C64 cant connect to
anything. I "YouTube" a tune I heard
on the radio and found this "MGMT
Kids on C64's Music Studio
(Activision)." Actually quite
listenable I always found Here is the
posters information "Music Studio"
quite limited as you cant customise
your own Sid voices, anyway see what
you think.

MGMT Kids on C64's Music Studio
(Activision). For more on Commodore
64 music stuff, check
http://c64-music.blogspot.com

-------------------------------------

=====================================
       Forth Dimension BBS
=====================================

telnet://fodim.bounceme.net

I am writing a BBS program for the
c64. Well, my BBS is back online
after being down for a month. (64c
croaked). I sort of modelled my
program after C-Net 64 and Image BBS,
so if you call you may notice some
similarities.
Now open and accepting new users..
call in and let me know what you
think of the 5 year project.

telnet://fodim.bounceme.net
-Steve

-------------------------------------

=====================================
     Introducing Admiral 64
=====================================

http://galaxy22.dyndns.org/admiral64/

I'm not entirely sure which forum
this belongs in. What I'm working on
is a project to port the Commodore
operating system, including BASIC,
Screen Editor, Kernel, etc... over to
the Intel platform. I setup a little
website with some screenshots and the
source code and binaries:

http://galaxy22.dyndns.org/admiral64/

Obviously, I've had a lot of people
tell me already "why not just run
VICE?" but if you read what the goals
are of this project, I'm not aiming
to emulate the C64 or any other
specific hardware. I'm just trying to
build an environment that looks and
acts just like a C64 but with
super-duper speed and enhanced
graphics capabilities. That way I can
write code in BASIC that will be able
to use 256-colours and speed beyond
what an original C64 could do even in
ML. Also BASIC will have access to
much more than 38K of RAM.

Yes, I realize there have been some
ports of Commodore BASIC but none of
them actually give you an operating
environment that looks or works
anything like a Commodore.

I'm hoping to recruit some help with
this project, even if that help is
just in the form of suggestions
because I'm really struggling on the
direction of how to implement some of
the features. Obviously, if anyone
wants to write some subroutines, that
would be great.

Goals of Admiral 64

To be a full featured BASIC operating
environment, with the look and feel
of a Commodore 64 (or Plus/4 or 128).
That includes features likes:

PETSCII graphics

direct editing and executing of BASIC
code without compiling.
"in quote" mode, where cursor
movements, colours, and other screen
codes are stored in quotes and
variables.
Screen editor that allows full
movement of the cursor and pressing
enter on a line will cause that line
to be parsed and executed.

Features that are not present on a
regular Commodore 64, but will be
available in Admiral 64:

Graphics commands, including the
ability to work with text and
graphics on the same screen without
changing some kind of mode.
ultra-fast execution of BASIC code on
modern Intel processors that will
most likely run faster than ML code
did on the original C64. pop-up menu
options to handle load/save and
configuration options.

What it is NOT intended to be or do:

Not an emulator of an existing
platform (like VICE, etc.)
Not intended to be binary compatible
with existing games/software

List of current working commands:

CLRSCN - Clear the screen.
EXIT - Exit to DOS
TCOLOR - Change text colour to next
number (will allow argument soon)
BCOLOR - Change background colour to
next number(will allow argument soon)

I don't know if anyone else has used
that name before, so I can always
change it.. but I've started writing
my new Commodore-on-Intel operating
system I've mentioned before.  I
spent most of yesterday designing a
screen-editor.  It is now in a
somewhat usable state. I've put the
file out on my web server for anyone
who wants to try it out:

http://galaxy22.dyndns.org/admiral
.exe

It is only 17K and it will be even
smaller once I'm able to get rid of
some libraries I'm currently using
but won't be needing eventually.

As far as the screen editor goes,
here is what is left to do:

- implement PETSCII character set.
- implement " in quotes" behaviour.
- implement direct reading of
  keyboard, which will allow me to
  dump those extra C libraries and be
  able to read things like shift and
  control, so I can do things like
  colour-changes on the number keys,
  reverse text, clr-home,
  runstop/restore, etc..
- implement graphics modes

Once I have all that going, it will
be a matter of writing a BASIC
interpreter and load/save routines.
I plan to add some graphics commands
for changing various screen modes,
and plotting pixels and basic shapes.

And for the first time ever, you'll
be able to operate in BASIC while in
graphics mode (without doing a
split-screen)  I plan to have the
screen editor work exactly the same
in graphics modes so you could
actually print text, do input
statements, etc., and be able to draw
graphics on the screen any way you
like.

-------------------------------------

=====================================
       The Wild Bunch (c64)
=====================================

now complete!

After just over a year of
development, the C64 conversion of
the excellent Amstrad/Spectrum
Firebird game "The Wild Bunch" is now
complete. The game is being sold in a
limited edition form with
authentically and professionally
produced inlays and tape labels,
replicating the Firebird original
release of old.

The official release date is due
sometime later this month, which will
be a date set in October. The game
will now be shipped with the bonus of
two versions of the cover printed on
both sides. Previews of the cover can
be seen on the project website.

There is currently still a pre-order
competition running for the game
where 20 people can win a free
professionally produced Wild Bunch
audio CD. Competition closes
Midnight, Friday the 11th September.

http://www.gamesplaygames.co.uk/
thewildbunch/

EDITOR mine was pre-ordered when the
interview ran in Commodore Free
although I didn't receive
notification but the payment did go
out

-------------------------------------

=====================================
   EasyFlash Commodore 64 Directly
        programmable Cartridge
=====================================

http://skoe.de/easyflash/index.php?
page=what-is-easyflash

What can I do with EasyFlash?

EasyFlash is a cartridge for the C64
expansion port. In contrast to
traditional cartridges, this one can
be programmed directly from the C64.

You can easily create various classic
computer game cartridges, program
collections or even a diagnostic
cartridge to track down issues with
your hardware with it. All what you
need to do this is a C64, an
EasyFlash, the software available
here and an image of the cartridge
(*.crt). As these CRT files may be
quite large, a large disk drive like
the FD-2000 or an sd2iec may be
useful.

EasyFlash is not a freezer cartridge
like the Final Cartridge III or the
Retro Replay. And it's no replacement
for a 1541 disk drive like the sd2iec

How does it work?

EasyFlash is a 1 MByte Flash EPROM
card with multiple configurations and
banks possible. It does not use
traditional UV-EPROMs, but Flash
memory. This makes it possible to
"burn" the cartridge using your C64,
no EPROM programmer is needed.

The EasyFlash hardware is very easy
to build and comes with comprehensive
software for users and developers. It
is easy to make your own cartridge
with your favourite software on it
and it is easy to create completely
new software for being used with
EasyFlash.

EasyFlash supports following
cartridge formats: Normal 8k, Normal
16k, Ultimax, Ocean Type 1, EasyFlash

The hardware design and all software
packages are licensed under the free
zlib license. This means you can do
nearly everything with it.

These are the sub-projects of
EasyFlash:

- EasyFlash is the name of the
  hardware
- EasyProg is a C64 program to write
  cartridge (*.crt) images to the
  hardware
- EasyCart is a PC program to create
  your own cartridge images
- EasyLoader is a menu which is added
  to your EasyCart images
- EasySDK is a collection of
  documents and code snippets for
  developers

Why did we make EasyFlash?

At the beginning I simply wanted to
re-build an Ocean game cartridge. I
didn't have an EPROM programmer and
no UV lamp and I didn't want to buy
this kind of stuff in the 21st
century. That's why the cartridge had
to use flash memory. I aimed at
building a simple large game
cartridge, sticking a nice label on
it and give to to somebody as a
Christmas present.

First, with some help by HofMar, we
analysed how an Ocean cartridge
worked and how we could add write
access to it. The first drafts of the
hardware were quite simple. At that
time I did not have much knowledge
about the expansion port and its
timing. We got more wishes after a
while: In addition to Ocean
cartridges, it should be possible to
write 8k, 16k and Ultimax cartridges
to it. We wanted to link several of
these cartridges to a
multi-cartridge. One should be able
to deactivate ("kill") the cartridge
easily by keeping <Stop>, <C=> or <Q>
pressed when switching on the C64.
This all should work with no jumpers
if possible. We thought that it
should also be possible to write
several programs, like tools and
games, to the cartridge.

These wishes and the required
compatibility to C128 (C64 mode) and
to the Ultimax mode made the
schematic a bit more complex after a
while. Nevertheless we managed to
build the control part with only 5
discrete logic ICs worth only a few
cents. Alex and Enthusi noted that it
would be very useful to have some
RAM, for example to be able to backup
parts of the zero page temporarily.
That's why we added 256 bytes of RAM
to the I/O area at $DF00.

One important point for me at this
project was to use parts which can be
bought easily all over the world. It
should be easy to build such an
cartridge. It should fit into a
standard case and be as cheap as
possible.

We never wanted to build a freezer
cartridge or a replacement for a disk
drive. So it didn't get a competitor
to any existing hardware but more or
less something new.

Another important point has been to
release everything as open source. We
wanted to provide good tools for
users and for developers and useful
documentation. This task is still not
complete, but we are working on it.
What we reached already: It's running
stable, the parts will be less than
10 Euro, the PCB only about 5 Euro
and the case about 5 Euro.

-------------------------------------

=====================================
  sd2brwse 32k and 64k ROMs for MMC
        Replay/Retro Replay
=====================================

http://www.retrohackers.com/viewtopic
.php?f=2&t=525
www.retrohackers.com/download/file.
php?id=203&amp;sid=ef94ebb84ec721137
caa229864ac2f70

Hi All,
I just got done creating 2 ROMs for
the MMC Replay/Retro Replay. This is
the sd2brwse light file browser for
the uIEC and the SD2IEC drives by
Hannu Nuotio. It was version 0.6 that
was modified. I (with the help of
people from Lemon64 and
retrohackers.com) have added a 4
second delay to the program and
change the colours a little. Also
made it so it defaults to lower case.
Finally, it defaults to the
SD2IEC/uIEC being drive 8 (since most
games seem to like this by default.)

Please, let me know what you think,
MisterMsk

sd2brwse

2008, 2009 Hannu Nuotio
Ported to ROM by Mike Kagarise
(MisterMSK)
SD/MMC card browser for devices with
sd2iec firmware.

Changelog

v.0.6 - 13.8.2009
 - bugfix: file name length was 1 too
   much in some situations
 - removed obsolete (older than
   v0.5.1) firmware support

v.0.5 - 8.11.2008
 - bugfix: load end address was
   ignored
 - using kernal screen clear to save
   some bytes

v.0.4 - 7.11.2008
 - added d71/d81 support

v.0.3 - 20.4.2008
 - bugfix: "cd to root" didn't work
 - bugfix: previous position is reset
   at start

v.0.2 - 15.3.2008
 - added "quit to basic"
 - smaller size
 - added "minimal" configure option

v.0.1 - 14.3.2008
 - first version with readme.txt :)

Files

sd2brwse*.prg -precompiled versions
               (see "Versions")
sd2brwse.a    -the main source file
config.def    -configuration file
Makefile      -for easier development
readme.txt    -this file

Versions

sd2brwse.prg is the basic version
that:
 - autodetects the device number
 - uses normal keybindings (see
   "Controls")
 - has all the features

Explanation of the suffixes:

 - "dtv" = maps controls to C64DTV
   buttons (see "Controls")
 -  "8"  = uses hardcoded device
   number 8
 - "min" = minimal version for fast
   loading

Controls

Note: Selecting the first entry
("<-") returns back
to the previous directory.

Joystick in port 2:
UP    - previous program
DOWN  - next program
LEFT  - previous page
RIGHT - next page
FIRE  - load and run selected program

Keyboard: (if dtvbuttons = 0)
CRUP    - previous program
CRDOWN  - next program
CRLEFT  - previous page
CRRIGHT - next page
ENTER   - load and run selected
program or change directory
BACKSPC - exit to previous directory
F1      - jump to first program
F3      - jump to last program
F7      - quit to basic

C64DTV: (if dtvbuttons = 1)
UP    - previous program
DOWN  - next program
LEFT  - previous page
RIGHT - next page
L     - load and run selected program
or change directory
R     - exit to previous directory
A     - jump to first program
B     - jump to last program
D     - quit to basic

Compiling

acme --cpu 6502 -f cbm -o
sd2brwse.prg sd2brwse.asm

Requires ACME v.0.91 from
http://www.esw-heim.tu-clausthal.
de/~marco/smorbrod/acme/

Customizing

Modify (some of) the constants. Refer
to comments. Setting the constant
"dtvbuttons" to 1 remaps some of the
controls to the special buttons in
C64DTV. "sd2brwse_dtv.prg" is a
precompiled example of this.

Setting the constant "hwdevicenum" to
0 makes  sd2brwse "autodetect" (lda
$ba) the device number. Setting a
non-zero value hardcodes the device
number to the specified value. This
is mostly for installing sd2brwse to
the DTV flash.

Setting the constant "minimal" to 1
removes many features to save space
(and still remain functional)

=====================================

=====================================
      Welcome to the Commodore
       Lord Ronin from Q-link
=====================================

OK for you guys that are experienced
and well versed with the Commodore;
this bit isn't for you. (Well perhaps
for a reminder of those first days of
using the Commodore.) Nope this is
for the new guy getting just getting
into Commodore, for what ever reasons
he has his system in hand. Written by
a lamer, but fanatical Commodore User

So lets get this little bit started.

Hey there new Commodore User, or even
returning User. Welcome to the world
of computer use that they thought
would die and of course it didn't.
You have the worlds greatest PC, and
you bet I am biased towards the
Commodore 64/128. Funny thing about
this is that I was just editing an
article for my user's group
newsletter. Where one of the new
members relates his first Commodore,
back in 1984. How he had to mow lawns
and other chores to gain the money to
buy the store demo model breadbox 64.
Its funny in a sense, because his
story isn't unique, I have heard many
stories of that are that style.
Followed by the long hours of typing
in programmes and playing games. OK
and cursing at the typos and bugs in
the programmes as well as the games
that keep beating the players. These
people can remember their system
first games that they played, how
long they played, the year that they
gained their Commodore, and some of
them could remember the exact date
25+ years later. Ah it was March
1993, a breadbox 64, Sr-3000 monitor,
okidata 120 printer, cheap Atari
joystick and the first game was Aero
Jet. First writing programme was Word
Writer 4. Well that is my memory. I
Can't remember my first Amiga, and I
think it was at MossyCon2 that I was
given a Linux system; But I can't be
certain. That also isn't unique
either. The inability to remember
when other computer systems arrived
in the user's life. On mail lists and
in chat channels, I have heard many a
times is how a user is so happy to
have found others that use the
Commodore. Most of them still have
their stuff stuck in the closet.
Dumped off other PC platforms over
the years but still hold onto the
magical Commodore, even if they
haven't used it for over a decade;
they just can't get rid of it. I have
gained several collections from
people, who have to get rid of there
Commodore Collection. My wife is
tired of dusting it and having it
take up space. They all ask that (it)
gets "a good home". Sort of like
having to give up a cherished and
treasured pet.

So then, you have entered into the
world of this magical computer.
Magical because of the spell that it
puts on people. Now this isn't going
to go into the errors made at CBM on
things. A great book called "On the
Edge" by Brian Bagnall covers the
history of the Commodore range and
people involved. Nope this piece is
to try in my fumbling manner, to give
you an idea of what you have at the
moment, and what you can do with it
now, as well as in the future. Old
time users know this stuff already.
That is why I wrote this; for you the
new guy. See even after 16 years
using the Commodore just about
everyday. I still think of myself as
a new guy, a beginner. Because I
don't know enough about the system
yet. When I think I understand
something. Blammo, here cones
something new, and I am not talking
about the new developments that you
can read about here in Commodore
Free. I am talking about stuff that
is new to me, but old to other more
advanced users. There is just so much
for you to play with on the C=.

Going from that premise, what do you
have in front of you for your system?
Nah I don't mean the model of the
Commodore PC unit. Bread box, 64c,
SX, 128 or l28Dcr. Nor any of the
"extras" that may have been installed
before you got the computer. Nope
just what is it for you, and that
will go into what can you do with it.

First off; the Commodore 8bit system
isn't just a game machine with a
keyboard. I have heard it called that
over the years. Well to be honest
When I first received mine, and it
was my first computer. Yeah I thought
it was just that, a new type of game
machine. Better than the Mattel thing
and the Atari thing that I had played
on at friends placed. Better than
dropping quarters in the machines at
the tavern. I mean that the games
looked just about the same as what I
was playing in the bars. I Broke my
cheap joystick playing Centipede.
Then I discovered the Word Writer 4
programme. Now what this means is
that for those that want to play
games. Man there is a mess of them
out there for you. Sales on eBay and
other places for factory copies.
Preserved copies are in files on many
sites for you to grab and enjoy.

Games, most people play them on the
computer. But what type do you like?
I am into the Role Playing types and
the flying games. Not too much into
the SIM games. Do play with friends
from time to time the board games.
Not into the card games that much.
Have been known to spend several
hours on the strip poker game though;
and all on the Commodore. But the
first barrier to deal with is the
mental concepts of the games. Not
what is programmed on the disk. Nah.
what is programmed in your mind. You
see the majority of people I have
dealt with over the years in a shop
that sells Commodore and other
things. They are stuck on the mega
colours and the stereo sound and the
32 and more bit systems. Thinking
that there can be no fun in the 8bit
stuff. Right then delete that entry
from your mind. As your mind is the
best graphic device, and the same for
sound. Given some time on the game.
You will have your mind fill in what
is missing to your eyes and ears. If
there is really anything missing Seen
that myself in several games. Where,
like in the game Pirates, the images
of people are just re-coloured for
the encounter. But man it does
actually look different enough in the
course of game play.

The other thing that people have
thought and told me is that an 8bit
game can't be that hard to play. Nor
take much time to play. And finally
can't be of any interest to play.
Well none of that is correct. Granted
there are some real simple type in
games that you can do, and that they
hold interest only because you typed
them in and made them work. But oh no
the 8bit games are vastly greater
than the uninformed think. There is a
game of 4 disks, called Pool of
Radiance. This is a 1st Ed AD&D game.
Naturally I had to have it! Well with
the books, and a walk-through It
still took me just over 3 weeks to
finish the game. I played in my shop,
6 hours a day and 6 days a week. So
that takes out the not hard to play,
as well as the not much time to play
part. As for interest. Ah let me say
on that one. If there is no interest.
Then like why did that 64DTV toy sell
out so fast. Why are there so many
sites with the Commodore files on
them. Which you can download, and
revert from the image form of what is
called a .D64, back to normal 1541
disks. Ah but then again on interest,
those .D64 image files are used on
other PC platforms with emulators.
Meaning that you can play the
Commodore game on another computer
platform. So interest is there for
people. Oh yeah I saw an advert for
some cell phone company; where you
can down load Commodore 64 games to
play on your cell phone. Way past me
on that one, as I don't have one of
those things. But it does show that
there is interest.

My bias in this part is simply this
on the overall game part. Commodore
games seem to make you think more
than games on the more current
systems. Computers as well as console
games. Which are pretty and do a lot
for you. My opinion is the meat of
the game is in the story and the
play. Not in the colours and sounds.
OK what 1 am saying and it is just my
opinion. Story lines and the
interaction of the Commodore games is
more mind work than the new things.
Like the new ones have lost the meat
of the game. And yeah I have hundreds
of Commodore games. As well as a
Linux system and several game
consoles from 8bit Nintendo to the
PS-2. That takes care of the basics
on Commodore games. But hey I did say
that the C=PC isn't just a game
machine with a keyboard. Mentioned
that I found the Word Writer 4
programme for writing. Well that was
a bigger change for me than the
games. My hands are damaged, and well
50+ years ago they didn't really want
to teach left handed baby boomers.
Meaning that I never really learned
to do acceptable hand writing. OK
also in my generation real men didn't
take typing lessons. So I never
learned to type. Self taught on the
Commodore. Still can't touch type.
But I do Role Playing Games. Meaning
that I need to make the adventures
and the maps. Won't go into depth on
that in here, did that in another
piece. Word Writer 4 put the letters
and the numbers on the screen.
Magical. I mean that I am looking at
my thoughts on the screen in pretty
and clean. easy to read documents.
I'm writing this on a Commodore and
seeing the characters on the screen
is still magical after all these
years. And these damaged hands have
just enough strength to press the
keys. Never had that ability with a
typewriter.

Well there arc a lot of Word Writing
programmes out there for both the 64
and the 128. All the ones that I have
found will save your work to disk, as
well as print it out for you.
Personally I use Geos these days. But
it requires some more outlay in
hardware. May not be what you want
for your writing work. Most writing
programmes are good for letters and
other simple documents. What I create
is a bit more on the lines of what is
called DeskTop Publishing. I make
multiple pages of documents, adding
some graphics and to be brief, even
make postscript files. That on the
Linux I convert to a PDF So yeah the
Commodore can handle all the writing
needs that I know about. Be it some
simple pages to making 40 page RPG
adventures, or novels. Both of which
1 am doing, and on the Commodore.

Why I even have a programme that will
print out a cheque for your cheque
book. Though now days there is a
special ink that is wanted at some
banks. Or they don't accept the
cheque. But I have made and used them
in the past. Not really into spread
sheets. Never got my mind around that
one. But there are many spread sheet
programmes for the Commodore. I may
still have one that prints sideways,
for the long rows. Even have a box of
paper for that style. Data bases, of
simple talk, making files and lists.
Easy to do on the Commodore. There
are programmes for that from simple
type it in yourself, all the way to
big fancy factory programmes.

Have other ideas for things, past the
above, and wonder if the Commodore
can do more? Yeah that is a cheap
intro to things past the usual
computer stuff. Yeah, oh yeah man the
Commodore can do more. Want to
install a picture on the screen or
into a document? Well there are
programmes to do the installation
part. But gang, we have a hand
scanner that I have used often. We
have had digital stuff, like Computer
Eyes. That is a thing that will take
an image from a video camera, or from
a really good paused video tape, or
as the booklet says from a laser
disk. Hey that give you an idea how
long we have had digital video
capture? Oh it works from DVDs as
well. Another one is called Video
Byte II. That one even makes the
image into a Koala picture for you to
edit. That is the lead in for the
fact that there are art - drawing
programmes for the Commodore. Koala
being what I have seen most of the
other tools and programmes that I
have played with, use for a standard.
I prefer another one. but there are
converter programmes to make one
drawing art into another. So if you
like to draw, or feel the desire to
draw, but are worried that some one
might see your work. (I feel that
way). You can make the work on the
Commodore save it or just delete it
before some one can sec it, I do that
last part a lot.

Why we even have a voice digital
device. Actually there are several of
them that I have seen over the years.
One that is easy to find is S. A.M.
This will speak out the words of a
document for you. Well you can make
it do other things in speech as well.
This is just the most common work
that I have seen for the programme.
Though I have seen or is that heard
the speech in games as well as in a
typing programme that tells you the
character that you have pressed. The
other one that I use is Covox Voice
Master, goes back to about 1985.
Takes my voice and uses it in a
programme. I used to make some voice
intros to the monthly disk for my
group. Till the guy that could
programme that moved away. This one
even states it has voice recognition.
Though to be honest it isn't easy or
cheap to find and get.

Games, Writing, Spread Sheets, Files.
Data Bases. Drawing, Voice. What else
can this fantastic machine do? Well
it can make music as well as sound
effects. There arc many books on that
subject. Which as I write this arc
being preserved. Same as Commodore
magazines. Keeping the information
alive for the old timers and for us
the new guys. Not that your music
will sound like the 101 strings doing
a Vivaldi piece. But on the other
hand, it isn't going to sound like
elevator music either Sound effects
are a thing that makes games sound
and play better. Even the razz when
you type in something in your work.
Letting you know that you smegged it
up. That is a sound effect. Buzzers*
crying, blasts, shots, clink of
swords, crystal glass being rubbed.
Bells and whistles and vast amount
more can be made. Which leads me to
the last part of what your machine
can do.

You can programme it! Old timers will
say that this is an obvious
statement. For them it is, for me it
was just a simple statement that I
figured I would never do in my life.
Ah, I was wrong. But for the new
guys, and here the younger new guys.
Hey there, you can programme the
Commodore. And if you are like most
of the people that I have met. who
use the more contemporary platforms.
You don't know what I mean by that
statement. Old timers that have read
this far. What I am saying here is
that there is a generation of users
of computers that have no idea about
being able to sit down and tap the
keys to make something from scratch.
They don't know about type in
programmes, or the simple fact that
they can programme the computer, or
even what the term programming means.

Right back to the new guys. What this
means is that you can sit down at the
blue screen on your 64. Then you can
create your own programme to do
something. Poorly stated in that
sentence. But it is the truth, you
can make your own programmes. There
are several ways to approach this
act. Tell you now, that not every one
that uses the Commodore is interested
in programming it at all. Anyway, if
you have the users guide for the 64
then you have a basic familiarity to
it and if you don't I heard that it
is online in a PDF (EDITOR online
edition
http://www.lemon64.com/manual/ PDF
http://www.commodore.ca/manuals/c64_
users_guide/c64-users_guide-01-
setup.pdf

40 column text version
http://www.commodorefree.com/tools/
guide/40column.txt 

and D64 of user guide
http://www.commodorefree.com/tools/
guide/guide2.zip and part 2
http://www.commodorefree.com/tools/
guide/guide2.zip) 

That book will haveyou making some 
simple things. Well
it is a real mind blower for some to
see that balloon go across the
screen. Or the little symbol bounce
around the screen. Because they sat
down and typed in the code. OK
millions of others did the same
thing. Majority of them felt the same
sensations. I felt it and still do
when I mess with Basic v2. Had a 15
year old in my users group who was
blown away, when he made a simple
programme that had his name appear on
the screen. After a simple input
prompt. I gave him the lines from my
demented mind, he typed them in and
was floored. Gives you an idea of the
lack of hands on the machine and how
far we have moved from the Personal
in Personal Computer. Anyway he
bought a system and became a member
till he moved away. Buried himself in
programming and made a couple simple
demos and a text game.

There are other ways to make things
for yourself in programming. The one
that is called programming by some
and not programming by others.
Happens to be using creators. I have
used some that make 2D RPG games.
Learning one that makes text games.
There are some that are called
"Construction Set" that will make
games for you to enjoy. But though
there are many of these out there for
you to experiment with, not everyone
will agree that it is real
programming. Oh there are some tools
for programming. There are also
languages that the Commodore will
accept. At the start it has Basic v2
at your fingertips. You can start to
type in lines right at that blue
screen. Well that is the level my
group is at the moment. So the rest
of this is 2nd hand information. Most
of the guys that I have talked to,
that programme, went to ML after
Basic. ML is Machine Language, and
there arc assemblers for it, which I
know little about. ML in general will
make the programme do more and run
faster and in some aspects be
smaller. Other languages that you can
use on the Commodore are, Comol,
Cobol, CP/M, Fortran and others.
Those are just the ones that we have
books on, in the groups library. I
also have a C programming tool disk
from a company. Which I have never
used.

OK programming isn't for everyone.
Some of my members don't want to
programme. They got burned out after
some of the dull lessons from some of
the sources we tried out. Others are
real keen on the idea. Some just want
to use the game creators for making
their desired projects. But there is
another thing you can do with your
Commodore. Hardware work, that is for
those that have an electronics
interest. Adding a reset switch to
the 64. Making, well a mess of stuff
as there are books out there and in
some older electronic mags, some
projects that you can create and
install, or use with the Commodore. I
remember one in a book we have, that
is sometime to do voice. That is one
that a member wants to build. First I
have to teach him basic electronics.

OK I am on page #5 in GeoWrite. Where
I am doing this article and 100 of
all my writing work. Done on the
Commodore in 2009. 1 haven't
scratched the surface of what you can
do with the Commodore. Hey there is
telecommunications. Like a BBS. and
yeah I know some of the new guys
don't know what that is, and no this
isn't the place for that one. I have
done BBS articles before. Just say
that it is a place where a computer
can talk to another computer over the
phone line. User can leave mail, post
in message bases, up and down load
files and play games. Doing it with
your Commodore. If you have the right
connections. Like a direct dial shell
account, and the Commodore with a
modem and a terminal programme that
docs ASCII/ANSI You can go on the
Internet. I did it for over 10 years.
Till I got DSL and haven't yet
connected my Commodore to the Linux
system to go online with DSL and the
Commodore.

There is so much that you can do with
the Commodore. Hope that I have
demonstrated this to you the new
guys. But to answer the question of
what can you do with the Commodore?
Simply one hell of a lot more than
you expected and then some. But how
to get the information to learn? Well
you have started out real good. You
arc reading a Commodore publication
that gives you much better
information and contents than I can.
There are online places to down load
files. They also have links to other
places. Which have links to links ..
you get the idea. There is a lot on
line to discover. There are also mail
lists, irc chats where people of
Commodore interests hang out and most
of them are willing to lend a hand.

So new guy. you are not alone, you
have a system that will challenge
your mind, and not your wallet. A
system that is upgradable and 999%
backwards compatible to 1982.
Something that will have you thinking
and creating your own things from
your own interests. A system that has
not fallen into the land fill. That
has outlasted the company. Where
people still make software and
hardware for it in a cottage
industry. Most of them are very
helpful to the beginners. So yeah man
you have the worlds greatest
computer. Welcome to the world of
Commodore.

-------------------------------------

=====================================
            SHREDZ64
      Review by Andrew Fisher
=====================================

Shredz64 is a modern day game for the
Commodore 64 that makes use of the
Playstation guitar controller hooked
through the PSX64 interface.
http://www.toniwestbrook.com/psx64

Its design is modelled against the
popular "Guitar Hero" series, geared
toward the ability to play along to
your favourite C64 music on the
guitar. Correctly played notes
increase your score and applause
meter, while incorrectly played notes
decrease your applause meter. If the
crowd stops applauding, you're out!
Additionally, Shredz64 features the
"shredocity" meter that allows for
extra points when you're doing an
awesome job shredding to your
favourite chip tune. Watch Shredz64
in action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy
CMM6e1Lbo or Download Now!
http://www.synthdreams.com/shredz64.
php

Shredz64 features the following:

- The ability to play (many) SID
  files, including ones added by the
  player.
- The ability to edit "notes" (the
  buttons that scroll during game
  play)for both built in and imported
  songs.
- Pseudo 3D game play to give it the
  look and feel of a modern day game.
- High score tracking, 5 scores for
  each song.
- The ability to detect when the
  guitar is lifted up to activate
  shred mode.

Further information and song
downloads can be found at Synthetic
Dreams.

Over the last couple of years I have
spent a lot of time playing Guitar
Hero and Rock Band. In fact I spent a
lot of money on the games and guitar
for PS2, and recently upgraded to an
Xbox 360 just so I could play Rock
Band. So I was incredibly excited
when I first saw the YouTube videos
of Shredz64, a Commodore 64 game
based on Guitar Hero. Best of all,
the interface allowed the player to
use the PS2 guitar with the game for
an authentic experience.

At the Retrovision and Byte Back
events earlier in 2009 I got the
chance to go hands on with the game
itself, and it was as we were packing
up that Steve (StarshipUK from the
Llamasoft forum) offered me the
chance to take it home with me. Now I
wasn't going to turn that down!
Here's my thoughts on the game, the
interface and the future.

PSX64

To make the guitar compatible with
the C64 required an interface, but it
is much more than that. It takes any
Playstation peripheral and through
the small board sends signals to a
standard 9-pin joystick plug. In
other words, the interface can be
used with any computer that has the
right port, including the Amiga,
Spectrum and so on. There is a small
program on the disk for checking the
input, and it also opens the
possibility of more peripherals (such
as dance mats) being hooked up to the
C64.

The interface, as stated, consists of
the joystick plug connected to a
small PCB and a wire from that to the
Playstation socket. The interface
needs more power than the joystick
port can provide, so a separate power
adapter is needed. Care must be taken
handling an "open" board like this,
although I'm sure that it would not
take much effort to add a case if
that was a major concern.

SHREDZ64

For those who haven't seen the Guitar
Hero games, let me explain. The
guitar has five coloured fret buttons
and a strum bar. As the coloured
notes move down the screen display,
the player holds down the same
coloured fret and strums when the
note reaches the bottom of the
screen. Points are only scored for
timing the note accurately, and
playing badly will eventually stop
the music. The whammy bar allows long
notes to be distorted for bonus
points.

The software itself is very good,
although it takes a long time to
load. After the bitmap loading screen
the menus are easily navigated with
the guitar, giving three main choices
Play Tune, Edit Tune and View High
Scores. The green button selects an
option or moves forward, red moves
back and yellow enters letters on the
high score table. There are ten tunes
available with the original disk, and
they can be started in Easy or Hard
mode. Hard mode gives a smaller
"timing window" for hitting the note.

The actual game display resembles the
fretboard of Guitar Hero, the
coloured notes moving in 3D down the
screen towards the timing bar at the
bottom. In Shredz, hitting the purple
notes fills the Shredocity bar (just
like Star Power in Guitar Hero), and
tilting the guitar up when the bar is
more than half full activates
"Shredocity" mode, doubling the
player's score. Missing notes reduces
the audience appreciation, and when
that bar hits the bottom the player
fails. The score multiplier also
builds as the player hits consecutive
notes. Reaching the end of the song
and achieving a high score allows the
player to input their name, with five
scores recorded for each tune.

Editing tunes is a complicated
business. First of all, there is a
limit of ten tunes per disk. Then
they have to be in SID format
transferred from the PC. There are
also limits on the area of memory the
tune can occupy, from $0909 to $4000,
and only the first tune of a SID
containing multiple files will be
played. But perhaps the biggest
problem is the tricky controls and
the regular crashes of the game when
editing. (I am unsure if this is a
problem caused by running in PAL).
Holding down the frets and strumming
enters or deletes a note as the track
is playing. Strumming up on its own
"packs" the data entered so far and
goes back to the beginning. Strumming
down on its own packs and saves the
data in memory. The whammy bar can be
held to slow the music by a third,
which makes timing the notes a little
easier. But it is a long process to
"complete" a tune, with limits on the
amount of notes and the way it will
crash.

All in all though this is a clever
package and a great idea. With more
support from the creator and
development, it would be great to see
more tunes available to play. I'd
also like to see more ideas that make
use of the interface, since there are
quite a few Playstation peripherals
and related games.

=====================================

=====================================
      Welcome to Amigaworld!
=====================================

Information taken from Amitopia TV
http://www.amitopiatv.com/

Red, blue and black? Confused?
Welcome to Amigaworld!
Today we can call all these platforms
for Amiga. Amiga is no longer tied to
the 68k family. It's split into
different colours In the early birth
of these 2 PowerPC operating systems,
there was and is still a small colour
war between red and blue side of the
camps.

So, who is who?

Red - Classic Amiga + AmigaOS 4
Blue - MorphOS
Black - AROS

What's the difference?

AmigaOS 3.x: Red

Info: Intuition as main GUI. Option
for MUI3.8 etc.
Hardware: Amiga 500 to Amiga 4000.
You can upgrade these classic Amiga
machines with PPC and get PPC support
through WarpOS or PowerUP. You can
also buy PCI upgrading kits at Elbox
today. Giving classic Amiga computers
access to PCI graphic cards, sound
cards and Ethernet cards etc.
More info: You can build up your
Classic Amiga a lot. Mainly done as a
hobby thing.

68k compatibility? YES
note: If you have an Amiga with AGA.
You should get whdload. This makes it
easy to run games from your HD.
Classic Amiga is the best buy if you
want full 68k compatibility in all
directions.

AmigaOS 4: Red

Info: ReAction as main GUI. Option
for MUI3.9 etc.
Hardware: Runs on Classic Amiga with
PPC, Eyetech AmigaOne and MicroA1,
Acube sam440ep boards and on Pegasos
II.
More info: TBA

68k compatibility? YES
note: Only AmigaOS 68k programs
works. No programs which depend on
the classic Amiga custom chipset will
work.

MorphOS: Blue

Info: MUI4 as main GUI. Option for
ReAction compatibility through
ClassAct
Hardware: Runs on Classic Amiga with
PPC, Pegasos, Pegasos II and Efika,
More info: MorphOS runs fine on
Classic Amiga and on Efika. You need
at least 64MB of RAM to make it run
and be useful. When using Efika etc.
Your limited to 91MB Free RAM after
boot. You can still use MorphOS for
lots of stuff like surfing, irc, ftp
and gaming!

68k compatibility? YES
note: Only AmigaOS 68k programs
works. No programs which depend on
the classic Amiga custom chipset will
work. You also have EUAE ported to
MorphOS, so you can play 68k Amiga
games.

AROS: Black

Info: Zune as main GUI. AROS is Open
Source.
Hardware: Runs on x86 Intel and
PowerPC.
More info: You will need a PCI-based
PC-AT (based on i486 or later) with
PS/2 or USB mouse, PS/2, AT or USB
keyboard, IDE hard disk and CD-ROM on
parallel ATA or SATA configured in
legacy mode, and an (S)VGA video card
and monitor. At least 24 MB of RAM is
required. A VESA-compliant VGA card
is recommended. There are generic
2D-accelerated drivers (HIDDs) for
some ATI and nVidia cards.

68k compatibility? YES
note: 68k compatibility is via uae -
you need to have AMIGA ROMS and
AmigaOS system for it. the work for
an AROS kickstart and compatible free
ROM has been started by Greg "bheron"
casamento some time ago. This 68k
compatibility is not the same as on
AmigaOS 4 or on MorphOS

=====================================

Update on the PDF Project
Lord Ronin from Q~Link

Few days back, a guy asked me why am
I spending so much time and
frustration on making these Geos
files into PDF files. OK I hadn't
slept well, no coffee yet, there was
some minor water in the shop, and of
course I am biased for the C=. So
perhaps that explains my head
turning, framed in the mess of hair
that looks like a cross between Karl
Mark and Charlie Manson, smoke
pouring out of my mouth, tendrils
curling through the beard. Ah I had
to change to a heavier pipe tobacco,
with the eyes red, hopefully from
lack of sleep. As I replied "Because
not every one in the world is smart
enough to use Geos!". Hmm I wonder if
that is why the guy looked so
shocked, or was it the Nam T shirt I
was wearing?

Truth is that it is a new thing to
learn for me, that is not just on the
Commodore. I need to present the work
to those less fortunates that do not
have C= and Geos. OK I know that
there are a lot of people that do not
like Geos. Having other Word
Processing and Desk Top Publishing
programmes that they prefer. While
others just plainly are not doing
writing things on the Commodore. Even
though the files that I make here, in
the way that I make them can be seen
by other systems. Still have to use a
non C= system to put them up at this
time, progressed since the previous
articles. Right of I want to thank
Nigel (www.commodorefree.com) and
Allan (www.commodorescene.org.uk )
for their assistance in ironing this
out and getting me to this point, and
thanks to Destined!/weirdwolf/No.8
for his assistance in finding
programmes and doing testing for me.
Right then what I am aiming and
missing is to present the update of
the experiments in making the PDF
files that are sent off from me to
the poor victims, called editors of
other C= publications. Part of this
is a review; part of this is an
update of how things have.

Next an apology for those that are
reading this from the wonderful .D64
file made by Al Jackson. BTW the new
menu is fantastic on the disk. This
is the way that I present the issues
of Commodore Free to members of my
users group. Meaning that I know the
images I am placing in this piece
will not be seen by you. Never fear
on this one. They are just some snaps
I took with a camera that puts the
image on a floppy. Transfer that into
the RAM on the 128 with GeoDos. They
are just some multi sided dice for
the Role Playing Games {ah you just
knew that I would have to toss RPG in
here some place} Testing for clarity
and scale, as they are 1" <approx
25mm> or less. Shot on the 128Dcr
keyboard for reference. They look
good on the camera screen, and in the
eps files that I made. But really
don't need to be seen for this piece,
to follow what I am doing, or
attempting to do with this project.

OK now a fast review of the steps
that we have done in the past. Then
the new stuff and then the road
block. Right then the first part is
to have an idea of what I want to do,
since that is a rare event. I just
jump in and hope for the best.
Starting off by writing some text in
GeoWrite in 80 column. Here I must
explain that I usually write the text
in Times Roman at 14 point, as I am
doing for this article. But I use the
bold face style. Easier for me to see
on the screen, and I use in my
printing an imported font. Bold has
the right spacing, pretty much, for
the imported font. But it does make
the post script conversion almost
impossible to read. Super bold, like
big blobs of black. Took me some time
to figure that problem. Well that
means that after the bold is removed.
There is more space in the document.
EX: 20 pages in bold for the print
newsletter. Becomes 16 1/3 on average
for the non bold for the Cyberspace
issue.

OK next part of the review is how I
made the files. Lay out the GeoWrite
file in post print 3.8. Slight aside
here. If you have the PPv4, GeoPaint
is cut at the top. Do not expand it
in post print v4 to a full page. If
so you will lose the top 3/4" in
general. Just pull the image to the
bottom of the lay out page, and well
hope for the best. I've used 5
printers, of two different models and
had the same problem on each of them.
OK where was I?

Oh yeah, next is go into the print
options. There I tell it to be in
level 2, colour on and I am not sure
of all the other settings. You know a
manual would have been nice for this
tool. Anyway in print, I tell it to
make a disk file. There I select
Linux /Amiga and Unix are in the same
listing along with it being a plain
ASCII thing. Tell it where to go, I
am great at telling things and people
that one. Give it a name and hit
return. Having the SCPU makes things
go fast. I now have a post script
file. That is then copied to a floppy
on the FD with GeoDos. Taken to the
Linux system, copied to desk top and
we are ready.

Well that was what I was doing. Loads
of T&E to get that far. Any jpegs
where stuck on the back page with a
bit of text explaining what they
were. Used a tool to convert the
postscript file to PDF For some
reason the postscript file is just
one page when viewed, but becomes the
full document when converted. OK so
far, except that if you look at the
document pages in anything but 100%.
Bugger doesn't scale, I mean it looks
like, well to my eyes, it looks like
going into zoom in Koala, you see
rectangular gray scale blocks, rather
than text. Not great for people with
eyes as bad as mine. Though in a
test, can tell you that it prints out
fine.

Two things happened to improve this
work. Nigel helping me out with Allan
to replicate the method that Allan
used. Some differences in use, as one
I am using Linux and not windows.
Another is that I didn't have a
working copy of GeoPub. Mine
corrupted on me years ago. The major
one is the use of the EPS or
Encapsulated PostScript setting. Like
I said earlier, be nice if there was
a manual for post print. The help
from these guys had me making test
pages of EPS copies, and they scaled
wonderfully. In fact they are sharper
than the postscript files I had made.
Even at 100%, jpegs look better too,
better than on the camera screen.
Second thing that happened was I got
a copy of GeoPub again. So with the
manual, the book from Bruce Thomas
and help from Nigel & Allan, I
started to make my work and run it
through GeoPub. One other thing
happened as well. I was given a new
Linux system. Bigger, faster and
overall more powerful. OK don't know
how to operate it yet. But it is
better than that 9gb HD temporary
thing I was using.

Where does that place us now? Well in
the short. Writing is the same, just
as bad as always. Though I lay it out
in GeoPub. Making some colour
separators, colour some of the
chapter headers. Do some boxes, and
ovals in colour as well as some text.
Hmm, that might be worth a report
when I learn more. Sounds easy, and
with some practice in GeoPub with the
manual and Bruces's book, it is easy.
In fact this article is going to be
laid out as I illustrate here with
those couple of die snaps. Hope it
works for Commodore Free.

OK you can get the idea that with
GeoPub we have some improvements with
the ability to place images. Sure
that means making the box on the lay
out page, where you want it, and then
in post print, putting the jpeg in
the right spot. Or pretty close to
it. Measurements help, but well the
measurements in GeoPub and postprint
are not exactly the same. But with
practice it can be done, and with
text inserted under the photo. More
effects as I experiment. Ah now we
have some things to consider. Colour
happens to make the file larger. Not
the jpegs I mean all of the colour
bars, text, highlights. Make the
document larger. That must be kept in
mind when I am making a multipage
file that is to be converted to PDF
OK have to put in an example here.
One of my early newsletters was 21
pages long for the CyberSpace issue.
Lots of colour additives, 4 jpegs at
50kb or less. Fit easily on a heretic
formatted 3 1/2" floppy. Bugger when
converted from postscript to PDF,
became 6.4mb in size. That is almost
50% of my max ability at vcsweb to
attach a file.

So then in laying out things, we have
the text, and then into GeoPub, where
it can be done as a single page, or
done in columns. I have experimented
with three and two columns for my
newsletter. Readers feedback was that
they liked two columns better. Once
the text is laid out in GeoPub, and
the boxes for jpegs are created. Time
to take the document to post print.
Here it is easy to lay out the GeoPub
document. Tell it where to go, give
it a name, select the size of the
document. I mean for the states,
letter or legal, or tabloid  if the
printer accepts that size  and you
can make booklets in that size. Once
that is done, you look at the screen;
see an area that represents the size
of the page. Press C= and 5. Puts the
entire document you do have to select
if first in the postprint document.
Really would be nice if there was a
manual that explained that one. For
years I inserted the pages one by
one. Nice if there was a manual that
explained those icons on the right
hand side, as well. I found the one
to make a frame of different
thickness and distance from the
object; by accident. For jpegs there
appears to be a thing to adjust the
colour. Not played with it yet. Found
it by accident. Anyway at this point,
I go to the pages that I had made
boxes for the jpegs in GeoPub. Then
try to install them in post print.
Practice makes perfect, as well as
stress and frustration on this part.

Once that is done we go to the print
option area. Here thanks to Nigel &
Allan. The changes take place.
Turning on the EPS. Ah gotta remember
to turn it off, because my printer
will not print if it is left on. But
at this point the extra work takes
place. Rather than make one file. I
must make each page of the document a
file. I mean that in the 22 pages of
the most recent newsletter. I used to
make a file called "vg.ps" (Standing
for Village Green postscript.) Now I
must make the files as "vgl.eps" to
"vg22.eps". A little extra work. Does
make a better end result, I hope.
More on that hope part below. Well in
my most recent testing, the
individual pages averaged around 96kb
each. Larger ones in size had the
jpegs on them. Smaller ones had less
colour additives. GeoDos and I with
the heretic formatted FD disks had
some difficulties. Some how GeoDos is
seeing them at a different size. I
mean they show up as one size in
Wheels. When I check them and they
are about the same size on the Linux
system. GeoDos says they are larger,
and does not do a block count to 0
before the file is closed off. Though
in the Linux system, the full file is
seen with the entire colour.

Now to the good news and the bad
news. Good news is that in using the
EPS setting I can use the underline,
the italic and even the bold face
style. Looking clean and proper.
Outline tested out as nothing more
than plain text style. I couldn't do
that with any success, as a
postscript file. Bad news, well look
I don't want to load up 22 pages one
page at a time to read the
information. Want it to be one file
and scroll down the pages like I do
with my ebooks. So I must place all
the individual pages into one file.
Easy right? Maybe if I could find a
programme to do that for me, Open
Office didn't like the idea wouldn't
import the files. Well not true, they
are imported, too large, wrong fonts
and at times with all the adobe
postscript codes, rather than the
text. Scribus was suggested to me by
destined/weirdwolf my Linux tutor. OK
for me it did 9 pages out of 22. Then
failed, ah that is the word on the
D.B. that popped up on any of the
other pages in importing. By accident
I found some set of files in my home
folder. Look this is way past my
understanding. They are ".tiff files.
Got me what they are and they are the
pages that didn't import. They are
also all at 10.3kb.

Presented that problem to destined
!/weirdwolf. At his request I sent
him the 22 individual EPS files. He
gave it a go with a different Linux
flavour, but the same Scribus
programme. He made it to 5 imported
files then the same problem happened
to him. He currently is testing an
idea; making a 5 page document,
saving it, making another till all 22
pages are done, then importing those
documents into one. Finally saving
that as a PDF Here is where the "my
hope" part from above comes into play

Well gang, I have laid this out in
GeoPub. Made the boxes for the jpegs
to be inserted, in just a few
minutes, and at the moment am writing
a few more lines, in GeoPub. As this
is an experiment. Going to try to lay
this all out, make the EPS files and
then copy to the disk. After that,
well on the Linux system. Let us see
if I can make these 4 pages into one
document, saved as a PDF If this
happens. Then there is a breakthrough
for us. OTOH: a lot of work for me in
doing the 40 page chapters of my
stories for the next MossyCon CD. As
there are many chapters to lay out,
make into eps files and then into the
PDF I'm looking at about 400 pages in
just one story of 10 chapters at the
moment, if this works out. Well I
will be making things that will look
better than before. Not any better in
subject matter or readability. But it
will look better. And guys the whole
thing is that it is done mostly on
the Commodore. There is the big trip
for all of us. Our system is still
upgradable and backwards compatible.
The others, well they aren't.

=====================================

*************************************
    Interview with Chris Snowden
           Commodore 16
*************************************

       www.Commodore16.com

The Commodore plus 4 is often
overlooked by many users (myself
included) dismissed as a substandard
machine, however I was absolutely
astonished when I met up with Chris
who really opened my eyes. The Plus 4
is a machine I must have and play on,
some of the demos Chris showed me
were absolutely superb. I suppose
with hindsight I blame the Commodore
press at the time for pushing the
machine as a Vic 20 replacement and
with so many different versions it
confused me at the time. So I spoke
to Chris about the Commodore plus 4.

Q - Please introduce yourself to our
reader

Hi, I'm Chris Snowden and I come from
the North of England and run
Commodore16.com.  I've been a
C16/Plus 4 enthusiast from a early
age.  I started off running a small
video gaming website years ago, and
then managed to get hold of our
current domain.  Even though I work
all over the world these days, I
still try get time to update the
site, and play the C16 games I love.
I've been involved in a few projects
based around the C16 which include:
Gamebase C16, Out On A Limb PC
remake, Dark Mansion, Church Of
Death, and currently slowly working
on a few other games.

Q - What was your first experience of
Commodore?

My first experience with Commodore
dates back to 1984, when my best
friend had a C64. The games were so
bright and vibrant compared to the
basic TV video game we had at home on
our back & white TV. Before this I
was just used the Computers at school
which wouldn't play many games.  The
experience really opened my eyes and
made me want to own a Commodore
computer.

Q - What was the first machine you
owned?

The first machine I owned was a
Commodore 16, which my parents bought
for me at Christmas 1984.  I suppose
this was the largest Christmas
present I had ever received at that
point. Although my friends had C64's,
VIC20's and other 8 bit machines, I
still adored my machine and enjoyed
it so much.

Q - Tell our reader about the plus 4

The Plus 4 is a TED based machine
that has 64k of RAM, built in office
software and a user port.  Coding on
the Plus 4 is quite easy compared to
many other 8 Bit machines, due to an
advanced Basic and inbuilt machine
code monitor.

The TED machine was originally
designed to be the $99 machine, which
would be affordable and profitable
for Commodore.  Aiming to replace the
ageing VIC20, having a budget machine
running along side the C64 but not
replacing the C64.  Somewhere along
the later part of the
design/marketing TED evolved into an
array of different specification
machines, which completely confused
the market.

Q - Why is the plus 4 so over looked
by many Commodore users

In many other Commodore users eyes
the Plus 4 was inferior to the C64.
But what they neglected to experience
was that the Plus 4 had so many
positives too.  It had a good
catalogue of software, that was ready
available and some very good titles.
The main reason that this machine was
overlooked was the incompatibility
between Commodore's other 8 bit
machines.

Q - The plus 4 must have a killer
application or hardware feature not
available in other commodore hardware
can you comment

I wouldn't really say a killer
application as such, but definitely
the 1551 disk drive is the killer
hardware. As this is so much faster
than the 1541 and more reliable in my
opinion.  Although the mechanism of
the drive is the same as the 1541, it
connects to the Plus 4 via the
cartridge port to enable greater
transfer speeds.

Q - Also what is the plus 4`s weakest
attribute

For a gamer, this has to be the lack
of hardware sprites. Some may say the
lack of a SID chip too, but TED still
managed to blast out some good tunes.
For example Auf Weidersien Monty,
Icicle Works, Kikstart, and many
other games had great titles.  Later
years the lack of SID chip was
resolved as Christian Solder
developed a fantastic SID cartridge
for the TED machines.

Q - The Cassette port and joystick
ports are none standard what were
commodore thinking?

The only consideration behind this
thinking was size and cost.  There
was only so much room on the machine,
and moving to the smaller ports was
the logical option. Also with trying
to keep the machine under $99, it
worked out cheaper to have the
smaller ports for joysticks &
cassette. Initially this was a
hindrance to users as the general
industry standard was the Atari style
joystick port, but this was quickly
over come with an array of adapters.

Q - The Commodore 16 is also very
over looked; is the Commodore 16
compatible with the plus 4 machine?

The C16 is completely compatible with
the Plus 4, the only differences
being the Plus 4 has 64k of ram, 3+1
built in ROMs and a user port.  If
the C16 had 64k of ram upgrade, it
would definitely run the majority of
all the software. They are the same
machine at heart, based on the TED
model.

Q  going back to the disk drive the
plus 4 needed a different Interface
from the c64/128 for its printer and
disk interface

The TED range was fully compatible
with the existing Commodore disk
drives, 1541,1581 etc. But for TED it
was decided to have greater speed
disk drive, the 1551. It has the same
colouring as the TED machines, being
dark charcoal. The extra speed came
from it using the cartridge/parallel
port for data transfer. The speed
difference is actually very
noticeable.

Q - Was much software commercially
released for the plus 4.

Many titles were released for the Ted
machines.  Some were outstanding in
quality, like Trailblazer which was
technically superior to the C64 port.
The C16 version of Kikstart has
always been superior to the C64
version, so last year TMR ported the
C16 version to the C64.

Q - Chris you have written some games
for the plus 4 can you tell our
readers about them and where they are
available.

You are correct I have dabbled with
creating some games on the Ted
machine. Both of the games are text
adventure games. The first being
'Dark Mansion', which I created to
see if I was capable of creating a
game. It's a very simple adventure
game, which could be completed very
quickly. The second game being
'Church of Death', which was
commercially released through
Cronosoft.  COD, is very much
advanced compared to my first effort
and does take a while to complete.
Both these adventure games were
developed using 'Adventure building
system', which is loosely based on
GAC.  They are available to download
from Commodore16.com, Plus 4 world
and you can purchase COD from
Cronosoft.

Q - You have also created some plus 4
Remakes for the pc what is the idea
behind remakes, were the originals
not very good.

I have created one remake of a C16
game, which was 'Out On A Limb'.  The
original game was my favourite C16
game, so it wasn't created to better
the original.  I just wanted to see
if I could write a PC game, and I
decided on 'Out On A Limb'.  But for
some reason I never actually
completed the game, and it is very
much a demo of what I could have
done. Falling into the category of
not having enough time to spend on
it. The game has been downloaded many
times from the site, so people must
sort of like it.

Q - Your website has a shop are the
products manufactured by yourself,
what is on offer in the shop.

The whole idea of the shop was to
enhance the site, by offering
something different. My friend Jurek
Dudek in Poland produces all the
items in his spare time.  Without
Jurek, the shop would not be
possible. We have items ranging from
X transfer cables, memory upgrades
etc.  Very shortly we will be
releasing the XU1541, which is a USB
version of the X transfer cable. Also
we have plans to produce a version of
the 1541-III (2009) and eventually a
SID card (2010). The latter being
more difficult and time consuming.
The whole aim of the shop is to
provide value for money products,
that are of good quality and enhance
the site/scene and people's
experiences.

Q - Tell our reader about your
website www.commdore16.com

It actually all started well before
www.commodore16.com .  In 2002 I
began a multi format retro website
called www.tq-gaming.com  (it doesn't
exist anymore), which was great fun
to do and a huge learning curve. But
my true passion was for the Commodore
16/Plus 4 and although I liked the
other machines it didn't feel the
same. So in 2004 www.commodore16.com
was created, and I have to admit it
was extremely rough round the edges.
Its been 5 years of hard work, but
more importantly a enjoyable
experience. Personally without the
website, I wouldn't have met and
discussed so much with other users
from around the world. The website
offers lots of documentation, games
to download and play online, gamebase
C16, reviews, our shop, high score
competition and so many other areas.
We have the philosophy that everyone
one is welcome, whether you like
playing games, collecting or
interesting in the technology.

Commodore FREE the
www.commodore16.com website it well
worth a visit especially to new
commodore16/+4 users a wealth of
information Chris I think you are
being a bit hard on yourself even I
have know to lurk there

Q - You have a forum on the website
what topics are discussed, and have
the discussions ever been heated and
needed editing.

The topics in the forum are generally
all about TED.  We get topics on
software & hardware matters. We try
to keep it as friendly as possible,
so that new users do not feel out of
their depth. Topics do sometimes get
heated, especially when members are
passionate about it. But generally
they do not need editing.

Q - Is there a large demo community
following on the plus 4

There is a huge demo community for
the C16/Plus 4. To really appreciate
this, you should visit Plus 4 World,
which has an amazing collection of
demo's etc. for the C16/Plus 4. Some
of them are very impressive. If you
think back to our last Commodore
Computer Club meeting, we were all
staggered by the quality of the
'Shade' demo.  You can witness it
yourself here -- http://youtube.com
/watch?v=1vOgXf1GnO0

Commodore FREE yes I must say this
demo blew me away watching it is a
must, you will completely be blown
away with the colours, dancing
animation if ever there was an advert
for the plus 4 this must be it, I
want a plus 4 just to play this demo.
Absolutely amazing, I think Chris got
fed up with playing it, I must have
watched it (on a real machine) 10
times

Q -If our reader would like to learn
more about the Commodore 16 and plus4
can you recommend acouple of websites

Definitely so:

These are the main C16/Plus 4 sites.
www.commodore16.com
www.plus4world.powweb.com

Q - Finally do you have any comments
you would like to add

If you have never used one of these
machine's before I would certainly
recommend you downloading an emulator
and trying a few pieces of software.
Or getting your hands on one of the
original machines, which come up very
often on the more popular auction
sites. You will not regret the
experience.

=====================================

*************************************
  Interview with David W. Murray
       creator of ADMIRAL64
*************************************

http://galaxy22.dyndns.org/admiral64/

Q. Please introduce yourself to our
readers

Well, I'm a Commodore fan since the
1980's.  I was pretty active in the
community when the DTV was released,
but once it sort of died off, I
stopped developing for it. So I've
been out of the loop for a couple of
years.

Q. How did you start your journey
into computing?

My first ever computer was a VIC-20
when I was 6 years old.  I learned to
write BASIC programs within a few
days since there wasn't a whole lot
else you could do on it.  I didn't
have any games or storage devices.
Over the years my parents bought me
bigger and better things, a C64, a
128, and Amiga 500, and so the story
goes.

Q. OK so lets see if I have this
right "Admiral 64" is going to be a
programming environment that acts
like a Commodore 64 interpreter

Yeah, pretty much.

Q. So the main advantages are Better
Graphics and speed, what about sound
will this be implemented

Well, besides the fact that you can
run it on a wide variety of modern
hardware, yes the speed and graphics
will be better.  I hope to do sound
eventually.  That is sort of last on
the list.

Q. How will be Graphics be
implemented then will the user still
peek and poke or are you planning to
implement other commands

Well, originally I was planning this
as an actual operating system for a
PC to load from a boot-sector.  So
sure, Poke and Peek would be
possible.  But I had planned to
introduce new commands to take care
of just about anything the user might
need, so there would be no need to
poke and peek.  That would also help
make it more cross-platform if I ever
get it running inside Windows, Linux,
or MacOS.

Q. TCOLOR - BCOLOR I notice these
commands are to be implemented, so
this is a Customised implementation
of Commodore Basic or just a BASIC
+ Commodore styled Editing features

Well, I'm pretty much designing the
interpreter from scratch.  I want to
look and work as much like Commodore
BASIC as possible. But I plan to add
all the commands that I always felt
like Commodore BASIC lacked.  So it
will be like a Commodore on steroids.
The screen-editor is what really sets
it apart from other BASIC
environments like GWBASIC, for
example.  It will offer PETSCII
characters and colours on the
keyboard, and the all familiar
"in-quote" mode for storing cursor,
colour, and screen codes inside
strings.

Q. I know this must have been asked
before but why not just create a new
BASIC why implement Commodore Basic

Well, it is the language I've coded
since I was a kid.  It is my
favourite and I feel more at home
programming in Commodore BASIC than
anything else.

Q. Have you had many user complain
about this project I notice many
suggestions saying "use VICE" or
similar emulator does this annoy you

So far people seem pretty divided by
it.  Some people think it is a waste
of time, and some people have been
really supportive of the project.
And I'm talking about people who are
active in the commodore community.
Obviously no real programmer is going
to give much consideration to it.

Q. What was the motivation for such a
project?

Frankly, I miss the days where I
could turn on the computer and type a
few lines of code, followed by "run"
and just see it work (or not work).
These days it takes a new programmer
two weeks just to figure out how to
use the programming environment and
write "hello world."  By that point
many give up and move on because it
was just too hard.  I know, because
I've done it myself many times with
different languages and operating
systems.  It was extra frustrating to
me because I had been a whiz at
programming both BASIC and Assembler
most of my life.  So I wasn't a
programming novice by any stretch.

Q. Will the finished BASIC be
compiled to run on any PC without the
need for the environment to be loaded

You mean the BASIC program, or the
BASIC interpreter?  I really hadn't
given it much thought.  But being the
interpreter is so small, it would
probably load instantaneously if I
made run on top of Windows, Linux, or
Mac OS.  So I would imagine it could
be designed to work kind of like Java
where you just associate a certain
file type with the interpreter. Only
it would actually load up very
quickly compared to Java and execute
100 times faster due to its
simplicity.

Q. Bit of an (if - then) question I
know, but How long do you expect the
project to take

Honestly I have no idea.  I have only
been working on it for 2 weeks as
time permits and I've already
completed most of the hard work of
the screen editor.  I've already
started work on the BASIC
interpreter, but that is proving to
be more of a challenge.  And I've run
into some road-blocks with memory
usage under Turbo C that I'm not sure
how to deal with yet.

Q. Can out readers do anything to
help you?

Well, yeah.. I need help better
understanding how the BASIC
Interpreter works on a C64 as far as
parsing out lines into tokens and
managing of the memory.  I also need
some help on the MS-DOS side of the
programming.  And I may want to move
the project to a more modern
operating system and I'd really need
some help with that.

Q. Have you any Comments or was there
a question I left unanswered you
would like to add

Well, there are a few things I could
mention.  I was sort of hoping to add
some modern features to the BASIC.
They'd be optional to the user.  For
example, instead of using
line-numbers, maybe have the ability
to use labels instead.  Maybe also
use longer names for the variables
instead of 2-characters.  I'm kind of
curious what people think of that.
But also another way of thinking
about this project is to consider
that Apple changed processor types
twice over the life of the Mac.  I
guess what I'm hoping to do is extend
the life of the Commodore operating
system by porting it to a new
platform.  Sure, there are emulators
out there, but very little new code
being written.  I think the best way
to extend the life and memory of the
Commodore is to give it a new lease
on life using new hardware.  After
all, was it the hardware we all loved
as a kid, or was it the software?  If
it was just the hardware, then why do
we all love emulators so much?

=====================================
