Commodore 64

Released: August 1982.

Sales: about 17 mil. /best selling single computer ever!/

Discontinued: April 1994.

CPU: MOS Technology 6510 /clock: 0.985 MHz PAL or 1.023 NTSC version/

RAM: 64 Kb

ROM: 20 Kb

Sound: MOS Technology 6581/8580 SID /3 Synthesized Channels with own programmable ADSR envelope; 4 waveforms: Triangle, Sawtooth, Pulse, Noise; 8 octaves; Programmable filter: low pass, high pass, band pass, notch; Oscillator synchronisation; Ring modulation;/

Video: MOS Technology 6567/8562 (NTSC) or 6569/8565 (PAL) VIC-II / 40×25 text mode, chars 8×8 or 4×8 in multicolor mode, 256 predefined chars; Bitmap mode 320×200 or 160×200 in multicolor mode; 8 hardware sprites 24×21 or 12×21 in multicolor mode; Smooth scrolling, raster interupts/

Input and Ouput: two 6526 /16 bit parallel i/o; 8 bit serial i/o; Time of day clock; 16 bit cascadable timers/

Ports:

• Cartridge expansion slot
• RF modulator output
• Audio and Video output /8 pin DIN/
• Serial bus /6 pin DIN/
• Tape interface
• User port
• 2x Joystick ports

Ripp Disk #3 screenshot

Link

Screenshoot:

More info and download: Here

• Rendezvous im Weltraum
• Find Another Way… With You!
• Missile Alert

More info & download:

Missile Alert

Rendezvous im Weltraum & Find Another Way

New in this version:

• Allow to compile in Windows with QT3
• Remove LCD display bug when changing audio
• Add experimental support for ALSA sound library
• Add low level setting in audio
• Add clock frequency string (useful if ANY or UNKNOWN field is set)
• Add multispeed indication (need to patch libsidplay2)

For run in Windows you need to have: xsidplay2-2.0.3.rarsdl-sidplay2-patch.rarandqt-mt3.dll.rar (from version 2.0.3pre)just decompress all in the same directory.For unix you have to patch libsidplay2 to make it run.

XSidPlay 2.0.3

Homepage: http://sourceforge.net/projects/xsidplay2/

Example 1.

First commands you learn are: PRINT, GOTO and RUN. I think that explanation of these commands is not needed.

C64 Hello World 1

Great example! RUN and hit RETURN! Surprise!!!

C64 Hello World 1 Running

Maybe it’s looks useless to you, but it’s first step in programming BASIC. When you want to stop running of this program just hit RUN/STOP key.

Example 2.

Infinite loop? Next step is to take control. Program prints 10 times our message and then ending. It’s time to learn next command: FOR/NEXT loop:

C64 Hello World 2 Running

It’s just we want.

Example 3.

If you try other versions of BASIC language, you’ll notice that C=64 BASIC V2 doesn’t have any command for graphics (draw lines, plot pixels) even changing screen color. It’s right time to begin with direct memory access.

If you want to change value of some memory location there is command: POKE. Border color is on address 53280, screen color on 53281.

C64 - changing screen color

Commodore BASIC is very limited for those who want to make programs in hi-res. Seting pixels are more complex and, for BASIC interpreter, very slow to implement. Back in 80’s there are two common solutions: SIMON’S BASIC - very rich extension to BASIC or to use ASSEMBLER. Of course, if you making anything commercial, for C64 Assembler is imperative!

Commodore 64

something that you can see today, but this machine was manufactured for almost 12 years (from August 1982 to April 1994) and sold in 30 milion units.

At the time when was introduced, Commodore 64 graphic and sound capabilities were superior over the most of home and personal computers, rivaled only by some of them. SID (Sound Interface Device) chip with 3 separate synthesized channels and many options for combining them, stays at nowadays for unique sound device with specific and recognisable sounds. For those interested in this topic, there is a plenty of SID music, available for free download. Only to mention, in 1982. many computer models had only a beeper.

VIC II (Video Interface Chip) was a another chip which makes C-64 superior in 1982. - in the time when monochrome display and text-mode-only was a common.

CPU is MOS Technology 6510 at for that time not-too-much-impresive 1MHz. 64K of RAM and 20K of ROM. Not too much, but with SID and VIC II enough for No.1 place.There are many other technical characteristics and built-in capabilities, but we will talk about them at other occasion.

A lot of games, utilities, demos and other

software, developed for Commodore 64 make this machine doubtless very popular. For developers fighting with limited hardware resources was very challenging, and for users new achievements was surprise (Wow, I don’t know that my computer can do that!). Everybody waits for new version of game to see what is now possible, with the same hardware!!!

This wasn’t time of struggling with compatibility, this was a time of struggling with resources. Greatest optimizations, greatest results. When someone buys a game, the question isn’t “will it work on my machine?” but how to play better. Do I have enough memory? Of course, everybody does. It’s only 64K, but it’s enough.

To be honorest, games of that era, with that resources, for nowadays aren’t something special, maybe we would say that they are silly: Pffff, “two pixels” chassing each other, who cares? Sprite? No 3D?

C64 Welcome Screen

Of course, there was one extra dimension - the imagination. A ship drawn with lines? Everybody knows that is a ship and it is a ship! Character in games represented with sprites 24×21 pixels? Of course, enough for good fun.

Era of 16-bit computers comes quickly. Computers became faster, louder and with more colors, but c64 remains prime choice. Price and software base are probably prime factors for that. After 16-bit there are 32-bit computers and difference in performances are drastical. As it be, at april 1994. last c64 was manufactured - world was deep in 32-bit era. World popularity of internet has to come, www, 3D, audio, video… Machine with “only” 64K, datassete with 300b or 1200b transfer rate or 2×180k discette, has’n place in that world.

Many enthusiasts continue to maintain c64 scene. Many games are published after 1994. Many demos are published after 1994. Many musics are published after 1994. Many tools are published after 1994. Of course there are hardware developed after 1994. like ethernet adapters, hard-drive or flash interfaces. But time of c64 is gone. Gone forever.

Sometimes it is compared with Ford Model-T for bringing a new technology to middle-class households via creative mass-production.

Sometimes it’s compared with ZX Spectrum, but one is for sure… C-64 is a computer that makes our days better.