Commodore 64 in Your Pocket

Posted By: Ryan Friday, November 28, 2003 11:27:34 AM

A new Commodore 64 Emulatpr has hit the Palm OS. Frodo is a new classic C64 emulator. The C64 debuted in 1982 and became one of the most successful home computers of its generation.

Commodore 64Frodo for Palm OS is a port of the free C=64 emulator Frodo by Christian Bauer. Frodo is a highly portable program and currently has versions for Windows, Mac, Linux/Unix, Playstation, Dreamcast and Symbian phones. Johan Forsberg has released the first Palm OS port.

The Commodore 64 debuted in 1982 with an estimated retail price of $595 USD. In addition to being vastly more powerful than anything on the market at the time, it was drastically cheaper than its competitors like the Apple II, IBM PC, or TRS-80. It went on to become one of the best selling computers of its generation.

 

Commodore 64Frodo requires an ARM processor and OS 5.0 or higher. Frodo is distributed under the GPL (Gnu Public License), which means that it is free and the source code is also included along with the program.

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I hope it works on the Zodiac

craigf @ 11/28/2003 12:24:13 PM #
The more emus, the better.


Anyone know of any programs for c64 tp download?

Ezra4no1 @ 11/28/2003 12:34:23 PM #
Now the only thing that could complement this emulator is a link or a website that has C64 games ... That is of course those progragrams that would be legal to post...


--==* Long Live the C64 *==--

RE: Anyone know of any programs for c64 tp download?
rsc1000 @ 11/28/2003 3:33:04 PM #
Hmmm - i thought it was now legal to download games/apps for dead systems based on a recent ruling on the millenium copyright act. But thats not quite the case. Turns out - it has now been clarified that u can make a backup (and can 'crack' for the purposes of doing so) of apps/games for obsolete systems. Read it here:

http://www.gamespot.com/all/news/news_6078006.html

BUT - for those who feel that the aforementioned act oversteps things to the point of blatant stupidity AND are willing to thumb their nose a little at the law, just enter "Commodore 64" and "games" and "download" into Google. You'll find a million sites. You'll have to do a little sifting thru the garbage but its a lot easier to get REAL working downloads for the C64 then it is to follow the wild goose chase you'll end up on if you go looking for current titles.

RE: Anyone know of any programs for c64 tp download?
mikecane @ 11/28/2003 5:34:52 PM #
Let's just remember, the stupid, evil DMCA applies *ONLY* in the US. Weekends in Canada, anyone?

And lookee here...

http://www.haddewig.de/nogames64/text.html

-- EasyScript!

Hmmmm... now can we get GEOS running on that emulator?

RE: Anyone know of any programs for c64 tp download?
Ezra4no1 @ 12/1/2003 10:35:41 AM #
Are you sure the c64 is a complete dead system?

I mean I know it was as of last year. I thought I had read an article of some company buying the rights to the name and many of it's software and OS with in the last 6 months or so...Who n\knows.. maybe Iam just dreaming.

Either way it will be nice to port some of the games over. WooHooo

RE: Anyone know of any programs for c64 tp download?
scaught @ 12/2/2003 11:49:57 AM #
i can just use my old C64 stuff!

does anyone know where i can get a USB cassette drive that will work with mac OS X?

/sarcasm

palmIII>HandERA330>SonySJ20>TungstenE

yay!

helf @ 11/28/2003 1:10:37 PM #
finally! Been wanting on for ages :)

I'm glad more emulators are finally coming out for palm.

OT: Don't forget my Atari ST emulator :)

skeezix @ 11/28/2003 2:23:22 PM #

I forget if I submitted it to PiC or not, so just a off topic reminder ;)

CaSTaway/Palm is a very high quality and works on most beefy OS5 devices (not the T|T1 or T|T2 sadly due to their design limits); take a peek here:

http://www.codejedi.com/shadowplan/castaway.html

jeff

The Shadow knows!

living History

rlutz @ 11/28/2003 2:57:01 PM #
I find it amusing that the lead in to this article starts with ... The C64 debuted in 1982 and became one of the most successful home computers of its generation... for us that lived through it that was just yesterday. my how time flies. I think in '83 all I wanted was a floppy drive to make my C64 a "real" computer.


I think therfore I am overqualified to work here....

RE: living History
RhinoSteve @ 11/28/2003 5:33:51 PM #
This is great. I met an old Commodore engineer that worked with Jim Butterfield just last night in a bar after Thnaksgiving dinner. We were talking ole C64 coding and even talked about how there are PC emulators for it. Man, this is timely. Just tried it out and it even emulates the old "2" and "left arrow" bugs that appear on the command line prompt when you moved the joystick around.
RE: living History
re_ality @ 11/29/2003 5:36:11 AM #
maybe one day it is even possible to clip a piece out of my SD card to get the double amount of memory on it when putting it into my Palm the other way round... ;-)

--
Palmusergroup Mannheim/Germany - www.pug-mannheim.de.vu
RE: living History
rsc1000 @ 11/29/2003 5:17:58 PM #
>>maybe one day it is even possible to clip a piece out of my SD card to get the double amount of memory on it when putting it into my Palm the other way round... ;-)

Yeah! That was the best thing about 5 1/4 floopies - a simple hole-puncher would double the storage capacity.

RE: living History
Altema @ 11/30/2003 12:51:33 PM #
I had a plastic/metal widget that was made just for floppies. It was pretty cool and made the notches look factory made, but I did not use it as much after I went to a 800k 3.5 drive.

I still have my Commodore 64!

gfunkmagic @ 11/28/2003 3:41:54 PM #
Yeah, it's in a box somewhere in the garage! It's funny how much more powerful my Treo600 is in comparison. Now if someone could only get that Apple II emu working on the Treo :(...

Visit http://goodthatway.com/
-better living through better technology.
DOH!!! Doesn't work on Treo600!
gfunkmagic @ 11/28/2003 4:31:10 PM #
Just causes a a soft reset on my Treo600...oh well...

Visit http://goodthatway.com/
-better living through better technology.
RE: I still have my Commodore 64!
ardiri @ 11/28/2003 4:45:50 PM #
most likely the developer assumes that OS5 == 320x320, as many other developers have done in the past. i dont think the 160x160 resolution is actually enough to present the c64 graphics anyhow. i am a bit concerned tho, most screenshots have been showing 12% or so on the bottom right corner - surely its not running that slow :)

---
Aaron Ardiri
PalmOS Certified Developer
aaron_ardiri@mobilewizardry.com
http://www.mobilewizardry.com/members/aaron_ardiri.php
RE: I still have my Commodore 64!
rsc1000 @ 11/28/2003 4:51:40 PM #
>>i am a bit concerned tho, most screenshots have been showing 12% or so on the bottom right corner - surely its not running that slow :)

No - i'm running it on a T|T (not the fastest OS 5 device) and it usually runs at or > than %100. Must be caused by running something else - like maybe the screenshot app :) My only complaint (and i understand from reading the forum is that they are working on this) is the microscopic size of the on-screen keyboard. They are supposedly doing a larger one for the next release (they've got plenty of room to steal from the top and bottom screen border of the 64).

RE: I still have my Commodore 64!
JKingGrim @ 11/29/2003 2:07:37 PM #
Its probably on POS5 simulator. Things run slow in the simulator.

SID chip

RhinoSteve @ 11/28/2003 4:33:06 PM #
Being a "Commodore kid" like many of us Palm guys, I saw this in the making. Be nice to test out how well they emulated the SID chip with the Palm OS Sound API.
RE: SID chip
ardiri @ 11/28/2003 4:47:31 PM #
the problem is not the Palm Audio - its understanding/parsing the SID format *g*

---
Aaron Ardiri
PalmOS Certified Developer
aaron_ardiri@mobilewizardry.com
http://www.mobilewizardry.com/members/aaron_ardiri.php
RE: SID chip
rsc1000 @ 11/28/2003 4:55:29 PM #
>>Being a "Commodore kid" like many of us Palm guys, I saw this in the making. Be nice to test out how well they emulated the SID chip with the Palm OS Sound API.

My friend - a coding whiz when it comes to the C64 - banged out some code (on the Palm emu itself no-less!) within 15 minutes of me installing it, to test the sound. It does filter sweep (a decent test of the SID emu capibilities) - and it works fine on the emu.


I like it ...

Stefan D. @ 11/29/2003 9:54:49 AM #
... but unfortunately I canīt describe how much, because I have to play another round of Great Giana Sisters now on my Palm Tungsten T ... sorry, on my Palm T/T C64. :-)

With kind regards

Stefan D. from Mannheim, Germany

Christian Bauer Rocks!

Toysoft @ 11/29/2003 11:30:18 AM #
If my memory is correct Christian Bauer made the mac emulator for the Amiga in 90s. It was cool. On my Amiga2000/PPC I ran the Mac emulator, in the Mac Emualtor I had softPC running and in softPC I had the Amiga emulator running also. It will weird having amiga running the amiga emulator.

like everyone else I still have C=64 , VIC and Amigas in storage ;)



C64ers, help me out!!

mikecane @ 11/29/2003 1:33:15 PM #
There was this *one* bloody program I wanted for my C64. It was damned cool. Basically, you moved the joystick around (or perhaps even used the arrow keys!) to make this circle move around the screen. It trailed colors and -- this is what floored me -- made music!

Does *anyone* know what the name of this program was/is? And it is available on the Net (I will of coure google once I know the damned name!)?

But most importantly: Will it/does it work properly on a TT3?!!?

RE: C64ers, help me out!!
Gekko @ 11/29/2003 3:49:59 PM #
no such game ever existed. you are probably just having a flashback from a hallucinogen you took back in 1984.


RE: C64ers, help me out!!
rsc1000 @ 11/29/2003 5:20:14 PM #
I know the app you're talking about Mike - but i can't remember the name. I'll ask my friend (this guy actually keeps a working 64 system setup and ready to go at all times and has about a dozen more 64s in storage, along with every peripheral ever made for it - i'm not kidding!) - he'll know.

RE: C64ers, help me out!!
Edward Green @ 11/29/2003 8:12:48 PM #
Sounds like the work of Jeff Minter. Whatever happened to him.

Edward Green
--
http://www.khite.co.uk
RE: C64ers, help me out!!
Edward Green @ 11/29/2003 8:18:18 PM #
Sorry, I think the app was Colourspace by Jeff Minter of:

http://www.llamasoft.co.uk/

Just to say llamatron is the best game ever. If only there was a version for the Treo 600.

>sigh<

Edward Green
--
http://www.khite.co.uk

RE: C64ers, help me out!!
Strider_mt2k @ 11/30/2003 8:01:48 AM #
Seek out the remaining C64 enclaves online.

There are still die hards who have 'em set up.

I've been hanging at my buddy's computer shop for ten years now, and we still see 'em come in for stuff occasionally.

We even dis-mounted units that were up on the walls to replace stuff in the past.

Remarkable...


Colourspace?
mikecane @ 12/1/2003 10:12:49 AM #
http://www.page6.org/archive/issue_16/page_12.htm

-- I don't know. These snaps look awfully lo-res. I recall the C64 stuff being smoother. And it doesn't mention it creating music!

What was your favorite C64 Game?

Gekko @ 11/29/2003 3:44:52 PM #
Mine was "Beyond Castle Wolfenstein". I also loved Archon, Bruce Lee, Beach Head, Mission Impossible, and Golf.

Boy that was a great machine. It helped get me through high school and college with the basic word processor for study notes and reports/term papers.


RE: What was your favorite C64 Game?
arielb @ 11/29/2003 9:05:13 PM #
mine has to be rocket ranger and the last ninja

RE: What was your favorite C64 Game?
maven @ 11/30/2003 9:38:42 AM #
I'm surprised neither of you mentioned M.U.L.E. by Dan Bunten. That game is considered by many (me included) to be one of the all-time classic games ever.


If you've never played it, grab a friend and give it a try!


RE: What was your favorite C64 Game?
jjsoh @ 11/30/2003 3:34:56 PM #
Summer Games II and Jumpman.

Jim
RE: What was your favorite C64 Game?
wrong20 @ 11/30/2003 5:03:11 PM #
There was a game that I used to love. You were a space ship and you had to fly above and below various electrical fences, shooting various enemies as you went. The end of each level had some sort of dragon looking character that would shoot fire balls at you... what was that??

RE: What was your favorite C64 Game?
palmhiker @ 11/30/2003 5:04:57 PM #
Mine was a football game that took 20 minutes to load from my cassette data drive (couldn't afford the floppy drive, God how I wanted one).

I can't remember the name of this football game, but it basically allowed you to choose your offense, or defense, then the C64 would run the play, and using random parameters would give the result of the play. I wrote a similar basketball game as a college project.

Does anybody know the name of the football game? I would love to get that one to work on the emu.

RE: What was your favorite C64 Game?
wrong20 @ 11/30/2003 5:22:13 PM #
Nevermind, figured out my own question. The game was called Zaxxon. I still have my C64 monitor for use as an extra TV... it works great when plugged into a VCR.

RE: What was your favorite C64 Game?
ptc @ 12/1/2003 11:21:38 AM #
Blue Max

Damn, this thread is really taking me back to the early 80's... :-)

RE: What was your favorite C64 Game?
java_jonez @ 12/1/2003 12:37:46 PM #
Mine had to be Archon and a game called Blagger. Funny how I was just thinking about C64 ports when I saw this discussion.

RE: What was your favorite C64 Game?
rsc1000 @ 12/1/2003 1:22:46 PM #
Elite, M.U.L.E, Seven Cities of Gold, Spindizzy, and Questron (yeah there were better rpg games then Questron - including the Ultima series and Bard Tale - but Questron had this quaint charm about it).

>I still have my C64 monitor for use as an extra TV... it works great when plugged into a VCR.

The 1702 (if thats the monitor yr talking about) has got to be the best CRT monitor ever made. You still see these things in use everywhere - and it was built 20 years ago!! Seriously - i still see them in use connected to VCRs for home purposes, and as security or display use. i once droped one 5 feet unto a hardwood floor and although i cracked the case, the thing continued to work flawlessly for years after (i finally gave it to somebody). Best monitor ever built - engineers must have forgot to build a life-span into the thing:) Commodore must have realized this (they werent selling any replacements:) ) - so they eventually replaced it with a crappier, shoddy monitor with worse display quality.


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