Ikari has released a new firmware for the SD2Snes Flash Cartridge (Super Nintendo/Famicom). The upgrade instructions can be found here.

Download: SD2Snes Firmware v0.1.7 Beta/Preview Rev 4 (1311)

Full Changelog:

• Prevent software from using uninitialized DMA ch.0 transfer to corrupt the stack (fixes Nightmare Busters)
• Disable PPU region patching during the menu
• MSU1: Stop audio playback on reset (fixes static buzzing noise in games after soft-resetting out of an MSU1 game)
• Cx4: Add a switch for original/fast mode. “Original” mimics the Cx4 timing better (Megaman doesn’t die in MMX2 attract mode) whereas “Fast” uses a single CPU cycle for every instruction, improving frame rate when drawing polygons (rotating head in MMX2 intro).
• Hide dot files and directories again (Regression in 0.1.7).
• “Stealth Mode” for in-game hook memory area hides the memory region used by in-game routines from games. (Fixes Equinox, Lion King)
• In-game hooks are a bit less intrusive in terms of CPU time, hopefully reducing glitches a bit with problematic games.
• System Information screen shows file system usage on card.
• Slow down DSPx a bit to better match original speed (should have no noticeable effect)
• Font height is reduced by one pixel to increase readability (lines of text are more distinguishable). This has an effect on the font style so some might not like it…?
• Background is greyed out when a window is active in foreground
• Menu now uses the dynamic hierarchical menu system, with automatic calculation of window dimensions, etc. Not much of it can be seen at the moment due to the lack of menu entries.
• Experimental SRAM mapping for Cx4
• FPGA: adjust address sampling time for “end-of-cycle” events. Should help primarily with DSP1 glitches.
• MSU1: initial volume now adheres to the latest spec (initial volume = 0) so it must be initialized by software to the desired level. This actually breaks my own example player I will post an updated version of it shortly.

Read more…

Forth, the Language.

Forth is a different language. It’s aged and a little weird.
What’s cool about it? It’s a very low-level and minimal language without any automatic memory management. At the same time, it easily scales to become a very high-level and domain-specific language, much like Lisp. Compared to C64 Basic, Forth is more attractive in almost every way.

It is a lot more fast, memory effective and powerful. Compared to C, specifically cc65, the story is a little different. It’s hard to make a fair comparison. Theoretically Forth code can be very memory efficient, and it’s possible to make Forth code that is leaner than C code. But it is also true that cc65 code is generally much faster than Forth code.

Download: durexForth v1.4 + Manual (1370)

source: noname.c64.org

Jean-François DEL NERO (who’s behind the HxC SD Floppy Emulator) recently has released a version of the HxC emulator firmware that is compatible with the STM32 chip used in the Gotek floppy emulators.

This means that the great functionality of the HxC SD emulator is now available on cheaper and more widely available hardware.

The bootloader to convert the Gotek floppy drive in HxC compatible must be purchased on the website HXC 2001 by sending an email to Jean-François DEL NERO. The price of the bootloader is one-off 10 Euro per Gotek that you want to update. Future updates of the software are free and can be made from a USB stick

The HXC Usb (Gotek) firmware supports:

Release notes Firmware USB HxCFloppyEmulator v3.0.5.4a

• Amiga : Extra Disk change delay added. Solve some disk change issues (Protracker 3.15, Defender of the Crown,…).

Download: USB Stick STM32 (Gotek) HxC Firmware v3.0.5.4a (1863)

source: hxc2001.com

SNDH archive v4.5 released - 355 new/updated SNDH files (1731 subtunes).

Ever since the birth of the Atari ST, different chip music formats have had different ways to use them. If you are coding a chip music player for the Atari ST you would have to use dozens and dozens of special ways to replay music.

But in the mid 90′s, BDC of Aura crew became tired of this inelegant system and decided to fix the issue once and for all. He then created the ‘SNDH’ file format. SNDH is actually the original songfile and replaycode with a header bolted on top of the music and replayer. The header has a unified calling interface no matter what type of chip music is hidden beneath it, and it has extended datas about the music.

Download: SNDH Atari ST YM2149 Archive v4.5 (1476)

source: sndh.atari.org

Some new games or tools (Cracked / Trained or Unrealeased) for Commodore 64 have been released from your favorites groups.

Titles:

• Amaurote +6MD +Pic
• Scramble V1.14 +5H
• Jack the Nipper +4DGFS [pal/90% ntsc]
• Attack the Space
• Labyrinth of Crete 101% &DS &Map [onesided]
• Escape-Man 87 [2015 version]
• Sweatman &E
• China Miner +26D [crazy hack]
• Victor Software Game Pack
• Ghosts’n Goblins Arcade & Commando Arcade SE [easyflash]
• Armer Humin Preview +
• Magic Voice Classics [easyflash]
• Infernal Runner 101% +10DG
• Bionic Ninja +23D Crazy Trainer Hack
• X-Force (Final Sales Version) +6HD
• Abyssonaut (Prize Version) +2DH [seuck]
• Gigablast! (Prize Version) +2H [seuck]
• T-UFO (Prize Version) +2H [seuck]
• Get to the End
• Dark Force Redux +2H [seuck]
• Get to the End [final version]
• Tanium +27D [crazy hack]
• Get to the End +CH
• Get to the End [final version]
• RockMaze +3P &Editor
• Captain Dynamo +11D [crazy hack]
• Pixel Pix +3
• Big Mech Alpha [seuck]
• Big Mech Alpha +2 [seuck]
• Glow Path Basic
• Paperboy USA +3D [ntsc]
• Bigfoot +23D
• Pixel Pix
• Pour Le Merite +2 [seuck]
• Scarabaeus +6DH

Download: All Games in One Archive (3453)

source: csdb.dk

The Bruc 100 is one of the few home computer designed and manufactured in Italy by Frael (Franchi Electronics) . Released in the 1987 it was sold along with the computer courses of the School 2F.

There are two models. The first has no cartridge slot but only one extension BUS. On the second model the extension BUS has been replaced by a cartridge port.

The Bruc 100 is not totally an MSX1 computer. The cartridge port (or the extension BUS) and the cassette tape connector are a bit different. This computer doesn’t support the FM-Pac nor floppy disk controllers, etc because the port does not provide + 12V nor -12V. The cartridge port also has the particularity of having two /SLTSL signals (pin 4 for slot 2 and pin 16 for slot 3).

The Basic of Bruc 100 is not the MSX-Basic but it is very similar. The keyboard is a bit different from a MSX. There are 107 keys which a number pad, shortcut keys and some mirror keys.

Gallery:

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Replacement of non polarized plug C7/C8:

source: computerhistory.it msx.org

Jean-François DEL NERO (who’s behind the HxC SD Floppy Emulator) recently has released a version of the HxC emulator firmware that is compatible with the STM32 chip used in the Gotek floppy emulators.

This means that the great functionality of the HxC SD emulator is now available on cheaper and more widely available hardware.

The bootloader to convert the Gotek floppy drive in HxC compatible must be purchased on the website HXC 2001 by sending an email to Jean-François DEL NERO. The price of the bootloader is one-off 10 Euro per Gotek that you want to update. Future updates of the software are free and can be made from a USB stick

The HXC Usb (Gotek) firmware supports:

Flashing the Gotek floppy emulator with HxC firmware:

Gotek floppy emulator with HxC firmware (Testing on Amiga Computer):

Gotek floppy emulator with HxC firmware (Testing on Amstrad CPC computer):

Gotek floppy emulator with HxC firmware (Testing on Atari ST Computer):

Gotek Audio Track Loader:

The schematics is here

Components:

• 1 x Buzzer.
• 1 x BC547 or similar bipolar transistor.
• 1 x 1k resistor.

I have to thank Jean-François DEL NERO for the support that he gave me for the bootloader programming.

source: hxc2001.com

In this short article (i don’t like to writing long articles that nobody reads) i share with you the three days spent with some dear friends.

Thursday 25th June at 6:45am i took the train to Rome/Termini, the journey is went well without a hitch on the times. I’m arrived in Rome/Termini at 12:20pm where i met Andrea, from Rome/Termini we took another train that took us to Nettuno.

Arrived in Nettuno we went to eat a sandwich, i was starving :-D, then we went to the “den” of Andrea and we immediately put to work, my initial idea with Andrea
it was to repair more computers possible in three days. In the afternoon we heard at the phone Paolo and Ciro. Thursday evening we went to the Andrea house for the dinner where i have known the wife and the daughter.

Friday morning wake up at dawn and we are back to the “den” to continue the repairs and half morning it came Paolo, could not resist one more day to see me ;-D
the appointment for the barbecue together was scheduled for Saturday, the day after. Friday Afternoon came Ciro and we spent the afternoon together to talking and in the meantime we have made repairs and  testing of computers turned off for over 30 years, we never stopped to work. Friday evening with Andrea and Ciro we went out to eat, the photos of the three dishes speak for themselves :-D

Saturday morning with Ciro we are moved from Anzio to Nettuno where we have continued to do repairs and talk. Saturday afternoon/evening they arrived Paolo and Carlo, i had never met Carlo in person, but it’s as if i knew him always, we write and hear at the phone often. The evening is ended with a large barbecue where we talked not only of “Retro” until around the midnight. i had to go to sleep, the next day there was the train from Rome/Termini at 8:45am to back home.

I have spent three wonderful days with a friends which sharing the same passion. Thanks again to all.

Below a gallery of the photos taken in these three days.

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The High Voltage SID Collection (HVSC) is a freeware hobby project which organises Commodore 64 music (also known as SID music) into an archive for both musicians and fans alike.

The work on the collection is done completely in the Team and contributors’ spare time and is proudly one of the largest and most accurate computer music collections known.

This update features (all approximates):

• 798 new SIDs
• 121 fixed/better rips
• 3 repeats/bad rips eliminated
• 412 SID credit fixes
• 67 SID model/clock infos
• 8 tunes from /DEMOS/UNKNOWN/ identified
• 19 tunes from /GAMES/ identified
• 24 tunes moved out of /DEMOS/ to their composers’ directories
• 22 tunes moved out of /GAMES/ to their composers’ directories

Download:

• HVSC Update #63 (1427)
• HVSC Complete #63 (1480)

source: www.hvsc.c64.org

Some new games or tools (Cracked / Trained or Unrealeased) for Commodore 64 have been released from your favorites groups.

Titles:

• Bumping Buggies HS
• M45 Preview
• Tornado +3ED
• Turn Change Preview 3 +2
• Rebound +2H
• Moonfall (early) Preview
• Dungeon Crawl +2JF [pal/ntsc]
• Dungeon Crawl
• Trojan Warrior +25D [crazy hack]
• Dungeon Crawl +2D
• Ontwerpen in kleur [dutch]
• Bill da Snowman 101% +1JFD [pal/ntsc]
• Master-Word
• Jet Set Willy +10D [crazy hack]
• Ultima IV Remastered V2.2.1
• P0 Snake [sales version 64k] +3PD
• P0 Snake [64kb cartridge]
• Worm! &H [pal/ntsc]
• Crazy Carson Cousins +2
• Rowly +3D
• Break 64 +4M 101%
• Chest Bump
• Hessian V2 Preview +2
• CJ in the USA +27D [crazy hack]
• P0 Snake [sales version 64k] 100% +3PD
• Altair 4 +DMS 101%
• Xykik Preview
• C63 Preview
• Brilliant Maze V1.1 +5HD 100%
• Brilliant Maze V1.1 +5HD
• Hangman’s Hazard +2D
• Brilliant Maze V1.1 [16kb cartridge]
• Ghosts’n Goblins Arcade
• Guardian +1
• Spel
• Car-rac +1
• Airwolf +22D [crazy hack]
• Sankara Stone +S

Download: All Games in One Archive (3249)

source: csdb.dk

This is the official demo party results from Nordlicht 2015 (Top 3 Entries only). See also the CSDB Nordlicht 2015 section for more informations and download.

C64 Demo:

• Fantasmolytic by Censor Design, Oxyron
• Nicht gut, aber ausreichend! by Forunkel64

C64 Music:

• Shapeshifter by dEViLOCk
• Vortex by MultiStyle Labs
• Daydreaming by Genesis Project, MultiStyle Labs

C64 Graphics:

• The Eagle Has Landed by Censor Design, Oxyron
• Legion by Onslaught
• Medussssa by Arsenic, Oxyron

Productions released outside compos:

• Comaland 100% by Censor Design/Oxyron (Demo)

Download: Nordlicht 2015 full Party stuff (1084)

source: csdb.dk

The Commodore 1540 (also known as the VIC-1540) introduced in 1982 is the companion floppy disk drive for the Commodore VIC-20 home computer. It uses single-sided 5¼” floppy disks, on which it stores roughly 170 kB of data utilizing Commodore’s GCR data encoding scheme. The launch price in Germany was 1898 DM (approximate 970 EUR). The US-American version is named VIC 1540 and the German version VC 1540.

Because of the low price of both the VIC-20 and the 1540, this combination was the first computer with a disk drive to be offered on the US market for less than $1000 USD, although the combination of the Commodore 64 and 1541 would prove more enduring. The 1540 is an “intelligent peripheral” in that it has its own MOS Technology 6502 CPU (just like its VIC-20 host) and the resident Commodore DOS on board in ROM – contrary to almost all other home computer systems of the time, where the DOS was loaded from a boot floppy and was executed on the computer’s CPU.

Due to a timing conflict with the C64′s video chip, the C64 doesn’t work properly with the 1540. The better-known 1541 is mechanically and nearly electronically identical to the 1540 but has a revised ROM that permits it to work with the C64 by slowing the drive down slightly. However, it is possible to revert the 1541 into 1540 mode with a Commodore BASIC software command (OPEN 15,8,15, “UI-” : CLOSE 15) to permit better speed when used with a VIC-20.

The 1540 is relatively rare. While cheaper than most other drives of the day, it was more expensive than the VIC-20 computer itself, and the disk media was also still relatively pricey. Also, the relatively small memory of the VIC meant that the faster program loading times of the drive did not gain more than a few seconds compared to tape media. Thirdly, almost all commercial software for the VIC-20 was sold on cartridge or cassette tape media, giving low incentive to buy a floppy drive. The C64 followed close on the heels of the VIC-20, quickly discontinuing the 1540. Most 1540s still in existence were modified with a 1541 ROM so it would work with a C64. Unmodified 1540s are now considered collector’s items.

Gallery:

source: wikipedia

The Coleco Adam is a Home Computer, and expansion for the ColecoVision (port 3), released in 1983 by American toy manufacturer Coleco. It was an attempt to follow on the success of the company’s ColecoVision video game console. The Adam was not very successful, partly because of early production problems, and was orphaned in early 1985.

Coleco announced the Adam at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in June 1983, and executives predicted sales of 500,000 by Christmas 1983. From the time of the computer’s introduction to the time of its shipment, the price increased, from USD $525 to $725.

Coleco’s 1983 announcement of the Adam received favorable press coverage. The Boston Phoenix, observing that the computer’s $600 price was comparable to the lowest price for a letter-quality printer alone, stated “a nice trick if they can do it!” It was, in fact, a trick; the computers were shown behind tinted glass that hid the fact that they were hand-made and had non-working tape drives.

In June the company promised to ship the computer by August. In August it promised to ship a half million Adams by Christmas, but missed shipping dates of 1 September, 15 September, 1 October, and 15 October. Ahoy! reported that Coleco had not shipped by early October because of various problems. Each month of delay could mean losing the opportunity to sell 100,000 units, the magazine reported, adding that missing the Christmas season would result in “inestimable losses”. The company only shipped 95,000 units by December, which were very defective; Creative Computing later reported that “the rumored return rate was absolutely alarming”. One store manager stated that five of six sold Adams had been returned, and expected that the sixth would likely be returned after being opened on Christmas. Coleco partnered with Honeywell Information Systems to open up repair chain stores around the nation. By December 1983 the press reported that company executives at a news conference “fielded questions about Coleco’s problems with its highly-publicized new Adam home computer, which has been plagued by production delays and complaints of defects”, with the company only able to fulfill one third of its Canadian orders for Christmas. Less than 10% of Adam units had defects, the company claimed, “well below industry standards”.

Gallery:

Gallery (Cleaning the Keyboard):

Gallery (The big Box & Under the Cover):

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Adam ColecoVision Video (Daisy-wheel Printer Test / Tape Loading / Game Cartridge):

source: wikipedia

CBM prg Studio Version 3.3.0 is released. There are a lot of new features in this version. I’d really appreciate it if you report any bugs you find or have any suggestions/comments.

CBM prg Studio allows you to type a BASIC or Machine Code program in using a nice Windows environment and convert it to a ‘.prg’ file which you can run on an emulator, or even a real C64 / VIC20 or PET if you’re feeling brave and have the right kit.

CBM prg Studio is the result of merging C64PrgGen and VIC20PrgGen. Adding new features and fixing bugs in two apps which were 95% similar was a bit of a nightmare so merging them made sense.

It was also a good opportunity for a face lift and to add some new features, such as:

• Programs are project based, meaning all related source files, sprite files etc. are kept in one place and multiple source files can be linked more easily.
• Tabbed MDI.
• Syntax highlighting.

What CBM prg Studio isn’t is a front-end for tok64, cbmcnvrt, bastext or any other tokeniser / detokeniser / assembler. It’s all been written completely from scratch.

Improvements:

• Sprite Editor:
  • Add background picture to sprite editor.
  • Sprite reorder tool.

• Character Editor:
  • Character tools work on a range of characters.

• Assembler:
  • Import binary as decimal data
  • Improved value pop-up formatting
  • Removed the restriction where files included in a build must have a name when building the project as a batch.

• BASIC:
  • Code reformatting remove zeros from DATA statements.
  • Option to ignore invalid GOTO destinations.

Bug Fixed:

• Assembler:
  • Reformatting code with TEXT directive.
  • Using * with labels.
  • Wrong rules for ifdef when variable is zero.
  • Debugger problems with X and Y indexing, stack under/overflow, SBC, RTI, BRK.
  • Incbin problems with large files.

• BASIC:
  • Output to disk image generating basic programs.
  • ‘Save File As’ only saving BASIC files.
  • Commenting blank lines.

• Character Editor:
  • Wrong colours changed on the character editor for VIC20 projects.
  • Undoing character editor changes when the character index > 127.

• Sprite Editor:
  • Scratchpad exception when using deleted sprites.

• General:
  • Syntax colouring changes not applied properly until restart.
  • Some BASIC only tools were available to the assembler.

Download: CBM prg Studio v3.3.0 (1035)

source: ajordison.co.uk

Sorry, this entry is only available in Italian.