Commodore News

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Here you will find all the latest Commodore news - mostly related to C64 - Amiga - C128 - Plus/4 - VIC-20 - PET. This ticker contains news about new game and hardware releases, latest video and podcast uploads, trivia and product information. All freshly fished from the web. RSS feed available!

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13.12.2023 - Why 38911 Bytes Free? Commodore 64's BASIC RAM - video from '8-Bit Show And Tell'
The Commodore 64's famous blue-on-blue boot message says "38911 BASIC BYTES FREE". But it's supposedly a 64K RAM system, so where did the rest of the RAM go? Is it a scam? We go through the origin of the name Commodore 64, discuss how 64K of RAM was a pretty big deal in 1982, and then get into the details of the C64 memory map. Then we track down why we have 1 or 3 bytes less than a full 38K of RAM, depending on who you ask.

11.12.2023 - C64 game 'Stranded Cats' - public demo version for download
Stranded Cats is a multiplayer (split-screen) adventure game for the Commodore 64. The offered release was previously a Patreon exclusive download, but is now available for everyone. It is only a demo, it's missing audio and might have a few graphical glitches here and there. It will be turned into a full game in the future.

10.12.2023 - 'Doomed PETSCII Pacman' - Plus/4 version released - free for download
'Doomed PETSCII Pacman' is a unique Pac-Man variant that mixes in Doom gameplay elements. After we saw a release for C64 in September this year, we now got the Plus/4 version. Released under the label pexi.io in collaboration with PleasureBytes Games. Music by Neil Brennan.

10.12.2023 - Protovision Shop: New stock item - 'WiC64' plus several restocked products
Looking for something that will give you full access to the internet from your Commodore machine? The WiC64 is a wireless modem interface that plugs into your user port and works in parallel mode with 8 data lines, 2 handshake lines and one control line – speeding up data transmission by a factor of 20! Also restocked: cynthCart64, LumaFix64, LumaFix128, TFC3+ and C128 RGBi to RGBa adapter.

09.12.2023 - C64 game 'Santa's Workout III' released
It's Christmas Eve. Santa has to deliver the gifts, but be careful, so you don't wake up the kids or pets! Santa will fall from the chimney and your task is to find the Christmas tree somewhere in the house. You can get the game as digital download for little money (name your own price) to support the developer.

09.12.2023 - Amiga game 'NinjFeratu' released
'NinjFeratu' is Jump-’n’-run, arcade platformer in the style of Shinobi, developed using AmiGen Engine and was in development for a while. Now it was released as commercial digital download. Requirements are: This game requirements are all Amigas with 1MB chip ram + 512KB. Amiga 1200 is recomended but is not mandatory.

08.12.2023 - 'Lotek64 #64' released
Lotek64 is a free .pdf magazine in german language for older game consoles and home computers. Due to its widespread use, the Commodore 64 forms a "natural" focus of reporting, but no systems are excluded. Articles (besides others): Interview with Peter Baustaedter - Big Player in Hollywood, Commodore Book - The Inside Story Computer programs in MAD and Fix and Foxi, Mystique games for Atari VCS, Appreciation of a favorite game - International Karate, Another favourite game - The Trap Door

08.12.2023 - 'Super Star Trek' for Plus/4 released - free for download
For this port the original 1970s source code of the 80 column printer terminal based simulation was taken and converted to run on a Commodore Plus/4. Numerous subtle enhancements were added, including "helpers" for navigation & photon torpedo targeting and long range scanner interpretation guide.Also many stats, charts & data outputs were re-engineered and refined, plus some user-friendly features and extra summary data readouts. All whilst keeping to the exact gameplay experience of the original. This program is 100% text based and uses ZERO cursor control codes, only carriage returns, just like the mainframe terminal-based games of the 70s.

07.12.2023 - Protovision Shop: Back in stock - 4 Player Adapter
Protovision has restocked our popular 4 player adapters! A wide range of C64 games are available that make use of it, including a number of great Protovision titles such as Muddy Racers, Bomb Mania, Hockey Mania, Tanks 3000 and Team Patrol.

06.12.2023 - Video preview: 'Shadow Dancer' for Amiga - Dec 2023
Here is a new update video but with a downloadable demo you can try.

05.12.2023 - 'Into The Eagle's Nest Deluxe' - C64 port for Plus/4 released - free for download
Into the Eagle's Nest is a Gauntlet style arcade game developed by Pandora and published for Amiga, C64, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, Atari ST, IBM PC, and ZX Spectrum starting in 1987. Ported over to Plus/4 by Csabo/LOD it was massively enhanced with a lot of fixes and features compared to the C64 version.

03.12.2023 - LOAD"*",9 : Beyond Device 8 - video from '8-Bit Show And Tell'
Lots of Commodore 64 software is hardcoded to only load from device 8, typically a 1541 disk drive, despite Commodore making it very easy for developers to support other device numbers. Join Robin as we take an exploratory survey of many productivity and game software packages to assess their compatibility with drive #9, and see if we can make more of them work with a bit of hacking. We also look at how easy it is to support other drive numbers, and finally try to solve a related mystery about using PEEK(186) as a parameter in a LOAD command. It's fun!

02.12.2023 - 'Tetris Recoded' for C64 released - free for download
Tetris recoded... old look, but new engine! Tetris was originally released on C64 in 1988 by mirrorsoft. Programmed by Phillip Brabbin, especially remembered for the epic 25 minutes sid tune by Wally Beben. In 2023, the game has been adapted for the high score section of the low-cost and fast wifi module wic64 .But the result was unfortunately a rather buggy version, certainly also because the game consists partly of compiled basic, so it was decided to recode it and now it can offer a lot of new features...

02.12.2023 - C64 game 'Behold Blastopia DX - Special Edition' released - free for download
Blastopia is a fast paced horizontal scrolling space shoot 'em up which was originally written in 2018. Later on In 2019, Blastopia DX was developed as part of an entry for RGCDs 16KB Cartridge Compo. To mark the 5th anniversary of Blastopia, a very special edition has been made specially for the Zzap! 64 Micro Action Covermount (Issue 17). It features: - Updated front end presentation with scroll text. - Hi score table and saver. - A set of in game difficulty options. - Eight different horizontal scrolling game worlds. - Eight levels of alien blasting action. - Background animation including star field and deadly lazers. - Upbeat music and sound effects. - Plenty of addictive alien blasting

02.12.2023 - 'The Ghosts of Blackwood Manor' - game for C64, C128, Amiga, Plus/4 and Mega65 (and even more systems) released
The Ghosts of Blackwood Manor is an award-winning interactive horror from Stefan Vogt, the acclaimed author of Hibernated and The Curse of Rabenstein. Take on the role of novelist Thomas King and his wife Cora as they move into a remote Scottish manor house, just days before Christmas 1986. Seeking inspiration for his next book, Thomas begins to explore the history of Blackwood Manor, only to uncover a dark secret that dates back centuries to the days of the Great Scottish Witch Hunts. You can get the game as digital download for a bargain (name your own price).