Posts by adtbm

  • C65 ROM (911001) Memory Map

    unfortunately i am down with a cold since friday already, but i couldn't resist to have a small peek into your website already.


    It looks great and i love the hex clock !

    i will forward the link to the memory map to our document guys and ask them to implement and compare with our manual


    Thanks Snoopy

  • Edit mode in BASIC 10

    Quote from ubik

    for example the patterns occurring at $028000 and $029000, which might or might not be bitmap or sprite data)

    This could be sprite data, but not 100% certain.

    Snoopy dug through the kernel alot more intensive and he discovered, that the official C65 demo was placed inside the kernel as well (of course without the IFFs, those need to be on floppy disc).

    you can find more on his discoveries, especially the EDIT ON/OFF here:

    C65 - simple build in text editor

  • Diskettenvorrat ;-)

    Gibt es zufälligerweise jemanden der zwischen Erlangen und Frankfurt a.M. pendelt ?


    Wir haben den Verkäufer kontaktiert und würden die Disketten gerne nehmen.

    Natürlich würden wir die Spritkosten übernehmen und ein kleines Extrageschenk käme auch noch dazu.


    Wenn also jemand Interesse hätte uns die Disketten mitzubringen bittte schreib mir oder deft eine kurze PN.

  • MEGA65 Sprite Editor

    Snoopy quoted it correctly.

    The save function is not yet implemented. It is in the menu already (makes sense) but probably is not working atm.


    It is amazing to see what kind of powerful Sprite Editor the MEGA65 will get and since it's open-source everybody (with sufficent skills) can edit it and implement own functions.

  • C65-Testbericht in der 64er (Ausgabe 03/1994)

    And since we are interested, what they wrote about the C65 (C64DX) we kicked the article through OCR and translator, cleaned it up a bit and here is the very rough translation:

    Thanks again Snoopy for that find !!!


    OK Here you go:


    The C64DX


    It's quite possible that the computer name in the name doesn't tell you anything, but most of you will certainly come to life if I say it's CBM's work name for the legendary C65, a machine that can be rightly called an 8-bit Amiga.
    Commodore wanted to bring the successors of the highly successful C64 to the market in about 1990, but the project would be stopped. The reason was both the price (given the expected development of the 'multi-bit' computer market) and the alleged concern that the huge number of programs making the most of C64's graphics capabilities would be incompatible with the new VIC-III graphics chip used in the C65. because today most of us would probably have a small computer on the table with a memory equal to PC capacity, great graphics and very, very good language BASIC.C65 was never put into production, but after the collapse of CBM some companies (like Grapevine) bought copies of zero. How many there were, no one knows, the estimates vary - allegedly 20, 50, 300 or 1000 (data from a German source) In 1994, it was possible to buy a C65 for 998, - DM in Germany. something most of us regularly only dream of:
    • compact unit, similar to C64-II or C128, beige, 18x8 inches
    • processor type CSG65CE02, running below 3.54 MHz
    • RAM 128KB, expandable up to 8MB !!!
    • 128KB ROM, which contains C65 (v10.0), C64 (v2.2) and DOS systems
    • new graphics chip CSG4567, supporting
    all C64 graphic modes, but also a new text mode of 80x25 characters (with attributes of flickering, "bold" and underlining) and new graphic resolutions (horizontally 320, 640 and 1280, vertically 200 and 400 dots, some interlaced) with bitplane graphics (2, 4 or 8 bitplanes!), all of these modes, of course, allow the use of classic sprites.
    • in addition to the standard 16 colors, there is also a new programmable palette of 256 colors (16 degrees of brightness for each basic color) • a new SID chip, actually 2 chips in one, allows stereo
    • DAT (Display Address Translator) circuit used to access image memory, DMA-blitter, genlock support
    • built-in 3.5 "DS DD floppy disk drive working with the 1581 drive format
    • 13 connectors, all of C64 (except datasette), the port for plug-in modules has different dimensions due to the larger number of pins, it is necessary to make a reduction
    • Mini-DIN connector for connecting a high speed disc units of type A1011 (in addition to it DD 1541, 1571 and 1581 can also be connected, operable in all modes, ie fast, slow, burst)
    • RAM expansion port for external memory, this memory is not just ordinary REU, it is also accessible for DMA and video circuits
    • high-quality keyboard containing 77 keys; the top row includes Run/Stop, Esc, Alt, Caps Lock, No Scroll, F1 to F13, and Help; the main block is not very different from the C64, only the position of CONTROL, which moved to the place of R / S, was occupied by a tab; the cursors at the bottom right are arranged in an inverted "T" • Composite and RGB video outputs, while all graphic modes are output to RGB (so there is no need to switch the same as in some assemblies with C128).
    Working with the C65 will probably seem most natural to those who have ever worked with the C128 and DD 1581 from the beginning. If we hold down the (COMMODORE) key when starting the computer, we will immediately find ourselves in C64 mode (however, the basic command G064 also works).
    If we stay in C65 mode, THE COMMODORE DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM with copyright 1991, a short report about BASIC 10, e.g. VO.OB.910429, and by submitting a system configuration report:
    ENGLISH KEYBOARD (ev. GERMAN / AUSTRIAN) NO EXPANSION ROM
    NO EXTERNAL FO11 DRIVE
    ROM CHECKSUM. SE96A
    We will soon find out that the quality BASIC version 10 includes almost all commands from BASIC v7, only some with a modified syntax, and DOS commands are correct. Function keys F1-F8 are already defined (eg F1 switches the 40/80 character mode, F3 prints the directory), F9-F14 are intended for easy redefinition (they contain the KEY command).
    BASIC v1O also includes many new commands, especially for laundry with new water. Just for fun, let's list a few of them:
    RGBDMA, F.EGISTER, TYPE, PEN, MOUSE, RMOUSE, GENLOCK, DPAT, DMODE, PALETTE, PAINT, PASTE, eur, LOCATE, SCALE, 'W'IDTH, QUIT, SET, VIE'W'PORT, SCF.EEN (in combination with CLR, SET, DEF, OPEN, CLOSE).
    Some commands are quite complex and require up to 6 arguments.

    Of course, there are also improved editing functions. It is possible to perform operations as we know from a better text editor. The text of the program can be scrolled forward and backward, wordwrapping is supported!
    Using the F8 key, we jump to the classic monitor, which also allows you to page the memory and knows the new instruction codes of the 65CE02 processor. Some machine code surprises the contents of the PC register (which points to the current memory address), for which 6 digits (values     0 to FFFFFF) are reserved.
    Probably the most common question asked about C65 is compatibility with C64. Most C65 owners agree at 75-85 percent for all types of programs (including demos), stating that if they didn't "break" a thing, they did it with a different version. It's not clear if they're on new chips are to blame, according to some programmers, there was now a warning that discouraged the use of so-called "secret" instructions of processors 6502, 6510 and 8502. Their more powerful brother used in C65 has for the codes of these instructions stored somewhat different meanings.
    A pleasant surprise for the C65 would be the stereo sound. The new SID can be fully controlled by the Stereo-Sid Player V10 / 11 program (which worked on the C64 with only two SID chips).

    Everyone's heart will dance about the above list, and many will want to get C65. I must point out here that the machines which came to the end users were only test pieces, so they did not always have to have all the features mentioned. In particular, BASIC, which is still in development, occasionally reports an "unimplemented command error".
    But more serious are problems with hardware rem. Some computers only had floppy disk drives that could be connected with problems, others lacked connectors for these drives to be safe, and others did not have some of the graphics modes (even those that take up only 16KB of memory). It is not known where spare parts for the C65 can be obtained - probably only from other devices that are still working.
    Finally, a brief remark: It is certain that advances in computer technology cannot be stopped at the 8-bit level, but if it were not for CBM's catastrophic mistakes, then this progress in the early 1990s could have been somewhat different. Amiga computers would compete with PCs in offices, and parents would probably buy a multimedia C65-II for their offspring at home, which would certainly include DD 1590 (a device with an even sadder fate than C65, only one copy made - a 3.5 "DS floppy drive).     HD).

  • MEGA65 Sprite Editor

    Hi all,


    Hernan just wrote a nice guest Blogpost on his thoughts and progress on the Sprite editor.

    You can read it here.

    I think the Sprite editor turns out to be excellent. especially the way how it is implemented in the MEGA65, will allow

    live editing of sprites in memory, so tuning old games should be easily possible.

    Have fun reading it.

  • Zero page memory map for the C65?

    This is exactly what attracts me to the MEGA65 as well. You already have the feeling of "knowing" the machine, but there is so much more to discover under the hood. i really would like to say, the MEGA65 is the C64s bigger brother.

  • About the license of the C65 ROM

    Quote from JesperGravgaard

    However, maybe each end user who owns a machine with a licensed ROM could also gain the right to use the licensed ROM for development and testing in a mega65 emulator running on other hardware that they own (for instance on their laptop).


    I believe that would be aligned with the licensing practices of other operating systems.

    This is, what i believe as well and shouldn't violate the license deal at all as long as the end-user is not selling a product that contains this ROM

  • About the license of the C65 ROM

    The license only comes together with the MEGA65 (DevKit and final MEGA65) not the emulator and is bundled to that

    machine, so it can't be sold or used separetely.

    Or to state it like this: the C65 ROM itself couldn't be sold as stand-alone as a licensed ROM, only together with the MEGA65.

    This is our deal and Cloanto receives for every sold MEGA65 DevKit / final MEGA65 a license fee.