Tag - Commodore 64

This astonishing little package from Shareware Plus dropped through my letterbox a few days ago. It was nicely presented in a custom printed box with some very trippy black and white ‘Freespin’ artwork on the cover. At this point I just thought it was a standard disk based C64 demo, or collection of them…

Back of the box

So what was inside the box? Well there was a 5.25” Floppy Disk with a cool printed colour label and snazzy jacket, an intriguing Commodore Serial to RCA plug cable and a single instruction card. A cable… maybe this wasn’t just a typical demo after all?

Contents of the Box

The card featured a link to a website for more info on the front and a simple set of instructions printed on the reverse side in nice clear, easy to read text.

Contents of the Box

So, what was it, really?

According to the blurb on the box, ‘Freespin generates sound using the floppy drive stepper motor and video through the serial bus. With just a Commodore 1541 disk drive, Freespin cable and a standard C64 monitor, you can watch the Freespin demo by Reflex that runs directly from a 1541 disk drive and without a C64’.

If you’ve ever stumbled across the Floppotron on YouTube then you’ll have a good idea what this is from the get go – but this is even better than that…

I was pretty excited at this point as I’m a sucker for this kind of thing and was chomping at the bit to see if and how it worked!

Running the Demo

Getting everything set up couldn’t have been simpler. I popped the floppy disk into my trusty 1541-II drive and performed the usual “LOAD”*”,8,1″ command. The program only took a few seconds to load up and then I simply launched it using the “RUN” command.

(By the way – it wasn’t until I saw my photo below when putting together this post that I realised I had JIFFYDOS enabled but as it happens it didn’t have any detrimental effect).

Loading up the Freespin Program

After a bit of flickering a cool looking Freespin screen appeared using the C64’s HIRES graphics mode containing instructions on how to proceed along with a wiring diagram for creating your own cable. Thankfully one was provided in the box so I didn’t need to but I appreciated having it displayed on screen like that.

The main Freespin Program screen

By the time that screen appeared the program had already been loaded into the RAM in the 1541 so I was able to disconnect the drive from the C64 and also disconnect it from my monitor too! I then hooked up the supplied cable to the serial port on my disk drive and routed it into the now empty composite video input on my monitor. At this point nothing happened but I kept the faith and did as instructed which was to open and close the lever on the drive – without removing the disk – and this is when the magic started.

Not only disk my 1541 become a mini digital orchestra but I was treated to a demo-scene style monochrome graphic display from my monitor. Graphics that were definitely not coming from my C64 VIC chip but my from my disk drive!!! Equally amazing was the quality of the music coming from the drive. The range of ‘instruments’ or ‘effects’ it was able to generate was unbelievable – if I didn’t know better I’d have sworn some of the sounds were coming from the SID chip. Very, very impressive stuff – the Floppotron, as good as it is, by contrast uses a whole bunch of other devices to make its sounds and I still don’t think it can produce anything as nuanced or awesome as this and of course this is all coming from a single 1541!

The guys behind this project can explain how it works far better than me so if you want more info on how they pulled this off head over to the Freespin website.

Sadly I did have some bad image sync issues with the video output on my LCD monitor which is hardly surprising really given the source. I ended up digging out my Commodore 1084S CRT monitor and most of those issues vanished although it did make my workbench look even more cluttered than usual!

There’s no way I can convey how it sounded without resorting to a video recording so here’s one I prepared earlier…

I apologise for the quality of the audio in the above clip – I had a window open because it was so warm and cars kept going past and planes flying over… well you get the idea. The CRT monitor also appears to flicker in the video as I couldn’t get the exposure right on my iPhone – the display is rock solid in reality.

Anyway that video is just to give you an idea of what to expect – you really need to experience this for yourself – it’s incredibly cool and clever and given it’s only £15 (plus P&P) from SharewarePlus there’s no reason not to get your own copy and see the capabilities your trusty 1541 has been hiding from you all these years!!!

Commodore Zone USB Tape Collection

30th January 2025

Commodore 64, Reviews

Back in the 1990’s when most of the Commodore 64 magazines had withered away and died, or were in the process of doing so, a small fanzine appeared in the UK. Called ‘Commodore Zone’ it was only available by mail (obviously) and was printed entirely in black and white except for the cover which was still monochrome but printed on a different colour of card each issue.

Box cover art

We take it for granted these days, but colour printing was an expensive luxury back then – it certainly was for me at any rate. I made do with a black and white Canon Bubble Jet (a BJ10 – I think) which I used with my Amiga 4000 right up until the millennium when I finally moved over to the Dark Side and bought a Windows 98 PC and an Epson Colour Inkjet to go with it.

Back of the box

Anyhooo, getting back to the original Commodore Zone mag – the highlight of each issue for me used to be the 5.25″ floppy ‘coverdisk’ it came with that contained all manner of entertaining stuff including games, demos, music and so on.

An original Commodore Zone coverdisk alongside the issue it came with.

I’ve still got all my original issues along with the cover disks but I couldn’t resist picking this ‘complete collection’ up. It was just too good to pass up as it contains digital versions of all the disks, enhanced colour editions of each magazine and a whole raft of other Commodore Zone goodies, all packaged up in a luxuriously glossy box.

What you see when you open the box up

The main event is the USB ‘cassette’ tape which is tucked safely away within a foam inlay at the bottom of the box.

Commodore Zone ‘Cassette’

It certainly looks like a cassette tape when you first get your hands on it.

Could be any old C64 action game on cassette at first glance….

The jewel case looks just like any other…

Something missing there…

As does the J card inlay…

USB Flash drive

It’s only when you get the cassette out of the box that you can see what it really is with a little flip-out USB flash drive where the tape would normally be!

Loads of goodies

But what about all those extras? Well there’s a Commodore Zone badge and keyring along with a bunch of cool Ferris stickers (the little guy with the propeller hat) plus an awesome sticker featuring the Star Wars: A New Hope artwork taken from the Spring 1998 cover.

Enhanced colour covers

There’s also a fantastic little 16 page booklet that contains all of the past front covers of the magazine, tastefully enhanced in glorious colour, as we’ve never seen them before.

Enhanced colour cover vs original B&W cover.

As you can see in the comparison photo above, the enhanced cover is very similar to the original, just shifted around a little to make way for a slightly flashier and more modern Masthead and Cover Lines.

My edition is number 11 out of a grand total of 200 copies. Noice!

As this collection is limited each box has been numbered out of 200. Sadly I didn’t get the first box to roll off the Psytronik production line but number 11 is still a pretty low number. 🙂

Commodore Zone Sampler CD

The Commodore Zone ‘Sampler CD’ is pretty awesome too and is presented as a vinyl record. Not really sure why I keep calling them that nowadays as we always used to just call them records back then.

Groovy!

The record grooves are just for show of course as the data side of the disc is smooth, just like a PS1 CD, but it looks really cool and successfully triggered the old nostalgia receptors in my brain.

Track listing

There’s loads of great tracks on this disc and it’s well worth a listen if you are a fan of C64 music.

Contents of the USB ‘Cassette’

The USB flash drive is packed with an impressive 11.4GB of content for you to rummage through.

11.4GB of Commodore Zone Goodness

All the stuff is sorted neatly into directories so you can go straight to the material that interests you.

Contents of the USB

Included are:

D64 images of all the past coverdisks.
Digital copies of both the ‘classic’, ‘enhanced’ and the one-off ‘anniversary’ editions of the magazine in both PDF and JPEG format.

Enhanced (right) and Classic (left) digital versions of the mag covers.

If that isn’t enough Commodore Zone goodness for you there’s even scans of each and every mag included too as JPEG images.
Digital version of the sampler CD in MP3 and FLAC format.
Bunch of other great SID music CD’s in both MP3 and FLAC format.

Enhanced (left) and Classic (right) digital versions of the mag.

Loads of D64 images of PD demos
Directory full of retro music videos accompanied by some stonking SID music tacks.
Web Book version of the ‘restored’ Issue 1 edition of the magazine that you can explore on your desktop.

Basically there’s a mountain of stuff on here for you to browse through – enough to keep you entertained for many hours, days even. Takes me back to the days when I used to order a bunch of PD disks without really knowing exactly what would be on them and then spending a Sunday afternoon just exploring everything that was on them, listening to SID tunes, watching demos. playing PD games or whatever. Good times.

The first batch of 200 units are sold out now but if you fancy getting yourself a copy then Psytronik will have another batch of them over on their website https://www.psytronik.net at the beginning of February 2025.

Wireless Tank Mouse

12th July 2024

Amiga, Commodore 64, MEGA65

6 Comments

I missed the initial Kickstarter for this ‘Wireless Tank Mouse’ back in 2022 but now that they are on general sale I decided to pick one up from Sordan.ie to see if it was any good and hopefully use it with my Commodore and MEGA65 machines.

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The packaging is certainly very attractive featuring a very 80’s neon VHS style design on the front and a multitude of specs and features plastered over the sides and back of the box.

Wireless Tank Mouse

In the flesh it certainly looks the part and is very similar to the Amiga tank mouse we all know and love. Of course there’s two striking differences, the first of which is that this is now an optical mouse with the ball having been relegated to the history books. The second is the lack of a wire as this is now fully wireless, utilising either Bluetooth or 2.4Ghz to transmit the necessary signals back to your computer. You can switch between these options using a little 3-way switch underneath. This same switch is also used to power the mouse off when it’s placed in the middle position.

Wireless Tank Mouse underside

An optional extra that I purchased was the Tom adapter which came packaged separately in a little plastic bag. I have to confess to wondering why it was called Tom for a little while until I remembered the Tom and Jerry cartoons and then it all made perfect sense! Without this little gizmo the mouse will only work with modern computers which would defeat the purpose of it for me.

Wireless Tank Mouse with Tom adapter

The Tom device is basically just a USB to DB9 adapter with some clever electronics to convert the USB signals into something old Commodore computers can understand. Compared to most of the Tom adapters available on eBay this one seems to be extremely compact and is actually referred to as a ‘Micro Tom’. It’s housed in a really nice 3D printed case that holds everything together securely.

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When placed next to my original Amiga Tank mouse you can see just how close the design is. The main visible difference, besides the obvious lack of a wire, is that the buttons are a little narrower and spaced further apart on the new mouse. There’s a good reason for this that I will get to later on.

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Opening up the battery compartment reveals a small USB receiver tucked away at the bottom.

Wireless tank mouse battery compartment and USB receiver storage

This USB receiver can be plugged directly into a modern computer should you wish (Mac, Linux or PC) so you can use the mouse with those systems (or emulators running on them). If your computer has Bluetooth then you can leave the receiver in its cubby hole and simply pair it with your PC using that instead.

USB Receiver

To use the mouse with Commodore machines you need to insert the USB receiver into the Tom adapter.

Tom adapter with USB receiver plugged in

It was a really tight fit, so much so that I felt the need to double check I was putting it in correctly before risking applying more force to get the job done!

Let there be (green) light!

It’s powered by a couple of AAA batteries (rechargeable ones appear to work fine) which helps to add a bit of weight to it. I know some people like their mice light but I’m not one of them so the batteries went some way towards compensating for the lack of the ball.

Mousing Around

Before trying the wireless tank mouse with my retro machines I gave it a quick go in my Windows 11 PC and it worked immediately and completely flawlessly. I also tried it with my MorphOS Apple Mac Mini G4 with similar success. When used with modern machines you can use it with your favourite emulator for a more immersive experience or even as your daily driver should you wish.

In addition to the obligatory left and right mouse buttons the wireless tank mouse actually fully supports mouse scrolling too. Now you may well be thinking how’s that possible – it has no scroll wheel? Well remember earlier on when I mentioned about the buttons being spaced further apart? That’s because the designer has ingeniously incorporated a touch sensitive strip between the two buttons. You can simply swipe up and down with your finger to scroll in those directions. It works really well too. Obviously it lacks the tactile feedback of an actual wheel but having one of those would ruin the whole aesthetic.

Using the wireless tank mouse with my A1200

I have plenty of mice for my modern computers though, I got this to use with my Amiga mainly so I plugged the Tom adapter into port 1 of my A1200 and powered it on, and it just worked. No messing around, no pairing, no software to install, just plug and play. The scrolling support worked seamlessly too, (I installed scroll wheel support for my existing wired Amga mouse years ago). Tracking was super accurate and smooth and the mouse was just as comfortable to hold as ever – in fact more so now as I’m not constantly fighting against the cable in the limited space I have available to use it!

Wireless tank mouse ‘Tom’ adapter (on the right)

Satisfied that it worked with my Amiga I fired up my MEGA65 and loaded up GEOS65 and sure enough it worked really well with that too.

GEOS 65 running on my MEGA65 controlled by my wireless tank mouse

Next I invoked ‘GO64’ and switched my MEGA65 into C64 mode to load up a BASIC Solitaire game that I typed in a few years ago. This was designed to work the the Commodore 1351 mouse and sure enough this also worked like a charm with just occasional jittering. Incidentally this is also a game that really benefits from switching the CPU to 40Mhz mode – no more lag when shuffling the cards!

I tried it with my real C64C computer and ran into my first problem. It simply refused to work. After a bit of RTFM (or RTFW in this case) I discovered the following…

Switching between C64 and Amiga Mode

Out of the box the Tom adapter is configured to run in Amiga mode. Consequently when plugging it into a C64 it just doesn’t work. (Same for the alternative C64 CORE in the MEGA65). Thankfully it can be switched into C64 1351 mode quite easily by plugging in a USB mouse, holding down the middle button (usually the scroll wheel) at bootup and whilst still holding it down press the left mouse button a few times until the red LED flashes 3 times and then you can let go. The adapter will now behave like a 1351 mouse forever until you change it back.

I did come a little unstuck trying to change it back to Amiga mode though. Either I have a slightly different model of Tom adapter or whoever wrote the instructions on the Sordan site got a bit confused. Thankfully after about 30 minutes of swapping different mice, power cycling, cursing and failing I figured it out. To switch to Amiga mode I had to hold down the right mouse button at bootup and then rapidly press the left button until the red LED flashed just the one time and then let go. (The instructions tell you to do the complete opposite which makes it flash twice which appears to be Atari ST mode).

What do I think of it?

All in this is a fantastic product that works with a huge range of machines, both old and new. It oozes nostalgia thanks to its design but at the same time embraces modernity by swapping the ball for an optical sensor, the wire for wireless connectivity and adds ‘invisible’ scrolling support beneath the plastic case. It works with pretty much every machine I own; all my Amigas, CD32, MEGA65, Commodore 64, Mac Mini running MorphOS and even my PC’s and emulators. My only criticism is the method of switching modes on the Tom adapter is a bit of a faff. I would much prefer a little 3-way toggle switch than trying to pull off some kind of weird secret handshake with the mouse. Other than that though the wireless tank mouse seems to be a jack of all trades and a master of them all and I’m really glad I picked one up.

Freeze 64 Issue #67 Fanzine

27th April 2024

I’m not sure if the passage of time is accelerating or Vinny has cranked up production of Freeze 64 but either way I was happy to receive the latest edition of Freeze 64 in the post yesterday. It’s now up to issue #67 and this edition features artwork from the brand new game ‘Good Kniight’ on the front cover.

Issue #67 Cover featuring artwork from ‘Good Kniight’

Here’s a shot of the contents page so you can get an idea of what’s in this issue.

Freeze64 Issue 67 Contents Page.

If you would like to find out how you can get hold of your own copy then head over to the Freeze64 website and take a look.

Finally, here’s a link to some of my previews of earlier editions of Freeze64.

Zzap! 64 Issue 19 out now

23rd April 2024

Here’s a slightly more in depth (than usual) look at my copy of Zzap! 64, Issue 19, that arrived in the post a few days ago. As well as the usual quick preview of what’s in the mag I run through what’s on this months digital coverdisk too.

Zzap! 64 Issue 19 Cover Image

As always the magazine is packed with content spanning 60 pages, including news, game reviews and insightful articles about the past, present and future Commodore 64 scene.

A Peek Inside

Here’s a quick look at the contents page giving an overview of what’s inside this issue.

Contents Page

The now familiar digital covermount page gives a preview of what’s on this editions disk.

Digital ‘covermount’ content page.

There’s plenty of goodies waiting to be loaded up on this months coverdisk, accessible via a slick menu screen accompanied by some great SID music as always.

Issue 19’s Covermount Menu screen

First up on the menu we have Alpacalypse – a side scrolling infinite runner style game where you have to dodge falling enemies, jump across gaps and collect fruit to increase your score. Vibrant, smooth-scrolling graphics and an excellent music track help to make this a fun game that is great for a quick blast of Alpaca action. High scores are saved to disk too which is a great feature all games should have and really fuels that ‘just one more go’ impulse.

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Next up is Metal Mayhem which is a tank battle game for two players or a single player vs the computer. The AI enemy tanks are brutally efficient at destroying you so I guess it was more intended to be played with a friend.

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Next we have ‘Spinning Image’ – probably my favourite game on this months disk. You are presented with two pictures – the one on the right is the ‘target’ picture whilst the one on the left has some bits missing. The game has you moving your avatar (Milly and Molly) left and right in order to line up and ‘fire’ a limited number of squares up onto the players picture to make it match the one on the right. The kicker is that the squares will only ‘stick’ if they bump up against an existing square.

You will quickly encounter areas where you seemingly have to get a quare to be suspended in mid air which is where the puzzle element comes into play. Some squares can be pulled back down allowing you to reposition them elsewhere to build a temporary framework to build on. A very challenging game on later levels yet still very relaxing to play as there’s no time limit in effect. The menu music is a bit annoying and shrill but the game music is thankfully understated and complements it quite nicely. You can save your progress too – essential for a game like this.

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The fourth game this month is a demo of ‘Phantomas 3 – The Return of Brok’ which is a neat little platform game that utilises the C64’s hires graphics mode to produce some very nice, detailed graphics.

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Finally there’s another demo, this time of a game called ‘Spy Agent’ which sees you trying to kill an enemy spy before he does the same to you. The game takes place within a single screen platform scenario with lifts and stairs to get around. You need a friend for this one as it’s two player only. It’s not much fun on your own as the enemy spy just stands there waiting for you to kill him before respawning elsewhere and then doing the same. Hopefully, as this is just a demo, they are working on an AI spy for all the solo players out there.

Spy Agent

Side 2 of the disk features a scene demo dating back to 1987, ‘Think Twice’ by The Judges featuring some funky scrolling effects and a decent SID music track.

Getting hold of a copy of Zzap! 64 Issue 19

This is another great edition of Zzap! 64 and well worth a buy. The magazine is available from Fusion Retro Books priced at £4.99. Make sure you use the code ‘LYONSDENBLOG’ to grab yourself a sweet 15% off the price! This code works for everything you place in your basket too!

Below you can peruse a small gallery of images from the magazine.

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You can find other Zzap! 64 related posts here .

Freeze 64 Issue #66 Fanzine

26th March 2024

Issue 66 of Freeze 64 arrived in the post earlier today and features artwork (created by AI Vinny says) for the game ‘Strangeloop’ on the front cover. Why? Because this game is the main feature of this edition. Sadly no cheat card this month though.

AI Generated ‘Strangeloop’ cover

Here’s a shot of the contents page so you can get an idea of what’s in this issue.

Freeze64 Issue 66 Contents Page.

I’ve been getting Freeze 64 for many years now and have just extended my subscription for another year as Vinny continues to make a fantastic magazine that deserves our support. If you would like to find out how you can get hold of your own copy then head over to the Freeze64 website and take a look.

Finally, here’s a link to some of my previews of earlier editions of Freeze64.

Zzap! 64 Issue 18 out now

15th March 2024

Here’s a quick look at my copy of Zzap! 64, Issue 18, that arrived in today’s post.

Zzap! 64 Issue 18 Cover Image

As always the magazine is packed with content spanning 60 pages, including news, game reviews and insightful articles about the past, present and future Commodore 64 scene.

A Peek Inside

Here’s a quick look at the contents page giving an overview of what’s inside this issue.

Contents Page

The now familiar digital covermount page gives a preview of what’s on this editions ‘disk’. If only someone would start producing 5.25″ floppies again…

Digital ‘covermount’ content page.

There’s half a dozen goodies waiting to be selected on this months covermount, plus an additional full game hidden away in the Zip file – ‘Elasto Mania 64’ which is a very cool (and tricky) physics based scrambler bike game. Imagine something along the lines of an 8-bit ‘Trials’ game. Impressive stuff for the C64.

Issue 18’s Covermount Menu screen

Getting hold of a copy of Zzap! 64 Issue 18

Below you can peruse a small gallery of images from the magazine.

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You can find other Zzap! 64 related posts here .

WiC64 Review

14th March 2024

Commodore 64, Reviews

4 Comments

The WiC64 might possibly be one of the most interesting devices for the Commodore 64 I’ve seen in years. It’s not just the hardware (which is great) as there have been a few Wi-Fi interfaces released already for the C64 over the years, but more how the software that’s been created for it leverages the new hardware to achieve something truly special. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that this could be the future for modern day 64 enthusiasts – I’ll explain why during the rest of this post.

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This glorious gizmo was sent to me by Tim Harris over at Shareware Plus. Inside the rather unassuming box there’s the main host board, an ESP32 module, a teeny tiny OLED display and a card with a link to a website to go to for more info.

Contents of the WiC64 package.

So, what is it and what does it do?

Basically the WiC64 is a plug-in Wi-FI accessory that connects to the user-port of the Commodore 64 providing internet access. (It also works with the SX64, C128 and VIC20 computers though I’ve not tested it with these). However unlike existing Wi-Fi adapters that utilise serial mode data transfers and are thus restricted to stuff like accessing BBS due to their slow communication speeds, this bad boy operates in parallel mode, utilising 8 data lines, 2 handshake lines and one control line. This is all handled by the ESP32 module.

Basically it’s super fast and capable of loading a typical C64 program in the blink of an eye across the Internet. Yep you read that right, with this device you will be able to download (and upload) programs and files directly over the Internet on your C64!

Putting it together

No manual is provided but then again it is 2024 so having online documentation is to be expected. Following the link on the product card takes you to the WiC64.net website where you can download assembly instructions, a launcher program in PRG format and some STL’s to print a nice case for it.

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Assembly was an absolute doddle and just requires you to fit the ESP32 module and screen to the host board. They both simply push into the sockets provided – all you need to be careful with is the orientation of the ESP32 module but there’s photos in the PDF manual showing which way around it needs to go.

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After putting the WiC64 together I decided to 3D print the case for it so loaded the STL’s into my slicer software to prepare them for printing. The model has been well designed so no support material is needed when you place each part flat on its largest side.

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Just over an hour later (I have a Bambu Labs P1S printer so it’s fast) the print was complete and looked fantastic.

Freshly printed case halves

The two buttons on the host board pop through matching holes on the side of the case whilst there are a couple of little push buttons incorporated into the top of the case so you can still depress the ones on the EPS32 module.

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Oops

Unfortunately I ran into my first problem here when I tried to plug the newly encased WiC64 into the user port of my C64C – it simply wouldn’t fit! This was through no fault in the design of the board or even the case but just bad luck on my part because of where I had chosen to locate the switches for my SIDFX install.

Houston, we have a problem!

The case was clearly never going to fit so I had to abandon that idea and go naked. Even without the case it was an incredibly close fit with just a couple of millimetres clearance between the board and the switches. To be honest though, apart from the obvious lack of protection, I think I prefer it without the case as it does look incredibly cool with all the LED’s glowing and the little OLED screen displaying messages and such. I’ll just need to be careful to never drop a paperclip down the back of my C64!

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Teething Problems

With the WiC64 now plugged in it was time to test it out! I downloaded the Launcher from the WiC64.net site (currently at version 2.5) and copied it over to my 1541 Ultimate II+ cart (via ethernet) so that I could run it.

Ground control to Major Tom…

It popped up a message saying it was searching for Wi-Fi and a few of the lights started to flicker on the board…

Lights are on but nobody’s home…

However it never got any further than this. After about a minute of trying the launcher would simply crash leaving me with a blank screen.

This doesn’t look good!

Needless to say I tried this a few times but got the same result each time. I even tried activating the hotspot on my iPhone (with maximised compatibility) in case it didn’t like my Wi-Fi 6 router but it still failed.

Updating the Firmware

With nothing seeming to work I decided to have a go at updating the firmware as I remember seeing this mentioned on the card. The whole process is web based and conducted within the browser itself. I had to unplug the WiC64 board from my C64 and then hook it up to my Windows 11 PC using a MicroUSB cable.

WiC64 ready to be flashed

Needless to say I had to install a driver for it first as the UART device was showing as unrecognised in Device Manager…

How it appears in device manager

There’s step by step instructions on the ‘Online Flasher’ page and it directs you to a Silicon Labs website to download the drivers. I have Windows 11 so chose the CP210x Universal Windows Driver which worked out well. Installing the driver was just a matter of right-clicking the device and selecting ‘update driver’ and then pointing it to the folder where I’d extracted the driver previously.

Driver successfully installed

Flashing the device is actually done within the browser but it must be Chrome, Edge or Opera. I use Brave but thought I’d still be OK because it’s Chromium based but the Connect button never appeared for me until I changed over to Edge. Then I was able to select ‘CP2102 USB to UART Bridge Controller (COM7)’ as the serial port to begin the process. Sadly within a few seconds of starting the update it failed with an error. Although I never did find out what caused the error the solution was to hold down the ‘BOOT’ button on the ESP32 module whilst performing the update and it then worked without a hitch.

With the firmware now updated it was time to put it back in my C64 and see if I could get it to connect to my Wi-Fi.

I hooked it back up to my user-port, turned on my 64 and loaded up version 2.5 of the launcher once more.

Now we’re getting somewhere!

Much to my delight this time around it displayed (just) my 2.4Ghz SSID (I have a Tri-band router) and I was able to enter the password to connect to it just like you would expect to do with any modern day device.

BOOM! We’re in business!

After a few moments it connected and my C64’s IP address was displayed on the OLED screen, along with the SSID, signal strength and current firmware version.

WiC64 Welcome Screen

The launcher menu screen also loaded up with new options to Login and Register. I didn’t have an account so I selected Register to create one which only took a few moments and then I was finally into the system proper.

WiC64 Menu Screen

Let the Games Begin!

There’s a lot of sub menus and interesting things tucked away into the WiC64 Launcher menus but I’m just going to pick out some of the things I found interesting – in no particular order!

Offline Games List

I’ll start with the games as there’s quite a lot of them. They’re split between Offline games (found in the File Area>Games section) Online games and online multiplayer games. The mind blowing thing about these games is that they load onto your C64 over the internet, but not only that they load in just a matter of seconds. I decided to give Shadow Switcher a quick blast as it’s a game I know and love. I selected it from the menu and BAM, a second later it had loaded and I was able to play it. Absolutely incredible.

Shadow Switcher

The Online and Multiplayer games have their own section which splits off into another 4 sections containing approximately 20 games. The ‘Online’ games are existing games that have been modified to incorporate persistent High Score tables where you can compete for bragging rights against other WiC64 players. There’s a global ‘all time greatest’ score table and also a ‘Todays Greatest’ which is a cool feature that gives everyone a shot at fame no matter their skill level as it gets wiped every 24 hours.

All-Time Greatest and Todays Greatest High Scores

I decided to have a blast at Great Giana Sisters next, which being a bigger game, took a bit longer to load, coming in at a whisker over 20 seconds. Still mightily impressive and if you don’t own or have a copy of the game to hand the sheer convenience of this system is game-changing. Imagine having an entire catalogue of hundreds of games and being able to tap into them whenever you want and play them on your real C64 with persistent high scores stored in the cloud adding a new competitive edge to the gameplay.

Great Giana Sisters – WiC64 High Score Edition

There’s currently only 2 multiplayer games; Artillery Duel Deluxe and Multorio. Multorio appears to require the username of the person you want to play against upfront before it will do anything so as I don’t know anyone else using it I’ve not been able to try this.

Artillery Duel Deluxe

However Artillery Duel Deluxe is a lot more user friendly and will let you play against random people online, play local multiplayer or even just play solo. It even has a spectator mode called ‘Onlooker mode’ where you can watch other players duke it out! I’m not sure if this is live or more of a replay of past battles but it’s still entertaining!

Artillery Duel Deluxe

Obviously this isn’t Steam or Xbox Live so finding other users online can be tricky which is why the solo mode is much appreciated. I assume this is probably why the developers seem to be focusing on asynchronous gameplay, affording everyone the opportunity to compete against others, any time they want.

Internet Radio

WiC64 Radio is another program I found myself coming back to time and time again. It’s tucked away in the ‘Apps’ section of the ‘File Area’. Personally I would have thought the Internet section was more appropriate but it didn’t take long for me to remember where it was located.

WiC64 Radio

I absolutely adore SID chip music and this program supplies a never-ending stream of it over the internet directly into your SID chip. The program will just keep playing an endless stream of fantastic SID tracks until you close it. If you come across one you’re not so keen on you can just tap space to skip it and move onto another,

WiC64 Radio

Not only that but you can create a custom playlist of your favourite tracks too. The screen displays lots of info about the track currently playing including the author, title, it’s release date and run time. I tend to load this up and just leave it running in the background – you can’t beat some classic SID tunes being played through real hardware.

Demo’s

One of the things I used to love doing in my youth was watching and listening to scene demos on both my C64 and later on my Amiga. Well the WiC64 has got me covered here too with a nifty Demo section containing 8 demo’s filled with pulsating graphics and sound for that shot of nostalgic dopamine.

“Quadrants” Demo

Most of these demo’s loaded pretty much instantaneously for instant retro gratification. The Elite Code Mechanics demo soon proved to be a particular favourite due to the amazing music which I could (and did) happily listen to for hours.

Elite Code Mechanics Demo

The still pictures obviously don’t do the demos justice but I just couldn’t get my iPhone to capture video off my 1084 monitor without it turning into a horrid flickering mess.

Crystal Gazer Demo

Ideally I’d like to see many, many more demos appear here so hopefully the developers add to this section over time, after all, most of them are probably in the public domain (unlike the games) so there shouldn’t be too many obstacles to making it happen?

Chat/Messaging

WiC64 seems to be a predominantly German project right now so the Chat and Message board areas are dominated by German users which is a shame but I’m sure in time as more of us come on board this will change

Sadly most, if not all, the messages seem to be in German

However I was intrigued by the ChatGPT option at the bottom of the menu. Surely this couldn’t be THE ChatGPT that is all the rage right now?

Surely not, ChatGPT on the C64?

Chat GPT

Well yes, actually it is. Incredibly the AI revolution has made it to our trusty C64’s in 2024. You can ask it any question and get a near instant reply. It works just like it does on a modern computer, simply ask it a question and it will respond with an answer almost immediately.

ChatGPT in action on the C64

Obviously unlike, for example, Copilot in Windows 11, it is unable to create images but I wouldn’t really have expected that anyway. It also does seem to lack the continuity you get when interacting with ChatGPT on modern systems. For example if you try to tell it a Knock Knock joke it will respond with ‘who’s there’ but then thinks your answer is a new question. Likewise you can start a game of hangman but your guesses don’t seem to be recognised. It’s probably churlish of me to nit pick things like this when the fact it works at all is an astonishing achievement, but it would be the icing on the cake if they could fix this. However ask it any other straight question and you will get just as comprehensive a response as you would on a new computer which is just incredible.

Google Maps!

Yes you read that heading right, WiC64 also gives you a portal to Google Maps on your C64 and what’s more its actually useable too! This is arguably even more impressive than ChatGPT given the graphical overhead involved in drawing them.

Google Maps

You can search for a place or post code from the menu screen or just dive straight in. It seems to have a rough idea where you are already, presumably based on your external IP address, unless it was just pure coincidence that it started me off in Merseyside! Once the map is visible on the screen you are able to zoom in and out using the function keys and pan around using WASD. There’s a choice of satellite view or road map view. Each page refresh takes about 5 seconds or thereabouts to display – eminently useable and I was able to find and navigate around places I know very easily.

Google Streetview!

But there’s more! Pressing ‘V’ toggles Street View so you can look around in glorious 8-bit 3D at your street and even find your house, all on your Commodore 64. I would not have believed this possible if I’d not experienced it myself. It’s an absolutely astonishing accomplishment.

Clocks

There’s plenty more programs and features to be discovered that I haven’t mentioned yet too. For instance there’s an entire sub-menu devoted to a collection of Real Time Clocks (synced to the Internet of course), ranging from a simple digital clock to some downright convoluted affairs that require some serious thought to decipher!

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C/Place Pixel Project

There’s also something called “C/Place Pixel Project” which is an interesting little concept. It’s basically a community art project – you take it in turns with other users to place a single pixel on a 40×50 screen in order to ‘paint’ a picture. If nobody else is around you can make a picture on your own instead! It also has an option to let you watch a timelapse of pictures being created which can be quite mesmerising to watch and a really neat extra feature.

c/place Pixel Project

WiC64 Media Center

This is yet another really cool feature that lets you upload your physical disks into the cloud, either for public use or your own private use.

Uploading one of my disks to the WMC

You simply pop a disk in your drive, enter a few details to help catalogue it so you and/or others can find it in future and then hit upload. Naturally you can also download the disks too.

Downloading a disk from the WMC.

In just a couple of minutes I was able to download a game from the WMC cloud onto a floppy disk with just a few keypresses and then load it up and play it.

Playing the game I’d just downloaded.

There’s a whole repository of disks already waiting to be accessed in the cloud too. This is the sort of thing I could only dream about back when I was a teenager but it’s now a reality thanks to the WiC64.

Honourable Mentions

There’s even more stuff to play around with that I’ve not covered yet including:

MOSCloud Compiler (a facility to upload your BASIC programs and have them compiled in the cloud).
Remote Image Viewer (enter an image URL and it will render it on your C64). I didn’t have much success with this as most online images have horrendously long and complex URL’s and it’s very easy to make a mistake entering them without the option of copy’n’paste. However even when I was absolutely sure I had the URL correct I’d get a ‘failed to process image’ error. Hopefully it’s just a glitch and will be ironed out in due course.
CSDB Browser to keep up to date with the latest C64 releases
RSS Feed viewers for Forum64 and Tagesschau – sadly both in German only.
Telnet program – with a few provided servers to try (similar sort of experience to BBS’s) or you can try entering your own.
A DiskMags section – I found the intro screens and accompanying chip music a lot more entertaining than reading some of them but as always with these things YMMV.

Excess RapidNews DiskMag

Conclusion

I did have a few crashes and lock-ups but nothing major and considering what it’s trying (and succeeding) to do I can totally forgive a little instability. Besides, on the odd occasions it happened I just reloaded the launcher via my 1541 Ultimate-II+ cart and was immediately returned to the exact same position in the menu that I’d launched the program from. It was a minor inconvenience at most. There were also few little issues I had during setup but nothing major and they were all easily solved by a spot of RTFM. There were a couple of sections that seemed to be dominated by German speaking users but hopefully that will change as the device becomes more popular, but even if it doesn’t it only affects a tiny fraction of what’s on offer anyway.

Without a doubt this is an absolutely incredible hardware and software package that really brings the venerable C64 into the 21st Century. It offers so many new ways of accomplishing things, new ideas to try out not to mention the potential new features it may bring in the future. This is one of those devices that every C64 user owes it to themselves to get hold of. Whether you are a gamer or a tinkerer there’s something to interest everyone here and at just £35 it’s a bit of a no-brainer too. SharewarePlus has them in stock now so what are you waiting for? Go get one!

Freeze 64 Issue #65 Fanzine

15th February 2024

Issue 65 of Freeze 64 arrived in the post earlier today and features the new ‘Rocky & Co’ game on the front cover. It also includes the latest cheat card; number 41.

This edition comes with cheat cared #41 to add to your collection.

Naturally I immediately added this new card to my ~~Pokémon Trading Card~~ Freeze64 Cheat card album. I know they don’t fit perfectly but it does the job and keeps them in pristine condition 🙂

The new collectors card in my album.

Here’s a shot of the contents page so you can get an idea of what’s in this issue.

Freeze64 Issue 65 Contents Page.

I’ve been getting Freeze 64 for many years now and Vinny continues to make a fantastic magazine that deserves our support. If you would like find out how you can get hold of your own copy then head over to the Freeze64 website and take a look.

Finally, here’s a link to some of my previews of earlier editions of Freeze64.

Freeze 64 Issue #64 Fanzine

7th January 2024

Issue 64 of Freeze 64 arrived in the post yesterday after taking a little well deserved break. It features one of my favourite games from back in the Day – Falcon Patrol and includes a new cheat card; number 40.

This edition comes with cheat cared #40 to add to your collection.

Speaking of cheat cards, I recently picked up an album to keep my cards safe. It’s probably meant for Pokémon cards so they don’t fit perfectly but it does the job and they stay put 🙂

The new collectors card in my album.

Here’s a shot of the contents page so you can get an idea of what’s in this issue.

Freeze64 Issue 64 Contents Page.

Finally, here’s a link to some of my previews of earlier editions of Freeze64.

Zzap! 64 Issue 17 out now

7th January 2024