C64

I’ve just released a new firmware version for the UniJoystiCle (v0.4.0). It supports the new Commando Mode. The new Android client with Commando mode can be downloaded from here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=moe.retro.unijoysticle The iOS client will be available as soon as Apple approves it (usually a few days) and will be available here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/unijoysticle-controller/id1130131741?mt=8 In order to upgrade the firmware, please follow these steps: DOCUMENTATION.md The Commando mode allows you to play games that: ...

VChar64 v0.2.0 is available for download: Win32: vchar64-0.2.0.win32.zip Mac: vchar64-0.2.0.mac.dmg New “VICE Import Snapshot” dialog. Changes: [NEW] Issue #13: Import VICE Snapshot supports importing maps as well [NEW] Issue #14: Possibility to restore the last open files at launch. Enabled by default [NEW] Issue #17: Added “File -> Clone Current Project” [NEW] Auto Update: Check if there is a new version every 7 days. Enabled by default [BUGFIX] Issue #11: Doesn’t crash when clicking radios on empty Koa file [BUGFIX] Issue #15: Menu->Colors->Multicolor are enabled/disabled as expected [BUGFIX] Issue #16: Map/Charset/Tileset: Backward selection works as expected [BUGFIX] Opening an already-open file will activate that window instead of opening a duplicate tab [BUGFIX] Moves references to retro.moe/pungas.space from empty charset to About dialog [BUGFIX] Fix memory leak when deleting a State instance [BUGFIX] Fix crash when using the Map widget with no open documents [BUGFIX] Settings code unified in Preferences code. OpenLastDir settings bug fixed

My Sacred Diskettes. In 1986 (or was it 1987?) I got my first computer, a Commodore 64. I started learning BASIC and during ‘87 and ‘88 I created some very simple games. Somewhere in ‘88 I started learning assembly language ( machine language to be precise), but I don’t recall coding any game using this language. If so, it must have probably been due to the fact that I lacked a good monitor. ...

A few weeks ago, we, the Pungas de Villa Martelli, released “¡Arriba las Manos!”, a music disk for the Commodore 64. It includes ten 8-bit songs, an animated hi-res graphic, an easter-egg, and you can control it with a joystick, or a mouse or the keyboard! Not even Apple puts so much love in the UX like us (the future is the c64!) ...

UniJoystiCle v0.2 coming soon. Changes in v0.2: [NEW] - ESP8266 device: supports 2 joysticks (uses three 4066 ICs instead of two [NEW] - ESP8266 firmware uses AP mode by default. Uses SSID “unijosyticle” + last 2 bytes of mac address [NEW] - iOS Client: Can be configured to use either joystick port [NEW] - iOS Client: Auto-discover ESP8266 firmware using mDNS [NEW] - iOS Client: UniJoystiCle mode also supports up, down and fire (jump) [FIX] - Name: Renamed project from Uni-Joysti-Cle to UniJoystiCle (easier to search, shorter to type) [FIX] - ESP8266 device: replaced NodeMCU LoLin with NodeMCU Amica [FIX] - Sophisticated Glue Material: Uses gaffer tape, instead of duct tape ...

Download: Mac: vchar64-0.0.13.mac.dmg Win32: vchar64-0.0.13.win32.zip Source code: https://github.com/ricardoquesada/vchar64 Changelog: [NEW] Charset and Tilset widgets have grid and zoom levels [NEW] Map Widget: can enter tiles by using the keyboard [NEW] Map Widget: can enter tiles by using ALT + tile_number [NEW] Beeps are only played when there is an error. Before two beeps were used on errors. Now a single beep. [BUGFIX] Export: uses the name of recently saved project [BUGFIX] Export Dialog: tab-order fixed [BUGFIX] Copy/Paste: doesn’t allow copy paste invalid buffers [BUGFIX] Cut: works as expected when using “inverse” range state->cut() no longer receives an offset since the offset is taken from the range [BUGFIX] Cut: doesn’t crash if cut is triggered when no window has focus [BUGFIX] Map widget: selecting with keyboard for the first time works as expected [BUGFIX] Maps scrolls normal speed (even big maps) [BUGFIX] TilesetWidget and CharsetWidget use zoomLevel to instead of pixelSize for zooming. Faster and less memory(?) [BUGFIX] Resizing maps works as expected [BUGFIX] Displays correct tile in map when tile is resized. Doesn’t crash on debug mode as well.

The Uni-Joysti-Cle™: The first and only solution to play Commodore 64 video games with your unicycle. Unique immersive experience, much better than VR. It consists of five beautifully designed parts: The _Uni Games_video game for the Commodore 64 The Uni-Joysti-Cle™ WiFi receiver, and its firmware The Uni-Joysti-Cle™ smartphone application A unicycle Sophisticated glue material Find all the information about this revolutionary device here: unijoysticle ...

…or How to use a 64-bit machine to control a Commodore 64. No schematics or PCBs yet. But at least I have the materials that I’m using: One Lolin NodeMCU (should work with any other ESP8266 that have at least five GPIOs) Two 4066 ICs. I’m using this one. …and this is the software that I’m using both for the NodeMCU firmware and the iOS client: ...

Requirements for the c64 controller A micro-controller. I doesn’t need to be very powerful, just powerful enough to handle some UDP connections and configuring some GPIOs. Flash-able firmware: If possible with support for Arduino IDE (or similar). C++ preferred. Micropython could be a nice backup plan. WiFi Some GPIOs Which module to choose There many alternatives, and these are the ones that I evaluated: Arduino + WiFi shield or ESP8266: This is the first option that I evaluated thanks to different suggestions. But since the ESP8266 already comes with a flash-able firmware, there was no need to use the Arduino part. I discarded this option, but I liked the ESP8266 part. Adafruit Huzzah breakout ($9.95) / Adafruit Feather Huzzah ($15.95): An ESP8266 based module. I like Adafruit products since they are very well tested, they give you support, have very good documentation. But they are usually on the pricy side. All ESP8266 boards are supported by the Arduino IDE which is a very good thing. (I ordered one Feather Huzzah). SparkFun ESP8266 Thing ($15.95): Similar to the Feather Huzzah. NodeMCU (~$4.00): Very similar too Adafruit Huzzah and SparkFun ESP8266 Thing. I’m not sure who built the first module (Adafruit, SparkFun or NodeMCU), although I wouldn’t be surprised if NodeMCU was the first one. There is a lot of innovation in China in this area. NodeMCU comes with a firmware that supports Lua, which is nice for faster development. You should know that the Lua firmware could be installed in the other modules as well, and you can run C++ firmwares on NodeMCU as well. There are three different NodeMCU brands: Amica: Which seems to be the official one, although I didn’t know this when I decided to buy the LoLin. LoLin: It seems that it is no longer produced by WeMos. (I ordered one of this too). DOIT: I know nothing about it. Mini D1 (~$4.00): Another ESP8266-based module similar to the previous ones. It is produced by WeMos, the same as the NodeMCU LoLin. My theory is that WeMos realized that there was more money in trying to create their own ecosystem rather than just cloning NodeMCU. It has 11 GPIOs, instead of the 9 offered by Adafruit Huzzah, which is good (I ordered a few of this one too). There were other alternatives, like the SparkFun Particle Photon ($19.00), based on non-ESP8266 micro-controllers. They were a bit more powerful, but also more expensive. And don’t support the Arduino IDE. So, for the moment I discarded them.

A reboot was needed. I rewrote most of the code. The game is no longer called “The Muni Race”. Instead it is called “The Uni Games” since it will have more than one event (think of “Summer Games” but for unicycles. UNICON basically). The game will have a more-retro look and feel than before. It will only use PETSCII chars, plus sprites. No redefined characters, no bitmaps. Pure PETSCII. Pure retro effects. ...