That was the hope. I had a blast trying out a few new things. Several I will use all the time when I break out my The VIC20. Thanks for watching Evil J!
As writer of the manuals for THEC64 range, I'm glad people are getting value from the documentation. That after all is the reason why the manuals were written in the first place! :-)
You've done a great job with them. Hoping this video exposes the value you provide. Let me know if I can contribute in any way. I love what the team is doing!
I've read the user's manual for TheC64 from cover to cover, it's very well written, and so I already knew these tips you've given, but this video is very helpful if anyone needs a quick reminder. I love TheC64. I've only ever used the full sized unit, I wasn't really interested in TheC64 Mini when it first came out, mainly because it doesn't have a functional keyboard.
Agree. The manual is good and packed to the hilt with information. My guess is most owners are not nerds, like you and I, and read every page. My goal was to get more folks in the manual so they get the most out of their purchase.
Really well done, and quite helpful! When I first received my TheC64 I began programming in BASIC. But I had forgotten all my disk management skills from the 80s. I had to learn that doing a factory reset of TheC64 with a blank USB stick inserted would create an empty disk file and mount it; otherwise doing SAVE didn’t actually save my program anywhere. Then I re-learned that I shouldn’t use the @ to overwrite my file on disk as I was programming, because there are bugs with this! It’s better to save many numbered “TEMP” files and then just save the final program when finished. A better way with TheC64 is probably to use the snapshot feature every little while, as you described, and then just save the program to a virtual disk when finished.
With CJM files, you can also play three and four player games, which emulates the "CGA" type adapter. For instance, to play Bomb Mania, by Protovision, you may set your CJM file like: T:Bomb Mania A:Protovision X:64,pal,accuratedisk,driveicon,fullheight J:1:JU,JD,JL,JR,JF,JF,1,2,JF,A,B,C,JF,, J:2:JU,JD,JL,JR,JF,JF,F1,F2,JF,1,2,3,JF,, J:3:JU,JD,JL,JR,JF,JF,F3,F4,JF,4,5,6,JF,, J:4*:JU,JD,JL,JR,JF,JF,F5,F6,JF,7,8,9,JF,, Of course, you will require four compatible USB joysticks.
Nice that you talk about TheC64 and TheVIC20! Great machines. I program on my 64 every day. There's a new(!) C64 BASIC that's very interesting and powerful. It's called Vision Basic and you'll find info about it here on RUclips.
If you used the shift + left arrow combo to enter the THEC64 menu, and return to BASIC prompt afterwards, give the left shift key an extra tap. This resets its hold-down state, a long-standing bug with the THEC64 series.
@@retroCombs I pulled the Maxi’s board and replaced it with a Pi3b+. Kept the USB board since it’s a nice USB hub. Power switch became a reset button. The keyboard is usb so just connects to the Pi. One of many benefits is that BMC65 fully emulates disk drives so software that relies on them to operate operates, such as some demos. Furthermore you get to make use of kernal roms so I have mine populated with jiffydos. Dual addressable SID and more.
@@rkadowns This is an awesome upgrade. I really want to give this a go because BMC64 is so tempting. Might have to recreate this project. Did you create any content around your conversion?
Interesting, though I'm more of the idea of using actual cassettes rather than a .tap file, I think what I'd do is connect up a USB tape deck and load my games that way. and what if I wanted to use a USB floppy drive with the C64?
Don't think we have the connections we need for a Datasette; however, a USB 3.5" floppy has been shown to work when you place .d64 image files on the diskette.
Super cool, thanks! I have been looking periodically for a TheVIC20, but have not found one available for sale yet. Any tips for US customers to get one? The Amazon UK has been unavailable for a while.
I've always wondered why all computer emulators don't have an option to assign keypresses to an actual controller, for games that don't support a joystick. Especially for systems that didn't have built-in support for joysticks. Sure, you can use something like Joy to Key, but wouldn't it make more sense to have that capability built into the emulator itself?
![[NEW] Crystal Clear HDMI For The Commodore 64 In 60 Seconds](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/SBgo8oGFung/mqdefault.jpg)
Great rundown. This makes me want to unbox my maxi and play around with it some more.
That was the hope. I had a blast trying out a few new things. Several I will use all the time when I break out my The VIC20. Thanks for watching Evil J!
As writer of the manuals for THEC64 range, I'm glad people are getting value from the documentation. That after all is the reason why the manuals were written in the first place! :-)
You've done a great job with them. Hoping this video exposes the value you provide. Let me know if I can contribute in any way. I love what the team is doing!
@@retroCombs I don't work for Retro Games Ltd anymore, but it's good that you are continuing to enjoy the fruits of their labour.
I've read the user's manual for TheC64 from cover to cover, it's very well written, and so I already knew these tips you've given, but this video is very helpful if anyone needs a quick reminder. I love TheC64. I've only ever used the full sized unit, I wasn't really interested in TheC64 Mini when it first came out, mainly because it doesn't have a functional keyboard.
Agree. The manual is good and packed to the hilt with information. My guess is most owners are not nerds, like you and I, and read every page. My goal was to get more folks in the manual so they get the most out of their purchase.
Really well done, and quite helpful! When I first received my TheC64 I began programming in BASIC. But I had forgotten all my disk management skills from the 80s. I had to learn that doing a factory reset of TheC64 with a blank USB stick inserted would create an empty disk file and mount it; otherwise doing SAVE didn’t actually save my program anywhere. Then I re-learned that I shouldn’t use the @ to overwrite my file on disk as I was programming, because there are bugs with this! It’s better to save many numbered “TEMP” files and then just save the final program when finished. A better way with TheC64 is probably to use the snapshot feature every little while, as you described, and then just save the program to a virtual disk when finished.
Thanks, Mark! Great additional info about virtual disk image usage.
With CJM files, you can also play three and four player games, which emulates the "CGA" type adapter. For instance, to play Bomb Mania, by Protovision, you may set your CJM file like:
T:Bomb Mania
A:Protovision
X:64,pal,accuratedisk,driveicon,fullheight
J:1:JU,JD,JL,JR,JF,JF,1,2,JF,A,B,C,JF,,
J:2:JU,JD,JL,JR,JF,JF,F1,F2,JF,1,2,3,JF,,
J:3:JU,JD,JL,JR,JF,JF,F3,F4,JF,4,5,6,JF,,
J:4*:JU,JD,JL,JR,JF,JF,F5,F6,JF,7,8,9,JF,,
Of course, you will require four compatible USB joysticks.
Great tip! Thanks for sharing.
This is a great video for all the theC65 newbies :D
Thanks so much!
Nice that you talk about TheC64 and TheVIC20! Great machines. I program on my 64 every day. There's a new(!) C64 BASIC that's very interesting and powerful. It's called Vision Basic and you'll find info about it here on RUclips.
I'm going to look for it. BASIC on the C64 was limited. I'm spoiled by BASIC on the C128 and especially the Plus/4.
thank you for the short cuts.
Another shortcuts fan! You are welcome.
How about adding the method to change joy ports on the fly while playing a game? I’ve found that quite handy !
Good add! 🕹️
If you used the shift + left arrow combo to enter the THEC64 menu, and return to BASIC prompt afterwards, give the left shift key an extra tap. This resets its hold-down state, a long-standing bug with the THEC64 series.
Awesome. Thanks for that tip since this one would not have appeared in the manual.
BMC64 Is amazing. I upgraded my Maxi to this is really would love to see more coverage of this amazing tech.
So I understand, you upgraded the Maxi to BMC64 or you use BMC64 instead of the Maxi? Thanks for commenting!
@@retroCombs I pulled the Maxi’s board and replaced it with a Pi3b+. Kept the USB board since it’s a nice USB hub. Power switch became a reset button. The keyboard is usb so just connects to the Pi.
One of many benefits is that BMC65 fully emulates disk drives so software that relies on them to operate operates, such as some demos. Furthermore you get to make use of kernal roms so I have mine populated with jiffydos. Dual addressable SID and more.
@@retroCombs So depending on how you look at it, it’s instead of the maxi or an upgrade of the maxi. 😂
@@rkadowns This is an awesome upgrade. I really want to give this a go because BMC64 is so tempting. Might have to recreate this project. Did you create any content around your conversion?
@@rkadowns And the keyboard works well? No missing keys?
I love my the TheC64 and my the TheVIC20s
They are a blast!
Thanks
Your a welcome!
Thank you!
Glad you found something useful!
i learned that 2 is 3.......or is it the other way around? 1:18
Looky there. You caught me. First one to notice!
Interesting, though I'm more of the idea of using actual cassettes rather than a .tap file, I think what I'd do is connect up a USB tape deck and load my games that way. and what if I wanted to use a USB floppy drive with the C64?
Don't think we have the connections we need for a Datasette; however, a USB 3.5" floppy has been shown to work when you place .d64 image files on the diskette.
@@retroCombs Interesting, I'll have to try that out. and maybe use a USB sound card for a tape deck.
That would be interesting. Let me know if it works.
Super cool, thanks! I have been looking periodically for a TheVIC20, but have not found one available for sale yet. Any tips for US customers to get one? The Amazon UK has been unavailable for a while.
I''m convinced the opportunity is no more. I believe this was probably a limited run. Unfortunately, eBay and used may be the only choice. :(
I've always wondered why all computer emulators don't have an option to assign keypresses to an actual controller, for games that don't support a joystick. Especially for systems that didn't have built-in support for joysticks. Sure, you can use something like Joy to Key, but wouldn't it make more sense to have that capability built into the emulator itself?
I agree and was so glad to find this option on the Maxi!
I REALY LOVE MY C64 ❤❤❤ FOREVER ❤❤❤❤❤
Absolutely! You came to the right spot.
Nice one! So many handy features on those. Nice intro and outro animations too! Are those new?
Yes, and still a work in progress.
thank you for this.
Welcome, Neil. Hope you found a new tip ot two.