
Commodore Free Magazine


Issue 21 July 2008
Free wo download Commodore magazine 
For all Commodore machines 
Available as TXT HTML D64 SEQ PDF


Hello

Well what a month recently I was
interviewed for Meeting users through
the mail MUTT a paper publication
posted to Commodore users who do not
or cannot get an Internet connection,
I was surprised the magazine is still
going but I guess there is still strong
support for Commodore machines.

The Commodore Computer club U.K. Had
its first official meeting, read a
little more in this issue of the
magazine about what was archived on
the event, it was disappointing only 3
people attended but it is the first
event so I suspect more will attend at
the next meeting. If you haven't
already done so I suggest you head for
www.commodrecomputerclub.co.uk and see
how to become a member.

Its now clear that producing a
magazine every month is difficult and
leaves me with little time so I have
decided to change things a little, the
magazine will aim for around 16 pages
rather than the usual 30 if its any
bigger hey that's a bonus. With more
help and people submitting articles of
course I could keep the usual 30 pages
but without help it will be around 16
as stated earlier.

So there you are enjoy
Nigel

And yes because I don't have a handle
and can't think of one I am using my
yahoo email address nigelp2k I tried
nigel and there were hundreds and this
was the closest I could get so
nigelp2k fairly rubbish I know


HOW CAN I HELP COMMODORE FREE
Ok the best way to help would be write
something about Commodore (yes for the
observant I spelled the company
correctly this time) _grin seriously
though articles are always welcome, 

WHAT ARTICLES DO YOU NEED
Well they vary, contact me if you have
an idea but I am looking for Tutorials
(beginners and Expert), Experiences
with Commodore, Why I love Commodore
machines, Interviews maybe you have
access to a power user


PDF CONTENTS
Editor/Contents Page 2

Comments and Suggestions
Readers Comments Page 3

News
General Commodore News    Page 4 -6

Games
Netracer                  Page 7 -9

Interviews
C64 Game Endings          Page 10
Antonino Porcino VIC20  programmer
Erik Schubach             Page 25 - 26

Other items 
No Ending!                Page  12
Paper SX 64 model         Page 23 - 34
COMMODORE COMPUTER CLUB   Page 27 - 28

Tutorials
In the beginning part 6   Page 16 - 19
TND making music with DMC Page 20 - 22
======================================

NEWS
Back in Time Live and C64Audio news!
Hi there, fans of all things
C64-music-related! Lots of news this
time, some of it... delayed :)

* Back in Time Live visits Stockholm
* Remix 64 Vol 3 - Syntax Era
* Reyn Ouwehand is awesome
* Forthcoming stuff

*BACK IN TIME LIVE STOCKHOLM 13 SEP 08*

The most urgent news is the
announcement of Back in Time Live
Stockholm for the 13th September 2008,
run this time by C64.com supremo
Andreas Wallstrom and SceneSat head
honcho and diskmaster to the scene
John "Ziphoid" Carehag.

Performers include: Jeroen Tel, Reyn
Ouwehand, Romeo Knight, Disco
Danceaway and Andreas Wallstrom. If
you've heard these guys, you KNOW that
they will knock your socks off. If you
haven't: well, they'll knock your
SOCKS off!

Other guests include legendary C64
composer Fred Gray, loads of remixers
and radio personalities, famed cracker
Mr. Z/Triad, and members from scene
groups such as Pretzel Logic,
Fairlight, Light, Antic, Booze Design,
F4CG, and Megastyle.

As usual, all you need to bring is
your sense of fun, the ability to
shout "Kok!", and your thirst!
The extremely well-designed website is
where you can buy tickets is
http://www.backintimelive.com. Now,
go!!

* NEW CD! REMIX 64 - SYNTAX ERA *
Samples are available at:
http://www.c64audio.com/productInfo.php
?cat=R64SE Imagine C64 songs done to 
sound exactly like tracks or artists 
from the 1980s. "It's been done five 
years ago!!", I hear you say!

Well, the third volume of Remix 64
returns to its roots, with a stunning
and goosepimply selection of tracks
which brilliantly evoke the feel of
particular tracks such as Two Tribes,
19, Too Shy and Broken Wings, but
don't lose the essential SID tune
beneath. Featuring remixers such as
Romeo Knight, LMan, Thomas Detert,
Makke, Binster and Tonka.

The CD also features a bonus track
with SID and the gorgeous Elisa Zoot
doing Vince Clark's classic "Only
You", as a prelude to the forthcoming
releases from Monotron.

* REMINDER: Reyn Ouwehand is AMAZING *
http://www.c64audio.com/productInfo.php
?cat=PP004

Reyn Ouwehand last year produced one
of the most amazing remix CDs my ear
has ever heard, with virtuoso
performances of some of the best and
cutest themes around: such as
Zeppelin, Hunchback II, Mutants, Great
Giana Sisters, and loads more. If
you're a fan of the old school themes
like me, check out the samples!


* Forthcoming albums 1: New Atari ST *

In the next few weeks, we'll be
releasing a new Atari ST Remix CD by
Tobias Jansson focussed almost
exclusively on the work of Jochen
Hippel: it's another labour of love,
and will be available  in digital
format only (FLAC/HQ MP3). 

* Album 2: 8BW Confidential 2 *

Seth "8-Bit Weapon" Sternberger has
finally finished his C64 covers/remix
album, and it will be here shortly,
both as a digital album and as a
limited edition 5.25" disk edition :)

* Album 3: BASIC *

Tonka, in his new guise as "Monotron"
is working overtime with his lovely
vocalist Elisa Zoot to bring you the
best C64 + vocal sound ever released
(and yes, that includes the awesome
Thermostatic). I've hopefully got even
bigger news in my next newsletter...
two in one year? Yes, it might just
happen!

See you hopefully at Back in Time
Live, whatever happens!

Oh, and please let me know if you
don't want to receive the occasional
newsletter like this, or if you get
two, let me know the email address NOT
to send to!

And... if you've ever had any problems
with the shop: like stuff not being
delivered, please let me know as well.
Best wishes, and thanks for supporting
us over the years: it's now 11 years
since the original planned release
date of Back in Time 1. Scary!!
Cya :)
Chris Abbott
C64Audio.com


English SCACOM issue 3
The English version of SCACOM magazine
is available to download from 
www.scacom.de.vu 


XeO3 Test Demo

Demo version of XeO3 has been released
and available from the link below
http://www.xeo3.org/prg/xeo3_test_demo.
zip


New Version: of D64Lister
The most important changes since
18.01.07 are:

* Tried to make it compatible to Vista
* Added more than 144 Files mode
* Added PrologicDos Support
* Added 40 Tracks Autodetect Mode
* Added Window Resize in Extended
OpenDialog
* Added Additional Special locations
in Extended OpenDialog InitialDir
* Changed Extended OpenDialog Special
Dir handling on Show
* Changed Custom Header generation
(update your settings)
* Changed BAMViewer activation and
Image Reload handling
* Changed Keyboard Zoom in C64Screen
and PhotAlbumViewer to MainKeyboard,
too
* Some codereview and optimizations
* Use UPX 3.03 for Exe compressing
http://www.hardworks.de/d64lister/



From: Jim 
Subject: uIEC update (pricing info)

I apologize for the delay, but I know
people wanted pricing, and I was busy
writing code.  However, since I am
hoping to sell units at the C4 EXPO
coming up this weekend, I had put
pricing off for too long. 
Thus, here goes: uIEC will be offered
in 2 flavors:

The base uIEC offering will include a
CompactFlash slot and an IDE drive 
header.  It also includes an expansion
port (as yet unused for anything, but
it's configured to match the pinout of
parallel driver speeders like
Professional DOS/RapiDOS Pro.) and a
future option for external drive RAM.
It includes an onboard IEC connector.

The uIEC/CF is a slimmed-down version
of the above unit that offers only the
CF connector and drive LEDs.  No IDE,
expansion port, or external RAM.  It
is primarily targeted for those who
want to mount the uIEC in their
C64/DTV/C128/VIC/Plus-4/etc.

Both support all CBM IEC based
computers (including the VIC-20 with
it's higher drive access speeds),
include JiffyDOS support, support
D64s, P00/R00/S00/U00 files, will
operate with both FAT16 and FAT32
filesystems, handle mulitple FAT
partitions, support subdirectories, &
new features appears every week or so.

Labor to solder for the first batch of
units is nontrivial, but I wanted to
offer an attractive price. Thus, here's
the price list:

uIEC   : $75.00
uIEC/CF: $50.00

US Shipping is +4.60, please check for
overseas pricing.

I expect the prices to hold steady
over time(production board run will
bring the board cost down for the next
run, but I'll switch to an outsourced
builder to solder up the units, no way
am I soldering hundreds of these
little CF connectors)

I'd appreciate getting an idea of
interest.  I hope to have units for
officially offer for sale at the
C4EXPO this weekend (all depends on my
soldering skills). If you've
previously requested one, please
remind me via email. I'll make sure
all previous requestors get at least
one unit.  Mainly, I just want to
unload all of the current boards and
recoup my investment before I start
running a new batch.

If you're looking for a lower cost
option, I'm not sure I can help, but I
am planning to run a batch of sd2iec
boards in the near future (same
firmware, but uses MMC/SD cards, not
CF cards).  They might have a slightly
lower cost.

As for other news, with the source
code commit tonight, uIEC/sd2iec now
supports Relative files.  It will
support .REL files (first byte is
record length) or R00 files (record
length is in header, as implemented by
VICE and PC64, among others).  Support
should be considered beta at  this
point. D64 REL file support will
follow shortly.
Jim

http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys
.cbm/browse_thread/thread/fd747bd45d83e
690?hl=en


The Story of Commodore: A Company on
the Edge (Paperback) by Brian Bagnall

It seems this book is now going to be
revised with new interviews and
released later in the year

Product details
Paperback: 548 pages 
Publisher: Variant Press; 2Rev Ed
edition (30 Sep 2007) 
Language English 
ISBN-10: 0973864931 
ISBN-13: 978-0973864939 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Story-Commodore
-CompanyEdge/dp/0973864931/ref=sr_1_1?i
e=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214897454&sr=8-1


Commodore Computer Club

There is a UK user group currently
being set up at
www.commodorecomputerclub.co.uk
The aim is to have regular meetings to
discuss current activities and within
the Commodore world, & have workshops
(GEOS, Coding etc...) also maybe hold
an annual coding competition.
International members are welcome. The
first meeting is scheduled for 26 July
2008, and is being hosted by Commodore
Free's editor Nigel Parker. Formal
membership is expected to start August
2008


Commodore BBS listing website

I have launched a new site that
includes a commodore BBS listing. The
listing is user generated and edited.
Each listing has screenshots and
connection info. Please stop by and
list your BBS or come and find the
address or your favorite BBS. My hope
is that this will help make the
commodore BBS scene more active.
Please stop by at:

http://imageoutpost.hobby-site.com


1541U Firmware V1.1
Written by Gideon
Friday, 18 July 2008 19:46

Upgrade your firmware now to V1.1!
In order to upgrade your 1541 Ultimate
or 1541 Ultimate Plus to version 1.1,
download the following zip file:
1541 Ultimate V1.1 Firmware Download
(PAL ONLY)

Installation instructions:

1) Unzip the zip file into the ROOT of
an SD-card, of which you have made
sure that the 1541 Ultimate can read
it.

2) Place the SD-card in the 1541U, &
make sure the 1541U is correctly
inserted in a C64/C128 expansion slot.

3) Turn on the C-64 & watch screen.


Until the NTSC version has been
officially released, NTSC users can
put their NTSC cartridge binaries in
the "update1" directory on the SD
card. Just make sure that the files
you put there have the same size & are
in binary format. Just renaming a .crt
file to .bin doesn't work; it needs to
be correctly converted. As long as the
filenames are the same as they were
when you unzipped the firmware package,
you can't go wrong. Faulty cartridge
images won't brick your 1541 ultimate.

What has been fixed?

The opcode $4b has been fixed in the
6502 emulation; which enables the
Krill loader and maybe some others.
The AR loader bug has been fixed!  It
turned out to be a bug in the AR
emulation itself, rather than in the
drive emulation!
Current drive of the IEC pins has been
increased from 8 mA to 16 mA. This
might help with 1541-II issues.
REU emulation has been greatly
improved, thanks to the help of Womo!!
Some minors, like the jump of the blue
bar into the scroller..
CD:/ of the software IEC mode

What has been added?

Retro Replay!  (after a lot of
requests from users!)
Super Snapshot V5 emulation, with 32K
RAM  (for our American and Canadian
friends!)
Swap option for reset/freeze buttons
Hide option for files that start with
'.'

Enjoy, and please let me know if you
encounter any problems flashing the
new firmware.


WINGS
The WiNGs website is still up.  It's
been moved to a new server, & has a
new address. This is obviously not an
ideal address. If anyone wants to pay
for a better domain, I'd gladly point
it at the new server! :)

http://nacu.ca/sites/wings/

For some stupid reason DynDNS will not
allow me to use wings.webhop.org
anymore, even though no one else is
using it. The status of WiNGs is bit
problematic.  For one, Jolz (the chief
 architect, developer, etc.) hasn't
been in the scene for a few years. 
Which leaves the project basically at
a standstill.  I never worked on the
OS itself.  If I may go out on a
tangent, I think the only low level
thing I ever did was upgrade the
digi.drv to support stereo output on
the DigiMax.  But even that was
admittedly a hack job.  The ideal
would be to write, in assembly, a
proper multi channel mixer, with an
abstracted system for output.  This
would allow for multiple applications
to produce sound simultaneously, and
then the output would be routed to
whatever de-vice the user happens to
have on his system.The GUI remains
largely incomplete.  And I don't have
the time or, more importantly, the
technical expertise, to write what
needs to be written.
Unfortunately.  :(


The other important problem is the
lack of availability of the hardware
required to run WiNGs as it is.  The
SuperCPU is, for all intents and
purposes, no longer available.  This
makes it pretty darn hard to convince
people to try WiNGs.  The first thing
they ask when  they find out it needs
a SuperCPU is, "Where can I get one of
those?"   And the answer is, "nowhere."
So, that brings their potential
exploration of WiNGs to a grinding
halt.  Even the IDE64, which, in my
opinion was the ideal way to use WiNGs,
is for all intents and purposes not
available. I know they have been
working for 2 or 3 years on a new
version.  But meanwhile, real people,
with actual C64s sitting on their desks
are waiting around, and there are no
IDE64s available for them to buy.  This
is not the IDE64 team's fault, from
what I understand one of the main chips
the V3 used is no longer available.
Otherwise, I'm sure they would have
continued to produce and sell the
Version 3 model at the same time as
working on the Version 4 model.

Greg.

=======================================

READERS COMMENTS

-- On Wed, 2/7/08,
Shaun Bebbington wrote:
From: Shaun Bebbington
Subject: SuperCPU replacement.
To: Commodore Free
Date: Wednesday, 2 July, 2008, 11:57 PM

Hi Nigel,

I read in Commodore Free that I
suggested that the 1541 Ultimate Plus
would be a good SuperCPU replacement.
 I never actually said this; what I
suggested was that with a battery
back-up function (which I think is
intended on a future revision), the
device could be a RAMLink replacement
at some point in the future.In
emulation, someone has already hacked
Wheels to recognize a 17xx Ram
Expansion Unit up to 8 megabytes, and
theoretically up to 16Mb. Okay, so
this hasn't been done in the real
world as far as I know, but the 1541U+
as far as I can gather basically has
the same function as a 1750 REU (for
instance), but up to 16Mb. A RAMLink
is 16Mb, so all that is needed
is either a power source to keep the
RAM in a solid state, and some sort of
DOS interface to read the contents of
the RAM (you'll note that the RAMLink
can do this already as you can plug a
1750 REU or clone into the RAMPort,
which can be either 'normal' access
via JiffyDOS, or 'direct' access as it
was intended to be used, which is only
possible because the memory is kept
constant as long as it remains plugged
into the RAMPort and the RAMLink isn't
 unplugged).

Even without accessing the RAM like a
drive, you can skip RAMDisk formatting'
on Wheels, and have a RAM disk on your
desktop. This keeps the memory ON even
after a soft reset, but obviously
switching the computer off will clear
it. So, keeping power to the 1541U+
even after switching off the computer
should also keep the memory intact,
meaning that you can have all of your
GEOS apps in RAM for super-fast access.

The 1541U+ is going to be some kick-ass
device, that is for sure! As for a
SuperCPU clone... well, who knows what
the future will hold ;-)
Sorry for the rant!
Regards,
Shaun.

COMMODORE FREE
Gulps and blushes
Sorry friend, I must have been half
listening, ok so please read the above
Comments as an amendment to the last
pages of issue 20

I am hoping most of you will have
downloaded the amended version of the
magazine with the Corrected text.


Dewey Wrote
From: Dewey
Subject: Loadstar
To: Commodore Free

Sir:
Sorry to trouble you. In your issue
#16, under news, there was an entry
concerning Loadstar. I was interested
in purchasing some Loadstars but
cannot bring up the website. Does
anyone know if this website is no
longer active or if Dave Moorman is
out of business? Sorry I don't do the
forums so I don't know what is
happening with C64 stuff. Thank you
for your informative Commodore
Free magazine.
Dewey


COMMODORE FREE
Hello  Dewey
No need to be so formal we are all
friends here, anyway I believe
Loadstar back issues are available on
CD ROM from the following location

http://shop.vcsweb.com/index.php?main_p
age=index&cPath=24

Here is a link direct to complete
Loadstar all back issues on CD ROM

http://shop.vcsweb.com/index.php?main_p
age=product_info&cPath=24_28&products_i
d=173

I also passed your details onto David
from Loadstar so he may contact you
directly

Thanks
Commodore Free

=====================================

NetRacer
http://home.ica.net/leifb/
 commodore/racer/

First ever Commodore lan party?

http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?si
d=08/07/06/2114221&from=rss

Cincinnati Commodore Computer Club
2008 held what most are calling the
First Commodore 64 Lan party with
Netracer the first multiplayer
Internet game for the Commodore 64!z

Overview:
NetRacer is a simple racing game
written to demonstrate the potential
of multiplayer games over the Internet
with the C64.  It builds on our earlier
two-player effort Artillery Duel with
realtime gameplay and the addition of
a server. The game was unveiled at the
Cincinnati Commodore Computer Club
Expo 2008.  Check out the Powerpoint
presentation about the project and
pictures of the event & setup.

Features:
Eight simultaneous players over the
Internet or LAN
Scrolling graphics
Sound effects
Joystick control (Port 2)

Technical Details:
UDP-based communication (don't forget
to forward port 3000 in your
router/firewall to your C64)
Written in DASM assembler
Uses netlib64, which in turn supports
the RR-Net, FB-Net, or ETH64
cartridges.
Server is written in Java 5.

Download:
NetRacer 1.0 from Commodore Scene
Database.
http://noname.c64.org/csdb/release/?id=
67873


Please note that the VICE emulator
isn't yet supported, as its RR-Net
emulation is a bit buggy. Source code
for the client and server are
available, contact Leif for a copy.
Links:

Discuss the game's development on the
C64 Network Game Development forum.
http://jledger.proboards19.com/index.cg
i?board=c64ngd 
Look for opponents on the C64friends
IRC chat http://www.c64friends.com/
or the #netracer channel on NewNet.
http://www.newnet.net/newnewnet/
 index.php

Summary of Ethernet on the Commodore
64.
http://home.ica.net/leifb/commodore/eth
ernet.html


NETRACER
TEXT taken from the Powerpoint
presentation from the Cincinnati
Commodore Computer Club Expo 2008.


NETRACER
A networked multiplayer game for the
Commodore 64
Leif Bloomquist

Cincinnati Commodore Computer Club
Expo 2008

THE GOAL
Create a real-time multiplayer action
game for the Commodore 64 with network
cart Build on network code written for
Artillery Duel Network to add
multiplayer capability

============

GAMEPLAY

Simple race-around-the-track game
against other players
Points for distance traveled and laps
completed/ Car takes damage and you
slow down if you collide with the 
track edge or other players. Complete 
laps to
fix damage

================

Client server Architecture

Commodore 64\           /Commodore 64

Commodore 64-Java Server-Commodore 64

Commodore 64/           \Commodore 64

===============


INTERNET PROTOCOLS
Transport Control Protocol (TCP)

 Guaranteed delivery of data + packet
ordering
 Not implemented in ML yet, high
overhead
 A lot of work for a poor 1Mhz
computer

User Datagram Protocol (UDP) 
 Much simpler protocol than TCP
 No guarantees  you do all the
confirmation
 Working implementations in 6502 ML
 Used extensively in PC Internet gaming

=====================

SIMPLYFYING ASSUMPTIONS
Minimal and static game world
Lost packets are ignored  subsequent
packets supercede old data anyway
No ACKing required
Maximum 8 players per server instance
to keep to max. 8 sprites on screen
No theoretical limit on # players
otherwise

====================

TECHNICAL CHALLENGES
Keeping everything synchronized
Mitigated by providing the illusion of
a consistent game world (good enough)
Raster time
Solved by skipping network update for
one frame when screen is scrolled

Internet Lag
Could be mitigated by transmitting
player speed and direction to each
client, which can interpolate other
players positions in between updates

=====================

SERVER
Written in Java 5
Platform independent
Trivial UDP networking
Receives and maintains all players
positions on the track
Updates all clients with information
on other players that are currently
visible

=====================

SERVER THREADS
Receiver Thread
Receives data from all clients
Updates internal representation of
game world

Updater Thread
Maintains list of players (watches for
drop-outs)
Sends packet to all active players 20
times per second with details of what
sprites to display

=====================

CLIENT
Written in 6502 machine language using
the DASM cross-assembler
Controls local players position and
displays sprites representing other
players based on updates from server

Tracks damage and score
Transmits player stats (location,
speed, etc.) to server 60 times per
second

=====================

FUTURE PLANS AND IDEAS
Enhance the game to add combat
elements (weapons, other hazards)?
Build on this experience to make a
full-blown MMORPG on the C64 similar
to Ultima?

<Your idea here!>

========================

WHERE TO GET THE GAME
Grab a copy on disk from me today
Download latest version from
www.petscii.com forums (Network Game
Development section)
Look for opponents on the #c64friends
IRC channel  (www.c64friends.com)

=========================

CREDITS
Leif Bloomquist  Game concept and
framework
Robin Harbron and Lasse rni
Graphics/display code
Oliver VieBrooks  Network library code
Raymond Lejuez  Graphics
Alexander Rotzsch - Music
Ian Colquhoun  Server hosting
Robin Harbron, Dave McMurtrie, Dave
Hartman  Playtesting

Commodore Free = information taken
from powerpoint slides used with
Permission of Leif Bloomquist

=====================================

Interview with C64 Endings
www.c64endings.co.uk

http://www.atfreeforum.com/c64endings/

Commodore Free.
Please introduce yourself to our
readers

Vincenzo Mainolfi.
My name is Vincenzo Mainolfi (please
call me Vinny) and I love my C64.

CF. How did you hear about Commodore
and what were your first experiences?

VM. Back in 1982 my Mum kindly
purchased a second hand TRS-80 (Tandy
Radio Shack). It was my first
experience of home computing and I
spent all my time learning to program
in BASIC. I produced quite a few games
and drawing utilities, and looking
back at what software that was
available at the time, I should have
sent my stuff to a publisher, but
unfortunately I was only 11 and didn't
really understand the industry.

My next computer was to be a TANDY
COLOR 2, but the Manager of our local
Tandy store suggested that I purchased
a Commodore 64 as they were going to
be a popular machine (a poor sales
man, but a honest person). So in 1984
I  purchased my first (of many)
Commodore 64 for 299 - without a
datasette or disk drive!

From the moment I got my Commodore 64
out of its box, I was in love. Because
I didn't have a tapedeck or disk
drive, I spent the first few months
learning Commodore BASIC and produced
quite a few funky, little games.
Unfortunately, I couldnt save any of
them and would leave my machine on for
days so that I wouldn't loose my work.

It wasnt until months later that I
finally purchased a datasette and
thats really where my Commodore 64
world opened up

CF. Do you still use Commodore
machines today, if so what do you use
and why?

VM I have many retro computers and
consoles, but my faves are my
Commodore 64 and Amiga 1200.
Unfortunately, I dont have the space
to set up my Amiga 1200, but there
will ALWAYS be space for my beloved
C64 (with Action Replay cartridge),
datasette and diskdrive. I use my
Commodore 64 for playing new games and
demos, testing old stuff and
converting files to PC.


CF. Commodore endings? Can you explain
the motivation for the website?

VM Ive always been fascinated with
game endings  its the pinnacle of
every game. You buy a game to complete
the challenge but sometimes you dont
get your moneys worth when you get
stuck on a certain level. I want to
see the whole game and reach the
ending, and I want everyone to benefit
from my discovery. It probably all
started with the ending to 'Thing on a
Spring' (Gremlin Graphics) and 'The
Human Race' (Mastertronic).

CF. When did the website start?

VM. Hmmmmm  back in the early 90s I
was producing 5.25 disks that
contained game endings to different
Commodore 64 games along with a menu
system. Quite a few people wrote and
commented on how great the idea was.
In 1997, I started to plan out an idea
for a Web site that will house the
endings that I had already obtained,
but I still needed to teach myself
HTML.

It was either late 1997 or early 1998
that I placed my new site online. It
was very popular and lots of fun.

Then, in 2002-2003, I asked my good
friend, Frank Gasking, if he would
look after my site whilst I took a
break to prepare for the birth of my
daughter. He did an amazing job but
time also caught him up and he needed
to spend more time on his own great
C64 site, Games That Werent.

The endings site disappeared for a
while until Andrew Fisher (Merman)
started to stir up some interest for
the site to return. I felt it was time
to bring the site back and so in 2006
I spent a few days designing a new
face to the site and placed it online
for all to see and enjoy.

CF. What was the first Commodore
Ending game you put on the site?

VM. When the site first arrived in
1997, it was probably Commando
(Elite), but when the site returned in
2006  I remember this moment so well
it was Dalek Attack (Admiral), which
is why the ending page looks light on
comments.

CF. Is the website actively maintained?

VM. Are you joking me? I try to add a
new ending every day and I also add
new daily comments and info to our
forum.
http://www.atfreeforum.com/c64endings/

CF. So these are the Endings of
Commodore games are they just
Commodore 64 games?

VM Yes - they are just Commodore 64
game endings.

CF. What format are the endings in
i.e. Storyboard or Video and why was
this format selected?

All the endings are in storyboard
format, which house screenshots,
comments and a score rating for each
ending. Each ending also comes with a
.PRG file of the actual ending that
you can play on any emulator or real
Commodore 64.

CF. Do you use an emulator for the
screen shots or are they taken form a
real machine?

VM All screen shots are taken via the
CCS64 emulator utilizing the ALT-F1
screen grab function.

CF. Ok hardware or emulator what do
you prefer and why ?

VM I love both: hardware for a real
fix, and emulator for a quick fix. I
mainly use an emulator as it allows me
to obtain endings quite quickly. I use
a real Commodore 64 when I want to sit
down and play an old game.

CF. Is your website a walk through or
do you just show the ending, what else
is shown on the site?

VM I just show the endings as there
are quite a few sites out there that
already house walkthroughs, long plays
and solutions.

I also house endings that receive a
10/10 scoring, which I have called
Gold Medals; a list of games that dont
have endings; a list of wanted game
endings, and finally a contacts/FAQ
page.

CF. You list the No endings games
supposedly that had an ending and
didn't, do you think this was
programmers running out of time and
being pressured for a game release?

VM I think it could be a whole host of
reasons why these games have no
endings. We have to take each game as
it comes and make a judgment as and
when.

CF. Do you have a list of favourite
endings?

VM
1  Thing on a Spring (Gremlin Graphics)
2  Hunters Moon (Thalamus)
3  Creatures 1 & 2 (Thalamus)
4  Max Headroom (Quicksilva)
5  Rolands Rat Race (Ocean)
6  The Human Race (Mastertronic)
7  Bee 52 (Codemasters)
8  Way of the Exploding Fist (my April
    fools version)
9  Escape from Arth
10  Ghostbusters (Activision)

CF. And what is the worst ending you
have seen?

VM Hmmmm  there are quite a few crappy
endings, but the worst has got to be
Zaxxon by US Gold; you play the game
for two levels and then it just says
CONGRATULATIONS.

I was expecting so much more

CF. Do you plan an Amiga endings site
or similar?

VM Nope, C64 all the way.

CF. Do you use any cheats the get to
the game ends?

VM Id say that 90% of the time I use a
cheat. I am really crap at games and
so I need some assistance. There are
only a few games that I have actually
completed without a cheat.

CF. If a game just gets faster and
faster like "magic Carpets" how do you
know there isn't an ending after a
period of time?

VM Well, this is where the team
members come into action: Neil and
Brendan will play a game over and
over; Inge (and me sometimes) will try
and crack the game, and Frank and Matt
are a mind of information. All
together, we suss out whether there is
an ending or not. Theres also comments
from our viewers that come via the
forum.

CF. Do you dissemble the games to look
at the code?

VM I used to always do this even
before playing a game (Im a cheat at
heart). Unfortunately, I dont get the
time to do this anymore and I rely
more and more on cracked versions of a
game that houses a trainer. Recently,
Inge has  done a great job in cracking
games.

CF. How many people are involved with
the www.c64endings.co.uk team

VM Its mainly me who runs the site,
but I have Frank Gasking, Matt Rogers,
Brendan Phoenix and Neil Collins
helping out with gathering new endings
and keeping the forum fresh. Inge
Pedersen is also a great help.

CF. How can our user help?

VM By logging on the site and viewing
the endings, and then going to the
forum and contributing comments. In
other words: have fun with the site
and forum
http://www.atfreeforum.com/c64endings/

CF. Is there any question you would
have liked to have been asked?

VM Not that I can think of

CF. Is it true you used to produce
lame Commodore 64 demos and stuff
under the guise of Hackersoft?

VM Erm ... yep. I produced quite a lot
of music hacks, cheat programs, and
loads of different graphic and sprite
style demos. I have recently produced
a new site to house my demos
(www.hackersoft.co.uk). I've still got
loads  more stuff to add to the site.

CF. Would you like to comment on where
Commodore went wrong?

VM What are you on about, man? They
produced the Commodore 64 and Amiga.
How is that wrong?

CF. Do you think Commodore 64 is the
best games machine or is it rather the
games that are created for a machine
rather than the hardware

VM The Commodore 64 is a great machine
with great games.

Keep up the good work.
Kind regards,
Vinny :-)

www.c64endings.co.uk
http://www.atfreeforum.com/c64endings/

======================================

NO ENDINGS! But you EXPECTED one!
www.c64endings.co.uk

Believe it or not, there are quite a
few C64 games out there that DO NOT
possess a game ending even though you
expected them to have one!

How many times have you read the game
instructions which tell you that you
have to 'reach the end' and eventually
find that there is no 'end'?

To save you a lot of time and hassle,
the C64 endings Team have put together
the following list of C64 games that
have no ending (even though you
expected one!)

- 1985 by Mastertronic.
Info provided in by Compound (on the
LEMON 64 forum) on 27/04/07: the day
after (after Level 8, the game makes
you replay level 7 after which you're
in an infernal loop - the instructions
state there are 12 levels, so maybe
it's a bug (a coder could perhaps take
a look)

- AFTERMATH by ALTERNATIVE SOFT.
Game just ends after 10 levels.

- APB by DOMARK.
There are 9 crooks to capture during
the game, but even if you catch all of
them and they are in jail they just
keep coming back. After level 99 the
game loops.

- ATOMINO by PSYGNOSIS.
Sent in by Ivan Smolenski on 26/02/06:
Loops after 999 levels.

- BIG MAC by MASTERTRONIC.
Sent in by C64endings Team Member,
Brendan Phoenix on 05/12/07: Loops
forever.

- BEACH BUGGY SIMULATOR by SILVERBIRD.
Complete Round 8 and you go straight
back to Round 1!!

- BEACH HEAD 2 by US GOLD.
Info provided in by Kobayashi (on the
LEMON 64 forum) on 03/03/06: Nothing
happens after the knife fight. The
game just ends as if you have died!

- BIONIC GRANNY by MASTERTRONIC.
This game just gets faster and faster
and is never-ending!

- BLADE RUNNER by CRL.
Sent in by Juan Manuel on 26/12/07:
just starts over. I won the game a
couple of times. The game is exactly
the same, you have to chase the
replicant through the street. The last
replicant is the most difficult
because he/she keeps running along the
back wall, but everything else is the
same. I'm sure there is no ending
screen nor music. I don't know if you
were "awarded" one short line in the
same game screen for a couple of
seconds before the game started over,
but that was it.

- BLAGGER by ALLIGATA.
Sent in by Neil Collins on 29/06/07:
the game just loops back to level one.


- BMX RACERS by MASTERTRONIC.
This game just gets faster and faster
and is never-ending!

- BOOTY by FIREBIRD.
Sent in by David Craddock on 16/04/08:
David sent in the ending, but once you
collect the final key the game reverts
right back to the start! No ending :(

- BOULDER DASH by FIRST STAR SOFTWARE.
Sent in by Vathism on 21/01/06: The
Boulderdash games are never-ending!

- CATABALL by ELITE.
Complete Level 8 and you are taken to
Level 1, again!

- COBRA by OCEAN.
Sent in by Inge & Brendan (via the
forum) on 09/05/08: Game just loops
back to level one. Not as much as a
well done !

- COMIC BAKERY by IMAGINE.
Sent in by Neil Collins on 20/05/08:
Game keeps going up to level 99 - then
back to 0.

- DEATHWISH III by GREMLIN GRAPHICS.
Info provided in by Brendan Phoenix
21/05/08: Been playing this for a
while and can see no ending in site -
had a look on the Lemon64 forum and
the opinion is the same on there that
this game does not have an ending.

- DIG DUG by ATARISOFT.
Sent in by Ivan Smolenski on 26/02/06:
Loops after 99 levels.

- DRAGON'S LAIR 2 by SOFTWARE
PROJECTS. Sent in by Robbo on
10/02/06: I played this game for
months and months back when it came
out. Eventually I beat the game using
a poke for infinite lives which took
an eon to type out - especially for
eight year old like I was back then.
Even with the cheat it took hours of
play. My reward? The high score table.
A far as I can recall, this had not
one bit of an ending which was an
injustice to such a superb & difficult
title.

- DROPZONE by US Gold.
It may be an arcade game, but I feel
that it still needs a game ending.
Archer MacLean was kind enough to
confirm to me that the game does NOT
possess a game ending.

- ELEKTRA GLIDE by ENGLISH SOFTWARE.
Sent in by Neil Collins on 20/05/08:
Just rolls on and on forever... I went
around about 10 times... nothing !

- FORBIDDEN FOREST by Cosmi.
Info provided in by Kobayashi (on the
LEMON 64 forum) on 03/03/06: Little
dance as usual then goes back to level
1 but much harder.

- FOX FIGHTS BACK by ImageWorks.
Info provided in by Kobayashi (on the
LEMON 64 forum) on 03/03/06: There's
no end. At the end of each level it
says "Good Hunting Level [level
number] Cleared"  Got to level 10 and
thought it can't go any further,
surely. When I finished that level it
said "Good Hunting Level A cleared".

- GATEWAY TO APSHAI by EPYX.
Info provided in by Cybergoth (on the
LEMON 64 forum) on 14/05/06: it keeps
repeating level 8 once you get there.

- G.I. JOE by EPYX.
 Info provided in by Cybergoth (on the
LEMON 64 forum) on 14/05/06: after a
while imprisoned badies just escape
from prison, so it's not possible to
beat them all.Update from K-J-N on
14/05/06 (on the LEMON 64 forum):
There is a fun reason for this. From
this interview with Jeff Johannigman,
programmer of the C64 version, at the
Epyx Shrine:Why is the game never
ending?

"As for why the game has no end... Now
THAT is an interesting point. When I
first came to Epyx and they put me on
the GI Joe project, they said "This is
not a game. It's an ACTIVITY TOY."
"Activity Toys" were Epyx president
Michael Katz's idea (Katz came from
the toy industry), to make products
that were more open-ended, less goal
oriented. I asked the other designers,
and they all came to the same basic
conclusion - "design a game, just
don't have an ending."

- H.A.T.E. by Gremlin Graphics.
 Info provided in by Ivan Smolenski on
15/07/06: The game loops from level one
after the last level, without mention-
ing anything it could be the end.

- HYPERSPORTS by IMAGE.
 I know it's an arcade sports
simulation, but it could have had some
kind of medal ceremony!

- IMHOTEP by ULTIMATE.
 Info provided in by Mikey303
19/05/08: The game does not appear to
have any ending and just loops back to
the first level.

- INDIANA JONES & THE TEMPLE OF DOOM
by US GOLD.
Info provided in by Brendan Phoenix
21/05/08: Final level plays for ever
so you can rack up points - no ending.
Played this myself and read up on some
longplay comments on YouTube and they
say the same!

- INTERNATIONAL KARATE by SYSTEM 3.
Archer MacLean confirmed that this
game does NOT have a game ending. It's
a shame because I think there is a
need for one.

- JUNGLE STORY by MASTERTRONIC.
This game just gets faster and faster
and is never-ending!

- KRAKOUT by GREMLIN GRAPHICS.
 Sent in by Tilmann on 06/03/06: Just
"finished" Krakout - brilliant as the
game is, after I finally reached level
100, it just started over. Level 001
and now being 101. Quite a
disappointment :(

- LEVIATHAN by English Software.
Info provided in by Kobayashi (on the
LEMON 64 forum) on 03/03/06: Level 10
just loops once you finish it. 

- MAGIC CARPET by MASTERTRONIC.
This game just gets faster and faster
and is never-ending!

- MEAN MACHINE by CODEMASTERS.
Just 5 levels, and after the final
'QUALIFY', you go back to level 1.

- MILK RACE by MASTERTRONIC.
Info provided in by Brendan Phoenix
10/06/08: 13 stages - what happens on
the final stage? GAME OVER

- MISSIION A.D. by ODIN.
 Info provided in by Brendan Phoenix
14/04/08: Looks like no ending - had a
level skip trainer and went up to
level 200 - just looks like a never
ending loop.

- ONE MAN AND HIS DROID by
Mastertronic.
 Info provided in by Kobayashi (on the
LEMON 64 forum) on 03/03/06: Just goes
back to level 1. 

- PARK PATROL by Activision.
Info provided in by Henrik on
02/11/07: Perhaps there is one, but I
never found one in "Park Patrol".
After 3 1/2 hours of playing, I was at
level 99 (which never increased), with
99 lives and 999,999 points. (Or was
that
99,999? Anyways.) So I tried dying,
and made it down to about 40 lives
left when my old black-and-white
teevee gave out on me. *sob* It had
never been on for that long in one
sitting before. Still a great game to
play.

Possibly even better for not having
any ending, just getting more and more
enemies and cans to pick up and ..
stuff. And music I can still remember.
*brr* Sticky, clingy, bouncy music.
Help! 

- PARADROID by HEWSON.
Sent in by Edvard Kramer: "I finally
killed the very last remaining rogue
droid on the spaceship. And
immediately had to start with the old
.001 influence device from the very
beginning of the game. No trumpets of
victory.
Not even a cold handshake from the
fleet commander."

Update from Craig Grannell on
15/01/06: Your Paradroid listing isn't
entirely accurate. What happens when
you complete a ship is you get put on
to the next one, which is harder.
After clearing "all" of the ships, you
end up in a loop, constantly being put
back on a ship called something
"puntastic" like "Itsnotardenuff".


- PUNCHY by MR MICRO LTD.
Sent in by C64endings Team Member,
Brendan Phoenix on 05/12/07: Loops
forever.

- RAMPAGE by ACTIVISION
Sent in by C64endings Team Member,
Brendan Phoenix on 15/04/08: I had a
trainer which lets you start at the
last level (132) just loops - so no
ending.

- ROCKY HORROR SHOW by CRL
 Sent in by Inge Pederson: I got a
deja vu and just had to check the game
once more. Except from the hires pic,
there is no actual ending. ie: a) When
you get killed, the game presents you
with an up-scroller. b) When
you finish the game, you get the
picture of the mansion for a few secs,
and then the game jumps to the same
up-scroller as a).

- SAM'S JAM by ABRASCO.
 I LOVE THIS GAME! In fact, when I
first purchased it way back in 1984
(1.99) I played it for 8 hours SOLID!
As with all the games on this page,
there is no freeking ending!

- SENTINEL (The) by FIREBIRD.
 Sent in by Ivan Smolenski: 10,000
levels and no ending.

- SIDEARMS by GO!.
Sent in by Neil Collins on 27/05/08:
Game just loops back to level one....
yawn

- SILKWORM by THE SALES CURVE
 Sent in by Neil Collins on 27/05/08:
No ending. Just goes back to the title
page. Shame.

- SOLOMOM'S KEY by U.S. GOLD.
Sent in by Neil Collins on 29/06/07:
does not have an end. Just finished
the final level (33) and it loops back
to level 1. Not even a well done !
Scumbags!

- SPACE HARRIER by ELITE.
 Sent in by Neil Collins on 27/05/08:
Has no end. Goes back to level one.

- STORMLORD by Hewson.
 Info provided in by Compound (on the
LEMON 64 forum) on 27/04/07: After the
level 4 bonus round, the game warps
back to level 1.

- STREET SURFER by Parker Brothers.
 Info provided in by Ivan Smolenski on
15/07/06: The game just keep going and
going an it never ends.

- SUPER PIPELINE 2 by Taskset.
 After completing Level 16, the game
goes back to Level 1 without making
any acknowledgement of completing the
game!

- THRUST by FIREBIRD.
Sent in by C64endings Team Member,
Brendan Phoenix on 05/12/07: Loops
forever.

- THUNDERBOLT by Codemasters.
Added by C64endings Web Master on
10/04/08: Loops forever.

- TOY BIZARRE by Activision.
 Info provided in by Vinny Mainolfi on
16/03/07. Once you have completed
Friday, it goes back to Friday, Hour
1!! Round and round it goes :-(

- TROOPER TRUCK by RABBIT SOFTWARE.
Here's another game that just gets
faster and faster, resulting in harder
and harder (oo-er, missus!).

- VELOCIPEDE by PLAYERS.
Complete Level 5 and without any
warning, it's back to Level 1 !!

- VIXEN by MARTECH.
Sent in by C64endings Team Member,
Brendan Phoenix on 05/12/07: Loops
forever.

- YIE-AR KUNG-FU by IMAGINE.
 I remember playing this one for HOURS
and watching it go round and round
until I gave up on seeing an actual
ending.

- ZULU by Firebird.
 Info provided in by Brendan (Fiery)
Phoenix on 05/05/06: No ending for
Firebird's Zulu. Bit disappointed on
this as no trainer available I played
it through to completion. I was hoping
like Firebird's Go-Go The Ghost from
the same time - it too would have a
cool little ending, but no - you
collect the 100th golden mask and it
sends you straight back to the start.
Boo.

- ZYNAPS by Hewson.
Info provided in by Kobayashi (on the
LEMON 64 forum) on 03/03/06: Goes on
forever! 

Reprinted from
www.c64endings.co.uk
=====================================

Interview with Commodore programmer
Antonino Porcino, author of Gomoku
http://xoomer.alice.it/aporcino/Vic20/

Commodore Free:
Please introduce yourself to our reader

Antonino Porcino
Hello, I'm Antonino Porcino, the
author of Gomoku and some other VIC-20
games. I'm 36 and live in Italy,
working as a computer programmer.

CF: When did you first come into
contact with Commodore machines

AP: It was back in 1984 after I
managed to persuade my parents to buy
me a VIC-20. I really didn't know what
could be done with a computer, I
figured out that it was possible to
play some form of games as in video
game consoles, and that was enough for
me to start craving for a VIC. I was
twelve.

CF: Was the Vic your first machine and
do you own other Commodore machines

AP: It was my first computer and I
simply loved it, spending most of my
free time experimenting with it. I
later owned a Plus4, a C=64, and of
course an Amiga. But I lost my
machines along the years so I had to
buy back the VIC on ebay. And a friend
gave me his C=64.

CF: Do you think there is still life
in the Vic 20

AP: Yes, there is a small but very
active community that rotates around
the "Denial" website run by Jeff
Daniels. In mid of 2008 we already
have 7 titles released for the VIC.
The community provides an ideal
environment where you can discuss
technical subjects and share your
experiences. It also help to keep the
interest alive.

CF: Do you think there are features of
the machine still untapped by
programmers

AP:  Not really, the VIC-20 is a
relatively simple machine, and that's
why I love it, in the sense that you
can expect to "master it" if you put
in enough effort.The same thing for
example can't be said for a PC where
everything is so unnecessary complex
and certain parts of its architecture
are secreted.

CF: Can you tell our readers about
Go-Moku what it is and briefly how to
play

AP: Gomoku is the classical 'X' and
'O' game where you have to connect
five Dots before your opponent does
the same. Can be played also with "pen
and paper" and for this reason is
widespread known around the world
(usually under different names). It
has simple rules but a very complex
playing strategy. Mathematicians say
that Gomoku is a "closed game" in the
sense that who  moves first can always
close the match with a win (like in
tic-tac-toe), but this is true only in
theory because of the exponentially
high number  of possible moves. So
there isn't a "perfect" play, and
computer players have to use some kind
of strategy. The one adopted in my
program is basically to look for some
particular board configurations and
play accordingly.

CF: You ported the game to the c64 and
plus4/16 machines where there any
problems with the conversion.

AP:  I wrote the program with the idea
of portability from the start, so I
didn't use any specialmachine-
dependant effect. I limited myself to
definable character graphics and to
standard calls  to the ROM kernal.
After the VIC-20 version was ready, I
converted the it for the C=64 because
of the similarity with the VIC (most
ROM and zero page is the same).
The only work was to adapt it to 40
columns, and indeed I faced the
problem that my routines in the 64
version exceded the 256 bytes indexing
Capabilities of the 6502.

So I downgraded them to a slower
version that worked for both machines.
The C16/Plus4 version came later, and
was relatively  easy to do because all
the 40 columns work was already done
for the C64. I had only a trouble from
of a bug that didn't show on the VICE
emulator but that appeared on the real
machine.

CF: How much memory does the game use,
did you think it may not fit into an
unexpanded machine

AP:  Working with the VIC20 taught me
how to save bytes. For example my
Go-Moku program does its calculations
directly in the screen memory,
re-using the "free cells" of the board
instead of having a separate memory
area dedicated for calculations. In
the download page of the game I show a
POKE command that makes visible the
calculations that are being done  in
the free cells. It's nice to see.

CF: other games on your website are
Tetris / Pong and Return To Fort Knox
can you tell our readers a little
about these games

AP:  "Tetris" was the program that
made me acquaint again with the VIC-20
and 8 bit programming after twenty
years. There was no such game for the
VIC so I decided to write an
implementation.

"Pong" is a joined effort together
with another VIC-20 enthusiast and
countryman "Nbla000", aimed at
reproducing the exact Pong hardware
game.

"Return to Fort Knox" is a total
different story. One day I started to
disassemble the Commodore cartridge
"Raid On Fort Knox", doing an
intensive reverse-enginering work
lasted one entire weekend. At the end
I came up with the complete game
source code, so it was natural for me
to extend it, adding new levels and a
small different game play--but still
maintaining the original look and
feel. I like to think that this sequel
is a tribute to the original game,
being it the first I ever played on my
VIC.

CF: Do you intend porting these games
to the c64 plus4/16 machines

AP:  Well, maybe "Return to fort
knox", but not Tetris or Pong as there
are already good implementations of
these games. I prefer to dedicate my
time to something that hasn't been
ported yet.

CF: Are the any projects you are
working on at the moment

AP: Nothing at the moment, I'm looking
for inspiration.

CF: Is there anything our readers can
do to help with the games

AP: Not at the moment

CF: How do you programme do you use
cross platform tools or purely on the
VIC

AP:  I cross develop on the PC, test
on the emulator and then on the real
hardware when finished. I program in
machine language, but in a different
way than the traditional one. I use a
macro language of my invention that
allows me to write an highly
structured assembler  code. For
example I can put a FOR-NEXT or nested
IF-THEN-ELSE in the code and have
these statements properly translated
into machine  language. This frees me
completely from labels and from the
"branch-here"  "branch-there" style of
programming. The resulted code is very
compact, looking like a  middle-way
between visual-basic and machine
language.

CF: Why use cross platform tools is it
purely speed of development

AP: Not only. With the macro language
tool that I've created I can work at
big projects, while I can write only
small useless routines on the real
machine without cross compilers.

CF: Have you considered programming
purely on the VIC with no other tools
other than software available on the
machine

AP: No, I don't consider it as an
option, especially as it regards BASIC
programming. It's no longer attractive
to me, although in the days I was a
very active BASIC programmer.

CF: 3k of memory was an incredibly
small amount of of memory do you think
this limited the machine

AP: Yes of course, but that was
balanced by programmers who became
more creative!

CF: If you could change 3 things on the
VIC20 what would you change and why

AP: Oh well, this is something I
daydream a lot about. If I was Jack
Tramiel at the time, I would have
increased the screen size because it's
too limiting to have a 22x23 screen,
expecially when editing BASIC
programs. I would have also included
some 16 bit operation (like INC or
ADD) in the CPU, perhaps dropping the
totally useless BCD mode. And, what
about having a better ROM kernal with
more built-in commonly used  routines.
For example joystick reading, or some
form of graphic sprites. I believe
awell written ROM kernal could have
balanced the small memory issue of
the VIC-20.

CF: What motivated you to write
software for 8bit Commodore machines

AP:  Having explored the world of
computer programming in almost every
aspect I felt the need to return back
to my roots to the point where this
long journey started. It's like a
circle that closes itself.

CF: Do you have any further comments
you would like to add ?

AP:  Thank you for the interview and I
hope I have raised the interest of
your readers. Good BYTE!
 
=====================================

In the Beginning Part 6
\Lord Ronin from Q-Link\

That was a lot to present. Now we are
at the last file for this disk side.
We are going back to the manual and
the bits on introducing the user to
Basic v2 programming.

 Remember that you can use the '?' to
replace the word print.

 Lets mess with a few keys. We did
editing a bit already. Did a bit on
the print thing. Lets mess a bit more
with the print thing. So type in the
following or something close to it.

10?"commodore", <yeah put in the comma
and then press return>

20goto 10 <return again>

 Now type RUN. Or if you are close to
being as lazy as me. Just type R and a
shifted U. The U will be that quarter
circle on the right side of the U key.
If you are in upper case. If in lower
case 
it will look on the screen as rU. That
is the short hand programmers way of
telling the computer to run. Do need
to press
return.

 You now have four commodore across
the screen running on forever until
you press the run/stop key. Do that
and then on line 10 of the programme.
Delete the comma and run it again. 
Remember to press return on the line.
that locks in what you write or edit.
No return and it keeps what was there
or doesn't record it to memory.

 What you now have is a string down
the left side of the C= saying
commodore. Or what ever you put in
there. Only difference is the comma.
Oh yeah press run/stop to stop that or
it will go on 
forever.

 A few things to see about this right
now. That comma made the print on the
screen come out in 4 per a line. Less
if you wrote more characters in the
word to be printed. This is setting
the print 
to each of the 4 groups, or tabs at
the 10 space mark of the 40 characters
on the screen line. No comma and it
just does one line.

 Next is seeing that a computer
programme is more literal than me. It
will operate from the lowest number
line to the highest. Unless some other
command moves it to a new location in
the programme. In this instance it is
the goto command. Telling the computer
to print line 10. Then on 20 it is
telling it to return to line 10. Do
the action there and when it
automatically drops to line 20. As the
programme will drop to the next
command line after performing the
previous line function. The function
on line 20 tells it to go back to 10.
We have a forever loop here. Not a
real great programme. Element of it is
used a lot in programming.


 Book takes us to the "Variables"
next. Sort of like the math term, if
you went into algebra and trig. If not
then this may actually be easier for
you. Learning the terms without
preconceived notions of the meanings.

 A variable is a something that can
change in the course of the operation
of the programme. It is also a  holder
of a something. And if you understand
that explanation you are much better
than me.

 V=9.23

 V%=100

 V$="since 1978ce I've played AD&D"

 That is a light hearted look at the
three types of variables in the C=.
First one V=9.25 uses a floating

point. You get the decimal part of the
number. V%=100 will give you what they
call the integer number. No decimal
point. V$= well the text that I wrote
in the quotes. Is called a "string".
OK full title is a text string. But I
know of no one that calls it that.
According to the book these are memory
locations in the computer. No I don't
understand that at all. Said I was a
lamer at programming. And at this
point in time that bit isn't important
for you to use the C=. Just telling
you what the book says.


 A programme they give you to type in
to understand this variable part is..

10X%=15

20X=23.5

30X$="THE SUM OF X%+X ="

 Note that the actual math computation
is not in the programme lines. This is
to show you the things of or for a
variable.

10X%=15

20X=23.5

30D=X%+X

40X$="THE SUM OF X%+X ="

50?X$,D

 Might work, I just came up with that
lay out to show you some points we
will deal with in the future.
Basically what we have done in the
above is to define the floating, the
integer and the text. 
Then add the math part. Giving it a
new variable lable. Line 50 is
supposed to print out the text and
then the actual result. Here is one
based on the Commodore programme
lesson book.

10Z$="CAT"

20A$="BOX"

30?Z$+A$

 Now if I remember that correctly the
print will print out the word "catbox"
on the screen. Just showing you how
variables can be combined in a
programme.

 Before we go any farther along. There
are some things we will be doing in
typing in a programme. You may want to
save these to disk or tape for later.
Tape users, make certain that there is
nothing on the tape you want to save.
I personally take a pencil, ah the
standard wooden one, and put it in the
hole. Slowly twisting the wheel till
the leader tape is past the cotton
pad. That way you know that you are
going to be on recordable media when
you start to save. Saving the
programme to tape goes this way. You
type

SAVE"name you give it" note that the
name can not be longer than 16
characters

 After hitting return. You will see on
the screen

PRESS PLAY AND RECORD ON TAPE

 Do that and the screen goes blank.
Becoming, or so it says the same
colour as the border. Tape takes some
time, but when it is finished. You
will get that READY prompt on the
screen.

 Now disk users. You have a little bit
more to work with at this point in
time. First do you have a disk that
you can use? Before you answer that
one. Take a moment to reflect. If you
are like most people I have started
off on the C=. Your set up is used and
there may be a hundred disks. Which
one to use? Well if you have some that
are unused. That is great. Those are
the ones that when you do a directory
listing. Come up with nothing. Just an
error. Remember that you type in LOAD,
wait a moment lets get lazy and do the
short cut. That is the L and the
shifted O. Symbol for that in upper
case is that upper left angle on the
right of the key. In lower case it
would look like lO. Now if you have
jiffy dos it is just the F1 key. If
you have a cart like the MACH or the
TURBO and there are some others. Try
just the $ symbol for the directory.

 Those that are stock. The command is
lO"$",8 then press return. That lO is
the short form load command. The ""
part is the border for the item to be
loaded. Since the $ is in that
bordered area. You are loading the $
or the directory of the disk. Comma
separate and the 8 is the device
number. Once that is done, press LIST
or the short form of L and a shifted
I. In upper case it is the right upper
circle part on the I key. In lower
case it looks like lI.

 If the directory lists the things I
mentioned in an earlier installment.
Then put it off to the side. If it
doesn't do a thing and sits there
after some scary noises from the
drive. There is a good chance it is a
blank unformatted disk.

 Guess it is now time to go into some
of the stuff on a disk. Factory disks
had a nice lable put on them. Which
also has a tendency to fall off over
time. So there may not be a lable on
the disk. But it is a factory disk.
Looking at the directory. Seeing the
listing of the files and the reverse
video bar above it with the title and
the 2 character id code. Well that can
help you decide if it is a good to use
or not disk. Not the id code as much
as the disk name. I have seen on
factory disks for id codes. Well
things like "s1" or "sa" to indicate
the first side. I have seen them use
"00" and "01" to indicate the sides. 

And other forms that are simple that
many beginners use for their own
disks. Some I have seen use a name in
up to 5 charcters. This isn't a sign
of a factory disk. I have a small tool
that lets me make 5 character id
codes. What you are looking for more
is the name that the disk was given.
Certain non media broadcastable words,
are a big clue that the disk isn't
factory. "GREG'S STUFF" is another
type of clue.

 I'm going into great detail and pains
on this one. At your beginning level,
well honestly you don't know what you
have or how to use it. You could
destroy a disk of important tools and
utilities that you would or could want
in the future. Trust me on this one, I
have done it in the past more times
that I want to admit.

 If you have unformatted disks. The
ones that made the drive make haunted
house noises and then did an error
thing. Then you need to format it. If
not then we have a couple of things to
do at this point. One is to knowthat
you can buy 5 1/4 inch disks. There
are some companies that sell new ones
online. Places like ebay have some
from time to time for sale. Just need
to look around. I scored some up from
a computer repair shop and from a
close out at stationary store.
Remember that you want double sided
double density and soft sectored.

 Lets take a look at the disks that
you put in that pile of "I don't know
what the smeg they are." Odds are that
there are a few of them with very
little on them. You see some of the
games, want you to have a save disk.
So the previous owner took a disk.
Stuck it in the machine and had the
game programme format it for him. This
saves his game in progress. In fact on
some you can save multiple games. But
the point is that the disk is
formatted. Most of the time it will
work as stock. 

But I have to say here that there were
some that did a non standard format
for the game. I haven't found many of
that sort thatwould read right on a
directory search. Well there could be
200 of more blocks free on the disk.
When you save, unless you use the same
name as an existing file. The disk
drive micro processor checks for
names, and for space. So it won't
write over anything existing.

 Another thing that you might see and
I mentioned lightly earlier. You disk
may have only one side with that
square type notch. I have taken in
collections that way. Here we need to
be careful. The disk could be a
factory that uses side two as a read
only disk. In fact if you have disks
with no notches at all. Most likely
you have a factory disk. That notch
hole allows you to write to the disk.
No notch, no writing. Sub note, there
are ways around that fact.

 Speaking of that before we go
farther. You may find disks that have
a bit of tape over the notch. These
can be black the most common, white
and a silver one. That last one is in
some machines worthless. Reflecting
the beam back and has been known to
fake the drive into thinking there is
a notch. Disk boxes from the store had
labels, the disks of course and a
sheet of these notch covers. 

Over time they dry out and slip up.
Making a mess in the drive and hard to
insert. Labels do the same thing, if
not well placed on the disk. Well that
disk notch cover means that the data
was important to the previous user.
Doesn't mean that it is important to
you. But leave that disk to the side.
Might have some things that you need
later on.

 Back to the only one sided notched.
If you have a 1571 in your collection.
Take the disk directory and add it up.
Add to that the blocks free, and
subtract it from 1328. Should get a 0
if it is a 1571 formatted disk. If so,
put it off to the side for now.

 However if you don't have a 1571
drive and you have single notched
disks. These disks are tested and are
not what you would think as factory
disks of some sort. Yes feel free to
load them up and see what is there. As
I said some factory disk games use the
reverse side for the data. But you
can't write or save to that side. Have
to turn the disk over. If that isn't
the case. Then you have a disk that
has a virgin side. The previous owner
didn't notch it and it hasnever been
used.

 But how to notch it? Well the easiest
is a disk notcher. Which you may have
in the box of stuff. Take a look, it
is in different forms. But the basics
are the same. On the top is a push
button about thumb size. Along one
side is a long slot. If you find that
sort of thing, plastic or metal, I
have both. Then you probably have a
disk notcher. Why didn't the guy notch
the disk? Well disks didn't come
double notched for the most part. You
do a hundred or even ten at a time,
and you will see why. I did over a
dozen each month for the users group.
Hated that task. Ones hand gets very
sore. Anyway, if you have one. Just
slide the non notched side into that
slot.

Get it in tight both to the inside and
to the top of the notcher. Then press
down on the spring loaded button. Hey
if it feels like they put in a truck
coil for that spring. You have the
same type as I started with at my
beginning. Well now if things worked
out. You will have a bit of the
plastic jacket come out the bottom.
Safety note, grab that and toss it
away if you have pets or small kids.
The notch should be as deep and
exactly at the same level as the
original one. Just on the other edge
of the disk. OK I admit that there are
times that I don't get it just right.
So back in the notcher it goes.

 What if you don't have a notcher? A
reason why the disks in your
collection may all be just one sided
used. Some users didn't know that they
could notch the disk and use the other
side. But if you see disks, looking at
the top or label side that have a
weird sideways V cut. Or a half round
cut. The previous owner used the
cheaper and more dangerous method of
disk notching. I would suggest hunting
around on the web, the net and locally
to find one laying about. A disk
notcher I mean.


 But failing that task and wanting to
get to the C= right now. Here is what
you do, and it is dangerous to the
disk. You can use either a pair of
scissors, that is the style that makes
the sideways V cut. Also the most
dangerous of the two methods. Or you
can use a paper hole punch. That is
what made the half circle looking
notch. I met one guy that was expert
enough to use an exacto knife. I don't
suggest that one unless you have good
eyes and very steady hands. I fit
neither of those classifications.


 Most people would take the sleeve,
that is the paper holder for the disk.
Line it up level with the existing
notch. Then carefully clip with either
of the above tools a little notch on
the side. Sounds easy? Well here is
the problem. Inside that disk jacket,
the plastic part, is the round
magnetic media. Clip that and the disk
is trash for the most part. OK
depending on how much is on the disk.
You may be able to save the files to
another disk. But don't risk it. If
you have to use this method. Well you
can see the depth of the factory
notch. Go less than that to be safe.
Or the disk is fairly well ruined.

 That all being said in as much depth
and warning as possible. Time to
format the disk. Despite any fast
loader carts or jiffy dos. We are
going to do it this way.

open15,8,15,"n0:disk name,**":close15

 OK in as little technical talk as
possible. You are opening a
communications path to the disk drive.
That is the 8 part. The 15 and there
are two of them there, well it is
complicated and to be as brief as
possible. This is the channel to send
and to receive information from the
disk drive. I use 15 as it is common
and 15 is the one that will send back
any error. OK you can use up to 255 as
the channel number as that is how many
there are from what I have been told.
Gotta have those commas for the pause
direction thinggy. Don't worry about
that part.

Just copy that into your format line.
Quotes are needed to set up what you
are going to do, yeah sort of like the
print statement. Now the N0: part is
for formatting the disk. The command
to format. Disk name is what ever you
want up to 16 characters and yes you
can use spaces. Those two ** things,
are to represent the two characters
from the KB that you use to
specifically code this disk. End the
command with the close of the quotes.
Thsymbol separates commands on a line.
Since we opened 15 now we have to
close 15.

 Enough technical talk. Really won't
mean a lot to you till much later on.
Sort of a little teeny bit of ground
work on some techy stuff. After you
typed open15,8,15,"n0:disk
name,**":close15 Press return and you
will hear the disk drive rumble, grunt
and perhaps even make a grinding
rattling noise. Light may flash 
rapidly, causing you to worry that you
did something  wrong. That is the head
setting up for the formatting. All
that track and half track with sector
stuff. Not time to go into that stuff.
Head just has to go into the right
place.

 May hear a clicking noise coming from
the drive. That is the head moving one
track at a time out of the 35. Drive
will eventually stop. Green light will
be out and the READY will be on the
screen with the flashing cursor. Well
if everything goes right. There can be
some problems and that is another
section to deal with for more advanced
beginning. Suffice it that if the
stuff written above doesn't happen.
You got a bad disk or drive. Sorry but
that part is for later on in the
series.

 Check the directory to see if it did
format correctly. Did you get the name
and ID code right? Probably, but there
could be another problem. I have had
to do the format more than once on the
same disk side. Not because I did
anything wrong. Just that disks that
are 10 years and older. That haven't
been used, like that side 2 part. Need
to be formatted 3 or 4 times.

What happens is that it stops during
the format. Either the clicking of the
head movement stops real fast. There
is almost a lort of purr like noise at
the end of a format, at least on my
system. OR the click starts at the
steady rate and then slows down.
Exactly why, I don't know, just pass
it along that the disk can be set in
its ways and needs to be hit a few
times with the format command to work.

 Might get to this again later. But
for right now, here are some other
commands. To save space, my fingers
and your eyes. Lets just go with it
stated that each of these needs the
open15,8,15, part and after the quotes
the :close15 part. OK you can be short
and use oP in lower case to open and
cL to close.

"s0:filename" This will scratch the
name of the file you select. Scratch
means that it isn't on the directory
anymore. But it is still physically on
the disk. Until you either record some
other programme thing over it or

"v0:" and that is validate. Closest to
that on other platforms is defrag, or
so I have been told. Don't have any
experience. Validate picks up the bits
and in a simple term, tightens up the
disk space. One book I read said to
validate after every three scratches.
I don't as a rule myself. More like 5
or 8. This moves stuff around on the
disk. Which will destroy the scratched
files. Right the feds can't read the
disk. <SEG>

"n0:filename" No this isn't format.
There isn't the 2 character id code.
This is new the disk. Basically it
just erases the directory. Sort of
tear out the table of contents for a
book. Files are still there and with
tools can be recovered. A fast format
way that has some drawbacks and I know
long time crackers that won't use this
command.

"i0:" Initialise the disk. Some books
say to do this every time you put
another disk in the drive. Main reason
is that if there is a chance that the
id code of one disk is the same as
another disk. Well the computer will
work as if it is the same disk. At
least in the BAM, or Block
Availibility Map. I have also seen it
as Block Allocation Map. In short that
is the disk roadmap where things are
located on the disk. Hard to drive in
Liverpool England, if you are using a
Portland Oregon Map. In the computer
case the result can be. You write over
things on the disk. Because the old
map said it was empty.

 Lets say that after all of that dull
stuff. You have a disk that is ready
and we are going back to the Variable
thing now. V V% V$ are the three
types. Yeah I know they just love to
use X in the examples. But I am
antiestablishment.

 V% give the whole number. V gives the
number with decimals and V$ is for
printing text. Well there are 26
letters and 10 numbers that you can
use for variable names. Meaning that
you have 36 possibilities for a
variable? Well I cheat and programme
in lower case. Using Upper case
characters as well. Tip here is that
not all upper case work that way.
Still not to worry. 36 is a big
number. Well it gets bigger. You see
the book takes time to bring his up.
But you are not limited to V$. Nope
you can have V1$-V0$ as well as
VA$-VZ$ 26 letters and 10 numbers,
that you can use singly and in two
characters for your variable. Makes
that number a bit higher. Though a bit
early in this drivel. Variables can
also be reused in programmes. We, OK I
am not ready to go into that at this
time. Lets end this part with the
understanding that when you change the
value of a variable. The new one
completely takes over the old value.
Book says it with the example 

X=X+1.

 Next comes the IF THEN statement.
Simply put. IF this part is true THEN
go to this. Conditioner thing for the
programme. Book gives the following
thing to type in.

new <type in and press return. Clears
the memory for you of anything left
behind. Additive: most of the time>

10ct=0
20?"commodore 64"
30ct=ct+1
40if ct<5then20
50end

 Remember to press return at the endof
each line. A common fault in doing
type ins is forgetting that keypress.I
am very guilty of that. Now type rU
and see what happens.

 You get the word printed out 5 times.
Lets figure out why. Well the secret
is in line 10. Here you see a two
character variable called ct. Think of
that as a short form of "CounT". This
is set by the "=" sign to be at 0.
Next line is the stock print
statement. Telling the computer what
we want to print. Now we have that
"ct" again. This time it is set to add
1 to the value of ct. Seeing how a
variable can be used more than once.
40 asks the question is ct less than
5. If so then go back to line 20.
Which is the print line and we keep
going around till ct is 5. At that
point the programme moves to the next
line, which is end and that shuts off
the prg.

 Book doesn't go any farther in a use
of IF THEN. Well it is written for the
first timer. I use it in some of my
work to send the programme to a
specific area. IF certain conditions
are met. THEN it goes to that area of
the programme. One that comes to my
mind is a programme I wrote for AD&D
experience point calculations. Merely
took the data from the book and made
it a programme. There are over 10
basic things for the start. These are
the Hit Die of the monster. IF HD=8
THEN 300, is sort of the line that I
wrote. User had to type in the HD
value. That became the variable and
the math started for the calculations
on that specific line. Have seen a lot
of simple menu programmes that use the
same IF THEN style to load programmes.

 At this point you may want to save
the little prg to disk. we did the
tape one earlier. On a blank line type

save"name file",8 <press return> Give
it what ever name you want, and it
should be making the disk spin and you
will in a short time see that ready
and cursor flashing again.

 So there are some weird things to use
in a programme. I mean like that "<"
thing above. Here is a chart of them
and what they mean.

<     less than
>     greater than
=     equal to
<>    not equal to
>=    greater than or equal to
<=    less than or equal to


 Not a great help at this time.
Something for future reference.

 That is followed by the FOR NEXT
LOOPS. But that and the example will
be in the next part. Out of space
again. Talk too much I guess <BG>

========================================

Making music with DMC
PART 3

http://www.redesign.sk/tnd64
/music_scene.html
Created by Richard Bayliss
with Special thanks to Rio /Rattenrudel

Commodore Free would like to thank
Richard Bayliss for his permission to
reprint this guide Many users would
like to make more of there machines,
we all have various talents and if you
felt inspired to create music on a
C64 where would you begin, in this
guide you are lead through the various
options, for creating music with
versions of DMC music editor The Guide
has been broken down in sections the
disk image that accompanies this
series is available from here 

www.redesign.sk/tnd64/DMC%20Music
 %20Editors%5BTND%5D.zip

the disk contains:

DMC V2.1 (GRAFFITY), DMC V4.0
(GRAFFITY) + Docs (By Richard), DMC
V5.0, DMC V5.0+ (CREAMD/C64.SK), DMC
V5 PACKER, DMC V5.0 SCANNER and DMC
V7.0 (GRAFFITY+UNREAL)

2.2.4 Filter

If you want use filters, you have to
define which filterset should be used.
First you have to create an own
filterset in the Filter editor (take a
look later at this chapter). The number
of filterset should be written down
below F parameter. To activate the
filter - take a look into FX Chapter.

2.2.5 Vibrato

Vibrato can be controlled by V1 and V2
parameter. For V1 xy values, x
represent the pause before the vibro
should start. y sets the value of
range, in which the pitch should swing
around. V2 xx can be used for
modulation with V1 y parameter. V2
allows a higher range.

2.2.6 FX

FX is a 8 bit value to control several
flag:

The Low Nibble (4 bits right)
represent following parameter:

Bit 0: DRUM EFFECT(pitch will be
ignored in sector editor, in WT: pitch
values will step in higher range)
Bit 1: NO FILT RES(for every played
note filter will not be resetted
anymore)
Bit 2: NO PULS RES(for every played
note pulse will not be resetted
anymore)
Bit 3: NO GATE FX(holds your note
down, until a GATE is set)

The High Nibble (4 bits left)
represent the waveform type:

Bit 4: HOLDING FX(Note will not be
released)
Bit 5: FILTERFX(activates FILTER,
which is defined by F)
Bit 6: DUAL EFFECT(playes Wavetable at
half speed)
Bit 7: CYMBALFX(adds short noise in
front of a sound)

The variations of x values (Low
Nibble) or y values (High Nibble) can
be combined for mixed use. So a 2A
will activate Bit 5 (activating
filter) and Bit 1 + Bit 3 (no filter
reset + no gate), because 2 is the
high nibble and gets a binary value of
0010 and A is the low nibble and gets
a binary value of 1010. ok?

2.3 Filter Editor

We change back to main menu and go
into the Filter Editor. In that view,
we can't copy and paste, but it's
still possible to store different
filtersetups. You can switch
between the different settings with +/-
keys.

Before we start to create an own
Filter, first we need to adjust an
instrument in Sound Editor. You have
to choose a filterset number (F)
between 0..F and then we activate the
filter (FX: 20) for that instrument.
Then we go in Filter Editor again & we
choose the same number of F for (FLT)
and define following parameters:
Test it by pushing the space key. It
should sound very filtered. If you use
a 6581 SID Chip (you will find them
mostly in a breadbox, not that flat
case) you should try instead for number
(##) 5 a higher values.

Notice that all these setting are
different for using both SID Types
(6581 /8580). You have to choose
higher values on the 6581, otherwise
the filtered instruments sound to deep.
Pay attention if you work with a 6581,
that you have to set filtered sounds
only in one channel!

If you use 8580 chips then a
simultaneous use of filtered sounds in
all three channels is possible.
Composing a tune for 6581 or a
compatible tune for both types should
only be filtered in one channel at same
time.

2.3.1 Parameters

Ok, now is time to clear up the meaning
of parameters. From left to right:

R:Resonance / Rate
T:Filter Type
 Bit 0: Low Pass
 Bit 1: Band Pass
 Bit 2: High Pass

##CutOff Frequency (frequency, where
filter are take effect)
RT:Repeat Step-Position (01..05)
ST:Stop at a defined frequency step,
if that step is reached
S1 X1:S (frequency steps up/down) and
X (duration)
...
S6 X6

Rate / Resonance defines how much
effect a filter will take effect (F is
max). The SID allows you to set up and
to combine 3 different filter types:
Low-, Band- and High-Pass. In our quick
example we only used Low Pass, but you
can combine Low- and Band-Pass by
writing a 3 instead 1 too (e.g. 7 will
activate all 3 filter types). The next
value below ## represents the CutOff
Frequency. If you havn't write a number
there, you won't hear anything.

2.3.2 Filter Envelope

If you want to use filter envelops or
create LFOs, then the next parameters
can be configured in different ways.
The first two params (RT and ST) are
only useful if there is filled up the
6-table (Sx Xy).

An example:

The Sx Xy parameter will pass through
in a chronical order. You should always
start with the first (S1 X1). That
example runs through that filter
envelope in a form of a LFO. For
understanding, you have to notice that
Sx always represents the frequencies,
which will steps up or down. Here, it
will first steps up & then steps down
at the end of envelope (S6 X6). Then it
will start again with S1 X1. The
direction and the amount of steps
for a position will be defined in Sx:

00:nothing
01-7F:up (slow..fast)
80:mid
FF-81:down (slow..fast)

Xy defines the duration of that
position. After that the next position
will be processed. You can see in
example above, that the values of steps
are facing each other (01<->FF). For a
Triangle LFO, we should use the same
duration and same step amount for going
up and down. So 01 will increase with 1
step & FF will decrease in 1 step too.

The example above shows a LFO with a
longer pause between gliding up or
down. Xy adjust the duration of a step-
position (S1,S2...).

That example below will run in more
weighten steps. Insteed of 1 step it
will raise and sink with 2 steps. We
are able to influence the repeats of a
LFO too. That example will pitch up:

We can influence the length of an
envelope too. That following example
will stop the envelope, if the step
value reached 1D (ST). Notice that the
cutoff value have to reach that hex
number, otherwise it will be ignored.
1D will be reached, because we always
steps 3 values up and then 2 down:
In that last example below the
envelope will be repeated to S3 X3
after every pass. Higher values than
RT = 06 shouldn't be used. Seems it
will not have any functionality or will
set a wrong state.

Please notice, if an overflow occurs,
all counter routines of a byte will
start again at 00. If we decrement a
byte value e.g. at position 00, the
next value will be FF. If we increment
FF, next value will set to 00.

2.4 Track Editor

The Track Editor will be shown if we
leave the main menu or all submenus by
pressing RETURN. That Editor handles
the arrangement for sectors and shows
all your
defined sectors in a sequential order
for every channel seperatly. If you
start it the first time, everywhere
will be placed a 00 value. SID is
concepted with 3 Channels,
so there are 3 Tracks available.


2.4.1 Channels

Every Track contains an index number
(postion) and a sector number, which
can be filled up with a special sector
(they will store the playing
sequence). Additional we are able to
set special commands, like setting a
global transposing value, contolling
the end or controlling repeats of a
track. The duration of a played sector
is dependent of the sector length. So
every channel can be played in an
asynchronous duration too! If we start
composing, we should learn to define
synchronous routines. More information
about that are described in chapter:
Sector Editor.

2.4.2 Options

If we want to play our tune, we can
start it by pushing F1. If nothing is
defined before we won't hear anything.
F3 will stop and F5 will continues the
playroutine. F7 winds forward a played
music. In DMC7 your are able to trace
the complete routine to have a better
overview of played sectors in every
channel. Simply press '.' If you
want use different player types, you
are able to choose between: NORMAL
Player (C= + 1), DOUBLE Player (C= +
2), TRIPLE Player (C= + 3), , QUADRO
Player (C= +4) and QUINTUPLE Player (C=
+ 5). Notice that the play routine will
be set to $1006 instead $1003 in higher
modes as NORMAL.

If we want to test how your instruments
sound, by playing in realtime, you can
switch into the "SYNTHESIZER MODE" by
pushing F8. If we stay in that mode, we
are able to change instruments with +
and - and to set a transpose value
between 0 and 7. F6 will activate the
record mode. The recorded sequence can
later be placed in any sector in DMC7
(Notice that DMC4 will record in
current sector!). If you paste a
recorded sequence, notice that you have
to place an additonal END! command in
your sectors. SYNTHESIZER and RECORD
MODE can be turned off by pushing
RUN/STOP.

By pushing SHIFT + C we can copy a
complete track to another track
position (1,2,3). SHIFT + X will
exchange a track with another one.
HOME steps to the first line and CLR
(SHIFT + HOME) clears a track. There is
also a COPY / PASTE functionality
integrated.  Arrow (Copy - part of the
screen flicker in green) and @ (Paste -
part of the screen flicker in red).
Tracks will be copied only to a -END-
Command in Tracks (Everything behind
that will be ignored).

DEL deletes, INST (SHIFT + DEL) inserts
a line.

A complete tune can be initialise by
pressing SHIFT + I. The keys SHIFT + T
will switch into the tune menu. Here
we can choose which tune should be
edited (DMC 4 / 7 can store up to 8
tunes). At least with SHIFT + RETURN we
can edit a selected sector. If we step
to a 00, Sector 00 will be edited. If
we write another number on that
position, then Sector xx will change to
that.

2.4.3 Commands

There are 3 Commands to control the
tracks:

TR+ or TR-Global transpose up or down
for that track -END-Jump playroutine to
X position STOP!Stop playroutine

Relative transpose settings can by
change by + or - keys with a value in
front of following sectors. The
playroutine will registered that
command and jumps to the next position.

-END- Command will set a jump mark in
track (SHIFT + E). The playroutine
will jump to a specific position (have
to be written below -END-) and repeats
the whole track area again. Sadly, that
functionality was forgotten in DMC7.
It jumps only back to the first line.

STOP! Command stops a current playing
track (C= + E). No jumps or repeats
are possible.

That example above will play only the
first channel. The 2nd and 3th are
stop by STOP! Command. The first
channel uses Sector 00 and Sector 01
(2 times, but in different tone pitch,
because a TR Command is used in front
of that sectors. The -END- Command
loops to the first line back. There is
a TR+00 needed to reset the standard
transpose. But before you can test this
example you have to read that following
chapter about sector editing.

2.5 Sector Editor

If we stay on a number in track, then
we are able to switch in a specific
sector by pushing SHIFT + RETURN. For
example, the first position of track1
contains a 00.

Then we will get into the Sector 00 on
the right side. First we will see an
empty sector:


CONTINUED NEXT MONTH ........

=======================================

Commodore SX-64 Papercraft Paper Model
http://www.erikschubach.com/vintage/
 sx-64-paper-model.php

I wanted to do something fun for fans
of the SX-64, so I took a couple of
hours to create this paper model of my
favourite vintage computer for you to
print and as-semble. I had my son
build the first paper craft proto-type
so I could include some pictures of
the finished product... and this this
is the result.

So get out a sharp pair of scissors
and some glue to assemble this
whimsical paper model that you can
show off to your friends and own a
piece of computing history... or build
a few to make your own army of mini
paper craft Commodore SX-64 colour


Interview with Erik Schubach
Designer of the paper SX64 cutout

Commodore FREE.
Please introduce yourself to our reader

Erik Schubach
Hi, my name is Erik Schubach and have
been a programmer for over 25 years
and currently manage a successful
ecommerce website.  I also teach
search engine optimization and basic
ecommerce workshops at local colleges.

CF. Can you tell our readers a little
about your love of vintage machines

ES. I have been a fan of computers and
video gaming since the 1970's.  I was
lucky to grow up during the emergence
of video gaming and home computing.
Commodore machines were a big part of
that emergence, if not a dominating
force.

CF. What machines do you currently
have in your collection

ES. In the Commodore line I currently
own...

(1) Boxed Commodore Vic 20

(1) Boxed Commodore 64

(1) Un-Boxed Commodore 64

(1) Boxed Commodore 64C (Test Pilot
Special Release)

(1) Un-Boxed Commodore C4C

(1) Boxed Commodore SX-64 Executive

(3) Un-Boxed Commodore SX-64 Executive

(1) Un-Boxed Commodore 128

As well as accessories for all of the
sytems such as floppy drives, modems
and dozens of game cartridges & disks.

In the Commodore Amiga line I currently
own...

(1) Boxed Amiga A1000

(2) Boxed Amiga A500

(3) Un-Boxed Amiga A500

(1) Boxed A600HD

As well as accessories for all of the
systems such as external CD drives,
floppy drives, network adapters and
dozens of game disks.

Other non-Commodore systems in my
collection include...

(2) Boxed Timex Sinclair T1000
Compuers

(2) Boxed GCE Vectrex  Arcade Systems

(1) Boxed NEC TurboExpress (TurboGrafx
16 Handheld)

(1) Boxed NEC TurboGrafx 16 (Holiday
Edition)

(2) Un-Boxed NEC TurboGrafx
All with scores of accessories & games.

And from the 1970's...

(1) Original Pong Console

(3) Boxed Milton Bradley Microvision
Handheld Gaming Systems

(1) Factory Sealed Milton Bradley
Microvision Handheld Gaming System

(1) Un-Boxed Milton Bradley
Microvision Handheld Gaming System

CF. What started you collection of
machines

ES. I was feeling nostalgic a few
years back and wanted to revisit my
youth by getting a couple of the old
systems I had while growing up.  So I
was able to locate a Timex Sinclair
and a Commodore SX-64.  Once I started
playing with them I actually re-lived
the first time I wrote a program in
Basic and typed "RUN". What a rush!
That just sort of flipped a switch in
my mind and now I am an avid collector
of all the systems I ever owned or
played with as a kid. It's like an
addiction.

CF. Do you own any other Commodore
machines

ES. I own a few other Commodore
systems I did not list above, but they
are non-functional such as a Commodore
+4 and various other models I use for
parts.

CF. Is there something special retro
computer related you are looking for?

ES. I am looking for 4 machines in the
Amiga line, the A1200, A2000, A3000,
A4000.  I am currently working out a
trade with one of the editors of
www.RetroThing,com for an A2000 with a
Video Toaster setup for one of my
SX-64's and a few other pieces from my
collection.

CF. Would you prefer to obtain a
machine with all packaging and
complete or is just owning the machine
enough?

ES. If possible I like to get at least
one boxed and one unboxed unit of each
model.  But I am happy just to own one
reguardless of if it has a box and
packaging or not.  I do like to keep
the boxed systems for the sake of
preservation.

CF. Do you actually use these machines?

ES. I most certainly use the systems,
as I said before, I do like to keep
boxed units for preservation, but the
un-boxed units I enjoy firing up.  It
transports me back in time to when I
saw and used these computers for the
very first time. The more I use them,
the more I remember and the more
amazed I am at the engineering feat of
Commodore decades ago.

CF. Have you used any emulators of
Retro machines, how do you rate them
and do you think emulation is an
important part of preserving machines?

ES. I'm not much of an emulator man.
I see the need for emulators as a last
ditch effort to preserve a system as
the last of the units begin to fail.
There are still thousands of
functional Commodore computers out
there, they are not in danger of
passing on into antiquity any time
soon.  So why get a cheapened emulated
view of a system when you can get the
whole retro experience by actually
operating one of the machines and
marveling in it's novelty?

CF. Can you briefly describe & explain
the systems in your collection, All of
my systems are un-altered stock units
(I'm a purest).

ES. I am quite fond of my boxed SX-64,
fully operational with all original
packaging and accessories.  This was a
dream unit from my childhood and it
excites me every time I fire it up for
a game of Pacman or Defender.

Besides that I am quite proud of my
Amiga A500 with 512k A501 memory
expansion, external 570 CD drive and
external Supra 40mb hard drive. It was
the system I wanted to build in my
teens but could not afford the external
drives at the time, but now as an adult
I have finally built.

CF.  why specifically do you own these
machines?

ES. Once again it comes down to the
nostalgia.  I am a programmer by trade
and these machines are what started my
love for programming.  They set me on
the path to make my passion a career.
So it is logical that I honor that by
collecting them as a form of thanks
and to help me to remember where I
came from.

CF. How much would you say your
collection is worth?

ES. I've never really given that much
though, perhaps two to three thousand
dollars US, but to me they are
priceless.  It really isn't about the
money.

CF. Do you actively follow the retro
groups?

ES. I'm a lurker on a few online
forums such as www.Amiga.org and
www.LemonAmiga.com , they are great
resources for maintaining & operating
these great systems.

CF. Tell our readers about the paper
SX64 they can download from your
website

ES. I found the hard way how hard it
is to get units that are fully
operational. Out of eight units I
purchased, I have only 4 operational.
There are many unscrupulous sellers on
sites such as www.eBay.com that tell
you they work but then you get them and
they do not function.

So I know there must be others out
there who love the SX-64 but do not
have one of their own yet.  So I
decided to make a model of mine that I
can share with everyone until they can
finally buy a real SX-64 of their own.

CF. How was the model created?

ES. I took photos of the unit from all
sides and cleaned them up and
assembled in a graphics program, with
a little trial and error, I finally
got it done to my liking and had my
son assemble the first one for the
photos I use to accompany the model.
I then put it up on my website for
anyone to download and enjoy.

CF. Do you intend to create other
Retro computer models?

ES. Yes!  I am slowly adding my entire
collection to my website and I intend
to have a paper model of every system
I own.  It is a fun way to give back
to the retro-community. So eventually
all of my Commodore and Amiga systems,
as well as my other machines will be
online. Just a few days ago I added a
second paper model, the Milton Bradley
Microvision here

http://www.erikschubach.com/vintage/
 microvision-paper-model.php

CF. Would you like to plug your
website a little

ES. There isn't much to say about
www.ErikSchubach.com as it is just a
hobby website that I built to share my
interests with the world.  I am slowly
adding content such as retro-technology
and sci-fi from the 1960's through the
1990's.

CF. Is there a question you think
should have been asked but I didn't

ES. I think we just about covered it.
I do thank you for taking the time to
talk with me about my interests.

CF. If you had enough money to
create/or invent something what would
you invent/create and why

ES. I would actually like to create an
eBay like website that caters
specifically to retro technology.
Building a community around it. Having
help forums for any and all systems out
there all in one place. Because I know
how difficult it can be to find parts,
maintain, or just get advice for a
specific platform.

Multiply that by a hundred or so & you
can see how daunting of a task it is
for people who collect more than just
one system.If that was not possible,
than a company that makes new
peripherals to support old systems
like the Amiga.  Just think how
successful a company that can build
replacement parts or say USB
interfaces for the Commodore 64 or
Amiga A500 would be with such a huge
community of collectors out there.

=====================================

www.commodorecomputerclub.co.uk/

Commodore Computer Club (UK) 1st
meeting, 26th to the 27th July 2008.
By Shaun Bebbington.

So, what really happened at our first
ever club meeting then? Well, we'll
start the night before, when I got a
text from Paul "Tr00per" Green, who
found out that, because of engineering
works on the railways, his train had
been put back some five hours, so
instead of arriving into Preston for
about 11:00 as agreed, he'd be getting
there more like 19:00. So,
unfortunately, he had to cancel, which
was a shame as he was eager to show
the demo of his shoot-em up, named
Part34, to Nigel and
Conrad/Onslaught/Samar Productions.
Fortunately, he'd send me over the
PRG, and I had it safely stored on
mylaptop.


Due to other commitments then, we were
down to just three attendees. Nigel
was hosting, with myself and Conrad.
Fortunately, my train was running on
time, and I got to Preston and waiting
a few minutes for Nigel. Conrad had
asked me to do some text for a scrolly
in a demo that he was going to release
at the meeting earlier in the week, so
I was therefore eager to see the final
results, but we also needed to get the
boring stuff out of the way first.

http://noname.c64.org/csdb/
 release/?id=68967

After a few refreshments at Nigels
place, we started quickly with the
agenda for the meeting. As no one had
protested to any of my suggestions
online, all of the rules and so on
were agreed. Members can read up on
the minutes in the google group and on
the forums. 

http://groups.google.com/group/
 commodorecomputerclub

www.commodorecomputerclub.co.uk

As there was no Allan (the chair
person), I was acting chair. Lager was
offered, and it was time for some real
Commodore stuff.

Conrad was keen to see Metal Dust in
action, so I loaded it from my HD and
also fixed (I hope) his 1541-Mk II
with a decent head align program.
Conrad commented on some of the
effects found in Metal Dust, and then
he finished linking the text into his
one-filer demo. Nigel was reluctant to
actually type anything into the
scrolly, so we sort of spoke on his
behalf with him agreeing to the vague
statements. 

(EDITOR ok what should I have said oh
I know dont forget the website
www.commodorecomputerclub.co.uk)

And it was finished and release.
Shortly after, Conrad uploaded it to
CSDb and also briefly detailed the
meeting.

There were several lager spillages in
the day (!!!) but Nigel's Commodore
room is rather cozy to say the least.
In a way, it was a good job there were
no more than three of us or people
would have been lining up on Nigel's
stairs to his room, with messages been
passed down to explain what was going
on, like a game of Chinese Whispers.

Nigel demonstrated the DC2N device for
preservation purposes, and loaded
Wizball, though we didn't enact the
high score competition as, needless to
say, I would have won it... well,
maybe anyway.

Various games were played on the
VIC-20 mega-cart from Francois
(eslapion), and it was decided that
Conrad was probably the best at
playing Jelly Monster (a PAC-Man game)
and indeed he had the high score for
the day.

Then it was down to Conrad to write
some example source code for Nigel and
myself to observe. He did a scroller
split at the bottom of the screen
demonstrating a basic interrupt, and
commented and saved the source code
for Nigel to have a play with. This
was done using TAS on his Retro Replay.

During the evening, we went to the
local Fish and Chip shop, with Conrad
having quite possibly the biggest
portion of chips that I've ever seen.
It was quite a feat to eat through
them, but then he had walked five
miles to Preston station in the
morning, so I guessed that he had
burnt up some calories. I had proper
chips and gravy, which they don't do
in Birmingham as far as I can tell.

Intermittently, we popped outside for
fresh air as Nigel's room was getting
too warm with all of the technology
running.As the night drew in, we went
on to play some DTV games after not
having the correct screw driver to
open up the unit to see how easy it
was to install an MMC2DTV. I looked
for the hidden files on the DTV and
found out that the PAL version didn't
have them. Oh well, that's cost
cutting for you.

All too soon, I was starting to tire
and needed sleep. I at least saw the
MMC Replay in action, which was good,
and Conrad saw something of the
SuperCPU too, albeit Metal Dust only.
I couldn't remember what I had on my
HD to show him, so that was left.

The next morning, we were all up
bright and early. It was naturally
drawing to a close, but I am eager for
the next meet up. Conrad again did
some example coding, demonstrating
flexible line distance on the C64,
which allows you to bounce the screen
around quite easily. Again, he wrote
some documented source code for us to
learn from. I suggested that Nigel
would have a full game or mega-demo
written in a years time, which he
laughed at.

The final action was Nigel tested big
file copying between a C64 and a PC.
He transferred a 5Mb file using a
stock system and the IDE64 + PCLink. I
was eager for this as I needed a way
to move big PostScript files from my
Commodore to the PC so that I could
convert them to PDF for the
newsletter, which is my next job.

All in all, despite being scant of
attendees, there were a lot of
positives from the weekend, and I'm
looking forward to the next meet up.
Members will be able to find the
minutes of the meeting online in
private member areas. For those of you
interested in joining our usergroup,
head over to:
www.CommodoreComputerClub.co.uk

or contact me at:
contact@CommodoreComputerClub.co.uk.

We'll see you next time then.

COMMODORE FREE
www.commodorefree.com

THE END 
====================================        


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          