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Post by shaunbebbers on Aug 5, 2020 15:47:28 GMT
Hi guys,
I'm a Scrum Master at Retro Games Limited here in the UK. I've been working for RGL for about four weeks at the time of writing, but am a long-time Commodore user and enthusiast. If you have any questions then please feel free to ask in this thread. I won't be able to support you with games that you have downloaded from sites which host the game images but where they are not properly licensed, but if you've purchased your game from Protovision, Itch.io, Psytronik Software, Cronosoft or other modern-days C64 and VIC-20 publishers then I'll see what I can do.
I'll cover some common questions that I've heard a lot:
1) The joystick won't work on my game - try creating a CJM (Commodore Joystick Map) file to accompany your game, or plug in two joysticks if you have them. Alternatively, you may use file flags. J1 for Joystick - rename your file like:
my-game.d64
to
my-game_J1.d64
2) My game won't load from USB - by dafault TheC64 and Mini uses a fast loader; some games will require accurate 1541 disk drive emulation. Again, this can be set by creating a CJM file to accompany your game, or again you can use the AD file flag. Note that each file can have multiple file flags - rename your file like:
my-game.d64
to
my-game_AD.d64
3) My game does load but won't work properly / crashes - You could be using the wrong sort of emulation, as some software will be PAL or NTSC only. You will need to create a CJM file or make sure that you are using the right C64 model. But you can test which model that you need if you go to the "Options" menu, then "Device settings" and then "Computer model" - you can manually change your computer model there between PAL and NTSC. Switching will reset the emulation and you can try again.
4) My game still won't load / crashes - Whilst the emulation is very good on TheC64, it is not (or at least not yet) 100% - some games will refuse to work, but then this happens sometimes with real Commodore hardware, for instance, I've heard that some games don't work on a Commodore C128 in 64 mode.
Regards,
Shaun.
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Post by shaunbebbers on Aug 5, 2020 15:49:33 GMT
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Post by spannernick on Aug 5, 2020 20:19:54 GMT
Sorry but what's a Scrum Master, I have never heard of it... ?..  |
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Post by shaunbebbers on Aug 5, 2020 20:26:18 GMT
Thanks for the support question. A Scrum Master is a term used for businesses and teams that are working to Agile principles mostly used in the world of Software development but may be scaled and used in any business type.
Essentially, I act as a servant leader, and have other roles. I am a coach, a mentor, and work to remove impediments so that the team can get on with developing software (or in this case firmware). My background is in PHP Development, and whilst I will be doing some web development and support at RGL, the firmware is obviously not built with PHP so whilst I can suggest parameters and processes to smooth out any issues I'm not yet able to do things like bug fixes or feature requests until of course I get a handle myself on the tech stack, language(s) used and build processes etc.
I hope that explains it.
Regards,
Shaun.
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Post by spannernick on Aug 5, 2020 20:54:11 GMT
cool thanks... |
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Post by spannernick on Aug 5, 2020 21:16:58 GMT
Do you have THEC64 or Mini or both..? I have 2 THEC64 Minis, and a homemade THEC64.
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Post by shaunbebbers on Aug 5, 2020 21:19:55 GMT
I have about seven TheC64 minis and three TheC64s as well as a C64, 128, VIC-20, Plus/4 etc...
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Post by spannernick on Aug 5, 2020 21:27:51 GMT
I don't have a C128 but did have a C128D in 1990, I do have C64,Amiga 500,600,1200,C16,Atari520,800XL,130XE,cd32, I have had them for over 20 years.. I am a collector. |
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Post by gurce on Aug 5, 2020 23:25:54 GMT
Heya Shaun, Thanks for the offer of support, and good to have a contact from the inside :-) Maybe one commercial game from Protovision that was proving problematic these days was "Leisure Suit Leo 2". John had this post in the fb group about it: m.facebook.com/groups/209280506324242?view=permalink&id=641639683088320It was odd to hear of the issue, as I had purchased the game about a year ago, and it worked fine for me back then. Upon investigating it further with him, the interesting observation I found was that it used to work for me when my mini was on v1.2.0 firmware, but once I upgraded to latest 1.3.2 firmware, I then experienced the same prob John and Harun were facing. Anyways, more details on what things we tried are in the fb thread (ad-flag and disk-swapping etc). It's not an overly worrying thing that any of us are losing sleep over, so there's no rush to look into it. But if you had the time/inclination to investigate it at your end, would be happy to hear any insights you have on it. |
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Post by spannernick on Aug 10, 2020 12:45:40 GMT
I have a question.. .. Would there be a way of getting Internet on THEC64 at all, like getting RGL to add drivers for USB Wifi dongles or USB adapters with RJ45 connector to the kernel of THEC64(Linux keeps all its device drivers in its kernel)..? So you can access BBS boards on the net, it would open up THEC64 to a whole new world, and not just use it as a game machine, users want to use it like its a original C64 so everything that you can do on Commodore 64 you should be able to do on THEC64. VICE 2.4(2012) can connect to the internet, I can use it on Windows with CCGMS csdb.dk/release/?id=174485Maybe one day .. |
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Post by shaunbebbers on Aug 10, 2020 16:44:12 GMT
Heya Shaun, Thanks for the offer of support, and good to have a contact from the inside :-) Maybe one commercial game from Protovision that was proving problematic these days was "Leisure Suit Leo 2". John had this post in the fb group about it: m.facebook.com/groups/209280506324242?view=permalink&id=641639683088320It was odd to hear of the issue, as I had purchased the game about a year ago, and it worked fine for me back then. Upon investigating it further with him, the interesting observation I found was that it used to work for me when my mini was on v1.2.0 firmware, but once I upgraded to latest 1.3.2 firmware, I then experienced the same prob John and Harun were facing. Anyways, more details on what things we tried are in the fb thread (ad-flag and disk-swapping etc). It's not an overly worrying thing that any of us are losing sleep over, so there's no rush to look into it. But if you had the time/inclination to investigate it at your end, would be happy to hear any insights you have on it. Hi, I will purchase Leisure Suite Leo and see if I can get it to run. Regards, Shaun. |
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Post by shaunbebbers on Aug 10, 2020 16:44:39 GMT
I have a question.. .. Would there be a way of getting Internet on THEC64 at all, like getting RGL to add drivers for USB Wifi dongles or USB adapters with RJ45 connector to the kernel of THEC64(Linux keeps all its device drivers in its kernel)..? So you can access BBS boards on the net, it would open up THEC64 to a whole new world, and not just use it as a game machine, users want to use it like its a original C64 so everything that you can do on Commodore 64 you should be able to do on THEC64. VICE 2.4(2012) can connect to the internet, I can use it on Windows with CCGMS csdb.dk/release/?id=174485Maybe one day .. I'll put this in our ideas board. Regards, Shaun. |
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Post by shaunbebbers on Aug 13, 2020 19:18:40 GMT
Heya Shaun, Thanks for the offer of support, and good to have a contact from the inside :-) Maybe one commercial game from Protovision that was proving problematic these days was "Leisure Suit Leo 2". John had this post in the fb group about it: m.facebook.com/groups/209280506324242?view=permalink&id=641639683088320It was odd to hear of the issue, as I had purchased the game about a year ago, and it worked fine for me back then. Upon investigating it further with him, the interesting observation I found was that it used to work for me when my mini was on v1.2.0 firmware, but once I upgraded to latest 1.3.2 firmware, I then experienced the same prob John and Harun were facing. Anyways, more details on what things we tried are in the fb thread (ad-flag and disk-swapping etc). It's not an overly worrying thing that any of us are losing sleep over, so there's no rush to look into it. But if you had the time/inclination to investigate it at your end, would be happy to hear any insights you have on it. Hi, I will purchase Leisure Suite Leo and see if I can get it to run. Regards, Shaun. Hello, I purchased Leisure Suit Leo from Protovision. This CJM file is required for both disk images:
X:pal,accuratedisk,driveicon,fullheight
J:1:JU,JD,JL,JR,JF,JF,RS,SP,SP,RS,F1,F7,RS
J:2*:JU,JD,JL,JR,JF,JF,A,B,B,C,EN,SP,A
I hope that this helps. No issues with the latest firmware as far as I can tell. Tested on THEC64 but not Mini. Regards, Shaun. |
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Post by gurce on Aug 13, 2020 21:23:22 GMT
Thanks for looking into Shaun. Though I'm not sure if the accuratedisk setting helped, the last time I looked into it. Just to confirm, did you get Leo2? (I assumed you had just omitted the 2 in your message, but there was a possibility you got the Leo1). Also, to elaborate on how the issue occurred (mentioned in brief in the fb thread): 1. Start the game from disk1 2. The game has a quiz/questionaire to get through before it lets you play the real game 3. Once you finish the quiz, it asks you to swap to disk2 and press a key. 4. Upon doing so, the disk appears to load for a few seconds before it freezes up and stalls Back when I was on firmware v1.2, the loading on disk2 was successful (with accuratedisk). But seems like after upgrading to firmware v1.3.2, it stalls at this specific point. If it works, you should get to a point in the game with a picture of a house and text below saying "You are in front of your gone house" img.itch.zone/aW1hZ2UvODMwNjAvMzkwOTU1LnBuZw==/794x1000/uCY3LC.png |
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Post by shaunbebbers on Aug 14, 2020 8:37:21 GMT
Thanks for looking into Shaun. Though I'm not sure if the accuratedisk setting helped, the last time I looked into it. Just to confirm, did you get Leo2? (I assumed you had just omitted the 2 in your message, but there was a possibility you got the Leo1). Also, to elaborate on how the issue occurred (mentioned in brief in the fb thread): 1. Start the game from disk1 2. The game has a quiz/questionaire to get through before it lets you play the real game 3. Once you finish the quiz, it asks you to swap to disk2 and press a key. 4. Upon doing so, the disk appears to load for a few seconds before it freezes up and stalls Back when I was on firmware v1.2, the loading on disk2 was successful (with accuratedisk). But seems like after upgrading to firmware v1.3.2, it stalls at this specific point. If it works, you should get to a point in the game with a picture of a house and text below saying "You are in front of your gone house" img.itch.zone/aW1hZ2UvODMwNjAvMzkwOTU1LnBuZw==/794x1000/uCY3LC.pngYes, I downloaded this version: protovision.itch.io/english-leisure-suit-leo-2I can start the game and I am outside Leo's ex-wife's house as in the picture. I've created two CJM files (the same file but renamed for each disk side). This is of course not tested on TheC64 Mini but on TheC64. I think for the Mini you will need to use the files that Protovision provides - or there may be an English language version available which is in D81 format. Regards, Shaun. |
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Post by gurce on Aug 14, 2020 11:56:08 GMT
Thanks again for the intel Shaun, I'll aim to assess this on my end this weekend, on both the c64 mini and the full-sized.
Oh, at the protovision link you provided, I noticed in the comments section that Protovision recently (44 days ago) uploaded a new version of the game.
The comment hints that the new version has the cjm's in it, but I wonder if perhaps they also tweaked the game-code to get around the loading problems only recently.
Well, I'll re-download their latest .d64's this weekend too and diff them with my previous ones to see if they have been tweaked and confirm this one way or the other too.
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Post by shaunbebbers on Aug 14, 2020 11:58:35 GMT
Thanks again for the intel Shaun, I'll aim to assess this on my end this weekend, on both the c64 mini and the full-sized. Oh, at the protovision link you provided, I noticed in the comments section that Protovision recently (44 days ago) uploaded a new version of the game. The comment hints that the new version has the cjm's in it, but I wonder if perhaps they also tweaked the game-code to get around the loading problems only recently. Well, I'll re-download their latest .d64's this weekend too and diff them with my previous ones to see if they have been tweaked and confirm this one way or the other too. Team work makes the dream work ;-) Thanks, Shaun. |
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Post by gurce on Aug 16, 2020 13:15:22 GMT
Ok, tested out a few things tonight:
- I visited my purchase link once more, and I can confirm, yes, I have a new download-link for a mini/maxi version of the game (46 days old)
- Ok, I diffed the .d64 files, they are identical. The only difference is they've structured it in a way that makes it possible to disk-swap on the mini.
- If I ran the maxi in classic mode and used the media-access menu options to swap from disk1 to disk2, the game will work fine.
- If I however run the maxi in carousel mode, and then use the same disk-swapping technique that gets used in the mini (via a save-state), the game will freeze while trying to load up disk2 and get stuck at this point:
Dimension 4 - V8.4mR - Dimension 4
Ah ok, this is the same place it would die when I last tried it on my mini. So the only conclusion I can take from this is that the game is struggling with some aspect of the disk-loading if it starts up via a save-state. I also am adamant that this save-state technique worked fine on the mini back in V1.2 of the firmware, so it still seems like something between that firmware and the current V1.3.2 seems to have affected this game adversely (when using the save-state technique to swap disks). Ah well, at the very least, it's good news for maxi owners, not so good news for mini users Whether Protovision would be prepared to tweak the game to support the mini better, I suppose it doesn't hurt to ask, but it might be a pain for them to find the time to look into it. As for pushing all content into a .d81 file, yeah, it might be worth a shot, but I'm suspecting that games that need that accurate-disk setting don't seem to work out so well when they're pushed to .d81 disks.
Anyways, when I next get a free window, I'll push all the contents to a .d81 and see if that works on the mini.
If not, I'll throw in the towel at that point Not a big prob for me, as I've got the maxi, so I'm not fretting |
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Post by spannernick on Aug 16, 2020 18:27:45 GMT
You can test this game on the C64 Maxi too, it has TheC64 Mini Mode(Carousel Mode) if you just use the carousel and USB File Loader, are you using my way of swapping disks where you name disk 1 and 2 the same name...? to fools it into thinking its one disk, you can make a snapshot in VICE 2.4 and use it as a save too, 0.vsz files are VSF snapshots so you could get past the swap disk part by getting to that part in VICE and saving a snapshot and renaming it 0.vsz and puting it on the the save folder of the game on the USB flash drive, I would do it for you but don't have the game. Is this game a copy of Leisure Suit Larry by Sierra... I remember that game on the Amiga, I was never into them cause I hated reading, could never read properly, until the internet came along.. I did like Simon the Sorcerer but only cause there was a Talky version with Chris Barry as Simon, the Hologram from Red Dwarf, still like Broken Sword, Beneath The Steel Sky and Discworld," A very very aged wizard with a beard manly for collecting tobacco stains".. |
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Post by spannernick on Aug 29, 2020 13:28:41 GMT
I was wondering if THEVIC20 will have a different tune on the Carousel..?
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Post by shaunbebbers on Sept 11, 2020 14:37:01 GMT
I was wondering if THEVIC20 will have a different tune on the Carousel..? It's technically a "limited edition" THEC64 with a PET-styled keyboard as seen I think in the earlier VIC machines, and a close casing colour to those early VICs with matching joystick. Whilst some things have been tweaked, I think the music remains the same. As an aside, THEVIC20 was designed and built before I started for RGL so I haven't yet seen one. I'm waiting just like you guys. Regards, Shaun. |
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Post by spannernick on Sept 19, 2020 14:18:45 GMT
why did they use the codename Red Quark for the Carousel..?
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Post by shaunbebbers on Sept 20, 2020 21:05:01 GMT
why did they use the codename Red Quark for the Carousel..? As I understand it, THEC64 Mini was being developed for a proof of concept, and a name was needed where the tech guys could discuss the project to give it a distinctive name. Red Quark was something that was chosen. I don't know the meaning, but I also don't keep up with stuff either. When I was working at Cruise.co.uk we named severs after things in Star Wars. As I wasn't a fan (and am still not) of Star Wars, none of the names meant anything to me. Naboo server, for instance. But what is Naboo? Is it a dev server? Staging? etc. As I wasn't the only one who wasn't a Star Wars fan, they then decided to start naming things after Game of Thrones. As I'd never seen (and still haven't) a single episode of Game of Thrones, none of that meant anything to me either. True story. If it was up to me, things would be named as to give everyone a clue what they are. Like I would have called "Red Quark" THEC64 Mini Proof of Concept, and then once it was past the POC stage, just THEC64 Mini. Any upgrades I would have dropped the "mini". Same with servers. When I name servers, I call them like "Development Server 1" or "Staging Server 1" or "Testing Server 1" so everyone knows what each server is used for without having to watch seven movies or an entire season of a television programme. Regards, Shaun. |
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Post by virtualsky on Sept 21, 2020 5:10:46 GMT
If it was up to me, things would be named as to give everyone a clue what they are. I'm with you. "Dev One", "Stage Two" or "Dev Three" would be much more meaningful to me than something like "Lister" or "Smeg Head".  |
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Post by spannernick on Sept 21, 2020 12:47:30 GMT
Red Quark reminds me of Quark from Start Trek - Deep Space 9 played by Armin Shimerman, he was in Beauty and the Beast too in 1987. A Red Quark is a particle and is part of color change and the primary colors R.G.B and if you look at it under a microscope it looks like the power light on the C64... , it weird they picked that name. |
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Post by spannernick on Oct 4, 2020 12:57:08 GMT
Just wanted to say.. I love the hard back version of THEC64 Manual by the way.. |
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Post by shaunbebbers on Oct 8, 2020 11:35:19 GMT
Just wanted to say.. I love the hard back version of THEC64 Manual by the way.. Yes, the print quality is pretty awesome actually. Same with Popular Retro - I couldn't believe how glossy it was when I got my copy! Regards, Shaun. |
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Post by spannernick on Oct 10, 2020 1:18:52 GMT
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Post by mika73 on Oct 13, 2020 16:16:25 GMT
I have problem with TheC64 and Thevic20 memory expansion for Vic20. I have some demos at D64 format and games that require 3k, 8k, 16k and 32k at different folders as Tap format. Never got CJM files work. Would it be possible download CJM FILES for vic20 somewhere? I have D64 files from some YouTube that expand memory but when download something else memory drops back normal again.
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Post by spannernick on Oct 13, 2020 16:27:41 GMT
This might help... Use WinVice 2.4 to make a snapshot .vsf file of the game with the right memory(make sure the game loads and works ok) and save it too whatever-game-it-is.vsf and change it to whatever-game-it-is.prg and then open it with Media Access, make sure you in VIC20 Classic Mode not C64 Classic Mode, then it will run the game with the right memory... Media Access and USB File Loader(c64 games only) can run .vsf(VICE Snapshot File) if you change the extension to .prg. I just noticed they are tap files, you can try and change them to .tap and see if that works, I have never tried it(save it too whatever-game-it-is.vsf and change it to whatever-game-it-is.tap) and then try and load it in MA and UFL. |
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