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KVICE release r4
What's new since r3 ?
New features:
- MIDI: x64 and xvic emulate the C64 / VIC-20 MIDI cartridges (Sequential,
Passport, Datel, Namesoft, Maplin) through camd.library: an Amiga MIDI
keyboard can play the SID instruments of SID-Wizard, a new MIDI page
in the settings. (camd.library from Aminet.)
- "Recent files" submenu: the 6 last autostarted files, one list for
each emulator.
- Open a .d64, .prg, .t64 or .crt from its icon with x64 as default tool.
If x64 already runs, the file goes to it: no second emulator is started.
- Workbench tooltypes: the emulator and file icons can carry command line
options (SOUND=OFF, DRIVE8TRUEDRIVE...), so a game icon has its own
settings. Like the Shell options, they do not change the saved settings.
- Menus reorganized: Pause, Reset, Hard reset, Monitor and snapshots in a
new "Control" menu, the first menu is shorter.
- "-help" tells which options are not supported by KVICE.
- New guide page "What to do with these emulators?": new games still sold,
x64 as a SID music player, making music with SID-Wizard.
Corrections:
- The floppy leds have no more "jammed" led (it was of no use).
- Saving the window geometry at exit could read freed memory when
started with -config.
- The "Amiga hard drive as floppy" Directory Up command was faulty, corrected,
allow C64 sidplay and any IEC file browsing app, to browse your disk directly.
What's new since r2 ?
Sorry but terrible bugs were (again) found in the Floppy "Drive 8" panel settings,
just after r2 release. Now this looks very corrected:
- Disabling "True drive emulation" actually used to enter an ineffective state,
now disabled is the default and most d64 game/app/demo boot instantly in that mode.
That said: some games (eidolon.d64,...) and score saving, and saving at all
will need "True drive emulation"
- Leds were added to watch floppy activity and tape activity when real
device emulation is on. Can be removed on option.
- added an option so joystick second button acts like "space bar",
so you can send bombs with it playing "Commando".
What's new since r1 ?
New features:
- Can change between 4 C64 palettes in real time, so colours are not flashy.
- You can switch joyports 1 & 2 in real time (games are using either port1 or 2).
- Some experimental "scanlines" display mode, need twice the vertical resolution.
- Monitoring window with:
Breakpoints, disassembler, memory watch, CPU, vicII, SID states.
- Monitoring can use .sym symbol files (tested from wla-dx.7 assembler), so
you can see your asm source labels in the monitor and breakpoint them.
Actually if you load hello.prg and there is hello.sym aside,
monitor will automatically update labels.
(so you can totally go wild developping things, asm examples added.)
- Amiga mouse can emulate paddles (for Arkanoid1 and Puzzle bobble.)
- a few improvements (display "pause" when paused,...)
- AmigaGuides are updated about all this. New special guide for the monitor window.
Corrections:
- 5 to 10% speed optimized
- Input panel rewritten, changes applied when changed:
no more misleading "Use" button.
- Some file path bugs that could prevent loading is corrected.
Thanks to the people that suggested the palette, joyport and scanline evolutions,
so the commodore emulator of my dreams also becomes the emulator of your dreams,
so we dream together.
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WHAT IS IT?
KVICE is a Commodore 8-bit machine package for the classic Amiga:
x64 Commodore 64 emulator
xplus4 Commodore Plus/4, C16 and C116 emulator
xvic Commodore VIC-20 emulator
PetMate PETSCII art draw tool
It is a fork of VICE 3.10 (except for PetMate and PetMe),
the Versatile Commodore Emulator, made fast for AmigaOS 3.x:
Native scalable drawing in a window or fullscreen (RTG or
native screens), MUI settings, AHI sound, joysticks and paddles,
disk images, an Amiga drawer as drive 8, snapshots,
BASIC programs saved/loaded as UTF-8 texts (.bas).
INSTALLATION
Double-click "Install". Then run "KVICE Resource Installer": the
resource files the emulators need are not in this archive, it
downloads and checks them.
REQUIREMENTS
- AmigaOS 3.1 or later, 68060 or better
- a fast Amiga for full speed:
68060 50 MHz reaches 40% of the speed,
Vampire, PiStorm and UAE reach 100% easily
- MUI 3.8 or later, for the settings window
- (optional) AHI, for the sound, else no sound
- (optional) AmiSSLv5 and a TCP/IP stack, for online resource
installation (KVICE Resource Installer)
- (optional) RTG graphics
If you have no RTG extension and use Amiga native display modes, you are
encouraged to install the patch BlazeWCP from Aminet: it accelerates
the drawing function WriteChunkyPixels() by a large factor.
OK BUT THEN WHAT ?
The first motivation to do another VICE port for Amiga was...
I was never ever able to make any of the Official version work,
nor find any documentation about why it wouldnt work. Infinite loop stuck issues.
Then Well, I have a piStorm, I wanted my legitimate glorious C64 emulation to work.
This version will boot if you have MUI in all case, then if ROMs or anywhat is
missing, you'll have a report with clear message. If you have a Drive selected
but its Drive ROM is missing, you will be clearly signified.
Yet if any file is missing you will be guided to a solution.
I previously coded a PetMate PETSCII drawing tool for Amiga and needed to verify C64
integration of exports, so this PETSCII drawing tool is also provided here as option.
Then I couldn't help doing nicer RTG rasterizer with scalable windows, optimize a bit,
and add a text export/import for BASIC as texts. And expose a few more
d64 disk cool management functions. And fullscreen switch.
So, as also the Amiga version was removed from official sources,
this becomes officially "a fork" , named KVICE.
Note it installs only "C64", "VIC-20" and "Plus4" emulators, when the
original VICE 3.10 would install 11 emulators.
You may install ROMs, that are not part of this project, from
"C64 Forever" CD from Cloanto, or from anyone who claims to have the
rights to sell you this, at the moment you read this.
This is blogged on Mastodon account @VictoriaFerryRetroGeek@piaille.fr
Want an Amiga mastodon client ? Check FriendSh3ep:
https://github.com/krabobmkd/FriendSh3ep/releases
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_v4kxDJINw
LICENSE
GPL 2 or later, like VICE. The PetMe fonts are under their own free
license (PetMe-FreeLicense.txt). The resource files that are not part of
KVICE have their own license terms.
Sources, bug reports, feature requests:
https://github.com/krabobmkd/KVICE
https://github.com/krabobmkd/KVICE/issues
Original VICE project by the VICE team. Original Amiga port by AmiDog.
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aminet net>