The Super Nintendo was probably the closest thing to a C256.
The C256 Phoenix Project aka What Commodore 256 could have been like
41–50 of 68 posts
Re: The C256 Phoenix Project aka What Commodore 256 could have been like
#42How about building a machine to run TempleOS natively? The crazy guy who wrote it says explicitly that the OS was meant to implement the commodore 64 ideal of one big flat address space and no memory protection, everything is rung 0, no protected io, etc.
Buy yourself a Raspberry Pi and install RISC OS (Full or Pico version, depending on whether you want a GUI or not). It runs BBC BASIC, so it can run old school type ins and has an inline assembler and modern hires graphics.
Re: The C256 Phoenix Project aka What Commodore 256 could have been like
#43An actual Commodore 256 was designed, but never built, thank goodness: https://dfarq.homeip.net/commodore-256-the-8-bit-that-never-... But they did release the CBM 256, with an optional 8088 or Z80 daughterboard: http://www.zimmers.net/cbmpics/cb3s.html Oh, to be a fly on the wall at all of those meetings of computer manufacturers where they asked the engineers "why can't we run PC software too?"
The C128 came standard with a Z80 as a secondary processor. (Would have been more useful for me if they'd also had an 8" floppy drive so I could have easily gotten stuff to my parents' CP/M machine at work.)
The C128 is a really bizarre beast - it actually "boots" with the Z-80 in control initially, and uses that to check for a CP/M disk in the drive, a C-64 cartridge in the cartridge port, or if you hold down the Commodore key, and uses that to determine whether to go into CP/M mode, C128 mode or C64 mode on startup...
During CP/M operation, some BIOS functionality actually causes a context switch from the Z-80 to the 8502 and back...
Re: The C256 Phoenix Project aka What Commodore 256 could have been like
#44No head, no tail... what are the specifications?
Re: The C256 Phoenix Project aka What Commodore 256 could have been like
#45Its been really interesting for me to observe this re-focus on older technology, having been involved in the retro computing scene for the last few decades .. it has grown and grown, to the point where there are now titles being released for machines in the 80's that are nowhere like what our expectations were, back in the day. We have titles on some systems that are simply mind-blowing these days, in comparison. My…
I wonder if there are two reasons: 1. there is a generation coming to age now that never got to know these computers first hand. 2. More and more "computers" are getting locked down, supposedly for our own good. Even FOSS is bitten by this bug.
I’m old enough to have used everything from a ZX81 onwards. The appeal used to be the sheer excirement of having a relatively simple machine do clever thinga in a way that felt open and which promoted imagination - a bit like Lego, but in code.
They encouraged you to get involved, learn, and have a go.
Modern systems can do a lot more, but the cost of entry in money and especially time is so much higher. They’re more like closed appliances optimised for consuming experiences created by others than playpens for creating your own experiences.
The play and imagination element has largely disappeared from modern computing. Most experiences are trying to sell you something, and if you make something new you’re supposed to sell it - and sell it hard - too. Even FOSS projects are measured mostly by stars and forks and not by fun and enjoyment.
IMO the nostalgia for old hardware can’t recreate the culture that surrounded it. It might be more interesting to design new software that has more of that just-for-fun feel to it - although it’s not obvious what that would look like today.
Re: The C256 Phoenix Project aka What Commodore 256 could have been like
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
I sure can! Check out this great collection of games for the Oric-1/Atmos, released in the 21st Century, which nevertheless would have blown several thousand users' minds if they had've been released in the 80's. Titles such as this were never even dreamed of back in the day - yet here we are, in the 21st Century, and the amazing titles just keep coming: http://www.defence-force.org/index.php?page=games For a bonus,…
Never heard of the Oric before. Very interesting, thanks.
It’s a 1980’s British computer manufactured into the early 1990’s, was fairly popular in France.
Re: The C256 Phoenix Project aka What Commodore 256 could have been like
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder if there are two reasons: 1. there is a generation coming to age now that never got to know these computers first hand. 2. More and more "computers" are getting locked down, supposedly for our own good. Even FOSS is bitten by this bug.
Worse, my read is that most people in computing these days fetishize complexity. Why do solve problems the simple way when we can keep adding layers of abstraction?
Your read is correct; they want the world to know how smart they are, but are going about it in the wrong way. As it turns out, those who “fetishize” complexity know deep down that they aren’t smart enough to make those things simple, because that is too hard for them. Hence the computer industry and IT and particular have gone to shit.
Re: The C256 Phoenix Project aka What Commodore 256 could have been like
#48Page is unreadable on a tablet.
Getting quite tired of comments like these. The web was made for computers, not for tablets. If tablets are dumbed down and handicapped to the point that they can no longer partake in the web your beef is with the tablet manufacturer or the browser vendor. Either one or both has all the tools at their disposal to fix these issues. All the webserver does is serve up a bunch of data, the interpretation of that data is…
The web was made on a NeXT workstation for any device, on any operating system. Sir Tim Berners-Lee would likely be extremely grumpy if he read your comment.
Re: The C256 Phoenix Project aka What Commodore 256 could have been like
#49is this guy aware of the Mega65 Project ( http://mega65.org/ ) which actually already has working machines, a case and is on the brink to begin mass production?
Girl.
Also, two other Commodore remakes/redos, C64DTV[0] and C-One[1] were done by non-guy Jeri Ellsworth[2]
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C64_Direct-to-TV
Re: The C256 Phoenix Project aka What Commodore 256 could have been like
#50Its been really interesting for me to observe this re-focus on older technology, having been involved in the retro computing scene for the last few decades .. it has grown and grown, to the point where there are now titles being released for machines in the 80's that are nowhere like what our expectations were, back in the day. We have titles on some systems that are simply mind-blowing these days, in comparison. My…
Speaking of people making new games for old platforms I just came across an Atari 2600 demake of Unreal Tournament on Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/8q238x/about_to_re... Unlike the ones you mentioned it’s not mind blowing but it’s still neat and I figured you might be interested in knowing about it since you are interested in these things.
Definitely - thanks for the kind thoughts. This is precisely the sort of thing that motivates me to write assembly code again. ;)
In fact, a couple of the more elite Oric hackers are working on a Wolfenstein-like release for the Oric .. that is going to be amazing when it happens.