Archives of Genesis8 Amstrad Page from 1999 to 2012 about developpement

Youtube videos about Amstrad CPC graphics by MacDeath

If you read Amstrad CPC forums, maybe you have read a few short messages by MacDeath. No I was only joking, you have read a lot of lenghty messages by him ! But he has also done some videos on Youtube on his prefered subject : Amstrad CPC graphics. The latest video by MacDeath is Amstrad CPC Graphics Live [Se02Ep04] (french audio).

Source : CPCWiki's Forum

8BP v030, a RSX library to create Amstrad CPC games in Basic, and a new 8bp game

Jose Javier Garcia Aranda has written a new version of 8BP v30 (8bits de poder : 8bits of power), a RSX library to write Amstrad CPC games in basic (26 Kb max). You can download 8bp on github.

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables is the last game programmed with 8BP and showed at the RetroMadrid 2017 meeting.

Source : Twitter

8BP v028, a RSX library to create Amstrad CPC games in Basic

Jose Javier Garcia Aranda has written a new version of 8BP v28 (8bits de poder : 8bits of power), a RSX library for writing Amstrad CPC games in basic (26 Kb max). You can download 8bp on github.

A preview of a platform game with 8bp is available on Youtube

Source : Twitter

A space invaders with a few lines of basic and 8BP, a RSX library for Amstrad CPC

Jose Javier Garcia Aranda wrote a new example for his RSX library 8BP v27 (8bits de poder : 8bits of power), it's a clone of Space invaders in a few lines of basic.

Source : CPCWiki's forum

Interview of John Gibson, programmer at Imagine

You can read an interview of John Gibson (Imagine) on the web site Retro Game Master.

Source : Twitter

CPC Basic 3, an IDE for writing locomotive basic programs and compiles them in Z80 asm

CPC Basic 3 is an integrated environment for developing programs for Amstrad CPC. It works on Windows, Linux (Mono) and Mac OS (Wine).

CPC Basic function is to allow input and editing a program and compile it to to generate the necessary machine code and run it on a Amstrad CPC computer or an emulator.

Programs are written in Basic language based on Locomotive Basic with a number of differences required because it is a compiler and optimize the speed of code produced.

Source : CPCWiki's forum

8BP v027, a RSX library to develop Amstrad CPC games in Basic

Jose Javier Garcia Aranda has written a new version of 8BP v27 (8bits de poder : 8bits of power), a RSX library for writing Amstrad CPC games in basic (26 Kb max). You can download 8bp on github.

This v27 version has 2 new features :

• RINK RSX for ink animation
• change state for sprites (badly translated from spanish)

Source : CPCRulez's forum

Street Fighter II CPC still being developped

Street Fight II CPC is still being developped by Augusto Ruiz (programmation), DaDMaN (graphics) and McKlain (sound). Here is a new video of Street Fight II CPC below, after the two of 2013 :

• SFII CPC - Work in progress - 20130613 sur Youtube
• Street Fighter II CPC - The Real Edition sur Youtube

Dont expect a final version in 2016, but a beta is possible. The target is an Amstrad CPC 6128 with 128 Kb, sorry no CPC 464.

Source : CPCWiki's forum

Fuzix (unix clone) for Amstrad Notepad and PCW still developped by Alan Cox

First announce in November 2014, Alan Cox continue programming on Fuzix (clone d'unix) for Amstrad PCW and Notepad. He is adding support for Amstrad NC200 at the moment.

It would be fun to use an ESPxx to add wifi to an Amstrad Notepad or PCW.

Source : Fuzix

ccZ80 v3.1.5 and ccZ80++ by Emilio Guerrero, programmation in C on PC for Amstrad CPC

cc80 v3.1.5 by Emlio Guerrero is the last version of this compilator for PC with a C syntaxe, to program on PC (windows or linux with Mono or Wine) for Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum and MSX.

But it now exist cc80++ which is of course inspired by C++ but also has a new target : Amstrad PCW.

SymbOS v3.0 Release Candidate 1 available for Amstrad CPC

SymbOS v3.0 RC1 (14/11/2016) is available.

Changes since the last update : fixed bug in the widget management of the extended desktop, the widget feature can now fully used as well, and increased booting speed.

Source : CPCWiki's forum

8BP v026, a RSX library to develop Amstrad CPC games in Basic

Jose Javier Garcia Aranda has written 8BP (8bits de poder : 8bits of power), a RSX library for writing Amstrad CPC games in basic (26 Kb max). You can download 8bp on github (sources, demos and games examples, spanish and english documentation). Il existe déjà 3 jeux dont le dernier Niburu :

• mutante montoya (platforms /maze)
• anunnaki (space ship arcade, vertical scroll)
• nibiru (space ship arcade, horizontal scroll)

Source : CPCWiki's forum

Fading colors on Amstrad CPC by Sylvestre (Sucres en morceaux)

After the article about calibrating the Amstrad CPC monitor by Sylvestre (Sucres en morceaux), here is a new article about fading colors.

Source : CPCWiki's forum

LZ48, LZ49 cruncher and decruncher in Z80 asm by Roudoudou

Roudoudou has released a new cruncher and decruncher in Z80 asm and C source (for the 1st variant, wait a bit more for the 2nd variant). Le décompresseur est rapide et de petite taille. The decruncher has a short size and is fast.

To be included in a development environment on PC.

Source : CPCWiki's forum

CPCTelera v1.4 (Ronaldo), RGAS v1.2.4 (Lachlank) and WinCPCTelera (Arnaud6128)

CPCTelera still at v1.4 is a multi platform (Windows with Cygwin, OS X and Linux) development framework for creating Amstrad CPC games in C and assembly. And you can now use WinCPCTelera by Arnaud6128 to test directly your CPCTelera programs on windows without using an emulator or a real Amstrad CPC.

Retro Game Asset Studio (RGAS) v1.2.4 by Lachlank is the next evolution of Amsprite (now defunct). You can create graphics, sound/music and levels for Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64.

Source :

5 days left to participate to the CPCRETRODEV 2016

CPCRetroDev 2016, the 4th edition of the retro game creation contest of the University of Alicante. This contest awards the best and most creative developers of the retro scene, able to develop the best games for Amstrad CPC 464. The main characteristics of this year’s contest are:

• AWARDS ( 1.050 € )
  
  • Special awards
    
    • 125 € : Gominolas to the best music
    • 125 € : Jon Ritman to technical development
    • 125 € : Dinamic to innovative playability
  • PRO Category
    
    • 300 € : Best game
    • 150 € : Second best game
    • 75 € : Third best game
  • BASIC Category
    
    • 100 € – Best BASIC game
    • 50 € – Second best BASIC game

• PRO jury will be directed by The Oliver Twins, and will be composed by Escuela Politécnica Superior, RetroManiac, Devilish Games, Lucera Project, Fase Bonus, Amstrad Eterno and El Mundo del Spectrum.
• Special awards will be assessed by César Astudillo (Gominolas), Jon Ritman and Víctor Ruíz exclusively.
• Games awarded with a special mention will be given the special quality seal with the name of the award.
• A physical cassette edition with all presented games will be created and distributed.
• Any game themes are valid, as long as they are valid for all publics,
  • An additional 5 points will be given to games including any kind of gesture to the game Camelot Warriors (Dinamic, 1986) for his 30th aniversary.
• Submission deadline: October, the 26th, 2016, 23:59h (CEST Timezone)
  

Before submiting, please do thoroughly read the contest rules. Then, develop your game and fill in the form below for submiting your entry. Please, ensure that you correctly provide your email address, so as we can contact you.

Here you may find some links to developer tools for Amstrad CPC:

• CPCtelera game engine
• Librería CPCRSLib
• cpcitor’s cpc-dev-toolchain

Source : CPCRETRODEV 2016

Remake of Slap Fight (Alcon) by Abalore W.I.P.

Slap Fight (A.L.C.O.N.) is a shoot them up already existing on Amstrad CPC since 1987. But like the R-Type remake, Abalore thinks he can do better. A first video of the scrolling is available on Youtube.

Abalore accepts every help possible to make this new remake.

Source : Amstrad.ES's forum

CrocoDS by Kyuran on OSX, and developping for pico8 on Amstrad CPC

Kyuran wrote on Twitter to announce an incoming version of the Amstrad CPC emulator CrocoDS on OSX. And also a development environment for Pico-8 on Amstrad CPC.

Source : Kyuran on Twitter

New version of the CPC assembler Dorgams

Dorgams is an assembler in ROM for Amstrad CPC, created by Madram, Drill and Hicks. A new version is available.

The documentation in french and english is available on Dorgams' wiki.

Source : CPCWiki's forum

RGAS v1.2.1 by Lachlank (Development for CPC on PC)

Retro Game Asset Studio (RGAS) v1.2.1 by Lachlank is the next evolution of Amsprite (now defunct). Using .NET, you can create graphics, sound/music levels for Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64.

New features :

• Check for newer versions at startup
• Export level to bitmap
• Level designer list now supports same functions as sprite list (copy, re-order etc).
• Option to generate level data in RLE (Run Length Encoding) format
• Option to output width/height bytes at beginning of sprite data (supports 8BP library/framework 8 bits de poder)

Source : CPCWiki's forum

Golden Tails by Juan Martinez (Reidrac), an Amstrad CPC platform game

Golden Tails is a mostly finished platform game for Amstrad CPC by Juan Martinez (Reidrac). The game is inspired by Japanese folklore.

Game screenshots are available on CPCWiki (see link below).

Juan is also the author for Amstrad CPC of The return of Traxtor and Space pest control.

ALl three games are powered by cpcrslib by Artaburu and PSG Player by WYZ.

Source : CPCWiki's forum

SDCC v3.6.0 (C programming for Amstrad CPC) on PC

A new release candidate of the ANSI-C compiler SDCC v3.6.0 is available for download.

CPCTelera v1.4 by Ronaldo and RGAS v1.1.1 by Lachlank (Development for CPC on PC)

CPCTelera is a multi platform (Windows with Cygwin, OS X and Linux) development framework for creating Amstrad CPC games in C and also assembly programmers. Click to see the news of CPCTelera on Github.

Retro Game Asset Studio (RGAS) v1.1.1 by Lachlank is the next evolution of Amsprite (now defunct). Using .NET, you can create graphics, sound/music levels for Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64.

C Programming on PC for Amstrad CPC with z88dk v1.99a

The last version of the C compilator for PC Z88dk v1.99a is out since December 2015.

One of the new feature is the possibility to use the SDCC engine.

Source : z88dk

CPCRSLIB for SDCC updated, a development library in C for Amstrad CPC (September 2015)

The library CPCRSLIB for the SDCC compiler has been update. It allows to program in C on PC for Amstrad CPC. The CPCRSLIB version for the Z88dk compiler is still from February2015.

This new version is smaller, faster and benefit from the new version (v3.5) of SDCC. There is a new scroll code.

Also you will find an interview of ESP Soft on RetroManiac and another interview of ESP Soft on Video Juegos Retro.

Source : ESP Soft

Claudia Converter (special zoom edition) by Eliot

After iMPdraw (download link), here is a new version of the Claudia Converter utility by Eliot.

it can load .BMP and .SCR created with the ConvIMG CPC utility, to show and modify them with the zoom tool. It manages fullscreen and CPC+ palette.

Source : PushnPop's forum

SymbOS 3.0 beta with ethernet network support is available

Symbos v3.0 beta is available, with ethernet network support.

Source : CPCWiki's forum

SDCC v3.5.0 (C programming for Amstrad CPC) for PC

A new release candidate of the ANSI-C compiler SDCC v3.5.0 is available for download.

Development for CPC on PC : CPCTelera by Ronaldo and RGAS by Lachlank

CPCTelera is a multi platform (Windows with Cygwin, OS X and Linux) development framework for creating Amstrad CPC games in C and also assembly programmers. For all features check CPCWiki, for short :

• A low-level library with support for: graphics, audio, keyboard, firmware, strings, video hardware manipulation and memory management
• An API for developing games and software in C and Assembler
• A complete multi-platform building system with support for building CDTs and DSKs automatically. Tools for content authoring (audio, graphics and level editing)

Project creation, management and integrated build system with tools (SDCC compilator...)

autoring tools and command line tools for format conversions (Arkos Tracker, RGAS...)

Retro Game Asset Studio (RGAS) by Lachlank is the next evolution of Amsprite (now defunct). Using .NET, you can create graphics, sound/music levels for Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64.

Amscraft by Lachlank, a preview of an Amstrad CPC minecraft

Lachlank (author of Retro Game Asset Studio) just showed a preview of Minecraft for Amstrad CPC : Amscraft on Youtube.

It is written mainly in C using SDCC and the framwework CPCTelera, but with assembler to draw blocks. He is looking for help (music for example).

Source : CPCWiki's forum

SymbOS network support development

Prodatron is working on network support for SymbOS avec with Wiznet W5100 ethernet controller (used on MSX and ZX SPectrum). There is also a W5100 project for the Amstrad CPC.

SymbOS is already able to load a web page, full TCP/IP support done. Still lacking UDP support to be able to use DNS and DHCP.

Source : CPCWiki's forum

SymbOS on Amstrad CPC, PCW, MSX and now also on Elan Enterprise

The Elan Enterprise is a new computer which can use Symbos. See the youtube video about this subject made during the Nijmegen MSX fair 2015.

Source : CPCRulez's forum

WIP of a screenshot of Athanor 2 by Eric Safar

After the first Athanor, Eric Safar is working on Athanor 2 this time with bitmaps graphics. You can already see a WIP screenshot of the game on CPCRulez (see source below).

Source : CPCRulez's forum

Puzznic for Amstrad CPC+ by Arnoldemu and BDCIron

A new version of Puzznic is available for Amstrad CPC+ thanks to Arnoldemu and BDCIron.

This version runs on GX4000. Instead of pressing R for menu, press pause. Also, an update to the "boot" process, the new overscan title screen now fades in and out, and a CPC+ palette is used.

Source : CPCWiki's forum

A fork of Contiki v1.x (an operating system) for Amstrad CPC by Pulkomandy

The following lines are directly taken from the Amstrad CPC Contiki port on Github.

Contiki is a small operating system for embedded devices. While version 2 of the system is designed to run on embedded devices and has an IP and IPv6 stack as the main feature, the 1.x version of the system is better known for being ported to several 8-bit and 16-bit home computers.

Contiki 1.x features a GUI, dynamic loading of executables with runtime relocation, and a cooperative multitasking event-driven kernel. It also includes an IPv4 network stack and a few other things.

This fork is focused on improving the Amstrad CPC port of Contiki. This version was done by Kevin Thacker, but he didn't get it much further than showing the desktop. At the time, problems with the SDCC compiler and lack of proper optimization support led to a Contiki kernel too big and slow to be useful for serious use.

Fast forward some years, and SDCC has improved a lot. While it's still not very good at generating fast code, at least the size is down a bit and we now can run several programs without running out of memory. The linker scripts you will find here were modified to work properly with the current version of SDCC.

However, the dynamic relocatable executables are generated with a patched version of the SDCC linker, as the existing linker doesn't allow output in a suitable format.

Compared to the binaries released by Kevin Thacker, this version has much improved drawing routines. While still using the CPC firmware, the following changes allow for a much better experience :

• Faster screen clearing using SCR FILL BOX
• Various optimizations all over the place
• A better looking color palette
• Support for bitmap icons

How to build it - Requirements

You will need a patched version of SDCC. The linker was modified to generate relocation information, so the PRG executables can be loaded anywhere in memory and relocated at runtime before starting them. Running Contiki without that on the CPC would be much less interesting, because it is nearly impossible to write position independant z80 code.

A patch for SDCC 3.4.1 (from the current SVN sources) is provided. Get the sources using SVN or a nightly snapshot and apply the patch, then configure SDCC as usual.

You can still use the generated version of SDCC for other projects. The only difference is the addition of the -h flag to the linker. When this flag is set, executables are generated with relocation information.

You will also need cpcgs from the cpctools project.

Steps

Once the patched SDCC is installed, the process is rather simple :

cd contiki-cpc make clean make cpc make programs

This will generate a dsk image with contiki and the various programs.

Be careful to always do things in this order. The "cpc" target compiles the contiki core, and generate a defines file which is then used to have the apps call contiki routines.

However, when contiki is recompiled, stuff move in memory and all programs must be recompiled. This means you should always do a "make clean", until the dependencies are properly defined in the makefiles.

How to use it

Boot your CPC or emulator and insert the disk in drive A (drive B is currently not supported). Then from the BASIC prompt type

run"contiki

The Contiki desktop will start, and will load the "Welcome" program which shows a window with some hints about how to use the system. Once there, you can :

• Navigate the menus (press F1 then use arrow keys)
• Run the "Processes" program to see a list of running processes
• Run the "Directory" program to list the disc contents

Using either Directory or the "Run program" menu, you can start more applications, such as the calculator, the command line shel, the about box, etc. You can start multiple instances of each application, and navigate between their windows using the "Desktop" menu.

Roadmap

This port of Contiki is running fairly well, but we can make it more awesome !

Current status

Contiki currently relies on the CPC firmware for screen drawing and on AMSDOS for disc access. It runs entirely in the 64K base memory and doesn't use the banks or other expansion ROMs.

Contiki uses the space usually reserved to BASIC, from &100 to &3700, for its kernel. Since the Firmware and AMSDOS reserve all memory from &A700 up, this leaves about 28K of free RAM for applications. Not bad, but we can do better.

Firmware-based CTK driver

The screen driver is using the standard "conio" driver from Contiki. This is a textmode based driver which is easily portable between different terminal types. However, the interface of this driver with the CPC firmware results in rather slow screen drawing. The main reason is that some operations (such as erasing or scrolling part of the screen) are done character by character, instead of using the firmware functions which are much faster. Moreover, the portable conio code is written in C, and replacing it with an assembler version would provide another speed boost.

Some extra features such as bitmap icons, a custom character set and more can be implemented here.

Make use of memory banks

We can put Contiki in bank C7 and map it in C1 mode. This would free all the low memory for apps. When calling the firmware, we can either use "far calls" so the bank can be unmapped while drawing, or use mode C3 and tell the firmware to draw at address 4000.

Note that the firmware calls are designed not to take direct memory pointers most of the time (eg you can print a single character, not a whole string) to make such schemes workable: The firmware would never need to directly access application memory in the range 4000-7fff. This would leave about 42K of RAM free for apps.

Remove dependencies on firmware

The next step is to completely remove the dependency on the firmware, and instead write our own screen drawing routines. A 4x8 or 6x8 font could be used, as the "80 column" version of Contiki for C64 is doing.

This could further speedup the screen display and allow for a nicer look.

Overscan display

A nice feature on the CPC is the ability to allocate 32K of RAM for the display and have a quite high resolution screen (380x272 or so). However, with the scheme exposed above this would lead to having only 32K of RAM free for applications.

To avoid this, we would run Contiki in C2 banking mode (all memory is mapped in banks) and have the application heap there. Contiki would still be in bank C7 leaving 48K of RAM for apps. When drawing to the screen is needed, Contiki can switch to mode C1 or C3 to access the main memory. A scheme similar to the one used by the firmware needs to be used here: the screen drawing routines must not do direct access to applications.

Pages 0 and 1 in main RAM would be used for the screen. Page 2 will have the screen drawing code. Page 3 can be used for the filesystem, and use the C4-C7 mapping mode to access the banks. When using these modes, converting a pointer to page number + pointer in 4000-7fff is easy. It may be a good idea to tweak malloc so it never allocates a chunk that crosses two banks. But that would mean we can't load apps bigger than 16K. So the disk system will probably have to figure out how to handle allocations that spans two or more banks.

Even more free RAM !

Going even further, Contiki should all be in main RAM, and leave the banks almost completely free for apps. This would need to use an RST (far call or so) to call Contiki methods from apps. Can SDCC handle this? We may need to generate syscall inlines or maybe we can do dirty tricks using the peephole to replace "CALL address" with "RST farcall ; dw address". This could leave 63+K of RAM for apps, and 32K of RAM for Contiki + screen drawing + FS. If space is scarce, it's probably time we try putting Contiki in one or two ROMs instead.

This is similar to the scheme used by CP/M+.

An Amstrad PCW port

The amstrad PCW has a similar, but more flexible, RAM bank system. However, it comes with 256 or 512K of memory, and we must support this!. This means reworking Contiki to handle apps in the different banks, which is not an easy task and may need compiler specific support. But then again, it could be useful for a Thomson MO6/TO8 port...

Source :

Zilog Z80 assembler syntax highlighting for Notepad++

Notepad++ is a well known text editor on PC. Thanks to Syx, there is now a language file to add Z80 syntax highlighting for notepad++.

Source : CPCWiki's forum

CP/M source code (v1.1, v1.3, v1.4 and v2.0) is avalaible at the Computer History Museum

The Computer History Museum let you download 4 versions of CP/M for a non commercial use : v1.1 (1975), v1.3 (1976), v1.4 (1978) and v2.0 (1979), but it was v2.2 which was available for Amstrad CPC.

Gary Kildall, the creator of CP/M is sadly not anymore with us since 1994.

Source : Tom's Hardware

Why the Z80's data pins are scrambled ?

The question about why the Z80's data pins are scrambled was asked on Slashdot.

And the answer has been given by Ken Shirriff, happy reading.

Source : Slashdot

SDCC v3.4.0 (C programming for Amstrad CPC)

A new release candidate of the ANSI-C compiler SDCC v3.4.0 is available for download.

Phactory and Phortem's source code available on NoRecess's web site

Phactory (a development environment targetting Amstrad CPC)and Phortem's (demo) code source are available on NoRecess web site.

Source : CPCWiki's forum

CHAMP, a new amstrad CPC assembler and debugger using 512 Kb

CHAMP is a new assembler and debugger for Amstrad CPC which supports 512 Kb of RAM, programmed intially for Commodore 64, Sinclair Spectrum and BBC micro. Several new features were added 26 years after the initial port on the WinApe emulator, adding the support of 512 Kb of RAM.

The port author is open to new features on the cpcwiki forum.

• ROM resident for smaller memory footprint, faster loading and protection from corruption
• Source code checked for corruption after quitting and re-entering the assembler
• Accesses up to 512K RAM. Assembler can create object code in expanded memory. Debugger can read from one bank and write to another, load/save files to/from expansion RAM etc
• Debugger can read upper ROMs
• Execute RSX commands from within the debugger
• Faster scrolling of text in assembler, some other speedups
• Automatic conversion of keywords from lower case to upper case
• Uses left-hand side of Mode 2 screen. Right-hand side is available for displaying system messages or user program output
• Right-hand window is also used to display Help text on startup

Source : Octoate

CPCRSLIB for SDCC, a development library in C for Amstrad CPC (January 2014)

The library CPCRSLIB for the SDCC compiler has been updated :

horizontal scroll sample (011 - Small Sprite Demo (Tile Map) - SCROLL) included. Some tilemap functions updated with minor changes improving the tile drawing speed.

Source : ESP Soft

Billy Run Again by Jean Philippe Biscay (author of Billy la Banlieue and Billy 2)

Jean Philippe Biscay is the original developper of Billy La Banlieue (1986) and Billy 2 (1987), both of them published by Loriciels.

He is programming with his son a new sequel : Billy Run Again for Android, IPhone, Web, Windows, Mac and Linux.

You can subscribe on his web site to know of any advancement.

Source : CPCRulez's forum

Cent pour Cent by TotO, do your Amstrad CPC shopping there

Cent pour Cent is a new Amstrad CPC web site where you will be able to buy extensions created and made by TotO :

• MultiRAM "concept" (still in prototype phase) : a 512KB RAM expansion using the MotherX4 module card format. (8x5cm)The idea is to use a 8x512Kb SRAM IC that allow a design close to a ROM board instead of trying to clone existing DRAM/PAL boards.
• MiniBooster : it is intended to be a CPC Booster replacement board for users who need to exchange data from a modern computer using USB or Bluetooth (optional module) connexion instead of the old DB9 serial connector. This board is MotherX4 formatted.
• MotherX4 : a multi-slots board that allow to plug up to 4 expansions to the back of your CPC like the MiniBooster COM board and the FlashGordon ROM board. Made to fit between the CPC and the CTM, its size is the same as a 3" floppy disc.
• CTC-AY : a card with 2 audio chips (2x Yamaha YMZ294 : AY compatible) on custom ports (no PPI), three left canals and 3 right canals with speaker mono mix and stereo mix, ...

Source : CPCRulez's forum

Street Fighter II CPC, work in progress

Hmm, Street Fight II CPC is being developped by Augusto Ruiz (programmation), DaDMaN (graphics) and McKlain (sound). Here are 2 youtube videos :

• SFII CPC - Work in progress - 20130613 sur Youtube
• Street Fighter II CPC - The Real Edition sur Youtube

Source : CPCRulez's forum

WIP of a pseudo 3D racer on amstrad cpc with SDCC

Youtube account user Nemo Kantio is working on a pseudo 3D racer on Amstrad CPC using SDCC. Look at the youtube video of this future game.

Source : CPCRulez's Forum

SDCC v3.3.0 (C programming for Amstrad CPC) and new tutorials (english and french)

A new release candidate of the ANSI-C compiler SDCC v3.3.0 is available for download. Many Z80 optimisation included in this new version.

You will find on CPCMANIA new SDCC tutorials (english) and on le site de Steph (french).

Source : Octoate

FutureOS by TFM of Futuresoft (new OS for Amstrad CPC) is available as a cartridge for CPC+

FutureOS is available as a cartridge for Amstrad CPC+.

Source : CPCRulez's forum

Arcade Game Designer by Jonathan Cauldwell on Zx Spectrum and Amstrad CPC

Arcade Game Designer (documentation of AGD) is a tool by Jonathan Cauldwell to make games on ZX Spectrum and lately on Amstrad CPC, without any knowing of programmation. The games created wont scroll the entire screen : they are static. There is also a PC tool : TommyGun.AGD to make the games, working only with the ZX Spectrum AGD version only at the moment.

Check the youtube video of an AGD game : Donkey Kong Reloaded.

Source : CPCWiki's forum

CPCRSLIB for SDCC, a development library in C for Amstrad CPC

The library CPCRSLIB for the SDCC compiler has been updated :

• 11/03/2012 : cpcrslib for SDCC package updated with a new font type in GphStr.s (TOTEMS font type) for and included TileMap.h file that is required to compile TileMap.s and was missing in the previous upload.
• 10/24/2012 : cpcrslib for SDCC beta released.
• 05/21/2012 : cpcwyzlib for SDCC released

Source : CPCRulez's forum

SymbOS, Subversion, TortoiseSVN, and the meaning of life (well game of life)

As seen on the SymbOS mailing list :

So I set up a project at SourceForge.net now :
SymbOS on SourceForge

Additional information have to be added, this is just a first start.

You can checkout the application and driver source codes here :
https://symbos.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/symbos

You don't need an account for read access. If you want to have write access please contact me directly.

If you try this and have any issues please tell me.

CU,
Prodatron

Ok, so you want to get the sources ? Then start to download TortoiseSVN and install it.

Then create a new directory, right click on it, choose SVN Checkout... and copy and paste https://symbos.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/symbos in URL of repository.

Et voila ! You have the SymbOS sources on your computer to toy with it.

To update the sources to the last version, right click on the directory and choose SVN Update (english documentation of subversion available, other languages too).

About the Conway game of life, I recommand to read What is the Game of Life ? by Paul Callahan and More than a game : the Game of Life by Adrian McMenamin.

Source : SymbOS mailing list

Prodatron is working again on SymbOS, a new program available soon

As seen on the SymbOS mailing list :

Already posted this on MRC, but here again...

Seems that I am back now on the Z80 after a break of nearly 5 years - terrible long time...

In May I started to work on a Amstrad CPC project again. One week ago I developed a little SymbOS application to become familiar with all this stuff. Luckily it seems, that I didn't forget too much... It's nothing special, just another "Conway's Game Of Life" implementation, and it should only demonstrate two things:

• the final version uses "multithreading" to show the multitasking behaviour of SymbOS: The field generator process will run at a low priority, so that other apps and the controls of the app itself won't be slowed down in any way
• I am coding for SymbOS again

Here is a video, I guess I will release this little app in a few days.

Before I can work 100% on SymbOS again I have to finish this other CPC specific project first, but that has to be done until autumn. I need to finish a few things for SymbOS 2.1, finalizing the multiline textbox control, fix some stuff with the new version of the MSX device driver system etc. I really want to make a 2.1 release soon, hopefully end of this year, so that it's possible to concentrate on larger things after that again.

Many greetings and CU soon,
Prodatron

Source : SymbOS mailing list

GrafX2 v2.4 WIP, a graphical bitmap editor by Pulkomandy

A work in progress version of GrafX2 is available to draw "mode 5" pictures for Amstrad CPC.

GrafX2 is a bitmap paint program inspired by the Amiga programs Deluxe Paint and Brilliance. Specialized in 256-color drawing, it includes a very large number of tools and effects that make it particularly suitable for pixel art, game graphics, and generally any detailed graphics painted with a mouse. The program is mostly developed on Linux and Windows, but is also portable on many other platforms.

Source : CPCRulez's forum

Interview of Prodatron - SymbiosiS by NoRecess

NoRecess is still working on a secret project since last december, about at 40% completion, which should be available for next xmas.

In the mean time, you can go on his web site to read an interview of Prodatron - SymbiosiS, the author of demoes and the Amstrad CPC multi-task GUI SymbOS.

Source : NoRecess

CPCDiskXP v2.3 and programming tutorials by Mochilote on CPCMANIA

The last version of the CPCDiskXP utility is available on CPCMania.

You will also find various programming tutorials, especially tutorials about using C compilers like Z88dk and SDCC, or assembler compiler like Pasmo.

GrafX2 v2.3, a graphical bitmap editor by Pulkomandy

GrafX2 is a bitmap paint program inspired by the Amiga programs Deluxe Paint and Brilliance. Specialized in 256-color drawing, it includes a very large number of tools and effects that make it particularly suitable for pixel art, game graphics, and generally any detailed graphics painted with a mouse. The program is mostly developed on Linux and Windows, but is also portable on many other platforms.

GrafX2 v2.3 has been released in April 2011. It can of course be used to draw Amstrad CPC screens.

Lords of Midnight on Iphone still in developpement

The Iphone/Ipad port of Lords of Midnight by Chris Wild is still on the way. You can see a video of the game running on Youtube.

While waiting for this precious gem, you can either play the original Lords of Midnight game with an emulator, or with one of the various following ports :

• Icemark
• Midnight/MU (online multi-player)
• War of the solstice
• Midnight Flyer
• LoM and DDR for GameBoy Advance

Source : Ice-blog

ccz80 v3.1.3 a cross-compiler using a C like syntax for PC aimed for the Amstrad CPC

You can download the latest version of ccz80 (v3.1.3). The ccz80 language has a syntax based on C language, to program for Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum and MSX on a PC.

This new version corrects some Amstrad CPC librairies (and more).

P.S. : see CCZ80++ now.

Phactory v2.2 is out

Phactory v2.2 by NoRecess is available.

This new version of this development environment targetting Amstrad CPC adds a new user interface, overall speed improvements thanks to a new plugin system, a new source code editor featuring Z80 assembly syntax highlighting and some minor bugs fixed.

At the moment there is no documentation, no examples, no templates and no support.

C Programming on and for Amstrad CPC (with SDCC, z88dk and ccz80)

To program in C on Amstrad CPC there are several compilers :

• Small-C
• Arnord-C
• Hitech-C
• Small-C
• PhrozenC (on AND for Amstrad CPC as it also exists for windows)

But you can also program in C for Amstrad CPC on another platform. First,the multi-platform C compiler SDCC v3.1.0 targetting Z80 is out.

To use this compiler you can use an IDE : either Code::Blocks with its SDCC template by Octoate, or Phactory v2.1 by NoRecess with the help of SDCC2Pasmo v1.5(wich comes with sources). SDCC2Pasmo takes an .ASM file created by SDCC and converts it to used with PASMO (a Z80 cross assembler) which is compatiblewith Maxam (Amstrad CPC Z80 compiler, WinApe too).

You can find tutors for using SDCC on NoRecess web site or on CPCWiki.

If you are interested in using SDCC, you should read this CPCWiki forum thread about SDCC possible problems and anotherabout sMIDP2lib : a SDCC framework library by Mr Lou (which has now its own page on CPCWiki.

SDCC isnt the only compiler you can use, there is also :

• Z88dk v1.9 with cpcrslib (Amstrad CPC library for Z88dk), check this CPCWiki forum thread about Z88dk. There is a modified cpcrslib and starkos library byKevin Thacker in his Blue Angel 69 game.By the way, the developers of Z88dk are currently in the progress to allow SDCC to be used as a backend for Z88dk.
• CCZ80 v3.1.2 by Emilio Guerrero. There are 2 Amstrad CPC librairies usable for CCZ80 : cpcrslib (adapted from cpcrslibfor Z88dk) and sprutilcpc (included with CCZ80)

ESP Soft's blog (google translation herein english) has informations about using Z88dk (librairies like cpcrslib and cpcwyzlib) and ccz80 (earliest news).

Source : Octoate

NoRecess blog update

What about an Odiesoft interview as a starter, then an update of ManageDSK and SDCC2Pasmo for the main dish and dessert on NoRecess ?

Source : CPCWiki's forum

Edge grinder, a new multi-platform shoot them up game

Guess what, Axelay is working on a port of Edge Grinder (see below), so says one of my numerous spies, who assured me that it isnt a secretand safe to be announced.

Edge grinder is in fact a work in progress C64 game at the start, the first Format War "Collabortition" (a combination of collaboration andcompetition) with the plan being for programmers on other 8-bits to consider ways to convert it from the C64 to their platform of choice. So on the Format War web site you can download all you needto port the game, source code, map, background and sprite data.

Blue Angel 69 CPC conversion by Kevin Thacker is available

Kevin Thacker's conversion of a Magic Bytes reflexion game released in 1989 : Blue Angel 69 (written by Winfried Stappert) is now available. The original game is turn based (vs computer or another player). The screen draws a 8x8 chessboard filled with positive or negative numbers. Each turn, the player must choose a number whichs on the same linge (or column for the other player) that the last chosen number. Once chosen the number est removed from the chessboard and added or substracted from the player score. The goal of the game is of course to have more points than your adversary at the end of the game (where you will see the sexy robot fully).

Blue Angel 69 has been programmed by Kevin Thacker, graphics by Markus Hohmann, CAT art, inlay, disc label by Kukulcan, Blue Angel 69 website hosted by Markus, created by Kukulcan.

You can download the FULL game and source from Kevin Thacker's website.

In the sources you will find a library to use StarKos from z88dk, and within morelib some extras for loading/saving files using amsdos, displaying double height chars and more. The code also includes a modified version of cpcrslib which Kevin modified to try and make the code smaller. Kevin hope others using z88dk to make games will find these sources useful.

All build files and tools (excluding z88dk) are in the download. Kevin Thacker provides all so that you can learn from it, and that's a very good idea.

You will also be able to download it from cpc-power, and here you will also find cassette inlay and a disc label, both created by Kukulcan.

Source : CPC Wiki's forum

Cpcdsk and the Caprice Reloaded emulator

Cpcdsdk is a project aiming to collect the various bit of existing sourcecode in one common place for the linux OS relative to the Amstrad CPC, add the missing features, and make life easier for all developpers :

• The Caprice Reloaded emulator, with integrated assembler and debugger, for windows and linux,
• gfx2crtc, a tool to convert pictures to the amstrad sceen format,
• An imporved version of Ramlaid's cpctools, now running under linux, with (limited) support for usb floppy drives
• A special version of STSound from Leonard, modified to emulate an AY3 more accurately (the original emulates the slightly different YM chip used in the Atari ST)
• Hideur Maikeur by Downwater for handling AMSDOS headers
• iDSK from sid for manipulating dsk images and files inside.

Arkos Tracker v1.0 beta 2 for PC

You can download Arkos Tracker v1.0 beta 2 for PC by Targhan.

Here's the changelist :

• Complete coding of the sound generating and outputing by myself. The emulation is more accurate, and will allow the implementation of samples and Sids in the future,
• Plug in your best MIDI Keyboard or any MIDI-In device, play and record your music with it,
• 150hz and 300hz replay modes are now available. They are very slightly slower than on a real CPC. Nothing you should notice...
• CPCBooster output is now very accurate,
• Ability to save Interleaved/non-Interleaved YM6 format,
• AKStoBin : a command line software to converts any AKS song into a binary to use on hardware (warning, you still need .Net to use it),
• STKtoAKS : a command line software to converts any STarKos songs into an AKS song (warning, you still need .Net to use it).

ccz80 v3.0, a cross-compiler using a C like syntax for PC aimed for the Amstrad CPC

You can download the latest version of ccz80 (v3.0.0). The ccz80 language has a syntax based on C language, to program for Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum and MSX on a PC.

P.S. : see CCZ80++ now.

PhrozenC v1.1 update

PhrozenC has been updated to v1.1 :

• CC (Win32) Fixed crash when included file does not exist
• Fixed crash when calling CC with a C file entirely created on a CPC
• Fixed CS RSX-command usage. Now only ROM-based, but 100% safe
• Updated documentation with compiler internal section

GrafX v2.2, a multi platform bitmap editor to create Amstrad CPC screens

An update of GrafX (v2.2) is available.

Source : Octoate

PhrozenC, the compiler which cames from the cold by NoRecess

PhrozenC is a C compiler for Amstrad CPC and PC by NoRecess. On PC it compiles a .C file in .ASM ready to compilewith WinAPE. On CPC the .ASM file can be compiled with Maxam.

For Amstrad CPC it exists a ROM version, a 64 Kb version (stand-alone application), 128 Ko (RSX).

PhrozenC is released with a manual (PDF-format, 33 pages), covering all the things you have to know about to start programming using PhrozenC.

There is even a small tutorial about learning C for the newcomers. Example sources are available, as also a small set of library files handling file management, graphics, memory management, string concatenation, etc..

It's version 1.0, NoRecess plans to get your feedback and provide better versions with time...

Arkos Tracker preview for ... windows

Targhan (Arkos) has announced on the CPC_FR mailing list a preview of Arkos Tracker for windows. You can see a video of this Arkos Tracker preview on Youtube. Final version could be released in 2 or 3 weeks.

Seing the video, you can export to .WAV et .YM, and import .SKS (STarKos Tracker). The program can send the sound directly to an Amstrad CPC with a CPCBooster (I have some to sell, cant remember at the moment the price I paid for them, but they will be selled without a profit) or of course directly on the sound card of the PC.

More features given on the CPC Wiki's forum :

• 256 patterns available
• Each pattern is composed of 3 independent tracks
• 512 tracks available, each being reusable in any pattern, or even several times in the same pattern
• Each track can be transposed independently in a pattern
• A track has a height from 1 to 128 lines, independently of the pattern that uses it
• 255 instruments available
• The instrument editor allows you to modify each registers of the PSG
• Replay frequency of 13, 25, 50, 100, 150 or 300hz
• Possibility to put "events" in your song. They can either be used to synchronize your music with your production, or trigger digidrums for exemple
• Big news : instruments are divised into two channels : a Software, and Hardware one. These channels can be independant or dependent from each other. Allows using two waves at the same time
• Allows you to play sound effects in a very flexible and powerful way. You can also play the SFXs without any music
• You can import any STarKos song
• NO SID/DMA for CPC+ for now. I may plan that...

About the Player :

• Only 25 scanlines maximum used !
• On top of being faster than the STarKos player, it's lighter : one and a half kb.
• The player works on Amstrad CPC, MSX, Spectrum or Pentagon (using conditional assembling : only the necessary code is used).
• The generated songs are very light (about as much as the STarKos song. Sometimes a bit lighter, sometimes not).
• Can be used in Basic (call the player by yourself, or use it under interruptions), and Assembler.
• The source of the player is given, and documented.
• The format of the music is given. So you'll be able to create your own custom tools (conversion, new players...).
• Fade in/out available.

About the sound effects :

• Every instrument of your song becomes a sound effect.
• You can play/stop a sound effect on any, or all, of the 3 channels.
• You can choose the note, volume, speed of any triggered SFX.
• You can add Pitch to them (useful to add randomness to the sounds, for example).
• Sound effects are in a seperate file : you can use the same sound bank even if you change the music.

GrafX v2.1 (bitmap editor)

An update of GrafX (v2.1) is available.

It's a bitmap paint program that allows to draw in more than 60 video resolutions (from 320x200, including most of the standard Amiga resolutions, provided your videocard knows how to handle them). It was written originally for DOS, but has been modified to use SDL and modern operating systems. Its layout is not very different from Deluxe Paint or Brilliance.

Source : CPC Rulez's forum

Making Amstrad CPC music on CPC or PC

If you need to write some music for an Amstrad CPC program (either demo, game, etc...), you can do it either on an Amstrad CPC :

• STarKos v1.21 by Targhan,
• Digitracker v1.4 by Prodatron,
• Soundtrakker 128k by Oliver Mayer,

Or you can do it on a PC :

• WYZTracker for windows (needs .NET v2.0) by Augusto Ruiz, an .AY (Amstrad and Spectrum) music creation utility using a pattern-based editor, spanish interface only at the moment, short english manual inside
• Vortex Tracker II v1.0 beta 19, a Win32 PT3-editor, can load, play, edit PT1, PT2, PT3, STC, STP, SQT, ASC, PSC, PSM, FLS, GTR, FTC, FXM, AY (ZXAYAMAD) files and save them in PT3 format or in temporary text format. You can export modules into SNDH-format to play it on Atari ST, and into HOBETA (with player or without player), AY's ZXAYEMUL format, SCL or TAP to play it on Amstrad CPC ou ZX Spectrum, for more information go see Vortex tracker's website.

Also, it's possible without an emulator to listen to .YM, .AY and .AYM files with ZX Spectrum Computer Sound Chip Emulator (same address than above).

If you use other music tools, thanks to let me know so I can add informations here and in the comp.sys.amstrad.8bit FAQ).

Robotron 6128, Sewer Rat for Amstrad CPC, AMSprite for windows/linux/mac by Lachlan Keown

Lachlan Keown, who lives in New Zealand, just released its latest Amstrad CPC production : Robotron 6128, a conversion of the classic arcade game, if you use keyboard, WASD to move and cursor keys to shoot.

He is also the author of Sewer Rat, take the cheese before the aliens does (poor aliens, eating cheese is awful).

He has also written AMSprite for windows (using .Net framework v2.0) or AMSprite for linux/mac (using MONO), which is a cross-development GUI tool to generate ready-to-use sprites and loading screens for the Amstrad CPC in assembly language (CPC+ hardware sprites supported).

Source : CPC Wiki

ESP Soft blog about programmation on Amstrad CPC since July 2009

ESP Soft's blog is open since the 14th July 2009. It's mostly about programmation for Amstrad CPC, how to use the CCZ80 compiler by Emilio Guerrero, with code source of the Xilen war game.

google translation of the ESP Soft blog

P.S. : see CCZ80++ now.

Source : CPC Rulez's forum

Sorcery + for windows

Antibug has ported Sorcery+ for windows with the original graphics. For the moment it's a very nice playable beta. The first level where you have to rescue several sorcerers isnt totally completed, lacking the end screen for example, and the second level where you have to kill the evil sorcerer isnt available yet.

On Antibug's main page (french) you will find his own tools for Amstrad CPC developpement.

Amstrad CPC programmation in C language

For those who would be interested in programming applications for Amstrad CPC in C language, you have at least 3 possibilities :

• Z88dk v1.9 with cpcrslib (Amstrad CPC library for Z88dk) : several programs including an Amstrad CPC+ demo (Phat) have been programmed with Z88dk already
• Small Device C Compiler v2.9.0 : Contiki and the pheelone demo has been compiled with SDCC, any other program that someone would know ?
• CCZ80 v2.07 by Emilio Guerrero. This compiler can be used for developping Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum and MSX programs on windows (command line application, with a GUI included). Gommy, Defensor Medieval a ZX Spectrum game has been programmed with CCZ80. There are 2 Amstrad CPC librairies usable for CCZ80 : cpcrslib (adapted from cpcrslib for Z88dk) and sprutilcpc ( included with CCZ80), but no Amstrad CPC program seems to have been programmed yet with CCZ80. If you have, let me know please.

SDCC - Small Device C Compiler v2.9.0

Small Device C Compiler v2.9.0 is out (since 22th march 2009), it's a freeware, retargettable, optimizing ANSI - C compiler that targets the Intel 8051, Maxim 80DS390 and the Zilog Z80 based processors. Contiki (a small but modern operating system) for Amstrad CPC was compiled with SDCC. BTW, last version of contiki (v2.3.0) is out since the 27th june 2009.

Amstrad CPC cross-development kit by Grim

If you are still programming on Amstrad CPC, you are maybe using WinAPE. But its assembler has limitations. For example, if you want to create a .DSK, a .SNA, compile something, compact something BEFORE or AFTER assembling, it's not possible in 1 pass and 1 key press. But it's now possible with some additional software (freeware).

For more informations go to Grimaware, and for the direct link in (english, check end of page for the update) about the Amstrad CPC cross-development kit, it's there.

GrafX v2 final version (graphical bitmap editor)

PulkoMandy has released GrafX v2 final.

It's a bitmap paint program that allows to draw in more than 60 video resolutions (from 320x200, including most of the standard Amiga resolutions, provided your videocard knows how to handle them). It was written originally for DOS, but has been modified to use SDL and modern operating systems.

Its layout is not very different from Deluxe Paint or Brilliance, so it will be quite easy to handle it if you know at least one of these programs.

Source : Push'N'Pop

Color Lines toolkit by GPA

Color Lines is a G.P.A. reflexion game yet to be released. But you can download its toolkit to add your own graphic skin to the future release.

STarKos 1.2, an Amstrad CPC soundchip tracker

STarKos 1.2 is out. It's a conventional soundchip tracker, in the sense that writing music is done the same way as existing trackers on CPCor Atari ST. The new features mainly comes from sound editing.

You can find a video of STarKos in action on Youtube.

Blassic, an Amstrad CPC basic interpreter for windows, linux and Yopy PDA

Blassic is a basic language interpreter for windows, linux and Yopy PDA. It can interpret Amstrad CPC basic, I didnt try it though.

SymStudio, a development tool for SymbOS

SymStudio is the development tool for SymbOS, with bugs corrections and some new features (graphic). The web site has a lot of informations and guides. about SymStudio.

SymbOS beta 3 by Prodatron is out

A new beta 3 of SymbOS, the Amstrad CPC multitasking operating system can be downloaded now.