The majority of people want a c64c65mega65 system because it has a large collection of software behind it. A beginners guide to real programming discover your vic20. Aug 29, 20 they called this computer the vic20, although it was known as the vc20 in germany because vic in german pronunciation sounds like fick, meaning what the built in commodore basic v2 language could do to your brain, so they shortened it to vc which the packaging said stood for volkscomputer, meaning peoples computer, based on. I believe most if not all c64 demos with bobs use hardwired routines to gain some speed. The vic 20 doesnt have any hardware sprites, which means you either have to stick with character aligned movement or implement your own software sprites using dynamically updated custom characters. The vic20 was announced in 1980, 3 roughly three years after commodores first personal computer, the pet. The vic 20 s basic is compatible with the pets, and the datasette format is the same. A software engineer for over 20 years, jeff has written extensively on many different development topics. Software support and great marketing were the real keys to its success. Vic 1001, vic 20 palntsc, vic 1010, vic 1020, vicmodem, vic 1515, vic 1525, vic 1540, vic 1541, c2n, 1530, paddles, joysticks, boxes and cartridges. Preceded by the commodore vic 20 and commodore pet, the c64 took its name from its 64 kilobytes 65,536 bytes of ram. Commodore lies by claiming that their first computer to offer built in colour, graphics, and sound was somehow friendly, although it had no built in basic language commands to control these facilities i decided to do this post because tmr of the rival blog. The vic 20 in germany, vc 20, in japan, vic 1001 is an 8bit home computer that was sold by commodore business machines.
Proverbs 3k, vince apps, 40 educational games for the vic 20. Vicii for beginners part 5 bringing sprites in good shape games unlimited hardware sprites in addition to the soft scrolling capabilities were major reasons why the commodore c64 was the ultimate gaming machine in the 80s. Sprites were developed at texas instruments by daniel hillis originally sprites referred to independent objects that are composited together, by hardware, with other elements such as a background. Use of the term sprite has expanded to refer to any twodimensional bitmap used as part of a graphics display, even if drawn into a frame buffer by either software or a gpu instead of being composited onthefly at display time. C16 and vic20 never had geos either that i know of. Vic20 full screen scrolling with sprite beginnings youtube.
Vic40 from vic20 upgrade to new computer from an undated late 1981. The atari 8bit computers can use display lists to show more than five sprites on screen, provided theyre sorted vertically with no more than five on a line. The vic 20 was only on the market from late 1980 to january 1985 and sales dropped off in 1983, so its software library is much smaller. If you dont have a color tv, you can still run the programs,buttheresults will beless spectacular. If i ever port toyshop trouble to the vic 20, it will make use of raster timing to set the background color register four times per scan line as toys move left and right. Since the plus4 does not have sprites, games must make use of character graphics for software sprites, like on the vic 20 this tended to cause unintentional color clash. This web page will be used to analyse the existing vic 20s and vic 1001s in the world. In the midst of this discussion, it emerged that the mos engineers had one more trick up their sleeves. Apr 29, 20 vicii for beginners part 5 bringing sprites in good shape games unlimited hardware sprites in addition to the soft scrolling capabilities were major reasons why the commodore c64 was the ultimate gaming machine in the 80s. Youll have to keep in mind though, that all this only applies to the display as done by vic. The vic20 was announced in 1980, roughly three year s after commodores first personal computer, the pet. List of almost all vic20 cartridges ever produced, version 2.
Cops and robbers 1985atlantis software released 1985 also for atari 8bit, bbc micro, commodore 16, plus4, electron, vic 20 published by atlantis software limited perspective topdown genre action gameplay arcade visual fixed flipscreen description you are a robber whose target is the acme diamond co. Vicii for beginners part 5 bringing sprites in good. The vic20s basic is compatible with the pets, and the datasette format is the same. It comes with a modern userinterface that is superior to original debuggers on the vic20 and supports analyzing different aspects of the system e. You could buy a coco and have a trickle of commercial games and ten more columns of text, or you could have a vic20 with a ton of games and applications. There is colourclash that the speccy version is jealous of, but when the game plays this well it is easily forgiven. In computer graphics, a sprite is a twodimensional bitmap that is integrated into a larger scene, most often in a 2d video game. Superficially, the c64 closely resembled the vic20.
Vic20s basicis easy to learn and has a wonderful range of capabilities. Superficially, the c64 closely resembled the vic 20. Since the plus4 does not have sprites, games must make use of character graphics for software sprites, like on the vic20 this tended to cause unintentional color clash. Commodore vic20 wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. One such vic 20 game is yet another along with chariot race which is firmly engrained into my memories, the classic moons of jupiter.
On the other hand the spectrum was clocked at approx 3. But today, i downloaded stella and started playing some old 2600 games and many other games i never even heard of. Well why would one use software sprites when hardware ones are available. The vic20 was my first computer too, as a 14 year old in 1983. To provide access for the vic to the entire 64 kb address space, two lines, or bits, in port a. I have quickly discovered the 2600 is actually quite inferior to the vic 20 in pretty much every way except for its extra colors and sprites.
I now know of the following categories of vic20commodore 64 differences. Ifyouwishtousethe programs as models for future efforts ofyour own, youwill need an. The vic 20 was the first computer of any description to sell one million units. Cops and robbers 1985atlantis software released 1985 also for atari 8bit, bbc micro, commodore 16, plus4, electron, vic20 published by atlantis software limited perspective topdown genre action gameplay arcade visual fixed flipscreen description you are a robber whose target is the acme diamond co. It was released in 1981 and was the first computer to sell one million units, which contributes to its popularity today. The commodore max machine, also known as ultimax in the united states and canada and vc10 in germany, is a home computer designed and sold by commodore international in japan, beginning in early 1982, a predecessor to the popular commodore 64. Yogizilla december 16, 2015 a lot of people foolishly believe the c64 was the most powerful pc of the time because they equate sales with power. The coco, atari, and ti994 never had the software support that the vic 20 had. List of almost all vic 20 cartridges ever produced, version 2. The transactor fall 83 converted to digital by modore. The act of manually creating sprites, as opposed to prerendering them or using digitized images, is a form of. Page 1 page 2 page 3 page 4 page 5 table of contents page 6 page 7 page 8 page 9 introduction page 10 setup page 11 unpacking and connecting the commodore page 12 installation page page 14 page 15 optional connections page 16 page 17 operation page 18 troubleshooting chart page 19 cursor page 20 color adjustment page 21.
You could buy a coco and have a trickle of commercial games and ten more columns of text, or you could have a vic 20 with a ton of games and applications. Vic1001 is an 8bit home computer that was sold by commodore business machines. In scrolling game id only use software sprites for bullets small and fast, no need for proper masking and elements which dont require horizontal shifting. Vic 20 s basicis easy to learn and has a wonderful range of capabilities. The commodore vic20 is a great machine to learn an assembly language on. Coming soon vic 40 addon board for those vic owners wishing to extend the capacity of the vic 20 to include 40 column by 24 line display, prestel compatibility and full 32k ram there is an addon expansion board that will do it all. He decided that they should put them into a successor to the vic20, to be tentatively titled the vic40. The vic20 had a different cart slot than c64 as well, etc. Ive even written my own games on the vic20 and i know its hardware pretty well. The c64 was built around the 6510, a 1 mhz 8bit cpu which was an improved design of the very successful 6502. Although the max had better graphics and sound capability, commodores own vic20, which sold for around the same amount of money, was much more expandable, had a much larger software library, and had a better keyboardall of which made it more attractive to consumers. The apple ii had similar software support, but the price was stratospheric compared to the vic20.
A ton of publishers put out games and applications for it and a lot of commercial applications supported ram expanders, which were cheap and plentiful. Pucman puckman, nicholas webster, popular computing weekly 9 sep 1982. While the vic 20 computer and its graphics are primitive to begin with, this api was created to strike a balance between machine and programmer friendliness which is what the vic. A wide range of software packages, games and programming languages was available for this machine which was itself available practically anywhere from a toyshop to a business supplier. The vic20 had proprietary connectors for programexpansion cartridges and a tape drive petstandard datassette. These enhanced sprite rendering routines might even allow for it to reside in an unexpanded vic, for small games requiring a limited number of active sprites. The vic 20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after commodores first personal computer, the pet. The atari 8bit computers can use display lists to show more than five sprites on screen, provided theyre sorted vertically. C16 and vic 20 never had geos either that i know of. Commodore vic 20 top 10 vintage is the new old, retro. Pseudosprites, markus leberecht, 64er magazin nov 1984.
The screen editor still will assume the standard 22x23 layout. Or, a fullystocked vic to make use of many active sprites and animations. A vic bank is one of four 16 kb regions in the 64 kb ram available in the c64. Apr 16, 20 the commodore vic 20 is a great machine to learn an assembly language on. Before the computers release, a commodore executive promised it would have enough additional documentation to enable an experienced programmerhobbyist to get inside and let his imagination work. Oldcomputr made a web page where you can register your vic 20 or vic 1001. The composition occurs as each scan line is prepared for the video. Bjs vic20 software includes arcade and adventure games and a compiler. When i bought my commodore 64 computer, i recognized that there was very little software written expressly for my machine. Programming in basic exhausted the 3583 bytes of ram too quickly. To provide access for the vic to the entire 64 kb address space, two lines, or bits, in port a of cia2 directs the vic to one of four vic banks.
Pseudo sprites, markus leberecht, 64er magazin nov 1984. The software sprite stack promotes a flickerfree video experience, with the option by the game programmer to govern frame buffer flips with screen raster timing. With support for multicolor sprites and a custom chip for waveform generation, the c64 could create superior visuals and audio compared to systems without such custom hardware. Sep 26, 2018 the vic 20 doesnt have any hardware sprites, which means you either have to stick with character aligned movement or implement your own software sprites using dynamically updated custom characters. The commodore 64 s 40column screen was much easier to read than the vic20 s. The vic ii chip itself can only address 16 kb, and so any graphics, text etc.
Part of the attraction is the amazingly large software sprites representing the yellow marvel and his foes, as they waltz around the maze after one another. Vic20 an introduction to basic part 1 internet archive. Commodore vic 20 top 10 vintage is the new old, retro games. My advice is to support the mega65 project and see how well it does before making the c16 or vic 20 versions. The vic20 in germany, vc20, in japan, vic1001 is an 8bit home computer that was sold by commodore business machines. Classic gamings vic20 starter page has links to vic20 game packs and other sites. I have quickly discovered the 2600 is actually quite inferior to the vic20 in pretty much every way except for its extra colors and sprites. The machine is well documented, well supported through forums and much of the hardware is plentiful and quite cheap. The vic20 was the first computer of any description to sell one million units. Vic20 full screen scrolling with sprite beginnings.
The vic 20 had a different cart slot than c64 as well, etc. Giacomo vernoni started a kickstarter project to make a book with high quality original pictures of the vic 20, peripherals and commodore games on cartridge. Commodore vic 20 game development toolsutilities commodore. Line 22 sets the color of the dalek sprites 0 and 1 to red in this case line 23 doubles the size of sprites 0 and 1 in both x and y directions line 30 enables sprites 0 and 1, so that they become visible lines 5068 load the sprite data contained at lines 190780 into. But, because of its similarity to the vic20, i thought it would be possible to modify most if not all vic programs with minimal effort to run on my. This is actually an incredibly playable and fun version of pacman, far more so than the effort atarisoft itself later released on the vic 20. Ram areas location, not contents commodore 64 is much larger here.
Ive even written my own games on the vic 20 and i know its hardware pretty well. Jul 14, 2017 while the vic 20 may have a horribly low resolution, its cpu can whip along rapidly enough which is needed in this game as the software sprites rip about. Commodore vic 20 software archive commodore vic 20 software archive commodore vic 20 startup screens vic 20 boot screen unexpanded. The coco, atari, and ti994 never had the software support that the vic20 had. Another quality ga me from the past that still plays well today. Rom operating system logic areas vic20 has a larger operating system. The apple ii had similar software support, but the price was stratospheric compared to the vic 20. Apr 06, 2018 the vic 20 was my first computer too, as a 14 year old in 1983.
Beginning assembly programming on the commodore vic20. Sprite data storage and logic vic20 has no sprites. Unlike the c64 which emulated the 6551 chip in software, the plus4 had a builtin mos technology 6551 uart chip that could perform up. Aug 10, 2018 the vic 20 hit a sweet spot on price and because of its pet lineage the software market was quick to support it. The vicii chip itself can only address 16 kb, and so any graphics, text etc. Cover art for the game moons of jupiter was the product of david byrden, who came over from ireland to work for romik software back in the early 80s. The original vic chip exposes the current scan line via a couple of registers so instead youd perform a busy loop until it got to the number you wanted, then cue the via. The vic20 doesnt have any hardware sprites, which means you either have to stick with character aligned movement or implement your own software. Unlike the c64 which emulated the 6551 chip in software, the plus4 had a builtin mos technology 6551 uart chip that could perform up to 19200 bits. Programming in basic, machine code, sprites, pcg and much much more. While the vic 20 may have a horribly low resolution, its cpu can whip along rapidly enough which is needed in this game as the software sprites rip about. The commodore 64 manual mentions the machine by name, suggesting that commodore intended to sell the machine internationally.