In this issue: Amiga, MiSTer, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, C64, Dreamcast, Android, Apple II, Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit Read it now The MiSTer community is not showing any signs of slowing down, and that is despite repeated warnings that developers are at the limits of what the FPGA hardware is capable of. It's a fascinating world of hardware recreated in hardware via software. Unlike pure software emulation, there is inevitably going to be an upper limit to what can be crammed into the resources,...
13 days ago • 1 min read
In this issue: Amiga, C64, PC, Atari 8-bit, Atari 2600, Macintosh, Mega Drive, Amstrad PC1512, Arcade, Atari Lynx One of the challenges in this hobby is keeping up with the news. Secondary, but also big is what one person thinks of as 'news' is another person's junk or noise. How to keep up with the good stuff without drowning in the rest of it? So I thought, as a programmer, and a person with opinions, I would try and come up with my take on a solution. As was tradition back in the day, I...
20 days ago • 1 min read
You know, those colourful books that contained a complete game listing and explained every line of it, until you could write your own? I've wanted to make a modern one for years. So I started writing... Create Your Own C64 Adventure Games Write fantasy, roleplaying, and adventure games in Commodore BASIC, and beyond It's currently 17,898 words across 14 chapters and I will be sharing sections as I complete them with Patreon members. This will give me motivation to keep going and will give you...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
If you have been curious about programming the ZX Spectrum Next but don't have one or can't easily run the .NET based emulator, I have some great news for you. ZX Spectrum Next is now (officially!) part of my online Retro IDE! Yes, I have been in talks with the ZX Next folks and we have figured out a way to keep the Next in my IDE and make it legal. Several people have asked how they can support ongoing development and maintenance of the IDE, channel, and my tutorials/games so I rebooted my...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Are you one of the ZX Next kickstarter backers? I am looking forward to getting my "board only" Next, and in preparation I have been working on adding the ZX Next web-based emulation to the IDE. You can see some of my progress over on Bluesky. I reached out to one of the Next folks, I am hoping they allow me to keep it live ... If you missed my video about all the other latest Retro IDE updates, you can catch it here: Also, welcome to all the lovely folks who joined us in the Retro Game...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Interested in coding software and games for retro computers and games consoles? We now have a Retro Game Coders channel in the Retro Software Discord server: Join the Retro Software Discord Also below, a preview of two games I will be releasing for beta soon on lots of different retro computers (and why it has been taking me so long ...) -- Chris We still have the community forums for you to discuss retro computers, programming, and games, etc (𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦!)...
3 months ago • 1 min read
We are experiencing a heat wave here in jollie olde England, so thoughts naturally lead to .. gulp .. *outside* ..Perfect time to review a device that allows you to game on the go, the Trimui Smart Pro S. Is it better than the cheap and amazing R36S? That doesn't mean we stop programming, we have a couple of posts about programming techniques illustrated by C64 BASIC code, plus the Amiga and ST C tutorial continues! -- Chris Join the community to discuss retro computers, programming, and...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Amiga and ST fans have been asking when I would be adding 16-bit support to the online retro IDE since the beginning, so I am relieved to be able to announce they are in place and ready to use, finally! Not only are they supported, but you get AMOS/STOS BASIC, VBCC for C programming, and also TRSE, all right in your web browser with nothing to download, install, or configure 🥳 8-bit systems were not neglected either, Commodore 128, Plus/4, Nintendo Gameboy, MSX2, Amstrad CPC 464, Atari 800...
5 months ago • 1 min read
Spring is here in jollie olde England (in-between days of rain), but as a dutiful retro computing nerd I have been spending my spare time inside, working on resources for our wonderful retro community: Hetty enjoying the sun A BASIC interpreter for the web, Windows, Linux, and Mac. Searchable Docs website covering all the platforms and languages featured in the online Retro IDE. Adding new platforms and compilers to said IDE. It's been a lot, and a lot of fun, but it has meant I neglected...
6 months ago • 1 min read
