Here’s a link to C64 Forever: https://www.c64forever.com/

Here’s a link to Amiga Forever: https://www.amigaforever.com/

If you buy both packages, they work together!

Here’s the full press release:

The post Amiga Forever and C64 Forever 10 Released! appeared first on Armchair Arcade.

What follows is the press release with more details:

Amiga Forever and C64 Forever 9 Released

March 10, 2021 – Cloanto released today version 9 of Amiga Forever and C64 Forever, the official Commodore/Amiga preservation, emulation and support suites for Windows.

The new editions are the result of more than two years of development since the previous major version, which also saw the parallel release of numerous free updates to the previous version, and the development of Amiga Explorer 8 and Amiga Explorer 9 (now included in Amiga Forever 9 Plus Edition and Premium Edition).

Version 9 celebrates beautiful new visual features like Arcade mode, Tile mode, light vs. dark options, and a first set of more colorful skin variants. Under the hood, hardware-accelerated technologies like Direct2D are used to provide a snappy experience. Powerful new column and tile field selection and sort options provide unprecedented control within the player interface, while a new property handler and an enhanced preview handler enable seamless content access via File Explorer and Windows Search.

New automation and title authoring features make it possible to automatically run a script or application on startup, e.g. to quickly invoke different features or games from a shared Amiga setup. This is envisioned to be only the beginning of new automation capabilities which are planned to be released over the next months.

Additional Amiga improvements include RDB disk image enhancements, while 8-bit features include new SID audio, drive and media options, and support for the MAX Machine and the C64 Magic Voice cartridge.

On the input front, shared Amiga and 8-bit improvements include the ability to use the player entirely with a game controller, and enhanced virtual buttons that can now simulate guest joystick events (e.g. autofire) in addition to keyboard events.

Hundreds of smaller new features and refinements also made it into these new versions. Windows too went through several new releases since the previous major release of Amiga Forever and C64 Forever, and the new code base provides better support for new features introduced in Windows 10 versions 1909, 2004 and 20H2.

Amiga Forever 9 is available now in three editions:

– Value Edition (downloadable installer)
– Plus Edition (downloadable installer with option to build DVD ISO image)
– Premium Edition (downloadable Plus Edition, plus boxed software and additional videos on 3 DVDs)

C64 Forever 9 is available now in three editions:

– Free Express Edition (feature-limited version)
– Downloadable Plus Edition (downloadable installer with option to build CD ISO image)
– Boxed Plus Edition (downloadable Plus Edition, plus boxed CD)

Both packages recognize and work with each other, with options to merge the different platforms into the same interface. Prices start from $9.95 (Value Edition, or special upgrade offers).

Press Release with Links
https://www.amigaforever.com/news-events/af-9/

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September 9, 2019 – Cloanto released today the “R2” (8.2.2.0) update for Amiga Forever 8 and C64 Forever 8.

The “R2” build is the result of eight months of work since the previous major release, and takes into account user feedback, operating system enhancements and numerous features from our own wish list.

This is a free update for existing version 8 users, who can get the new version through the Help/About dialog in Amiga Forever and C64 Forever. The updated full installation package can also be accessed via the original confirmation email or from the new Help/My Downloads and Keys menu item, and is set to remain available for 10 years after an order.

The new release further delivers an important milestone in the effort to implement better mechanisms for documenting and delivering version changes. Changelog details for available, installed and past versions, including early access builds, are now accessible from the Changelog tab under Help/About, and as part of the software update notifications.

Other new and enhanced features include:

• Gorgeous resizable and reconfigurable virtual keyboards, now also with multi-touch support and a dock option
• Even more advanced game controller configuration and testing features than ever before (under Tools/Options/Input, Help/Developer/Test and in the Input tab of the title editor)
• Improved Disk Toolbox (convert disks to images and vice versa, from the Tools menu) and support for direct-attached disks (to more easily share media between Classic Amiga and emulation systems, via the Media tab of the title editor)
• New general input options (add your own commands like Load last snapshot, Cartridge freeze button, Open debugger, etc.)
• New CD drive controls (e.g. for CDTV) and improved fullscreen mode controls
• Updated WinFellow plugin interface to support 64-bit version and HDF images
• Improvements to AmigaOS 4/PowerPC support (better detection of bootable and non-bootable states, increased number of reserved blocks, etc.)
• Support for some of the latest Windows 10 features introduced in versions 1709, 1809 and 1903
• Continuing best-in-class support for content curation, high-DPI and mixed display environments, real and virtual game controller and keyboard input

The Setup Wizard and Tip of the Day components were also refined, aiming to ease setup and feature discovery. These tutorial functions can also be invoked from the Help menu, and are designed to expose important and lesser-known features to both novice and longtime users.

Overall, the project remains permeated by attention to detail, usability and beauty, which have been part of our Amiga software development work for more than three decades.

As always, we are grateful to everyone who supported this project and to the friends who shared our passion and vision during these sometimes challenging, but always bright Amiga days.

Please stay tuned for more to come. 

Additional Information

• Original Version 8 Announcement
• Focus on New Features
• Quick Instructions for Upgraders
• Cloanto.org – A Discourse on Possible Futures
• Amiga.com – Supporting a New Amiga

The post Top Emulators Amiga Forever and C64 Forever 8 Receive “R2” Update appeared first on Armchair Arcade.

• Virtual Keyboard – Open an Amiga emulation session like Workbench 3.X (in the Systems folder) and then use the keyboard menu at the bottom left of the playback window to open the Virtual Keyboard. Inside the emulation, open the Input Prefs and change the keyboard to a different language (e.g. German). Did you notice how the virtual keyboard on the Windows side also updated its layout? And still, it all keeps working with your unchanged physical PC keyboard, no matter what layout that one has. Then on closing the session, you can choose whether to commit the keyboard layout change to the title configuration or not.
• Virtual Mouse – Looking for something a bit more “retro”? Start an 8-bit title (e.g. a PET 2001, or 8032, or C64) from the Systems folder of C64 Forever, and use the mouse to move the text cursor around. If you ever spent a lot of time programming or writing on those systems, isn’t this something you’ve been wanting to do for almost 40 years?
• Fullscreen Controls – Start or switch any Amiga or 8-bit emulation session to fullscreen (use the button in the top row of the playback window), then hold down the Escape key for one second to open the new fullscreen controls. These can be selected with the mouse, with the keyboard, or with the same controllers you are using to play. At last, you can swap disks, pause, resume, save, etc., without needing to leave your favorite screen mode and controls.
• Discord Status – Do you use Discord? “Now playing” activity sharing can be enabled under Tools/Options/Social.
• Type Clipboard Text – Hello World? Happy $7E3? Here is something simple, but fun to watch if you would like to paste a message or a few lines of code: use the keyboard menu at the bottom left of the playback window to paste the content of the Windows text clipboard. Works with any Amiga or 8-bit system.

Here’s the full press release:

Amiga Forever and C64 Forever 8 Released

December 31, 2018 – Cloanto released today version 8 of Amiga Forever and C64 Forever, the official Commodore/Amiga preservation, emulation and support suites for Windows.

Once again, the new editions are the result of 18 months of development since the previous major version, and now encompass more than 600K lines of code written by Cloanto, seamlessly integrating with a collaborative effort of emulation plugins and content preservation.

“Virtual machines, virtual keyboards, virtual joysticks, virtual mice… real enjoyment! Whether you always wanted to move a PET/CBM text cursor with a click, or pop up an accurate and fully reconfigurable onscreen keyboard for Amiga and 8-bit systems, this release has it all,” said Cloanto’s Mike Battilana.

Work on the input front, which in version 7 had a focus on physical and virtual game controllers, was continued in version 8 by revamping existing features and adding virtual mouse and keyboard functionality that has no par in other emulation environments. In order to achieve an accurate implementation of the widest set of Commodore/Amiga systems, more than once we had to ask a collector to open one of their rare machines to confirm some internals. Former Commodore engineers graciously assisted with details that only they could know. When the mouse is used to position an 8-bit cursor, or multiple keys are pressed or tapped on a popup keyboard, or the Amiga keyboard language is changed at runtime in the Input Prefs and propagates up into the emulation and authoring side, the results are both historically accurate and surprisingly seamless in their modern usability.

The deep connections between Windows and CBM/Amiga ROM internals on the input front took several months to craft, yet are easy to use. The same is true for the new fullscreen emulation controls, which required the creation of a graphical user interface with menus and buttons that could be used with the mouse or keyboard as well as with game controllers, at a low level where this is not provided by Windows.

As part of its “preservation done right” commitment, Cloanto entered into agreements with Stanford University Libraries, the German National Library (Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, DNB) and other cultural and preservation institutions. These collaborations are spontaneous, and Cloanto does not receive payments or funding. Ongoing efforts also include a “kiosk mode” emulation frontend for museums.

“Working on projects like Amiga Forever and C64 Forever and remaining in touch with our community has allowed us to keep nourishing the sentiments of passion, beauty, excellence and friendship that have accompanied this journey since the 1980s. We also learned how continuing this longstanding endeavor brings with it some mostly thankless tasks such as sorting out the occasional legal doubt and standing up for the truth. In working hard to research rights and respect rules, Cloanto has become a ‘reluctant torchbearer’ of something bigger and of larger interest than we could ever have imagined to be involved with more than 30 years ago. Fortunately, as an independent entity, Cloanto does not lack the courage or the ability to change, or to hand over.

“Continuing on the discourse that was first outlined at cloanto.org a few years ago,” said Mike, “I remain personally engaged in exploring possible futures involving a nonprofit and/or foundation, open source, and other scenarios that could best help the cause of Commodore/Amiga preservation and support. As in the past, during 2019 I plan to attend events like Amiga Ireland, AmiWest in Sacramento and Amiga34 Germany. I again look forward to meeting old and new friends and to promote consultations on this important topic.”

Sample 4K Screen with Merged Amiga and C64 Forever Environments on High-DPI Display

Amiga Forever 8 is available now in three editions:

• Value Edition (downloadable installer)
• Plus Edition (downloadable installer with option to build DVD ISO image)
• Premium Edition (downloadable Plus Edition, plus boxed software and additional videos on 3 DVDs)

C64 Forever 8 is available now in three editions:

• Free Express Edition (feature-limited version)
• Downloadable Plus Edition (downloadable installer with option to build CD ISO image)
• Boxed Plus Edition (downloadable Plus Edition, plus boxed CD)Both packages recognize and work with each other, with options to merge the different platforms into the same interface. Prices start from $9.95 (Value Edition, or special upgrade offers).

Both packages recognize and work with each other, with options to merge the different platforms into the same interface. Prices start from $9.95 (Value Edition, or special upgrade offers).

The post Amiga Forever and C64 Forever 8 Released – Great new features! appeared first on Armchair Arcade.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.02

While the Macintosh never was (and arguably still isn’t) a premiere gaming platform, it nevertheless played host to a nice selection of titles. Although the early Macintosh platform was strictly monochrome – which even at the time of its 1984 unveiling was an outlier – the relatively high resolution created some beautiful, distinctive imagery. While you miss out on the vaguely blue-ish sheen of a real vintage Macintosh CRT, even if you don’t want to use the emulation functionality, the still images on the Internet Archive do a good job of demonstrating just what a good artist could do at the time within the platform’s relative strengths and limitations.

Dark Castle

The post Play Classic Monochrome Macintosh Games in Your Browser or Just Look at the Lovely Screenshots appeared first on Armchair Arcade.

This is like Christmas coming early—or perhaps five times over—for fans of ’80s and early-’90s computer gaming. Really, there’s just about no limit to the forgotten or nostalgic gaming experiences that can now be uncovered sifting through the Internet Archive. But just for fun, and to give you a head start, here’s a look at some games that are bound to be among the most popular selections.

The Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail

One of the most popular and enduring computer games of all time, The Oregon Trail is firmly at #1 in the most views so far at the Archive’s massive library of newly available games. A sort of role-playing/storytelling simulation of the Oregon Trail chapter of American history, the game was initially funded by the MECC educational gaming company when they got hold of a computer game developed by a middle school history teacher. It has since been adapted into many versions, including a 2012 version for Windows Phone. But the 1992 edition for DOS was one of the best, and it can now be played free online.

Street Fighter II

Street Fighter II

Street Fighter is the most iconic fighting game franchise in existence. Just last year, news of a Street Fighter V release became one of the most exciting announcements yet for the PS4 system! But in the franchise’s long history, packed with various games on various systems, the Street Fighter II series, which includes the DOS game, was one of the most popular. Developed by Capcom and published in 1992, the game includes eight popular Street Fighter characters (including Ryu, Ken, and Chun-Li) as playable options, with four villains that can be met in “boss” fights. It will be a little easier to play if and when controller compatibility is set up, but even with a keyboard this is a highly enjoyable game.

Battleship

Battleship

Few games have blurred the lines between tabletop board gaming and video games as much as Battleship, and it is still being adapted into new forms today. In fact, it has even made its way into the online casino industry, with the Betfair arcade hosting a brilliant Battleship adaptation that players can actually bet real money on. Once you play, it begins to feel like a pretty logical game for a betting version to be available for. But regardless, any modern interpretation of the game is still based quite closely on the original forms. The original form as we know it comes from a 1967 Milton Bradley game (with roots in games played decades before that), but one of the best digital versions was the 1998 game that’s now available at the Internet Archive.

Prince Of Persia

Prince of Persia

Sitting behind The Oregon Trail for the most views at Archive so far, Prince Of Persia will be a nostalgic play for a lot of gamers. While many younger gamers may associate the title with the beautiful and very clever series released by Ubisoft in recent years, this 1990 platform game was ahead of its time and remains entertaining to this day. In fact, it’s interesting to see how some of the booby trapping and puzzle solving made its way from the 1990 title into the much more advanced modern console experiences.

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