c64 C64 Dreams (massive curated C64 collection)

[mattdawson75]

You really helped me out, especially because, I'm new to this and I could not get Commodore 64 games to play properly no matter what. But you got everything pre-packaged perfectly! I'm going to work on importing your stuff into my library and I'm good to go. 

[Zombeaver]

Happy to help! I'm glad I was able to share some C64 love.

[neil9000]

2 minutes ago, Zombeaver said:

Happy to help! I'm glad I was able to share some C64 love.

Speccy Dreams next then  

[Zombeaver]

7 minutes ago, neil9000 said:

Speccy Dreams next then  

I would not hold your breath on that one lol

I might do something similar for Amiga some day. Some day...

[mattdawson75]

On 3/14/2019 at 9:34 AM, Zombeaver said:

 As far as your screen, yeah we'll need to do a bit of adjustment. 16:10 is actually the same aspect ratio as the C64's, which means we'll need to turn off the overlay (bezel) first of all. Go into the C64 Dreams > Retroarch > VICE x64 folder and open up VICE x64.cfg. Change the input_overlay_enable on line 14 from "true" to "false".

Hello, I don't see the VICE x64 in the C64 Dreams > Retroarch folder. See screenshot below:



 

[neil9000]

2 minutes ago, mattdawson75 said:

Hello, I don't see the VICE x64 in the C64 Dreams > Retroarch folder. See screenshot below:



 

Its Retroarch, so the cores are in the core folder.

[Zombeaver]

No, it's C64 Dreams\C64 Dreams\Retroarch\config\VICE x64\VICE x64.cfg

I was referring to the override file.

[mattdawson75]

Do I have to do anything special to play 2 player? Both controllers are on (wireless 360 controllers), work in other Retroarch roms fine, Steam games, etc.||

I've tried Popeye and 1942, but I don't see how to make them 2 player. Most likely due to unfamiliarity with Commodore's interface, do you know what I'm doing wrong?

 

 

Edited May 18, 2019 by mattdawson75
removed irrelevant attachment

[Zombeaver]

1942 is single player only.

Popeye does have two player but it's in turns, not simultaneous.

An example of a game that has simultaneous two player would be something like Ballblazer. F3 selects different options to change (time limit, whether you're playing against a computer, etc.), F5 changes your current selection, F1 resets the options to default (two players against each other, three minute time limit), and F7 starts the match.

The way two+ player is implemented is entirely game-dependent, but the controllers themselves should "just work".

[nearvanaman]

On 5/6/2019 at 7:45 AM, Zombeaver said:

Alright y'all, I've been pretty preoccupied with Zomb's Lair stuff lately, but I'm gearing up to get back to work on this. The plan is to do update packs of say 200 games at a time. I've got about 60 new ones done already.

If anyone has any specific requests for the first pack, let me know. The current list of requests is:

Forbidden Forest
Head Over Heels
M.U.L.E.
Pharaoh's Curse
Pogo Joe
Pool of Radiance
Survivor
The Seven Cities of Gold

Well this really is marvelous stuff. I appreciate the work of @Zombeaver. I've added my own game - Football Manager - because I was addicted to my Atari 800XL version back in the day, and play the new Android version from Kevin Toms now and again. But the C64 version is really good. I have got it working by copying a game directory and replacing the Disk1.d64 and adding it to the xml in platforms. It's launching from Launchbox now. But I know it'll be overwritten with the next update. So I suppose I'm making a request for it to be added in the future if at all possible

Thanks again, man. 

[Zombeaver]

On 5/25/2019 at 10:23 PM, nearvanaman said:

Well this really is marvelous stuff. I appreciate the work of @Zombeaver. I've added my own game - Football Manager - because I was addicted to my Atari 800XL version back in the day, and play the new Android version from Kevin Toms now and again. But the C64 version is really good. I have got it working by copying a game directory and replacing the Disk1.d64 and adding it to the xml in platforms. It's launching from Launchbox now. But I know it'll be overwritten with the next update. So I suppose I'm making a request for it to be added in the future if at all possible

Thanks again, man. 

No problem.

I've added Football Manager to the next group. That's likely to be in the next few days as it's pretty close already.

[Zombeaver]

The thought occurred to me today that I could use the controls overlay to display some game-specific notes as needed. Obviously this is something that only some games need but I think it'll be handy to help people not have to consult the spreadsheet. The button combo to make this appear is back/select + start on a controller, but I've added a keyboard combo in the upcoming version as well (Numpad * + Numpad -). You press them again to go back to the game.

Normal:

Examples of some game-specific notes:

I've also been in the process of cataloging the version / group for each game, which helps me quickly identify exactly what I have in the event that I want to change/update to a different version. I should have done this from the beginning... but alas. Something about hindsight being 20/20 or some such...

Both of these are fairly time-consuming in and of themselves. I'm not too worried about the version / group cataloging for the next release as I can add that information to the spreadsheet at any time. For the notes, I am going to try to get some of the more substantial ones out of the way for the next release, but it certainly won't be 100%, I'll just continually add more in subsequent releases.

The 200 games for the next release are setup, I still need to test about 30 of those, then add them to the Launchbox library, clean up metadata, do some final testing, etc.

[jophran]

That looks great! 

[MacGuyver]

The game specific instructions presented as a sticky note is awesome!  Smart idea with the database so you can consider upgrading game versions, too.   And more games coming?  How do you find the time for all this?!  Thank you!

[RobotronMan]

@zombeaver Great work!  Quick question: I'm a long-time retroarch user and trying to see what the easiest way is to remap your XBOX360/one controller setup for my PS4 or Hori PS4 mini.  Any tips would be awesome!

Thanks again for creating such an awesome project!  Long Live C64!

 

Robo

[Zombeaver]

It should just work with PS4 controllers by default.

If you wanted to move things elsewhere, technically yes you can. It's not simple though, as things are spread around in multiple places.

1) Some of it is handled in the core options (Quick Menu > Options) which are located in C64 Dreams\C64 Dreams\Retroarch\retroarch-core-options.cfg:

vice_mapper_y = "RETROK_LSHIFT"
vice_mapper_x = "RETROK_LSHIFT"
vice_mapper_b = "RETROK_SPACE"
vice_mapper_l = "RETROK_LSHIFT"
vice_mapper_r = "RETROK_LCTRL"
vice_mapper_l2 = "RETROK_KP_MULTIPLY"
vice_mapper_r2 = "RETROK_RETURN"
vice_mapper_l3 = "RETROK_n"
vice_mapper_r3 = "RETROK_y"
vice_mapper_start = "RETROK_ESCAPE"

"RETROK_LSHIFT" doesn't do anything, it's essentially "blank".
"RETROK_SPACE" sends a spacebar input.
"RETROK_LCTRL" sends the commodore key input.
"RETROK_KP_MULTIPLY" swaps joystick ports.
"RETROK_RETURN" sends a return/enter input.
"RETROK_n" sends an "n" input.
"RETROK_y" sends a "y" input.
"RETROK_ESCAPE" sends a runstop input.

2) Some of it is handled via a core remap which is located in C64 Dreams\C64 Dreams\Retroarch\config\remap\VICE x64\VICE x64.rmp. In a couple instances (like in 3-D Pinball: Pinball Power and David's Midnight Magic) game-specific remaps are loaded.

input_player1_btn_b = "8"
input_player1_btn_a = "0"
input_player1_btn_y = "4"
input_player2_btn_b = "8"
input_player2_btn_a = "0"
input_player2_btn_y = "4"
input_player3_btn_b = "8"
input_player3_btn_a = "0"
input_player3_btn_y = "4"
input_player4_btn_b = "8"
input_player4_btn_a = "0"
input_player4_btn_y = "4"
input_libretro_device_p1 = "1"
input_libretro_device_p2 = "1"
input_libretro_device_p3 = "1"
input_libretro_device_p4 = "1"
input_player1_analog_dpad_mode = "0"
input_player2_analog_dpad_mode = "0"
input_player3_analog_dpad_mode = "0"
input_player4_analog_dpad_mode = "0"

By default the core uses B (on a 360/XB1 controller) as the fire button. This shifts things around so that it's on A. This also makes it so that X (on a 360/XB1 controller) sends an up input.

3) The combo functions are handled via hotkeys which are located in C64 Dreams\C64 Dreams\Retroarch\retroarch.cfg:

input_toggle_fast_forward_btn = "1"
input_exit_emulator_btn = "4"
input_overlay_next_btn = "6"
input_disk_eject_toggle_btn = "5"
input_disk_next_btn = "3"
input_disk_prev_btn = "2"
input_enable_hotkey_btn = "7"

4) The arrow keys on the right stick are handled via Antimicro. You have to have a controller connected and then start C64 Dreams\C64 Dreams\Antimicro\antimicro.exe to edit/create profiles. In a couple instances game-specific profiles are loaded. In the current version that's just Spellbound Dizzy, but three additional games have them in the upcoming version.

I don't actually recommend that you mess with any of this, to be perfectly honest. The likelihood that something will break along the way is high. The way that various controls are implemented in the VICE core is convoluted as hell. This is part of the reason I started this project in the first place - because this sort of thing is a nightmare to have to fiddle around with, at best, if you're like me and are intimately familiar with how to use Retroarch; at worst, for someone who isn't, it's a complete brick wall.

[4ppleseed]

This is incredible. Excellent work Zombeaver!

[phert]

thanks for all the hard work. i am running this on a laptop for now and the resolution is only 1366 x 768. is there a way i can get the display to be correct.if i go into the video settings and change it to 4:3 or 16:9 i can see everything but i know the game won't look right if i have to adjust the x and y ratio and find one that works is there a way to save it? i noticed when i changed it to 4:3 or 16:9 it reverts back to custom the next time i try it. thanks

[Zombeaver]

On 6/16/2019 at 2:32 PM, 4ppleseed said:

This is incredible. Excellent work Zombeaver!

Thanks! Enjoy!

15 hours ago, phert said:

thanks for all the hard work. i am running this on a laptop for now and the resolution is only 1366 x 768. is there a way i can get the display to be correct.if i go into the video settings and change it to 4:3 or 16:9 i can see everything but i know the game won't look right if i have to adjust the x and y ratio and find one that works is there a way to save it? i noticed when i changed it to 4:3 or 16:9 it reverts back to custom the next time i try it. thanks

If you can provide me with the appropriate height, width, x position, and y position numbers, I can make a replacement base config.

The screen should look like this once you've adjusted the numbers appropriately:

The BASIC screen is a good place to make the adjustments. You want to adjust the dimensions until the light blue portion of the screen is just touching the top and bottom of the screen and the bezel on the left and right.

If you go into a game folder, say 1942, and rename Disk1.d64 to anything else and then start the .vbs file, it'll just sit on this screen so you can take as long as you want to make the adjustments.

The four fields you'll need to adjust are:

Custom Aspect Ratio X Pos.
Custom Aspect Ratio Y Pos.
Custom Aspect Ratio Width
Custom Aspect Ratio Height

Once you get these figured out, shoot me the numbers and I'll make a config/bat to switch it.

Be aware, however, that this will cover 99% of the games, but that there are a few exceptions that have specific adjustments that need to be made for them. The list is in the opening post under "Known Issues" -> "Screen Resolution". If you want to provide numbers for these as well, I can incorporate those too. If not, you're probably going to want to delete the configs for those specific games from C64 Dreams\C64 Dreams\Retroarch\configs, at which point they'll still be off, but not by as much as if you used them (because they're designed for 1080p).

[Zombeaver]

Sorry I haven't put the next update out yet y'all. It should have been done already, but I've been distracted lately. After recently watching some videos for the upcoming game Wrath: Aeon of Ruin, a game literally made in the Quake 1 engine, I started doing a deep dive into the Quake map creation scene; and, hoo boy, is there a lot to dig into. I've had a lot of fun with it though. People have been making maps since 1997 (Wrath is being by developed by a number of veterans from this scene), and it's kindof awesome playing maps made over 20 years ago and then immediately after jumping into ones made a month ago. So that's been my latest little obsessive side project. I should have the next update out soon, just have to work this out of my system (this also helps keep me from getting burned out on working on C64 Dreams).