New HIDDEN FEATURE in The Final Cartridge III | Commodore 64

I found a feature in The Final Cartridge III fastloader that I have not seen documented anywhere before! This may be especially useful if you have both 1541 and non-1541 devices.
CHAPTERS-
0:00 - Intro
1:34 - Explanation
7:58 - Outro
LINKS-
Final Cartridge III Undocumented Functions
- www.pagetable.com/?p=534
Final Cartridge - ReplayResources
- rr.pokefinder.org/wiki/Final_...
#FinalCartridge #FinalCart #FC3 #TFCIII #Commodore64 #C64

[@sfurta]

Finally explained why P.P. Hammer uses 8,2 in its directory to auto start. I couldn't find it anywhere for almost 3 decades :D Thanks.

[@BasicBitesCA]

Glad to be of help! I'm not familiar with P.P. Hammer, so I cannot confirm or deny -- but it looks like the game was published in 1991, so based on the timeline, it's certainly possible for the programmers to have been aware of any incompatibilities with the FC3 fastloader. -- JC

[@andira2010]

I didn't know this hidden feature. Very cool, thanks for sharing! 🕹 I got a FCIII back then at the end of the 1980ies, and still use it today. My favorite cartridge at all.

[@BasicBitesCA]

Right on! 😎👍 -- JC

[@Neo666233]

Hope this is the final final final recap on the final final final cartridge! ❤😂

[@BasicBitesCA]

Don't program program program without it! 😁

[@RacerX-]

Nice! Never heard of this before. Thanks for sharing.

[@BasicBitesCA]

My pleasure; thanks for watching! -- JC

[@igork3522]

Thank you for the video. Great find.

[@BobbyCharlz]

Brilliant, such a simple and handy feature!

[@fuckutube65]

Nice discovery! ;-) Some cartridge fastloaders do in fact also support the 1581 (dunno about native 1571), e.g. the Action Replays, Nordic Power, Super Snapshots and all their derivatives... I tried it when I had borrowed a 1581 once when we made Colour Spectrum for C128...

[@HAGSLAB]

Cool find! (Also cool that I found your channel. Subbed :))

[@BasicBitesCA]

Thank you! I've just subscribed to your channel as well. You have some interesting things going on over there. 👍 -- JC

[@HAGSLAB]

@@BasicBitesCA Thank you very much! :)

[@joecincotta5805]

Brilliant!

woow! great discovery!

[@Schattennaseweis]

Didn't know that the FC3 does it, but this is quite common with parallel speeders. SpeedDOS does that for example and I think others do the same thing.

[@DJChol]

Where does it load the program when using ,2? To $0801 or to $6000? Wouldn't an additional ,3 be needed to allow loading without fast loader to both addresses?

[@BasicBitesCA]

Good question! Using ",8,2" loads to the program's load address (just like any other non-zero secondary address); it simply does not use the fast loader. Yes, an additional option would need to be programmed to allow you to do the same thing with a relocated load, but probably wasn't deemed worth it for the rare instances in which you'd actually use it. The only time you really *need* to use ",8" rather than ",8,1" is when you have a BASIC program that was written on another model of Commodore computer that doesn't use $0801 as its start of BASIC memory. (A good example is PET BASIC, which will have a load address of $0401 stored in the PRG file.) -- JC

[@christianjacobi4277]

wow!

[@Zhixalom]

Brilliant... very nice to know ❤ It makes we wonder what something like this would do: LOAD"*",8,70 - Will it do the same as ",8,2" or load the program into $0801 with the fast-loader enabled. Is TFC3 looking for the value 2 or triggering on a bitwise logical AND on bit no. 1 (aka $02). BTW, I still have my The Final Cartridge III from back then as well. Although the case had gotten oddly brittle, so I have moved it over into a transparent-red casing instead and printed a new golden'ish label. I'm not sure which version it is. But I also have the TFC3++ reproduction and that would be bases on the "final" Final Cartridge III, shouldn't it? 🤔

[@BasicBitesCA]

Thank you very much! Any non-zero secondary address OTHER than 2 invokes the fast-loader, just the same as using an address of 1. I also use a real FC3, because I enjoy having original hardware for the cartridges I use the most. The TFCIII+ is the same code as the FC3's final ROM revision (1988-12), but contains a much larger EPROM, with a list of added tools that can be invoked from the Desktop. I never invested in one because I can just put the TFCIII+ ROM on my Kung Fu Flash, if I wish to use it. :) -- JC

[@Zhixalom]

​@@BasicBitesCA Besides the extra tools, I have noticed the TFC3++ (that's what it says on the label for some reason), that at power up into the FC3 desktop it selects the 1351 by default instead of joystick mode. Which can be a little annoying. When I bought it I just wanted to have a replacement in case my old trusty should give up for some reason. I also have a Kung Fu Flash, the BackBit, several EasyFlash3s (upgraded) and even an Ultimate 1541-II. So, I guess I don't really need the TFC3++ any longer. And I also have the FM-YAM, GEOSRAM-128, Datel MIDI, The MSSIAH (also with MIDI), a couple of X-Panders... and a slew of DIY home-baked cartridges: dead-tests & diagnostic, 512K Magic Desk/Ocean compatible (I'm sure I'm forgetting some). Yeah, a bit of a cartridge-nut. I guess could try to justify it with also having several machines. But that doesn't hold up, since I have way more cartridges than can fit in all of them, even with the X-Panders... Naah, more like a proper nutcase. If the C128's U36 ROM counts as a "cartridge", then I have also build several "Internal Function ROM" selector daughterboards (made 3 for some friends). They make "you" able to select between 16 different 32KB Function ROMs via a binary rotary switch and a 27C040 or 27C4001 512K EPROM. The fact that I have only ever been able to find 13 Function ROMs for the C128, with some just being slight variations of the same ROM (like language or menu/colours)... ehm yeah... lets just overlook that part, shall we? 😅

[@Ostendia]

D you know how to make a freeze with fc3 and use the freeze without fc3?It's possible but i overlook something and dunno what each time i make up a freeze with fc3.cheers,Ken

[@BasicBitesCA]

See "REMARKS ON THE FREEZER" on page 56 of the manual for some helpful tips. The first thing you should do is use Reset Zero Fill from the Freezer to clean any unnecessary garbage out of memory. Then load your program. It also recommends that you KILL the cartridge before making a backup, if you want the backup to work without the cartridge inserted. Beyond that, I'm not sure, since I don't use the cartridge to make backups all that often. -- JC

[@Ostendia]

@@BasicBitesCA is there another option?

[@danielmantione]

@@Ostendia Yes, there is: Use the OFF command before starting the program. However KILL is really what you should use, because it uninstalls the FC3 hooks completely, resulting in a backup that works without FC3. Remeber, the FC3 Freezer remains fully functional if the FC3 has been killed.

[@BoGy1980]

lol, it IS NOT a hidden feature... it's documented in the manual that after a KILL you can still use the freezer menu and all it's functions (hence also going back to desktop and reload it's function) to be exactly it's on page 33. quote: "This command will disable the Final Cartridge III. Only the freezer still works, but you will return to the standard Commodore 64 unless you leave the freezer through the monitor."

[@BasicBitesCA]

Yes, indeed it is... and if I had made a video claiming THAT was a hidden feature, you'd be correct in correcting me. 😉 -- JC

[@Ostendia]

do you know how to make a freeze with fc3 and use the freeze without fc3?It's possible but i overlook something and dunno what each time i make up a freeze with fc3.cheers,Ken