Turn Your Computer Into a Commodore 64, and Play Every Game For Free!

[@williamgambill8384]

I have hoping for something like this to come along. I really enjoyed c64 when I was in my teens, and I mist it very much. I like making my own programs to see what I could come up with. thank you for bring back my youth.

[@BytesNBits]

No problem. Enjoy the nostalgia trip.

[@mansour7117]

I can’t believe you have less then 1k subs your vids are so entertaining and helpful

[@BytesNBits]

Hi Mansour. Thanks. We're getting there on the subs!

[@mansour7117]

@@BytesNBits yeah you can do it don’t be let down by anyone

[@mjmonjure]

Excellent primer! I found my way here to run the C64 version of Choplifter without having to pull out my C128 and all that goes with that. This is perfect.

[@BytesNBits]

Glad it was useful!

[@BanishedToEarth]

Try.. "project firestarter". Such a badass game for commodore 64.

[@mjmonjure]

@@BanishedToEarth will do!

[@MattCruse]

Thanks, Bob. Great video. I've only recently got into emulating the 64 (I had one back in the day) and am enjoying it immensely. I'm still a little confused about the different file-types and what I should or shouldn't be using (but I sort of get it). Some games seem to have loading problems depending on what kind of file it is (.t, .tap, .d, .crt, etc). It would be good to have an instructional video on this!

[@BytesNBits]

Hi Matt. Good to hear you're reliving your youth! I'll have a look at clearing up the file type confusion in a later video. Mostly the file extensions tell you if its a tape (.t, .tap), disk (.d, .d64) or cartridge (.crt) file. Not all work on all emulators so it really is down to a bit of trial and error. Keep on gaming!

[@martinhertog5357]

Brilliant emulator. I have used it to play Miner 2049. Same look and feel, even the sounds are exactly the same.

[@BytesNBits]

Today's emulators are great !

[@chrisnizer1885]

That's frickin' awesome! Your tutorial covered everything I need to know to get Vice running, how to get games, and how to control them. The ENTIRE ball of wax so to speak. Thank you my friend, great stuff indeed!👍👍

[@BytesNBits]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@chrisnizer1885]

I do have one question though: is there a specific place where the GAMES folder needs to be kept? I just created a new folder (called GAMES) in the GTK3Vice directory and stored the unzipped ROM's there. Hopefully thats ok. Thank you again my friend, your tutorial really helped.

[@BytesNBits]

@@chrisnizer1885 Hi. I think you can save the files anywhere you want. You'll be able to select the folder when you attach a disk image.

[@BanishedToEarth]

@@chrisnizer1885 try the game Project Firestarter. So cool!!!

[@CenturionKZ]

Only after your guide I understood how to set inputs, thanks, man!

[@BytesNBits]

Glad I could help!

[@mauriciogutierrez2145]

Fanrastic and very helpful video mate 👍👍👍

[@BytesNBits]

Glad it helped

[@Mandrax1138]

Thanks for this video! 😁👍 I just used this emulator to play Blue Max on my Dell Inspiron laptop and the memories and nostalgia I experienced were priceless! ❤️

[@BytesNBits]

Glad it all worked for you.

[@got2rock4]

The good Ole days I had a c64 and later c64c the newer version and had tape drive and 5.25 floppy drive . I remember spending my whole weekend coding games from the magazine. I loved it so much because it had way better graphics than the atari 2600. It was about the only system to play arcade games.

[@BytesNBits]

Great machines and great memories.

[@mattx5499]

This is a great tutorial. I'm using Vice on Linux and and it's great emulator, but it can be a bit complicated for people who don't have experience with emulators. It has plenty of options to emulate various versions of Commodore 8-bit machines and addons for them. The emulation accuracy is great and only plus/4 and C16 needs some work. I wish that in the future Vice gets OSD menu similar to FS-UAE (Amiga emulator) that can allow the most important functions of the emulator to be controlled using gamepad. I remember trying Vice in the past and it kinda made me stop trying to emulate 8-bit Commodores, because it felt broken, but now I'm having fun with it and I can recommend it especally with this tutorial.

[@BytesNBits]

Hi. If you use something like LaunchBox to run the emulator it will autoload your games so you can work most of the interface from the game controller. You'll still need the keyboard for some inputs though.

[@LUCKO2022]

No mention of fast loader. You can download fast loader crt images and attach them, then type in the basic commands to run the games. It is what I always do because some games load slow.

[@BytesNBits]

Hi. Thanks for the info. Cartridge images work great too!

[@kipster-ll6po]

How do you do that?

[@idiopathictendencies8453]

Thanks. Great guide. Definitely subbed. 👍🏼

[@BytesNBits]

Awesome, thank you!

[@thepoetasher8240]

Thanks for this, been meaning to find a good emulator for awhile. I love how this one feels almost genuine in replication.

[@BytesNBits]

Glad I could help

[@allanm6246]

Great video as always. Sadly the Vice emulator does not emulate the the C16 and Plus/4 very well. But there is a better emulator for that called YAPE.

[@BytesNBits]

Thanks for the tip. I'll try that one out.

[@claireherbert4350]

Really helpful, thank you!

[@BytesNBits]

Hi Claire. Glad you found it useful. Great to see retro gaming is not just for men!

[@claireherbert4350]

@@BytesNBits I love retro gaming :-)

[@Paul_Davies77]

Worked perfectly. Thanks very much 👍

[@BytesNBits]

Glad it helped

[@robertcraane7910]

Thanks Bob, now I feel like being 14 again!

[@BytesNBits]

That's what retro gaming does for you!

[@jimmy5391]

Thanks for the informative video

[@BytesNBits]

Glad it was helpful!

[@allegro1355]

Thanks for sharing such great content. One question about the keyboard layout settings @9:26. the default keyboard settings do not follow the layout you just explained. How do I set that up to get the exact keyboard layout illustrated in your website.

[@BytesNBits]

Hi. When I set the symbolic keyboard setting I get the mapping as in the diagram. I don't think I changed any other settings.

[@Xantaxia]

@@BytesNBits I encountered the same as @allegro1355, where for me the Commodore key is mapped to 'tab' and the left ctrl is ctrl, nothing game breaking. I didn't change anything related to the keyboard mapping. If I change it to positional in the settings then I get the layout as shown in the video. I checked this just now, so maybe they changed it between then and now?

[@BytesNBits]

@@Xantaxia Hi. Thanks for the tip.

[@ignacio-fernandez-sarasola]

Thanks for your amazing video. After watching many of them about Vice, yours is the clearest. If you don't mind, I have a couple of troubles when using Vice and I am not sure how to solve them: 1.- I can play Commodore 64 games with a joystick as Vice recognizes it; but I am not able to make it use two buttons. Some games use two (for example one for jump and one for shoot) but Vice only recognizes the shoot button; 2.- You show how to load those games with two archives; but in your video there is a load screen where it ask you to load the "second tape", and that's when you load the second archive. Well, I have games with two archives, but when loading the first one, it never asks you for the "second (b face) archive" and so the loading is never finished. Thanks for your attention.

[@BytesNBits]

Hi. I don't think Vice supports a second joystick button by default. You can map the joystick to keyboard keys if that will help. In the settings -> input devices -> joysticks define the controls in one of the keymap sections and then set vice to use this for the joystick input. On the multiple disk question. Did you run the first disk / tape? If the program needs the second disk it should then ask for it. Hope this helps.

[@ignacio-fernandez-sarasola]

​@@BytesNBits Thanks a lot for your kind help. I will try mapping the Joystick, but once I tried it did not work either. Multiple disk games did not ask me for a second disk/tape, but they don't seem to work.

[@BytesNBits]

@@ignacio-fernandez-sarasola If you let me know what games won't load I'll have a go here and see what happens.

[@ignacio-fernandez-sarasola]

​@@BytesNBits Thanks again for your help and kind attention. For example it does not work for me this: One on One - Michael Jordan and Larry Bird (1988)(Electronic Arts). It is a d64 game with two archives, one for each tape side. On the other hand I have found that in Vice shoot button has a strange behaviour in some games: for example, when playing with International Basketball, shoot button works fine when attacking, but when defending it is supposed to work for changing the character you play with, and it does not work (I had that game in my old Commodore 64 and it worked like that, but it does not when using Vice emulator in my pc). Thanks again.

[@garytman007]

Thank you so much for this! I grew up with atatar2600 and C64. C64 was my favorite all time computer. I played just about everything. I loved Guild Of Thieves, Defender of The Crown. Legacy Of The Ancients, Ultima Series and many more. I had the C64 itch years ago, and bought everything all over again and then some lol. I bought 2 monitors, 3 disk drives (1541, 1541c, and 1571) 1 original C64, C64c, and C128. Also the tape drive, all original manuals, and at least 100 boxed games, and 1000s of floppies that have games and some are blank. I even bought a disk notcher to use on those double sided density disks. Remember that you could have games on sides A and B? Is there a way with this program that I can copy my games? I know I probably could with the sdiec2 device. I will probably get all my C64 stuff together and sell it. I have many of the best games you can find in mint, unwrapped condition. I appreciate the video, I'm going to turn my laptop into my very own C64 machine!

[@BytesNBits]

Great to hear you're still enjoying the system. Yes, you'll need some specialised hardware to copy your games but you'll probably find almost all of them are already archived online. If you want a dedicated C64 using modern hardware have a look at my replica video - kzbin.info/www/bejne/rH29fGCmnc9peaM. Have fun!

[@random_precision_software]

Im a Games developer and would love to create games for the C64,BUT using Microsoft Visual Studio using "C" or "C#" which Ive heard you can do?..I didnt learn assembly lol

[@BytesNBits]

You need to find a 6502 cross compiler and set that up to match the C64 memory map. I've never had a look at it but it should be doable if you can find the compiler. I'm not sure if it will be an add on for Visual Studio or some stand alone software. I hope this helps.

[@random_precision_software]

@@BytesNBits I will have a look and see what i can do , Thnx!

[@BytesNBits]

@@random_precision_software I had a quick look and found this - www.compilers.de/vbcc.html. It looks like it's able to understand the C64 (and other retro systems) setup. I'm not sure if it's a currently supported project but it might be what you're after.

[@random_precision_software]

@@BytesNBits OMG Ive just got on to your name !! Bits & Bytes.. I used to work in a Computer shop in Liverpool,UK called Bits & Bytes...It was the BEST days of my life between 1986-1989/90 being a teenager with NO WORRIES lol I wish I could go back to that time again !

[@BytesNBits]

@@random_precision_software Those were the days!

[@philippesteelant1896]

Thanks Bob , everything works fine...one question...is it possible to save a selfwritten basic program and the reload it ?

[@BytesNBits]

Yes. On the file menu you can create and attach a blank tape or disk. This will create your own writeable disk or tape file. Then just use the normal save commands.

[@joshtitorenko9186]

What do you do if there is an Side A & Side B game i downloaded Transformers The Battle To Save The Earth 1986 game but there is Side A & Side B

[@BytesNBits]

Hi. If the game asks you to insert a disk use the file menu to attach the next disk. It should then be able to pick it up and continue.

[@joshtitorenko9186]

@@BytesNBits It plays Side A but not side B is Side A the full game

[@BytesNBits]

@@joshtitorenko9186 Usually the second disk is for later levels. It might be that you haven't got far enough through the game for it to need the second side. The other option is that one side might be playing as one side, the other to play as the other side (Autobots / Decepticons ??)

[@joshtitorenko9186]

@@BytesNBits Yeah thanks for helping me 👍

[@BytesNBits]

@@joshtitorenko9186 No problem!

[@Dogboy73]

Brilliant guide. Thanks. I'm in nostalgia heaven playing Dropzone ......... not looked into this at all yet but wondering if we can do custom controller mappings for keyboard functions i.e. space bar mapped to controller for smart bomb in Dropzone :-)

[@BytesNBits]

Hi. Thanks. There's quite a powerful mapping tool in the emulator. You should be able to do what you want.

[@Dogboy73]

@@BytesNBits Cool. I'll take another look. Not really explored much yet.

[@DarlingWaterson]

my grand[a used to use this thing back in the day... great days........

[@BytesNBits]

Have a go yourself. Some great games.

[@cenkerturk3930]

hi man! great video btw. i have a question. i am a fan of a game (football director) but i have a question. its a saved game so u can keep continue to seasons,but i dont know how to save and load my saved game to keep continue it. how can we do it with that program? is that doable?

[@BytesNBits]

Thanks and yes. Once you've got the game loaded use the menu to create a blank disk or tape. It will ask you to save this as a file on your pc. With that mounted in one of the drives you can then save your game files to it as you would do on the real machine. Then next time load the game and then mount the saved tale.

[@cenkerturk3930]

@@BytesNBits i am talking about football director (1989 date) in game when u save the game it save but i cant direct a file to save it. it says the game is saved but i have no clue where it is,so when i start game next time,it says do u continue an old game i click yes,it says load saved game,so i cant load it . bec i dont know where it is. can u explain it detailed? this game is important for me,if u can fix the problem,i will be glad. i have not enough knowladge to do what u say.

[@yollabolly7944]

Are the games from the c64 website still under copyright or are they are abandonware.

[@BytesNBits]

As usual for any legal advice you'd need to talk to someone qualified.

[@yollabolly7944]

@@BytesNBits Do you know where I could find anyone that's qualified for any legal advice.

[@jenn14]

I loaded maniac mansion and it has 2 sides - I get side 1 working fine select characters and then it asks for side 2, cant figure out how to get it to work?

[@BytesNBits]

If you need to insert additional disks use the file menu to simply attach the second disk image. This will simulate taking out disk 1 and inserting disk 2.

[@saragarnham]

Stuck on the batman game, it says in the menu, hit the button. It does not say what button? Can't get past this screen.

[@BytesNBits]

Try searching for the game manual. It might say in there. Usually its the space bar or run/stop button (Esc I think?).

[@RapideWombaticus]

Thank you for this upload. I am keen to see if my USB MegaDrive controller will work, if not, I'll source a Joystick and it's game on!

[@BytesNBits]

Sounds great. Have fun!

[@me-gl6mf]

Hey, I noticed in your video capture of the C64 BASIC prompt screen (waiting for the command), it has scanlines like on an old television set. I'm assuming that the people who made the emulator put that in on purpose to make it more "genuine" , but is there a way to disable said lines, so it is smooth?

[@BytesNBits]

Yes. There are a range of filters you can apply, or leave out to get the look you want. You'll find them in the settings menu.

[@TheIllerX]

Very good info. Tried some emulators and games before. However, much of the old feeling is ruining by the fact that I don't know how to use my old C64 joysticks. They obviously don't have USB, but some other type of connector that is not used anymore. Playing with keys or some console game controller just does not feel the same to me. I have hear that that there are some kind of converters somewhere, but it seems really hard to find.

[@BytesNBits]

Hi. I did a quick search for "commodore joystick to usb" and a few options popped up. There seem to be converters but also replicas with usb connectors. I've seen a couple of diy projects to make a converter. I hope this helps.

[@TheIllerX]

Thank. Yes, I saw some of those too. Seems to be some C64 enthusiasts making their own converter. But I wonder if it is possible to order one from somewhere to my country. Will try to see what I can find.

[@paulchaplin2032]

Another fantastic emulator I use is called CCS64. Try both emulators. I use Vice for running my VIC-20 games.

[@BytesNBits]

Thanks for the tip. I'll give that one a try.

[@paulchaplin2032]

@@BytesNBits just press F9 to bring up the menu and you can change many options. Very easy to use

[@igorpoco2420]

Has anyone received a Microsoft Defender SmartScreen warning when trying to open the emulator? I was afraid to proceed.

[@BytesNBits]

I haven't seen any warnings myself. Make sure you download the code from the web link in the video.

[@alonsodejesus2983]

How to download n install mssiah on it ?

[@BytesNBits]

I think mssiah is a hardware add on for a real C64.

[@kipster-ll6po]

I didn't notice any mention of concern regarding viruses/malware/spyware. Any comment on that?

[@BytesNBits]

Hi. With any software downloads you need to take all your usual precautions. The VICE software should only be downloaded from the official site - never use downloads from sites you don't completely trust. On the games side again you need to use all your normal safety procedures. The actual rom files are fine as they run inside the emulator, but some sites wrap them inside executable files, or require a 'download manager' to be installed. My advice is always to run away from these sites, very fast! I've found any sites I mention to be safe, but still make sure all my protection software is up to date. I hope this helps.

[@Renega_TR]

why i should make a commodore to play games? i can play with my pc

[@BytesNBits]

Retro gaming is great fun.

[@XYZB0RG]

good C64 (or any around-that-time-period computer) games are significantly more impressive than good 64bit computer games. and you are playing it on your PC it's an emulator not the real deal.

[@jacek-jan]

I want cartridge Emulation for everything instant 💪🏻

[@BytesNBits]

Have a look at this video for the C64 cartridge library - kzbin.info/www/bejne/iXTSi6hjdtqsjZI

[@BanishedToEarth]

PROJECT FIRESTARTER -HANDS DOWN BEST C64 GAME (In my humble opinion)

[@BytesNBits]

Thanks. I'll have a look at that one.

[@elrincondelukas]

Hi. I suscribe your channel . Like

[@BytesNBits]

Thanks for subbing

[@PotatoImaginator]

Games look good :)

[@BytesNBits]

Hi. Yes, there are some great games on the C64. You should give them a try. Could be some good ideas for your tutorials!

[@PotatoImaginator]

@@BytesNBits Sure , Thanks :)

[@rbmc1983]

Am I the only one hearing dienload when he says download?

[@BytesNBits]

Hi Rafael. That would be the Northern Ireland accent getting in the way :)

[@Universal.G]

1000's of games that we can play, and 1000's that won't play.

[@BytesNBits]

Whatever way you look at it there are hours and hours of fun ahead!

[@BanishedToEarth]

Wish Android emulators actually worked. PC emulator works good though. Thanks!

[@BytesNBits]

Have you tried an Android emulator with a keyboard attached?

[@marievignolo5449]

The best part is I don't have to because I still own mine. Edit: With the old school joystick that's just a black box, with a black stick, and an orange ball on top of it. Yeah. I love it. Not what it does to my power bill but... 🤐🤐

[@BytesNBits]

Hi. Great. Keep those old machines running!

[@andrewdupuis1151]

i use c64 for ever

[@BytesNBits]

That's a great alternative

[@Andy_S79]

👍

[@BytesNBits]

Thanks

[@benjaminsurname5584]

I wish the pico 8 had been the dream successor to the commodore computer instead of the garbage it turned out to be

[@BytesNBits]

Hi. How do you mean?

[@benjaminsurname5584]

@@BytesNBits The Pico 8 is a "fantasy old-school system" that you can buy. It's software. It can be used to make small 8-bit games. It's cool but it has a lot of self-made limitations. The games can only be a certain number of bytes. And the limitation is so low that the games on a real commodore 64 are much better. The pico 8 is like a commodore 64 with 8kb of storage, 32kb of RAM, but the processor of a modern computer. I want to mess with something the other way around. Limited processor speed, limited RAM to 32k, but unlimited storage. Let me make a large scale game, but within the limits of the RAM and Processor of a Commodore 64. Just my opinion. Loved the video by the way

[@benjaminsurname5584]

@@BytesNBits I just now looked at the rest of your channel and realized that you make games on the pico 8... sorry for trying to explain the pico 8 to you lol

[@BytesNBits]

@@benjaminsurname5584 Hi. I see what you mean. Yes, Pico8 is very limited by design. That's one of the reasons I chose TIC80 for these tutorials. This should be more like what you're looking for. Pico8 is more like the 8 bit machines, TIC80 a bit more like the 16 bit computers. Give it a go, you might find it does what you want :)

[@bob19611000]

Free? Hmmm be careful there, most games are still copyrighted. Therefore, you need to own the game in order to download it legally but yes the actual download is free to do.

[@BytesNBits]

Hi. Thanks. This is one of my old videos. The newer ones make it clear about the copyright issues and leave people to acquire files by their own means. This is one of the videos due for an update.

[@andreiinthedesktopworld1178]

Who has come only for the basic 👇

[@argi0774]

Wtf are they emulating the loading times? That's very bad, why would anyone want that?

[@BytesNBits]

I think there are settings to speed up load times. It's all part of the authentic feel for the emulator.

[@armorgeddon]

Anybody feel free to correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to remember reading that with the Commodore machines (Amiga, too) it must be done for compatibility reasons due to their hardware architecture. Wasn't the C64's floppy drive even nearly it's own C64 with the same CPU? Anyway I think even fast loader hardware modules for the real hardware can't successfully load every game due to that. I remember back when we were kids we sometimes had to pull the fast loader module out of the C64 to make certain games work.

[@andrewdupuis1151]

i use c64 forever

[@BytesNBits]

Another great alternative.

[@javierc2726]

You need to learn how to normalize your audio

[@BytesNBits]

Hi. Thanks. That's one of my older videos. Hopefully the production is a bit better these days.

[@user4gent416]

WTF MAN

[@BytesNBits]

Thanks, I think?

[@jf6720]

Please help! I get the x64se file for my Mac, and when I try loading I get this: The default interactive shell is now zsh. To update your account to use zsh, please run `chsh -s /bin/zsh`.

[@BytesNBits]

Hi. Zsh is the newer shell program that MacOS uses instead of Bash. I think all new MacOS versions use Zsh by default mow so this will bring your set up in line with those. The command it suggests is the way forward. There are other ways around the problem so you can keep using Bash but if you're not that bothered I'd suggest the switch.

[@jf6720]

@@BytesNBits I made the switch and now I get: /Applications/vice-arm64-gtk3-3.6.1/bin/../VICE.app/Contents/Resources/script: line 91: /Applications/vice-arm64-gtk3-3.6.1/VICE.app/Contents/Resources/bin/x64sc: Bad CPU type in executable Any idea what I can do?