Line #21 Platform/Commodore64


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/commodore64.png]]
2
3	->''Are you keeping up with the Commodore\
4	'Cause the Commodore is keeping up with you!''
5	-->-- The {{Jingle}} from the Commodore 64 ads
6
7	[[AC:Load "TV Tropes",8,1]]
8
9	[[AC:Run]]
10
11	The '''Commodore 64''' was, at one point, the best-selling single ([[Platform/{{PC98}} non]]-[[Platform/SharpX68000 Japanese]]) computer system of all time, with 17 million sold.[[note]]There are, obviously, ''millions'' more IBM-style Intel-centric [=PCs=] made, but they featured a dizzying array of varieties and even self-built systems; the C64 was a single, packaged unit like an Platform/{{NES}}.[[/note]] It was released in 1982 as a low-end computer comparable to the Platform/AppleII and the Platform/Atari8BitComputers, following on Commodore's earlier Platform/VIC20 system. It was as cheap as the Platform/Atari2600 and is, paradoxically, considered one of the finest personal computing devices ever built while also being partially to blame for MediaNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983.
12
13	The system was remarkably powerful for the price. The original design was for an MediaNotes/ArcadeGame board, and the C64 therefore had unusually good color graphics, sprite support, and sound compared to its competitors (though its 16-color palette was a bit drab). The sound chip is still being used by {{chiptune}} artists today, and the computer supported S-Video output in 1982, five years before S-Video was ostensibly invented. It also had an operating system contained entirely in ROM, meaning that there was close to nothing (shy of physically damaging the hardware) that could corrupt the system, making it a hacker's dream machine. There was even a windowed operating environment with desktop publishing abilities available for it (GEOS), and some code genius even figured out how to do multitasking on it. It was also home of the Quantum Link online service, operated by the company that would become AOL.
14
15	However, the success of the Commodore 64 was also its downfall. Commodore couldn't discontinue it due to high demand in Europe and Australia, and most people in North America had moved on to the Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem for their gaming needs and cheap [[Platform/IBMPersonalComputer PC clones]] flooding the market for general computing by 1990 after clone makers like Compaq, Tandy, Leading Edge, and Packard Bell moved into the mass merchandisers that Commodore previously targeted. VGA graphics and FM synthesis sound cards surpassing the C64's graphics and SID chip around the turn of the decade also prompted a lot of C64 gamers to migrate to the PC. The C64's success also doomed every other Commodore 8-bit project, such as the MAX machine, the Educator 64, [[Platform/CommodorePlus4 the C16, the Plus/4]], [[Platform/Commodore128 the C128]], the C64 Games System, and the C65.
16
17	The Commodore 64 was eventually discontinued in April 1994, when the company went bankrupt due to the now dated parts of the system being more expensive than what people paid for it. This is essentially what happens when ArtisticLicenseEconomics happens in RealLife. In April 2011, Commodore announced a brand revival and began accepting preorders for new C64s. The new systems were to essentially combine the classic design with modern internals, running the original C64 BIOS and present-day software. However, as Commodore fans were to come to expect in the following years, the project fell through; this began a long string of Commodore (now owned by an Italian tech company) promising big and failing to deliver, most notably with a branded smartphone that only ended up being available in a few European countries. The closest thing to a hardware revival the C64 has seen is some carefully non-copyright infringing computer-on-a-chip systems housed in a keyboard that apes the original's breadbox design.
18
19	Commodore 64 games have been released for the Platform/{{Wii}}'s Platform/VirtualConsole. It's also one of the most popular platforms for the {{Demoscene}}. And a generation has learned to associate [[PublicDomainSoundtrack Bach's "Invention #13"]] with this system.
20
21	In 2018, jumping on the microconsole Platform/PlugnPlayGame craze started by the NES Classic, [[https://retrogames.biz/thec64-mini/ Retro Games Ltd.]] released a microconsole version of the C64, appropriately called the C64 Mini. Similar to other contemporary microconsoles, the C64 Mini is an ARM-based Linux system using the VICE emulator and comes with 64 games preloaded on the system; however, unlike several microconsoles, users can legitimately load their own games and programs using disk and ROM cartridge images on a USB flash drive and update the firmware to fix bugs, add features, and even add new games to the carousel. The company followed up the C64 Mini with a full-sized version, [[https://retrogames.biz/products/thec64/ simply called the C64]][[note]]unofficially nicknamed the C64 Maxi to differentiate it from its Mini predecessor[[/note]], with a working keyboard[[note]]The keyboard on the C64 Mini is purely decoration, using a virtual keyboard for games that require keyboard input. An external USB keyboard can be plugged in for games and programs that require extensive keyboard input, especially BASIC.[[/note]], additional USB ports, and the ability to switch among the built-in games carousel, C64 BASIC mode, and VIC-20 BASIC mode; in 2020, Retro Games released a variant of the C64 based on the VIC-20.
22	----
23
24	!!Specifications:
25	[[AC:Processors]]
26	* [[UsefulNotes/CentralProcessingUnit CPU]]: MOS 6510 (a modified 6502), ~1 [=MHz=]
27	* [[MediaNotes/GraphicsProcessingUnit GPU]]: MOS VIC-II
28	* Sound: MOS SID [[note]]two versions, the first containing several {{Good Bad Bug}}s which allowed the chip to produce crisp and clear PCM audio. The second version fixed the bugs but unfortunately made PCM playback muffled. [[/note]]
29
30	[[AC:Memory]]
31	* 64K RAM, with 38K available for BASIC
32
33	[[AC:Display]]
34	* 160x200 or 320x200 bitmap graphics, 40x25 character graphics
35	* 16 colors
36	* 8 sprites per scanline
37	* Hardware scrolling
38
39	[[AC:Sound]]
40	* 3 oscillators: Saw, triangle, square, and noise waveforms, 8 octave range, programmable envelopes
41	* High-pass, band-pass, and low-pass filters
42	* Ring modulators
43	* An optional module, ''Sound Expander'', adds OPL-1 FM Synthesis (allegedly upgradeable to OPL-2). Additionally, Speech Synthesis can be added via the ''Magic Talker'' module (although the SID, being a PSG, can produce speech rather well on its own via the Software Automatic Mouth, or SAM, software).
44
45	!!Games:
46	[[AC:Original titles and MultiPlatform games that started here:]]
47	[[index]]
48	* ''4th & Inches''
49	* ''Adventure Construction Set''
50	* ''VideoGame/AvoidTheNoid''
51	* ''VideoGame/BadStreetBrawler'' (aka ''Bop'N Rumble'' and ''Street Hassler'')
52	* ''VideoGame/BarbarianTheUltimateWarrior''
53	* ''Below the Root''
54	* ''VideoGame/BloodMoney''
55	* ''{{VideoGame/Bombuzal}}''
56	* ''VideoGame/BoulderDash''
57	* ''VideoGame/TheCastlesOfDoctorCreep''
58	* ''VideoGame/DancingMonster''
59	* The ''VideoGame/{{Dizzy}}'' series
60	* ''VideoGame/DragonBreed''
61	* ''VideoGame/{{Elvira}}: Mistress of the Dark''
62	** ''Elvira II: The Jaws of Cerberus''
63	* ''VideoGame/FastEddie''
64	* ''VideoGame/ForbiddenForest''
65	* ''Videogame/FridayThe13thTheComputerGame''
66	* ''[[VideoGame/TempleOfApshai Gateway to Apshai]]''
67	* ''VideoGame/TheGreatGianaSisters''
68	* ''VideoGame/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1984''
69	* ''VideoGame/ImpossibleMission''
70	* ''Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's VideoGame/SuperOffRoad''
71	* ''VideoGame/{{Jumpman}}''
72	* ''Katakis''
73	* ''VideoGame/KingsBounty''
74	* ''The Last Ninja''
75	* ''VideoGame/LegacyOfTheAncients''
76	* ''VideoGame/LittleComputerPeople'', a precursor to ''VideoGame/TheSims''
77	* ''VideoGame/LodeRunner''
78	* ''VideoGame/LordsOfDoom''
79	* ''VideoGame/ManiacMansion''
80	* ''VideoGame/MailOrderMonsters'', an early {{Mons}} series
81	* The ''VideoGame/MontyMole'' series
82	** ''Wanted: Monty Mole''
83	** ''Monty on the Run''
84	** ''Auf Wiedersehen Monty''
85	** ''Impossamole''
86	* ''VideoGame/{{Moonmist}}''
87	* ''VideoGame/{{Nebulus}}''
88	* ''VideoGame/{{A Nightmare on Elm Street\|PC}}''
89	* ''VideoGame/NordAndBertCouldntMakeHeadOrTailOfIt''
90	* ''VideoGame/{{Paradroid}}''
91	* ''VideoGame/PinballConstructionSet''
92	* ''VisualNovel/{{Portal}}''
93	* ''VideoGame/ProjectFirestart''
94	* ''Reach for the Stars''
95	* ''VideoGame/RickDangerous''
96	* ''VideoGame/TheSacredArmourOfAntiriad''
97	* ''VideoGame/{{Scapeghost}}''
98	* ''VideoGame/SentinelWorldsIFutureMagic''
99	* ''VideoGame/SidMeiersPirates''
100	* ''VideoGame/SimCity''
101	* ''VideoGame/SkateOrDie''
102	* ''VideoGame/SkoolDaze''
103	* ''VideoGame/{{Spelunker}}''
104	* ''Super Pipeline''
105	* ''VideoGame/TestDrive''
106	* ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsBartVsTheSpaceMutants''
107	* ''VideoGame/{{Turrican}}''
108	* ''VideoGame/{{Wasteland}}''
109	* ''The Way of the Exploding Fist''
110	* ''VideoGame/ZakMcKrackenAndTheAlienMindbenders''
111
112	[[AC:Ports]]
113	* ''VideoGame/AlienSyndrome''
114	* ''VideoGame/AlternateReality''
115	* ''VideoGame/{{Archon}}''
116	* ''VideoGame/{{Athena}}''
117	* ''VideoGame/BadDudes''
118	* ''VideoGame/TheBardsTaleTrilogy''
119	* ''VideoGame/BattleChess''
120	* ''[[VideoGame/BCsQuestForTires B.C.'s Quest for Tires]]''
121	* ''VideoGame/BluePrint''
122	* ''VideoGame/BombJack''
123	** ''Mighty Bomb Jack''
124	* ''VideoGame/BorrowedTime''
125	* ''VideoGame/BubbleBobble''
126	* ''VideoGame/BuckRogersPlanetOfZoom''
127	* ''VideoGame/CaliberFifty''
128	* ''VideoGame/CastleWolfenstein''
129	* ''VideoGame/ChipsChallenge''
130	* ''VideoGame/ChipWits''
131	* ''VideoGame/{{Choplifter}}''
132	* ''VideoGame/ChuckieEgg''
133	* ''VideoGame/ChuckRock''
134	* ''VideoGame/CommandoCapcom''
135	* ''VideoGame/CrackDown1989''
136	* ''VideoGame/CrushCrumbleAndChomp''
137	* ''VideoGame/DarkCastle''
138	* ''VideoGame/DavidsMidnightMagic''
139	* ''VideoGame/{{Defender}}''
140	* ''VideoGame/DefenderOfTheCrown''
141	* ''VideoGame/DemonAttack''
142	* ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon''
143	** ''VideoGame/{{Double Dragon 1}}''
144	* ''VideoGame/{{Draconus}}''
145	* ''VideoGame/DuckTalesTheQuestForGold''
146	* ''VideoGame/DynamiteDux''
147	* ''VideoGame/{{Elite}}''
148	* ''VideoGame/{{ESWAT}}''
149	* ''VideoGame/ForgottenWorlds''
150	* ''VideoGame/FrogBog''
151	* ''VideoGame/{{Gauntlet}}''
152	* ''VideoGame/{{Ghostbusters\|1984}}''
153	* ''VideoGame/GhostHunters''
154	* ''VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins''
155	* ''VideoGame/GoldenAxe''
156	* ''VideoGame/GrandPrixCircuit''
157	* ''Gunship''
158	* ''VideoGame/HansKloss''
159	* ''VideoGame/HelterSkelter''
160	* ''VideoGame/{{The Hobbit\|1982}}''
161	* ''VideoGame/HollywoodHijinx''
162	* ''VideoGame/HumanKillingMachine''
163	* ''VideoGame/HyperDyneSideArms''
164	* ''VideoGame/IkariWarriors''
165	* ''VideoGame/{{Jackal}}''
166	* ''VideoGame/KickMan''
167	* ''VideoGame/KidNikiRadicalNinja''
168	* ''VideoGame/KungFuMaster''
169	* ''[[VideoGame/LastDuelInterPlanetWar2012 Last Duel]]''
170	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfKage''
171	* ''VideoGame/TheLordsOfMidnight''
172	* ''VideoGame/MacadamBumper''
173	* ''VideoGame/{{Miner 2049er}}''
174	** ''Bounty Bob Strikes Back!''
175	* ''VideoGame/MontezumasRevenge''
176	* ''VideoGame/MoonPatrol''
177	* ''{{VideoGame/Motos}}''
178	* ''VideoGame/MountainKing''
179	* ''VideoGame/{{MULE}}''
180	* ''VideoGame/MuppetAdventureChaosAtTheCarnival''
181	* ''VideoGame/NetherEarth''
182	* ''VideoGame/NightDriver''
183	* ''VideoGame/OmegaRace''
184	* ''VideoGame/OperationWolf''
185	** ''Operation Thunderbolt''
186	* ''VideoGame/PacMania''
187	* ''VideoGame/{{Pang}}''
188	* ''VideoGame/{{Paperboy}}''
189	* ''VideoGame/PitFighter''
190	* ''Film/{{Platoon}}''
191	* ''VideoGame/PlunderedHearts''
192	* ''VideoGame/{{Popeye}}''
193	* ''VideoGame/{{Prince of Persia\|1}}'' (unofficial port released in 2012)
194	* ''VideoGame/PsychoSoldier''
195	* ''VideoGame/{{Rampart}}''
196	* ''VideoGame/RasterBlaster''
197	* ''VideoGame/RedStormRising''
198	* ''VideoGame/RescueOnFractalus''
199	* ''VideoGame/RiverRaid''
200	* ''VideoGame/RobotRascals''
201	* ''VideoGame/Robotron2084''
202	* ''VideoGame/RockStarAteMyHamster''
203	* ''VideoGame/RodLand''
204	* ''VideoGame/RType''
205	* ''VideoGame/{{Rygar}}''
206	* ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheBeast''
207	* ''VideoGame/TheSimpsons''
208	* ''VideoGame/SlySpy''
209	* ''VideoGame/SmashTV''
210	* ''VideoGame/SolarFox''
211	* ''VideoGame/SolomonsKey''
212	* ''VideoGame/SpaceHarrier''
213	* ''VideoGame/TheSpeedRumbler''
214	* ''VideoGame/{{Spindizzy}}''
215	* ''VideoGame/SpyHunter1983''
216	* ''VideoGame/StarControl''
217	* ''VideoGame/StarTrekStrategicOperationsSimulator''
218	* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheArcadeGame''
219	* ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII''
220	* ''VideoGame/SuperPacMan''
221	* ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1989''
222	* ''VideoGame/{{Terramex}}''
223	* ''VideoGame/TigerRoad''
224	* ''VideoGame/{{Toki}}''
225	* ''VideoGame/TrackAndField''
226	* ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'' series:
227	** ''VideoGame/UltimaI''
228	** ''VideoGame/UltimaII''
229	** ''VideoGame/UltimaIII''
230	** ''VideoGame/UltimaIV''
231	** ''VideoGame/UltimaV''
232	** ''VideoGame/UltimaVI''
233	* ''VideoGame/{{Vigilante}}''
234	* ''VideoGame/WeirdDreams''
235	* ''VideoGame/WizardOfWor''
236	* ''VideoGame/YesPrimeMinister''
237	* ''VideoGame/YieArKungFu''
238	* ''VideoGame/{{Zaxxon}}''
239	* ''VideoGame/{{Zork}}''
240	[[/index]]
241	----
242	!!LOAD"Tropes associated with the Commodore 64",8,1\
243	SEARCHING FOR Tropes associated with the Commodore 64\
244	LOADING\
245	READY.\
246	RUN
247
248	* BrokenRecord: Try this command:
249	--> 10 PRINT "TV TROPES";
250	--> 20 GOTO 10
251	--> RUN[[note]][[SchmuckBait Yes, Press 'Enter'!]][[/note]]
252	* CoversAlwaysLie: If a game was also released for the vastly more advanced Platform/{{Amiga}}, screenshots on the box would inevitably be from that version.
253	* CurbStompBattle: Against the other 8-bit computers.
254	* FridgeBrilliance: Computer viruses had begun to be a problem by the mid-80s. Because of its ROM-based system software and Commodore's decision to offload disk handling to the floppy drives, it was [[NighInvulnerability all but impossible]] to write a C64 virus.
255	* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The C-One computer (originally designed as a C64 clone by the self-trained [[WrenchWench Jeri Ellsworth]]), as well as the VICE emulator (the latter being the only way most people will ever be able to use the C65).
256	* LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading:
257	** The 1541 disk drive was notoriously slow at 300 bytes per second, and the 1530 Datasette cassette drive was even worse at ''50 bytes per second''. This was because the both 1541 disk drive and the 1530 Datasette were carryovers from the Platform/VIC20[[note]](in fact, the latter was even ''older'' than the VIC-20, having originated with the Platform/CommodorePET line)[[/note]], and Commodore wanted to maintain backwards compatibility for VIC-20 users who wanted to upgrade.
258	** Fast load cartridges [[DownplayedTrope helped alleviate]] slow load times in most floppy-based programs by using more efficient routines than the [=C64's=] stock ROM, making them a popular add-on for any serious C64 user. For commercial cassette-based programs, they often incorporate their own "turbo tape" routines. Not only did these routines improve loading times, they also dramatically increased a cassette's storage capacity; a typical T-30 tape could hold approximately 100 kilobytes while a "turbo tape" could increase a tape's capacity closer to a full megabyte.
259	* MadeOfIndestructium:
260	** The operating system was in ROM, making it virtually impossible to corrupt.
261	** [[https://www.geek.com/tech/a-commodore-64-has-helped-run-an-auto-shop-for-25-years-1672510/ A C64 in Poland has been used in an auto shop]] for ''25 years'' to help balance driveshafts despite being rained on and crapped on by birds.
262	** Retro tech [=YouTuber=] Adrian Black acquired [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVphFkaX1gg a C64 was "left for dead"]], exposed to the elements for at least a decade. The RF shield had rusted completely to the point where it literally fell apart, and dirt, debris, and even insects had gotten into the machine. However, despite this, the computer did manage to boot, although Adrian had to clean corrosion off in certain places to get the computer to accept keyboard input.
263	** Averted by the C1541 floppy drive which could go out of alignment with a funny look. Every 1541 owner ever knows the "BRAAAAAP" noise of a misaligned drive. Even worse is that some programs come with CopyProtection that will eventually cause this to happen! The later 1571 floppy drive -- designed for use with the Platform/Commodore128, but still compatible with the C64 -- was a lot better in this regard, as it had actual track sensors, meaning that the drive generally wouldn't go out of alignment unless it received a physical shock.
264	* TheMoralSubstitute: Like many other computer companies in TheEighties, Commodore marketed the C64 as an educational alternative to evil, brain-draining video game consoles that would wreck [[EducationMama parents' dreams of their kids getting into college]]. Subverted: the machine actually had lots of great games, as the list above shows.
265	* ObviousBeta:
266	** The machine had reliability problems when first introduced, but when the kinks were ironed out, the C64 sold like hotcakes.
267	** Despite the legendary reputation of the console's SID sound chip, the implementation (the 6581) that went into most [=C64s=] was actually hastily thrown together from a much more ambitious design, after Commodore threatened to scrap the chip and outfit the system with an AY-3-8910 sound processor[[note]](Something used by virtually every arcade, computer, and home console manufacturer on the market in the early 1980s, with the notable exception of Atari, who used the ''slightly'' more capable POKEY chip on their home computers, and a few others including IBM, Sinclair, and Apple, who just outfitted their systems with simple beepers)[[/note]] unless the development team had a working prototype ready for the start of 1982. The resulting chip therefore had various [[GoodBadBugs quirks]] that weren't what the designers intended, but which composers were able to take advantage of to create even more distinctive music. Notably, the eventual "corrected" version (the 8580) is near-universally considered inferior to its predecessor, as it can't play back samples without modification, and songs which make exotic use of the chip's features usually end up sounding bland. In fact, many SID musicians embrace the flaws of the 6581 variant as features that made the sound chip unique and far more advanced than the rivals like [=SN76489=], POKEY and AY-3-8910.
268	** The disk drive is infamously slow, due to a software bug built into the system ROM, which Commodore never fixed. Third-party cartridges that replaced the offending routines were very popular back in the machine's heyday, and can speed up loading times by 5X or more.
269	* SpiritualSuccessor: The brand is active again, but with modern components like an Intel Atom processor.
270	* VideoGameLongRunners: Was sold from 1982 to 1994, and compelling new games are still being written for it.

Context Platform / Commodore64