Commander X16

Discuss anything not related to the current Uzebox design like successors and other open source gaming hardware
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danboid
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Commander X16

Post by danboid »

I suspect many of you will already know about the Commander X16. The physical machine isn't available yet but it sounds like it could be by the end of the year as they seem to have solved the final hardware issues, three prototypes later. I hope so as I've had a go with the emulator and I think it'd make for a great retro games platform and tinkerers computer, especially for those who want to learn assembly.

The Commander 16 is basically a souped up C64 / Vic20, based on a WDC 65C02S @ 8 MHz and using a FPGA to provide GPU and sound because there was no other viable, in budget option for the graphics. It's C64 inspired and uses lots of its code but it doesn't aim to be C64 compatible, which I think is good. It is a new Commodore related platform. The FPGA GPU/audio hardware code, VERA, has already been released under the MIT license and it is expected that the rest of the X16, like the MEGA65 and Spectrum Next, will also become open source hardware. I'd hope so but that wouldn't be a deal breaker for me even they didn't open its design. It'd be weird if they didn't.

You can see the full spec here:

https://www.commanderx16.com/forum/inde ... about-faq/

I think its a good sign that there have already been about 60 simple games and 20 or so tools already written for a platform before its available. There will be many more devs who will be interested in the X16 as soon as the hardware becomes available, not at least because the 8-bit guy has a massive audience.

The MEGA65 is cool but there's no way I'm paying £700 for a toy computer. If they can get the X16 board out for under £200 I'm sold.
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danboid
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Re: Commander X16

Post by danboid »

A nice update on the state of the X16 and bit of a demo of its BASIC features:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcWqMGju7fk

I love that its got 2 sound chips. I want one!
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danboid
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Re: Commander X16

Post by danboid »

X16 is like a hybid of a C64/Vic20, a Uzebox and a X68K. It shares a sound chip with the X68K and is of similar spec, it uses SNES joypads and is an open design like the UB but its mostly a Commodore-esque machine.
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danboid
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Re: Commander X16

Post by danboid »

I was disappointed to not find a single mention of the Uzebox on the Commander X16 forums so I registered specifically to tell them about the Uzebox:

https://cx16forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6326

I expect the Uzebox will interest at least a few of the retro computing enthusiasts interested in the X16.
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danboid
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Re: Commander X16

Post by danboid »

The Uzebox has also failed to get a mention on the Spectrum Next forums until now:

https://www.specnext.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2233
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uze6666
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Re: Commander X16

Post by uze6666 »

Thanks for posting to those forums! I saw there was many replies the X16 forum, nice to see there interest there too. :)
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Artcfox
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Re: Commander X16

Post by Artcfox »

So from reading that thread, it seems like the biggest hindrance for people is the lack of a kit.

I wonder if we can streamline that process by just building the BOM on DigiKey, and allowing people to just click "Add to Cart" and then having a similar one-click solution for the PCB (offering several choices for the PCB version, personally I would keep the ESP and SPI RAM on the removable daughter board, allowing for other pluggable expansion cards). The SNES connectors and SD card slot might be the only exceptions besides the PCB that need to be ordered outside of DigiKey, though it looks like the myLists feature already has provisions for parts outside of DigiKey.

You could still offer a kit, but it would be more like drop-shipping, and you wouldn't have to be physically involved.
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danboid
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Re: Commander X16

Post by danboid »

That sounds like a good idea artcfox. It seems we could get a few extra Uzebox builders/users/devs if there was a still a kit available.

No reply on the Next forum yet but its not as busy a forum as the X16 one. Its impressive how active the X16 forum is for a machine not yet released!

I've just replied to the X16 post to let them know where we are up to with sid and mod playback, which seemed relevant given that the thread evolved into talking about the FM2151 sound chip used by the X16 due to their prevalence in the Commodore scene.
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danboid
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Re: Commander X16

Post by danboid »

My mate gave me a few Uzebox PCBs yesterday so I thought I'd give two of them away to users from the X16 forum. The other I'm giving to my colleague today.
CunningFellow
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Re: Commander X16

Post by CunningFellow »

I'm going to be giving away one or two UzeDTV when my youtube video goes up. The X16 people might want to know about that.
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