Commodore Free 33R1/Commodore_Free_Issue_33R1_2009_Commodore_Computer_Club.d64/iv mcc

Text File | 2009-01-01 | 9.8 KB | 360 lines

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 Interview with Arcade Retro Gaming
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COMMODORE FREE
Please introduce yourself to our
readers; also can you describe ARCADE
RETRO GAMING - The classic Gaming
Experts

ARCADE RETRO GAMING
(www.arcaderetrogaming.com) was
created in Spring 2009. The founder
Dirk Dudenbostel and co-founder
Frederic Requin both grew up with
classic computers and games. Arcade
Retro Gaming is an independent
computer game technology company that
uses its deep domain knowledge to
build a bridge into the 21st century
for classic computer, retro games and
Arcade Gaming.

Our main goal is to develop
user-friendly classic game platforms
for the general audience that the
current market is not offering. This
will preserve the classic game
experience from all different kind of
classic computers for the future.
This becomes more and more important
as the classic hardware won't be
available for long.

We also sell a wide variety of
classic games and accessories for
modern computers and consoles to
preserve the classic gaming
experience. This includes the
original Competition Pro Joystick for
AMIGA available in a modern USB
version or the classic DB-9
connector. The USB version includes
185 classic AMIGA games for the PC.
We included now for the fall season
an ARCADE Joystick with support PC
and Playstation 2-3. Especially
designed for Street Fighter Arcade
but enables all other games as well.

From the gaming side we included the
Dragons Lair, Space Ace and Dragons
Lair 2 titles in our product
portfolio. Who wouldn't remember Dirk
in his adventures to rescue the
princess? This DVD's can be played on
every DVD player, Computer and are
now even available in an HD remix
version for Blue-Ray DVD players.

Please find enclose the links to our
two Online Stores:

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/
arcaderetrogaming
http://arcaderetrogaming.mybisi.com/

You will support with each purchase;
the development of the multiple
classic computer. Donations in any
for are welcome as well.  Please
contact us under ARCADE RETRO GAMING,
e-mail: [e-mail]

CF. Can you explain the function of
the MCC

MCC. The Multiple Classic Computer
(MCC) from ARCADE RETRO GAMING will
emulate the real hardware from the
past. It will support a menu
structure which guarantees easy of
use. The MCC will preserve the real
experience in terms of real time
emulation which current software
emulators can't offer. It will be
expandable with different cores which
allow the system to emulate all
different kinds of 8, 16 and even up
to 32 Bit machines. For the 1st
development ARCADE RETRO GAMING
concentrates on the classic Commodore
computers C-64 and the Amiga series.
The MCC comes with all interfaces to
connect the device to a standard TV
or Computer monitor. It will support
stereo out via Head Phones or an
external speakers. We have integrated
all different kind of input interface
to support Keyboard, Mouse, Joysticks
and other peripheral devices. To
support future devices we even
included a USB port.

CF. Can you give our readers some
Technical specs about the MCC

MCC.

Technical Specification:

* Reconfigurable hardware core inside
  an FPGA, including main CPU,graphic
  engine, sound engine and interfaces
* Integrated SDR SDRAM Memory of 16
  MByte
* Integrated non volatile memory of 8
  MBit for different classic computer
  platform realization, programs and
  games (enable up to 150 and more
  games in a closed system)
* Support of external keyboard and
  mouse (PS-2 and USB interface)
* Support of classic ARCADE Joysticks
  (DB-9 or USB interface)
* S-Video or RGB Video output
* Stereo Audio Output
* SD-Card interface for external
  programs
* Battery or external power supply
  support via USB
* Core update and Firmware upgrade
  via USB interface

CF. Do you need any special skills to
set the unit up

MCC. No. The Unit will come fully
equipped with the 1st two classic
cores. You just need to connect the
power supply, TV or PC Monitor, Audio
and the Joysticks. The MCC will read
the Software and Games from the
SD-card and display the titles in a
menu. You can browse thru the menu
and select the game you like. The MCC
will fully automatically load the
game and start the game.

CF. Can original disk drives be used
or is it purely from an SD card?

MCC. The original software in the 1st
implementation will reside 100% on
the SD-card. In future
implementations the support of USB
Flash Drives or other USB media
storage could be possible.

CF. The Commodore 64 uses D64 (disk
images) I presume these and other
disk images will be supported by the
unit

MCC. Yes for sure we will support the
.D64 images for the C-64. We will
support as well the Amiga file format
.ADF (Amiga Disk File).

CF. Can the old cartridges be used on
the hardware

MCC. You can load cartridge images
the same way as you would load it
with an emulator.

CF. You can use the old hardware
joysticks and paddle devices with the
unit

MCC. We can use the joysticks, but
not the paddle (the device has no
analogue inputs). The CBM mouse
1350/1351 is emulated through the
PS/2 mouse connector.

CF. When did the project start and
can you give our readers a brief
history of its design

MCC. The project started 9 months
ago. We where looking for something
that plays Amiga games, C64 games and
Arcade. With the progress in
programmable logic, memory and
solid-state storage, we think that we
can make this affordable to a lot of
people. The first computer we decided
to emulate was the C64 (it was my
first computer 25 years ago).
Contrary to other implementations, we
created a full digital SID in VHDL.
We also implemented a complete
VIC-1541 to support games, like
Summer Games II through D64 images.

CF. Have you seen individual
Computers C- One (configurable one)
and was the unit designed in response
to the C- Ones limitations?

MCC. It is designed to be booth
cheaper and more powerful than the
Minimig and the C-One. We do not
really see it as a C-One replacement,
but more like a Minimig replacement.
The main idea was to create a more
powerful hardware emulation for
different kind of classic computers
that will be affordable for a broad
audience. It should be easy to use
and the setup should be possible from
everyone.

CF. Is there a limit to what hardware
can be "Emulated" by the device

MCC. 16/32 bits system, like the
Amiga and the Atari ST, will be
supported. The limit is the number of
colours (12-bit RGB, can be pushed to
18-bit with delta-sigma modulation),
the memory (up to 64MB, 133 MHz), and
the FPGA logic ({$de}1 million gates).

CF. Out of the Box what systems will
be supported

MCC. We will start with C64 and Amiga
for this year. Depending on the
market demand and the success in the
market ACRADE RETRO GAMING plans
hardware emulations for :MSX, Atari
ST, Neo Geo or Archimedes. We are
also thinking about real arcade
machines like "1943" (that was
already ported to a different HW
platform by us). If someone has
interest in this direct ARCADE
emulation, or likes to support the
porting of multiple cores to the FPGA
please contact ARCADE RETRO GAMING
(E-mail:
[e-mail]).

CF. Who writes the cores or
"emulation" software

MCC. Cores are a mix of open source
VHDL and custom VHDL, i.e. the C64
has the 6510, 6526, 6502 and 6522
from the Open Source World. The
VIC-II, SID and drive logic are
custom. There is also a bit of 6502
or 68000 assembly for the menus and
the SD-Card management.

CF. How do you change the system to
"Emulate" a different device?

MCC. The system supports SD-Card
Interfaces for the games and the
classic computer emulations. In
addition the system supports a USB
cable to update the system with an
additional core similar to update the
Software from modern cell phones,
I-Pod's and other devices.

CF. Could the unit be configured in a
way that the Commodore 64 could have
2 SIDs?

MCC. Already done. The SIDs also have
digital filters. We plan to put a
pseudo-stereo mode that uses the
second SID since almost no SW
supports 2 SIDs.

CF. Will the project be "open source"
with the SDK (software Development
Kits) available to download Free of
charge or will this be a Closed
system ?

MCC. Some parts will be open source
for tinkers. Everyone who like to put
hands on VHDL or Software development
on the MCC please contact us under
ARCADE RETRO GAMING (E-mail:
[e-mail]).

CF. Will the users have to "purchase
core" for different system extra to
the hardware cost or will they be
Free to download and use when new
devices are "emulated"

MCC. ARCADE RETRO GAMING is currently
defining their business model to
expand the supported cores on the
system. One option could be the
purchase of the different emulations.
Another could be to get some capital
investment via donations. Last but
not least we like to encourage the
developers to support us.

CF. How much will the unit cost and
what will be included in the box, for
example does the user need to
purchase a power supply, also where
will the unit be sold

MCC. We are looking into a selling
price below the current Minimig
including Power Supply and ready to
connect to a PC monitor or a standard
TV set. We plan to offer in addition
a version which will include two
Competition Pro Joysticks and a
unique selection of the classic Games
we all enjoyed so much. The selling
price for the whole solution is not
determined at this point.

CF. What users are working on the
system

MCC. We have multiple developers
working on different parts of the
system. One big part of the
development is the FPGA software
development. Another big part is the
hardware and mechanical development.
Today all this development takes
place in USA and Europe. We are
looking into production of these
units as well in USA or Europe and
not in China. Our product will
clearly market as MADE in USA.

CF. When will the unit be available?

MCC. We are looking into distribution
for the Christmas sales.

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