7 Machine-specific features

7.1 C64/128-specific commands and settings

This section lists the settings and commands that are C64/128 specific and thus are not present in the other emulators.

7.1.1 Using cartridge images

Cartridge images are like disk images, but mirror the contents of cartridge ROM images instead of disk images. They are currently not supported on the C128 emulator.

X64 allows you to attach the following kinds of cartridges:

• `.crt' images, as used by the CCS64 emulator by Per Hâkan Sundell;

• generic raw dumps of 8K and 16K images;

• Action Replay images.

Each of these kinds has a specific command in the "Attach a cartridge image" submenu. When you have successfully attached a cartridge image, you should then reset the machine to make sure the cartridge initializes itself. Of course, it is also possible to detach a currently attached cartridge image ("Detach cartridge image").

If you are using an Action Replay cartridge, you can emulate the cartridge's freeze button with the "Freeze" command.

7.1.2 VIC-II settings

These settings control the emulation of the VIC-II (MOS6569) video chip used in both the C64 and the C128.

• "Sprite-sprite collisions" and "Sprite-background collisions", if enabled, cause the hardware detection of sprite-to-sprite and sprite-to-background collisions of the VIC-II to be emulated. This feature is used by many games, and disabling either of the two detection systems can sometimes make you invincible (although there is also a chance that also enemies become invincible then).

• "Color set" can be used to dynamically change the palette file being used by choosing one of the available predefined color sets:

  • `default.vpl' ("default"), the default VICE palette;

  • `ccs64.vpl' ("CCS64"), palette taken from the CCS64 emulator by Per Hâkan Sundell (http://www.fatal-design.com/ccs64/).

  • `frodo.vpl' ("Frodo"), palette taken from the Frodo emulator by Christian Bauer (http://www.uni-mainz.de/~bauec002/FRMain.html).

  • `godot.vpl' ("GoDot"), palette as suggested by the authors of the C64 graphics package GoDot (http://users.aol.com/howtogodot/welcome.htm).

7.1.2.1 VIC-II resources

CheckSsColl

Boolean specifying whether the sprite-sprite hardware collision detection must be emulated.

CheckSbColl

Boolean specifying whether the sprite-background hardware collision detection must be emulated.

PaletteFile

String specifying the name of the palette file being used. The `.vpl' extension is optional.

7.1.2.2 VIC-II command-line options

-checkss

+checkss

Enable (CheckSsColl=1) and disable (CheckSsColl=0) emulation of hardware sprite-sprite collision detection, respectively.

-checksb

+checksb

Enable (CheckSbColl=1) and disable (CheckSbColl=0) emulation of hardware sprite-background collision detection, respectively.

-palette NAME

Specify NAME as the palette file (PaletteFile).

7.1.3 SID settings

These settings control the emulation of the SID (MOS6581 or MOS8580) audio chip.

• "Emulate filters" causes the built-in programmable filters of the SID chip to be emulated. A lot of C64 music requires them to be emulated properly, but their emulation requires some additional processor power.

• "ChipModel" specifies the model of the SID chip being emulated: there are two slightly different generations of SID chips: MOS6581 ones and MOS8580 ones.

7.1.3.1 SID resources

SidFilters

Boolean specifying whether the built-in SID filters must be emulated.

SidModel

Integer specifying what model of the SID must be emulated (0: MOS6581, 1: MOS8580).

7.1.3.2 SID command-line options

-sidmodel MODEL

Specifies MODEL as the emulated model of the SID chip (SidModel).

-sidfilters

+sidfilters

Enable (SidFilters=1) or disable (SidFilters=0) emulation of the built-in SID filters.

7.1.4 C64 I/O extension settings

There are three I/O extensions available: they are located at the address range $DF00 ... $DFFF and each of them is controlled by a boolean resource. Please use these extensions only when needed, as they might cause compatibility problems.

• The "emulator identification" extension allows programs to identify the kind of emulator they are running on, according to the emulation detection proposal by Wolfgang Lorenz. This basically means that, when some locations in the $DFxx I/O space are read, the emulator returns some values which identify the emulator itself, its version and a copyright message. If this extension is disabled, programs will have virtually no way to realize they are running on an emulator.

• The "IEEE488 interface emulation" extension emulates a standard Commodore IEEE488 interface connected to the IEC bus; one possible use for this is André Fachat's OS/A65 multitasking operating system.

• The "512K RAM Expansion Unit" extension emulates a standard 512K Commodore RAM Expansion Unit; this can be used with GEOS and other programs that are designed to take advantage of it. This currently works only in the C64 emulator.

7.1.4.1 C64 I/O extension resources

IEEE488

Boolean specifying whether the IEEE488 interface should be emulated or not.

REU

Boolean specifying whether the 512K RAM Expansion Unit should be emulated or not.

EmuID

Boolean specifying whether the emulation identification extension should be emulated or not.

7.1.4.2 C64 I/O extension command-line options

-ieee488

+ieee488

Enable (IEEE488=1) or disable (IEEE488=0) emulation of the IEEE488 interface.

-reu

+reu

Enable (REU=1) or disable (REU=0) emulation of the 512K RAM Expansion Unit.

-emuid

+emuid

Enable (EmuID=1) or disable (EmuID=0) the emulation identification extension.

7.1.5 RS232 settings

X64 and X128 can support RS232 in the following ways:

• by emulating Daniel Dallmann's 9600 baud userport-based RS232 interface;

• by emulating a 6551-based RS232 interface located at $DE00.

Each of these emulated devices can be either:

• connected a real UNIX serial device;

• dumped to a file;

• piped through a process.

It is possible to define up to two UNIX serial devices, and then decide which interface should be connected to which device. Devices are defined through the following settings:

• "Serial 1 device..." and "Serial 2 device..." are used to specify the the pathnames of the serial devices, with the file selector;

• "Serial 1 baudrate" and "Serial 2 baudrate" specify the baudrate.

7.1.5.1 RS232 resources

RsDevice1

RsDevice2

Strings specifying the pathnames of the two available serial devices.

RsDevice1Baud

RsDevice2Baud

Integers specifying the baudrates.

RsDevice3

String defining the name of the file used when dumping RS232 output.

RsDevice4

String defining the name of the process to pipe the RS232 data through.

RsUser

Boolean specifying whether the userport-based RS232 should be emulated.

Acia1

Boolean specifying whether the ACIA-based RS232 should be emulated.

RsUserDev

Acia1Dev

Integers specifying how the userport-based interface and the ACIA-based one are emulated. The possible values are:

• 0: connect to serial device number 1;

• 1: connect to serial device number 2;

• 2: dump to file;

• 3: exec an external process.

7.1.5.2 RS232 command-line options

-acia1

+acia1

Enable/disable emulation of the ACIA-based RS232 interface (Acia1=1, Acia1=0).

-acia1dev DEVICE

Specify DEVICE as the device for the ACIA-based RS232 emulation (Acia1Dev).

-rsuser

+rsuser

Enable/disable emulation of the userport-based RS232 interface (RsUser=1, RsUser=0).

-rsuserdev DEVICE

Specify DEVICE as the device for the ACIA-based RS232 emulation (RsUserDev).

7.1.6 C64/128 system ROM settings

These settings can be used to control what system ROMs are loaded in the C64/128 emulators at startup. They cannot be changed from the menus.

7.1.6.1 C64/128 system ROM resources

KernalName

String specifying the name of the Kernal ROM (default `kernal').

BasicName

String specifying the name of the Basic ROM (default `basic'). In the C128 emulator, the ROM image must actually include the editor ROM too.

ChargenName

String specifying the name of the character generator ROM (default `chargen').

KernalRev

String specifying the Kernal revision. This resource can be used to control what revision of the C64 kernal is being used; it cannot be changed at runtime. VICE is able to automatically convert one ROM revision into another, by manually patching the loaded image. This way, it is possible to use any of the ROM revisions without changing the ROM set. Valid values are:

0

Kernal revision 0

3

Kernal revision 3

sx

67

Commodore SX-64 ROM

100

4064

Commodore 4064 (also known as "PET64" or "Educator 64") ROM

7.1.6.2 C64/128 system ROM command-line options

-kernal NAME

Specify `NAME' as the Kernal ROM file (KernalName).

-basic NAME

Specify `NAME' as the Basic ROM file (BasicName).

-chargen NAME

Specify `NAME' as the character generator ROM file (ChargenName).

-kernalrev REVISION

Specify Kernal revision (KernalRev).

7.2 VIC20-specific commands and settings

This section lists the settings and commands that are VIC20-specific and thus are not present in the other emulators.

7.2.1 Using cartridge images

As with the C64 (see section 7.1.1 Using cartridge images), it is possible to attach several types of cartridge images:

• 4 or 8 Kbyte cartridges located at $2000;

• 4 or 8 Kbyte cartridges located at $6000;

• 4 or 8 Kbyte cartridges located at $A000;

• 4 Kbyte cartridges located at $B000.

This can all be done via the "Attach cartridge image..." command in the left-button menu. It is also possible to let XVIC "guess" the type of cartridge using "Smart-attach cartridge image...".

Notice that several cartridges are actually made up of two pieces (and two files), that need to be loaded separately at different addresses. In that case, you have to know the addresses (which are usually specified in the file name) and use the "attach" command twice.

7.2.2 Changing memory configuration

It is possible to change the VIC20 memory configuration in two ways: by enabling and/or disabling certain individual memory blocks, or by choosing one among a few typical memory configurations. The former can be done by modifying resource values directly or from the right-button menu; the latter can only be done from the menu.

There are 5 RAM expansion blocks in the VIC20, numbered 0, 1, 2, 3 and 5:

• block 0 (3 Kbytes at $0400-$0FFF);

• block 1 (8 Kbytes at $2000-$3FFF);

• block 2 (8 Kbytes at $4000-$5FFF);

• block 3 (8 Kbytes at $6000-$7FFF);

• block 5 (8 Kbytes at $A000-$BFFF).

These blocks are called expansion blocks because they are not present a stock ("unexpanded") machine. Each of them is associated to a boolean RamBlockX resource (where X is the block number) that specifies whether the block is enabled or not.

There are also some common memory configurations you can pick from the right-button menu:

• no RAM expansion blocks at all;

• all RAM expansion blocks enabled;

• 3K expansion (only block 0 is enabled);

• 8K expansion (only block 1 is enabled);

• 16K expansion (only blocks 1 and 2 are enabled);

• 24K expansion (only blocks 1, 2 and 3 are enabled).

As with the X64 (see section 7.1.4 C64 I/O extension settings), it is also possible to enable a special emulator identification mechanism that uses certain memory locations to let a running program query information about the emulator itself; this is enabled by the "Emulator identification" option.

7.2.2.1 VIC20 memory configuration resources

RAMBlock0

RAMBlock1

RAMBlock2

RAMBlock3

RAMBlock5

Booleans specifying whether RAM blocks 0, 1, 2, 3 and 5 must be enabled.

EmuID

Boolean specifying whether the emulation identification extension must be enabled.

7.2.2.2 VIC20 memory configuration command-line options

-memory CONFIG

Specify memory configuration. It must be a comma-separated list of options, each of which can be one the following:

• none (no extension);

• all (all blocks);

• 3k (3k space in block 0);

• 8k (first 8k extension block);

• 16k (first and second 8k extension blocks);

• 24k (first, second and 3rd extension blocks);

• 0, 1, 2, 3, 5 (memory in respective blocks);

• 04, 20, 40, 60, A0 (memory at respective address.

For example,

xvic -memory none

gives an unexpanded VIC20. While

xvic -memory 60,a0

or

xvic -memory 3,5

enables memory in blocks 3 and 5, which is the usual configuration for 16k ROM modules.

-emuid

+emuid

Enable (EmuID=1) or disable (EmuID=0) the emulation identification extension.

7.2.3 VIC20 system ROM settings

These settings can be used to control what system ROMs are loaded in the VIC20 emulator at startup. They cannot be changed from the menus.

7.2.3.1 VIC20 system ROM resources

KernalName

String specifying the name of the Kernal ROM (default `kernal').

BasicName

String specifying the name of the Basic ROM (default `basic').

ChargenName

String specifying the name of the character generator ROM (default `chargen').

7.2.3.2 VIC20 system ROM command-line options

-kernal NAME

Specify `NAME' as the Kernal ROM file (KernalName).

-basic NAME

Specify `NAME' as the Basic ROM file (BasicName).

-chargen NAME

Specify `NAME' as the character generator ROM file (ChargenName).

7.3 PET-specific commands and settings

This section lists the settings and commands that are PET-specific and thus are not present in the other emulators.

7.3.1 Changing PET model settings

With xpet, it is possible to change at runtime the characteristics of the emulated PET so that it matches (or not) the ones of a certain PET model, and it is also possible to select from a common set of PET models so that all the features are selected accordingly.

The former is done by changing the following resources (via resource file, command line options or right-menu items):

• (None yet.)

Choosing a common PET model is done from the right-button menu instead, by choosing an item from the "Model defaults" submenu. Available models are:

• PET 2001-8N

• PET 3008

• PET 3016

• PET 3032

• PET 3032B

• PET 4016

• PET 4032

• PET 4032B

• PET 8032

• PET 8096

• PET 8296

Notice that this will reset the emulated machine.

It is also possible to select the PET model at startup, with the -model command-line option: for example, `xpet -model 3032' will emulate a PET 3032 while `xpet -model 8296' will emulate a PET 8296.

7.3.2 The PET diagnostic pin

It is possible to enable or disable emulation of the PET diagnostic pin via the DiagPin resource, or the "PET userport diagnostic pin" item in the right-button menu.

7.3.3 Changing screen colors

It is also possible to choose what color set is used for the emulation window. This is done by specifying a palette file name (see section 4.3 Palette files) in the PaletteName resource. The menu provides the following values:

• default.vpl ("default (green)"), the good old green-on-black feeling;

• amber.vpl ("amber"), an amber phosphor lookalike;

• white.vpl ("white"), simple white-on-black palette.

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