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Questions tagged [retro-computing]

Retro computing refers to the use of outdated hardware platforms (such as the Commodore 64 or BBC Micro), usually for recreational purposes. Programmers interested in retro computing sometimes develop new games for older machines, either as a technical challenge or simply for fun.

Retro computing refers to the use of outdated hardware platforms such as the Commodore 64 or BBC Micro, usually for recreational purposes.

Programmers interested in retro computing sometimes develop new games for older machines, either as a technical challenge (due to the comparatively limited memory and processing power available) or simply just for fun.

Questions on retro computing may also be suitable for Retrocomputing Stack Exchange.

For a more-general concept of outdated hardware/software, see .

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Draw on screen border in Commodore 64

I have this curiosity for 25 years and I would love to understand the trick. In the Commodore 64 the border was not addressable by the 6569 VIC. All you could do was to draw pixels in the central area, the one where the cursor moved. The border was…
Stefano Borini
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Which Forth to start porting from?

I'm looking to develop a new Forth system, aimed at making game development easier on one or possibly several retro console platforms. I'm something of a Forth beginner, and need your help deciding which Forth codebase to start porting from. I'm…
Tyr
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Where can I find a 8080 to x86 assembler conversion tool?

EDIT, GOOD NEWS! 10 years later, I decided I finally had to sit down and make this happen. I wrote the necessary convert-8080-to-z80-or-x86 and convert-z80-to-x86 tools, converted the Sargon code to x86 code, increased the search depth as I discuss…
Bill Forster
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How to mimic logical XOR in ZX Spectrum basic?

Sometimes when coding in ZX Spectrum Basic I need to evaluate logical expressions that are formed by two operands and a logical xor like this: IF (left operand) xor (right operand) THEN Since ZX Basic does only know NOT, OR and AND I have to resort…
yacc
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Where can I get resources for developing for Mac OS Classic?

I recently got bored and fired up my old Mac OS Classic emulator, and then got nostalgic for writing old-school applications for the system. So, my question: Where can I get dev tools that can still target Classic? (Ideally free, since this is…
Benjamin Pollack
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Retro video games programming

I just watched the Super Mario Bros. -1 World glitch in youtube and I really began wondering about the code behind those games. Which language was used? What about the OS for the video games consoles? Are there any website with resources about this…
user103798
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DOS EGA Graphics Programming in Mode 0Dh

I'm doing a bit of retro programming for fun. What I want to create is a DOS game using EGA graphics but I am having a bit of trouble finding a good reference on the web. Everybody who talks about doing DOS programming assumes that the programmer…
Parappa
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Could anything with a Z80 processor run Gameboy games?

Since the Gameboy's processor, the LR35902, is a hybrid of the Z80 and the Intel 8080, keeping in mind that the Z80 and the Intel 8080 were designed to be mostly cross-compatible anyways, could anything that has a Z80 processor run opcodes that were…
Veecy
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Old School Sound Programming in Python

A long time ago in a galaxy far away, there were microcomputers which ran BASIC and had simple Sound commands which made the machine beep and hiss in all sorts of weird and wonderful ways. As well as making some great sounds, it was also very useful…
Robin Andrews
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How to develop an Amiga application that is bootable from a floppy disk (NON-DOS)?

Following up on the "How do I code and compile an Amiga application?" question, which development library is required to boot an Amiga application from a floppy disk? Update: (2012-04-10) To consider the question solved, I have edited the title and…
Pedro Palhoto
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SPI Hardware interface to z80

I am attempting to make a retro computer using a z80 and ideally would like to give it the ability to boot from an SD card. I am 100% set on using a z80 and do not want to use a microcontroller with an internal SPI hardware interface. I want to…
KeatonB
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SDCC and malloc() - allocating much less memory than is available

When I run compile this code with SDCC 3.1.0, and run it on an Amstrad CPC 464 (under emulation, with WinCPC 0.9.26 running on Wine): void _test_malloc() { long idx = 0; while (1) { if (malloc(5)) { printf("%ld\r\n", ++idx); …
Duncan Bayne
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Using xa65 to create a Commodore 64 .prg file and disk image

I've tried looking at Using xa65 assembler to create Commodore 64 .prg but I couldn't get the examples to work. I'm using the VICE emulator. So my super basic assembly program looks like this: .byte $01, $08 lda #1 sta $0400 jmp $0801 and checking…
Peatherfed
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How does the default mouse cursor in MS-DOS work without erasing whatever is underneath it?

My understanding of VGA graphics may be flawed, but it seems to have only one layer of graphics, yet the mouse cursor in MS-DOS (or at least DOSBox) appears to be independent of the graphics beneath, much like a "sprite layer" on most video game…
puppydrum64
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Make this retrocomputing scanline rock. Scan multiple lines in div is hard

Working fiddle be here: http://jsfiddle.net/WyXLB/1/ When a HTML element contains multiple lines of text, I want to scan over each one. At the moment, I am just scanning over the bounding rectangle of the entire element. Some code is : function…
Cris Stringfellow
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