One of the things I've always wanted to do is write a BBS for theC128 (several years ago we had a thread about this). So - I've started porting a CP/M version of RBBs (3.7 from 1981) over.

It's going to be heavily customised :

Although it will run on a real 128, the software is written to run under VICE (on Windows)

It has a custom tcp server (TCPSRV.EXE), utilises Swiftlink emulation, CMD hard disk emulation, JiffyDOS ROMS.

As I complete a task I'll update here.

Microsoft BASIC began in 1975 as the company's very first product: a BASIC interpreter for the Intel 8080, written by Bill Gates and Paul Allen for the Altair 8800. That codebase was soon adapted to run on other 8-bit CPUs, including the MOS 6502, Motorola 6800, and 6809. You can learn more about this time and hear directly from Bill Gates on the Microsoft Learn Website's History of Microsoft video series or by visiting Bill Gates' blog.

The 6502 port was completed in 1976 by Bill Gates and Ric Weiland. In 1977, Commodore licensed it for a flat fee of $25,000, a deal that placed Microsoft BASIC at the heart of Commodore's PET computers and, later, the VIC-20 and Commodore 64. That decision put Microsoft's BASIC at the heart of Commodore's machines and helped millions of new programmers learn by typing:

10 PRINT "HELLO"
20 GOTO 10
This is BASIC M6502 8K VER 1.1, the 6502 BASIC lineage that powered an era of home computing and formed the foundation of Commodore BASIC in the PET, VIC-20, and the legendary Commodore 64. This very source tree also contains adaptations for the Apple II ("Applesoft BASIC"), built from the same core BASIC source. The original headers still read, "BASIC M6502 8K VER 1.1 BY MICRO-SOFT"—a time capsule from 1978.

The version we are releasing here—labeled "1.1"—contains fixes to the garbage collector identified by Commodore and jointly implemented in 1978 by Commodore engineer John Feagans and Bill Gates, when Feagans traveled to Microsoft's Bellevue offices. This is the version that shipped as the PET's "BASIC V2." It even contains a playful Bill Gates Easter egg, hidden in the labels STORDO and STORD0, which Gates himself confirmed in 2010.

https://opensource.microsoft.com/blog/2025/09/03/microsoft-open-source-historic-6502-basic

Sven Petersen has released a new piece of hardware for the PET.

A C64/VIC-20/Atari Joystick Adapter for the Commodore PET. It supports the Coyote Electronics pin configuration (two joysticks) and the space invader/break put style pin configuration (left, right, fire), found on zimmers.net (https://www.zimmers.net/anonftp/pub/cbm/pet/games/english/joy/index.html).

The Coyote Electronics pin configuration is also called "PET User port adapter" in the VICE emulator, so it is expected to be wide spread. Space Invader + is the completed pin configuration of the previously mentioned games and can also be found on the "stupid PET tricks" adapter. Hence the name. All joystick games found in the previously mention source could be played with this joystick adapter.

Visit https://github.com/svenpetersen1965/PET-Joystick-Adapter

I was aware that Commodore had re-launched, however I simply assumed it was another bunch of dreamers that had picked up and developed yet another hardware/software emulator. I didn't know that Leonard Tramiel (son of Commodore's founder Jack Tramiel) was on board as were some of Commodore's original team.

I shall watch with interest.

This is BASIC M6502 8K VER 1.1, the 6502 BASIC lineage that powered an era of home computing and formed the foundation of Commodore BASIC in the PET, VIC-20, and the legendary Commodore 64. This very source tree also contains adaptations for the Apple II ("Applesoft BASIC"), built from the same core BASIC source. The original headers still read, "BASIC M6502 8K VER 1.1 BY MICRO-SOFT"—a time capsule from 1978.

The version we are releasing here—labeled "1.1"—contains fixes to the garbage collector identified by Commodore and jointly implemented in 1978 by Commodore engineer John Feagans and Bill Gates, when Feagans traveled to Microsoft's Bellevue offices. This is the version that shipped as the PET's "BASIC V2."

The announcement from Microsoft is here and the code is here.

Supported Computer Systems

The source code includes conditional compilation support for multiple pioneering computer systems:

Apple II (REALIO=4)
Commodore PET (REALIO=3)
Ohio Scientific (OSI) (REALIO=2)
MOS Technology KIM-1 (REALIO=1)
PDP-10 Simulation (REALIO=0)

Technical Specifications

Language: 6502 Assembly Language
Target Processor: MOS Technology 6502 8-bit microprocessor
Memory Footprint: 8KB ROM version
Features: Complete BASIC interpreter with floating-point arithmetic
Architecture: Designed for both ROM and RAM configurations
Key Features
Programming Language Support
Full BASIC language implementation
Floating-point arithmetic
String handling and manipulation
Array support (both integer and string arrays)
Mathematical functions and operators
Input/output operations
Memory Management
Efficient memory utilization for 8-bit systems
String garbage collection
Dynamic variable storage
Stack-based expression evaluation
Hardware Abstraction
Configurable I/O routines for different computer systems
Terminal width adaptation
Character input/output abstraction
Optional disk storage support

Development History

The source code includes detailed revision history showing active development:

July 27, 1978: Fixed critical bugs in FOR loop variable handling and statement parsing
July 1, 1978: Memory optimization and garbage collection improvements
March 9, 1978: Enhanced string function capabilities
February 25, 1978: Input flag corrections and numeric precision improvements
February 11, 1978: Reserved word parsing enhancements
January 24, 1978: User-defined function improvements

/*
C128 Menu Example in C

File: menu.c
Author: Micha B 08/2025

Compiler: Oscar64
Compile me:
oscar64 -v -i=include -tm=c128 -O2 -dNOFLOAT -dHEAPCHECK menu.c
*/

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <conio.h>
#include <petscii.h>
#include <stdbool.h>
#include <ctype.h>

/* --- Global variables --- */
char c_choice = 0;

/* --- Function prototypes --- */
void draw_menu(void);
bool f_quit(void);
bool f_opt1(void);
bool f_opt2(void);
bool f_opt3(void);
bool f_opt4(void);

/* --- Draw a text menu --- */
void draw_menu(void)
{
putpch(147); // SCNCLR
printf("\x05================================\n"); // text color: White
printf("  C128 Menu Example\n");
printf("  -----------------\n");
printf("  (1) Option 1    (2) Option 2\n");
printf("  (3) Option 3    (4) Option 4\n");
printf("  (0) Quit\n");
printf("================================\n");
printf("\x1EChoice:\x05 "); // switch to text color green, than back to white
}

/* --- React on user's demand to quit --- */
bool f_quit(void)
{
char c_answer = 'n';

puts("Quit requested!\n\n");
puts("Do you realy want to quit (Y/n)? ");

c_answer = getpch();
if ( ((int) c_answer == 89)  || ((int) c_answer == 217)  )
return (false);
else
return(true);
}

/* --- React on option 1 --- */
bool f_opt1(void)
{
puts("Option 1 requested.\n\n");
puts(" Press a key to CONTINUE... ");
getpch(); // wait for key pressed
return(true);
}

/* --- React on option 2 --- */
bool f_opt2(void)
{
puts("Option 2 requested.\n\n");
puts(" Press a key to CONTINUE... ");
getpch(); // wait for key pressed
return(true);
}

/* --- React on option 3 --- */
bool f_opt3(void)
{
puts("Option 3 requested.\n\n");
puts(" Press a key to CONTINUE... ");
getpch(); // wait for key pressed
return(true);
}

/* --- React on option 4 --- */
bool f_opt4(void)
{
puts("Option 4 requested.\n\n");
puts(" Press a key to CONTINUE... ");
getpch(); // wait for key pressed
return(true);
}


/*  --- Main program --- */
int main(void)
{
bool running = true;

/* --- Prepare the environment --- */
// Switch display mode to lower case petscii
// could also be done by iocharmap(IOCHM_PETSCII_2);
putpch(14); // switch to charmap 2
putpch(;     // lock Charmap selector key

while (running)
{
draw_menu();
c_choice = getpch();

/* --- Select options --- */
switch(c_choice)
{
case '0':
running = f_quit();
break;
case '1':
running = f_opt1();
break;
case '2':
running = f_opt2();
break;
case '3':
running = f_opt3();
break;
case '4':
running = f_opt4();
break;
default:
draw_menu();
}
}
puts("\n\nProgram terminated.\n");
putpch(9); // unlock charmap selector key
putpch(142); // switch back to charmap 1
return 0;
}

We'll be upgrading the forum software next weekend - there will be a short outage.
The changes for this version are:
PHP Support
* Raises the minimum supported PHP version from 7.0 to 7.1.
* Adds support for PHP 8.4.
User Profiles
* Fixes errors when profile fields using the "nohtml" mask are given values with Unicode characters or quotation marks.
* Adds a new, separate permission for using Gravatars.
Attachments
* Several fixes and improvements for the attachment upload UI.
* Sets Content-Disposition header correctly for attachments for mobile browsers.
* Improves handling of SVG image attachments
* Adds support for WEBP images.
Editor and BBCode
* The "Quote Selected Text" button is now more tolerant of "messy" selection ranges.
* Shows "Last Edit" info (if applicable) when editing a post.
* Improves smileys popup behavior.
* Improves image quality of previews for embedded attachments in the WYSIWYG editor.
* Fixes bugs in a few edge cases when parsing BBCode.
* Centers BBCode tables wrapped in the center BBCode.
* Fixes PHP syntax highlighting in BBCode under PHP 8.3+.
* Fixes issues with broken HTML entities in warning templates.
Calendar
* Shows multiple calendar events on the same day correctly.
Search
* Fixes undefined variable error in custom search API.
* Fixes a bug where the last character of a Unicode search term could be mangled.
* Returns correct search results when post moderation is enabled.
Email
* Notification emails always use display names, never usernames.
* Improved handling of SMTP errors when sending emails.
* Fixes a bug where undeliverable emails might never clear from the mail queue.
* Accepts wildcards in email-based ban triggers.
Admin
* Updates Unicode data files in a background task. (This ensures the forum will always have up-to-date support for the latest emojis and such.)
* Fixes bug where rearranging boards in the admin center could cause some boards to temporarily not be shown.
Other
* Fixes errors in RSS feeds for messages by members with commas in their usernames.
* Fixes the integrate_error_types integration hook.
* Fixes the integrate_attachments_browse integration hook.
* Fixes open_basedir warnings in PHP 8.
* Fixes some minor UI bugs.

Timing table for every PET command

Commodore 128 C128 16-Color, 80-Column RGBi 15Khz RGB to VGA Adapter

PRICE:
17€ --> 8 colors
19€ --> 16 colors
36€ --> 16 colors + VLR
https://www.ebay.it/itm/376241376516

NEW C128 RGBi adapter to VGA!

Connect your C128 RGBi port to VGA monitor (15KHz horizontal freq. compatible!)

The anchoring screws for the C128 are present, as well as those for screwing for the VGA cable!

Just simply select the option that you want:

TYPE 1 --> 8-color 80-Column RGB

This adapter version is used to connect the rear 9-pin RGBI port on the Commodore 128 to a 15-pin VGA cable which then connects to a 15-kHz capable VGA monitor.
This gives you 8-color output and 80-Columns (double the 40-columns of the VIC-II chip) of text using the VDC Chip inside the 128.

TYPE 2 --> 16-color 80-Column RGB
This adapter version is used to connect the rear 9-pin RGBI port on the Commodore 128 to a 15-pin VGA cable which then connects to a 15-kHz capable VGA monitor.
This gives you 16-color output and 80-Columns (double the 40-columns of the VIC-II chip) of text using the VDC Chip inside the 128.

TYPE 3 --> 16-color 80-Column RGB + VLR (with USB power cable 1mt)
This adapter version is used to connect the rear 9-pin RGBI port on the Commodore 128 to a 15-pin VGA cable which then connects to a 15-kHz capable VGA monitor.This gives you 16-color output and 80-Columns with a PERFECT IMAGE because is equipped with VLR!
It is equipped internally with active VLR circuit. Power cable cord is included (USB connector 1mt) and you have to connect to standard AC/DC adapter (like smartphone)
This gives you 16-color output and 80-Columns with a PERFECT IMAGE because is equipped with VLR!
These vertical bars are visible especially in VGA mode on the first ASSY versions of the 128. The advice is that if you have already connected your c128 in 80 columns and you have these vertical bars on the VGA monitor then with this version you will notice an incredible improvement

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT:

This ADAPTER requires a VGA monitor that can sync to a 15-kHz signal. Normally, VGA uses a horizontal frequency of 31.5kHz. But, the Commodore 128 basically outputs a CGA signal which is a 15-kHz digital RGBI standard. It's this standard of the Commodore 128!
In any case there are some modern VGA monitors capable of displaying 15-kHz (Acer, Dell, Asus, BenQ, etc. etc).

ugBASIC 1.17.2 Released

A new version of ugBASIC, the open source isomorphic BASIC compiler, has been released.
In addition to making some specific commands, such as DRAW and PLAY, compatible with multitasking, support for custom data types has been added at the language level via the BEGIN TYPE statement. The compiler has also been improved and optimized for Commodore 64, Commodore 64 REU and Commodore 128 computers.
ugBASIC is a cross compiler for Linux and Windows, for writing games in the BASIC language, running on dozens of different home computers and 8-bit consoles. There is also a convenient integrated IDE for Microsoft Windows and even a sandbox, if you don't want to install anything.


https://ugbasic.iwashere.eu/

From Thomas Lövskog
 
Today I got the new revision of my VIC NX* board soldered. It is now ready for hooking up to the logic analyser, oscilloscopes and start testing. Hopefully we can get this booting to the Ready prompt. The characters will be totally garbled though. The character ROM in this variant resides in SRAM and needs to be initialized. For that we need some code. Code that is executed in a hidden partition of the 512k for BLK6/7 before anything else. This is also where configuration firmware will reside.

Smoke test is done. All regulators work as expected, there is 5V where it should and Meatloaf is booting. The GreenPAK (little sub board in the top right corner. It will be soldered down as a tssop20 in the next run) manages the power, top LED and reset as expected.

However. To much work this weekend so it will have to be in this state until next week(end).

* VIC NX is my idea of an enhanced reproduction of the famous VIC 20. It is built on the 6502, 6522 and 6560/61 in DIP and the rest is modern of the shelf parts. Fully expanded and some extra features. See https://blog.lskg.io/tag/vic-nx/
The FATVIC, drop in replacement for 6560/61 is also shown here. This will be a nice test vehicle for that project.

In development - a new game for the C128's VDC

https://goodwell.itch.io/crawl128

Hardware Requirements
This game is designed to run on the Commodore 128 (yes, in C128 mode), and is using the VDC-Chip (not the VIC-II chip, which is used in C64 mode). Also, the VDC-Chip needs to have 64kB of VRAM available.

Source Code
https://github.com/The8BitTheory/dungeoncrawlerjam2025

We are pleased to announce the Commodore 128 4k Game Coding Competition 2025!

RULES

- Entries must be original programs
- Entries must NOT be larger than 4096 bytes (4kb)
- The result must be playable on a real (standard unexpanded) C128 and VICE
- The competition starts Saturday May 3rd 2025
- Entries must be submitted on or before June 30th 2025
- Entries must only be for the 128's 40 or 80 column modes - CP/M & 64 modes will be disqualified
- There will be a competition page at www.commodore-128.org with the submissions & you'll
  have the opportunity to vote for your favourite game

SUBMISSIONS

- Submissions page will be announced in the forum thread shortly
- Format of submissions to be in either D81, D64 or PRG format & then zipped

DISCUSSION

Competition discussion in the Commodore 128 Alive! forums : https://www.commodore-128.org/index.php/topic,3880.0.html

PRIZES

- 1st prize of $AU100
- 2nd prize of $AU50
- 3rd prize of $AU25

Prizes will be paid via Amazon voucher to the winners after voting has been completed & in the currency of the winner.
The amount paid will be determined by the exchange rate on the day the winners are announced.

When I moved the forums from the temp site to the hosted site I neglected to update a few settings - this resulted in some broken links - I've fixed most, will audit the board over the weekend to ensure that all links are correct again.

Also, my Stop Forum Spam API key wasn't added in to the board - this has now been corrected as well.

FATVIC is a drop in replacement for the 6560/6561 VIC chip used in the Commodore VIC 20 computer. It has all the usuall features of the 6560/6561, but also some extra optional features. Full memory in BLK0 accessable by the VIC chip, VGA mode, and enhanced functionallity with 32 sprites, hires graphics and fast hardware accelerated drawing and memory copying.

https://blog.deciduous.se/tag/fatvic/

Switchless 8x Multi-Speeder and 32KB KB RAM expansion with parallel port and Kernal switch for the internal 1571 floppy disk drive and C128DCR (DolphinDos3 compatible)

https://github.com/FraEgg/commodore-c128dcr-1571-switchless-floppydrive-8x-multi-floppy-speeder

A 256x256 Pixel graphic card for the Commodore PET computer from the small German computer engineering company ELTEC (1980)

Most Commodore BASIC interpreters have a bug in the floating point multiply routine. The bug can be demonstrated with the attached BASIC program and also one that will correct the bug.

A new version of ugBASIC, the open source isomorphic BASIC compiler, has been released.

This version for Commodore 128 supports improved multiplexed sprites, synchronized vertical blank at line level, native "SID" audio files, and virtual console text scrolling. 

Moreover, the language integrates many Simons' BASIC instructions.

ugBASIC is a cross compiler for Linux and Windows, for writing simple language games, that can run on dozens of different home computers, and 8-bit consoles. 

There is also a convenient built-in IDE for Microsoft Windows, and even a sandbox, if you don't want to install anything at all.

https://ugbasic.iwashere.eu/target/c128?target=c128

An MS-DOS like command line interface for the Commodore 128 equipped with at least a Commodore drive and a REU of 256K.

What "TheShell128" can do.

• Can use 40 cols on VIC or 40/80 cols on VDC;
• Can set/use CPU in fast or slow mode;
• Support for fast/slow cpu;
• Support for REU up to 16MB;
• Support for 10 aliases;
• Support for local variables;
• Support up to 4 drives;
• Can be localized;
• Copy or delete files with wildcard support;
• Rename files (no wildcard support);
• Format, relabel or copy disk;
• Show file content;
• Read or write d64/d71/d81 images;
• Read directory and copy MS-DOS files with burst support to and from a CBM (no wildcard support, no subdirectories support and only with at least a 1571);
• Can make an external command resident for the shell;
• Can execute batch files;
• Can mount or dismount disk images on UltimateII cart;
• Can get or put files to a remote host with a simple .js server;
• Can copy to and from UltimateII cart USB sticks/CBM peripheral;
• Can get, set or sync the internal clock with the one on the UltimateII cart;
• Can go back to the shell once gone to basic;
• Can use any bank of the REU;
• Can use a (provided) ROM to make it available on cold boot without any disk with an U2 cart

The XUM1541 Pico is a compact and stripped down version of XUM1541/ZoomFloppy. It allows you to connect your modern PC/Mac/Linux to your old Commodore diskdrive (1541, 1541-II, 1570, 1571, 1581) and transfer disk images (d64, d81 and others) to real floppies or transfer/backup floppies to disk images.

Features:

Based on ATmega32U4 micro controller

Built with high quality components from Atmel, Texas Instruments, Molex and others.

Single buffered IEC port

Status LEDs (power and activity)

One 15cm/6" USB cable included

Rubber feet on board bottom side

Reset bottom (press for DFU mode/firmware upgrade)

XUM1541 Home Page

40 years ago today the Commodore 128 was released at the 1985 CES show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Commodore Users Europe- 14th of December 2024, the event you don't want to miss next week-end! 🙂

Agenda will feature: A 1551 disk drive simulator for C16/116/Plus4; An isomorphic language for retrocomputers (ugBASIC), Assembler in BASIC on the C64, a B128/B256/Pet-II/CBM 700 reference manual and a Commodore 64 multi screen old-school type of platformer game:  Tony - Mantezuma's gold

ONLINE EVENT - Event is FREE to attend - Requires no registration
Event in the form of a Zoom call and streamed live onFacebook.

https://fb.me/e/7t6I71UP6

Our books, data sheets, manuals etc library is back online (I had forgotten about these!)

You can reach it at https://www.commodore-128.org/Library/

I have a few more items to upload it, but there's roughly 350 items in it so far.

I'll also add a direct link (via a menu button) on the top of the forums a tad later.

Frank Eggen's Switchless 8x Multi-Floppy Speeder 32KB RAM extension (DolphinDos 3) for the C128DCR and the internal 1571 floppy drive has been released on Github. Documentation, schematics, Gerber files, Kernal ROMs and logic files are available there. So everyone can rebuild this project.

This project is a further development of the very fast and popular DolphinDos3 for the C128 and the 1571 floppy disk drive. It uses the best of the retro world and the technology of the present and has never been available before. Switchless 8x Multi-Floppy-Speeder not only runs with DolphinDos 3 but can also run up to 8x DOS Kernals and C128/C64 Kernals and can be conveniently activated via DOS commands. This means that JiffyDOS 128, for example, can also be run alongside the original CBM-Dos and DolphinDos 3. This ensures maximum compatibility. The 32KB RAM extension is organized in 4x 8KB banks and, together with the Peripheral Interface Adapter (PIA, type 6821 or 6521), enables ultra-fast parallel data transfer and control of the 4x 8K RAM banks (32KB).

The Switchless 8x Multi-Floppy Speeder with 32 KB RAM extension for the Commodore C128DCR is one of the universally applicable accelerators for the internal 1571 floppy disk drive of the C128DCR.

In addition, the "Switchless 8x Multi-Floppy Speeder" is fully RAMBoard-compatible, which enables the use of corresponding nibble copy programs that support RAMBoard.

FraEgg / commodore-c128dcr-1571-switchless-floppydrive-8x-multi-floppy-speeder

Version 1.16.5 of ugBASIC and UGBASIC-IDE has just been released.

Version 1.16.5 of ugBASIC and UGBASIC-IDE has just been released. In addition to containing strong optimizations and corrections for all targets, there is a preliminary support for automatic animations and synced movements.

https://ugbasic.iwashere.eu/

All going well this Staurday I'll attempt to move the site to the commodore-128.org domain.

Fingers crossed

There will be an outage between midnight and 6am (Australian Eastern Summer Time) on Wednesday 27th of November while the NBN connection is being upgraded.

From the homepage at https://github.com/idun-project/idun-cartridge

This is the home of the idun-cartridge for the C128. Here you will find the latest software, along with source code, sample applications, and other content.

What does it do? Hopefully a demo is worth a thousand words. 

Hardware
The idun-cartridge uses a Propeller 1 micro-controller to provide a fast hardware interface between the C128 and a Raspberry Pi ("RPi") that runs a customized Linux OS. The cartridge is designed to work and fit best with the Raspberry Pi Zero 2. However, any recent Raspberry Pi can be made to work.

The first set of photos show the idun-cartridge with RPi Zero 2 fitted. As you can see, a standard-sized C64/128 cartridge case can be hacked to cover the board, but leave the RPi, ports, and button accessible.

Partial Support for original Pi Zero
The original Pi Zero is nearing end-of-life, being phased out by the Raspberry Pi Foundation in favor of the more powerful Pi Zero 2. Because of this, some ARM Linux disributions are discontinuing support, making it difficult for the idun-cartridge to continue supporting the Pi Zero. However, the current state of affairs is that the Pi Zero is widely available and very inexpensive, and this could remain the case for the next year-or-so.

In light of the above, the Pi Zero is partially supported. You can download a compatible image file that includes v1.2 of the software. All features are present on this image except for the idunSID remote SID player software (it requires a newer glibc library) and the Z80 programming support.

There will be scheduled down time on the 25th of November from 8am - 12 noon (Australian Eastern Summer Time) to replace a mechanical hard drive in the server with an SSD.

Later on this month the forums will move directly to https://www.commodore-128.org and away from the this temporary site.

Once I have the exact date I'll give a few days notice - the changeover should be seamless; all of my testing has been good so far with only a couple of small issues that had to be worked out.

The swap should take an hour or two at most.

View Spectrum images on the VDC - released 19/10/2024

These are not cheap - but interesting all the same - especially the side-by-side dual 1581 that harks back to the announced but never released 1572 dual 1571 drive.

(attached image is Jan Neuvian's picture of the 1572)n Neuviansan Neuvians Jan Neuvians


https://bitbinders.com/collections/bitbinders-1581-replica-disk-drives

Ward Christensen has died. He was the co-creator and SysOp of the first BBS to ever go online, and the creator of the XMODEM file transfer protocol.

Alpha King was kind enough to write up this tribute:

"Today, we say goodbye to a true pioneer and legend in our community, Ward Christensen. As the co-creator of the first public Bulletin Board System (BBS), Ward laid the foundation for what would become a thriving network of communication and collaboration long before the modern internet.
Through CBBS, Ward and Randy Suess gave us a space to connect, share knowledge, and build communities that transcended physical boundaries. For those of us who lived in the BBS scene, it was more than a platform—it was a culture. Whether we were sharing files, chatting in message boards, or exploring the corners of digital freedom, Ward's contributions made it possible.
Ward's vision and ingenuity shaped a movement that influenced so much of what we do today, and his spirit of innovation will continue to inspire future generations of builders and dreamers.
Rest in peace, Ward. Your legacy will live on in the code, the communities, and the memories we all share."

Yes - there is such a thing - https://www.spritemate.com/

Here's what the developer provides as the list of new features in Vision BASIC v1.1: https://visionbasic.net/vision-basic-1-1-has-arrived/

What's new:

Support for GeoRAM as an alternative to REU, for the expanded RAM required to run Vision BASIC.

Support for battery-backed GeoRAM variants (e.g. NeoRAM) to store a copy of C64 RAM, enabling instant access to Vision BASIC and loaded programs at all times.

New commands in the add-on pack for accessing GeoRAM memory in your own programs.

Custom NeoRAM cartridge available for purchase as part of a Vision BASIC package.

Improved default Vision BASIC editor colors.

Compile speed doubled when compiling on a C64.

Compile speed quadrupled when compiling on a C128 in C64 mode.

New commands: GSAVE, CATCH, ALLMOBS, DEF, POLL, LABEL.

Existing commands improved: LISTER, BLANK, NORMAL, VIDLOC, PANX, PANY, PADDLE, VERSION, RND, RANDOM, BYTES.

New format for user-defined commands to improve assembly language programming.

Asterisk (*) now allowed for declaration of assembly program starting address.

System clock no longer resets during program compilation.

Filename length now restricted to 12 characters during program compilation to disk, allowing proper appending of file extension.

SHIFT - RUN/STOP key combination no longer causes potential data loss.

Overflow of variable information in designated RAM space is now detected.

RUN/STOP - RESTORE delay implemented to avoid accidental exit out of Vision BASIC editor.

Improved startup experience for PAL users unable to use the on-disk fast loader program.

Variable names can now be of unlimited length, provided everything fits on a single program line.

Vision BASIC manual now includes a command index.

BUTTON command now supports the programming of 2-button and 3-button game controllers - e.g. joysticks, gamepads.

Videos from the developer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY1t9qOR6Lw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onQlDP5YBIA

New (reproduction) CMD HD-4000 units are now available to pre-order at https://corei64.com/shop/index.php?route=extension/d_blog_module/post&post_id=41

They aren't cheap!

A recently  recovered (in 2023) game from 1987

Find it here - https://landover.ddns.net/cbm/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=782

Newly rediscovered 128 game -  Spukschloss (German)Spukschloss

Find it here - https://landover.ddns.net/cbm/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=781

André Fachat's Ulti_PET is now at prototype status.

Snippets from his page :

The Micro-PET: a PCB that clones a Commodore PET, and adds modern features like SD-Card, USB, DAC audio, Network support, and colour VGA video output
The Micro-CPU: The CPU and modern tech part of the Micro-PET (SD-Card, USB, DAC audio, Network, VGA video) as CPU for the CS/A bus.
The Ulti-PET: a Micro-PET-based PCB with many many new features like Dual-SID, I2C, RS232 / TTL UARTs, fast serial IEC, Joysticks,, ...

• Ulti-PET features
  
  
  • Commodore 3032 / 4032 / 8032 / 8296 with options menu to select at boot
    
    
    • Boot-menu to select different PET versions to run
    • 40 col character display
    • 80 col character display
    • 8296 memory map emulation
    • IEEE488 interface (via PETIO board)
    • Tape connector (pin, via PETIO board)
    • PET graphics keyboard, or alternatively a C64 keyboard
  • Improved system design:
    
    
    • 512k video RAM, 512k fast RAM accessible using banks on the W65816 CPU
    • boot from an SPI Flash ROM
    • up to 17.5 MHz mode (via configuration register)
    • VGA Colour video output (RGBI in 768x576)
    • Write protection for the PET ROMs once copied to RAM
    • lower 32k RAM mappable from all of the 512k fast RAM
  • Improved Video output:
    
    
    • Multiple colour modes (Colour-PET, C128-VDC-compatible, Multicolour)
    • Colour Hires graphics mode
    • Sprites
    • Modifyable character set
    • 40/80 column switchable character width
    • Flexible timing, with up to 72 lines and 96 characters per line
    • multiple video pages mappable to $8000 video mem address
  • Audio output:
    
    
    • PET beeper :-)
    • DMA engine to play audio samples on stereo DAC sound output
    • Dual-SID
    • Audio mixer and small audio amp (Ulti-PET only)
• Extra I/O features on top (mostly Ulti-PET only)
  
  
  • Colour-PET compatibility (as defined by Steve Gray's colour-PET project)
  • RS232 interface
  • Fast serial IEC bus (like in the C128)
  • Both IEEE488 and IEC bus are capable of being used as device for another computer (ATNA capability)
  • An extra 8-bit I/O port in addition to the Userport
  • Simpler and more versatile system bus (using the Ultra-BUS backplane:
    
    
    • CS/A bus (my standard)
    • Some Apple-II bus compatibility
    • RC2014 bus connectors
  • Built-in Userport extensions, like Joystick ports

http://www.6502.org/users/andre/ultipet/index.html

10 rem hangman
20 scnclr
30 let x=0
40 let x=x+1:if x<2 then gosub 60
50 goto 140
60 tempo 12
70 play "v1o4t5u8xo":rem v1=guitar
80 a$="v1o4qc.qco3i$bqa$bo4qco3$b.qaigqfqcqc"
90 b$="v1o3hfififqgqaq$bqaqgqfqgqrqc"
100 c$="v1o4.qco3i$bqaq$bo4qco3q$b.qaigqgqeqc"
110 d$="v1o3hfififqgqaq$bqaqgf.f"
120 play a$:play b$:play c$:play d$
130 return
140 color0,7:color4,13:printtab(5)"{clear}{white}{reverse on}hangman "
150 print"{down}the computer will think of 10 words"
160 print"and you will try to guess them by":print"guessing all their letters."
170 print"{down}twelve wrong guesses build the hangman."
180 print"the alphabet will appear at the top of"
190 print"the screen to remind you what you have":print"already picked."
200 print"{down}hit any key to continue.":getkeyq$
210 dim w$(80),a(26),z(80):z(0)=80
220 forx=1to80:readw$(x):next
230 forx=1to80:z(x)=x:next:forx=0to9
240 r=int(rnd(1)*z(0)+1):w(x)=z(r)
250 z(r)=z(z(0)):z(0)=z(0)-1:next
260 forpl=0to9:gosub680
270 char1,1,20,"word #"+str$(pl+1)
280 forx=1 to len(w$(w(pl)))
290 char1,10+2*x,20,"-":next
300 char1,1,22,"pick a letter by hitting the key"
310 getkeyq$:ifq$<"a"orq$>"z"then310
320 l=asc(q$)-64:ifa(l)then310
330 char1,1,22,"{space*28}"
340 a(l)=1:char1,6+l,1,q$,1
350 p=instr(w$(w(pl)),q$):ifp=0thene=e+1:goto400
360 forx=1tolen(w$(w(pl)))
370 ifmid$(w$(w(pl)),x,1)=q$thenchar1,10+2*x,20,q$:cl=cl+1
380 next:ifcl<len(w$(w(pl)))then300
390 char1,1,21,"**success**":cw=cw+1:goto440
400 on e gosub720,790,850,870,900,920,940,960,980,1010,1040,1070
410 ife<12then300
420 char1,1,21,"sorry, the word was "+w$(w(pl))
430 gosub 60
440 char1,1,22,"hit any key for next word"
450 getkeyq$:scnclr:e=0:cl=0
460 forx=1to26:a(x)=0:next:nextpl
470 graphic0:print"{clear}out of ten words, you guessed"cw:print"of them correctly"
480 print"{down}play again (y/n)?"
490 getkeyq$:ifq$="y"thenrun:elseifq$<>"n"then490
500 end
510 data the,and,that,for,with
520 data was,his,not,but,have
530 data you,which,are,her,had
540 data from,this,they,their,she
550 data has,were,been,him,one
560 data so,will,there,who,when
570 data what,your,more,would,them
580 data some,than,may,upon,its
590 data out,into,our,these,man
600 data like,shall,great,now,such
610 data should,other,only,any,then
620 data about,those,can,made,well
630 data old,must,said,time,even
640 data new,could,very,much,own
650 data most,might,first,after,yet
660 data two,end,easy,fly,begin
670 rem set  up screen
680 graphic1,1:color0,7:color1,2:color4,13
690 forx=65to90:char1,x-58,1,chr$(x):next
700 return
710 rem gallows
720 box1,149,27,187,32,0,1
730 box1,187,32,182,142,0,1
740 forx=0to10step5
750 box1,122-x,142+x,192+x,147+x,0,1
760 next
770 draw1,151,32 to 151,37:return
780 rem head
790 circle1,152,47,15,10
800 circle1,152,48,2,2:box1,149,52,155,54
810 paint1,145,47
820 char1,18,5,"--",1
830 return
840 rem neck
850 box1,150,57,154,62,0,1:return
860 rem body
870 circle1,152,85,10,23:paint1,152,85
880 return
890 rem r arm
900 box1,141,65,137,94,20,1:return
910 rem l arm
920 box1,163,65,167,94,340,1:return
930 rem r leg
940 box1,145,97,140,132,10,1:return
950 rem l leg
960 box1,159,97,163,132,350,1:return
970 rem r hand
980 circle1,133,98,3,3:paint1,133,98
990 return
1000 rem l hand
1010 circle1,171,98,3,3:paint1,171,98
1020 return
1030 rem r foot
1040 circle1, 137,136,4,4:paint1,137,136
1050 return
1060 rem l foot
1070 circle1,167,136,4,4:paint1,167,136
1080 return

10 rem dr. sigmund
20 scnclr
30 tempo 8
40 play "v1o4t5u8x0":rem v1=guitar
50 play "v2o4t5u8x0":rem v2=guitar
60 a$="v1o5ses#d"
70 b$="v1o5ses#dses#dseo4sbo5sdo4sc"
80 c$="v1o4.iav2o2sao3sev1o4irv2o3sao4scsesrv1o4sa"
90 d$="v1o4.ibv2o1sco3ses#g.irv1o4ses#gsb"
100 e$="v1o5qav2o2sao3sesao4ev1o5ses#d"
110 f$="v1o4wav2o2wa"
120 play a$:play b$:play c$: play d$
130 play e$:play b$:play c$: play d$
140 play f$
150 color4,12:color0,16:d$="{clear}{down*21}":dimrx(22),ry(22)
160 print"{clear}{red}hello, i am sandy, assistant to":print"dr. sigmund."
170 input"is this your first visit?";a$
180 ifleft$(a$,l)="n"then310
190 input"{down}what is your name";b$
200 print"{down}you are in luck, "b$",": print"dr. sigmund will see you now.":sleep3
210 print"{clear}please, make yourself comfortable on":print"the couch."
220 print"{down}i see that you are a little bit":print"nervous, "b$". ";
230 print"try to relax.":sleep5
240 print"{down}i have some pretty pictures to show you."
250 print"just let your mind go to rest. look at"
260 print"the pictures and pick from the list"
270 print"what they remind you of. if you think"
280 print"of something else,just enter that.":s=0:sleep5
290 sleep5:rem rorshack test
300 s=s+1:ifs=5then910
310 graphic2,1:color1,7
320 draw1,159,0to159,199to160,199to160,0
330 draw1,0,159to319,159
340 draw1,0,0to319,0
350 forx=1to20:rx(x)=int(rnd(l)*320):next:rx(0)=0
360 forx=1to22:ry(x)=int(rnd(1)*160):next:ry(0)=80
370 forx=20to22:rx(x)=int(rnd(1)*75)+75:next
380 printd$"ok, here is a picture..."
390 forx=1to10
400 draw1,rx(x-1),ry(x-1)torx(x),ry(x)
410 draw1,319-rx(x-1),ry(x-1)to319-rx(x) ,ry(x)
420 next:forx=10to12
430 a=rnd(1)*180
440 xr=rnd(1)*100:yr=rnd(1)*100
450 circle1,rx(x),ry(x),xr,yr,,,a,5
460 circle1,319-rx(x),ry(x),xr,yr,,,360-a,5
470 next:forx=13to22
480 paint1,rx(x),ry(x)
490 paint1,319-rx(x),ry(x):next
500 printd$" spider  mother  cat    butterfly"
510 print" snake    camel  rope  reindeer"
520 print" father  face    food  ink-blot"
530 o$ = "":input o$:print d$;
540 ifo$="spider"then690
550 ifo$="mother"then710
560 ifo$="cat"then730
570 ifo$="snake"then750
580 ifo$="butterfly"then770
590 ifo$="rope"then790
600 ifo$="reindeer"then810
610 ifo$="food"then830
620 ifo$="father"then840
630 ifo$="ink-blot"then850
640 ifo$="face"then870
650 ifo$="camel"then890
660 print"tell me about your childhood.":inputp$
670 printd$:input"go on...";p$:printd$;:input"hmmm...tell me more.";p$
680 printd$"that is enough for now. call me tomorrow about this.":goto290
690 print"obviously you feel entangled. the"
700 print"spider is a symbol of your fear of":print"frustration.":goto290
710 print"your deep feelings for your mother are"
720 print"only natural. do not be afraid to let":print"them show.":goto290
730 print"somewhere in your sub-conscious you":print"have a fear of cats..."
740 print"you startle when one crosses your path":print"at night.":goto290
750 print"beware the snake. you need to control"
760 print"yourself in tense situations.":goto290
770 print"the butterfly symbolizes your free"
780 print"spirit and great inner joy. let":print"yourself have fun.":goto290
790 print"the rope is a sign of the strong support"
800 print"you offer your friends. you have great":print"inner reserves.":goto290
810 print"you are blessed with a childlike love"
820 print"for nature. your heart is pure.":goto290
830 print"either you are hungry or you desire to":print"feed others.":goto290
840 print"your feelings for your father must":print"someday be explored.":goto290
850 print"you are a realist. unfortunately, you"
860 print"are without imagination.":goto 290
870 print"you are like a newborn child; you are"
880 print"attracted to faces. you seek acceptance and love.":goto290
890 print"one hump or two?":print"seriously, you are alone in a spiritual"
900 print"desert. you can prepare to reenter the":print"world.":goto290
910 graphic0:print"{clear}thank you for coming."
920 print"i will see you again next week .":print"please leave $50 on the tv."

Collection of Basic games from the book BASIC Computer Games, published by Creative Computing.

Most of these are very simple and should easily run unmodified on the C128 (or expanded for it).

Our classic mid 1980s BBS in now online - it's running under BBS-PC! 4.20 and is fairly basic, but it's really up for nostalgia purposes.

You can either telnet ( at telnet://landover.ddns.net:23 ) to it using a comms program or access it via the web on our main page at https://commodore-128.org

In keeping with the theme of the site it has CBM 8 bit messages areas.

NOTE - 80 column ANSI only!

Enjoy

We now have a Discord server - invite - https://discord.gg/Wv9BDynr

Under development at the moment (so I'll guess we need to keep an eye on it at the moment) is the Checkmate 19"  (also 17") IPS Retro Monitor (aka A1500 Plus).

Also - it makes specific mention of the C128 - so there's that!




Info at Checkmate A1500 Plus

The forums and FTP site will be offline on Friday 4th October between 8.30am and 3.30pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time) for maintenance (power supply upgrade).

It will likely be a shorter period - just setting expectations.

Version 1.16.4 of ugBASIC and UGBASIC-IDE has just been released that supports the C128.

Targets : Windows (32 & 64 bit) and Linux (32 and 64 bit)

The compiler can produce executable files in "prg" format and entire "d64" disks, including files that can be loaded using the language's primitives.

ugBASIC 1.16.4

CP/M ON THE C128 (ARTICLE 1)

by Noel Nyman

(Copyright 1986 by Geoduck Developmental Systems. Permission
to reprint this material is hereby granted, provided this
notice is included in the reprinted material.)

In this column we plan to explore CP/M (Control Program for
Microcomputers) and how to use it on the C128.  A special
INPUT CP/M1 disk is also available with the latest CP/M
operating system, several programs, and reprints of these
columns (see the disk order form elsewhere in this issue).

To understand the what and why of CP/M, we have to go back
to the early days of microcomputing.  In this primitive time
there were mainframes, huge and expensive computers.
Communicating with one required a "console" which had a
keyboard and an output device.  The output was frequently a
printer, although the cathode ray tube (CRT or tv screen)
was becoming more common. Refurbished teletype machines were
often used as consoles.

In the early 1970's a revolution began that would change the
course of computing...the LSI (Large Scale Integration)
micro chip.  It became possible to produce on a single piece
of silicon all the logic in CPU's (Central Processing Units)
requiring several circuit boards on the mainframes.  The
first popular microprocessor chip, the 8080 designed by
Intel, was used to make intelligent terminals.  These were
consoles that contained a keyboard and CRT monitor, a small
amount of RAM (Random Access Memory) and some means of
communicating with a mainframe.

The large hard disks and tape drives used by the main frames
were too complex for a microcomputer to control (there
wasn't enough RAM to hold the controller program required).
So the micros used paper tape. A punch poked rows of up to
seven holes in the half-inch wide tape, each hole
representing a bit in a seven bit character or command.  A
paper tape reader translated these holes into binary data to
store in the micro.  Storing a program was noisy and slow.

In 1973 IBM developed the first floppy disks as alternatives
to the then popular punch cards used on mainframes.  Gary
Kildall at Intel obtained a used drive from a small company
named Shugart and began working on a controller program to
interface it with an 8080 based microcomputer.  He and John
Torode developed the controller into a full disk drive
operating system, which they called CP/M.  Intel wasn't much
interested in the project, and Kildall and Torode began
marketing the product on their own through Digital Research
in 1976. The rest, as they say, is history.

CP/M is an operating system.  Every computer needs an
operating system in order to interface with the console, the
disk drives, and any other peripherals such as modems and
printers.  In the relatively advanced age we live in, home
computers usually come with their operating systems in ROM
(Read Only Memory). When you power up your C128, it "knows"
how to talk to the keyboard, screen, etc.  The Commodore
disk drives have their operating systems in ROM also.  You
don't need to LOAD any program in order to type on the
keyboard, print characters on the screen, or find a file on
a floppy disk.

In 1973 computers were much less smart. Partly this was due
to the high costs of both RAM and ROM. A 32K machine cost in
excess of $3000 without peripherals (1973 dollars, gasoline
was still under $0.20 a litre then).  ROM was very expensive
and difficult to program, EPROM's (Erasable Programmable
Read Only Memory) weren't available.

Each time you turned the power on, you had to teach the
computer how to be a computer all over again.  You did that
by writing a program called the operating system, and
SAVEing on disk or paper tape.  You used another smaller
program that often was typed in by hand each time to LOAD
the larger program.  This method of using a program to LOAD
other programs was called "bootstrapping" since the
computer was in a sense lifting itself by its own
bootstraps.  The idea of "BOOTing" an operating system
remains with us, and is a command recognized by Basic 7.0.

CP/M provided a standardized operating environment on many
different computers.  For example, the TRS-80 machines use
the command LPRINT to send strings to a printer.  Commodore
uses PRINT# followed by a file number. But any printer
routine written on a machine running under CP/M will run on
any other CP/M machine (I'm not sure why "running under" is
used, but that's the proper term).

CP/M comes in four main sections.  The first is the LOADing
routine, which is usually on reserved tracks on CP/M disks.
On the C128, the LOADer is found in ROM.  The two workhorses
of CP/M are the BDOS (Basic Disk Operating System) and the
BIOS (Basic Input-Output System).  Note that the term
"Basic" as used here is a synonym for "primary" or
"essential" and does not refer to the BASIC programming
language.

The BDOS is identical for all CP/M systems of the same
version.  BDOS works much like the Kernal jump table in
Commodore machines, providing access to the routines for
opening disk files, printing strings, and such by simply
calling them by number.  The BIOS is customized for each
computer model.  When the BDOS is asked to open a file, it
uses several BIOS routines which are customized for the disk
drives, data buss structure, etc.

The last section is a program call CCP (Console Command
Processor).  The CCP accepts input from the keyboard,
displays it on the screen, and places it in memory where
appropriate for execution by other programs.  On most
systems the CCP must be reLOADed after other programs finish
execution.  On the C128, the CCP is always resident.

There have been several versions of CP/M produced since
1973.  The C128 runs under CP/M 3.0 (sometimes called
CP/M+).  This is the most advanced CP/M available, used
computers with bank switching capability and over 64K of RAM
can use it.

If you'd like to read more about CP/M, there are many books
available.  Since it's a relatively old system, your library
may be a good source of information.  Try to get material
for CP/M+, since some commands for older CP/M versions are
different.  Some good references are:

THE CP/M PLUS HANDBOOK, Alan R. Miller, Sybex

CP/M AND THE PERSONAL COMPUTER, Dwyer & Critchfield,
Addison-Wesley

If the date on the screen when you BOOT CP/M is older than
December 4, 1985, you should get a copy of the new operating
system.  This is available from CompuServe, Q-Link, the
INPUT CP/M1 disk, or perhaps a user in your area has one.

----Some additional references----

DR DOBB'S JOURNAL, especially earlier issues, covers CP/M
extensively, you local library may have past issues
available.  For an interesting article by Gary Kildall on
the start of CP/M, see the January 1980 issue.

Old copies of BYTE, KILOBAUD MICROCOMPUTING, and INTERFACE
AGE also have articles on CP/M.  For a series on CP/M+,
check the February 1983 issue of MICROSYSTEMS.

Two CP/M user groups have disks available with a variety of
programs.  The 1571 drive will read KayPro IV format.  For                       
more information, contact:

    CPMUG/Lifelines
    1651 Third Ave
    New York NY  10028
    USA

    SIG/M
    PO Box 97
    Iselin NJ  08830
    USA

The Dwyer & Critchfield book above has excellent reference
sections on programming under CP/M in Z80 and 8080 machine
code.  For more details on Z80, try:

    Z80 ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE PROGRAMMING
    Lance Leventhal
    Osborne/McGraw-Hill

    Z80 ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE ROUTINES
    Leventhal and Saville
    Osborne/McGraw-Hill

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