Commodore C64 Forever is a collection of several Commodore Emulators incl. the PET, VIC 20, C64, C128 Demos, Games, Applications, Videos and Pictures put together in a custom interface for users to play with.
2. What Emulators do I get with C64 Forever?
You can emulator the following classic Commodore machines from the 1970s to the 1980s:
PET 2001 - Commodore's first fully functional computer. PET means Personal Electronic Transactor. It has a Built in monitor, cassette deck and keyboard with MOS 6502 processor and 4/8/16/32 KB of RAM.
PET 3032 - Commodore 3032 is a newer version of the PET with 3000 series of ROMs, v3 BASIC, improved keyboard but no built in cassette deck.
PET 4032 - Commodore 4032 is another PET with a larger 12" Monitor, 4000 series of ROMs, v4 BASIC, disk drive and printer included.
VIC 1001 - A Pre-cursor of the VIC 20, designed for Japan.
CBM 8032 - Commodore 8032 is similar to the 4032 (PET name is not used) with 12" 80 column Monitor, v4 ROM, 5.25" disk drive, 132 column printer, Ozz database and Visicalc spreadsheet programs.
VIC 20 - The Commodore VIC 20 is the successor to the PET. VIC stands for Video Interface Chip. This had the VIC-I which covered graphics and sound . 6502 CPU with 5KB ram and 16 KB ROM included.
CBM 510 - This is part of the CBM 500 series of computers which used the 6509 processor which had the option of the Z80 processor to run CP/M or Commodore DOS. It supported 40 column display with access to 256K of RAM.
C64 - The Commodore 64 is the most popular home computer Commodore made. It has a VIC-II graphics chip which supported sprites, SID (Sound Interface Chip) which provided the 3 voice, 7 octave sound, a MOS 6510/8500 CPU and 64 KB of memory all built into the keyboard.
CBM 720 - An 80 column business version of the CBM-II series with 256K of RAM.
CBM 610 - Similar to the 510 but with 80 column display and 256K RAM.
Plus/4 - The Commodore Plus/4 is another failed machine produced by Commodore due to it being incompatible with its more successful models. It used the MOS 7501 or 8501 CPU and TED chip for graphics and sound. It included 3 programs: Word Processor, Spreadsheet and Graph generator, so its primary used was a 'business' machine.
CBM V364 - Prototype high-end variant of the Plus/4 with 64K RAM and speech synthesis.
CBM 232 - Prototype of the CBM Plus/4 with 32K/64K of RAM.
C16 - The Commodore C16 is the replacement for the Commodore VIC-20 and 64, but it was NOT compatible with the VIC 20 or 64 software base which probably lead to its failure in the market. It has a MOS 7501 or 8601 processor (aka 6502) and the TED chip supported 16 colours with 16 shades, but no hardware sprites (making gaming difficult) and 2 channel, 4 octave sound.
C128 - The Commodore C128 is a replacement for the C64 and designed as a competitor to the IBM PC and Apple Mac. It had a much larger case for the keyboard, and in the D version it included a floppy disk drive. Unlike the C16 or Plus/4, it can run the old C64 software and peripherals (VIC-II E, SID chips). With a MOS 8502 and Z80 processor add-on it can also run C/PM+ software for Business applications.
GEOS - Graphic Environment Operating System. The amazing graphical desktop suite for 8-bit systems including the C64.
Media expansion - The emulation machines support additional expansion hardware.
Datacassette - Tape cassette drive for VIC-20, C64, PET and other machines.
Floppy 1541 - Commdore's 5.25" floppy drive for VIC-20 and C64 and later 8-bit machines.
Floppy 1541-II - See above.
Floppy 1570 - Commdore's 5.25" floppy drive for the C128.
Floppy 1571 - Commdore's 5.25" floppy drive for the C128.
Floppy 1581 - Commdore's 3.5" floppy drive for the C128
Cartridges - You can insert cartridge file (.CRT) to load up games or apps that came on cartridges that you would have inserted into the expansion port.
Clik Clak, CounterForce, Cyberball, Cybernoid, Dan Dare III, Death Wish 3, Deliverance, Devious Designs, Duck Shoot, Equinox, European Champions
Exolon, Extreme, F1 GP Circuits, Fearless Fred, Formula 1 Simulator, Frogger, Frost Byte, Gilbert, Hades Nebula,Hero of the Golden Talisman, Hummdigger
MAZE, Metal Warrior 3 and 4, Meteor Dodger II, Modulus, Moonshadow, Neuronics, Olympic Skier, Operation Fireball, Over the Net, Pacmania, Pac-Mania
Pontoon, Project X, Rally Cross, Rampart, Red Alert, RISK, Rollaround, Rolling Ronny, Salamander, Slug, Smash TV, Space Gold, Space Talisman, Split Personalities
Squirm, Stone Age, Stormlord, Super Cars, Super Scramble Simulator, Super Snake Simulator, Super Space Invaders, Supremacy, Terramex, The Flintstones
The Second World, The Break, Time Machine, Toobin', Trailblazer, Trailblazer II, Trans World, Turn It II, Video Meanies, Vixen, Wall Street, Warm Up
Westminster, Wheeler Dealer, Where in the world in Carmen.., World Cup '90, Yie Ar Kung-Fu II
Demoscene
1 Year Totally Stoned, 26kg, 3rd Stone from the Sun, 4 Years, A New Dimension, Access Denied, Adventsitd, Altered States 50%, Barbapappa, Beatnik, Borderline
Brainbeat, Brainbeat 3, Breibandkatze, Cafe Odd, Carillo!, Chi-Taowon, Chronicle of Craft, Coma Job, Cycle, Das Gotler, Dawnfall, Deja vu, Deus ex Machina
Edge of Disgrace, Electronaut, Elephant Love, Emission, Extremes, Feedback, Follow the Sign 1 and 2, Gone with the Wind, Grappo, Happy Birthday, Havin' Fun
Horsing Around, In the Middle!, Industrial Breakdown, Intrigue, Kju, Krestyron, Lameness Rules, Lickpipe, Livercool, Macho Programming, Manhood 1 and 2
Mathematica, Memories, Mind Control, Mindexpander, More than Nops, Natural Wonders, Nine, No Control, October, Oh Mate!, Omed, One-Der, Orange
Over Gold, Over the Edge, Place in the Space, Poisonous Injection, Pravda, Radio Naplam, Red October, Red Storm, Reflections, Refugee, Revolution, Ritual 2
Royale Arte, Ski Fever, Soul, Sphaeristerium, Spice up your Life, Splttrmnky, Suckpipe, Swallow & Contring, Tape-Turbo, The End Slayhon, The Masque
The Set Up, The Throckmorton Device, The Unbits, The Wild Bunch, Too Little Too Late, Totally Stoned 2, Toxic Stranger, Tristate, Tsunami, Under the Edge
Unsound Minds, Utopia, Vinter Mums, Vision 2003, Wayne's Graphic Collection, Wisdom, Wonderland, World of Code
Gallery
C64 on Compute! magazine (Part I)
C64 on Compute! magazine (Part II)
Commodore 64
C64 SID Chip Patent
C64 Toolbox: How to get started
Videos
Launch of Amiga (1985)
Inside Commodore (1988)
Jay Miner Speech (1989)
Jay Miner Interview (1990)
History of the Amiga (1992)
The Deathbed Vigil (1994)
Dave Haynie 2001 Interview
Amiga Faces Gallery (2005)
3. How much is C64 Forever and where can I get it from?
C64 Forever 8 R3 can be purchased from Cloanto from $9.95, Boxed or Download. Also, a Free Express version is available with purchase 'nag' pop ups from the same site.
You need a least Windows XP SP3, Vista, 7, 8, or 10 or Server to run C64 Forever.
4. What file types does the emulator support?
If you select File, Open on the main program (not inside the emulator), you can load the following file types: RP9, D64, T64, TAP, D71, D81, G64, PRG, P00, D80, and VSF formats.
Yes, there are some online sites including C64.com, and JaC64.
8. Is there a history of Commodore and the C64?
Yes, there is a book called 'On the Edge' (The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore) by Brian Bagnall which you can read.
Some information about the C64 on Wikipedia, C64 History and Commodore CA page.
9. Can I still buy the Commodore 64 or Vic 20?
Sort of, there is a Commodore 64 console available from MenKind but built with modern components: Atom processor, 2GB RAM,
USB ports,
160GB HDD, Nvidea Ion2 graphics, Wifi, DVI, VGA and HDMI ports.
The VIC-20 from Retro Games was released in October 2020 and supports three modes: Vic-20, C64 and games console.
10. Where can I get more information on the hardware?
