Commodore 64 Thread

[Retro-Nerd]

Waiting for Sam’s Journey? We have news for you!
On December 24th at 22:00 (CET) sharp, we will replace the (currently empty) „Sams_Journey.zip“ download file with the real game. You can find the download link in the order confirmation you have received when you ordered, or you can log in to the Protovision shop, view the order history, go to the the Sam order and download from there.


Everyone will receive access to Sam at the same time, as the digital version of Sam is also included with all physical editions.
Let’s hope our servers won’t overheat! ��


We are also anxious to deliver the physical editions to you as soon as possible, but we have to wait for the manuals to arrive after christmas.

Please be patient, as posting out 550+ orders is something we have never done before and will certainly take weeks. We apologize for this delay.
We are looking forward to photos from you with the unwrapped Sams on our Facebook / Twitter pages and kindly ask you to rate/review Sam in our shop.

Christmas saved! At least the Digital Download will be available tonight.

Release Trailer:

[ Show youtube player ]

[BarryB]

Question is, is it really finished?

I ordered the physical disk release, but do wonder if it's going to meet the hype and the fact you don't actually 'die' but just carry on from the last checkpoint has had some criticism. Guess when 9pm comes around in the UK and we can finally play it, we'll have a better idea

[BarryB]

As Martin Tyler would say: "And it's LIVE!!!"

9pm UK time I have Sam's Journey download

[Retro-Nerd]

And it's outstanding quality. A completely new high standard. Can't believe how smooth the controls are everywhere. It's definitely no problem that you can't die. The gameplay needs a lot of trial & error, finding the perfect timing for every situation. Feels like an instant classic. Playing via WinVice and the GMod2 cartridge image works fine, saving to eeprom too.

[jayminer]

I've been playing Sam's Journey for a little over an hour so far on real hardware, and I'm amazed how good the game is! It's not just good for a C64 game, it's an awesome platformer overall. Great level design with lots of exploration to do, the game plays extremely well with great "physics" and colission detection and all that. It looks stunning for a C64 game and it seems to be a big game with lots of replayability trying to 100% all the levels!

[Starglider 2]

I wish you a retro Christmas! ️ Today I'm running the Commodore 64 Christmas demo from 1982 on my real C64 to get in the mood! [ Show youtube player ]

[Retro-Nerd]

Originally Posted by jayminer

I've been playing Sam's Journey for a little over an hour so far on real hardware, and I'm amazed how good the game is! It's not just good for a C64 game, it's an awesome platformer overall. Great level design with lots of exploration to do, the game plays extremely well with great "physics" and colission detection and all that. It looks stunning for a C64 game and it seems to be a big game with lots of replayability trying to 100% all the levels!

I can really recommend to play this with an adapter that allows you to map JoyUp on a second button. I'm playing only in WinVice but on real hardware later i will probably use my Rys MK II with Amiga firmware flashed for a second (jump) button.

It works great in emulation so far. Gameplay is very nice, but it's clearly NOT a Super Mario type game where you just rush through all levels. It takes more sophisticated tactics to master it.

[LieutLaww]

Damn that looks impressive !

[hansel75]

Surely Sam's Journey is the best 8-bit computer platformer ever made?
This even puts most 16bit platformers to shame.

Technically head and shoulders above any of the competing 8bit computer games(Spectrum, Amstrad etc), the C64 really shines here, and show's it full capability in all areas.
Gameplay, audio and graphics are very nicely done in this game, and a full 50hz smooth scroll/character movement is just the cherry on top in this perfect looking game!

I will order this soon!

[Retrofan]

Oh my God. I've been some days out for Christmas without internet and I've just seen now that it has been released. Watching the release video I'm now so glad that I finally ordered the cartridge version!!.

Well, I want to finish my mods in my C64 -paint and more- so I will wait for that and by then I will surely have the cartridge to run it on my "new" C64

Thanks a lot for making this wonder

Edit: Just to comment a bit about my "paint mod": I will first paint it with an acrylic orange spray -an orange-blood-, but I will later try painting it with a new product: an orange "vinyl grap spray" with which you can use it and later pull that "paint" out if you don't like it and just because it behaves like a real vinyl grap. It's a recent product and it must make somekind of chemical reaction when you paint it I guess.

[Starglider 2]

Originally Posted by Retrofan

Oh my God. I've been some days out for Christmas without internet and I've just seen now that it has been released. Watching the release video I'm now so glad that I finally ordered the cartridge version!!.

Well, I want to finish my mods in my C64 -paint and more- so I will wait for that and by then I will surely have the cartridge to run it on my "new" C64

Thanks a lot for making this wonder

I see there's no NTSC cartridge version, is that right? Only disk?

[Retrofan]

@Neil79 commented it, but I didn't watch the "Organism" video:

[ Show youtube player ]

[Retrofan]

Originally Posted by Akira

...Why is there even a freaking (tube?) in there??
Most of this is no added functionality.

Yep, there isn't any added functionality, but I have to say that I like to see that kind of mods too.

...The Tube is only for the optical effect. It has no electrical function.

Originally Posted by Akira

...I guess my C64s have as many or more mods but they are all for a purpose.

Akira I'm actually modding one of my C64's and taking ideas from here and there/everywhere/my own. Can I ask you what mods have you tried/made ?

BTW I've seen and bought a chinese board that if I can get it working here then it will be something never seen/tried before like a lot of things that I've made in the past.

Cheers.

[Starglider 2]

A 99¢ way to add another layer of power surge protection against rogue PSUs to a C64?: [ Show youtube player ]

[demolition]

Originally Posted by Starglider 2

A 99¢ way to add another layer of power surge protection against rogue PSUs to a C64?:

6.8V before that will kick in sounds like quite a lot, so question is whether something was already damaged. I use a crowbar-circuit which functions in a similar way to make a short between Gnd and 5V, but I can adjust the voltage where it kicks in and I have set it to around 5.5V. It has even been proven in action as a friend of mine had his C64 running when the screen suddenly went black. After some investigation, he found that his PSU was now delivering around 12V unloaded on the 5V line but the crowbar circuit he had installed protected the C64.

[Starglider 2]

Originally Posted by demolition

6.8V before that will kick in sounds like quite a lot, so question is whether something was already damaged. I use a crowbar-circuit which functions in a similar way to make a short between Gnd and 5V, but I can adjust the voltage where it kicks in and I have set it to around 5.5V. It has even been proven in action as a friend of mine had his C64 running when the screen suddenly went black. After some investigation, he found that his PSU was now delivering around 12V unloaded on the 5V line but the crowbar circuit he had installed protected the C64.

How much does one of them cost? Any videos or guides?

[demolition]

Originally Posted by Starglider 2

How much does one of them cost? Any videos or guides?

Parts are really cheap, however I haven't made any guides into making one. It is based around a thyristor and some diodes+resistors+capacitors to create the trigger voltage for the thyristor.

Here's a general explanation for a crowbar circuit:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowbar_(circuit)

The good thing about a crowbar circuit is that it is also really fast - much faster than any of the relay-based protectors can ever be.

[idrougge]

Originally Posted by Retrofan

Yep, there isn't any added functionality, but I have to say that I like to see that kind of mods too.

...like a tribal tattoo — only serves the purpose of displaying your lower class tastes.

[Jason H]

Sam's Journey - such an amazing accomplishment.

[demolition]

Originally Posted by Jason H

Sam's Journey - such an amazing accomplishment.

Agreed - I just tried the game for the first time this weekend and I don't recall ever seeing a platformer this polished for the C64. Only minor thing I can put my finger on that it would be nice if the music changed between levels as it get a little repetitive (and not in a good way). Not that the music is bad, but it feels a bit 'neutral' to me. Other than that, it plays and looks really nice.