I was an avid C64 user, ran a C64 bbs for years, etc.
etc. But when I got
rid of it years ago, one never made it back in to my collection as I focus
more on mini's than micros'.
I find myself wanting to acquire a C64 for my collection and gaming fun, as
that was the system I had. However, as I understand it, the C128 has a C64
emulation mode which allows it to run C64 software. I never had a C128 and
don't know anything about it.
So, my question is - for the c128 people... if I really just want a C64,
will the C128's C64 emulation be 100% and make me happy? If so I'd like a
128 as long as I'm going for a C64 so I have some extra functionality to
play with. But if the C128 won't run 100% of the C64 software, then I'd best
just stick with getting a C64.
The C128 will run 99.99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999%
of C64 software. The compatibility is just about total.
The only thing that will get you into trouble is badly written programs that
overshoot the VIC-II registers. On the 64, that's unmapped space and nothing
happens. On the 128, some of these control the extra VIC-IIe registers
including 2MHz mode (so a frequent bug is to accidentally hit $d030 and kick
the machine into 2MHz mode, which fouls 40-columns).
I think I can count on one hand the programs which do that, and most of them
are games. Plus, 128 mode is very nice.
Some people complain about "128 compatibility" when what they're really
observing is glitchiness between 64 fastloaders written for the 1541 trying
to run on a 1571. EA games were notorious for that; I kept a 1541 around
specifically for that purpose. Booted from a 1541, the 128 ran it fine.
The only other disadvantage is that the 128 is kind of wasteful, space-wise.
It may be low slung, but it will take up most of a desk.
--
--------------------------------- personal:
http://www.armory.com/~spectre/ ---
Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems *
www.floodgap.com * ckaiser at
floodgap.com
-- I may have invented CtrlAltDel, but Microsoft made it popular. -- D. Bradley