C64 Emulator for iPhone Seems Imminent
posted by Blake Patterson on August 19th, 2009 8:28 PM EDT in Retro, iPhone games, iPod touch games
Back in June we reported the existence of a fully functional Commodore 64 emulator for the iPhone, written by Manomio, that was rejected from App Store approval by Apple.
It seems those holding out hope for the official release of this emulator have something to look forward to, based on a recent tweet from the developer.
C64 for iPhone UPDATE: Contacted by senior director at Apple today and we have BIG news coming. Thank you to EVERYONE for the support
Stay tuned everybody. It seems some retro goodness may just be around the corner….
In the meantime, see our hands on look (with video) at Commodore 64 for iPhone.
Twitters got some traffic so it won't load.
But i cant wait! Its probably an approval email or something
I hope to see it in the app store! Very cool!!
Yes!!!
OMG!
If you search Commodore 64, it shows up as a search suggestion!
Indeed it does! (:
Too bad it doesnt show up in the applications >.< Haha
Too bad it's an actual band that's showing up…O~o
Let just hope they release the source code to this application as legally required since it is ported from open source – read GPL'd Commodore 64 Emulators.
if it is still using the Frodo codebase, then it's not under the GPL. But Manomio would have had to get permission from the Frodo author, which I would guess they did since they seem to have covered all the other licensing issues.
arn
That is assuming its not ported from one of the many GPL'd open source ports of frodo. The porter wrote about his usage of both Vice and Frodo on his blog. At best this is shady. And once released Im sure the boffins with the ability will figure out if it is breaking GPL licensing agreements. I hope they do, as this lot is morally bankrupt.
Actually, the author (Christian Bauer) has updated the version of Frodo in his CVS repository to GPLv2 (or newer version)
See license:
http://www.cebix.net/viewcvs/cebix/Frodo4/Docs/legalmush.html?revision=1.4&view=markup
Who are your referring to as 'this lot is morally bankrupt'?
So does that mean you will be releasing the source code along with the app store release?
The developer Staurt Carnie was asked a question and did not respond. According to the open source licence for FRODO, he is obliged to release the source code with his port. ANSWER THE QUESTION!
You are using someone lesel's hard work for profit and that is pretty dodgy!
on top of that, most think this is they will be able to run roms off this emulator.. THEY WILL NOT! Your plan, and correct me if I'm wrong is to release each game, as you get the license for a fee per game. When there are thousand of roms easily downloadable on the internet..
Frankly i wouldnt pay a dime for this piece of garbage nor do I think anyone else should unless he comes clean. Which i'm willing to bet, will never happen
This will be an instant download for me.
I miss the days of C64 when i was a kid. I hope this will come out.
I would buy it in an instant, but god I hope that there's a preference to swap the joystick and button around. I hate having the joystick on the right.
Awesome!
Please include:
Castles of Dr. Creep
Adventure Construction Set
Lode Runner
WayOut (my first first-person 3D game)
KoalaPaint!!!
Jumpman , great gianna sisters !!!!
I hope it has save stating or at least the option to continue the game after you leave.
Jumpman and Jumpman Jr., please. As much as I hate to admit, I think the the touchpad controls will be inadequate for this game.
There are Loderunner clones which as so difficult to play on the Touch/iPhone that it did last very long on my apps list.
Give me COMMODRE BASIC 2.0 on my iPod Touch, please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't want to have a thing like Sega is doing with their old games, I want to have the full emulation!
AWESOME news!!!
What do you think will the pricing be?
And I hope the real boubble boubble will be with the emulator *lol*
whilst on the one hand this is great news, seems like its just around the corner, i think the quality of games licensed wont be anywhere near as impressive as we all hope. i hope im wrong tho.
incidently, theres an app on the store called sid player and sid player pro, says its for 3gs only and is 99c/59p. the non 3gs version is double that with less features tho. has anyone tried to run the pro version on a lesser device with success? seems the better deal
I've tried Sid Player Pro on a 3G, and it can't play much. It stutters even on relatively straightforward tracks, because it devoted some CPU power to maintaining an onscreen waveform. The 3Gs has enough power to do this, the 3G does not. For example, the loading theme from Sanxion (from the HVSC top 100) plays fine in Sid Player on a 3G, but not in Sid Player Pro (also on a 3G). However, if you're lucky enough to have a 3Gs, Sid Player Pro is significantly more powerful and has a few nice features, so it's the one to go for. Cheaper too, at the moment.
For those of us with a 3G or older, the non-Pro version is currently the only choice. Perhaps the author will update the pricing.
Sid Player Pro is a speacial 3GS Version. The lower price is an update offer, so says the new AppStore text. I guess they will equal the price sooner or later.
I had no idea SID Player pro was out… Makes me wish I had a 3Gs JUST for some of Reed's songs that I can't play. Even Dune's K Remix by Jeff can't be played on the 3G. MAAAAAN… I'm really not trying to spend this money..!
I'm *so* gonna get this. Best retro-machine ever. I had an emulated c64 (and ZX Spectrum) on every device I've owned since the Amiga ..my iPhone has to have this. Sure, I'll probably use Vice64 on the GP2x more, but that's not the point.
I once had a helicopter game for my C64, but the name escapes me. It seemed like you were flying underground and shooting bricks or something like that.
Now that I think about it, I would mind seeing some old Tandy Games ported.
I meant wouldn't mind!
Also, I wouldn't mind seeing some old Magnavox Odyssey² ports!
The game sounds like Airwolf: http://www.mobygames.com/game/airwolf_
Liked that game a lot when I was young but it's incredibly hard.
Ah yes, I'd forgotten about Airwolf. It could be that too. The mention of bricks sounds more like Fort Apocalypse, but it might not be. Airwolf was a damn hard game. Don't think I ever finished it, but I became quite good at it. I thought it was more fun with an infinite shields cheat too. (was the only way to keep your sanity, really.)
You'd be thinking of Fort Apocalypse there: http://www.lemon64.com/games/details.php?ID=961
You have to shoot your way past mines, tanks, and one damn annoying helicopter. Enter the fort, navigate past the mines and blocks, rescue the men, and finally shoot the reactor (which is hidden behind so damn many wee bricks.. it's a lot of work to get in there) ..oh yeah, and then escape to the surface again.
It can be frustrating, but it's a good game.
Fort Apocalypse it was! VERY hard game!
Thanks!
Oh, you should try Airwolf, suggested above. Now *that* was hard.
Fort Apocalypse was an absolute walk in the park in comparison. 
I've known how to complete Fort Apocalypse for so long now that it doesn't seem to tricky to me any more. I can complete it most days if I have the time. All that brick-shooting on the lower levels gets a bit monotonous though. 
One helicopter one I'd love to see in this emulator is Choplifter. Now *that* was a real classic. Saucelifter for the iPhone is based on it (but based on the harder arcade version I think ..the c64 and AppleII versions were much more sedate.)
10 REM *I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS ON MY iPHONE!!!*
20 PRINT "I HOPE THEY KEEP THE BASIC"
30 PRINT "IT'D BE FUN TO CODE A TEXT ADVENTURE AGAIN"
40 END
Much as I did like tinkering with c64 basic back then.. Now I know a few other languages, I tire of things like line-numbers quickly.
But there's always Adventure Construction Kit, or The Quill, or the various ways of making Inform/Infocom adventures. IMHO the iPhone version of Frotz is quite a lot of fun. (I've loaded it up with all the Infocom adventures I have and quite a few competition titles from the IF Archive.) 
at basic_dude: awesome!
WTF!!! 64
Anybody remember "Legacy of the Ancients". Best RPG for the Commodore 64. Also Questron 1 & 2. and Legend of Blacksilver. Those were the days!!!
Here here, Legacy of the Ancients set a very mark. I still have my original disk and codewheel!
Let there be Bard's Tale…
ahh yes Bard's Tale Another great game. Let's not forget all the dungeon and dragons games. Another i liked for the C64 was Gauntlet! Man i miss the 80's.
Or Might and Magic 1&2— I spent a summer or two of my youth playing those games non-stop.
Saber Wulf please
I sure hope there's a demoscene section so you could get awesome demos to watch anywhere! Get me my Deus Ex Machina and Soiled Legacy fix anywhere I go!
The developer Staurt Carnie was asked a question and did not respond. According to the open source licence for FRODO, he is obliged to release the source code with his port. ANSWER THE QUESTION!
You are using someone lesel's hard work for profit and that is pretty dodgy!
on top of that, most think this is they will be able to run roms off this emulator.. THEY WILL NOT! Your plan, and correct me if I'm wrong is to release each game, as you get the license for a fee per game. When there are thousand of roms easily downloadable on the internet..
Frankly i wouldnt pay a dime for this piece of garbage nor do I think anyone else should unless he comes clean. Which i'm willing to bet, will never happen
wow.. moderator removes posts when he doesn't like what is said??
Will anybody address the fact that this guy used FRODO source code to port this emulator while giving no credit to the Christian Bauer the author?
Will the source code be released as per the license?
Will we have to pay per game?
Wonder how long this will take to get taken down?
ITS BEEN APPROVED!!!
Eggz, how do you know!?!?!?!
Twitter
Yup, your right.
IT'S OUT!!! HOLY CRAP!!!! http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=305504539&mt=8