Closed Think I am in love with another old machine

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morcar

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After looking around at the Beeb emu i went wondering around to look at other machines anf if they had an emu.

I picked up WinAPE which is an Amstrad CPC emulator.

I have to say and i very very impressed and want one now :LOL:

I just downloaded all the files from the tzx vault and i love the Ultimate games on it which i hated on the ZX Spectrum.

Exolon is another great game too which i love.

I guess I am going to start to save up now and get a CPC (y)
 
I'm in the process of refurbing a nice CPC464 with MP1 modulator and PSU, if you are interested of course.

TC ;)
 
I have to admit, while the CPC6128 is a techincally superior machine, I am more enamoured with my CPC464

It truly is an icon and in my personal view, the logical extreme of a Z80 based home micro!

I am the lucky position to have the DD-1 Floppy Disk interface for my CPC464, this is hooked upto a 3" Drive and its a true delight to play some of the titles...

Chase HQ - compared to other 8bit machines (and some 16bit ones) is astonishing! and a truly playable game... and the fun doesn't stop there, it has a fantast version of Barbarian as well Renegade, Prince of persia!

here is a pic of r0jaw's recently repaired CPC6128

picture.php


As you can see theres some eminet hackery going on... we have a CPC6128 with internal HxC SD Floppy Drive repacement, this is then hooked up from the RGB output into the GBS-8220 and thats then output on the LCD VGA Monitor

Heres a close up

picture.php


r0jaws was tempting his alter ego - thats a small fairy (that cannot fly) beating things with her wand...

you wont be going wrong by getting a CPC464 I can say =)
 
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The CPC series is truly one of the best 8-bit computers that exists, rivaled only by the C128 and MSX2 series. The 6128 was actually chosen The Computer of The Year by MikroBitti magazine in 1986. I really like the concept of offering a complete solution with monitor and mass memory.

You won't go wrong with any of the CPC series computers. I was lucky to obtain a 6128 myself but would've been happy with a 464 too.

You really should try out the remake of R-type too the new graphics are just astonishing compared to the original Spectrum-ported ones.
 
The cpc6128 is one of my personal favourites and I'm very pleased with my one.
I bought her a year ago, but she was languishing in my loft until January when I started to work on her properly. I installed my HXC internally and have further plans for that, but it was a disappointment to discover that she wouldn't run a lot of software without crashing randomly.
I suspected a RAM failure and set out looking for replacements. Luckily I have a dead Spectrum +2a and the chips are the same so I spent an evening carefully desoldering all the chips, soldering in some new sockets and then fitting the replacements.
Once completed, she worked perfectly and it was great to see the Batman demo for the first time on original hardware.
Protek has already mentioned the R-Type demo which is graphically a massive improvement, but I found it much less forgiving than a lot of other versions and consequently it takes the edge off slightly when you find it nigh on impossible to get to the end of the first stage! Still, had it been released like that in the day, it would have absolutely blown the opposition to tatters.
Another massive improvement is the Bubble Bobble remake. The original was utterly diabolical, terrible graphics, odd colours, poor gameplay and silent! The remake is an radical improvement in all these areas and much closer to the original arcade (although still not perfect of course, I reserve that for the NES version). Thankfully the revised version now includes the famous music. (y)
Of course there are new exclusives like Star Sabre which is also monstrously difficult, but a smooth and fast scrolling schmup. Also, the highly regarded ChaseHQ which again kicks all other conversions from the time firmly in the crotch and runs away with their lunch money. Unlike all it's competitors, the 128 version includes digitized speech!
I also have a place in my heart for Cybernoid. At GEEK2012 we sat the CPC and Spectrum +2 next to each other and played this game, the Amstrad version is just so much better in almost every single sense. The only real game I was disappointed with was Rodland (pictured above) It looks awesome but the gameplay is just a bit slow. I guess I am spoiled by the C64 version, which is quite frankly brilliant.
I can't recommend a CPC highly enough, when combined with an HXC (which was developed with CPCs in mind) it is a brilliant 8 bit gaming machine. It's just a shame that it developed such a poor reputation with some lazy spectrum ports when it was a far more capable piece of kit.
No collection is complete without one.
 
Thanks for all the info and yeah I got the full version of r-type and think its amazing. It really does make you wonder about the lazy spectrum ports that came out for the machine.

If Mr C finishes his referb of the cpc464 I will be using tapes for a while which I dont mind waiting for the games to load as I can look around on the net for more games.

I did find on the TZX vault some of the tapes and I have been trying them out too. My mind explodes at the loading screen art wtf like lol.

I will be looking around on the net for even more Amstrad CPC software on tape and reading up on the stuff they are doing this weekend. Its like if I have a brand new 8bit machine and I will be back collecting some great games again. (y)
 
Thanks for all the info and yeah I got the full version of r-type and think its amazing. It really does make you wonder about the lazy spectrum ports that came out for the machine.

If Mr C finishes his referb of the cpc464 I will be using tapes for a while which I dont mind waiting for the games to load as I can look around on the net for more games.

I did find on the TZX vault some of the tapes and I have been trying them out too. My mind explodes at the loading screen art wtf like lol.

I will be looking around on the net for even more Amstrad CPC software on tape and reading up on the stuff they are doing this weekend. Its like if I have a brand new 8bit machine and I will be back collecting some great games again. (y)

Mr C received the last parts in the post today needed to complete the refurb.
Will have time to finish the machine this afternoon & get some piccys up for you....

If you are not planning on ever using this CPC with an Amstrad Monochrome monitor then Mr C can implement his famous mod that will give you perfect RGB Scart output too and seeing as it's easter will even build a scart cable for you too to include with the machine...

So CPC464 + MP1 (modified for composite Video & new cabling) + TC RGB Scart Cable for CPC.....
All for £25 with postage on top.

Speak later....
TC ;)
 
yeah i was hoping to use a scart monitor as i have a crt tv here with its name on it.
 
I have one thing against the amstrad cpc.. it's size! I'm quite sure that when it entered the market the sale of oversized computer desktops went up through the roof. It's so long that you have to plug in power adapters at both ends to drive the frigging thing ;)
 
I have one thing against the amstrad cpc.. it's size! I'm quite sure that when it entered the market the sale of oversized computer desktops went up through the roof. It's so long that you have to plug in power adapters at both ends to drive the frigging thing ;)

LMFAO

I said that about the BBC as it was built with a massive backend.
 
I want to see what Mr C can offer first but if you can price it up and whats with it then its always nice to have options.
 
yeah i was hoping to use a scart monitor as i have a crt tv here with its name on it.

:LOL::LOL::LOL:

Sorted then mate, RGB mod will be installed. (y)
TC :)

Out of curiosity, what kind of mod are you talking about? The CPC6128 produces RGB natively and I thought the CPC464 wouldn't be any different.
 
Ah the CPC, although I was spectrum kid one of my best friends had a CPC.

My favourite memory is playing Super Robin Hood (Codemasters) and being amazed at no colour sprite collisons.

Not sure how good Super Robin Hood is as a game today but back then it looked amazing on that CPC.
 
OK here she is all finished & fully tested after some TC repair & love....

Very Clean condition & the tape unit works flawlessly (now), also tested with a DD1 Floppy Interface...

@protek --- The RGB mode is the generation of a correct FB voltage at the 6 Pin Din socket so LCD TV's can display an image correctly, it sacrifices the use of the Monochrome monitor Amstrad used to supply but it is easily reversible...

@morcar The MP1 is not shown as I was using my test PSU but theres not much to show apart from a square black box, let us know what you think chap.. I just have to make the Scart Cable now.

TC :cool:
 

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OK here she is all finished & fully tested after some TC repair & love....

Very Clean condition & the tape unit works flawlessly (now), also tested with a DD1 Floppy Interface...

@protek --- The RGB mode is the generation of a correct FB voltage at the 6 Pin Din socket so LCD TV's can display an image correctly, it sacrifices the use of the Monochrome monitor Amstrad used to supply but it is easily reversible...

@morcar The MP1 is not shown as I was using my test PSU but theres not much to show apart from a square black box, let us know what you think chap.. I just have to make the Scart Cable now.

TC :cool:

I want I want I want (y)
 
OK here she is all finished & fully tested after some TC repair & love....

Very Clean condition & the tape unit works flawlessly (now), also tested with a DD1 Floppy Interface...

@protek --- The RGB mode is the generation of a correct FB voltage at the 6 Pin Din socket so LCD TV's can display an image correctly, it sacrifices the use of the Monochrome monitor Amstrad used to supply but it is easily reversible...

@morcar The MP1 is not shown as I was using my test PSU but theres not much to show apart from a square black box, let us know what you think chap.. I just have to make the Scart Cable now.

TC :cool:

I want I want I want (y)


You are more than welcome to have (y)
Send me a PM with your postage details & I will start a Sales thread (Reserved) for the transaction....

Regards
TC ;)
 
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