Is there any info on the 6502 based CPC prototype that was cancelled?

[0ziris]

I was wondering how different the original architecture was compared to the released Z80 based CPC machines. Did it share the same method of graphics and therefore have the same advantages/disadvantages? Did it use the same sound chip? How fast was the 6502 CPU clocked at? Was it such a slow development that it was cancelled so early nobody really knows? I think from memory it was a different designer(s).

Would appreciate any links to magazine scans of news/previews about it ta

[prevtenet]

There's a good write-up on it here.

[0ziris]

There's a good write-up on it here.

Thanks, much appreciated, reading it now

[0ziris]

Looks like the sound would have been the same but possibly not via an internal speaker option. I thought the CRTC chip was the graphics chip, but in that article they talk about not knowing video modes or the CPU speed etc due to lack of development state of the rev 0 board there.

Would need to be a 2mhz 6502 or 1.75mhz to match the Z80 of Arnold prototype roughly IIRC.

I think Alan Sugar would have paid to make sure certain 'trending' games like Hunchback were converted to the newly launched CPC via his Amsoft label whether it was Roland Perrys team's idea initially or not. Alan's idea was simply a 'ready to rock and roll' home computer option, and that includes giving you bundled software to get the sales going and allow the "truck driver's kids" to be able to use the machine straight out of the box.

Interesting read

[dodogildo]

I think Alan Sugar would have paid to make sure certain 'trending' games like Hunchback were converted to the newly launched CPC via his Amsoft label whether it was Roland Perrys team's idea initially or not. Alan's idea was simply a 'ready to rock and roll' home computer option, and that includes giving you bundled software to get the sales going and allow the "truck driver's kids" to be able to use the machine straight out of the box.

Thanks to passionate members of the community, we've been able to watch a number of Perry interviews over the last year. There's a wealth of information out there that sheds light on these issues. Dig through YouTube.

[0ziris]

I think Alan Sugar would have paid to make sure certain 'trending' games like Hunchback were converted to the newly launched CPC via his Amsoft label whether it was Roland Perrys team's idea initially or not. Alan's idea was simply a 'ready to rock and roll' home computer option, and that includes giving you bundled software to get the sales going and allow the "truck driver's kids" to be able to use the machine straight out of the box.

Thanks to passionate members of the community, we've been able to watch a number of Perry interviews over the last year. There's a wealth of information out there that sheds light on these issues. Dig through YouTube.

Alan was a consummate marketeer, he's no technical expert but he did know how to max out the sales for any products made for his company by his people so I can't imagine him launching a machine with no bundled software in early/mid 1984 when the competition was fierce and a couple of machines were already swapping top 2 positions for most units sold monthly by quite a large margin really. I am sure he would have noticed that Sinclair and Commodore were not just producing machines but software too. In the case of Commodore International Soccer in 1983 was as much of a killer app in the EU as Space Invaders was for the VCS, going further back Jelly Monsters and Star Battle on VIC-20 were better ports of Pacman/Galaxian than either the VCS, Coleco or most 8bit computers received, decent first party software on an in-house label was really important in those early days and Alan was the kind of person who made sure he understood the marketplace fully and was not shy of extensive research I think looking back.

[andycadley]

I thought the CRTC chip was the graphics chip, but in that article they talk about not knowing video modes or the CPU speed etc due to lack of development state of the rev 0 board there.

This is a common misconception. The 6845 CRTC is responsible for display timing and is partially responsible for generating the address used to get memory data from. The actual display is generated by the Gate Array (which also handles the final bit of address generation).