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8 Bit machines?

Started by sigh, 13:21, 23 December 10

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sigh

Hello, I've been catching up on 8 bit machines and was wondering if the CPC Plus was the last 8 bit machine to be made. Was it the most powerful? Or was there another machine that was on sale that slipped under the radar?

Thanks!

AMSDOS

Hmmm, don't think so, the Amstrad PCW 16 came out around 1994 I think and was 8bit. The Amstrad NC based notebooks would have been 8bit too, when the 200 came out I'm not sure, the NC100 was reviewed in AA in 1992? Maybe 93? Don't think it was 91. For games the CPC Plus might have been one of the last in that it's competition was with the Atari ST's and Amiga's and perhaps the games consoles. In games consoles 8bit processors were in the NES, Sega Master System II, Gameboy and Atari Lynx was I think 8bit as well, but the Sega Game Gear I think might of had a 16bit processor in it which followed the Mega Drive and Super Nintendo, Atari went from a 7800 to a Jaguar I think which had a 32 bit processor!
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* I also like to problem solve code in BASIC :)   * And type-in Type-Ins! :D

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arnoldemu

Quote from: sigh on 13:21, 23 December 10
Hello, I've been catching up on 8 bit machines and was wondering if the CPC Plus was the last 8 bit machine to be made. Was it the most powerful? Or was there another machine that was on sale that slipped under the radar?

Thanks!
Enterprise 128?
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steve

There was the sam running at 6mhz, the nc100 also at 6mhz, there is the v6z80p running at 16mhz being produced in small batches now, soon to be followed by an ez80 based computer which will be a lot faster, there may be others.

fano

Quote from: CP/M User on 13:33, 23 December 10Atari went from a 7800 to a Jaguar I think which had a 32 bit processor!
The Jaguar main processor is a 16bits one , the Motorola 68000 , but owns several 32/64bits co-processors for graphics and sound.
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Phi2x

#5
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sigh

Thanks for the replies. I also had a look at that MSX Turbo R (1990); it really seems like a wonderful machine. The 128 Enterprise (1985) looked impressive for it's time too. It kind of makes me wonder why CPC+ didn't have an even more advanced spec sheet. ie more advance graphics, sound, memory, CPU etc. MSX to MSXR Turbo is quite a leap. C64 to C128 seems like quite a leap too. The leap in specs from CPC to CPC+ doesn't seem as much as the other two.

It's was such an interesting decade seeing all these different makers of computers and consoles making their mark on the industry, especially when it came to games. It seems as if there was more choice back then.

Gryzor

Just to make some jealous: I have both an Enterprise (64 though, not 128) and a Sam Coupe. The E64 has one of the sleekest designs around. The SAM is a bit silly, but cute too. Both fantastic little machines...

redbox

Quote from: sigh on 14:38, 23 December 10
It kind of makes me wonder why CPC+ didn't have an even more advanced spec sheet. ie more advance graphics, sound, memory, CPU etc.

Cost!

I think the Plus was a reasonably good spec, but because they wanted to maintain backwards compatibility a lot of the original Arnold restraints couldn't be sorted out.

This guy selling his GX4000 on eBay wouldn't agree with me though (check out the description).

andycadley

The last was probably the Gameboy Color, which was probably also the most powerful 8 bit machine in general circulation. As to the CPC+, it's probably about as far as you could push the CPC design. Anything else would have required major redesigns of the system architecture, at which point abandoning backwards compatability and producing a 16-bit machine, which would have been a far more expensive project than Amstrad could commit to.

AMSDOS

fano wrote:

The Jaguar main processor is a 16bits one , the Motorola 68000 , but owns several 32/64bits co-processors for graphics and sound.

That's probably what I'm thinking of!  :-[

I just had a feeling that the 8bit chip is still being used in something today, but I guess that's different to an 8bit computer. Wouldn't suprise me if there were Mobile Phones which used them though! Would make a good question for Stephen Fry and the QI show!  ;D 
* Using the old Amstrad Languages :D   * with the Firmware :P
* I also like to problem solve code in BASIC :)   * And type-in Type-Ins! :D

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Your Computer Programs
Updated Other Program Links on Profile Page (Update April 16/15 phew!)
Programs for Turbo Pascal 3

Gryzor

I think that new Z80 editions are used quite widely, even in aeronautics...

Devilmarkus

BTW.: Because it's Christmas some secret info:
I am actually working on a new website which should contain several 8bit systems in Java.

All emulators are modified by me and have a similar GUI so this makes it easier for playing games.

Actually installed systems:
- CPC
- C64
- Spectrum (48/128k)
- Thomson MO5
- Thomson TO8

I am still searching for good Java-emulators. But important for me is that there also exist the sources.
So, please post any suggestions.

A little test for you:
Death Wish 3 on CPC
Death Wish 3 on C64
Death Wish 3 on ZX Spectrum 128k
Roland in Space (With Amstrad SSA-1 speech
Aigle D'Or on Thomson MO5 (No sound emulation!)
Turbocup on Thomson TO8 (No sound emulation!)

Have fun and happy easter!


Edit: Ehm.... Merry Christmas!
When you put your ear on a hot stove, you can smell how stupid you are ...

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Phi2x

#13
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Devilmarkus

Thank you!
Well the most important secret is, that we also plan to add highscore storage to some emulators so we could make a highscore competition online....
Means: Every registered user can play a couple of games which support highscore storage to database and the highscores are listed then in a "Hall Of Fame" site!

(But this is still a long way to do)
When you put your ear on a hot stove, you can smell how stupid you are ...

Amstrad CPC games in your webbrowser

JavaCPC Desktop Full Release

Phi2x

#15
.

sigh

Just out of interest (and not to start a flame war as I like both machines) was the PLUS more powerful or less powerful than the C128? Now - after giving away all my amstrad software and my friend giving away his C64 software, I'm thinking of purchasing both machines at somepoint.

Heh...that viscous cycle of selling stuff, only to buy it back again!

Gryzor

This will be a huge project if you can pull it off! Unique and really useful and fun - and global, too!

Wasn't the c128 just a c64 in a modern case with a Z80 thrown in?

sigh

It had another chip for enhanced graphics display as well as the obvious extra 64k of ram. Also the CPU ran at 2Mhz instead 1. It's was around far longer than the amstrad plus, but it's abilities wasn't really expolited either.

Hmmm...on paper/tech sheets they both have unique features.

mahlemiut

Quote from: Devilmarkus on 12:55, 24 December 10
BTW.: Because it's Christmas some secret info:
I am actually working on a new website which should contain several 8bit systems in Java.

All emulators are modified by me and have a similar GUI so this makes it easier for playing games.

Actually installed systems:
- CPC
- C64
- Spectrum (48/128k)
- Thomson MO5
- Thomson TO8
So, basically, a Java version of MESS, huh?  :D
- Barry Rodewald

Devilmarkus

Quote from: phi2x on 15:22, 24 December 10
Interesting. :P

In fact, I know someone that can help you with that, at least for the CPC. If you agree, I can tell him to contact you about that.
He was really interested to add such a feature to CPCBox, but I had to decline his offering (various reasons here).

Well we already have a routine for that. (Getting highscores from CPC games)
Now we need to create the database enhancements to add the scores to the correct users etc.
Sadly the guy, who helps me with that, has very little time :(

We are using XML configurations for each game which the emulator can read and so find the correct addresses for highscores.
(I really dont exactly know how this works :D )

Getting the highscores/scores itself is childsplay. You just need to check some ram addresses and need to know how the scores are stored (As WORD, as INTEGER or so on...)
When you put your ear on a hot stove, you can smell how stupid you are ...

Amstrad CPC games in your webbrowser

JavaCPC Desktop Full Release

Phi2x

#21
.

ivarf

In my opinion, the C128 and 128D added very little that the C64 didn't have as a game machine. Maybe you could access the extra 64 kB AND use the C64 graphics, but you couldn't use the processor at 2 MHz with the C64 graphics. In 128 mode you could only use text-mode


The Enterprise, wasn't it incredibly slow? I remember seeing BASIC-benchmarks that was out of this world for speed (SLOW!!!) Has the machines any games at all that uses the hardware well, like Robocop 2 on the CPC plus? The joystick was kind of cool, but when I saw the machine at the time, my impression was that the stick wouldn't last long, but I guess it was instead of cursorkeys and not for gaming

sigh

You could use text mode and graphics mode in 128. Yes, it was only 1Mhz with the C64 for backwards compatibility, but 2Mhz for it's native.

MacDeath

Enterprise computers were sold to Hungary, were the fanbase is stiff present..

They mostly ported games from CPC and Speccy...


C128 was concieved as a proffessionnal C64...
More RAM, and Z80 so you could get CP/M... (at a terrible 2mhz Z80 rate)
But the major C64 flaw was still there : the far too limited palette...

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