Difference between revisions of "Commodore 64"

From Video Game Music Preservation Foundation Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
m (Created page with "{{Template: Infobox Platform | Name = Commodore 64 | Picture = | Released = 1982 | Developer = Commodore }} The Commodore 64 was a computer. ==Sound== The Commodore 64...")
 
(Music and Sound)
(17 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Template: Infobox Platform
+
{{Infobox Platform
| Name     = Commodore 64
+
| Name         = Commodore 64
| Picture   =  
+
| Icon        = C64
| Released = 1982
+
| Picture     = Commodore 64.jpg
| Developer = Commodore
+
| Released     = 1982-08-??
 +
| Discontinued = 1994-04-??
 +
| Developer   = [[Commodore]]
 +
| Type        = Hardware
 
}}
 
}}
  
The Commodore 64 was a computer.
+
The '''''Commodore 64''''' is a home computer released by [[Commodore]] and the best-selling single model of personal computer in history. Unlike modern computers which boot into an operating system, the Commodore 64 boots into Commodore BASIC, a primitive programming language which used little memory, but also was way too slow to do much.
  
==Sound==
+
Software was either typed in BASIC or loaded through peripheral devices like disk drives, cassette drives, or ROM cartridges. However, even the standard loaders were so slow that many people and companies developed and acquired fast loaders like [[Novaload]] and [[Ocean Loaders (C64)]]. Tape loaders were still slowed down by hardware, but made up for the waiting time by playing music, which is still fondly remembered in the UK, where disk drives were especially expensive. Disk loaders could be much faster, if even more so when blanking the screen and not playing music, which many did.
The Commodore 64 used three channels which could use all kinds of different pulsewaves. Some composers were even able to go as far as to program their own voices into the games.
+
 
 +
==Games==
 +
* [[:Category: Commodore 64 Games|Games released for Commodore 64]].
 +
 
 +
==Models==
 +
 
 +
==Music and Sound==
 +
The Commodore 64 had a built-in [[6581|SID]] chip. The chip is clocked at the same frequency as the CPU (1022727 Hz on NTSC machines and 985248 Hz on PAL machines). However, most sound drivers are clocked at the screen refresh rate (59.826 Hz on NTSC, 50.125 Hz on PAL) to avoid irregular skips through the video chip. On the wrong region's machine, pitch is off by 65 cents and speed by up to 19%, and this speed difference can worsen bugs in SID's envelope, muting notes. When porting to another region, frequencies and durations are ideally to be converted, although, if anything, many programmers simply postponed one driver call out of 5. Also, many programmers copied the frequencies from wrong sources, ignorantly tuning songs at 423.9, 433.5 or 450 Hz on their own computer.
 +
 
 +
Many, if not most games on the platform could have music or sound effects during gameplay, but not both at the same time, due to a combination of the load it would cause on the low-clocked CPU, the difficulty in programming sound effects in such a way that they wouldn't interfere with the music, and composers just not wishing to be limited to two channels while writing their music.
 +
 
 +
Also [[Sound Expander]] and [[Voice Master]] were produced for this platform, but they were supported too poorly.
 +
 
 +
==Composition==
 +
Most composers wrote their own drivers in BASIC or [[assembly]] and typed the notes as numbers. Sometimes, off-the-shelf [[:Category:Commodore 64 Editors|music editors]] were used and sometimes modified to overcome limits, like being too slow, too big, or allowing sound effects (from other drivers), modulations, relocation, or embedding songs into other programs in the first place. Some also hacked drivers by popular composers, especially [[Rob Hubbard]]'s.
 +
 
 +
==Links==
 +
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64] - Wikipedia.

Revision as of 04:10, 18 June 2020

Platform - C64.png
Commodore 64
Commodore 64.jpg
Released: 1982-08-??
Discontinued: 1994-04-??
Developer: Commodore
Type: Hardware

The Commodore 64 is a home computer released by Commodore and the best-selling single model of personal computer in history. Unlike modern computers which boot into an operating system, the Commodore 64 boots into Commodore BASIC, a primitive programming language which used little memory, but also was way too slow to do much.

Software was either typed in BASIC or loaded through peripheral devices like disk drives, cassette drives, or ROM cartridges. However, even the standard loaders were so slow that many people and companies developed and acquired fast loaders like Novaload and Ocean Loaders (C64). Tape loaders were still slowed down by hardware, but made up for the waiting time by playing music, which is still fondly remembered in the UK, where disk drives were especially expensive. Disk loaders could be much faster, if even more so when blanking the screen and not playing music, which many did.

Games

Models

Music and Sound

The Commodore 64 had a built-in SID chip. The chip is clocked at the same frequency as the CPU (1022727 Hz on NTSC machines and 985248 Hz on PAL machines). However, most sound drivers are clocked at the screen refresh rate (59.826 Hz on NTSC, 50.125 Hz on PAL) to avoid irregular skips through the video chip. On the wrong region's machine, pitch is off by 65 cents and speed by up to 19%, and this speed difference can worsen bugs in SID's envelope, muting notes. When porting to another region, frequencies and durations are ideally to be converted, although, if anything, many programmers simply postponed one driver call out of 5. Also, many programmers copied the frequencies from wrong sources, ignorantly tuning songs at 423.9, 433.5 or 450 Hz on their own computer.

Many, if not most games on the platform could have music or sound effects during gameplay, but not both at the same time, due to a combination of the load it would cause on the low-clocked CPU, the difficulty in programming sound effects in such a way that they wouldn't interfere with the music, and composers just not wishing to be limited to two channels while writing their music.

Also Sound Expander and Voice Master were produced for this platform, but they were supported too poorly.

Composition

Most composers wrote their own drivers in BASIC or assembly and typed the notes as numbers. Sometimes, off-the-shelf music editors were used and sometimes modified to overcome limits, like being too slow, too big, or allowing sound effects (from other drivers), modulations, relocation, or embedding songs into other programs in the first place. Some also hacked drivers by popular composers, especially Rob Hubbard's.

Links