Commander X16

The name's Rob. I stubbled across the X16 project on YouTube through a suggested video link after I watched a video about a Raspberry Pi project I'm working on. I don't have any experience with the Commodore 64 so I figured this would be an excellent way to get my feet wet with similar hardware. The other day I watched the Retro Recipes video where he used a Commodore 64 to contact the ISS and thought to myself that I should attempt that as well. I'm a licensed amateur radio operator and have sent SMS messages to myself through the ISS, why not do something like this with the X16 when it's released? Beyond that I'd like to try my hand at some assembly language programming as well.

Welcome aboard!

If you've never done any assembly before, I recommend this game called Human Resource Machine. It's essentially a gamified way to learn how to program assembly. In fact, I think it's a little harder than 6502 assembly because the game's instruction set is VERY limited. I didn't get the game for that purpose - I just like the games that 2d Boy makes, so I grabbed a copy and played through it, and about 1/3 of the way through, it dawned on me that this was just assembly language programming in puzzle game form. That's what made me decide to write a game for C64.

2 minutes ago, ZeroByte said:

If you've never done any assembly before, I recommend this game called Human Resource Machine. 

That's funny you mentioned that. I saw that on Steam the other day and thought it sounded entertaining. I'll have to go back for a second look now.

Also, Shenzen I/O and Stationeers. 

Shenzen I/O has you building an increasingly complex series of programmable computer parts, which must do a specific thing based on a specific input. I only played it for a few minutes, but it was fun. 

Stationeers has a full blown microcontroller system, where you can program lights, doors, and machinery to operate from the microcontroller. I have so far built an isolation airlock controller, a solar panel controller (aims the panels at the sun), and a system to monitor and display the gas balance on a series of in-game LED panels. The language used in that is very similar to the assembly language used on some more advanced microprocessors.

 

 

Anything by Zachtronics is excellent.   How could you leave out TIS-100, which they actually say is "the assembly language programming game you never asked for!"

Thanks for the game recommendations. I'll have to check them out.

Hi there!

There is also an excellent video series by one of the forum members: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWihlGXWuyJbjP5vjzD03Rw

I also watch the 8-bit show and tell channel for some assembly language pointers, focused on C64 programming. There are also some good books on writing machine/assembly language on the C64 from back in the 80s, like Jim Butterfield's book: https://archive.org/details/Machine_Language_for_the_Commodore_Revised_and_Expanded_Edition. Actually, there is someone who uploaded scanned copies of a shitton of books on the C64, including Butterfield's one: https://commodore.bombjack.org/commodore/index.htm.



That is all C64-focused, and I use emulators to work through the examples (I have theC64 maxi and I occassionally use the Vice emulator). Actually, I came across the Commander X16 when I was looking for C64 stuff. 

 

Anyway, I heartily recommend going through some of these books (I just finished working my way through Butterfield's book). The C64 uses a chip from the same family as the Commander X16, and I think a possible benefit of the C64 is that a relatively large group of people have been coding in machine language with it over the past decades, so it is maybe easier to find resources on it. 

Wecome, fellow ham!