Better late than never(just bought my first 8 bit comp/C64)

[4300]

A Commodore 64 with 1541 floppy drive, to be exact. Now, I've never owned an 8 bit. My first PC ran on Windows 98. I've never used Basic.

 

So, where's a good place to start? I don't need to be an expert with it. It's main use will be gaming, but I'd still like to have an idea of what I'm doing.

 

Any decent tutorials out there for idiots like me?

[DistantStar001]

For a Commodore 64, My first suggestion is to get a new Power Supply.  Cannot over emphasize this!  If you have an original brick, do not trust it!  I lost my first C64 that way and after several years, I have yet to fix it (and not from a lack of trying).  The originals tend to over-volt when they fail, causing serious damage to the ICs.  My recommendation is to go to Ray Carlson's website: https://www.carlsenelectronics.net  

 

My next recommendation is to get some sort of SD card solution to get software off the internet and onto your Commodore (SD2IEC).  The 1541 is great if you want to stick with original 5.25 floppies, but the SD2IEC will be necessary if you want to write your favorite games to a blank disk.  Also, it's just an easier way to load games.  One really good thing about the C64 is that it doesn't care how a program loads (cassette/diskette/cartridge/ect.), so if you can find the .prg file, you can load just about anything regardless of how it was originally distributed.

 

As for guides on how to use/program in BASIC, most of the Commodore user and BASIC manuals are free to view at archive.org, along with any number of BASIC program catalogs with simple text-based games that you can type in.  Once you have something to load from an SD, the site also maintains an extensive catalog of vintage and abandoned software for any number of platforms, including the C64.

 

There are also numerous tutorials on YouTube, and far too many to list.  But some of my favorites are The 8-Bit Guy, Jan Beta, and Retro Recipes.  I wouldn't really call them tutorials per-say, but they can be quite informative about the history and function of these machines, as well as helpful if you need to trouble-shoot any issues.

[+OLD CS1]

If you augment your C64 + 1541 setup with an SD2IEC you will also have the advantage of being to put D64s on the SD and then make real disks from them natively with your C64.

[4300]

Excellent info,  thank you both.  

 

I have read the horror stories of the power supplies frying  computers.  I've already got a new unit ordered. 

 

I'll look into the SD2IEC.

[IntelliMission]

There are a lot of great games that are exclusive to 8 bit computers and never came out for PC, Amiga or Consoles. Others came out for PC in horrible CGA fashion and are better experienced in a C64/ZX Spectrum/Amstrad CPC.

 

Sadly, the amazing page Lemon64 does not have an Advanced Search function, but you can take a look at their top 100 list of games: many of them never came out for the PC and some were exclusive to the C64.

 

My personal recommendations for games that only came out for 8 bits computers or for the C64 in particular (or that came out in CGA for the PC) are:

 

- C64 exclusives: Project Firestart, Space Taxi

 

- 8 bit computers exclusive (or only in CGA outside those): Bruce Lee, Saboteur!, Matchday 2

 

- Also available for the Amiga: Head Over Heels

 

- Some good text adventures. GameBase64 lists 500 with proper graphics, but there are more if you count text-only, graphical, char-based graphics with text or other types. GameBase has advanced search, but you can't filter by rating or by "ported to other systems".

[zzip]

13 hours ago, 4300 said:

A Commodore 64 with 1541 floppy drive, to be exact. Now, I've never owned an 8 bit. My first PC ran on Windows 98. I've never used Basic.

 

So, where's a good place to start? I don't need to be an expert with it. It's main use will be gaming, but I'd still like to have an idea of what I'm doing.

 

Any decent tutorials out there for idiots like me?

The most important thing to know for a c64 is the disk/tape loading commands.   C64 implements these in BASIC, so you would type them from the READY prompt

 

https://www.c64-wiki.com/wiki/LOAD

[bluejay]

I'd download a PDF of the original C64 manual and read through it thoroughly. It teaches you everything about the computer and how to program in BASIC. It's the best place to start.

You could also snag a Fastload cartridge to make using your 1541 less painful. It speeds up loading times and adds commands and functions to make your life easier. And do snag a SD2IEC, or use 64HDD if you have a computer with a parallel port. 64HDD is a utility that allows you to connect your PC to your Commodore with a special cable and will allow you to load files into your Commodore from the PC's hard drive. But this is a clunky solution.

You could also buy a pi1541 if you own a RPi. It's supposed to be more compatible with software but I don't think it's significantly better than an SD2IEC.

P.S. I just realized this is my 1571th post!

Edited December 2, 2020 by bluejay

[+OLD CS1]

1 hour ago, bluejay said:

P.S. I just realized this is my 1571th post!

Checked and witnessed.

[Omega-TI]

1 hour ago, bluejay said:

P.S. I just realized this is my 1571th post!

Newbie!

[+OLD CS1]

2 hours ago, Omega-TI said:

Newbie!

 

[IntelliMission]

I just found an awesome series of videos in Youtube: a guy who lists a top 10 Commodore 64 hidden gems... for each letter! He's already reached the S.

[+wongojack]

13 minutes ago, IntelliMission said:

I just found an awesome series of videos in Youtube: a guy who lists a top 10 Commodore 64 hidden gems... for each letter! He's already reached the S.

I've actually been watching those too.  Great series.