I remember the video where you first talked about your dream computer, it's crazy that it has come this far. Amazing job, it's fascinating to see the evolution. I probably won't get one nor will I write anything for it (already has a ton of projects running), but it's nice to be there observing this whole idea coming to life.
Yes! I’ve been waiting for this day to happen! I want one! As an indie game dev, I am already working on projects that I can port over to the Commander-16 - a platformer, a side-scrolling beat ‘em up AND a Graphic Text Adventure. Please thumbs up this post if you would like to see my projects on the new Commander 16.
I’m planning on being some kind of indie game dev too! I’m learning C/C++ and struggling with 6502. I’d love to see some user-friendly 6502 tutor program for this machine.
40 years ago IBM R+D designed and created the XT computer. Cost was probably in the millions. Today, a handful of guys do it in their basements for maye 10s of thousands. True that the use case for these machines will be limited, and have absolutely no impact on commercial activities (unlike the XT) but it is still technically impressive.
@@The8BitGuy PLEEEEEASE give us the first Commodore 64 GamePad that plugs into both joy-ports, with one port controlling the d-pad and left trigger and the other port controlling the four function buttons and right trigger. It is your destiny to give us what we should have had all along! Imagine if we had that when the C64 came out... ...oh the games we could have had...
To put some perspective on that. The c256foenix project was started at the same time and is done by a single woman (design wise), she had far more advanced hardware out within a single year. Unfortunately it has quite the price-tag, and she doesn't have the large audience to build a community out of. This is three years on and still not ready.....And the team it many times the size.
It is rather like Commodore rose from the dead to compete against the Raspberry Pi with this single-board computer. It is actually more space-efficient, lighter and destined to be more affordable than a MEGA 65.
@@angelperez7891 Commander x16 has a mostly prehistoric chipset at its core, I think. The Mega 65 lives fully on fpga. No Pi's are 8 bit :) All of them are cool, useful, and fun to build stuff around :)
@@jsmythib Raspberry Pies are bitwise like the first Playatation and Sega Saturn. The Raspberry Pi 3 B+ and newer are like the Nintendo 64. 32 bits and 64 bits.
I mean not many creator would show an indie version of their dream project in the unveiling video. I know you made it open source, but... You are awesome, David!
You do incredible work. As a 57 year old IT Professional who cut their teeth on a VIC 20 and then C64 I really love your channel and look forward to getting my hands on a Commander 16! Thanks for all you do!!
I am also a 57 year old IT professional who cut their teeth on an Atari 400 and then an Apple II clone. If X16 is released as a bare board, I will most likely buy one and build it.
This has got to be one of my favorite things you've done. Love it that you learn something so well that you end up designing and building your own. True mastering of your skill and knowledge
Most of the design work was done by others. Listing specs is not design work, that's dreaming. At beast he is project leader. And he says so in the video. If he had to design it himself it would never exist. Give credit where it's due.
@@bzuidgeest I mean this is a bit like saying that Steve Jobs shouldn't be credited because other people did the technical work despite him being the one to come up with the idea and organize the whole thing... also David did write a part of the kernel as well as various other bits and pieces.
@@zaper2904 true enough, but some statement make it look like 8 bit guy is the god of electronic design. And indeed i think jobs is overrated. The ideas are logical and some had clear prior art. I think the apple engineers that actually made it real get far too little mention/credit. So compliments fine, but don't go overboard
OMG. I am just stunned. The amount of love and dedication you must have for Commodore is just mind blowing. I remember my C64 days with a lot of nostalgia and have played around with emulators to recreate some of it. But you have taken this to a geeks dream. Hats of to your persistence and obvious extensive knowledge of the hardware involved. 10 PRINT NERDGASM 20 GOTO 10
Long live the Chickenlips 16!!! Congratulations one and all on getting to this exciting stage. It's very rewarding to see design contributions I played a tiny part in coming to life here. But one important question: Can you still access the Assembly NotePad environment by typing AssPad? 😀
The sound capability in particular impresses me. I can imagine masterpieces like Knuckles' Chaotix or Alien Soldier level of music being easily done on this, and more with even more channels available than a standard Mega Drive/32X.
if you think this is impressive check out the c256foenix. Its not as nice a starter package but it has far more more vintage sound chips in both fpga and real chips. (its also quite expensive. Also far superior grahics and use the 6502's bigger brother
Thank you for all you do! I used to develop games for the TRS-80 Model I/III/IV. (I am the co-author of Games Pack 1). Now I am thinking I should investigate doing that for this project. I will take a look at the documentation and the emulator and go from there. All good wishes!
Omg, I had a trs-80 model 1 when I was a kid and first learned to program on it. It was my first real computer. I loved that manual that taught basic with the cartoons! Also, I played all the games in that game pak. Did you actually write that pyramid text adventure? I played that thing so much. I was just constantly stuck at it. That is so cool if you were the programmer!
Awesome! I was a ZX Spectrum man, but I could definitely be persuaded into the light with the X16! Well done for your perseverance with this. I’m officially in awe!
The first thing that came to mind when I saw Vera PSG was the Apple IIGS's Ensoniq sound chip which also has 16 channels. I'm not an expert, but does that mean the PSG on its own can match the Ensoniq?
Pretty standard for its time. While Commodore stopped making 8 bit systems, MSX went on a bit longer. And yes, you can get this quality sound out of an MSX with FM-PAC, SCC or Music Module.
@@Okurka. of course they have they're watching this video, but that's not the point, they're talking within the context of the retro systems this was designed to be alike, cheap purpose built synths from prior to 2000 Of course modern sound is more capable, that can play literally anything, but that isn't the point anything modern style is not the comparison here (it's like seeing someone impressed by a recreation vintage car, and responding "have you ever seen a modern car it's so much faster" like A of course they have and B that's not the damn point)
And BubbleBobble... I'll see how things will go in next few months, maybe I'll be able to do it... start with arcade and c64 ports reversed and then write the code for it.
When I was growing up in the 80s I never thought that the old Commodore would so heavily influence the gaming industry for so long. To see spiritual successors like this is just amazing and I really cannot wait until the final product is out in the wild. The V2 looks like it may be ITX and I would absolutely love something of that size to fit in an InWin Chopin case one day!
It does look rough around the edges, but still looks like a nice contemporary 6502 based system in the making. Not sure if going legacy only in I/O will be wise in the long-run though. Kind of beats the point of a new system if it only natively works with old stuff and needs (active) converters. I'd love to get involved, but i'm more of the electrical engineering type than the software/game development. So maybe if there is like a need for specific add-in boards that add interfaces or somebody wanted to create like a X16 powered robot for reasons i could help. but that is more for once this thing actually reaches the wild.
Quick question you might be able to answer. Could a $4 Pi-Pico, or 2 be turned into a add-in expansion card to give this computer more power, or even maybe used as co-processor for sound, or graphics? By the way people have the Pico running Doom ports....Also its still a prototype I'm sure it'll get better by the time it gets to kickstarter.
@@logannosleep5 A quick check and i'd say YES. You can do that. Either using the parallel Data/Address bus, the unused VIA chip (USER header) or the I2C bus (i2c header). Only the data/address bus are exposed on the expansion card header though so for the latter you will need to wire like a ribbon cable to the card. The i2c is probably the easiest way to get started with interfacing a couple of Picos followed by the VIA, but with some work, tricks like DMA and decoding via logic chips: the databus/address bus can be used too. Probably needs some level shifting regardless since the Pico is a 3.3v and i would assume the X16 will be running 5V.
Zero FPGA was unrealistic at the time, and still nowadays is. They could use microcontrollers, arduino style, but David conceded that FPGA solution was more flexible in the end, since VERA handles Video, sound and the SD-CARD I/O. The YM2151 is still manufactured in china in small ammounts, and you can get from outside China if necessary (ex. winsource). Same price as RPI, well, maybe phase 3, when everything wil be coded in a FPGA chip.
Glad to see things have moved along nicely with the project. The inclusion of a YM2151 certainly caught my attention-the same chip that was used in many arcade games by Sega and others in the late 80s.
YM FM chip + PSG is my favorite soundchip combo personally. Games like Alien Soldier on the Mega Drive showcases this really well, as is Knuckles' Chaotix on 32X. I rate it above SNES for having clearer sound. I found a lot of SNES music sounds muddy.
As if I didn't already want one of these badly enough, my mind is now spinning with the musical possibilities having the VERA and Yamaha chips together in one machine
You really put a lot into it!!! Mind-blowing project!!! I wonder how much would it take to import it to Europe. Germany, UK, Poland had many C64 fans out there. If it comes to its wild-life (what I wish) - games? - from the past (on PC) I bet, UFO fans would be so happy to have it there - it was slow enough and a perfect time bender! ;-) Hardware - I dare to say USB ports and just maybe - Internet access. Both as expansion cards, not to add to the motherboard cost. Once again good luck!
Love seeing the progression of the X16! Looking very promising! Also, Green motor is a clear remix of Mega Man X2's intro stage theme song, in honor of the "green biker dude", respect for the musician!
This is awesome. The fact you have included the sound and graphics commands in basic is an excellent decision. That is what was so compelling about these early computer systems. You could do graphics and sound right out of the box just using the manual that came with the systems. I haven't looked at the site yet, I would assume there is or will be a full manual. I really miss my C64. Going with just the bare board is also a wise move. It is functional and there could be a small group that can then produce enclosures as a way to promote their skills as well as the X16. I would imagine there are probably already files for download for 3d printing cases. This is really exciting. Anyway, great job to everyone that has been part of this. I have to believe this will inspire another generation of future programmers and artists. :)
I really like the idea, even if I won't buy one because I can't really afford one, and I also believe that it also has a historic importance of being an accessible method to program like you did in the 80's (BASIC/assembler), even if it does far surpass what was possible in those times in terms of graphics/sound
Awesome work on bringing it this far! I will have to invest when I can afford to do so! One minor complaint I have is no built-in HDMI, instead needing an adapter. I understand that this is aimed at retro enthusiasts who likely have displays that support Composite, S-Video or VGA. But we’re getting to a point where TVs or monitors don’t have composite or DVI, let alone VGA. It’d be nice if any models, now or later, had HDMI built in. The upshot of that , of course, is that the audio can be passed through the same signal.
I agree, I'd love to buy an X16, but i've no monitors or TVs in my house that support any kind of non HDMI / analog video, and no available deskspace to buy one online and add it to my computing room, which is already filled to be brim with monitors...
Whilst HDMI makes sense for hooking to TV's and monitors - that incurs a per-unit royalty to the group that controls HDMI for every device with HDMI added to it. Using DisplayPort there is no per-unit royalties to be paid (not even to implement it), and you can fairly easily find DP-to-HDMI conversion cables on PC part sellers like PCCaseGear or Newegg (or even Amazon) if you "must" have HDMI-input on a screen. Additionally; a lot of high-end gaming monitors today still have VGA alongside DVI-D, HDMI (sometimes 2) & DP, such as the AOC AGON AG271QG4's (2560x1440p144Hz, 27", 1x DP, 2x HDMI (1x MHL), 1x DVI-D, 1x VGA/D-Sub 15) that I'm personally running.
I suspect there will be at least plans online for pin-compatible HDMI VERA boards. The home brewed clones like Wavicle’s (but not his specifically) have discussed and in at least one case, IMPLEMENTED one already. My box will be getting one.
@@HPPalmtopTube Do TVs really have no composite input these days? I looked at the latest Sonys and they still do (albeit via 3.5mm phono plug, includes audio). Not sure of the cheaper brands?
it the same compliant raspberry pi, when the first came, sold on the ground an the little, to bitt pulled from you juke pile, at the almost one had HDMI monitor in there juke pile, and time moved on now no one a working, VGA monitors any more, and last generation HDMI are now in the juke pile, the problem we be the same getting chip, the right standards in raspberry pi, VGA not being thing on new chip designs, and the sole new old retro, either of the shelf ready made parts, with past in mind, and HDMI was not a thing back then? but I do thing going amiga option with modern day rf modulator block, but doing HDMI instead in the box all colour matched as it all on thing
Congratulations David, I think you've done an amazing job orchestrating the project. I remember seeing the first video where you outlined your vision for your dream computer. I know it will be a great success. Thanks for taking us with you on your journey. Commander 16 looks incredible. The only thing you left out of the video was price but that's understandable at this stage in the project. I love the fact that you are going to give some units free to developers. Well done.
I’m not a coder but I really like the idea behind this. I would love to buy it and put it together with my kids. I would want all the parts and my kids and I would put it all together. It would be great to play games from the 1980’s to mid 1990’s.
I'm Glad To See My Cover In This Video!! (Green Biker Dude Cover) Thanks!! Also, Congratulations On Finally Finishing The Commander X16 Project, Well Done To The Entire Team!! 😄😄😄
Great update and glad to hear from the project. I am not from the era of C64, 8bit or 16bit computers but greatly appreciate their design and overall capabilities. As well as the simplicity in learning computer architecture when working with smaller chips (I can even see the potential for a Network expansion card to teach/learn networking basics!). I definitely plan on buying a board for myself once the final prototyping and debugging is finished amongst the devs. GREAT PROJECT, Hope it goes smoothly! 👍🏻❤
Man I love all your videos! From the hard to find subject matter, to the great annunciation/audio and the killer theme song. Thanks for providing an amazing show free of charge!
Very cool project! I just binge-watched all of your Commodore history videos and it brought back a lot of fond memories of having a C-64 as my first home computer. I don't know if I'd really use a Commander X-16, as I'm not a gamer at all. But I like the idea and what is currently blossoming from it.
I remember the first video about this, then checking if there were updates every few months for a few years. Super awesome to see it finally come to life after so long!
This is awesome man! So glad this project has come along so well. I'm a long time viewer and I really like your channel a lot. Unfortunately I won't be getting an x16 once they're released because I don't know anything about BASIC or retro computing, but it's still really exciting to see it come this far!
Oh man, it truly is amazing seeing this project come to life. Even if i might not be able to get my hands on a gen1 board, i will definately get a gen 2 or 3. So excited, keep up the good work!
I love this project. One thing I would love to see, though, is the addition of a USB port and HDMI port. USB support could be as simple as keyboard and mouse support, for starters. The reason for these is that it would eliminate the need for adaptors, something I suspect most users would require.
As amazing of a project as this is, the question that keeps echoing in my head is, “How are these off-the-shelf parts still on the shelf after all these years?”
Před rokem+6
The chips are used for many purposes. For example the 6502 is used in industry to control simple machines because it’s simple to use. There are innumerable uses for these parts.
@ Thanks for the reply. It's just incredible to me that something with transistor counts in the low thousands and which hasn't been updated in 35 years would still have a place in the market.
This is like Spectrum Next for the C64 folks, great project and already looking like a polished product. Hope the go fund me is a success because this is a pretty sweet machine. I remember you talking about wanting to build something like this, your dream retro computer, and here we are with it almost finished.
I would say the Mega65 is more like the Spectrum Next for C64 users, because it can run C64 software while having enhancements of its own to every aspect. The X16 also has enhancements to every aspect, but it is not binary compatible with C64 software, based on what David said in this video.
I've always had a decent graps on various computers and how they work but these videos always blow my mind. I'm always trying to learn more and your videos keep me encouraged to keep going.
I really love your intro music so much... I hadn't watched you in a while, so I thought, 'I'm gonna see what they're up to' - and realised I was humming your intro music before I even opened CZcams! ^^ I got a couple notes wrong though, I'm still a new fan xD
That’d be nice if you could fit the motherboard inside the little keyboard you showed up like the Commodore. It would definitely improve sales. Also an HDMI or USB-C port for handling power/video/audio would be great because many people don’t have analog monitors anymore.
Well done for getting the project so far. I thought I recognised that Petscii Robots music as sounding "Mega Drive" like even before you explained how it had been derived from the Mega Drive port and it used similar sound chips.
This is just beautiful, I'm glad you went with both the VERA sound that can emulate a SID and the Yamaha sound, I can tell there are going to be a lot of great new chiptunes coming out. And I love the custom case you showed, the shape brings back nice memories of the Mac Centris 650's I spent a lot of time on in my college computer lab. Also the 80x60 text mode brings back nice memories of BBSing and Turbo Pascal coding in high school.
I am really happy to see this dream finally comes true! I will play with the emulator, and write some programs in BASIC and 6502 assembly. Really hope to purchase a unit of Commander X16 in the near future!
Looks and sounds really nice. Great that the project comes along. I like the little tiny white keyboard; it would be amazing if a wedge computer with that keyboard could be built.
It looks awesome, and in the end it actually fills the void created by so many retro projects that went nowhere. This sort of fills the void of the Intelivision Amico, and of course the Coleco Chameleon. It’s nice to finally have a product like this actually make it all the way to production.
The difference between this and both Coleco/Intellivision efforts is that one is a passion project, and another is a project simply banking on nostalgia.
Hell yea! Once it goes into full production I will have to get one. I am an electronic musician who likes FM synthesis. My dream synth is a DX7. I am glad you included a Yamaha FM chip. Musicians already use the C64. So you should make video about the audio capabilities on your 8 bit keys channel. I bet plenty of electronic musicians would want an X16. Especially if you offer a MIDI board and a synth program.
Wow, SOOO MUCH work done in the 8-bit universe just on this project alone - I'm sure you're going to be promoted to 8-bit KING soon, or even 8-bit POPE!
This is something I really want to push sonically. We all know where the SID chip ended up, some people are still pushing the envelope with the bread bin. This kind of puts me in mind of playing with the Acorn Archimedes at school (in the leap from the 4 channels I had on my Amiga at home)
Stellar work! The results look and sound amazing so far. So great also to see so many people collaborating on this project! The candid reveals in this video and how it's not just a few people involved in its production, and how many have contributed is heartwarming.
lol, aren't those glitched names on the sd card at 22:01 due to it forcing every charecter to be upper case, just by adding an offset I imagine. So if its already uppercase it "overflows" with the added offset into other characters. You can see, when flappy bird loads, that for one frame everything that was before upper is now lowercase and what was glitched is now uppercase.
I don’t think it should ever be crowdfunded. That’s a whole lot of stress for no reason. Just make a few and sell them as you have them completed. Make a waiting list with a small deposit so you know the demand.
I kind of hope he does crowdfund. The more units in the world, the more likely it gets adopted in a big way by the demo folks. (But yeah, probably more stressful for the 8-bit guy).
👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 🍀 Congratulations! It's a real pleasure to watch about such a success! And your progress! P.S. Not only this X16 is a great success but also how your channel is growing! I would dream about such a quick progress! And that's so challenging (and even a bit suprising as the area is similar as yours). All the best! 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 🍀
Personally I think there's some value in having all the chips separated out on the first run board as it allows the new generation of kids (or old generation of kids) to see and understand the various functions of what each chip does. It gives the brain something to visually see how the whole thing works together. Once it becomes a single amorphous blob it just becomes a black box. Kids in particular need to know how things work.
So you're suggesting it be changed so kids can see how it works, even though changing it would mean it works differently? That's,..err,.... "interesting".
@@beezle1976 Err no, I was referring to first generation boards which have all the chips separated out, the one 8-bit guy is demonstrating in the video. Not sure how you came to the conclusion you got too.
I remember the video where you first talked about your dream computer, it's crazy that it has come this far. Amazing job, it's fascinating to see the evolution. I probably won't get one nor will I write anything for it (already has a ton of projects running), but it's nice to be there observing this whole idea coming to life.
Same here, so excited to watch this
I’ll get one for sure and write something. Hard not to.
Thumbs up not just for comment, but for Squall. FF8 has always been my favorite.
I was born at a reasonably young age so I am fairly competent in regards to this subject matter, however I did find this video to be very interesting.
@@clarenceboddicker6679 I was born at a young age too. 0 days, to be precise!
Yes! I’ve been waiting for this day to happen! I want one! As an indie game dev, I am already working on projects that I can port over to the Commander-16 - a platformer, a side-scrolling beat ‘em up AND a Graphic Text Adventure. Please thumbs up this post if you would like to see my projects on the new Commander 16.
I too am a dev. What are you coding in? 65C02 ASM? I've programmed ICT for 7800, as well as ICT1 and ICT2 for 2600.
I’m planning on being some kind of indie game dev too! I’m learning C/C++ and struggling with 6502. I’d love to see some user-friendly 6502 tutor program for this machine.
as someone who planned to be modern indie devs
this is fascinating to see somene still want to learn the OG development tools xD
40 years ago IBM R+D designed and created the XT computer. Cost was probably in the millions.
Today, a handful of guys do it in their basements for maye 10s of thousands. True that the use case for these machines will be limited, and have absolutely no impact on commercial activities (unlike the XT) but it is still technically impressive.
16 channels of PSG, 8 channels of FM, and a PCM. The sound capabilities of this machine are ridiculous and I love it.
Not only that, it literally has a CD audio player as well!
Absolutely overkill, but totally awesome!
I got to see this at VCFMW - very cool system and glad it's finally done!
I can't wait to see what the community does with it as it has some nice specs.
Thanks Ben! You and I sat down one day several years ago at a convention and discussed building something like this! And now here it is!
Are we gonna get an X16 portable?
thank you Ben for the awesome VCFMW video where we could see what was like being there! Really funny as well
@@The8BitGuy PLEEEEEASE give us the first Commodore 64 GamePad that plugs into both joy-ports, with one port controlling the d-pad and left trigger and the other port controlling the four function buttons and right trigger. It is your destiny to give us what we should have had all along!
Imagine if we had that when the C64 came out... ...oh the games we could have had...
Well done to the entire team for getting the project to this stage.
Seconded. Been very busy.
And all the software devs making games too, I'm surprised to see what is available already.
@@volvo09 And the thing isn't even out yet! We already have cool stuff way before release.
How about calling your group "team chickenlips" like perifractics New name for the cx16 he came up with for aprils fools?
To put some perspective on that. The c256foenix project was started at the same time and is done by a single woman (design wise), she had far more advanced hardware out within a single year. Unfortunately it has quite the price-tag, and she doesn't have the large audience to build a community out of. This is three years on and still not ready.....And the team it many times the size.
It's amazing when a project like this is completed. I know this has to be one of your life dreams, congrats dude.
It is rather like Commodore rose from the dead to compete against the Raspberry Pi with this single-board computer. It is actually more space-efficient, lighter and destined to be more affordable than a MEGA 65.
Why are you ruining his life?
@@angelperez7891 Commander x16 has a mostly prehistoric chipset at its core, I think. The Mega 65 lives fully on fpga. No Pi's are 8 bit :) All of them are cool, useful, and fun to build stuff around :)
@@jsmythib Raspberry Pies are bitwise like the first Playatation and Sega Saturn. The Raspberry Pi 3 B+ and newer are like the Nintendo 64. 32 bits and 64 bits.
@@angelperez7891 I have all the pi's :) Great little machines.
I mean not many creator would show an indie version of their dream project in the unveiling video. I know you made it open source, but... You are awesome, David!
You do incredible work. As a 57 year old IT Professional who cut their teeth on a VIC 20 and then C64 I really love your channel and look forward to getting my hands on a Commander 16! Thanks for all you do!!
The nostalgia strikes back for this old guy, respect.
@@Hi-ix5bb Who are you calling old?
@@drobotk the old guy
I am also a 57 year old IT professional who cut their teeth on an Atari 400 and then an Apple II clone. If X16 is released as a bare board, I will most likely buy one and build it.
AVGN voice: Al Roth fucks... Roth Fucks? Roth fucks🤣
This has got to be one of my favorite things you've done. Love it that you learn something so well that you end up designing and building your own. True mastering of your skill and knowledge
Repent to Jesus Christ “You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.””
Luke 12:40 NIV
Most of the design work was done by others. Listing specs is not design work, that's dreaming. At beast he is project leader. And he says so in the video. If he had to design it himself it would never exist. Give credit where it's due.
@@repentandbelieveinJesusChrist3 Huh?
@@bzuidgeest I mean this is a bit like saying that Steve Jobs shouldn't be credited because other people did the technical work despite him being the one to come up with the idea and organize the whole thing... also David did write a part of the kernel as well as various other bits and pieces.
@@zaper2904 true enough, but some statement make it look like 8 bit guy is the god of electronic design. And indeed i think jobs is overrated. The ideas are logical and some had clear prior art. I think the apple engineers that actually made it real get far too little mention/credit. So compliments fine, but don't go overboard
OMG. I am just stunned. The amount of love and dedication you must have for Commodore is just mind blowing.
I remember my C64 days with a lot of nostalgia and have played around with emulators to recreate some of it.
But you have taken this to a geeks dream. Hats of to your persistence and obvious extensive knowledge of the hardware involved.
10 PRINT NERDGASM
20 GOTO 10
Actually it's very concerning. He's starting to remind me of Terry A Davis
I am so glad to see the GoFundMe has surpassed the goal already within 24 hours! I can't wait to see this dream come true. Great job David and team!!
Long live the Chickenlips 16!!! Congratulations one and all on getting to this exciting stage. It's very rewarding to see design contributions I played a tiny part in coming to life here. But one important question: Can you still access the Assembly NotePad environment by typing AssPad? 😀
nice
🐔💋16
I don't know how you can say "Chickenlips 16" with a straight face lol
@@baddestmofoalive My dad used to work with a guy whos nickname was Chickenlips...never learned why, and knowing him, not sure I'd want to lol
🎃happy Halloween retro
The sound capability in particular impresses me. I can imagine masterpieces like Knuckles' Chaotix or Alien Soldier level of music being easily done on this, and more with even more channels available than a standard Mega Drive/32X.
I'm really glad the 8bit-music expert choose the sound chip.
if you think this is impressive check out the c256foenix. Its not as nice a starter package but it has far more more vintage sound chips in both fpga and real chips. (its also quite expensive. Also far superior grahics and use the 6502's bigger brother
Repent to Jesus Christ “You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.””
Luke 12:40 NIV
h
@@repentandbelieveinJesusChrist3 because of you I’ll now become an atheist. thank you
Thank you for all you do! I used to develop games for the TRS-80 Model I/III/IV. (I am the co-author of Games Pack 1). Now I am thinking I should investigate doing that for this project. I will take a look at the documentation and the emulator and go from there. All good wishes!
Omg, I had a trs-80 model 1 when I was a kid and first learned to program on it. It was my first real computer. I loved that manual that taught basic with the cartoons! Also, I played all the games in that game pak. Did you actually write that pyramid text adventure? I played that thing so much. I was just constantly stuck at it. That is so cool if you were the programmer!
Awesome! I was a ZX Spectrum man, but I could definitely be persuaded into the light with the X16! Well done for your perseverance with this. I’m officially in awe!
The sound capabilities of this are truly mind blowing, super nice job and congratulations!
It'd be cool to see what you can do with it...
The first thing that came to mind when I saw Vera PSG was the Apple IIGS's Ensoniq sound chip which also has 16 channels. I'm not an expert, but does that mean the PSG on its own can match the Ensoniq?
Have you not owned a PC the past 20 years?
Pretty standard for its time. While Commodore stopped making 8 bit systems, MSX went on a bit longer. And yes, you can get this quality sound out of an MSX with FM-PAC, SCC or Music Module.
@@Okurka. of course they have they're watching this video, but that's not the point, they're talking within the context of the retro systems this was designed to be alike, cheap purpose built synths from prior to 2000
Of course modern sound is more capable, that can play literally anything, but that isn't the point anything modern style is not the comparison here
(it's like seeing someone impressed by a recreation vintage car, and responding "have you ever seen a modern car it's so much faster" like A of course they have and B that's not the damn point)
I hope someone can make a Giana Sisters Loader remix on those! Imagine how beautiful it would sound
I’m so happy for you man, after all you went through, congratulations!!
And BubbleBobble... I'll see how things will go in next few months, maybe I'll be able to do it... start with arcade and c64 ports reversed and then write the code for it.
Amazing profile! love megg & mogg
@@Lomaxxx53 Why thank you! You have been the 1st to know where its from! :)
@@ThOperator This thing could use a ScummVM port, it should be able to run many classics!
When I was growing up in the 80s I never thought that the old Commodore would so heavily influence the gaming industry for so long. To see spiritual successors like this is just amazing and I really cannot wait until the final product is out in the wild. The V2 looks like it may be ITX and I would absolutely love something of that size to fit in an InWin Chopin case one day!
It does look rough around the edges, but still looks like a nice contemporary 6502 based system in the making. Not sure if going legacy only in I/O will be wise in the long-run though. Kind of beats the point of a new system if it only natively works with old stuff and needs (active) converters.
I'd love to get involved, but i'm more of the electrical engineering type than the software/game development. So maybe if there is like a need for specific add-in boards that add interfaces or somebody wanted to create like a X16 powered robot for reasons i could help. but that is more for once this thing actually reaches the wild.
Quick question you might be able to answer. Could a $4 Pi-Pico, or 2 be turned into a add-in expansion card to give this computer more power, or even maybe used as co-processor for sound, or graphics? By the way people have the Pico running Doom ports....Also its still a prototype I'm sure it'll get better by the time it gets to kickstarter.
@@logannosleep5 A quick check and i'd say YES. You can do that. Either using the parallel Data/Address bus, the unused VIA chip (USER header) or the I2C bus (i2c header). Only the data/address bus are exposed on the expansion card header though so for the latter you will need to wire like a ribbon cable to the card.
The i2c is probably the easiest way to get started with interfacing a couple of Picos followed by the VIA, but with some work, tricks like DMA and decoding via logic chips: the databus/address bus can be used too.
Probably needs some level shifting regardless since the Pico is a 3.3v and i would assume the X16 will be running 5V.
@@chielvoswijk9482
After all, someone got the NES to run DOOM via Pi.
I remember the project. Thank goodness it’s finally done. You look real happy and I’m happy for you.
You have no idea how happy it makes me to see the finished product. 😊
Congrats on making your dream computer.
Zero FPGAs, no hard to source old chips, and the same price as a Raspberry Pi.
Zero FPGA was unrealistic at the time, and still nowadays is. They could use microcontrollers, arduino style, but David conceded that FPGA solution was more flexible in the end, since VERA handles Video, sound and the SD-CARD I/O. The YM2151 is still manufactured in china in small ammounts, and you can get from outside China if necessary (ex. winsource).
Same price as RPI, well, maybe phase 3, when everything wil be coded in a FPGA chip.
This is not the last version of this computer. Who knows how X16 G3 will look like in a few years.
Underrated comment
I have been watching since the beginning, and this is so exciting! Congrats to you and everybody who have been working so hard on this!
Glad to see things have moved along nicely with the project. The inclusion of a YM2151 certainly caught my attention-the same chip that was used in many arcade games by Sega and others in the late 80s.
YM2151 rules! The VERA PSG is a dream come true as well
I’ve been cheerleading this chip as well. To me, 4bpp graphics and FM sound go together like peanut butter and chocolate.
I'd like to hear the soundtrack from a port of 'The Secret of Monkey Island' for this system.
YM FM chip + PSG is my favorite soundchip combo personally. Games like Alien Soldier on the Mega Drive showcases this really well, as is Knuckles' Chaotix on 32X.
I rate it above SNES for having clearer sound. I found a lot of SNES music sounds muddy.
@@ZX3000GT1 I noticed that, too.
As if I didn't already want one of these badly enough, my mind is now spinning with the musical possibilities having the VERA and Yamaha chips together in one machine
I had a similar thought!!! Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!! I won't be surprised if someone develops something like a DAW, sequencer, or tracker for the X16!
You really put a lot into it!!! Mind-blowing project!!! I wonder how much would it take to import it to Europe. Germany, UK, Poland had many C64 fans out there.
If it comes to its wild-life (what I wish) - games? - from the past (on PC) I bet, UFO fans would be so happy to have it there - it was slow enough and a perfect time bender! ;-)
Hardware - I dare to say USB ports and just maybe - Internet access. Both as expansion cards, not to add to the motherboard cost.
Once again good luck!
This is soo impressive! The x16 performs like 16 bit systems of the day.
Love seeing the progression of the X16!
Looking very promising!
Also, Green motor is a clear remix of Mega Man X2's intro stage theme song, in honor of the "green biker dude", respect for the musician!
Glad I am not the only one who caught that.
This is awesome. The fact you have included the sound and graphics commands in basic is an excellent decision. That is what was so compelling about these early computer systems. You could do graphics and sound right out of the box just using the manual that came with the systems. I haven't looked at the site yet, I would assume there is or will be a full manual. I really miss my C64. Going with just the bare board is also a wise move. It is functional and there could be a small group that can then produce enclosures as a way to promote their skills as well as the X16. I would imagine there are probably already files for download for 3d printing cases. This is really exciting. Anyway, great job to everyone that has been part of this. I have to believe this will inspire another generation of future programmers and artists. :)
Wow, so much thought went into this! So many amazing features! You must be a proud papa.
You're tragic.
I really like the idea, even if I won't buy one because I can't really afford one, and I also believe that it also has a historic importance of being an accessible method to program like you did in the 80's (BASIC/assembler), even if it does far surpass what was possible in those times in terms of graphics/sound
Congratulations David and the rest of the team for making your dreams come true.
Congratulations: a big project for you (and partners). Wish you lots of success.
David I think you forget just how awesome and dedicated your audience is! The gofumdme goal has ALREADY been surpassed!! Way to go!!
Amazing work. I've been following this project from the beginning, and am so glad that you've got to this point. Well done. Great work!
Awesome work on bringing it this far! I will have to invest when I can afford to do so! One minor complaint I have is no built-in HDMI, instead needing an adapter. I understand that this is aimed at retro enthusiasts who likely have displays that support Composite, S-Video or VGA. But we’re getting to a point where TVs or monitors don’t have composite or DVI, let alone VGA. It’d be nice if any models, now or later, had HDMI built in. The upshot of that , of course, is that the audio can be passed through the same signal.
I agree, I'd love to buy an X16, but i've no monitors or TVs in my house that support any kind of non HDMI / analog video, and no available deskspace to buy one online and add it to my computing room, which is already filled to be brim with monitors...
Whilst HDMI makes sense for hooking to TV's and monitors - that incurs a per-unit royalty to the group that controls HDMI for every device with HDMI added to it.
Using DisplayPort there is no per-unit royalties to be paid (not even to implement it), and you can fairly easily find DP-to-HDMI conversion cables on PC part sellers like PCCaseGear or Newegg (or even Amazon) if you "must" have HDMI-input on a screen.
Additionally; a lot of high-end gaming monitors today still have VGA alongside DVI-D, HDMI (sometimes 2) & DP, such as the AOC AGON AG271QG4's (2560x1440p144Hz, 27", 1x DP, 2x HDMI (1x MHL), 1x DVI-D, 1x VGA/D-Sub 15) that I'm personally running.
I suspect there will be at least plans online for pin-compatible HDMI VERA boards. The home brewed clones like Wavicle’s (but not his specifically) have discussed and in at least one case, IMPLEMENTED one already. My box will be getting one.
@@HPPalmtopTube Do TVs really have no composite input these days? I looked at the latest Sonys and they still do (albeit via 3.5mm phono plug, includes audio). Not sure of the cheaper brands?
it the same compliant raspberry pi, when the first came, sold on the ground an the little, to bitt pulled from you juke pile, at the almost one had HDMI monitor in there juke pile, and time moved on now no one a working, VGA monitors any more, and last generation HDMI are now in the juke pile, the problem we be the same getting chip, the right standards in raspberry pi, VGA not being thing on new chip designs, and the sole new old retro, either of the shelf ready made parts, with past in mind, and HDMI was not a thing back then? but I do thing going amiga option with modern day rf modulator block, but doing HDMI instead in the box all colour matched as it all on thing
The sound hardware is a pretty neat combo, I have been messing around with it in the tracker called furnace that has support and its really cool
Congratulations David, I think you've done an amazing job orchestrating the project. I remember seeing the first video where you outlined your vision for your dream computer. I know it will be a great success. Thanks for taking us with you on your journey. Commander 16 looks incredible. The only thing you left out of the video was price but that's understandable at this stage in the project. I love the fact that you are going to give some units free to developers. Well done.
I’m not a coder but I really like the idea behind this. I would love to buy it and put it together with my kids. I would want all the parts and my kids and I would put it all together. It would be great to play games from the 1980’s to mid 1990’s.
I think the older case was good and the empty space could've been a expansion board or maybe a speaker or two so it would be okay
This is exciting news. Glad this project is moving along and so much closer to production now.
Repent to Jesus Christ “You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.””
Luke 12:40 NIV
I'm Glad To See My Cover In This Video!! (Green Biker Dude Cover) Thanks!!
Also, Congratulations On Finally Finishing The Commander X16 Project, Well Done To The Entire Team!! 😄😄😄
HIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Great update and glad to hear from the project. I am not from the era of C64, 8bit or 16bit computers but greatly appreciate their design and overall capabilities. As well as the simplicity in learning computer architecture when working with smaller chips (I can even see the potential for a Network expansion card to teach/learn networking basics!). I definitely plan on buying a board for myself once the final prototyping and debugging is finished amongst the devs.
GREAT PROJECT, Hope it goes smoothly! 👍🏻❤
If that little ITX sized board is ever available as a kit, sign me up!
That looks like a terrific project for kids in a maker-club.
I want one. I am so in awe at what you have done with this project so far.
Man I love all your videos! From the hard to find subject matter, to the great annunciation/audio and the killer theme song. Thanks for providing an amazing show free of charge!
Very cool project! I just binge-watched all of your Commodore history videos and it brought back a lot of fond memories of having a C-64 as my first home computer. I don't know if I'd really use a Commander X-16, as I'm not a gamer at all. But I like the idea and what is currently blossoming from it.
woooo! congratulations David and everyone involved in the project, been a long time coming!
I remember the first video about this, then checking if there were updates every few months for a few years. Super awesome to see it finally come to life after so long!
This is awesome man! So glad this project has come along so well. I'm a long time viewer and I really like your channel a lot. Unfortunately I won't be getting an x16 once they're released because I don't know anything about BASIC or retro computing, but it's still really exciting to see it come this far!
What a great product! I'm exceited about this!! Can't wait for the final product and more device options.
Congratulations David! (and the whole team, of course)
I have watched the cx16 updates recently and am glad to hear something has resolved to a final product
Wow! Congratualations on getting this far dude looks absolutely incredible, what a triumph!!
Oh man, it truly is amazing seeing this project come to life. Even if i might not be able to get my hands on a gen1 board, i will definately get a gen 2 or 3. So excited, keep up the good work!
It's being a while but so happy to see The 8 Bit Guy back.
So good to see this coming along - well done!
I love this project. One thing I would love to see, though, is the addition of a USB port and HDMI port. USB support could be as simple as keyboard and mouse support, for starters. The reason for these is that it would eliminate the need for adaptors, something I suspect most users would require.
Congratulations Dave. Incredible project. 👍
Very cool! I'm glad to see that this project still proceeds, despite all the issues we're all having due to the parts shortage. 🙂
I am happy to hear this is finally coming together! Congratulations to you and the team making it this far.
Discovered you a few weeks ago and totally addicted. Something about your voice is just so soothing and is great to have on before going to sleep
That's amazing, well done and good luck completing the Commander X16.
I love it. You are creating your own 8-bit timeline!
Exciting to see this getting close to release! Count me in for support
Amazing progress David… well done to you and the X16 team
As amazing of a project as this is, the question that keeps echoing in my head is, “How are these off-the-shelf parts still on the shelf after all these years?”
The chips are used for many purposes. For example the 6502 is used in industry to control simple machines because it’s simple to use. There are innumerable uses for these parts.
@ Thanks for the reply. It's just incredible to me that something with transistor counts in the low thousands and which hasn't been updated in 35 years would still have a place in the market.
This is like Spectrum Next for the C64 folks, great project and already looking like a polished product. Hope the go fund me is a success because this is a pretty sweet machine. I remember you talking about wanting to build something like this, your dream retro computer, and here we are with it almost finished.
I would say the Mega65 is more like the Spectrum Next for C64 users, because it can run C64 software while having enhancements of its own to every aspect. The X16 also has enhancements to every aspect, but it is not binary compatible with C64 software, based on what David said in this video.
I dosnt seem like its been 3 years? Wow! I will be looking into the website some more. Very Nice!
Wow. What a journey. I’ve been following since your Dream computer video, I’ve even been writing software for this thing
I'm definitely going to buy one when they are up for sale
Even if you are not alone in this endeavour, it must be awesome to see your ideas realized like this. 🎉
I've always had a decent graps on various computers and how they work but these videos always blow my mind. I'm always trying to learn more and your videos keep me encouraged to keep going.
I really love your intro music so much... I hadn't watched you in a while, so I thought, 'I'm gonna see what they're up to' - and realised I was humming your intro music before I even opened CZcams! ^^
I got a couple notes wrong though, I'm still a new fan xD
That’d be nice if you could fit the motherboard inside the little keyboard you showed up like the Commodore. It would definitely improve sales. Also an HDMI or USB-C port for handling power/video/audio would be great because many people don’t have analog monitors anymore.
Congratulations. The level of self discipline and vision necessary to bring this about is incredible.
Well done for getting the project so far. I thought I recognised that Petscii Robots music as sounding "Mega Drive" like even before you explained how it had been derived from the Mega Drive port and it used similar sound chips.
Very interesting project! I remember back when you did talk about it. Glad that it's coming along nicely.
Excellent job to the X16 team for getting this far! Happy to support this project.
Wow! This is great! It really deserves to wait for it!
This is just beautiful, I'm glad you went with both the VERA sound that can emulate a SID and the Yamaha sound, I can tell there are going to be a lot of great new chiptunes coming out. And I love the custom case you showed, the shape brings back nice memories of the Mac Centris 650's I spent a lot of time on in my college computer lab. Also the 80x60 text mode brings back nice memories of BBSing and Turbo Pascal coding in high school.
Awesome video! Good luck getting this going even farther! 🤘
I am really happy to see this dream finally comes true! I will play with the emulator, and write some programs in BASIC and 6502 assembly. Really hope to purchase a unit of Commander X16 in the near future!
I didn't expect my cover of Colony for the YM-2151 to show up in this video...
Subscribed just to keep up with this project! Love to see it.
Looks and sounds really nice. Great that the project comes along. I like the little tiny white keyboard; it would be amazing if a wedge computer with that keyboard could be built.
It looks awesome, and in the end it actually fills the void created by so many retro projects that went nowhere. This sort of fills the void of the Intelivision Amico, and of course the Coleco Chameleon. It’s nice to finally have a product like this actually make it all the way to production.
The difference between this and both Coleco/Intellivision efforts is that one is a passion project, and another is a project simply banking on nostalgia.
@@ZX3000GT1
True and it’s also a real product while those 2 never went anywhere. I have a lot of interest in X16. :)
I HOPE Gen 1 won't be left behind because I LOVE pinned components.
Hell yea! Once it goes into full production I will have to get one. I am an electronic musician who likes FM synthesis. My dream synth is a DX7. I am glad you included a Yamaha FM chip. Musicians already use the C64. So you should make video about the audio capabilities on your 8 bit keys channel. I bet plenty of electronic musicians would want an X16. Especially if you offer a MIDI board and a synth program.
Wow, SOOO MUCH work done in the 8-bit universe just on this project alone - I'm sure you're going to be promoted to 8-bit KING soon, or even 8-bit POPE!
This is something I really want to push sonically. We all know where the SID chip ended up, some people are still pushing the envelope with the bread bin. This kind of puts me in mind of playing with the Acorn Archimedes at school (in the leap from the 4 channels I had on my Amiga at home)
Awesome update! Love the project, can't wait to see it proceed into production
Stellar work! The results look and sound amazing so far. So great also to see so many people collaborating on this project!
The candid reveals in this video and how it's not just a few people involved in its production, and how many have contributed is heartwarming.
lol, aren't those glitched names on the sd card at 22:01 due to it forcing every charecter to be upper case, just by adding an offset I imagine. So if its already uppercase it "overflows" with the added offset into other characters. You can see, when flappy bird loads, that for one frame everything that was before upper is now lowercase and what was glitched is now uppercase.
I don’t think it should ever be crowdfunded. That’s a whole lot of stress for no reason. Just make a few and sell them as you have them completed. Make a waiting list with a small deposit so you know the demand.
This is really good advice - hopefully they at least consider this option!
I kind of hope he does crowdfund. The more units in the world, the more likely it gets adopted in a big way by the demo folks. (But yeah, probably more stressful for the 8-bit guy).
Congrats Brother. i hope your board sells well and thank you for this project.
Great job! Congratulations for the consistency!
👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 🍀 Congratulations! It's a real pleasure to watch about such a success! And your progress! P.S. Not only this X16 is a great success but also how your channel is growing! I would dream about such a quick progress! And that's so challenging (and even a bit suprising as the area is similar as yours). All the best! 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 🍀
Personally I think there's some value in having all the chips separated out on the first run board as it allows the new generation of kids (or old generation of kids) to see and understand the various functions of what each chip does. It gives the brain something to visually see how the whole thing works together. Once it becomes a single amorphous blob it just becomes a black box. Kids in particular need to know how things work.
So you're suggesting it be changed so kids can see how it works, even though changing it would mean it works differently?
That's,..err,.... "interesting".
@@beezle1976 Err no, I was referring to first generation boards which have all the chips separated out, the one 8-bit guy is demonstrating in the video. Not sure how you came to the conclusion you got too.