Classic C64 Software
d64 Disk Images for Commodore 64 Emulators
All Programs Written and Produced by Bill Buckels
In Aztec C for the C64 in the
Windows XP Cross-Development Environment

Introduction

This web page offers a number of d64 disk images for download which will run in the WinVice Commodore 64 (C64) emulator and presumably others that support this format. The programs on these diskimages were created by Canadian Software Developer Bill Buckels. They are also available complete with all their bits and pieces and programs and source code and the Aztec64 C Compiler that was used to create the programs. If you already have this compiler installed then you already have these diskimages.

However if you are somewhat saner than I am you may not wish to download old compilers and create diskimages for the C64... just to run them. If that is the case I congratulate you on your sanity and I won't even ask you why a truly sane person would be bothering with old programs in the first place. That can be a discussion for another day.

No matter what your intentions may be (other than malicious of course) you may freely download, use, and distribute any of the diskmages available from this webpage, provided you do not take credit for them, and provided you do not charge any fee of any kind for them.

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C64 Graphics in Windows XP

If you are interested in diskimages for the C64, you may also be interested in C64 Graphics. The ClipShop program for Windows XP also written by Bill Buckels provides support for conversion from several IBM-PC compatible graphics file formats to many C64 graphics file formats, and for loading and saving these directly.

ClipShop also has a "Split Commodore Image" feature, provided primarily for Commodore 128 Emulator Enthusiasts, which creates a file package including a loader program written in BASIC 7 and the split pieces of the original image. If you have the c1541 disk image utility that comes with the VICE emulator installed and on-path, you can run the batch file that is created with the file package to create a d64 disk image by clicking on the batchfile.

ClipShop does not load these split images. They are created for Commodore Emulator Enthusiasts as a fun activity to help keep them occupied with re-living their past, and there is really no purpose in inflicting the rest of us with yet another C64 Image Format.

Aside from ClipShop, at least one more editor is available in Windows for C64 Images; ConGo (Converter for GoDot), a graphic viewer and converter for (mainly) Commodore C64 images written by Matthias Matting.

It has some really neat features that to an expert user might make ClipShop's General Purpose support for C64 Images seem like a "parlour trick". ClipShop is complicated enough for most folks, but for an expert user who would prefer more specific control and additional features, give ConGo a try.

Neither ConGo nor ClipShop provide the special purpose features that a programmer might need to put together a graphics program like some of the programs on this webpage. The graphics (and sound) utilitities that come with the Aztec64 C Compiler form the major part of a C64 C programmer's full editing suite when used in conjunction with the custom link library that also comes with the compiler.

C64 BASIC 2 and C128 BASIC 7 programmers can use some of these tools as well, but programming bitmapped graphics (and sound) in Commodore BASIC 2 is a chore when compared to writing the equivalent C64 programs in C using the AztecC64 compiler under Windows XP, or writing the equivalent C128 programs in BASIC 7.

If you don't understand most of this talk about C64 graphics and you want to learn more, review the Wikipedia Article BSAVE (graphics image format) by Bill Buckels as a starting point.

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"What Time Is It?" - how to "tell time"

Background - Apple IIe Version

"What Time Is It?" was (and is) an Apple II program written by Canadian Software Developer Bill Buckels and was once distributed in the early 1990's by a publisher called Class Software in Winnipeg, Canada in both an English and a French Version. Class Software is now gone.

"What Time Is It?" was intended for use as "CourseWare" in Canadian Classrooms for teaching Elementary School children how to "tell time" using various analog and digital clock representations.

The French Version of "What Time Is It?" was (and is) called "Quelle heure est-il?".

Both English and French Versions for the Apple IIe are available for free download as Apple IIe emulator diskimages at:

http://www.clipshop.ca/DiskImages/

"What Time Is It?" was originally developed for use on the IBM-PC by French Canadian "CourseWare" developers Denis Coulombe and Robert Boivin on behalf of Centre de recherche appliquée pour l'ordinateur (CRAPO) in 1989 and marketed to schools across Canada as part of a six program set called "Collection Les Petites espadrilles".

The Apple II version was written by Canadian Software Developer Bill Buckels on the IBM-PC in the C programing language using the Manx Aztec C 6502 Cross-Compiler for Apple IIe ProDOS 8. It was completed in mid-1991.

In mid-2007 Bill Buckels resurrected the Apple IIe versions of his programs from "Collection Les Petites espadrilles". and released them as Apple II Emulator DiskImages, rebranding them "The Little Running Steps Collection".

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Introduction - Commodore 64 Version

In early 2008 as part of his efforts to produce a Windows XP based C programming language environment for the Commodore 64 (C64), complete with sample programs, the developer of the Apple II version of "What Time Is It?", Bill Buckels, decided that he would create an English-only version for the C64 as a demonstration program in the C programming language using an obsolete C64 compiler program called "Aztec C".

The C64 Version runs at the same speed as the Apple IIe version in less memory, with equal or better graphics, and better sound. It runs nicely in the WinVICE C64 Emulator in Windows XP (it has never been tried on a real C64), and is as complete in every way as the other versions, accounting for differences between the C64, the Apple IIe, and the IBM-PC.

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System Requirements - Commodore 64 Version

"What Time Is It?" requires a Commodore with 64K of memory and a floppy disk. It runs under the BASIC 2 Operating System.

It can also be run from a disk image file in an C64 emulator. It has been tested in Windows XP using WinVICE, and probably works in others using the d64 diskimage format.

Starting "What Time Is It?"

Put the "What Time Is It?" disk in the floppy drive and start the computer. Type "LOAD "*",8" and press [Return]. After the program loads, type "RUN" and press [Return] and wait until the Main Menu Screen appears.

If you are running "What Time Is It?" in an emulator, follow the same basic steps. In WinVICE just click-on the diskimage if you have file associations set, or select it from within WinVICE and autostart, or from within your cmd window if you have file associations set, type time.d64 and press enter and it will autostart. If you are running in the WinVICE emulator in WarpMode the Sound will not work since it is time based; use WarpMode only to switch between screens if you use it all.

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"What Time Is It?" Keys and Navigation

The Arrow Keys are used to navigate the menus and to select choices during activities (Game Play).

The [RETURN] Key or the Space Bar can be interchangeably used to enter selections.

The X Key is used to return to the Main Menu and to Exit the program.

The Sound Toggle Key - S toggles the sound on or off at the Main Menu or during any of the activities.

The 3 Key - Pressing the number 3 at the Main Menu will use 3 digital clocks for the first 10 screens of multiple choice answers during activities (Game Play). This is "level 1". After the first 10 screens, 5 digital clocks will be used. This is "level 2".

The 5 Key - Pressing the number 5 at the Main Menu will use 5 digital clocks for 20 screens of multiple choice answers during activities (Game Play). This effectively skips "level 1" and goes directly to "level 2".

Note: Each time the Main Menu is displayed the default of 3 digital clocks is reset. There should be no need to press the 3 key unless the 5 key has been pressed and needs to be reset back to 3 digital clocks before starting a new activity (Game).

The AlphaNumeric Keyboard keys are used where required to enter information during activities (Game Play) in all programs in the "Collection Les Petites espadrilles" including "What Time Is It?".

A mouse is not supported.

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"What Time Is It?" Title Screen



When the program loads the Title Screen will display during loading, then the Main Menu will appear when the program starts after it is loaded.

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"What Time Is It?" Main Menu Screen



"What Time Is It?" has 3 Learning Activities (Games) which can be selected from the Main Menu by moving the Snail Cursor with the Arrow Keys to the desired activity then started by pressing the [RETURN] Key.

Each Learning activity is a Game based on a different type of analog clock formatted as a series of 20 screens presenting the time on the analog clock as a question and 3 or 5 multiple choice answers in digital clock format.

For the first 10 screens 3 digital clocks are displayed. This is "level 1". For the following 10 screens 5 digital clocks are displayed. This is "level 2".

The student selects the answer for each screen, and when 10 screens are complete, the Student is presented with a musical reward. After the reward for completing 20 screens, the student is returned to the Main Menu.

Activities followed by musical rewards is the basic format of all the programs in the "Collection Les Petites espadrilles".

The fourth Main Menu choice exits the Main Menu and ends the program and returns to BASIC. It is the equivalent of pressing the X Key.

Sound can be toggled on or off at the Main Menu or during any of the activities by pressing S.

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Hours Only - 12 Hour Clock



Activity 1: 12 Hour Analog Clock - Hours Only

Background

The 12-hour clock is a convention of time keeping in which the day runs from midnight to noon, then from noon to midnight, and is divided into 2 periods of 12 hours, numbered from 0 to 12.

The 12-hour clock is only dominant in a handful of countries, particularly the United States and Canada (except Quebec). The 24-hour clock is the most commonly used time notation in the world today.

Game Play

This activity teaches hours in the 12-hour clock time format. For each screen, a random time is displayed on the 12-hour analog clock.

To the right of the analog clock is a multiple choice menu of different times in digital clock format, with only one that matches the time that is displayed on the analog clock.

For each screen, when the Snail Cursor is to moved to the digital clock that matches the analog clock, and the [RETURN] Key is pressed, a section of the Drain Pipe on the left of the screen will fill with water. For every 10 screens the water will empty from the drain pipe, and give the Snail a "bath".

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Hours Only - 24 Hour Clock



Activity 2: 24 Hour Analog Clock - Hours Only

Background

The 24-hour clock is a convention of time keeping in which the day runs from midnight to midnight and is divided into 24 hours, numbered from 0 to 23. This system is the most commonly used time notation in the world today. The 12-hour clock is only dominant in a handful of countries, particularly the United States and Canada (except Quebec).

24-hour notation is in the US and Canada also referred to as military time or astronomical time, and in Australia as army time. In some parts of the world, it is called railway time. It is also the international standard notation of time (ISO 8601).

Game Play

This activity teaches hours only in the 24-hour clock time format. For each screen, a random time is displayed on the 24-hour analog clock. The analog clock is in the form of a "cuckoo clock". To the right of the analog clock is a multiple choice menu of different times in digital clock format, with only one that matches the time that is displayed on the analog clock.

For each screen, when the Snail Cursor is to moved to the digital clock that matches the analog clock, and the [RETURN] Key is pressed, a section of the Hour Glass on the left of the screen will fill with sand.

After the first 10 screens ("level 1") the hourglass will be half-filled with sand and the cuckoo will come out of the clock and "sing".

After the next 10 screens ("level 2") the hourglass will be completely filled with sand and the cuckoo will come out of the clock and "sing", then the student will be returned to the Main Menu.

To make the activity more challenging in "level 2", the higher-order numbers on the clock face will disappear every time the time changes. If the wrong answer is pressed however, they re-appear until the time changes again.

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Hours and Minutes



Activity 3: 12 Hour Analog Clock - Hours and Minutes

Background

The other two activities in "What Time Is It?" present time in an "Hours Only" format. Adding a second objective of minutes introduces an additional base of 60 to the base 12 and base 24 arithmetic that the student must perform in order to tell time in hours.

The approach that "What Time Is It?" uses is to break the minutes into 5 minute intervals which allows the student to count by 5's and 10's to gain a relative framework for the base 60 arithmetic that minutes and seconds require.

Game Play

This activity teaches hours and minutes in 5 minute intervals. For each screen, a random time is displayed on the analog clock.

To the right of the analog clock is a multiple choice menu of different times in digital clock format, with only one that matches the time that is displayed on the analog clock.

For each screen, when the Snail Cursor is to moved to the digital clock that matches the analog clock, and the [RETURN] Key is pressed, a light bulb on the left of the screen will be "turned-off". There are 10 light bulbs.

After the first 10 screens ("level 1") all the light bulbs will be turned-off and the Snail will take a "bite" out of the apple on the lower left of the screen, and an angry worm will appear from the apple, music will play, and all the light bulbs will re-appear.

After the next 10 screens ("level 2") all the light bulbs will be turned-off again and the Snail will take another "bite" out of the apple on the lower left of the screen, then the student will be returned to the Main Menu.

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Graphics Program and Graphics Demos DiskImage

This zip file consists of Commodore 64 d64 disk image files of Graphics Programs that I have written in Aztec C. They can be run in the VICE emulator. They are also distributed with the Aztec64 Windows XP C64 compiler environment complete with source code and graphics and sound library routines available from my website at:

http://www.clipshop.ca/Aztec/

If you already have this compiler you likely already have these.

While being less than spectacular by today's standards, they demonstrate what a programmer can write for the Commodore 64 from the comfort of the C programming languages in Windows XP or MS-DOS without needing to resort to messy programs written in Commodore BASIC or machine language.

CBINLODE - bitmapped graphics file loader

This is a bitmapped graphics viewer program for C64 HIRES and MultiColor BSaved screens. These screens can be created on the C64 if you are so inclined to write a program to do so, or from both IBM-PC and C64 Image Sources by using my ClipShop program for Windows XP available from my website at:

www.clipshop,ca

The programming tools that I distribute with Aztec64 will also create these (and other C64 graphics) from IBM-PC graphics. This program also handles HIRES Doodle Draw and HIRES Art Studio and MultiColor Koala Painter Screen Images that can also be created in ClipShop as well as by a variety of other sources.

VECTOR - vector graphics demo

This program demonstrates the basic functionality of my Aztec C graphics routines that are not related to bitmapped graphics. It draws lines, boxes, and circles in both HIRES and MultiColor modes and is generally a vector drawing demo using graphics primitives routines that are included in my B64NAT.LIB Aztec C link library for the C64.

SPRITES - Aztec C rewrite of the 3 "Hot Air" Sprite Demos

These are the three hot air baloon examples from the C64 manual rewritten in Aztec C. They are reasonably faithful as rewrites go although they really don't do much except move a sprite around the screen when you press the keyboard.

Sprites are fast and a neat feature of the C64 but really too small for the type of animations that I like to do. If you want to write a game of some kind using sprites, the source code for these demos would probably give you a starting point.

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SID Music Playback and Piano Programs DiskImage

This zip file consists of Commodore 64 d64 disk image files of SID Chip Music Programs that I have written in Aztec C. They can be run in the VICE emulator. They are also distributed with the Aztec64 Windows XP C64 compiler environment complete with source code and graphics and sound library routines available from my website at:

http://www.clipshop.ca/Aztec/

If you already have this compiler you likely already have these.

While being less than spectacular by today's standards, they demonstrate what a programmer can write for the Commodore 64 from the comfort of the C programming languages in Windows XP or MS-DOS without needing to resort to messy programs written in Commodore BASIC or machine language.

SONGSTER - song playback - simplified user interface

Simple stand-alone simple text interface with 10 built-in bit-music SID songs with midi-sequencor style controls and voice change etc.

SONGDIR - song playback - advanced user interface

Full featured text interface with a diskimage filled with bit-music SID songs, and with the same midi-sequencor style controls and voice change etc. but slicked-up quite a bit compared to SONSTER which is fun too.

PIANO - Aztec C rewrite of the SID Pianokey program

This keyboard piano is an introduction to the SID chip and music on the C64.

There is much fancy-stuff going-on here behind the scenes although it is only a simple text screen interface. If you are a programmer, reviewing all of this (especially the source code) is a must-do. The pianokey programs was originally presented as a sample in the C64 manual.

The orginal program is also on this diskimage.

Have Fun!

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© Copyright Bill Buckels 1991-2008
All Rights Reserved.