Commodore VIC-20 User manual

2022/04/18 09:34 1/5 Commodore VIC-20
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This article needs some TLC. Read at your own risk.
Commodore VIC-20
The Commodore VIC-20 is an 8-bit home computer developed by
Commodore. It was released in 1980.
In Germany, it was known as the “VC-20” instead, due to the
rather unfortunate similarity between the pronounciation of “VIC”
with another certain German word…
The VIC-20 was succeeded by the Commodore 64 two years later.
This system scrapes metadata for the “c64” group and loads the
c20 set from the currently selected theme, if available.
Quick reference
Emulator: VICE
Core: VICE: xvic
Folder: /userdata/roms/c20
Accepted ROM formats: .a0, .b0, .crt, .d64, .d81, .prg, .tap, .t64, .m3u, .zip, .7z
BIOS
This needs confirmation.
No Commodore VIC-20 emulator in Batocera needs a BIOS file to run.
ROMs
Needs polish/alternatives/automated script(?)
Place your Commodore VIC-20 ROMs in /userdata/roms/c20.
For now, ROMs must be manually specified in VICE in order to use them with its VIC-20 emulator.

Last update: 2021/12/18 01:44 systems:c20 https://wiki.batocera.org/systems:c20
https://wiki.batocera.org/ Printed on 2022/04/18 09:34
Launch the game, and you will be greeted with the following screen1.
Open VICE's menu with [START].2.
Go to Cartridge → Add to generic cartridge.3.
Choose the cartridge type appropriate to your ROM (“4/8KiB” is fine for most).4.
Select your intended ROM.5.

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Exit the menu with [START].6.
Programs (PRG)
A “program” is a C64 executable file that you would LOAD and then RUN on a real C64. Using it with
an emulator usually bypasses the loading process, injecting the file directly into the memory, and
then automatically runs it (so there is no tape, disc or cartridge inserted). Emulators can also run
programs that could not work on a real C64 because they use memory that can not be accessed
during the real loading process. The most famous example is the “Oneload” collection of C64 games,
which are very emulator friendly as they bypass all loading and unpacking times.
Most PRGs are “crunched”, meaning they have been optimized to use the least possible amount of
disk space in order to fit more games on one disk or reduce loading times. Decrunching usually takes
up to 20 seconds and is identified by wildly flickering color bars in the border area.

Last update: 2021/12/18 01:44 systems:c20 https://wiki.batocera.org/systems:c20
https://wiki.batocera.org/ Printed on 2022/04/18 09:34
Cartridges (CRT)
The C64 has a cartridge port and .crt files emulate these cartridges.
more
Enter VICE's menu with [START], then Cartridge → Attach CRT image → Set current cartridge
as default. Back out to the main menu, Settings Management and finally Save current settings.
Tapes (TAP)
Loading from tapes is a long process and if you want the full experience, there are .tap images for
many games that are representations of the audio on the tape and therefore you enjoy the same load
times of several minutes for one game. As many later C64 games actually include extra music and
graphics during the load, these large (several 100 KB) files are important for digital preservation. If a
tape file is smaller than roughly 40KB most likely it is actually just a PRG file hiding inside a wrapper
that can be loaded instantly.
more
Disks (D64, D81)
todo
Multi Disk Games (ZIP, M3U)
Many games use two sided disks or more than one disk. A two sided disk must be flipped manually on
a 1541, so you would eject the disk, flip it around and re-insert it. The standard naming convention for
such disks is Disk 1 - Side A and Disk 1 - Side B, followed of course by Disk 2 - Side A and so on.
more

2022/04/18 09:34 5/5 Commodore VIC-20
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Emulators
VICE
VICE configuration
Standardized features available to all cores of this emulator: c20.videomode, c20.ratio,
c20.padtokeyboard, c20.decoration
ES setting name batocera.conf_key Description ⇒ ES option key_value
Settings that apply to all cores of this emulator
ZOOM (HIDE BORDERS) c20.noborder
Hides borders on many games. Some games used the
borders.
⇒ NO (DEFAULT) 0, YES 1.
Border Graphics and Zoom Mode
todo
Controls
Here are the default Commodore VIC-20's controls shown on a Batocera RetroPad:
Troubleshooting
Further troubleshooting
VICE itself has an extensive user manual.
For further troubleshooting, refer to the generic support pages.
From:
https://wiki.batocera.org/ - Batocera.linux - Wiki
Permanent link:
https://wiki.batocera.org/systems:c20
Last update: 2021/12/18 01:44