• CPU: CSG4510 1.02 or 3.5 MHz depending models
• Co-Processor: Commodore CSG 4567 enhanced VIC chip (Video), Commodore CSG8580 SID chips (Sound)
• RAM: 128 KB (DRAM), externally expandable from additional 512K bytes to 4MB
• ROM: 128 KB (including C64 Kernel and BASIC 2.2, C65 Kernel, Editor, BASIC 10.0, ML Monitor (like C128), DOS v10)
• Text Modes: 40 x 25 (C64 Mode), 80 x 25 (with blink, bold and underline attributes)
• Graphic Modes: All C64 modes (320 x 200 bitmap mode) + 320 / 640 / 1280 x 200 / 400 in 2, 4 or 8 planes, interlaces and non-interlaced
• Colors: Programmable 256-color RAM palette, with 16 intensity levels per primary color (yielding 4096 colors)
• Sound: Dual 8580r5 SID Sound chips. 6 voices, 3 per channel
• I/O Ports: RF video output jack, Analog video RGB port (DB-9), Composite video/audio port, Joystick (2), Cartridge slot, Serial bus port, User Port (RS232 compatible), RAM Expansion port, External floppy drive port, 2 x controller ports, Stereo audio output
• Keyboard: 77 keys, including standard C64 keyboard + 8 function keys, TAB, Escape, ALT, CAPS Lock, no scroll, help
• Built In Media: Built-in 3.5” double sided, 1MB MFM capacity drive
• Built In Language: Basic 10.0

MESS emulates the following computers

• c65 [Commodore 65 Development System (Prototype, NTSC)]
• c64dx [Commodore 64DX Development System (Prototype, PAL, German)]

For both system, MESS supports emulation with two floppy drives (1541), “floppydisk1” (flop1) and “floppydisk2” (flop2), for disk images in .d64 format.

Also notice that a “quickload” (quik) feature is available for .p00 and .prg files.

These systems require full keyboard emulation to work correctly. At startup, full keyboard emulation mode is enabled by default. Whilst in full keyboard emulation mode, some key associated functionality may be disabled (like the ESC key for EXIT). The keyboard emulation mode is toggled using the “Scroll Lock” key (by default).

Remember also the following functions:

• Shift+C= switches between upper-only and normal character set (when wrong characters on screen this can help),
• Run (Shift+Stop) loads program and starts it.

Original Keyboard: QWERTY 77 keys, including standard C64 keyboard + 8 function keys, TAB, Escape, ALT, CAPS Lock, no scroll, help

RUN                  CAPS    NO
  STOP       ESC  ALT  LOCK  SCROLL    F1   F3   F5   F7        F9    F11   F13   HELP

                                                                           CLR    INST
    <-   1!   2"   3#   4$   5%   6&   7'   8(   9)   0     +    -    £    HOME   DEL 

 
 TAB       Q    W    E    R    T     Y    U    I    O    P    @    *     UP    RESTORE

      SHIFT
CTRL  LOCK   A    S    D    F     G     H    J    K    L   :[   ;]    =      RETURN


C=    SHIFT     Z    X    C    V    B     N    M    ,<   .>   /?   SHIFT   UP


                                 SPACEBAR                           LEFT  DOWN  RIGHT

Notes: C= is a key with the Commodore logo, “UP” is an arrow pointing up.

Combining C= and CTRL with number keys, you can change the font color. Below you find the complete list of available colors

Emulated trhough Paddle 5 x-axis, Paddle 6 y-axis.

MESS currently simulates only loading from drive 10 and 11 in the C65 emulation. These drives correspond to the devices “floppydisk1” (flop1) and “floppydisk2” (flop2) emulated by MESS. To run a .d64 image you have to launch

mess c65 -flop1 "C:\pathtogame\gamename.d64"

Once you're at the BASIC prompt you have various options:

• to list the content of the floppy

LOAD"$",10
LIST

• to load a BASIC program from the disk

LOAD"filename",10

• to load a machine language program at its address

LOAD"filename",10,1

• to load the first program from the disk (useful if you're not sure of which is the correct one to load)

LOAD"*",10

Once the program is loaded, a “READY” message will be prompted and you can run your program by simply typing

RUN

or the appropriate SYS call. If you launched the game on -flop2, you will need to use drive 11 in place of drive 10 in the commands above.

Note that several programs rely on more features not currently emulated (such as loading other file types, writing…) Some games also rely on starting programs in the floppy drive's processor (and therefore CPU level emulation of the 1541 is needed).

A quickloader is available via command line and it supports program image files with extensions .prg and .p00. The quickloader loads the program into memory and sets the program end pointer. It shall work with most programs. To use the “quickload” (quik) device in MESS: launch

mess c65 -quik "C:\pathtogame\gamename.prg"

and simply type the command

RUN

to start the program.

Gameport A supports paddles 1 & 2, joystick 1, mouse (both the 1350 and 1351), lightpen (implementation not finished). Gameport B supports paddles 3 & 4, joystick 2, mouse (both the 1350 and 1351).

Some games requires the user to plug the Joystick controller in the second Joystick port. In MESS this can be done, either remapping the P2 Joystick inputs, or simply pressing F1 (in partial emulation mode) to swap the Joystick ports and use your P1 Joystick as if it was connected to the second port.

Different versions of the C65 ROMs are supported. You can switch between them, changing the -bios parameter. At command line, for c65 only,

"-bios 0" or "-bios 910111" = V0.9.910111

"-bios 1" or "-bios 910523" = V0.9.910523

"-bios 2" or "-bios 910626" = V0.9.910626

"-bios 3" or "-bios 910828" = V0.9.910828

"-bios 4" or "-bios 911001" = V0.9.911001

Different RAM configurations are possible for these systems in MESS. You can switch between them, changing the -ramsize parameter. At command line, you simply have to add -ramsize ram_value, where ram_value can assume one of the following values

128k (default)
640k - 128k + 512k
4224k - 128k + 4m

• rasterline based video system: quick modified vic6567/c64 video chip, no support for enhanced features, only 80 column mode, no CPU holding, imperfect scrolling support (when 40 columns or 25 lines), lightpen support not finished, rasterline not finished
• serial bus: simple disk drives (device 10 and 11, hang in c64 mode!), no printer or other devices
• expansion modules: none (did there any exist?)
• expansion modules c64 (adapter needed): ultimax ROM cartridges not working; ROM cartridges (exrom) not working; no other ROM cartridges (bankswitching logic in it, switching exrom, game); no ieee488 support; no cpm cartridge; no speech cartridge (no circuit diagram found); no fm sound cartridge; no other expansion modules
• no userport: no rs232/v.24 interface

Another case of vaporware! In the end of 1990, Commodore decided to create a successor for the famous C64. They worked on a prototype called C64 DX then C65.

The C65 had new great features: a very special version of the 7510 with lot of new opcodes, great graphic modes (better than the Atari ST or the Amiga!) and a great new processor: the DMA / Blitter. This chip can be programmed with a list of instructions to copy or set blocks of memory.

The machine was meant to be fully compatible with the C64, but it wasn't. A special key was added on the keyboard to switch between the two modes (C64 / C65).

The development of this machine was stopped (apparently because of problems with the VIC III controller and because of the cost of this computer), and because of the success of the Amiga (Notice that the C65 case looks like the Amiga one!).

Commodore produced about 50 C65's, the first ones display C64DX at boot, the latest display C65.

(info from old-computers.com)

• Commodore C65 prototype page
• C65 at Secret Weapons of Commodore * [[http://www.toxic-waste.de/c65/|Toxic Waste's Commodore C65 Information Page
• www.c65.org
• C65 at old-computers.com