Use a software translation program to do things, such as simulating a Super Nintendo on a $3,000 gaming computer, or more practically, running x86 software on the new M1 Mac. The idea seems modern, because it is in today’s computer world China is so common. The idea of using such software is actually much older, and can easily be traced back to the 1980s in the era of Commodore and Atari personal computers.Their hardware is actually not much different, as long as there is a little patience and professional knowledge. Compile Commodore 64 kernel on Atari, There are some restrictions.
This project comes from us [unbibium] And was inspired by a video of his recent simulation of an original Apple computer on Commodore 64. However, he is moving in a different direction in this construction. The first step is to reformat the C64 code so that it can be compiled on Atari. This is mainly done through Python scripts and some manual adjustments. Since then, he has worked to ensure that the ROM can actually run. The memory settings of the two machines are very similar, which makes this slightly easier, but he needs some workarounds to solve some of the slowdown issues. Finally, the cursor and HMI are configured. Once other things are sorted out, he has a working system running C64 software on an 8-bit Atari.
Unsurprisingly, there are some things that don’t work. In addition to the keyboard and mouse without IO, it is not possible to save and load programs. However, [unbibium] All his codes have been provided on his website GitHub page If someone wants to extend his work, he can also improve this project in future builds. However, if you are looking for a simpler entry point to emulate modern Commodore software, there is a project that can be used to run C64 from the Raspberry Pi.
thanks [Cprossu] tip!