SuperCPU and geos News Page 2005

14/07/2005...

METAL DUST is Available
The time has come! After many years and much anticipation
METAL DUST is now ready to ship!

This stunning shoot-em-up is the world's first SuperCPU-only game! Take up the challenge by yourself or with a friend and battle your way through four huge levels! The game features amazing graphics and superb digitized music and sound effects - pushing the VIC-II (graphics) and SID (sound) chips to their absolute limits. Find all information on the game at the METAL DUST section:

http://www.protovision-online.de/md/mdstart.htm

METAL DUST is on delivery for those who already paid, presented in a sleek box with professional design and printing.

NOTE:
Everyone who has pre-ordered within the recent years, has already been contacted by us. But unfortunately some contact details were out of date. If this is the case with you, please submit your new details to: order@protovision-online.de

The new METAL DUST trailer in now available to download (note: it's 27 MB). So if you haven't already, head over to the METAL DUST section of our homepage. The latest screenshots are also available in the "Enemies" subsection.

You can order your boxed version of METAL DUST at the Protovision Online Shop now:
http://www.protovision-online.de/catalog
And while you are there, why not taking the opportunity to discover our other quality products?

METAL DUST system requirements:
- a Commodore 64 with Heavy Duty Power Supply or a Commodore 128
- a 3.5" floppy drive (CMD FD-2000 or CBM 1581)
- a CMD SuperCPU 20 MHz Accelerator with SuperRAM Card (at least 4 MB)
- and of course a monitor or TV as well as one or two joysticks.

The total amount of data is 10567 Blocks - that's around 2.5 MB! The FD-2000/4000 version comes on two disks and the 1581 version is on four. A 1541 version is not planned, as that would take around 16 disk sides - and will mean long loading times!

The game will run smoothly from either a CMD-HD or RAMLink, though it is not compatible with the IDE64 or MMC64 at present.

The game works on PAL systems, and will work on NTSC machines except for the very last boss. We hope we can fix this problem soon. Users in the USA and Canada can order with confidence now. Once the patch is finished, we will send it out to NTSC customers.

Information on CMD hardware such as SuperCPU, FD-2000, CMD-HD and RAMLink is available at The Unofficial CMD Homepage:

http://www.cmdweb.de

Availability and pricing of this product range is unfortunately beyond our control. All questions and comments regarding this should be directed to
Maurice Randall/Click Here Software:

http://cmdrkey.com

There is also a Message Board available on this site: http://cmdrkey.com/forum/index.php

A new METAL DUST Banner was created as well.
You can find the banner at our homepage in the "Links/Banners" section. Banner direct link: http://www.protovision-online.de/about/banner-metaldust.gif
If you think this game is worth promoting, please feel free to put the banner on your website. Also our partner forums at Lemon64.com and Forum-64.de support graphics in the signature ;-)

Feedback, questions and comments regarding METAL DUST should be placed in the Protovision subforum at Lemon64:
http://www.lemon64.com/forum

METAL DUST IN THE PRESS
METAL DUST has previously been reviewed in Micro Mart and Retro Gamer, and also appeared in Commodore Scene issue 50:
http://www.commodorescene.org.uk

Another METAL DUST review, as well as an interview with the creators, can be found in the German language GO64! issue 05/2005:
http://www.go64.de

MORE METAL DUST MUSIC RELEASED
WELLE:ERDBALL released a special version of their album WUNDERWELT DER TECHNIK on vinyl a few weeks ago.
This includes the exclusive song STERNENKIND, being the METAL DUST Level 4 music with additional lyrics.
http://www.welle-erdball.de

MIKE THE MAGIC DRAGON AT GTW 64
Mike The Magic Dragon is a jump'n'run game on the Amiga from the late 80s with a special atmosphere. In 1996/97, Malte Mundt alias ThunderBlade was working on a C64 conversion. Unfortunately, development stopped. Now you can find the leftovers and more information on the project at Games That Weren't: http://www.gtw64.co.uk

THUNDERBLADE INTERVIEW AT C64HQ.COM
ThunderBlade got interviewed by c64hq.com some time ago. Go and check the detailed interview at:
http://www.c64hq.com .

JSL'S PROTOVISION DISKCOVER
JSL created a Protovision diskcover, featuring several of our games on it. Pick it up here:

280 KB: http://www.protovision-online.de/werbung/protovision-cover_small.jpg

2.5 MB: http://www.protovision-online.de/werbung/protovision-cover.jpg

PROTOVISION AT RETRO GAMER
TANKS 3000, being close to release, was reviewed in Retro Gamer issue 17:
http://www.retrogamer.net

IDE64 BIOS UPDATE
There is a new BIOS version for IDE64, idedos20050625.

Changelog:
- W-1, W-0
- Blockwrite on pclink
- Control hack2: Scroll stop now setup option
- R-H, rename header
- Control+D sometimes wrong
- NTSC drive problems
- L lock command
- C= skips boot as it used to be.
- %, font and # bugfix

It can be obtained at http://singularcrew.hu/idedos .

IDE64 is an IDE controller that allows the connection of hard disks, CD-ROMs and even CompactFlash cards to the C64.

MMC64 BIOS UPDATE
A new BIOS version is available for the MMC64 as well, V0.98.

Changelog:
- improved card size recognition (thanx to tnt/beyond force!)
- volume name is now correctly recognized
- card removal detection (quits filebrowser)
- extended filebrowser window again
- implemented basic error correction

BIOS:
http://siliconsonic.de/t/bin/MMC64_V098.zip
RECOVERY DISK:
http://siliconsonic.de/t/bin/MMC64_Recovery_098.zip

MMC64 is an MMC- and SD-card interface for the C64.

PROTOVISION PREVIEWS UPDATED
The German language project newssite http://www.protovision-previews.de got updated with the news on METAL DUST. There is more to come...

PRICELIST UPDATED
A new pricelist (07/05) has been compiled and can be picked up in html, text or as a C64 executable here:
http://www.protovision-online.de/pricelist.htm

Milo aka MacGyver/Protovision/DMAgic

17/04/2005...
New geoCanvas Patches.
Werner Weicht has been very busy over past few weeks working on some new "patches" so that geoCanvas can work correctly in Wheels and MegaPatch3 the GEOS System Upgrades. Werner has further developed and improved the patch by Todd Elliott . Using the Wheels patch for example below:

When you have patched geoCanvas to run in Wheels it will now only run in Wheels, it will not start up in the Standard GEOS system or MegaPatch3, if you check the file information "C=q" you will now see a warning **Only for Wheels46/128!!!**
Of course there are a few other "Internal" changes with the patches in that geoCanvas allocates its own Bank of memory and frees that memory on Exit of geoCanvas, which means that "Desk Accessories" that need a Bank of memory will work OK.
Werner also points out that this solves a problem with the ESC/P2 Printer Driver by Roy Bachmann, who sadly no longer supports the Commodore :-(

We also found a problem with the "Line Tool" in geoCanvas in that it interferes with the new "Mouse Control Code" used in Wheels and MegaPatch3 upgrades, this has now been fixed and there are now new Line Tools for geoCanvas64 and geoCanvas128.

You can download the patches and geoCanvas from Werners Site in the Download section:

http://wweicht.homepage.t-online.de/

Werner Weicht

05/04/2005...
Protovision April Update.
NEW METAL DUST TRAILER Go and get the new METAL DUST Trailer with exclusive music by Markus Siebold.

TANKS 3000 PREVIEW
A playable demo of our new game TANKS 3000 is also available and can be downloaded here:
http://www.protovision-previews.de/previews/tanks3000/tanks3000preview.rar

NEW PRICELIST
There is a new pricelist (04/05) available, featuring the new MMC64 - the MMC- and SD-card interface for the C64.

NEW BANK ACCOUNT
We have a new bank account!

For bank transfers (Germany):
Bank Institute: 51540037, Commerzbank Wetzlar
Bank Account: Oliver Foerster, 480964601

EU-Bank Transfer (Europe):
IBAN DE32 5154 0037 0480 9646 01
BIC/SWIFT: COBADEFFXXX

http://www.protovision-online.de

Milo aka MacGyver/Protovision/DMAgic

23/02/2005...
METAL DUST...
The translation of its manual has finally been completed now. Proof-reading was done by TMR whose native language is English. The layout for the manual is also finished. Now the colour settings for printing are beeing made.
Milo recently tested Metal Dust on an NTSC C64 and it ran very well, minus a few glitches in the last end bosses, but that is what we expected.
Shaun Bebbington was given an advanced copy to review for "Micro Mart" and "Retro Gamer". You can find the Micro Mart review here:

http://www.micromart.co.uk/content/features/default.asp?Category=Article&Type=&ID=2085

More on the Retro Gamer review below.

The Metal Dust section at the main homepage was updated. Check out the screenshots at the enemy section and the photos of the Metal Dust box at its ordering page! Feel free to update your order with your current information and whether you would like the Limited Boxed Version or the Standard disk-only one.

PROTOVISION SWEATSHIRT
The changing seasons bring new fashions around the world, so why not be a trend-setter by getting hold of our new stylish Protovision sweatshirts? It comes in high quality flock print, and in a variety of colours! For photos visit our Online Shop: http://www.protovision-online.de/catalog

PROTOVISION AT RETRO GAMER
METAL DUST recieved a 1/2 page review by Shaun Bebbington in issue eleven! (Overall: 92%).
Furthermore, our forthcoming new game JIM SLIM was first mentioned in the Retro Round Up news section in issue ten. More information to follow soon.
Protovision's game advertisement was published on a colored 1/4 page in Retro Gamer issues 10 and 11!

PRICELIST UPDATED
There is also a new pricelist (01/05) available, you can find it here:

http://www.protovision-online.com/pricelist.htm

Milo aka MacGyver/Protovision/DMAgic

http://www.protovision-online.de

19/01/2005...
Jim Collette's GEOS software released to the Public Domain.
Bruce Thomas writes:
This decision was made by Jim Collette and Maurice Randall, Click Here Software owned the distribution rights to the Collette Utilities Disk.
Be sure to check out the CUE web site (http://members.shaw.ca/cue64/) for more details and to download the 2 (front and back) D64 images of the Collette Utilities Disk.
(A very nice addition to the standard GEOS operating system)

Bruce

14/01/2005...
The World of Commodore 2004 WiNGs Release is now available..
Greg Nacu writes:
The World of Commodore 2004 WiNGs Release is now available in downloadable form. It can be found in the Download and Install section of WiNGs.webhop.org.

There have been several updates to the documentation in the Download and install section, I strongly encourage anyone who is not familiar with WiNGs to read these documents first to ensure a smooth installation and a pleasant experience.

New stuff in this release include:
- Improved window manager
- New fully interactive taskbar
- AJirc with nicklist and log saving
- Wordservices v2.0
- Control panels for GUI configuration and Network services
- 6 virtual consoles in 80 columns.
As well as numerous other bug fixes, minor improvements and lots of under-the-hood development, particularly in the GUI.

For more info checkout Gregs site or look in on EFnet #wgs, there is a chance someone maybe there to help, or just leave a message there as it is Logged.

Colin.

13/01/2005...
Upadate for the German geoDOS..
Werner Weicht writes:
There is an update available in the German download section of my homepage for geoDOS. In the module GD_Convert I have changed the translation tables,
Linux - Geos ASCII and Geos ASCII - Linux to correct the handling of the german umlauts.
The german umlauts use codes that are used in US-ASCII for different brackets. These are the Geos ASCII codes (decimal number):

91, 92, 93, 123, 124, 125, 126

My changes translate these codes to the correct Ascii codes for the german umlauts in GEOS - Linux and back. If you use the new Module in other languages (e.g. US-ASCII) the translation of the brackets will be wrong.

Werner.

[Commodore_Scene]	[WWW.C64.SK]	[C=_Homestead]
[MegaPatch_News] 28/10/00	[Wave_News] 31/01/04	[2004_News_Section] well worth a read