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Amiga Forever and C64 Forever 8 Released

December 31, 2018 - Cloanto released today version 8 of Amiga Forever and C64 Forever, the official Commodore/Amiga preservation, emulation and support suites for Windows.

Once again, the new editions are the result of 18 months of development since the previous major version, and now encompass more than 600K lines of code written by Cloanto, seamlessly integrating with a collaborative effort of emulation plugins and content preservation.

"Virtual machines, virtual keyboards, virtual joysticks, virtual mice... real enjoyment! Whether you always wanted to move a PET/CBM text cursor with a click, or pop up an accurate and fully reconfigurable onscreen keyboard for Amiga and 8-bit systems, this release has it all," said a Cloanto spokesperson.

Work on the input front, which in version 7 had a focus on physical and virtual game controllers, was continued in version 8 by revamping existing features and adding virtual mouse and keyboard functionality that has no par in other emulation environments. In order to achieve an accurate implementation of the widest set of Commodore/Amiga systems, more than once we had to ask a collector to open one of their rare machines to confirm some internals. Former Commodore engineers graciously assisted with details that only they could know. When the mouse is used to position an 8-bit cursor, or multiple keys are pressed or tapped on a popup keyboard, or the Amiga keyboard language is changed at runtime in the Input Prefs and propagates up into the emulation and authoring side, the results are both historically accurate and surprisingly seamless in their modern usability.

The deep connections between Windows and CBM/Amiga ROM internals on the input front took several months to craft, yet are easy to use. The same is true for the new fullscreen emulation controls, which required the creation of a graphical user interface with menus and buttons that could be used with the mouse or keyboard as well as with game controllers, at a low level where this is not provided by Windows.

As part of its "preservation done right" commitment, Cloanto entered into agreements with Stanford University Libraries, the German National Library (Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, DNB) and other cultural and preservation institutions. These collaborations are spontaneous, and Cloanto does not receive payments or funding. Ongoing efforts also include a "kiosk mode" emulation frontend for museums.

"Working on projects like Amiga Forever and C64 Forever and remaining in touch with our community has allowed us to keep nourishing the sentiments of passion, beauty, excellence and friendship that have accompanied this journey since the 1980s. We also learned how continuing this longstanding endeavor brings with it some mostly thankless tasks such as sorting out the occasional legal doubt and standing up for the truth. In working hard to research rights and respect rules, Cloanto has become a 'reluctant torchbearer' of something bigger and of larger interest than we could ever have imagined to be involved with more than 30 years ago. Fortunately, as an independent entity, Cloanto does not lack the courage or the ability to change, or to hand over.

"Continuing on the discourse that was first outlined at cloanto.org a few years ago," said Mike, "I remain personally engaged in exploring possible futures involving a nonprofit and/or foundation, open source, and other scenarios that could best help the cause of Commodore/Amiga preservation and support. As in the past, during 2019 I plan to attend events like Amiga Ireland, AmiWest in Sacramento and Amiga34 Germany. I again look forward to meeting old and new friends and to promote consultations on this important topic."

Amiga Forever 8 is available now in three editions:

Value Edition (downloadable installer)
Plus Edition (downloadable installer with option to build DVD ISO image)
Premium Edition (downloadable Plus Edition, plus boxed software and additional videos on 3 DVDs)

C64 Forever 8 is available now in three editions:

Free Express Edition (feature-limited version)
Downloadable Plus Edition (downloadable installer with option to build CD ISO image)
Boxed Plus Edition (downloadable Plus Edition, plus boxed CD)

Both packages recognize and work with each other, with options to merge the different platforms into the same interface. Prices start from $9.95 (Value Edition, or special upgrade offers).

Visual Tours

Here are some suggestions to highlight specific version 8 features for YouTubers and other more visual friends:

Virtual Keyboard - Open an Amiga emulation session like Workbench 3.X (in the Systems folder) and then use the keyboard menu at the bottom left of the playback window to open the Virtual Keyboard. Inside the emulation, open the Input Prefs and change the keyboard to a different language (e.g. German). Did you notice how the virtual keyboard on the Windows side also updated its layout? And still, it all keeps working with your unchanged physical PC keyboard, no matter what layout that one has. Then on closing the session you can choose whether to commit the keyboard layout change to the title configuration, or not.
Virtual Mouse - Looking for something a bit more "retro"? Start an 8-bit title (e.g. a PET 2001, or 8032, or C64) from the Systems folder of C64 Forever, and use the mouse to move the text cursor around. If you ever spent a lot of time programming or writing on those systems, isn't this something you've been wanting to do for almost 40 years?
Fullscreen Controls - Start or switch any Amiga or 8-bit emulation session to fullscreen (use the button in the top row of the playback window), then hold down the Escape key for one second to open the new fullscreen controls. These can be selected with the mouse, with the keyboard, or with the same controllers you are using to play. At last, you can swap disks, pause, resume, save, etc., without needing to leave your favorite screen mode and controls.
Discord Status - Do you use Discord? "Now playing" activity sharing can be enabled under Tools/Options/Social.
Type Clipboard Text - Hello World? Happy $7E3? Here is something simple, but fun to watch if you would like to paste a message or a few lines of code: use the keyboard menu at the bottom left of the playback window to paste the content of the Windows text clipboard. Works with any Amiga or 8-bit system.