Authoring, Emulation and Operating System

• An authoring and playback framework, where information about emulated hardware and software is combined into a single functional title
• Emulation of Amiga hardware (configured by the authoring layer)
• Operating system (running on top of the emulated hardware)
• Application software (running on top of the operating system)

The operating system, which in Amiga Forever is also referred to as "Workbench", consists of a set of original ROM and system files which run on emulated Amiga hardware. Amiga Forever uses primarily two hardware emulation engines: UAE and Fellow. The operating system files included in Amiga Forever are compatible with various ports of UAE and Fellow.

The combination of authentic hardware emulation and original operating systems makes it possible to achieve maximum compatibility with thousands of Amiga software applications. Because the emulation software includes the option to adjust the functionality of the emulated CPU (e.g. 68000, 68020, etc.) with different RAM and custom chip scenarios (e.g. OCS, ECS, AGA), as well as a choice of operating system versions, compatibility with older programs is often higher than what would be possible with a "real" Amiga.

The authoring framework, with its most visible embodiment being the RP9 title editor, was first introduced in the 2012 version of Amiga Forever, and has been greatly improved since then. It is the layer that wraps all the parts together, allowing content to be curated so that everything is described, configured and preserved for the long term, ready to be played back independently of databases and emulation engines. At this level, Amiga Forever "knows" what works and what doesn't. It can even automatically scan media content, preventing or detecting conflicting configurations and advising on resolution options. 

Different Amiga Forever Versions

The Workbench 1.3 environment is included in all versions of Amiga Forever: the Value Edition, the Plus Edition, and the Premium Edition (which includes the Plus Edition and the video DVDs).

The Plus and Premium editions of Amiga Forever additionally include the Workbench 3.X environment and other ROM and system disks released between version 0.7 and version 3.1, inclusive of the A1000 boot ROM and extended CDTV and CD³² ROMs, and additional post-3.1 updates by Cloanto and others.