Xmas News:

• Tom Walker released version 1.0 of B-Em for DOS & Windows, which features the following improvements above v0.82:
  
  
  • FDI support. A few bugs in FDC emulation remain
  • Improvements to timing, Joust now works, along with some Kevin Edwards protected games
  • Master Compact emulation (largely for some of the dumped FDI images)
  • Slight improvements to cassette emulation, loader on Joust now works, speedup now available
  • Faster tape loading
  • Fixes and optimisations to ARM emulation.

FDI files are effectively raw dumps of the information contained on a disc's surface. Because the format represents the contents of a disc so precisely, it is flexible enough to archive copy-protected DFS/ADFS discs.

The tool used to create FDI files is called Disk2FDI, a DOS-only utility written by Vincent Joguin. The size of FDI files tend to be quite large: for a single sided 40 or 80T DFS disc you're talking anything between 500k and 3,500k.

N.B. Unfortunately, due to limitations of the PC Floppy Disc Controller (FDC), it is not possible to transfer FDI files back to floppy for use with an actual Acorn/BBC machine.

• To coincide with the new version of B-Em, the Acorn Preservation Project has been updated with FDI files for 75 BBC Micro games.

The update includes a few Master Compact titles, as well as Shibumi Soft's Arc Pinball sim (that was recently featured in Lost & Found). Currently, all but 10 files in the FDI archive will run under B-Em.

Complementing the .fdi dumps are high quality scans of the discs themselves and associated packaging/documentation (inlcuding a scan of the Exile novella, which should prove useful if you're playing a version that hasn't had the password look-up removed).

As usual, eMule users can use the following links to obtain all files contained within the update:

DISCS.-.Acorn.BBC.Micro.+.Acorn.Electron.-.Games.-.FDI.(acornpreservation.org).(0.001).rar
141,719,827 bytes

SCANS.-.Acorn.BBC.Micro.+.Acorn.Electron.-.Games.-.JPG-600dpi.(acornpreservation.org).(0.004).(update.from.0.003).rar
658,627,429 bytes

Fraser Ross released v1.11 of MakeUEF, which now features support for Acorn Atom tapes.

Changes:

• Fixed baud rate recording for 300 baud rate format BBC files
• Fixed the -d switch, which was not working correctly with the starts of files
• Removed writing of baud rate after a ‘fill in’ ‘1’ bit
• Removed writing of baud rate after a standard dummy byte not followed by carrier tone
• Changed error messages for the LOG output to have all uppercase letters
• Removed the -l s command, which was equivalent to the default
• Removed the parameter from the -l switch
• Made a big improvement to the speed of the -d switch
• Added support for Atom files. 1200 baud rate format Atom files have not been tested.
• Added support for leaderless version files on Acornsoft Atom cassettes with the new -u switch
• Made the program mostly use UML classes and packages.

By the way, the "exciting development" that I was harping on about during the Dec 20th update will be announced tomorrow, so check back here if you can!

Update:

• Added Rom Images for the following Acorn Electron roms:
  
  
  • Slogger Pegasus 400 DFS v1.01
  • Slogger Tape2Pegasus400 v2.02.
    
    
• Updated the links to Wouter's BBC & Atom Pages as they now reside at:
  
  
  • http://www.xs4all.nl/~swhs/whs.

News:

• It's been in the making for over five years but, as reported yesterday the PC version of Repton 3 is finally available, with a special introductory price of $19.95 (about £11). As usual, a trial version is also available.
  
  I've just bought (and received!) my copy ... have you? ;o)
  
  
• Mike Wyatt has released beta 1 of BeebEm v3.1, which features Econet Emulation based on the work Rob O'Donnell did last year.
  
  Changes since v3.0:
  
  
  • Added econet emulation. Still a few issues to iron out, it does not work in Master 128 mode yet but the Acorn level 1 file server software works in Model B mode. Note that the default DFS ROM in Model B mode has been changed to the Acorn DNFS ROM.
  • Added some more command line options. The hardware model and tube support can be specified on the command line. See the notes in readme.txt.
  • Fixed default read value for IO pages FRED and JIM. Fixes graphics corruption in tape version of Alien 8.
  • Fixed bug in video emulation where it was attempting to display one too many lines causing visual artifacts (thanks to Phil Sainty for highlighting this one).

Mike is also on the lookout for a copy of the Level 2 File Server Master disc (he already has the Utility disc that contains the file server software).

Update:

• Added Rom Images of Arkanoid, Frak, Killer Gorilla, Kix and the Silversoft version of Robotron. None of these were 'official' rom versions: all were hacked from tape or disc.
  
  So if you wanted to, you could blow a few Eproms, install them in your Beeb and ... voila - you now have a BBC with built-in games! Pretty cool, eh? (though admittedly, nowhere near as cool as having one of these inside your Beeb!).
  
  Mike Tomlinson did the same for Zalaga and sent it to the BBC Lives website years ago. It's available here.

News:

• Superior Interactive have just announced the following ...

Repton 3 Will Be Released Tomorrow! 160 Levels of Classic Repton Action! Repton 3 is our most keenly awaited PC game, and we are delighted to announce that it will be ready for release tomorrow! Our Repton 3 software features: the Repton 3 Game with new high-resolution detailed graphics, and the versatile Repton 3 Editor for creating your own levels and scenarios. The game includes all of the levels from Prelude, Toccata, Finale, Around The World, The Life of Repton and Repton Thru Time, plus 16 new levels, making 160 levels in total! Tomorrow we will be announcing more details, which will include a special introductory discount offer – so please look out for tomorrow's issue of the Superior Interactive Newsletter. Repton 3 is our biggest PC release to date, and we know that many of you have been patiently waiting for its moment of release ... now the wait is almost over!

Lost & Found updated with an entry for Arc Pinball (Shibumi) - an ace pinball game that must have been quietly released in 1990.

Unfortunately, no download is available as the original disc is copy-protected and can't be transferred to .ssd format.

However, thanks to an exciting development on the Beeb emulation front, it should soon be possible for all Windows/DOS users to emulate this rarity on a PC ... watch this space!

Added scans of the official Topologika solution for Part Three of the Doom adventure trilogy: Last Days of Doom  [ Game Help ].

Added a scan of the official Robico solution for Part Two of the Rick Hanson trilogy: Project Thesius  [ Game Help ].

He's at it again ...

Dave Edwards provided a Map and Solution for Star Drifter  [ Game Help ].

The Game Help pages have been updated with maps for the following games (again, all thanks to Dave Edwards):

• Jet Set Willy
• Plan B
• Plan B2.

Dave also sent updated versions of his Jet Set Willy II maps (see below). Just to clarify, the JSW2 maps apply to the cassette versions of the game, NOT the [extended] BBC Micro disc version.

Updates:

• Dave Edwards supplied a wonderful screenshot map (well, two actually) for Jet Set Willy II.  [ Game Help ]
  
  
• Link added to Pete Hatton's Moonbase Beta site (which is long overdue!).

News:

• The Retro Gamer magazine - which ceased production earlier this year - has been relaunched and is now being published by Imagine Publishing.
  
  Issue 19 is now on-sale and is a quid cheaper than before (£4.99), though it no longer contains a cover disc. I haven't seen the mag yet, but according to this post on Usenet, it contains a feature on the Acorn Electron version of Elite.
  
• Dethmer Kupers has released v0.2.1.1 of GoMMCExplorer (for users of John Kortink's GoMMC device)
  
  
• v2.01d is now the latest final release of OmniFlop, with a v2.01e pre-release also now available from the homepage.

Updates:

• added the Minionsoft remake of Atic Atac to the Clones page.
  
  This was actually released in 2002, though I've only just found out that it was based on the BBC version, hence its inclusion.
  
  
• Link added to Equinox Tetrachloride's BBC Micro Jet Set Willy II page (which must've been online for a good three years now!).

Updates:

• added another (very early) article on Superior Software, taken from a 1983 edition of Home Computing Weekly
  
  
• added a BBC Disc Image for Xenapor (Various), that was provided by James Roberts.

News:

• Superior Interactive have released their modernised, PC version of Ricochet and for a limited period, it's available at the discounted price of $17.95 (about £10). A free trial version is available here.

Superior are also aiming to get their Repton 3 conversion released in time for Xmas.

• Jon Welch recently released version 3.0m of BeebEm Mac.
  
  Back in October, he also upgraded DFS Explorer to version 1.2.0 and it now includes support for Watford DFS 62 file format discs.

Jacob Gunness - who runs the Classic Adventures Solution Archive - provided a map and solution for Sadim Castle (MP Software).  [Game Help]

Please pay attention to the following Press Release from the Organ Grinder's Monkey!

"YOU'RE ALAN PARTRIDGE. A public domain game by the Organ Grinder's Monkey, pits you in a battle of wills as the gregarious, ever popular TV character. You're up against Ray Woollard, "one of the toughest interviewers in the business" and his sidekick, Digital Dave. "YAP is the first modern game developed for a retro format, and includes full screen comic-book style interaction between the characters, a demonstration interview, on-screen scoring and six levels to battle your way through. "YAP also utilises the Millsgrade Voxbox expansion on the Acorn Electron, allowing Digital Dave to actually pose the questions in audible English. YAP is the first, and only, game for the Acorn Electron that incorporates speech synthesis in a realistic and humorous fashion. However, the game also works on a BBC B, B+ and Master 128. "YAP is a Mode 4 game and includes gorgeous graphics, blips and whistles, speech synthesis and a sense of fun. It is a tribute to the enduring fans of the series "I'm Alan Partridge" and poses multiple choice questions on each of the six episodes that make up Series 2. Each level requires a set number of questions to be answered correctly. "Do you remember which was Alan's favourite pump at the BP garage? Or why there were holes in his morning newspaper? Or which of Sonja's practical jokes actually worked? If so, and if you also love retro then you will love YOU'RE ALAN PARTRIDGE. "Also featured on the disc is a "Creation And Credits" demonstration, showing how elements of the game were created, including the progression of the speech bubbles and graphics that ultimately did not make the final version of the game. "YOU'RE ALAN PARTRIDGE is something special and will be premiered at next year's CGE UK show* on an Acorn Electron with Millsgrade Voxbox. The game is currently in the final stages of testing and the screenshots only hint at the fun to be had!" * = subject to the event actually taking place!

News:

• Mike Wyatt has released version 3.0 of BeebEm
  
  Changes since v2.3:
  
  • Improved VIA timing emulation and fixed some instruction cycle counts. Its still not perfect but its good enough to run various versions of the infamous "Kevin Edwards" protection code! The following tapes now load and run: Knight Lore, Alien 8, Daley Thompson Supertest, Strykers Run, Exile, Joust, Galaforce. These are the only ones I've tried, others may work as well.  [DM: also fixed are Atic Atac, Psycastria, Sphere of Destiny, Starquake & Skirmish]
  • Fixed bug in horizontal displayed register emulation. Joust tape loading screen now appears centered correctly.
  • Fixed bug in virtical sync position register emulation. Stops DirectX errors occurring when running Micropower Roulette.
  • Fixed bug in virtical displayed/total register emulation for mode 7
  • Screen is now cleared below lines that are displayed
  • Added AVI video capture to the file menu (now with resolution and frame skip options)
  • Changed command line parsing so it works when paths are enclosed in quotes and it now supports loading of UEF state files (thanks to Jasper for this one). Disk and state files can now be associated with BeebEm and run by double clicking on them.
  • Fixed bug in IDE hard disk file access that prevented BeebEm from running when logged in as an unprivileged user on Windows XP
  • Fixed bug with window positioning when task bar is on left or top of screen
  • Bumped version to 3.0 to keep in sync with the Mac version of BeebEm.
    
    
• Tom Walker has added a WIP Page to his Arculator site, which currently features status updates on his next emulator project: RPCemu.

News:

• Yesterday, Ovine released their long-awaited PC conversion of the BBC Micro Classic - Cholo.
  
  Head over to the staggeringly-impressive http://cholo.ovine.net minisite for the download ...

• Thom Van Os has created a Linux version of old Archimedes favourite, Zarch.

• Jon Welch has released versions 3.0k and now 3.0l of BeebEm Mac.
  
  V3.0k added capability to capture video to QuickTime .mov format whilst V3.0l added Skip Frame and Frame Size options to video capture.

The news about Cholo and Zarch was sourced from Retro Remakes.

The copy of JCB Digger (Acornsoft) in the BBC Disk Image Archive has been replaced with a version that is compatible with more DFS roms.

The previous version only seemed to work with Acorn DFS v0.9 and v1.20.

Thanks to Dave Hunt for providing the replacement.

Fru T Bunn (!) has started porting the Windows version of BeebEm version 2.3 to run natively on UNIX(like) systems.

It uses the cross-platform SDL library - www.libsdl.org - to replace the Windows specific code, so it could eventually be ported to a variety of systems in the future.

You can view some screen shots and download the latest snapshot of the development source code at:http://uk.geocities.com/frutbunn@btinternet.com

I received a request for the BBC Master 65C102 Co-Processor Support Disc so I've imaged my copy and added it to the Essentials page.

Added VGM Music files for Ghostbusters (demo), Tubular Bells (demo) and the introductory theme for perhaps the scariest Beeb game of all time: Granny's Garden.

Maxim has released version 0.32 of in_vgm - a plug-in for Winamp that allows playback of Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear and BBC Micro .vgm/.vgz music files.

This version features more accurate playback of BBC Micro music (particularly 'white noise') though any existing .vgm/.vgz files will need to be updated to the new VGM file format using Release 5 of VGM Tool 2 (go here for instructions).

N.B. all files in our VGM Archive have been updated to the new format (v1.10) and are now stored in gzip-compressed .vgz format (as opposed to uncompressed .vgm).

Users of John Kortink's incredible GoMMC device may be interested in the following post that was made to the BBC Micro Mailing List:

Michael Foot recently* sent me a BBC UEF Tape Image and BBC Disk Image for a game called Espionage by Modular Resources.

*  = lie

Lost & Found updated with an entry for Quest I.

Quest I was an unreleased/unfinished Ultima clone by Daniel Bowen, that was written in Mode 4.

The author is currently working on getting the files transferred to an emulable format.

News:

• Fraser Ross released v1.10 of MakeUEF
  
  
• the Classic Adventure Solutions Archive has been updated with an Interview with Keith Campbell, who used to pen the adventure column inside C&VG magazine.
  
  Keith used to write about a lot of Beeb adventures, so the interview will no doubt be of interest to a number of our visitors ...
  
  

Update:

• added a BBC Disk Image for the remixed version of The Train Game (Various), which appeared on the October 1991 Acorn User coverdisk.

Mike Wyatt has made beta 1 of BeemEm v2.4 available on the BeebEm homepage which adds support for AVI-based video capture !!!   =)

Say, if folks want to start capturing completion screens etc, then I might just open up an archive of game endings ...

Heck, as server space isn't an issue at the moment, you can record yourself completing whole games from start to finish if you want and I'll publish those ... just don't send me any large files without asking first!

Updates:

• Added the BBC Master 512 System Discs to the Essentials page
  
  
• Opened a VGM Archive on the Sound + Music page (71 tracks in total)
  
  The VGM format was primarily developed for ripping tracks from 8-bit Sega games (i.e. Master System & Game Gear) though it also suits sound generated by the Beeb.
  
  All tracks were captured using either the Model-B or B-Em emulators, which both support VGM logging.
  
  Unfortunately, vgm2mid would only convert a few of these files to midi format, however, I think that those it could manage sound rather good!  [ see Sound + Music - Sids & Midis ]

BBC Disk Image added for Mexico 86 (Qualsoft).

News:

• Jason Watton has made Omniflop v2.01d (pre-release) available on his homepage
  
  
• in addition to Repton 3 and Quest, Superior Interactive are now working on a PC version of Ricochet ...

BBC UEF Tape Image and Cover Scan added for Golden Games (Database).

The Acorn Preservation Project  has been updated with high quality scans and HQ_UEF/CSW files for another 42 games (including a big bunch of Acornsoft stuff, plus the ultra-rare Aardvark version of Joust).

eMule users can use the following links to obtain all files contained within the update:

TAPES.-.Acorn.BBC.Micro.+.Acorn.Electron.-.Games.-.CSW.(acornpreservation.org).(0.003).(update.from.0.002).rar
TAPES.-.Acorn.BBC.Micro.+.Acorn.Electron.-.Games.-.HQ_UEF.(acornpreservation.org).(0.003).rar
SCANS.-.Acorn.BBC.Micro.+.Acorn.Electron.-.Games.-.JPG-600dpi.(acornpreservation.org).(0.003).(update.from.0.002).rar

BBC UEF Tape Images added for ShapeMatch and MindBender, which featured on the Games 3 tape from Beebug.

Jeff Gaines has written JBeebEmROM - a utility for managing rom configuration in BeebEm.

It's been tested with v2.3 of the emulator and requires the Microsoft .net Framework.

Jeff would really appreciate some feedback on his program so if you use it, please send him your comments (his email address is contained within the documentation).

Added BBC UEF Tape Images for a further 18 Beebug companion cassettes.

Tim Herklots provided scans of the eighth, ninth and tenth editions of the Atom User Gp Newsletter, which means we now have the full set online  [ Atom Pages ].

Colin McDougall provided a Rom Image of Acorn DFS v1.20 (which was in response to a request made on the forum).

Tim Herklots provided a scan of the first edition of the Atom User Gp Newsletter  [ Atom Pages ].

Tom Walker released v0.4 of Arculator (Archimedes emulator).

Updates:

• Added the Electron version of Logo (Acornsoft) to the Roms page
  
  
• Added an Electron UEF Tape Image of the Logo Extensions and Examples support cassette
  
  
• Added a BBC UEF Tape Image for Making the Most of the Micro (BBC Soft)
  
  
• Added Cover Scans for:
  
  
  • 9 Classic Card & Board Games Volume 2 (Database)
  • Leap-Frog [Re-Issue] (IJK)
  • Super Golf [Re-Issue] (Squirrel)
  • the cassette version of Orlando's 3D Pool (Firebird).

Unfortunately, the signal on the 3D Pool cassette was very poor and we've been unable to generate a [working] UEF Tape Image ... yet!

News:

• Not strictly Acorn 8-bit related, but last week Tom Walker (author of B-Em and Elkulator) released v0.35 of his Archimedes emulator, Arculator.

Updates:

• Cover Scans for the following Acornsoft games:
  
  Black Box and Gambit, Hopper [German] & Snapper [German]
  
  
• BBC UEF Tape Images for:
  
  Hopper [German] (Acornsoft) & Beebtape No 4 [CSL Microdata] (magtapes)

Thanks to Wouter Scholten for donating the original versions of all of the above!

Updates:

• Added a BBC UEF Tape Image and Cover Scan for the Superior Software version of Darts.
  
  As far as I can tell, this means that the entirety of Superior's back-catalogue is now available on the web (woo hoo!).
  
  N.B. the copy of Darts that was listed under the Supeior section of the long-defunct RetroBBC site (mirror here) wasn't actually the Superior version - it was the A&F release.

News:

• Fraser Ross released v1.9 of MakeUEF.

Added ROM images of the BBC Master and Acorn Electron Demonstration Cartridges to the Roms page.

Sam Skivington provided a BBC UEF Tape Image of Fortress (Pace).

Jason Watton has made a pre-release version of Omniflop v2.01c available on the homepage.

Updates:

• 22 x BBC UEF Tape Images:
  
  [Games]
  
  
  • Asteroid Miner (Optima)
  • Atomic Protector (Optima)
  • Eastwood Manor (Polarsoft)
  • Gomoku (Micropower)
  • Humphrey (Mr Micro)  ** thanks to Jeremy Grayson **
  • Loopz (Audiogenic)
  • Missile Attack (Doctor Soft)
  • Mysterious Adventure #3: Arrow of Death (Adventuresoft)
  • Pinball (Microbyte)
  • Renegade Robots (Senator)
  • Rocket Raid - German (Acornsoft)
  • Super Invaders - German (Acornsoft)
  • Wet Zone (Everiss)

[Other]

• Business Games - German (Acornsoft)
• Dart (AUCBE)
• Copy File II (Vision)
• Number Balance - German (Acornsoft)
• Osprey (Bourne)  ** thanks to Neal Williams **
• Quest (AUCBE)
• Text Editor (G.Soft)
• The Spreadsheet (Microl)
• Word Hunt - German (Acornsoft)
  
  
• 5 x Electron UEF Tape Images:
  
  [Games]
  
  
  • Arena 3000 (Microdeal)
  • Dogfight (Opus)
  • Loopz (Audiogenic)
  • Mysterious Adventure #9: Perseus & Andromeda (Adventuresoft)

[Other]

• Osprey (Bourne)  ** thanks to Neal Williams **
  
  
• 50 x Cover Scans, including scans for all of the above games
  
  
• Rom image of Opus DDOS v3.46 added to the Roms page (thanks to Greg Cook)
  
  
• Beta version of Adam Cook's 3D Chuckie Egg game added to the PC Clones page
  
  
• Statistics updated for Q2 2005 (the Q3 stats are due now too ...).

 

And to catch up on some news:

• Tom Walker released v0.8, v0.81, v0.81a, v0.81b and finally v0.82 of B-Em in July/August
  
  Changes from 0.71b to v0.8:
  
  
  • Timing improvements, some stuff that encrypts via timers (eg Frogman) now works
  • VIA improvements - fixed Planetoids/Super Defender/whatever, Volcano and Pharoah's Curse
  • Improvements to sound accuracy, Ghouls and Killer Gorilla (and probably others) have better sound
  • Cassette emulation now much more reliable
  • Save states are implemented again
  • Config file now in English
  • Added high pass sound filter and SID waveform
  • Vastly improved Windows port.

Changes from v0.8 to v0.81:

• Fixed bugs in 8271 and 1770 FDCs, all write operations should now work, along with formatting. The Hobbit also now works correctly
• Fixed some crash bugs
• Added command line options, mainly for use by frontends.

Changes from v0.81 to v0.81a:

• Adjusted audio a bit, less lagging in Windows port
• Fixed VGM logging.

Changes from v0.81a to v0.81b:

• Audio buffer length now user selectable (Windows only)
• Fixed bug with instructions like STA $FFFF,x - 3D Grand Prix no longer crashes
• A few other fixes.

Changes from v0.81b to v0.82:

• ARM Evaluation System emulation. Beware that this is quite slow and probably buggy (I don't have any software to test on it)
• Fixed ADC/SBC BCD flags that were broken in 0.8 - Exile works again
• Added read ID commands to 8271 FDC - Superior Collection now works
• Ported to OS X.

A MAC version (ported by Thomas Harte) is also now available from the B-Em Homepage.

• Jon Welch released a MAC port of BeebEm back in July
  
  
• Jon Welch's homepage also contains a number of useful utilities relating to file transfer and disc image manipulation, which he's either released updates to (Xfer v5.1, bbctapedisc v1.01) or written himself (BBC/ADFS/HADFS Explorer)
  
  
• Fraser Ross released version 1.8 of MakeUEF, which allows you to create high quality cassette images from BBC/Electron tapes
  
  
• The Back2Life utility, which allows you to create WAV files from CSW files (for recording onto cassette or playback to an Acorn computer) has also been added to the MakeUEF homepage. N.B. CSW files are available from the Acorn Preservation Project website.
  
  
• All of the High Quality UEF Images available from the Acorn Preservation Project have been replaced and updated with files created with the new, 1.8 release of MakeUEF
  
  
• GoMMC (the "ultimate BBC B/B+/Master storage system") now supports loading of 'tapes' (derived from UEF files). From the author: "This introduces a way to quickly and easily run fully original tapes on the BBC, without the need for feeding audio to the machine. Tapes load quicker too (for example, Firetrack loads in about 40 seconds total via GoMMC, against 5+ minutes via the regular way)."
  
  
• Acorn Electron World has moved to www.acornelectron.co.uk
  
  
• James Watson has changed the focus of his website and re-named it to the BBC COMPUTER PROGRAMMING WEB SITE. He hopes that amateur BBC programmers (like himself) can share their home written software and discuss games programming.
  
  Over the next few weeks he hopes to put many of his half-written games and demos onto the site.
  
  
• Three weeks ago, Ovine released the first beta of their Cholo conversion to beta testers

Added a Statistics page, which contains lists of Top Downloads.

Update:

• Jacob Gunness of the Classic Adventure Solution Archive supplied a solution for A&F's Horror Castle  [ Game Help ]

News:

• It's been a long wait, but a new version of 6502Em (v4.00) has finally been released by Mike Borcherds.
  
  New features:
  
  
  • Now runs on Iyonix
  • Now runs in high resolution pixel doubled mode on StrongARM or better (BBC/Master/Compact only, not Electron)
  • Now loads disc images (.SSD) directly
  • Now loads most UEF tapefiles
  • VIA timer code rewritten (Skirmish, Nutcracka now work)
  • Now tested on Virtual A5000/RPC and RISC OS Select/Adjust

6502Em is a commercial BBC/Master/Compact/Electron emulator for RISC OS 3.1 or above. It costs £15 to purchase (or £10 to upgrade) and includes the following features:

• Runs the original unaltered OS 1.2
• Superb sound emulation (including speech)
• High resolution pixel doubled modes on fast machines
• Exact Screen Emulation (Elite, Revs, UIM, Exile, etc)
• Cunning emulation of the DFS directory structure within ADFS
• Loads in sampled BBC tapes and supports UEF format
• Loads disc images (SSD format)
• Copes with many forms of both tape and disc protection
• Full filing system (*SPOOL, *EXEC, OSGBPB etc etc)
• Page at &E00
• Proper emulation of the keyboard interrupt & keyboard
• Completely redefinable keymap
• Full emulation of both VIAs
• Full emulation of strange screen shapes
• Full emulation of hardware scrolling
• Snapshots to save state of emulator
• Save screen as Sprite
• RISC OS * Commands from within emulator
• Supports paged ROMs and RAMs
• Desktop frontend (F12 to return)
• Electron emulation
• Master 128 and Master Compact emulation
• Supports Acorn's Joystick SWI

Time to catch up on some news, methinks!

• Tom Walker released v0.5 and v0.6 of Elkulator.
  
  Changes in v0.5:
  
  
  • Improved timing - steady raster splits in Spy vs Spy
  • Fixed bug that slowed down at least Arcadians and Killer Gorilla
  • Better GUI + sound in Windows
  • Joe Blade + other Players games should now work
  • Vastly improved HQ.UEF support
  • Support for ROM cartridges
  • Snapshots added
  • Screenshots added.

Changes in v0.6:

• Much improved disc emulation - 2 drives, plus writing and DFS support
• Fixed bug with config saving in Windows
• Fixed crash bug in Windows XP.

This is definately worth the download!

Not only does it look like a "proper" Windows app, it also boasts excellent support for the HQ.UEF Tape Images available from ...

• The Acorn Preservation Project  was updated with another batch of High Quality 600dpi scans plus HQ.UEF & CSW Tape files.
  
  eMule users can use the following links to obtain all the files contained within the update:

TAPES.-.Acorn.BBC.Micro.+.Acorn.Electron.-.Games.-.CSW.(acornpreservation.org).(0.002).(update.from.0.001).rar
TAPES.-.Acorn.BBC.Micro.+.Acorn.Electron.-.Games.-.HQ_UEF.(acornpreservation.org).(0.002).(update.from.0.001).rar
SCANS.-.Acorn.BBC.Micro.+.Acorn.Electron.-.Games.-.JPG-600dpi.(acornpreservation.org).(0.002).(update.from.0.001).rar

• Fraser Ross released versions v1.4, v1.5, v1.6 and now v1.7 of MakeUEF.
  
  He put it to good use by suppling ALL of the HQ.UEF (and CSW files) contained in the above update at AcornPreservation.org
  
  
  
• Mike Wyatt released a minor update (v2.2) to BeebEm.
  
  Changes:
  
  
  • Fixed BeebEm hang when RS432 is enabled (Acorn Basic Editor works again)
  • Fixed LED positioning in modes other than 7
  • Integrated Greg Cook's 1770 disc controller fixes
  • Fixed keyboard handling so Revs works correctly.
    
    
    
• a BBC Emulator image for Christopher Dewhurst's conversion of Egghead in Space is now available from Cronosoft.

Though it doesn't appear in their online shop, you can order the game by sending £1.50 via Paypal to Simon Ullyatt at the following address: chaosmongers AT yahoo DOT com

• Peter Edwards created a Tribute Site for Chuckie Egg
  
  
  
• Russell Lambert released a PC version of the BBC Micro classic Dogfight
  
  
  
• Jason Watton released an improved version of his OmniFlop utility
  
  
  
• Pete Keyworth notified me about Pocket Beeb - a BBC Micro emulator for the Gameboy Advance:

You may be interested to know that a BBC emulator is now available for the Gameboy Advance. See the emulation page on http://www.geocities.com/quirky_2k1 It runs a fair number of games, including Exile, and can also be run on the Visual Boy Advance Gameboy emulator. I've noticed that the injector programme used to add disk images to the emulator can be unstable unless placed near the root of C:| drive.

News:

• Fraser Ross released version 1.3 of MakeUEF
  
  
• Jason Watton (author of OmniDisk) has released OmniFlop - a program for reading actual BBC discs under Win2k/XP.
  

Click here to see what was new in 2004.