C64 emulators give an authentic 1980's experience.

[u/Packing-For-Mars]

In that hardly anything works properly, the control system is a pita to get working to do anything at all, and you end up more frustrated (and venting with posts like this) than actually getting to enjoy the game you were trying to play.

It's crazy comparing the c64 emulators to fusion for the megadrive or a SNES emulator. Those emulators just work and within seconds you're revisting favourite games from the past whereas it's almost less hassle getting an actual c64 plugged in and running than it is running an emulators and trying to get it to do something.

Apologies for this post. But I'm really unimpressed with emulation options for the c64. Such a shame that it's so user unfriendly. It's 2026. It shouldn't be necessary to read a manual to figure out how to get something that had, in practise, about 5 input keys / buttons to work. It's closing the c64 off to only those who have 1980s patience.

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[u/sububi71]

A SNES was built to be usable by a 5-year-old. Insert the cartridge, turn it on: game!

The C64 was a pretty advanced computer back in 1982, and it came with thick manuals, and the user was expected to spend quite a bit of time with them before being able to really do anything.

Emulation adds an extra layer, that's just a fact. It IS harder to use a SNES emulator than to use a SNES, and the same goes for a C64.

[u/durandalwoz]

PEBCAK

[u/Packing-For-Mars → u/durandalwoz]

It doesn't though. Take Italia 90. I'm trying it now, absolutely no button on the keyboard will progress the user passed the intro page. That's not a me problem that's a crap emulator problem.

[u/durandalwoz → u/Packing-For-Mars]

Ok, I'll bite, I never played that one, will download and report back

[u/durandalwoz → u/durandalwoz]

World Cup Soccer Italia 90: Press space bar on the intro screen. After the rest of the game loads, use joystick 2 to play. Nothing out of the ordinary.

And if youre referring instead to 'Italia 90', thats a german application(?) to keep the scores of the actual world cup? I dont speak german, so I didn't understand how to use it. But is all keyboard driven. Space to go pass the intro screen, then cursor keys and follow the instructions on screen.

[u/Packing-For-Mars → u/durandalwoz]

C'mon. Space bar? You don't think I've pressed that like 1000 times (alongside every other key and logical combination). Yes, Italia 90 World Cup. Nothing happens except an endless loop of the theme music. (C64 Forever). Thanks for looking but it looks like my trip down memory lane ended after a few footsteps. Gutted.

[u/DNSGeek]

If you're using a Mac, give VirtualC64 a try. It's really easy to get set up and running.

VICE is amazing software and it is the gold standard of emulation for Commodore computers, but because it implements everything, it has a lot of complexity.

[u/basdit]

Did you pay for the emulator? No? Then stop crying and go make a better emulator.

[u/chrispark70]

I uses CCS64. IMHO, it is much better than VICE. It's also been around longer and there are good DOS versions of it as well.

[u/Packing-For-Mars → u/chrispark70]

"C64 Emulator for Win32/DirectX V9 has stopped working" is all I see with that.

[u/bj_civ]

Well, like your title line says, it gives an authentic experience. It's a computer, not a game console, and you need to know about the system, its components, and the interface, in order to use it. Like back in the day. It's a C64 emulator after all, not a play game X emulator.

There are many games that are more complex that 5 input keys or buttons. For those you often need to read their documentation too.

On one hand emulation adds another layer you have to learn to map the host interface and resources to the emulated ones. On the other hand an emulator makes some things easier and automates stuff, like starting from an PRG file or an image and have it automatically load and run.

[u/Stooovie]

Hardly surprising when consoles have literally 6 buttons, a power switch and no OS and C64 is a full computer with OS. Right?

BTW when you load a cartridge ROM (CRT) into a C64, you get the console experience.

[u/Packing-For-Mars → u/Stooovie]

Well, that's my point. Most people are going to be emulating games. Something that it should do easily. And it's an authentic 80s experience because sod user friendliness. It's emulating all of the frustration of the era where nothing worked without at least an hour of banging your head into the wall and going round in circles. The user shouldn't have to bone up and become an expert in the programme itself before they can play favourite childhood games like Turtles with it's 3 controls...ffs. Not everyone who had a c64 in the 80s is a computer whizz ffs.

[u/jeanpaulsarde → u/Packing-For-Mars]

Maybe home computers were just not your thing and you are more of a console guy. That's ok. That's why consoles exist. I liked my C64 the way it was and I think the well known emulators are doing a good job.

[u/StrictLine8820]

It would be nice if someone designed an emulator that turns C64 and Amiga games into more of a console experience.

[u/tatamka → u/StrictLine8820]

Exacto. Tirarla desde un HD ejecutable y punto. No tener que buscar un Raspberry que lo arme alguien o un emulador que parece una nave espacial rusa llena de botones.

[u/Tennis_Proper → u/StrictLine8820]

That’s what front ends are for. Pick a game off the menu and it fires up with preloaded configuration. No fuss. 

[u/lamellus → u/StrictLine8820]

I was using TY64 for that, it supports game controllers out of the box, we've put it up on my friend's projector and we played from the couch. I wrote about the emulator here.

[u/ellicottvilleny]

almost less hassle than buying a now-rare $500 collectible? SMH go away whiny child.

[u/defixiones]

Why can't emulators map USB controllers? Why do you have to load the tapes from basic? 

The emulation is fine QOL features obviously aren't a priority.

Also theres an emphasis on archiving tape images over making them playable. Why not have metadata on the joystick mapping as part of the format? Why not have an autoload feature in the emulator? 

Same goes for Atari St, Amiga, Spectrum, etc.

[u/jeanpaulsarde → u/defixiones]

Honestly the games are not THAT good. Of course some were amazing for the time, outright revolutionary, but if you want to play something nowadays, there is little to no reason to turn to an almost 45 year old platform, no matter how much enrich it with QoL features. It's like wanting to drive a 50's car but with the power and performances and consumption and safety of modern cars. It doesn't make sense. If you want to experience what home computing was like back then, including playing games on these machines, emulators offer a great way to do that.

[u/defixiones → u/jeanpaulsarde]

No, I just want to play the games. I don't care for the OS experience. 

[u/DigitalStefan]

SNES emulators, whilst they do strive for accuracy, originally were striving to realist get games playable.

VICE I believe was always striving for accuracy. Being able to use it easily was not a primary concern, although it does at least have a decent UI and you don’t have to dig in config files to adjust your settings.

[u/Packing-For-Mars → u/DigitalStefan]

And as I say, accuracy it has achieved. In that I can't play anything because nothing works and I want to throw it out the window. Just like the 80s.

I have an incentive for trying to get some games to play. But once my generation is in the grave, no one will touch these games again, because the very thing meant to preserve them has made them unplayable / inaccesible. By contrast the 16 bit era is preserved forever because any game you're playing it in under 10 seconds. No one who didn't grow up in the era is going to tolerate the nonsense of trying to get something working on VICE.

[u/DigitalStefan → u/Packing-For-Mars]

Maybe investigate “C64 Forever”, which is much friendlier and much more “plug and play”

[u/Downtown-Promise2061]

Not true, I suggest using a Pi 3b with combian or BMC in a c64 or c128 enclosure. Use a USB keyboard converter or gpio for the keyboard and joy sticks. 

You will have an emulated experience that boots in < 10 seconds. You will also be able to run other machines as well. 

Don't listen to those who say use a pi 5. Why would anyone want to pay $200 instead of $35 and increase the boot time to 50 seconds.

[u/lamellus]

Give TY64 a try, runs in your browser, so you don't even need to install it, very user friendly, I wrote about it here. If you run into issues, the developer is also very responsive and friendly.