My Microvitec CUB monitor is here!!! Sitting on my newly constructed platform for my #BBCMicro

Just found out about a 2009 TV film on retro computing called "Micro Men". It's a sort of comedy-drama about UK computer manufacturers in the 1980s, done on a tiny budget by mixing in archive footage. It works really well!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH5L-iTIbP8

There's also a video of some of the real people depicted watching it and commenting on the authenticity:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaonVYOTSsk

cc @retrocomputing

New deep dive: How the Apple II version of #Elite was developed on a #BBCMicro

In which I pick through the clues on the source disk, and try to piece together the original 1986 development pipeline for Apple II Elite.

https://elite.bbcelite.com/deep_dives/developing_apple_ii_elite_on_a_bbc_micro.html

Pretty amazing that the #NES, #AppleII, #BBCMaster, and #BBCMasterCompact versions of the seminal 3-D space trading and combat video game #Elite all fundamentally base all their source code from the #Commodore64 port. (All pre-dated by the #BBCMicro and #AcornElectron versions, of course.)

#RetroGaming #RetroComputing #gaming https://universeodon.com/@markmoxon/114008400839205726

New: I've analysed the source code for all 9 versions of Elite on the 6502, and I've put together a family tree showing the decade-long forking history of the source.

Software archaeology in action!

https://elite.bbcelite.com/deep_dives/the_elite_source_code_family_tree.html

Welcome to the BBC Computer Literacy Project — https://archive.org/details/bbcmicro-welcome

Not sure if anyone really needs a copy of the BBC Welcome tape, but I was given one, so I put the scanned manual, tape audio and UEF emulator tape file on Internet Archive.

Not sure if I can get the UEF file to run from the link directly on one of the online emulators.

This version of the tape is complete. Others are missing the first program

Remember the really old text adventures from the 1980s? I spent hours puzzling with Castle of Riddles played on a #BBCmicro. It's now long abandoned - time for an update. I remade it, added more puzzles, graphics and sound. Play it FREE on any browser (even a phone) at https://jaydax.co.uk/corr

Last week I released fully documented source code for #Elite on the #Apple II.

I've now added it to my Elite site, where it's syntax-coloured, cross-referenced, indexed and categorised.

So that's every 6502 Elite - done!

https://elite.bbcelite.com/apple/

next up on All the Adventures, shockingly enough, is an RPG

but it was called Adventure! and there was so little about it that I wanted to unearth the story; the author who was an immigrant to the UK from Japan later became an important person at Microsoft

#retrogaming #videogames #interactivefiction #adventuregame #rpg #bbcmicro

https://bluerenga.blog/2025/01/29/adventure-sato-1982/

Home computers Oric Nova 64, Schneider CPC and Orao – less widespread and known, but each with a fascinating story behind it!

Very neat: someone has recreated the Valiant LOGO turtle robot as open source with modern components. You can drive it from Python via BLE, or you can talk to it via serial or IR from a BBC Micro running LOGO

The Valiant Turtle 2 — https://stardot.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?p=444452#p444452

New Elite deep dive: Just how big is 8-bit Elite?

How big are the ships, planets, stars and galaxies? How fast can we fly? How far can we jump? And can we fall off the edge?

This one was fun to write!

https://elite.bbcelite.com/deep_dives/a_sense_of_scale.html

Stream schedule for 2025
https://twitch.tv/LumKitty

Brand new year, brand new Elite deep dive!

Here is the most comprehensive comparison ever published of all the different ships in Elite:

https://elite.bbcelite.com/deep_dives/comparing_ship_specifications.html

This is my 120th Elite deep dive article. There are more to come...

Got a fantastic box of fun UK goodies from @mattgodbolt and @kieranhj and might have discovered some early #bbcmicro #retrogaming / #retrocomputing #fanfiction (just kidding, it's an earlyish action game)

Can someone recommend a simple example of the #BBCMicro technique where a program loads itself and then moves itself down in memory?