1986 – Commodore 128
It was the autumn of 1986, and we had moved into base housing a few weeks earlier. I do not know if it was that Mr.Mike was a single parent of two boys or what but once we had settled in our house was the place for what seemed like the whole neighborhood to hang out. The house was always busy with boys and an occasional girl coming and going constantly. John had entered the 6th grade and Ken the 5th at the school on base, so there wasn’t any hanky-panky going on at that young age, at least not that I knew about.
One day I had stopped by the Base Exchange (BX), located on the other half of Soesterberg Air Force Base, The Netherlands, where I was stationed at the time. I would always walk through the electronic’s department to check out the was available in stereo equipment and television sets. But today, my eye caught a new item on Display just to the right of the department’s door. A Computer. It was a Commodore 128 .
Our BX was one of the smallest in USAFE, therefore one of the last in line for most of the electronic items. Apple had came out with the Macintosh Plus in January and the Macintosh 512Ke in April 1986, these were the 3rd and 4th versions of the Macintosh since its introduction in January 1984 during Superbowl XVIII. This was the only computer the BX had at the time. So I asked him what he knew about the Commodore 128, he said did not say much but indicated they did have some Games, and Game Controllers and a joy sticks, that would work with it.
I later found out later that the Commodore 128 was introduced in January 1985, three years after one of the most successful computers of this time, the Commodore 64 , which had been introduced in January 1982. I also found out that Commodore had also released their Amiga Computer and the Commodore 128D in 1986 (scroll to mid page of link). I remember thinking no wonder the BX had had the C128 on display at the door as customers came in. Had they had some of the newer Commodore and Apple Computers they could have added Clearance Signs all around.
Regardless we got plenty of enjoyment out of the Commodore 128, and did not even notice it was almost 2 years old. It was indeed a spiffy computer, and really not a bad deal at $300+.
“The C128 is a significantly expanded successor to the C64, with nearly full compatibility. The new machine has 128 kB of RAM in two 64 kB banks, and an 80-column color video output. It has a redesigned case and keyboard. Also included is a Zilog Z80 CPU which allows the C128 to run CP/M, as an alternative to the usual Commodore BASIC environment. The presence of the Z80 and the huge CP/M software library it brings, coupled with the C64’s software library, gives the C128 one of the broadest ranges of available software among its competitors.” ( Source Wikipedia )
The second microprocessor the 8502, also an 8-Bit Chip, controlled both the C-64 and C-128 modes. Therefore all the 6000 programs that ran on the Commodore 64 would run on the Commodore 128. Plus since it also could run in CP/M mode, it also has access to any CP/M software applications. It could read the eight CP/M formats of the time, including those for the Osborne, Kaypro, Epson and IBM CP/M 86 printers. Basic 7.0 which was the OS when in C128 mode, included best advanced graphics and sound capabilities for their time.
Once I had setup the Commodore 128, connected its Floppy Drive and then it to my Television, which I used as my Monitor, I used the Basic programming that was available with the computer and programmed it to introduce itself to the my boys. Once they came home from school I brought them into the living room and told them about my purchase as I started the C128 up. After the it had completed its startup routine, the Basic program began with its introduction by texting on screen, “Hello John and Ken. I am your Computer.” Then following with a series of basic “yes” and “no” questions. The program/computer responded to each of their answers as I had programmed it to, and then it finally asking if they would like to play a game.
Needless to say they were amazed that this Computer knew their names, and was communicating with them. It was a lot of fun watching them interact with the computer, and I believe they got a kick out of it too.
The first game they played, if I remember correctly, came on a big 5 1/4 Floppy Disk, that came with the computer or maybe it was a demo built into ROM, either way it was called “Pong”.
It was a very simple game with two paddles, one on each side of the screen which could be controlled by using the game controllers. It was really basic The on screen paddles would only move up and down either side of the screen in order to hit the pixellated ball back and forth. There was a simple scoreboard so to speak at the top of the screen which kept score. Needless to say John and Ken were really excited, and went to gather their friends in Apollo to come and play.
Besides the games that came with the Commodore I also had purchased a few more that the BX had to offer. Although I remember several games the boys played over the years. I was not sure which ones they played on the Commodore and which ones they had played on the later computers/game players. And they had just about all of them. Yes there were more in their future such as the Atari, Nintendo, GameBoy, etc.
By the way there are emulators online for these systems along with most of the games including the ones mentioned below, which will play on your Mac or PC.
My Sons, John and Kenneth jogged my memory when they emailed me what games they remembered that they had played on the Commodore. Here are the games :
“F-15 Strike Eagle” a flight simulator for the F-15 Fighter, the aircraft we support at Soesterberg;
“Leaderboard Golf” although I never played Golf except for Midget Golf with the boys this was a lot of fun
“Chessmaster 2000” which I and the boys enjoyed, I had taught them the moves of the real pieces on a real chess board.
Later there was “Archon” also a chess game but as you moved to take a piece they would come alive and you had to fight for the position.
and “Rolling Thunder”
I do not remember them as well as John and Ken did, but if you are a Generation X’er you may.
There are a lot more games I remember them playing, that may or may not have been specific to the Commodore. That were both in the Arcades machines of the time, or the other devices they played with during the 1980’s. “Lode Runner”, “Asteroids”, “Lemmings”, “Space Invaders”, “PacMan”, “Frogger”, “Mario Brothers”, “Star Wars”, “Alien Attack” are a few that come to mind.
It was a great time for technology, through out the 1980’s. As the Handheld Devices and Desktop Computers became more capable, with more memory, more storage, and more processing capability, the programmers too became more creative. Their programs became more sophisticated, more powerful, and more enjoyable.
Today in 2014, it is like we have come full circle, back to these games, as I am seeing them come back to our iPhones, iPods, and iPads, and of course those Android Devices too ;-{) . I recently read an few articles in the news that indicated that Nintendo was considering developing Mario for the iOS devices. Here is one of them, “Could Nintendo Finally Be Consider A Move to the App Store“.
Who knows where technology and future developments in hardware and software will take us and where the past meets the future.
It is all kind of Magical. Isn’t it?
Best
Mike
About C128 :
Type Home computer
Release date January 1985
Discontinued 1989
This was the last of the 8 bit machines.
Units sold 5.7 Million Worldwide
Memory 128 kB
Graphics VIC-II (320×200, 16 colors, sprites, raster interrupt), MOS 8563 (RGBI 640×200 16 colors, blitter)
Sound SID 6581/8580 (3× Osc, 4× Wave, Filter, ADSR, Ring)
Predecessor Commodore 64
Specifications :
Run Magazine – June 1985 “The Home User’s Guide to Commodore Computing
Compared the Commodore 128 to the Apple IIc and the IBM PCjr.
No Monitor
Commodore $550
Monochrome Setup
Commodore $850
RGB Color
Commodore $900
_____
Microprocessor (2) Z80: CP/M, and 8502: 128 and 64
C128 Operating system Commodore BASIC 7.0
Digital Research CP/M 3.0
CPU
Speed 4 MHz CP/M
1 or 2 MHz 128
1.02 MHz: 64
Memory 128K RAM
Expandable to 512K
Disk Storage 350K-410K: 128-CP/M
170K: 64
Cassette Yes
Cartridge Yes
SW Compatibility C-64, CP/M Plus 3.0
Music 3 voices/white noise
Hi-Res Color Yes
Keyboard Built-In 92 keys
with 14-key Numeric keypad and 8 Function Keys
Ports 9
System CPU Unit
Separate Disk Drive
Basic 7.0 and 2.0
Dimensions 19 inches Wide
13 inches Deep
2.25 inches High
Weight 6 ibs. 12 oz.
_____
Very well written father. Thank you.