#bbc-micro — Public Fediverse posts

Two-player #BBCMicro Elite now has a two-player dashboard

Each player has their own set of indicators: speed, attitude control, fore and aft shields, laser temperature, energy, missiles and compass

They share the scanner, which works well

It’s starting to feel like a proper game!

#retrocomputing

Two-player #BBCMicro Elite now has a two-player dashboard

Each player has their own set of indicators: speed, attitude control, fore and aft shields, laser temperature, energy, missiles and compass

They share the scanner, which works well

It’s starting to feel like a proper game!

#retrocomputing

Mistigram: to tell the truth, we haven't the foggiest idea when or even if we included this #BBCMicro high resolution graphics landscape by @[email protected] in an artpack, but if we did it would have been back in the twenty teens when our paths first crossed.

BLIPPYPIXEL-RAINBOW_CAVERN

Mistigram: to tell the truth, we haven’t the foggiest idea when or even if we included this #BBCMicro high resolution graphics landscape by @blippypixel in an artpack, but if we did it would have been back in the twenty teens when our paths first crossed. But as we have since shared over a thousand screens by him, why not one more? This cavern features a little rainbow, we like to think for Pride.

BLIPPYPIXEL-RAINBOW_CAVERN

Mistigram: to tell the truth, we haven’t the foggiest idea when or even if we included this #BBCMicro high resolution graphics landscape by @blippypixel in an artpack, but if we did it would have been back in the twenty teens when our paths first crossed. But as we have since shared over a thousand screens by him, why not one more? This cavern features a little rainbow, we like to think for Pride.

Mistodon: to tell the truth, we haven't the foggiest idea when or even if we included this #BBCMicro high resolution graphics landscape by @pixelblip in an artpack, but if we did it would have been back in the twenty teens when our paths first crossed. But as we have since shared over a thousand screens by him, why not one more? This cavern features a little rainbow, we like to think for Pride.

Mistodon: to tell the truth, we haven't the foggiest idea when or even if we included this #BBCMicro high resolution graphics landscape by @pixelblip in an artpack, but if we did it would have been back in the twenty teens when our paths first crossed. But as we have since shared over a thousand screens by him, why not one more? This cavern features a little rainbow, we like to think for Pride.

The Virtual OS Museum

https://retropolis.com.br/2026/06/09/the-virtual-os-museum/

#MundoRetro #AUX #AmigaOS #AmigaUnix #AMIX #Android #AppleII #AppleUnix #atari #BBCMicro #BeOS #BSD #coherent #Commodore64 #CommodorePET #CommodoreVIC20 #CPM #CSIDOS #CTSS #EDSAC #EPOC #Human68k #IOSQNX #IRIX #ITS #Linux #MacOSX #ManchesterBaby #MquinaVirtual #Mark1Scheme #Minix #MSDOS #MSX #Multics #museu #MVS #NewtonOS #NEXTSTEP #Oberon #os2 #OSF1 #PalmOS #Plan9 #RISCOS #RSTS #RSX #SharpMZ #SistemaOperacion

MIST0625/BLIPPYPIXEL-MILLWALL3

Mistigram: last summer @blippypixel went on a walk through London and expressionistically sketched some of the urban graffiti he encountered — #BBCMicro style! This piece from the Isle of Dogs #Millwall neighbourhood was included in the MIST0625 artpack collection, released one year ago this month.

Mistodon: last summer @pixelblip went on a walk through London's #Millwall neighbourhood and expressionistically sketched some of the urban #graffiti he encountered -- #BBCMicro style! This piece was included in the MIST0625 artpack collection, released one year ago this month.

Mistodon: last summer @pixelblip went on a walk through London's #Millwall neighbourhood and expressionistically sketched some of the urban #graffiti he encountered -- #BBCMicro style! This piece was included in the MIST0625 artpack collection, released one year ago this month.

The #AcornElectron - the little machine that could. This cheaper alternative to the #BBCMicro was released in the UK in 1983, and gained its own version of Elite the following year. Not as capable as other Elites, but still a must-have for the machine. See ALT text for links.

I've just watched this fascinating excerpt from a 1983 episode of BBC's Micro Live, in which they cover the broadcasting of computer software by radio and television!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtTVczVmV8w

A few things stood out to me:

• 2m35s: I always wondered what these dots were above the video. That I remember seeing them all the time (before the switchover to fully digital TV signals in around 2010) implies that the picture must never have been properly adjusted on the television sets I used!
• 5m17s: This is very cool! Being able to parse real live data from Ceefax must have seemed very exotic before domestic connections to the Internet became generally available.
• 6m29s: I don't agree with the interviewee Lawson Brown here at all! There's no reason you couldn't have error checking of a digital radio broadcast. I'm sure he knew that, but it's still a weak argument IMHO.
• 7m48s: The interviewer Ian McNaught-Davis touches upon some really interesting questions about the quality of free software. The topic doesn't really get fleshed out in this video, but it's fascinating to think that this episode aired literally five days before the GNU project was announced, which, after a bit of time, would essentially demonstrate the answer to those questions!

#retrocomputing #bbcmicro #teletext #ceefax

I've just watched this fascinating excerpt from a 1983 episode of BBC's Micro Live, in which they cover the broadcasting of computer software by radio and television!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtTVczVmV8w

A few things stood out to me:

• 2m35s: I always wondered what these dots were above the video. That I remember seeing them all the time (before the switchover to fully digital TV signals in around 2010) implies that the picture must never have been properly adjusted on the television sets I used!
• 5m17s: This is very cool! Being able to parse real live data from Ceefax must have seemed very exotic before domestic connections to the Internet became generally available.
• 6m29s: I don't agree with the interviewee Lawson Brown here at all! There's no reason you couldn't have error checking of a digital radio broadcast. I'm sure he knew that, but it's still a weak argument IMHO.
• 7m48s: The interviewer Ian McNaught-Davis touches upon some really interesting questions about the quality of free software. The topic doesn't really get fleshed out in this video, but it's fascinating to think that this episode aired literally five days before the GNU project was announced, which, after a bit of time, would essentially demonstrate the answer to those questions!

#retrocomputing #bbcmicro #teletext #ceefax

Two-player #BBCMicro #Elite is coming along nicely.

It now supports two pilots in two ships with two controllers and a split-view screen

Here are some work-in-progress videos - see the thread for an explanation

There’s lots to fix, but at least we have a proof-of-concept…

(1/6)

#retrocomputing

Two-player #BBCMicro #Elite is coming along nicely.

It now supports two pilots in two ships with two controllers and a split-view screen

Here are some work-in-progress videos - see the thread for an explanation

There’s lots to fix, but at least we have a proof-of-concept…

(1/6)

#retrocomputing

RE: https://digipres.club/@philpem/116613275145567112

There's an approach to Conway's Game of Life which computes small rectangular tiles of results, with a cunning coordinate transformation such that each tile depends on just 4 predecessor-neighbours instead of 9.

The larger the tile, the less communication between neighbours.

This might be a good match for a small transputer network.

We made a nice 6502 version for the BBC Micro with 64k second processor - not as a general network, but separating compute from display.

Thread here
Conway's Game of Life for Atom, Beeb, Elk? https://stardot.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12010

and see also
Conway's Life on 6502 https://6502.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4293

Here's a 6502 life (expanded 6502 memory space) running a Turing Machine pattern
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjUb8g2kED0

#bbcmicro #gol #mos6502 #transputer #retrocomputing

@philpem
@anachrocomputer

RE: https://digipres.club/@philpem/116613275145567112

There's an approach to Conway's Game of Life which computes small rectangular tiles of results, with a cunning coordinate transformation such that each tile depends on just 4 predecessor-neighbours instead of 9.

The larger the tile, the less communication between neighbours.

This might be a good match for a small transputer network.

We made a nice 6502 version for the BBC Micro with 64k second processor - not as a general network, but separating compute from display.

Thread here
Conway's Game of Life for Atom, Beeb, Elk? https://stardot.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12010

and see also
Conway's Life on 6502 https://6502.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4293

Here's a 6502 life (expanded 6502 memory space) running a Turing Machine pattern
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjUb8g2kED0

#bbcmicro #gol #mos6502 #transputer #retrocomputing

@philpem
@anachrocomputer

People ask me how I do my epic software archaeology projects.

So when I spent seven months over the winter documenting Geoff Crammond’s epic game The Sentinel, I kept a diary of pretty much everything that I did.

It’s not exactly Samuel Pepys, but it does explain exactly how I disassembled and documented this #8bit classic:

https://bbcelite.com/disassembly_diary/

I also talk about the tools and methods I use, and how I keep track of progress as I slowly work through the code.

I hope you enjoy it!

#retrocomputing #BBCMicro #C64

People ask me how I do my epic software archaeology projects.

So when I spent seven months over the winter documenting Geoff Crammond’s epic game The Sentinel, I kept a diary of pretty much everything that I did.

It’s not exactly Samuel Pepys, but it does explain exactly how I disassembled and documented this #8bit classic:

https://bbcelite.com/disassembly_diary/

I also talk about the tools and methods I use, and how I keep track of progress as I slowly work through the code.

I hope you enjoy it!

#retrocomputing #BBCMicro #C64

@h4ckernews
Does it come with a built-in assembler like BBC BASIC?

#BBCMicro #retrocomputing

MIST0426/BLIPPYPIXEL-J_R_R_TOLKIEN-MORDOR

Mistigram: in this scene from #ReturnOfTheKing, #Gandalf the White (atop Shadowfax) surveys siege towers approaching Minas Tirith, Mordor smouldering in the distant background. This #BBCMicro high resolution graphics screen was drawn by @blippypixel and included in last month’s books-themed MIST0426 artpack collection. For Gondor!

Mistodon: in this scene from #ReturnOfTheKing, #Gandalf the White (atop Shadowfax) surveys siege towers approaching Minas Tirith, Mordor smouldering in the distant background. This #BBCMicro high resolution graphics screen was drawn by @pixelblip and included in last month's books-themed MIST0426 artpack collection. For Gondor!

Mistodon: in this scene from #ReturnOfTheKing, #Gandalf the White (atop Shadowfax) surveys siege towers approaching Minas Tirith, Mordor smouldering in the distant background. This #BBCMicro high resolution graphics screen was drawn by @pixelblip and included in last month's books-themed MIST0426 artpack collection. For Gondor!

I told you it wasn't important.

* Sound on *

#BBCMicro #DouglasAdams

I told you it wasn't important.

* Sound on *

#BBCMicro #DouglasAdams

I upgraded my #BBCMicro from BASIC 1 to BASIC 2 by replacing a ROM. Cost me £9 off fleaBay. Came with horribly bent pins but I managed to straighten them out. It enabled me to use the system command OSCLI which allowed me to create a friendly front-end to the speech chip I installed last week.

** Sound on **

I upgraded my #BBCMicro from BASIC 1 to BASIC 2 by replacing a ROM. Cost me £9 off fleaBay. Came with horribly bent pins but I managed to straighten them out. It enabled me to use the system command OSCLI which allowed me to create a friendly front-end to the speech chip I installed last week.

** Sound on **

Remembering the BBC Computer Literacy Project

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://hackaday.com/2026/05/09/remembering-the-bbc-computer-literacy-project/

Remembering the BBC Computer Literacy Project

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://hackaday.com/2026/05/09/remembering-the-bbc-computer-literacy-project/

🎁 Pit Dash by keyscompany for BBC Micro. Guide Captain Dash to the top and outwit the alien

Check: https://bunsen.itch.io/pit-dash-bbc-micro-by-keyscompany

#homebrew #bbcmicro #retro #game #pitdash

🎁 Pit Dash by keyscompany for BBC Micro. Guide Captain Dash to the top and outwit the alien

Check: https://bunsen.itch.io/pit-dash-bbc-micro-by-keyscompany

#homebrew #bbcmicro #retro #game #pitdash

MIST0524/BLIPPYPIXEL-USE

Mistigram: this animated #BBCMicro high resolution graphics screen of #Yoda using The Force to levitate Luke Skywalker’s #XWing out of the #Dagobah swamp in the #EmpireStrikesBack was drawn by @blippypixel and included in the science fiction-themed MIST0524 artpack collection released two years ago. #MayThe4thBeWithYou

Mistodon: this animated #BBCMicro high resolution graphics screen of #Yoda using The Force to levitate Luke Skywalker's #XWing out of the #Dagobah swamp in the #EmpireStrikesBack was drawn by @pixelblip and included in the science fiction-themed MIST0524 artpack collection released two years ago. #MayThe4thBeWithYou

Mistodon: this animated #BBCMicro high resolution graphics screen of #Yoda using The Force to levitate Luke Skywalker's #XWing out of the #Dagobah swamp in the #EmpireStrikesBack was drawn by @pixelblip and included in the science fiction-themed MIST0524 artpack collection released two years ago. #MayThe4thBeWithYou

@HannahHowe
I'm guessing that that's not the same Ian MacNaught Davis who used to do the Computer Programme on the BBC? Or is it?

#BBCMicro #RetroComputing

Sword Work, 22nd game for #Atari8bit computers, #Atari5200 and #Atari7800 consoles, and dozens of other platforms, released by Inufuto http://inufuto.web.fc2.com/8bit/sword/#atari800 #atari #c64 #msx #bbcmicro #vic20 #trs80 #c16

Sword Work, 22nd game for #Atari8bit computers, #Atari5200 and #Atari7800 consoles, and dozens of other platforms, released by Inufuto http://inufuto.web.fc2.com/8bit/sword/#atari800 #atari #c64 #msx #bbcmicro #vic20 #trs80 #c16

My favourite game: Elite (picture 1)

My latest purchase: Twin joysticks (picture 2)

My plan: Squish ’em together to see what happens (picture 3)

This should be a fun project!

Note: Picture 3 is a genuine in-game work-in-progress screenshot, but it’s VERY early days…

#retrocomputing #BBCMicro

My favourite game: Elite (picture 1)

My latest purchase: Twin joysticks (picture 2)

My plan: Squish ’em together to see what happens (picture 3)

This should be a fun project!

Note: Picture 3 is a genuine in-game work-in-progress screenshot, but it’s VERY early days…

#retrocomputing #BBCMicro

As promised, I've created a flicker-free version of the Elite Demonstration Disc for the #BBCMicro.

It contains both flicker-free ships and planets.

Play in browser: https://bbc.xania.org/?autoboot&disc=https://elite.bbcelite.com/versions/flicker_free_elite/elite-demonstration-disc-flicker-free.ssd

Download disc image: https://elite.bbcelite.com/hacks/flicker-free_elite_downloads.html

More info: https://elite.bbcelite.com/demo/

Enjoy!

As promised, I've created a flicker-free version of the Elite Demonstration Disc for the #BBCMicro.

It contains both flicker-free ships and planets.

Play in browser: https://bbc.xania.org/?autoboot&disc=https://elite.bbcelite.com/versions/flicker_free_elite/elite-demonstration-disc-flicker-free.ssd

Download disc image: https://elite.bbcelite.com/hacks/flicker-free_elite_downloads.html

More info: https://elite.bbcelite.com/demo/

Enjoy!

How cool is this? It's the #BBCMicro Elite Demonstration Disc, converted to run on the #Atari 8-bit machines.

https://youtu.be/WHVVO3sUvFw?si=FiOnM7T3Ur-ET4vU

Great work from Atari guru Wrathchild, who inspired me to look at the demo code in the first place!

More details on AtariAge:

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/389923-elite-bbc-self-playing-rolling-demonstration-port/

How cool is this? It's the #BBCMicro Elite Demonstration Disc, converted to run on the #Atari 8-bit machines.

https://youtu.be/WHVVO3sUvFw?si=FiOnM7T3Ur-ET4vU

Great work from Atari guru Wrathchild, who inspired me to look at the demo code in the first place!

More details on AtariAge:

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/389923-elite-bbc-self-playing-rolling-demonstration-port/

Now there a blast from my past.

While pong was the first computer game I played (I'm showing my age here), it was #ChuckieEgg that I remember most fondly from my childhood. Sneaking into the school's computer room and booting up the BBC Micro to play a few levels before we got caught and sent packing. 🥚🪿🪜

#BBCMicro #Gaming
https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/apr/21/in-my-mind-it-was-just-tall-birds-wandering-around-on-platforms-the-making-of-chuckie-egg

Now there a blast from my past.

While pong was the first computer game I played (I'm showing my age here), it was #ChuckieEgg that I remember most fondly from my childhood. Sneaking into the school's computer room and booting up the BBC Micro to play a few levels before we got caught and sent packing. 🥚🪿🪜

#BBCMicro #Gaming
https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/apr/21/in-my-mind-it-was-just-tall-birds-wandering-around-on-platforms-the-making-of-chuckie-egg

I've just published a deep dive into the Elite Demonstration Disc, Acornsoft's self-playing #BBCMicro Elite demo that you may have seen playing in shops back in 1984 (if you were lucky).

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

This links to a second deep dive that analyses every code difference that makes the demo the demo.

I'll make it flicker-free next, because why not! 😀

#retrocomputing

I've just published a deep dive into the Elite Demonstration Disc, Acornsoft's self-playing #BBCMicro Elite demo that you may have seen playing in shops back in 1984 (if you were lucky).

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

This links to a second deep dive that analyses every code difference that makes the demo the demo.

I'll make it flicker-free next, because why not! 😀

#retrocomputing

@vcfe der "Beeb" (Acorn B) war ein spannendes Gerät. Es gab als Ergänzungen zusätzliche CPUs, das war jeweils ein pultförmiger Kasten, knapp halb so breit wie das Hauptgerät, den man daneben stellen konnte. Und da gab es nicht nur Z80, sondern auch NS32032 (oder NS32008? Nein, ich glaube da war eigenes RAM drin, breit angebunden). In der Uni Cambridge wurde diese CPU benutzt, um mit dem Fortran-Compiler Rechenaufgaben zu lösen.
Cambridge hat ebenfalls ein eigenes ROM für den Beeb entwickelt, das die Clientseite des SSMP (Simple Screen Management Protokoll) implementiert hat. Eine dort entwickelte Lösung, um am IBM Mainframe über eine remote-Verbindung Vollbildsessions durchzuführen, obwohl die Kommunikation mit dem Host zeilenweise erfolgte. Für MS-Kermit unter DOS, ein verbreitetes Terminalprogramm, gab es ebenfalls eine SSMP Implementierung.
#vintagecomputing #bbcmicro

@vcfe der "Beeb" (Acorn B) war ein spannendes Gerät. Es gab als Ergänzungen zusätzliche CPUs, das war jeweils ein pultförmiger Kasten, knapp halb so breit wie das Hauptgerät, den man daneben stellen konnte. Und da gab es nicht nur Z80, sondern auch NS32032 (oder NS32008? Nein, ich glaube da war eigenes RAM drin, breit angebunden). In der Uni Cambridge wurde diese CPU benutzt, um mit dem Fortran-Compiler Rechenaufgaben zu lösen.
Cambridge hat ebenfalls ein eigenes ROM für den Beeb entwickelt, das die Clientseite des SSMP (Simple Screen Management Protokoll) implementiert hat. Eine dort entwickelte Lösung, um am IBM Mainframe über eine remote-Verbindung Vollbildsessions durchzuführen, obwohl die Kommunikation mit dem Host zeilenweise erfolgte. Für MS-Kermit unter DOS, ein verbreitetes Terminalprogramm, gab es ebenfalls eine SSMP Implementierung.
#vintagecomputing #bbcmicro

We have a new addition to the 6502 Elite Source Code Family Tree!

Turns out the Elite Demonstration Disc is a fork of the cassette version, but incorporates the docking computer routines from the disc version for the self-flying combat AI.

Welcome to the tree, demo. 🫡

#bbcmicro #c64 #nes #apple2