Turbo Rascal SE (TRSE) v0.13.216 is out. It's a complete suite (IDE, compiler, programming language, image sprite level resource editor) intended for developing games/demos for 8 / 16-bit line of computers, with a focus on the MOS 6502, the Motorola 68000, the (GB)Z80 and the X86. TRSE currently supports application development for the C64, C128, VIC-20, PLUS4, NES, Gameboy, PET, ZX Spectrum, TIKI 100, Amstrad CPC 464, Atari 2600, 8086AT, Amiga 500 and the Atari ST 520 (complete list here). With the benefits of a modern IDE (error messages, code completion, syntax highlighting etc) and a bunch of fast built-in tools, it has never been easier to program for your favorite obsolete system !

Join TRSE on Facebook !

I dont have the details of the new features of this version.

The information below is from 2019. Amstrad Maniaque made a video of the demo game Escape the ROM created with the Paket adventure game engine.

Seen on Twitter, Santi Ontañón (code) and Jordi Sureda (graphics) have written a new engine to create graphical adventure games as made by Lucas Arts or Sierra : Paket (Point And Klick Engine Tool).

A demo in spanish and english is available on their site.

A new batch of the V990 CPC Powergraph card is available (card by Tecnobytes), 30 will be available with already 16 taken. This card is connected on a MX4 slot to be used on an Amstrad CPC.

This is not the V9990 Powergraph Light Rev 2 with built-in adapter by Tecnobytes, which is a MSX cartridge for MSX or Amstrad CPC which you can connect with the Amsdap (MX4 with a cartridge slot), see Prodatron's video in 2018.

Several programs are being written for SymbOS using this graphic card, including FlappyBird.

Beware this graphic card needs an analog 15 kHz signals through discrete RGB connectors (VGA, DVI-A, and/or SCART), check the 15khz wiki.

Noel Llopis has written an Amstrad CPC diagnostic ROM which is now version 1.2 and whose sources are available on Github.

Changes since v1.1 are :

• fixing model detection
• changing the RAM detection algorithm to be able to tell bad RAM from no RAM
• Vendor and refresh frequency display
• Detection of Plus ROMs (English, Spanish, and French)

DSK lib v0.14 is a a golang library to handle Amstrad CPC disk images (.DSK) by Impact, coming with an command line utility (CLI). To compile the executable : go build -o dsk cli/main.go

Martine v0.30.0 is an utility written by the Impact group :

• converting JPG and PNG images to Overscan screen or window for Amstrad CPC (and Plus series)
• new tile map mode, which allow to analyze an image of a level game, and produce .imp and .til readable by tile tool from Impact

The last available version is v0.30 which was released the 14th September 2021. It is available for Windows, MacOS, ARM64 and linux.

An information that I missed to relate in time : RUN! is an Amstrad CPC intro by BSC (code, music) and Rexbeng (graphics).

Rex has made a video with Corrscope of RUN!'s music.

Here are some Amstrad related posts on, especially the first one if you want to have sweet dreams :

• Amstrad bedding with the direct link to buy it but is it really legal, I doubt they paid the right to use the Amstrad brand
• playing Amstrad GX4000 at the Pixel Museum in Bruxelles
• paying 3D print model of an Amstrad CPC 464

New articles are available on 64 NOPS, a blog about programmation on Amstrad CPC by Hicks (Vanity) and Toms (Pulpo Corrosivo). There is a english translation of a french one by Tom and Jerry about musical composition software, and more articles about the FDC by Roudoudou (in french) :

• musical composition software on Amstrad CPC (english) and the french version
• discovering the FDC (issue 1)
• discovering the FDC (issue 2)
• discovering the FDC (issue 3)
• discovering the FDC (issue 4)

ACE v1.24 is available. Since v1.22, this emulator can use plugins which emulates :

• Amdrum (Cheetah) sound card which lets play 8bit samples, seen in ads a percussion synthesis
• X-Mass IDE interface
• Albireo card by PulkoTronics
• MultiPlay : supporting mices and joysticks
• Mirage Imager (a primitive Multiface Two)
• Multiface Two (new with v1.24)
• Nova by PulkoMandy, RTC and NVRAM support
• Amstrad SSA-1 Speech Synthetizer
• DK'Tronics speech synthetize

A SDK exists if you want to program your own plugin for the ACE emulator.

You can download a first beta version of an upgraded Elite by Fessor which is available on CPCWiki :

• Splashscreens 1 and 2 revised, Splashscreen 2 is now a showcase similar to the 16bit Elites
• The mechanics of the BBC disk version, which reloads various shipsets, have been reproduced
• In the savegames it is now noted which shipset is active, they are therefore incompatible with the officially published versions, so you have to start a new career
• Routines for loading / saving savegames in order to be compatible with future changes to the game (encryption against program code deactivated)
• Unused code commented out and a little over 1000 bytes gained. This may be enough to retrofit the two missing missions (Hunting the Constrictor / delivering Thargoid-Plans), but I have to take a closer look at that in the BBC code

After Dash 4 in 1 and Starbobs464 (in 2 versions for plain CPC and GX4000), here are two new Amstrad CPC demos by Oneman :

• Bucket in Space released in August 2021
• Goldrunner wannabe released in February 2021

Nanako is a game character first seen on ZX Spectrum, and later in 2009 on Amstrad CPC en 2009 in two game by The Mojon Twins which we find once again 10 years later upgraded in a compilation called Nanako Chronicles (sold by BitmapSoft) which was released in 2019. Today it is available as a download:

• Nanako in Classic Japanese Monster Castle, a reflexion and platform game, get up the tower in 25 levels to save your sister
• Nanako Descends To Hell, in this action/adventure game, you must find 4 parts on an artifact to save her village

PunyInform v2.8 by Fredrik Ramsberg and Johan Berntsson is a library written in Inform 6 to create adventure game (pure text, no graphic support contrary to DAAD) using the Z-machine virtual machine which will run on 8bit computers (or more recent computers too). PunyInform has a parser, knowing of common verbs and a framework to write adventure games.

PunyInform is based on the Inform 6 library written by Graham Nelson. Its goal is to make easily adventure games in Inform 6, with a manual describing the differences between the official library and PunyInform..

Games using PunyInform can be compiled in z3, z5 and z8 format (z3 being the best format for 8bit computers, other formats have more features). Compared to the Inform 6 library, it means that there is no support for the Glulx virtual machine but z3 format is important as Inform 6 doesnt support it.

To compile games written with PunyInform, you should use the Inform 6 compiler maintained by David Kinder. Binaries are available on if-archive. PunyInform needs Inform v6.34 (or more).

They are tutorials to write adventure game with PunyInform (end of the page).

To try your game after compilation, you can use WinFrotz by David Kinder, to create map easily you can use Trizbort.

Torreoscura by Bieno Marti is an adventure game written with The Quill (Gilsoft) in its Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ORIC versions and with the DAAD (Aventuras AD) in its ZX Spectrum, MSX, Amstrad PCW and PC MS-DOS CGA ports :

• MiguelSky on Amstrad CPC in spanish (in 2020) and soon for the english version
• Pedro Fernández on Amstrad PCW, ZX Spectrum, MSX and PC-DOS CGA (spanish and english)