Aniga Forever 10 and C64 Forever 10 now available from Cloanto
Amiga Forever and C64 Forever 10 Released
December 20, 2022 - Cloanto released today version 10 (build 10.0.10.0) of Amiga Forever and C64 Forever, the official Commodore/Amiga preservation, emulation and support suites for Windows.
The new editions are the result of almost two years of development since the previous major version. Cloanto's RetroPlatform framework is the result of a lot of effort to make Amiga and CBM 8-bit features and interfaces appear effortlessly unified. The two packages now encompass more than 700K lines of code written by Cloanto, integrating with a collaborative endeavor of emulation plugins and content preservation.
Before adding visible features, a priority of this version consisted in the removal of speed and space constraints. Some of the old barriers may have been out of sight before, but the result after upgrading is a satisfying sensation of increased freedom and power: the title editor opens and closes in an instant, large media files are handled with more ease, while windows and other elements that used to be fixed can now be resized. Content folders can be added anywhere under Amiga Files and CBM Files, while new personal playlists and improved content shortcuts offer more ways to rapidly access titles and folders stored on any disk.
Amiga Forever 10 includes direct support for FloppyBridge-compatible floppy drive and controller devices (e.g. DrawBridge, Greaseweazle, SuperCard Pro, Waffle). Whereas previous versions only supported floppy disk images, now physical floppy drives and disks can be accessed by the emulation. No additional software is required.
Like floppy disks, bulletin board systems were omnipresent in the home computing world of the 1980s and 1990s. "Back in those days, with my colleague Oscar at Cloanto we helped Jay Miner add animated graphics support to the SkyPix software used on his 'The Mission' BBS, where Jay was known as 'El Padre'," remembers Mike Battilana. Could there be a better way to celebrate BBS culture than using a Hayes-compatible "internet modem" directly from Amiga Forever and C64 Forever?
The new RetroPlatform virtual modem can be attached to the desired port in the Configuration tab of the editor (right-click a title, select Edit), and is ready for use by Amiga applications like NComm and Term, and 8-bit counterparts like CCGMS! and VIP Terminal. C64 Forever 10 even comes with a preinstalled version of the CCGMS! terminal program, complete with ready-to-run BBS entries in the phone book. Don't forget to type AT$ for Help.
Hundreds of smaller new features and refinements also made it into these new versions. Windows too went through several new releases since the previous major release of Amiga Forever and C64 Forever, and the new code base provides better support for features introduced in Windows 11 and Windows 10 versions up to 22H2.
Amiga Explorer 10 is also being released at the same time, with new features like Amiga-PC clipboard text sharing. As "legacy support" is in our DNA, we made an extra effort to restore compatibility with Windows XP and with Amiga systems without mathffp.library. This is a free upgrade for all Amiga Explorer customers, and is included with Amiga Forever Plus Edition and Premium Edition.
As always, we are grateful to the many friends who supported this project and our Amiga passion, vision and hope. Special thanks to Toni Wilen. Current and soon-to-be Amiga serial and print integration features would not have been possible without his help.
Amiga Forever 10 is available now in three editions:
- Value Edition (downloadable installer)
- Plus Edition (downloadable installer with optional DVD ISO image)
- Premium Edition (downloadable Plus Edition, plus boxed software and additional videos on 3 DVDs)
C64 Forever 10 is available now in three editions:
- Free Express Edition (feature-limited version)
- Downloadable Plus Edition (downloadable installer with optional CD ISO image)
- Boxed Plus Edition (downloadable Plus Edition, plus boxed CD)
Both packages recognize and work with each other, with options to merge the different platforms into the same interface. Prices start from $9.95 (Value Edition, or special upgrade offers).
