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Amiga 500

The Amiga 500 (a.k.a. Amiga OCS/ECS a.k.a. Amiga home computer) is a line of personal computers developed by Commodore/Escom/QuikPak. Its first, the Amiga 1000 model was released in 1985.

Early models were released with a Motorola 6800 CPU. These are referred to as the Original ChipSet (OCS). These include:

  • Amiga 1000
  • Amiga 2000 A-model
  • Amiga 500
  • Amiga 2000
  • Amiga 25001)
  • Amiga 1500

The Amiga 500 is the most well-known of the computer line, so far as to skew the perception of the “Amiga home computer line” into being the “Amiga 500 line”, even though it was the third in the family to be released.

Towards the end of the OCS lifespan, newer models with a Motorola 68030 CPU were released. These are referred to as the Enhance ChipSet (ECS). These include:

  • Amiga 3000
  • Amiga 3000T
  • Amiga 3000UX
  • Amiga 500+
  • Amiga 600

Then the Advanced Graphics Architecture (AGA) models were released, which are considered a separate system in Batocera.

When available, the Amiga 1200 version of a game is usually superior and preferred.

The ECS chipset is capable of switching between PAL/NTSC modes as needed. Outside of that, the ECS chipset didn't offer much enhancement for games, just software, so Batocera really only concerns itself with the Amiga 500.

This system scrapes metadata for the “amiga” group and loads the amiga500 set from the currently selected theme, if available.

Grouped with the “amiga” group of systems.

  • Accepted ROM formats: .adf, .uae, .ipf, .dms, .dmz, .adz, .lha, .hdf, .exe, .m3u, .zip
  • Folder: /userdata/roms/amiga500
Emulators Accepted ROM formats
fsuae: A500 .adf, .uae, .ipf, .dms, .dmz, .adz, .lha, .hdf, .exe, .m3u, .zip
fsuae: A500+ .adf, .uae, .ipf, .dms, .dmz, .adz, .lha, .hdf, .exe, .m3u, .zip
fsuae: A600 .adf, .uae, .ipf, .dms, .dmz, .adz, .lha, .hdf, .exe, .m3u, .zip
fsuae: A1000 .adf, .uae, .ipf, .dms, .dmz, .adz, .lha, .hdf, .exe, .m3u, .zip
fsuae: A3000 .adf, .uae, .ipf, .dms, .dmz, .adz, .lha, .hdf, .exe, .m3u, .zip
amiberry: A500 .adf, .uae, .ipf, .dms, .dmz, .adz, .lha, .hdf, .exe, .zip
amiberry: A500+ .adf, .uae, .ipf, .dms, .dmz, .adz, .lha, .hdf, .exe, .zip
libretro: puae .adf, .uae, .ipf, .dms, .dmz, .adz, .lha, .hdf, .exe, .m3u, .zip

If you're only interested in Amiga 500 games then the only BIOS that's required is kick34005.A500. The rest are if you'd like to emulate specific models/revisions, or need to work around an in-game bug that only affects certain OS versions.

MD5 checksum Share file path Description Notes
85ad74194e87c08904327de1a9443b7a bios/kick33180.A500 Kickstart v1.2 rev 33.180 AmigaOS 1.2 (the first OS bundled with the Amiga 1000 from 1985)
82a21c1890cae844b3df741f2762d48d bios/kick34005.A500 Kickstart v1.3 rev 34.005 AmigaOS 1.3 (the OS bundled since 1987, more common)
dc10d7bdd1b6f450773dfb558477c230 bios/kick37175.A500 Kickstart v2.04 rev 37.175 AmigaOS 2.04 (the OS bundled since 1990)
465646c9b6729f77eea5314d1f057951 bios/kick37350.A600 Kickstart v2.05 rev 37.350 AmigaOS 2.05 (the OS bundled since 1992)
e40a5dfb3d017ba8779faba30cbd1c8e bios/kick40063.A600 Kickstart v3.1 rev 40.063 AmigaOS 3.1
85ad74194e87c08904327de1a9443b7a bios/amiga-os-120.rom Kickstart v1.2 rev 33.180 AmigaOS 1.2 (the first OS bundled with the Amiga 1000 from 1985)
82a21c1890cae844b3df741f2762d48d bios/amiga-os-130.rom Kickstart v1.3 rev 34.005 AmigaOS 1.3 (the OS bundled since 1987, more common)
dc10d7bdd1b6f450773dfb558477c230 bios/amiga-os-204.rom Kickstart v2.04 rev 37.175 AmigaOS 2.04 (the OS bundled since 1990)
465646c9b6729f77eea5314d1f057951 bios/amiga-os-205.rom Kickstart v2.05 rev 37.350 AmigaOS 2.05 (the OS bundled since 1992)
e40a5dfb3d017ba8779faba30cbd1c8e bios/amiga-os-310-a600.rom Kickstart v3.1 rev 40.063 AmigaOS 3.1 (the OS bundled since 1993)

The year of release of each OS version is an estimate.

Place your Amiga 500 ROMs in /userdata/roms/amiga500.

Do standard m3u playlists work?

If using a libretro core, it is possible to use a single archive to store multi-disk games. Put the multiple disks in a ZIP archive and add (MD) to its filename. For example, the game Operation Wolf may exist as the following:

roms/amiga500/
     ├─ Operation Wolf (Disk 1).adf
     └─ Operation Wolf (Disk 2).adf

Compress the two disk files into a single ZIP and add (MD) to its filename:

roms/amiga500/
     └─ Operation Wolf (MD).zip
        ├─ Operation Wolf (Disk 1).adf
        └─ Operation Wolf (Disk 2).adf

Multi-disc features can then be access from RetroArch's Quick Menu ([HOTKEY] + South button (B SNES)). (FIXME where exactly though?)

fsuae configuration

Standardized features available to all cores of this emulator: amiga500.videomode, amiga500.ratio, amiga500.padtokeyboard

amiberry configuration

Standardized features available to all cores of this emulator: amiga500.videomode, amiga500.ratio, amiga500.padtokeyboard

RetroArch has its own page.

libretro: puae

libretro: puae configuration
ES setting name batocera.conf_key Description ⇒ ES option key_value
Settings that apply to all systems this core supports
AMIGA MODEL global.puae_model Force a specific model and prevent tags detection
⇒ Autodetect (by game name tag) automatic, A500 (512KB Chip + 512KB Slow) A500, A500+ (1MB Chip) A500PLUS, A600 (2MB Chip + 8MB Fast) A600, A1200 (2MB Chip + 8MB Fast) A1200, A4000/040 (2MB Chip + 8MB Fast) A4040, CDTV (1MB Chip) CDTV, CD32 Default (2MB Chip) CD32, CD32 (2MB Chip + 8MB Fast) CD32FR.
CPU COMPATIBILITY global.cpu_compatibility Help games which are too quick or that have bugs
⇒ Normal normal, More compatible compatible, Cycle-exact exact.
CPU MULTIPLIER (OVERCLOCK) global.cpu_multiplier Works with 'Cycle-exact' mode and for a few games
⇒ Default by model 0, 3.54 MHz 1, 7.09 MHz (A500 speed) 2, 14.18 MHz (A1200 speed) 4, 28.37 MHz 8, 35.46 MHz 10, 42.56 MHz 12, 56.75 MHz 16.
CPU SPEED (OVERCLOCK) global.cpu_throttle Ignored with 'Cycle-exact'
⇒ -90% -900.0, -80% -800.0, -70% -700.0, -60% -600.0, -50% -500.0, -40% -400.0, -30% -300.0, -20% -200.0, -10% -100.0, Default 0.0, +100% 1000.0, +200% 2000.0, +300% 3000.0, +400% 4000.0, +500% 5000.0, +600% 6000.0, +700% 7000.0, +800% 8000.0, +900% 9000.0, +1000% 10000.0.
VIDEO STANDARD global.video_standard Switch frequency and resolution by region
⇒ PAL 50Hz - 288/576px PAL, NTSC 60Hz - 240/480px NTSC.
VIDEO RESOLUTION global.video_resolution Increase the video resolution
⇒ Low 360p lores, High 720p hires, Super-high 1440p superhires.
ZOOM MODE global.zoom_mode Crops the borders to fit various host screens
⇒ Off none, Autofit screen automatic, minimum minimum, smaller smaller, small small, medium medium, large large, larger larger, maximum maximum.
FRAMESKIP global.gfx_framerate Skip frames to improve performance (smoothness)
⇒ Off disabled, 1 1, 2 2.
MOUSE SPEED global.mouse_speed Affects mouse speed globally.
⇒ original 100, 50% 50, 70% 70, 120% 120, 150% 150, 170% 170, 200% 200.
Settings specific to amiga500
FLOPPY TURBO SPEED amiga500.puae_floppy_speed Removes loading but can add possible glitches/crashes
⇒ Off 100, On 0.
2P GAMEPAD MAPPING (KEYRAH) amiga500.keyrah_mapping Keypad to joyport mappings for 2 players
⇒ Off disabled, On enabled.
WHDLOAD LAUNCHER amiga500.whdload Enable launching pre-installed WHDLoad installs
⇒ Off disabled, On config.
JUMP ON B amiga500.pad_options Makes second fire button press up
⇒ Off disabled, On jump.
DISABLE EMULATOR JOYSTICK amiga500.disable_joystick Passes all physical keyboard events for Pad2Key
⇒ Off disabled, On enabled.
CONTROLLER 1 TYPE amiga500.controller1_puae Select controller type for Amiga P1
⇒ Retropad 1, CD32 Pad 517, Analog Joystick 773, Joystick 261, Keyboard 259.
CONTROLLER 2 TYPE amiga500.controller2_puae Select controller type for Amiga P2
⇒ Retropad 1, CD32 Pad 517, Analog Joystick 773, Joystick 261, Keyboard 259.
Settings specific to amiga1200
FLOPPY TURBO SPEED amiga1200.puae_floppy_speed Removes loading but can add possible glitches/crashes
⇒ Off 100, On 0.
2P GAMEPAD MAPPING (KEYRAH) amiga1200.keyrah_mapping Keypad to joyport mappings for 2 players
⇒ Off disabled, On enabled.
WHDLOAD LAUNCHER amiga1200.whdload Enable launching pre-installed WHDLoad installs
⇒ Off disabled, On config.
JUMP ON B amiga1200.pad_options Makes second fire button press up
⇒ Off disabled, On jump.
DISABLE EMULATOR JOYSTICK amiga1200.disable_joystick Passes all physical keyboard events for Pad2Key
⇒ Off disabled, On enabled.
CONTROLLER 1 TYPE amiga1200.controller1_puae Select controller type for Amiga P1
⇒ Retropad 1, CD32 Pad 517, Analog Joystick 773, Joystick 261, Keyboard 259.
CONTROLLER 2 TYPE amiga1200.controller2_puae Select controller type for Amiga P2
⇒ Retropad 1, CD32 Pad 517, Analog Joystick 773, Joystick 261, Keyboard 259.
Settings specific to amigacd32
BOOT ANIMATION FIRST amigacd32.puae_cd_startup_delayed_insert Inserts CD during boot animation to prevent loading fail
⇒ Off disabled, On enabled.
CD TURBO SPEED amigacd32.puae_cd_speed Removes loading but can add possible glitches/crashes
⇒ Off 100, On 0.
JUMP ON A amigacd32.puae_cd32pad_options Makes Blue button press Up
⇒ Off disabled, On jump.
Settings specific to amigacdtv
BOOT ANIMATION FIRST amigacdtv.puae_cd_startup_delayed_insert Inserts CD during boot animation prevent loading fail
⇒ Off disabled, On enabled.
CD TURBO SPEED amigacdtv.puae_cd_speed Removes loading but can add possible glitches/crashes
⇒ Off 100, On 0.

libretro: puae2021

An older version of PUAE which is more innaccurate but runs faster on weaker hardware (such as the Raspberry Pi).

libretro: puae2021 configuration

Standardized features for this core: amiga500.rewind, amiga500.autosave, amiga500.padtokeyboard

ES setting name batocera.conf_key Description ⇒ ES option key_value
Settings that apply to all systems this core supports
AMIGA MODEL global.puae_model Force a specific model and prevent tags detection.
⇒ Autodetect (by game name tag) automatic, A500 (512KB Chip + 512KB Slow) A500, A500+ (1MB Chip) A500PLUS, A600 (2MB Chip + 8MB Fast) A600, A1200 (2MB Chip + 8MB Fast) A1200, A4000/040 (2MB Chip + 8MB Fast) A4040, CDTV (1MB Chip) CDTV, CD32 Default (2MB Chip) CD32, CD32 (2MB Chip + 8MB Fast) CD32FR.
CPU COMPATIBILITY global.cpu_compatibility Help games which are too quick or that have bugs.
⇒ Normal normal, More compatible compatible, Cycle-exact exact.
CPU CLOCK global.cpu_multiplier Works with 'Cycle-exact' mode and for a few games.
⇒ Default by model 0, 3.54 MHz 1, 7.09 MHz (A500 speed) 2, 14.18 MHz (A1200 speed) 4, 28.37 MHz 8, 35.46 MHz 10, 42.56 MHz 12, 56.75 MHz 16.
CPU SPEED global.cpu_throttle Ignored with 'Cycle-exact'.
⇒ -90% -900.0, -80% -800.0, -70% -700.0, -60% -600.0, -50% -500.0, -40% -400.0, -30% -300.0, -20% -200.0, -10% -100.0, Default 0.0, +100% 1000.0, +200% 2000.0, +300% 3000.0, +400% 4000.0, +500% 5000.0, +600% 6000.0, +700% 7000.0, +800% 8000.0, +900% 9000.0, +1000% 10000.0.
VIDEO FORMAT STANDARD global.video_standard
⇒ PAL 288x576px 50Hz PAL, NTSC 240x480px 60Hz NTSC.
VIDEO RESOLUTION global.video_resolution Manually define which resolution to use.
Auto defaults to High and switches to Super-High when needed.
⇒ Low 360p lores, High 720p hires, Super-high 1440p superhires.
ZOOM/CROP (HIDE BORDERS) global.zoom_mode Hides borders on many games. Some games use the borders.
⇒ Off none, Auto zoom automatic, minimum minimum, smaller smaller, small small, medium medium, large large, larger larger, maximum maximum.
FRAMESKIP global.gfx_framerate Skip frames to improve performance, at the cost of choppy motion.
⇒ Off disabled, 1 1, 2 2.
MOUSE SPEED global.mouse_speed Affects mouse speed globally.
⇒ original 100, 50% 50, 70% 70, 120% 120, 150% 150, 170% 170, 200% 200.
JUMP ON B global.pad_options Makes second fire button press up instead.
⇒ Off disabled, On jump.
Settings specific to amiga500
FLOPPY TURBO SPEED amiga500.puae_floppy_speed Removes loading but can add possible glitches/crashes.
⇒ Off 100, On 0.
2P GAMEPAD MAPPING (KEYRAH) amiga500.keyrah_mapping Keypad to joyport mappings for 2 players.
⇒ Off disabled, On enabled.
WHDLOAD LAUNCHER amiga500.whdload Enable launching pre-installed WHDLoad installs.
⇒ Off disabled, On config.
DISABLE EMULATOR JOYSTICK amiga500.disable_joystick Passes all physical keyboard events for Pad2Key.
⇒ Off disabled, On enabled.
CONTROLLER 1 TYPE amiga500.controller1_puae Select controller type for Amiga P1.
⇒ Retropad 1, CD32 Pad 517, Analog Joystick 773, Joystick 261, Keyboard 259.
CONTROLLER 2 TYPE amiga500.controller2_puae Select controller type for Amiga P2.
⇒ Retropad 1, CD32 Pad 517, Analog Joystick 773, Joystick 261, Keyboard 259.

libretro: uae4arm

No configuration is available for this emulator (yet).

Here are the default Amiga OCS/ECS's controls shown on a Batocera Retropad:

If using libretro: PUAE, controls can be remapped per game or per folder by editing its core options.

For further troubleshooting, refer to the generic support pages.


1)
Technically the Amiga 2500 could be purchased with a 68030 CPU but it is still largely considered OCS.
  • systems/amiga500.txt
  • Last modified: 17 months ago
  • by atari