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Amstrad Color Personal Computer
The Amstrad Color Personal Computer (CPC) is a line of computers developed by Amstrad. The first model, the CPC 464, was released in 1984.
Models released include:
- CPC 464
- CPC664
- CPC6128
- 464plus
- 6128plus
And of course, the ill-fated GX4000 videogame console based on the plus series of computers.
It was one of the first computers to be sold as the “complete package” to the home market, including the keyboard, drive storage and monitor all in one (most home-oriented computers relied on the user having a domestic TV set). It predated the Macintosh by almost a year.
Infamously, Amstrad founder Alan Sugar wanted the machine to resemble a “real computer,” and not to look like “a pregnant calculator”.
It enjoyed a health community, even having multiple dedicated magazine lines in parts of Europe and Australia. Following the CPC's end of production, Amstrad gave permission for the CPC ROMs to be distributed freely as long as the copyright message is not changed and that it is acknowledged that Amstrad still holds copyright, giving emulator authors the possibility to ship the CPC firmware with their programs. 1)
This system scrapes metadata for the “amstradcpc” group and loads the amstradcpc set from the currently selected theme, if available.
Quick reference
- Emulator: RetroArch
- Core: libretro: cap32
- Folder:
/userdata/roms/amstradcpc - Accepted ROM formats:
.dsk,.sna,.tap,.cdt,.voc,.m3u,.zip,.7z
BIOS
No Amstrad CPC emulator in Batocera needs a BIOS file to run.
ROMs
Place your Amstrad CPC ROMs in /userdata/roms/amstradcpc.
Emulators
RetroArch
RetroArch (formerly SSNES), is a ubiquitous frontend that can run multiple “cores”, which are essentially the emulators themselves. The most common cores use the libretro API, so that's why cores run in RetroArch in Batocera are referred to as “libretro: (core name)”. RetroArch aims to unify the feature set of all libretro cores and offer a universal, familiar interface independent of platform.
RetroArch configuration
RetroArch offers a Quick Menu accessed by pressing [HOTKEY] + 
which can be used to alter various things like RetroArch and core options, and controller mapping. Most RetroArch related settings can be altered from Batocera's EmulationStation.
Standardized features available to all libretro cores: amstradcpc.videomode, amstradcpc.ratio, amstradcpc.smooth, amstradcpc.shaders, amstradcpc.pixel_perfect, amstradcpc.decoration, amstradcpc.game_translation
ES setting name batocera.conf_key | Description ⇒ ES option key_value |
|---|---|
| Settings that apply to all cores of this emulator | |
GRAPHICS API amstradcpc.gfxbackend | Choose which graphics API library to use. Vulkan is better, when supported. ⇒ OpenGL opengl, Vulkan vulkan. |
AUDIO LATENCY amstradcpc.audio_latency | In milliseconds. Can reduce crackling/cutting out. ⇒ 256 256, 192 192, 128 128, 64 64, 32 32, 16 16, 8 8. |
THREADED VIDEO amstradcpc.video_threaded | Improves performance at the cost of latency and more video stuttering. Use only if full speed cannot be obtained otherwise. ⇒ On true, Off false. |
libretro: cap32
libretro: cap32 configuration
ES setting name batocera.conf_key | Description ⇒ ES option key_value |
|---|---|
| Settings that apply to all systems this core supports | |
CPC MODEL global.cap32_model | Choose which Amstrad CPC model to emulate. ⇒ 464 464, 6128 6128, 6128+ 6128+. |
RAM SIZE global.cap32_ram | CPC physical RAM size in kB. ⇒ 64 64, 128 128, 192+ 192, 512 512, 576+ 576. |
Controls
To enable gamepad support, go in RetroArch menu with [HOTKEY] + , then change Input → User 1 Device type: Retropad to “Amstrad Joystick”.
Here are the default Amstrad CPC's controls shown on a Batocera Retropad:
Troubleshooting
Further troubleshooting
For further troubleshooting, refer to the generic support pages.
- systems/amstradcpc.txt
- Last modified: 13 months ago
- by atari