The 8-Bit Guy

I think that for such modern retro style systems is very important to have a huge community and because of this a legacy compatible systems like ZX Spectrum Next[1] or MEGA65[2] or systems designed from persons with a huge audience like David Murray[3] are clear winners.

ESP32, TinyBasic and FabGL look cool, but it seems that there is not enough people knowing about them and wanting to develop software for/with them. Unfortunately the same can also be said for the Maximite series of machines. I wasn't able to find any dedicated FabGL or Maximite community sites.

The same cannot be said for the upper mentioned computers which apparently already have significant community and some people actively developing games and other software for them. ZX Spectrum Next even have a dedicated distribution site[4]. Commander X16's official site has community downloads section[5] which looks similar.

If someone wants only to have some fun programming a retro like machine in Basic or in C++ with FabGL, ESP32 is really a cheep alternative, but most probably what he does with it, will stay only his own personal experience and he will not have a huge chance to find some audience or community.

[1]https://www.specnext.com/

[2]https://mega65.org/

[3]http://www.the8bitguy.com/

[4]https://www.spectrumnextgames.uk/

[5]https://www.commanderx16.com/forum/index.php?/files/category/11-community-downloads/

I just watched this video today. The Amiga truly was ahead of the curve and sadly I didn't get to participate in 80s and early 90s computing much (I had a Commodore Plus/4 but that was it). Even now, I find that there is so much more to learn about that era.

The 8-bit Guy, previously The iBookGuy, has an enormous amount of retro-tech information, including a whole series about the Commodore line of computers. And he developed his own game for various Commodore systems (and also an MS-DOS game).

A little bit about him: https://www.the8bitguy.com/8bit-guy-about/

Great content, well-presented, and regularly produced videos. I find I look forward to his videos every month.

David "The 8-Bit Guy" Murray, the initiator of the Commander X16, has a blog post about why he wasn't satisfied with the C256 Foenix: http://www.the8bitguy.com/3543/my-dream-computer-part-2/

> Stefany and I disagree over some of the design at the moment. For example she has an integrated floppy drive, MIDI ports, SID chips, and a whole host of other things that I don’t feel are necessary and will inflate the cost of the computer.

> Even if she agreed to all of my design changes, it would still be a computer that would be $80 or more for somebody to buy, well above the original price point I was hoping to target.

There are a good number of old devices that still have a devout following. For MS-DOS you might check out e.g. Planet X3 [1]. Or how about Super Boss Gaiden [2], a game for a prototype console of which (AFAIK) only one unit is in existence (but you can play the game on an emulator, which apparently exists for this obscure console).

[1] http://www.the8bitguy.com/product/planet-x3-for-ms-dos-computers/

[2] https://playstation.fandom.com/wiki/Super_Boss_Gaiden

I love the .PRG and .PNG export ability. Great app.

Another PETSCII editor to be aware of is David Murray's. (i.e. "The 8-Bit Guy" on YouTube) It's a modern native editor, running on the C64 and PET.[1] Apparently there's also a version for his in-the-works Commander X16 "dream computer".[2]

[1] http://www.the8bitguy.com/download-davids-software/

[2] http://www.commanderx16.com

Lisa was $9995.00 or $32300.00 in 2025 US dollars.

C64 was $595.00 or $1990.00 in 2025 US dollars.

Note, people still port in new C64 game titles ( https://www.the8bitguy.com/product/petscii-robots/ )

Not sure what additional software the average consumer could have run to change that value proposition. There were a lot of failed platforms in that time. =3