HomeWord by Sierra-Online (1983) - This is a neat word processor that came early in the Commodore 64's existence but had the neat feature of being able to see a live preview of the documents layout as it would be when printed out even though you only had 40 columns for editing.  I haven't been able to find any documentation for this rare find.  In fact, it's so rare that there isn't even a cracked version of this that I could find.  That said, let me tell you a bit about what's in this archive.  So there is both a .g64 and .d64 disk image, and both of them have some mild copy protection still in tact.  The odd thing about the .d64 image is that it will work in VICE, and on the Ultimate II+ with Firmware 3.9, but won't work on an Ultimate 64 with Firmware 3.10, hence the .g64 image which I created by putting the .d64 on the Ultimate II+ and using Shotgun II nibbler to create a real floppy, then using Nib copy on a PC with a XUM1541 with parralel adapter to read back the floppy into a .g64 which the Ultimate 64 is ok with.

If you have any documentation or a cracked version of this, please consider hitting the Contact Us link and sharing.

Gemini v2.0 by Final Source Software (1984) - This is a three minute backup copier that is a bit finiky.  It won't work properly in VICE or on my Ultimate 64, but it works fine on a real Commodore 64, I think it has something to do with the drive detection. 

I was asked to remove this download by Jim Drew.

Sprite Studio 64 v1.1 by Tobiasz Stamborski (Released January, 2023) - It's always nice to see new utilities that encourage using the Commodore 64 for actual design work, and this one won't let you down.  There is even a nice manual included.

Superclone Disk Examiner is  a disk utility that will let you verify the checksum of tracks 1-40 and can accomodate certain tracks that might have extra sectors. 

Some additional information about checksums I found at the excellent pagetable.com website:

The on-disk format of 1541 disks uses 8-bit checksums to protect the integrity of headers and data sections. It is calculcated as an XOR of all data bytes. An 8 bit checksum is not very strong: The probability of an undetected read error is 1:256. In practice, it is good enough that it should be trusted for most cases.

Kltizing's Utility Wedge by Jim Klitzing - This is a really nice multi-function utility with some great features for BASIC programmers, incuding auto-numbering, re-numbering, multi-line delete and un-new.  A few of the features I like include the mini-word processor, the ability to print hi-res, lo-res (PETSCII), and SEQ files.  There is also a machine language monitor (Micromon) and even a terminal program.  This program really has a little of something for everyone.

SD2IEC Wedge 64 v23.01 by DiscMix - This is a pretty cool DOS wedge for SD2IEC devices that can be loaded into $C000 or $9000 providing many useful commands for working with files, directories and more.

Here is a link to the  authors site (https://sw64.mrys.de/) where the latest version can be downloaded and documentation can be found.  There is also a text file in the archive with documentation.

GEOPAINT' 64 Release 1.00 v1 by Paul Murdaugh (February 2022) - This is a modified version of the graphics editor for GEOS called GEOPAINT, which works with GEOS 2.0+, Wheels, gateWay and MegaPatch3.  This version supports 4 disk drives so that you can double click a GEOPAINT graphic no matter which drive it's on, and it will open.  Normally your GEOPAINT graphics file needs to be on the same disk as the application, but that can be inconvenient because typical Commodore floppy disks have limited amounts of storage and the graphics files can be fairly large, so the addition of 4 drive support is very welcome.

The original release of this application was on Facebook.  Here is a link in case you want to follow the thread or ask a question.  

As I've said in the past, games aren't typically my thing so I don't post them very often, but this one is exceptional and deserves to be shared.  Based on the original 1983 release, Artillery Duel Deluxe is a turn based strategy game with some really cool features:

- 1-player mode
- 2-player online mode incl. message function (with WiC64 or kernal64 emulator)
- online spectator (live and replay function) (with WiC64 or kernal64 emulator)
- online ranking (with WiC64 or kernal64 emulator)
- ingame manual
- PAL/NTSC (speed) adapted
- optimized use of joysticks in port 1 and 2 + protopad support
- acceleration resp. abort possibilities of different processes for a more comfortable gameplay
- countless smaller optical and technical adjustments and optimizations

Official release comes from CSDB.DK.  Further release news from the Lemon64 Forum, and additionally at Indie Retro News.

Over the years I've found many great collections of Commodore software, but they are just to big to host myself.  I've recently found a way to share these indirectly, and am hoping this works out so that other people can have a chance to dig through these treasures.  This first attempt is a HUGE 25GB collection called C64 Dreams.  Here is a quote from the person who created this archive:

This is a huge work-in-progress collection of hand-picked C64 games (3000 currently), demoscene demos, SID music, C64 magazines, and diskmags. 100% of the collection has been tested, streamlined and custom-tailored to get you into the games and playing as easily and quickly as possible. It's also portable and doesn't require any front-end to function (though it does come packaged with Launchbox).

Here is a link that has much, much more information about this project and it's contents.  Here is another link to updates and information relevant to the v0.45 release.

Command Interface Reference v1.0 (2013) by Gideon Zweijtzer - Although the title suggests this is only for the Ultimate II, this document is also valid for the Ultimate II+ and Ultimate 64.  Here is the overview as quoted from the document:

The ‘Ultimate-II command interface’ feature is a new feature for the 1541 Ultimate-II module. It implements a way to communicate to the 1541 Ultimate-II programmatically from the Commodore 64, through the cartridge port I/O registers.

The ‘Ultimate-II command interface’ is the communication layer between the C64 on one side and functional modules of the 1541 Ultimate-II on the other side. Such a functional module takes a command, and returns data and status back to the user program on the C64.

This document was obtained from the 1541 Ultimate official Github repository and should not be considered the most current version.  Please visit the Github project for updates and other related documentation.

The Write Stuff 128 by Busy Bee Software (1988) - This has to be the ultimate word processor for the Commodore 128.  There are so many features and capabilities that it would take pages to list them, so I'll just link to the Reference Manual so you can check it out yourself.  Here is a quick overview pulled from the reference manual:

The Write Stuff 128 is a collection of word processing software. The main program, BB Writer, is a high productivity, feature-laden word processor for the Commodore 128. Although designed to meet the needs of advanced users, BB Wr iter, when used in "menu mode," is equally suitable for use by children and occasional users. BB Writer allows all essential edit-print-load-save features to be selected from menus. No special keyboard or embedded commands need to be learned. However, as the user gains experience, over 100 advanced features can be selected using keyboard and embedded commands.

This archive was pulled from a couple sources.  The first souce was from CBM128.COM (which is a great source for all things Commodore 128), and the second source was from a Lemon64 Forum post where a user that goes by "thomcbm64" kindly shared a download link.  In the archive are both the 40-column and 80-column versions, but there is also an additional 80-colum version which I believe (not positive) is version 2.  I can't find anywhere in the program itself where it states it's version 2, but it loads differently than the version 1 (which states it's version 1).

Here is a link to the reference manual, and another to the startup/quick refence

I also recommend checking out this excellent blog post from the amigalove.com website that has good information and an interesting thread of comments.

Geos Image Editor by David Lee - I saw this cool utility for Windows posted on Facebook the other day, and have to share it because anyone that programs for GEOS needs this in their toolbox.  Here is a quote from the author about the utility:

Utility for creating bitmaps for geos programming. Left click and move mouse to set; right click and move mouse to clear. Click the 'Get Assembly' button to display window that has ".byte" statements for geoProgrammer and many cross assemblers; "b" statements for MegaAssembler; and a "c" string suitable for cc65. Copy the desired format and paste into source code.

I know it sounds simple, and it is!  That's the beauty of it.  No need to install, just extract it to a folder and run the executable.

Blue Chip Word Processor by Visiontronics and Professional Software, Inc. Designed by Jacques Lebrun (1984) - This is the word processor that accompanied the Blue Chip D12/10 daisy wheel printer.  It's a fairly capable application, supporting 40, 80 or 120 columns. Thank you Thomas Shaw for sharing this!

You can find the Word Processor Quick Guide with command reference here

You can find the full printer manual here

Lastly, you can find a GEOS printer driver here

The Blue Chip D12/10 Daisy wheel printer included a decent word processor in the bundle.  Thanks to Thomas Shaw, we now have the accompanying disk image.

You can find the full manual for the printer here. You can also find the GEOS printer driver here

Welcome to dirmenu for CBM! This code was written under cc65. This program is a menu program and allows a user to select which program on a disk to run. Put this program first on a disk or disk image, and once a user runs the disk, he/she will find a menu that selects a program to run. Its usage is simple: run the program, use the up and down cursor keys to select the program to run and press Return, or press Run/Stop to cancel.

geoShell Programmer's Development Package by Maurice Randall, is designed to be an aid in developing commands for the GEOS geoShell program.

Thanks to Bruce Thomas for locating the disk images and converting the three .d64 images into a single .d81 (both are included in the arcvhive) - Please note that all of the files on the disks need to be run through Convert 2.5 to make them useable GEOS files. Bruce was kind enough to take the time to run all the files through Convert.  The archive has been updated.

Here is a link to the manual for this package.

Additional geoShell information and commands can be found at cbmfiles.com

Paul B. Murdaugh (DualTop 64/128, The Landmark Series disk, Super Validate 64/128), along with help from others, has combined Berkeley Softworks' Hitchhiker's Guide to GEOS (1988), The Official GEOS Programmer's Reference Guide (BSW 1987 plus the Italian translation of 1988), Alexander Boyce's GEOS Programmer's Reference Guide (1986 & Bo Zimmerman's 1997 revisions), Wheels Kernal info, and his own personal experience to create this 860 page one-stop shopping repository of GEOS programming information.

Please see the extended description for the full announcement by Bruce Thomas, of this amazing GEOS document.

Welcome to Sky Travel! The magic of microelectronics has made it possible to have an accurate model of the universe in your own home at a modest cost. The awesome computations and enormous amounts of data are handled quickly and efficiently by your Commodore 64 computer. All you have to do is select your exploration commands and Sky Travel will return the information in pictorial form, directly on your screen - and in bright colors at that!

Thanks to Bruce Thomas, we now have the Commodore 64 manual plus some extras.  Inside the archive is Leroy's Cheatsheet for Sky Travel and a document about Sky Travel Easter Eggs!

This archive has a collection of disk copiers that work with the hardware based parallel cables.  In particular, this archive contains - 21 Second Backup v1, v1.5, v2.0, v2.0+, v3, v4, v4.1 and Burst Nibbler v1.0, v1.1, v1.2, v1.4, v1.5, v1.6, v1.7, v1.8 and v1.9

21 Second Backup by Charles Leborgne was quite an amazing hardware / software combo back in the day.  I always wanted to have this when I was a kid, but somehow ended up with the Datel Burst Nibbler combo instead.  I recently picked up a reproduction of this hardware from COREi64.  For a long time, the software side of this combo was uncopiable, but recently that has changed.  Here is a YouTube video from 8-Bit Resurgence demonstrating that it was indeed copied.

Here is a LINK to an interview with the author of 21 Second Backup.

Here is a LINK to the C64 Copy Protection website that has more details about the program and even a diagram of how to build the custom hardware cable yourself.

Couldn't locate the Commodore 64 version of the Sky Travel manual, but found this Macintosh version that was released around the same time, so maybe it will be useful in conjunction with the Sky Travel 64 Addendum.

Update - Thanks to Bruce Thomas, we now have the manual, cheat sheet and easter eggs!

I haven't been able to find the actual Commodore 64 manual for Sky Travel, but I did find an older Macintosh version of the manual and this addendum.  

Update - Thanks to Bruce Thomas, we now have the manual, cheat sheet and easter eggs!

This astronomy program, designed for persons ages 12 and up, was released in 1984 and included a 138-page manual. It provided an interactive guided tour of the universe—in the past, present, and future. The universe model could show the location of more than 1,200 stars, 88 constellations, 8 planets, deep sky objects, and the (then) future appearance (1986) of Halley’s comet. The program had four basic modes: map, set, sky, and chart. Map was used to select the location on Earth; month, day, year, and time were determined in set; optional displays were chosen in sky; and chart was used to project the sky on a celestial sphere with coordinate lines for creating, viewing, and printing your own star charts.

Here's are some links to the manual (including cheat sheet and easter eggs) and the addendum.

The Commodore Colour VIC computer has many facilities which you can use for a variety of applications in the home, at school, in offices and laboratories, wherever you have a mains point and a television set.

As soon as you switch on your VIC, you will have access to the BASIC programming language; BASIC stands for Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. You will be able to write useful programs in BASIC very quickly by working through this book. No knowledge of computers or programming is assumed and the many exercises and problems (with answers in the appendices) will help you to progress at your own speed.

Vision Self Dissolving Files v1.5 - Written by Kerry Messana (1990 Vision Software Co.) - This small 12 block program for the Commodore 64 is pretty amazing.  Not only can this dissolve files with the .VSD extension, it can also create .VSD files.  It seems very similar to Lynx, but is compatible with any drive / device, including CMD HD, and SD2IEC devices.  Not sure how I missed this one over the years.