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Amiga Forever is by far the easiest way to go about it.
It uses its own RP9 format, which contains the game and configuration so that you don't have to mess around with the multitude of options just to get a game to work.
You can drag in any game .ADF file and it will bring up the RP9 creator. It connects to a game database online so will try to determine what the game is. If It gets it right, you can just click and that's it; everything is set up. Otherwise, you clear the Name box and start to type in the game name and it will show you a list of suggestions as you type. Pick the correct one and then press okay. No messing about with computer types, amount of RAM, types of RAM, joystick ports, floppy drive compatibility. Just play the game.
> I don’t understand why anyone would ever hate Apple? I could understand “hey I prefer Samsung” but I don’t understand hating Apple
I used to have a grudge, but I'm old enough that it's genuine.
It has to do with my beloved Commodore Amiga. Those were amazing computers, could dance circles around anything else in the graphics department. I was a huge Amiga nerd, and then Commodore messed up everything and declared bankruptcy.
Apple didn't cause Commodore to die, Commodore did. Their management and marketing were as terrible as their engineering was awesome. They would have figured out a way to destroy themselves without Apple (or IBM/Microsoft, for that matter).
But then, as now, the computer on almost everybody's desk was a Mac or ran Windows. Both were technically inferior to Amiga...and nobody seemed to care but me. So for a long time, I was mad at Apple and other Big Tech for...simply competing against Commodore, I guess?
As a side note, you can emulate Amigas these days on a PC, or just go buy a new one. The history of the Amiga post-Commodore is an interesting one, to say the least.
I'm not an expert as I haven't ever used the modern hardware, but for those capabilities I believe you would need a PowerPC based Amiga mother board and AmigaDOS 4.1.
The AmigaOne X5000 system is available but cost is definitely at a premium over what you would pay for a similarly equipped PC compatible. Obviously it is a niche product and only produced in small quantities.
These newer machines run older Amiga software under emulation, since the processor and video are totally different from the original Amigas.
Alternately, if you just prefer to use the Amiga operating system, you can run all versions including 4.1 under emulation on a PC. There is an officially licensed emulation package called Amiga Forever, which includes preconfigured environments for up to AmigaDOS 3.1.
Best place for amiga help: http://eab.abime.net/
Thank you for sharing your find! I love that the moral of the story is be nice and be patient!
Your SCSI network idea is interesting, keep us updated. By far the easiest way to transfer stuff to/from an old amiga is with Amiga Explorer: https://www.amigaforever.com/ae/
Another thing that is helpful to know: your Amiga has a monochrome RCA output built in. If you can't get any other display options to work, that will at least get you going. It can be plugged directly into a TV that has an RCA input or even a 3-plug component input (I think you use the green plug). I ran my Amiga like this for years.
There is the Cloanto Workbench 3.X and they also have a Kickstart 3.X, Hyperion is still developing Kickstart 3.1. A bit more info is available at: https://www.amigaforever.com/kb/15-107
Amiga Forever sounds interresting. Can anyone tell me if there's a list of the included games somewhere? I checked the official site (https://www.amigaforever.com/games/) but it only says that different editions of Amiga Forever may come with different selections of included games.
Thanks in advance!
I seem to recall that Cloanto removed the encryption key file in the more recent versions of Amiga Forever.
TITLE
Location of "rom.key" File
TOPIC
Q: I am following some instructions that mention a "rom.key" file. Where can I find it?
DISCUSSION
A: Amiga Forever Plus Edition ROMs are not encoded, and thus do not need a "rom.key" file. In such a scenario, if you found some instructions that reference a "rom.key" file, just ignore the part about the file, and they should work.
ROM encoding was added to the Amiga Forever, UAE and Fellow projects in 1997, and remains a supported option. Where ROMs are encoded, the "rom.key" file is located in the same directory as the ROM files. Detection by third-party applications is usually automatic, as encoded ROMs can be recognized by their header and the location of the "rom.key" file, if present, has never changed.
Amiga Forever has a ROM troubleshooting feature that can be accessed via Help/Developer/Write Log File. The resulting report includes details about installed ROM files, which can be used to confirm whether the desired ROMs are present.
For licensing reasons, the free Amiga Forever Express Edition continues to use encoded ROMs. The ROM files are decoded following registration or an upgrade.
Related Links
ROM and Operating System Files in Amiga Forever
WHDLoad Support in Amiga Forever
Player and Plugin Logging Options
Amiga ROM Versions
Article Information
Article ID: 16-128
Platform: Windows
Products: Amiga Forever
Additional Keywords: None
Last Update: 2018-12-01
The absolute easiest emulator for Windows is hands down C64 Forever. You can grab the free version at https://www.c64forever.com
They also makes a great, and easy to use, Amiga emulator. https://www.amigaforever.com/
Does he play Amiga games already?
If not, then you could always consider getting him some emulation software like Amiga Forever:
https://www.amigaforever.com/ https://www.amigaforever.com/popup-compare/
>Maybe the others are not installed.
You'll need to buy real Kickstart ROMs from Cloanto, rip them from your real Amiga(like I did) or download them from a ROM site.
>Is there a compatibility matrix I could check?
No idea. You'd need a 3D matrix to compare game, Aros version and hardware.
/r/amiga might be able to help more.
I have an email from March, but it has links to purchase Ver 9 of the software and mentions if you have an upgrade licence that you should check the upgrade instructions sent via email. I don’t have the lifetime licence. See if the second paragraph on this page here helps.
First bit of advice -- get a Gotek.
2nd - try cleaning the disk surface with a minute amount of warm water and soap.
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=84544
3rd - I think WB1.3 is included with Amiga Forever cheapest addition, but it's an ADF file.
4th The disk might have a blank boot track, but you need to fix that from Workbench...
install df0:
You could try asking an amigakit store pretty please for a fresh copy.
You are ENTITLED to a copy, your right to that goes with owning the hardware. What you are paying for is the time to copy and the blank disk.
This is sage advice. A really easy way in is to buy the Amiga Forever package from Cloanto, which comes with a nice front end to the (slightly techy) emulators and loads of systems pre-configured. That will give you plenty to get you going for very little outlay.
There's nothing stopping you getting a real miggy later on, if you decide it's something you want to get into.
I’d recommend buying the Amiga Forever Plus edition from Cloanto. It is however only installable on Windows, but it contains a lot of nice Amiga stuff including ROMs used to run e.g. WHDLoad. It also includes ADF-files of WB from 1.x all the way up to 3.1.
Amiga emulation isn't as turn key as NES or other cartridge based emulation. That's probably why no one has messed with it. Most of them require mouse or touch screen emulation (which may or may not work on Quest). The easiest way to do this would likely be get Amiga Forever, get it working on your PC and play it with a controller via Virtual Desktop. Most Amiga emus probably will require Google Play libraries (which Quest does not have).
BTW, to do ANY emulation legally, you'll need to own Amiga Forever or have dropped your BIOS from a real Amiga. There is a free kickstart replacement, but it doesn't work well nor does it work for many games.
This isn't "dead" tech - there are licensees that own the Amiga OS and Kickstarter and stealing that image is not a victimless crime. Just making sure the mods understand this before people start posting links to those image files. You can be legal for $10. See this.
If you're looking for retro try this... https://www.amigaforever.com
It is paid but it is very good, the disc images for many old games can be downloaded these days as well since the licences have been released.
Amiga Forever package makes things much easier if you do not want to fiddle with all emulator finesses. The underlying emulator is still WinUAE but usability is much better.
The simplest and easiest way is Amiga Forever. It's not free but well worth the $29.99 (for the Plus Edition).
Even though I've still got 2 working A500s, I've been buying Amiga Forever since...1998? 2000? It's been awhile.