Archives of Genesis8 Amstrad Page from 1999 to 2025 about utility, page 1 / 21





GentleOS, a hobby Operating System for 16 and 32 bit PC by Luke8086

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Lunke8086 is working on an operating system for old PC as a hobby. The goal is a monolithic OS for retro hardware with a GUI. There are two versions :

  • GentleOS/16 : at minimum, it only requires an 8086+ CPU, 192 KB of RAM, and a CGA display supporting 320x200x4 mode, qui supporte CGA/VGA, clavier et haut-parleur. Check on which computer it runs just below (not mine)...
  • GentleOS/32 : at minimum, it only requires an i386 CPU, 4MB of RAM, and a VGA display capable of 640x480x16 mode. It supports VGA/SVGA, keyboard, PS/2 mouse, serial mouse and PC speaker.

The goal it to corrects bugs, optimize and add new GUI applications.

GentleOS/16 on Amstrad PPC 512

GentleOS/16 on Amstrad PPC 512

GentleOS/32 on VGA



Arkos Tracker v3.6.0 by Targhan is available

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Arkos Tracker v3.6.0 by Targhan is available on his web site. The site has many tutorials. This version is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux (Intel and ARM).

This v3.6.0 brings ST-SID support and more.


Youtube video



UPX v5.2.0 by The UPX Team for ms-dos and other OS

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UPX v5.2.0 by The UPX Team is an executable compressor for several operating systems including ms-dos. It is very useful notably on PC XT where disk space was limited, whatever 5,25 or 3,5 disks or on hard disks. At the time of my Amstrad PC 1512, I was using Lzexe by Fabrice Bellard (who also owned an Amstrad PC 1512 DD), Diet by Teddy Matsumoto, PKLite by Phil Katz (PKWare) then later UPX.



1984, a new Amstrad CPC emulator by salvogendut (and more)

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A new Amstrad CPC emulator is available : 1984 by Salvogendut (see also 1984 on CPCWiki.

But it's not the only program he worked on for Amstrad CPC :

  • N4CEWENTERM, an ANSI Telnet Client for Amstrad CPC
  • symcmd-settime : uan utility to set time with http under SymbOS
  • conv2SGX : an utility to convert pictures to the SGX format used by SymbOS


ABASC v1.2.1 by Fragarco, a python compiler of Amstrad CPC Locomotive BASIC programs

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ABASC v1.2.1 (Amstrad BASic cross Compiler) by Fragarco is a cross-compiler written entirely in Python, with no external dependencies. This makes it highly portable and easy to run on any system that has a standard Python 3 installation.

It is designed to support the dialect of BASIC created by Locomotive Software for the Amstrad CPC series of microcomputers, ensuring that all existing documentation for this language remains fully relevant and useful.

Because ABASC is a cross-compiler that runs on modern systems, it also incorporates several features from Locomotive BASIC 2 Plus, offering a development experience closer to that of contemporary programming languages while preserving the classic style of the original BASIC.

In addition to the compiler itself, the ABASC package includes several auxiliary tools, such as an assembler and disk/tape image packers for generating DSK and CDT files. Full documentation for each tool is available in the DOCS directory, provided in both English and Spanish.

Two programs have been ported with little modifications with ABASC : Sultan's maze and 3D Maze.



Disk Image Manager v2.11.0 for windows by Damien Guard

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Disk Image Manager v2.11.0 by Damien Guard is an application for examining and manipulating disk images in the Standard and Extended DSK format used by many ZX Spectrum, Amstrad PCW and CPC emulators.

New features for v2.11.0 :

  • Amstrad CPC screen viewer (modes 0, 1 and 2) with automatic mode detection
  • Advanced OCP Art Studio MJH-compressed screen support
  • Advanced OCP Art Studio .WIN window support
  • Amstrad (Locomotive) BASIC file viewer with syntax highlighting
  • Save screen viewer images to PNG or BMP
  • Copy disk image path to clipboard



DAAD Ready version B (windows) by Uto to create adventure games

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DAAD Ready version B (05/15/2026) has been released for Windows. DAAD Ready allows you to create a graphical adventure game with DAAD Adventure Writer and create a binary for several 8bit and 16bit platforms including the Amstrad CPC.

For more information on DAAD Ready, follow this link. If you want to create a purely text adventure game, you can use the PunyInform library written by Fredrik Ramsberg and Johan Berntsson.



The Black Sun Affair, un jeu d'aventure Amstrad CPC en français par Silentplacesgames

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The Black Sun Affair by Silentplacesgames is an Amstrad CPC narrative adventure game, in the spirit of exploration stories, mysteries, and classic adventure serials.

Somewhere between London, the desert, and a forgotten city, an investigation gradually leads to something older, more dangerous, and perhaps best left unsaid. Your choices will determine what should be saved, handed over to the authorities, silenced or left buried.

The game features a story-driven progression, choices with consequences, multiple endings, and a retro atmosphere designed to recapture the joy of classic CPC adventures.


Youtube video



ABASC by Fragarco, a python compiler of Amstrad CPC in Locomotive Software basic programs

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The following text comes from the github page : ABASC (Amstrad BASic cross Compiler) by Fragarco is a cross-compiler written entirely in Python, with no external dependencies. This makes it highly portable and easy to run on any system that has a standard Python 3 installation.

It is designed to support the dialect of BASIC created by Locomotive Software for the Amstrad CPC series of microcomputers, ensuring that all existing documentation for this language remains fully relevant and useful.

Because ABASC is a cross-compiler that runs on modern systems, it also incorporates several features from Locomotive BASIC 2 Plus, offering a development experience closer to that of contemporary programming languages while preserving the classic style of the original BASIC.

In addition to the compiler itself, the ABASC package includes several auxiliary tools, such as an assembler and disk/tape image packers for generating DSK and CDT files. Full documentation for each tool is available in the DOCS directory, provided in both English and Spanish.

Two programs have been ported with little modifications with ABASC : Sultan's maze and 3D Maze.



GRIMM, an adventure game creator for Amstrad CPC in french

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Warning: The following text is taken from the Itch.IO page. I don't think I can do a better job than its author when presenting this utility used to create text adventure games for the Amstrad CPC.

GRIMM is a retro game creation utility to produce text adventure games in the spirit of the Amstrad CPC. It combines three essential elements:

  • an adventure engine
  • a dedicated editor
  • a simple, structured, and readable scripting language

GRIMM is for authors, creators, and retro-computing enthusiasts who want to design parsable adventure games, interactive fiction, and old-school exploration experiences without having to build a complete engine from scratch.

The principle is simple: you write your game's content, organize your locations, objects, and rules, and then generate a final playable version.

With GRIMM, you can :

  • create locations, objects, and interactions
  • define exits, hidden passages, and conditions
  • write an introduction, an ending, and death sequences
  • manage Object properties and simple game logic
  • Set up a score and usage counters
  • Associate images with the introduction, ending, death, or locations
  • Export your project as a final playable build

GRIMM is not a modern drag-and-drop game maker. This is a focused authoring tool, built around :

  • clarity
  • structured writing
  • deliberately retro constraints
  • an old-school philosophy

It will be particularly suited to those who enjoy :

  • the Amstrad CPC aesthetic
  • parser games
  • text adventures from the 80s and 90s
  • dungeon crawlers and exploration
  • compact and readable game logic

This project includes :

  • the GRIMM editor
  • the scripting workflow for GRIMM V1
  • export/build tools
  • documentation
  • files example

This publication corresponds to GRIMM V1, the first stable, production-oriented version. It is in French. The next version will allow the use of English.



rtzx v0.5.0 par Phil Stewart, un utilitaire de gestion de fichier cassettes (TZX et CDT)

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rtzx by Phil Stewart is an utility for windows and linux written in Rust language to manage tape files for ZX Spectrum (TZX) and Amstrad CPC (CDT). It can inspect, convert to wav, and play to audio.



Microweb v2.1, a web navigator pour msdos et 808x (+) by James Howard

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MicroWeb v2.1 par James Howardest un navigateur web pour processeur Intel 8088 (et +), CGA, EGA, VGA ou Hercules, interface réseau ou port série et driver EtherSLIP), souris recommandée non nécessaire, 640 Ko de mémoire recommandé, EMS/XMS non nécessaire (mais permets de charger des plages plus importantes en taille).



rtzx v0.4.0 par Phil Stewart, un utilitaire de gestion de fichier cassettes (TZX et CDT)

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rtzx by Phil Stewart is an utility for windows and linux written in Rust language to manage tape files for ZX Spectrum (TZX) and Amstrad CPC (CDT). It can inspect, convert to wav, and play to audio.



Arkos Tracker v3.5.1 by Targhan is available

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Arkos Tracker v3.5.1 by Targhan is available on his web site. The site has many tutorials. This version is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux (Intel and ARM).

This v3.5.1 corrects a few bugs and brings a few optimizations.



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