A quick update has been released for MicroDS , the Tandy MC-10 emulator developed by Wavemotion-Dave for the Nintendo DS, DSi, XL and LL consoles.

The MicroDS stands out for its solid emulation of the MC6803 processor, the heart of the Tandy MC-10 , supporting 4 KB of internal RAM and 16 KB of external expansion RAM, for a total of 20 KB, in addition to 128 bytes of RAM dedicated to the CPU.

For those who want to go further, the emulator offers a memory expansion option of up to 32 KB, configurable directly in the machine settings.

The latest update introduces support for all undocumented 6803 CPU opcodes , partial MCX integration for using MCXBASIC 2.1 , improved timer handling with the implementation of the correct counter latch system, and a major code revision, enriched with new annotations and general cleanup.

Characteristics

Emulation of the Tandy MicroColor Computer MC-10 with solid MC6803 CPU core.
4K internal RAM + 16K external expansion RAM for a total of 20K (+128 bytes of CPU RAM).
Optional memory expansion up to 32K in the machine configuration.
Cassette deck ( .c10) for loading games and programs.
Saving/Loading the game state (one slot).
LCD screen swap (press and hold L+R+X during gameplay).
LCD screen snapshot (press and hold L+R+Y during gameplay; the .png file will be written to the SD card).
Virtual keyboard styled like the MC-10 with the ability to map any keyboard key to DS buttons.
Full speed, full audio and maximum frame rate even on older hardware.

Required BIOS/BASIC files

To work properly, the emulator requires the MICROBASIC ROM , which must be named MC10.BINeither MC10.ROM(CRC32: 11fda97e – same file, just different names). This must be placed in the same folder as the emulator or in /roms/bios.

Loading games

This MC-10 emulator supports .C10cassette files , the most common format found on the web for the MC-10 machine.

Games/programs are divided into two main types: BASIC and Machine Language . Each requires a different load command in MICROBASIC.

The emulator tries to automatically guess the program type (about 95% of the time it’s correct), but you can override this choice in the settings for each individual game.

Loading a program in machine language vs. BASIC:

Machine language:

CLOADM
EXEC

BASIC:

CLOAD
RUN

Press the START button to automatically send the load command once you get to the MICROBASIC main screen.

Configuration options

MicroDS includes:

Global Options : Applies to the emulator and all games.
Game-specific options : Applies only to the loaded game file.

Key mapping options

Each game can individually configure the 10 DS buttons (D-PAD, ABXY, L/R) to replicate a keyboard key.

Default: The and button replicate sliders (AWSX).
By pressing the button on the screen, you can switch between common presets (e.g. WASD).

Special keys

START : Automatically sends the CLOAD/CLOADM command.
SELECT : Automatically sends the RUN command to MICROBASIC.

Keyboards

The emulator supports a virtual touch-screen version of the MC-10 keyboard.

Note: On the DS, you can only press one button at a time.
The SHIFT key works as a temporary toggle: press SHIFT, then the next key will be SHIFT-ed.

Screenshot and Screen Swap

Screen Swap : Press and hold the + + buttons to swap the top and bottom screens. Only the bottom screen is touch-sensitive.
Screenshot : Press and hold the + + buttons to take a snapshot of the game.
- The file will be saved with date/time on the SD card in the same folder as the game.