Tangentially related, and given some of the debates in the comments below, I'm sure I'll be burned at the stake for this, but here I go anyway:
I've given up on owning a real C64, just to remind me of my childhood. It's too convoluted, requires buying replacement parts, and I don't own any TV to plug it into. VICE emulation is good enough for me. But I really wanted the keyboard, which was a major part of the experience for me.
Out of the box -- no soldering, not buying extra cables or expansions or add-ons -- the most feasible option for me was buying the retroremake TheC64 ("max", the full version with the working keyboard).
Is it perfect? No.
Is it a C64? No. It looks like one, but inside there's an ARM chip running VICE.
Does it look like a convincing C64 "breadbin", and can I play every game, type BASIC programs, play with PETSCII art, even type assembly code, and generally relive my childhood?
YES!
I've given up on owning a real C64, just to remind me of my childhood. It's too convoluted, requires buying replacement parts, and I don't own any TV to plug it into. VICE emulation is good enough for me. But I really wanted the keyboard, which was a major part of the experience for me.
Out of the box -- no soldering, not buying extra cables or expansions or add-ons -- the most feasible option for me was buying the retroremake TheC64 ("max", the full version with the working keyboard).
Is it perfect? No.
Is it a C64? No. It looks like one, but inside there's an ARM chip running VICE.
Does it look like a convincing C64 "breadbin", and can I play every game, type BASIC programs, play with PETSCII art, even type assembly code, and generally relive my childhood?
YES!