First Amstrad CPC emulators in GNU/Linux

Amstrad CPC are computers that I have a lot of affection since my first two computers were a CPC464 and a CPC6128, in fact the last one is still running and keeping 100% operative.

So I like to play my games of my teen in GNU/Linux and I start using CPCEMU emulator for it.

CPCEmu for DOS was the first CPC emulator I knew, it was great. GNU/Linux version was one of the best native emulator, install it is very simple:

• Download lastest version for GNU/Linux.
• Uncompress it in a folder.
• Select the folder and type the commands cpc464, cpc664 or cpc6128 it depends of the model you want to run.
• You needn't search the BIOS because BIOS distribution with emulators was allowed by Amstrad, but only provided it is only for that purpose. Therefore, CPCEMU already includes the BIOS.
• You find some folder intro the instalation folder DISC/, ROM/, SNAP/, TAPE/, UTILITY/ to put on them disk images, ROMs, snapshots, single files and utilities.

All these files can be into a ZIP file that emulator show them like folders, this is useful to save a lot of space.

See the enclosed manual, very interesting.

Other native emulators for GNU/Linux are M.E.S.S., Arnold, CPC++ or cpc4x, but they are more complicated for compiling and installing and they don't have so much features and have less performance than CPCEMU.

I asked in Amstrad CPC forum, MiguelSky ask me than there is a version of arnoldCPC emulator that runs ok in older GNU/Linux distros.

You need download the old version for Windows (includes all the BIOS and necessary files) and add to it the new executable file for GNU/Linux.

But now there is a new version of Arnold WIP CPC Emulador.  that run better in lastest GNU/Linux distros.

Also, KaosOverride recomends me recompile Caprice emulator.

After some years he made a fork called CapriceRPI for raspberry pi with a fancy menu and a lot of improvements. This fork can also be compiled and runs on PC GNU/Linux.

Thank you both for the information.

Another emulator I run with success is CPC emulator for X.

By the way, most of the Amstrad CPC emulators for Windows run ok in GNU/Linux using wine.

Original articles

• Emulación Amstrad CPC in GNU/Linux.
• Más emuladores de Amstrad CPC para Ubuntu.