[[Image:MultifaceTwo.jpg|right|thumb|200px300px|The Multiface II]]Clever name, Multiface. An interface that does many things. Also completely untrue: the Multiface wasn’t an interface like a serial interface, which let you plug new kinds of gubbins into your CPC. It just sat on the back of your CPC and did its thing. Singular.
But that was enough. Because the thing in question, for many CPC users, was a godsend. Loading games from tape is tedious: many games were available only on tape, or on disc at an extortionate price: many CPC users had disc drives. Ergo, why not think of an easy way of getting games from tape to disc?
[[Romantic Robot]] did. The Multiface took an exact copy of what was in memory at the present moment, and saved it to disc, ready for you to reload at your leisure. All you had to do was press a little red button then select ‘Save’ from the menu that appeared.
It was such a good idea that at least three five other companies had the same plan, and brought out similar-sounding devices: [[Datel]]'s [[Action Replay]], [[Evesham Micros]]' [[Disc Wizard]], [[Siren Software]]'s [[Hackit]], Hard Micro's [[Transtape]] and [[Mirage Imager]]. In one of those happy coincidences of commerce and merit, the Multiface was the best of the lot, and also the one which survived.
==Revision History==
Needless to say, this concept of a ‘universal backup (oh, ok, piracy) device’ worried software houses no end, and there were no end of rumours that the Multiface and its ilk would be banned under the Copyright & Patents Act of 1990. In the end, all that happened was that Romantic Robot got the chance to run ‘Buy now! before it’s banned’ adverts, provoking lots of panic sales. They then continued to sell the Multiface. Several years later, they tried the same trick with ‘The CPC is no longer a viable platform – so we’re selling off our last Multifaces!’. This supposed last shipment lasted about two years.
The Multiface III is a version for the Spectrum +3.
==Multiface 2 revisions==
There was more than one revision of the Multiface 2 for the Amstrad:
* 1st version which has a manual switch to control visibility to software - first appeared in Amstrad action 16 (January 1987)
In Amstrad Action issue 23 it mentions some incompatibility with some CPC6128 machines and there are some dipswitches which can be configured to work with it. Multiface 2's with this have version 78 software.
* 2nd version which has an automatic switch controlled by PAL ICs to control visibility to software. This is called "2+" by Romantic Robot. It was mention in Amscene in Amstrad Action 33 (June 1988) and was first advertised in Amstrad Action issue 36 (September 1988).
* 3rd version which was the same as the 2+ but had a Centronics connector and ROM modified to work with the Amstrad Plus. This ROM doesn't work on the CPC.
Was there a version which didn't have a switch and came before version 1?
==Anti-Multiface==
There were various revisions of the Multiface 2:
* There was a version which was visible to software all the time.(Did this exist?)
* One version had a "invisibility" switch on the front in addition to the stop and reset buttons. When switched in one direction the multiface was invisible to software and in the other it was visible. ''Is there a dump of the ROM from this version?''
* Last revision had an automatic "invisibility" switch internally controlled by the hardware itself. After reset the multiface was visible, but when the stop button was pressed and then control was returned to the running program it would be invisible and would remain invisible until the computer was reset.
The following applies to the automatic "invisibility" version (the "2+"):
If the multiface 2 is visible you can enable/disable the ROM and RAM in the CPU's address space:
The Multiface 2 listens to Gate-Array and PAL writes (port 7fxx), CRTC writes (bcxx and bdxx) and 8255 Control port writes (f7xx).
Gate-Array and PAL are decoded as 01111111xxxxxxxx, CRTC as 10111100xxxxxxxx and 10111101xxxxxxxx and 8255 writes as 11110111xxxxxxxx.
When the I/O write is detected, then specific locations in the MF2 RAM are updated immediately.
Most CPC emulators provide equivalents of the Multiface’s two main features. Instant copies can be made with the ‘snapshots’ feature, creating files with an .SNA extension that can be easily reloaded. The toolkit, meanwhile, has been replicated with whizzy new disassemblers/monitors/what-have-you. Of course, since emulators can’t load files from tape, it’s not really the same any more.
A remake of the Multiface II has also appeared.
[[File:Multiface2-dual1.jpg|500px]] [[File:Multiface2-dual2.jpg|500px]]
==Epilogue: AA again==
== Manual ==
* [[Media:Multiface 2 Manual.pdf|MF2 User Manual.pdf]]{{EN}} {{PDF}}
* [[Media:Multiface Two User Manual.zip|MF2 User Manual.zip]]
* [[Media:Multiface Two User Manual.txt|MF2 User Manual.txt]]
Image:multiface.jpg|Multiface closeup
Image:MultifaceII Multiface II advertisment.jpg|Advertisement
Image:MultifaceII AA100.jpg|Advertisement in AA 100
Image:Amstrad Action106 20.jpg|AA Issue 106 - Page 20
Image:MultifaceII_Front.jpg|Multiface II - (version with switch for making it invisible to software) - Front (eBay)
Image:MultifaceII_Back.jpg|Multiface II - (version with switch for making it invisible to software) - Back (eBay)
<gallery caption="Multiface II Layout, thanks to Jose Leandro">
File:Multiface II - Top.jpg|Multiface II - Top
File:Multiface II - Bottom.jpg|Multiface II - Bottom
File:Multiface II - Components.jpg|Multiface II - Components
File:Multiface II - Tracks.jpg|Multiface II - Tracks
File:MF2-PCB Front.png|Multiface II - PCB Front
File:MF2-PCB Back.png|Multiface II - PCB Back
* [[Media:Multiface.two.romantic.robot.8b.zip|MF2+ 8B ROM]] - (1990, chksum=8Bh)
* [[Media:Multiface.two.romantic.robot.78.amsdos.v07.zip|MF2+ 78 ROM]]
* NOTE: 8B seems to be correct. They differ in 1 byte at address 0. On 8B it is DI on 78 it is NOP. 78 could be a bad dump.
The Source Code:
==Links==
* [http://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=4971 ''Multiface II'' from CPC-Power]* [http://cpcrulez.fr/hardware-interface_debug-multiface_2.htm ''Multiface II'' from CPCrulez]* [http://hardware.speccy.org/temp/Amstrad-multiface2.html ''Multiface II'' from hardware.speccy.org]* [http://hardware.speccy.org/temp/Amstrad-multiface2/Amstrad-multiface21.html ''Multiface II PALs'' from hardware.speccy.org]* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160715092459/http://www.grimware.org/doku.php/documentations/expansions/mf2/start''Multiface II'' from grimware]* http[https://cpcrulezweb.frarchive.org/hardwareweb/20090108031853/http://cpc-interface_debug-multiface_2hardware.htmcom/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=31 ''Multiface II'' from CPC-Hardware]* [http://hardwarequasar.speccycpcscene.orgnet/tempdoku.php?id=dossier:mf2 ''Multiface II'' from Quasar Net] (french, memory mapping details and programmation tutorial and examples)* [https://youtu.be/quYqrCKf3uw Multiface II: Building the Ultimate Cracking Device for the Amstrad-multiface2CPC] by [[Noel's Retro Lab]]* [https://youtu.htmlbe/DLjuUGWeJlw HACK - Tricher c'est pas bien, même avec la Multiface 2 (Romantic Robot)] by [[Amstariga]]
[[Category:Peripherals]] [[Category:Manual]] [[Category:Copy Protection]]