Emulators

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Vote for your favorite emulator

Software Platforms (Full OS independance)

Java Platform

Emulator name	External link	Current version	Latest release	Developer tools	Amstrad Plus	Also emulates	License
Arnold Jnr	[1]		Aug 27, 2001	❌	❌	-	Open source
JavaCPC Desktop	[2] JavaGX4000 CPCInAJar	3.0.2	Apr 8, 2022	✅	✅	KC Compact	Donationware & Open source
JEMU	[3]		Feb 19, 2007	❌	❌	BBC Micro, ZX Spectrum, ZX80/81, VZ-300	Open source
WebCPC	[4] JavaCPC Applet	r15	Dec 31, 2010	❌	❌	-	Open source

JS / Wasm / Web Platform

Emulator name	External link	Current version	Latest release	Developer tools	Amstrad Plus	Also emulates	License
CPCBox	[5] BZH Games	beta	Dec 28, 2013	❌	❌	-	Freeware
CrocoDS	[6]		May 13, 2020	⚠️	❌	-	Freeware
Emularity (MAME)	[7] JSMESS CPC Games CPC Demos on Internet Archive		Jul 15, 2023	❌	✅	Lots of other computer systems	Open source
Roland	[8]		Sep 24, 2011	❌	❌	-	Open source
Ronald	[9]		May 10, 2023	⚠️	❌	-	Open source
RVMplayer	[10]	0.1.1	Apr 29, 2023	❌	❌	ZX Spectrum	Freeware
Tiny Emus	[11] [12] yakc WebGL 3d 8-bit Amstrad CPC Games zpz		Dec 15, 2021	✅	❌	KC Compact, ZX Spectrum, VIC-20, Commodore 64, Acorn Atom, KC 85, KC 87, Z9001, Z1013, LC80	Open source
Xiragon	[13]		Nov 28, 2012	❌	❌	-	Open source

LibRetro (API for emulators)

Emulator name	Type	External link	Current version	Latest release	Developer tools	Amstrad Plus	Also emulates	License
libretro-cap32	Emulation core	[14]	4.5.3	Mar 16, 2022	❌	✅	-	Open source
libretro-crocods	Emulation core	[15]	0.1	Feb 28, 2017	❌	❌	-	Open source
MESS 2015	Emulation core	[16]	0.160	circa 2015	❌	✅	KC Compact, Aleste 520EX & lots of other computer systems	Open source
SugarLibRetro	Emulation core	[17] (wraps independent lib CPCCore)	git	Jan 10, 2020	❌	✅	-	Open source
EmuVR	Frontend	[18]		Dec 25, 2022	❌	-	Depends on emulation cores	Donationware
Hackable Console	Frontend	[19]		Mar 27, 2022	✅	-	Depends on emulation cores	Open source
RetroArch	Frontend	[20]	1.15.0	Mar 11, 2023	❌	-	Depends on emulation cores	Donationware & Open source

Current Operating Systems

Desktop

Emulator name	External link	Windows	macOS	Linux	Current version	Latest release	Developer tools	Amstrad Plus	Also emulates	License
AceHacked	[21] [22] wip	⚠️	⚠️	⚠️		Sep 1, 2023	✅	✅	-	❌ Unreleased
AMSpiriT	[23] [24]	✅	❌	❌	0.863b	May 13, 2023	❌ Unreleased	❌	-	Freeware
Arnimedes	[25]	✅	❌	❌	1.02	Jul 7, 2012	❌	❌	-	Freeware
Arnold	[26] Aeliss fork Arnold TNG [27]	✅	⚠️	⚠️	WIP	May 13, 2017	⚠️	✅	KC Compact, Aleste 520EX	Open source
Caprice32	[28] [29] [30] Caprice32-Aleste	✅	✅	✅	4.6.0	Oct 8, 2022	⚠️	✅	-	Donationware & Open source
Caprice Forever	[31]	✅	❌	❌	23.7	Jul 10, 2023	✅	✅	-	Freeware
Caprice Reloaded	[32] [33]	✅	❌	⚠️	r533	Sep 25, 2011	✅	❌	-	Open source
Clock Signal	[34] [35]	❌	✅	✅		Sep 10, 2023	❌	❌	ZX Spectrum, Enterprise, MSX, ColecoVision, Acorn Electron, Apple II, Oric, VIC-20, ZX80/81, Atari 2600, Atari ST, Macintosh	Donationware & Open source
CoPaCabana	[36]	✅	❌	❌	0.74	Apr 12, 2006	⚠️	❌	-	Donationware
CPC++	[37]	✅	✅	⚠️	b700	May 31, 2015	❌	❌	-	Freeware
cpc4x	[38]	❌	❌	⚠️	0.26	Dec 11, 2004	❌	❌	-	Open source
CPCEC	[39] [40] CPCE CPCEG	✅	❌	⚠️		Aug 6, 2022	⚠️	✅	ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, MSX (unreleased)	Open source
cpcec-gtk	[41]	❌	❌	✅		Feb 4, 2023	✅	✅	-	Open source
CPCemu	[42]	✅	✅	✅	2.5	Aug 13, 2022	⚠️	❌	-	Freeware
CPCEPower	[43]	✅	✅	✅	2105	Jun 4, 2021	❌	✅	-	Freeware
CPCSharp	[44]	✅	✅	❌	1.0.0-beta1	Apr 7, 2021	⚠️	❌	-	Open source
CPvC	[45]	✅	❌	❌		Oct 7, 2020	❌	❌	-	Open source
DSP	[46]	✅	⚠️	⚠️	0.22wip5	Aug 22, 2023	❌	❌	ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, ColecoVision, Game Boy, NES, SG-1000, Master System, Game Gear, Super Cassette Vision, PV-1000, PV-2000, Arcade	Open source
ep128emu	[47]	✅	⚠️	⚠️	2.0.11.2	Apr 19, 2019	⚠️	❌	ZX Spectrum, Enterprise	Donationware & Open source
MacCPC	[48]	❌	✅	❌	0.9.2	Jan 22, 2010	✅	❌	-	Freeware
MAME	[49] [50] [51]	✅	✅	✅	0.258	Aug 30, 2023	⚠️	✅	KC Compact, Aleste 520EX & lots of other computer systems	Open source
NO$CPC	[52]	✅	❌	❌	1.8	Nov 2, 2000	⚠️	✅	-	Freeware
PC-CPC	[53] [54]	✅	❌	❌	0.1at b29	Nov 17, 2011	⚠️	❌	-	Open source
Retro Virtual Machine	[55]	✅	✅	✅	2.1.8	Sep 1, 2023	❌ Removed	✅	ZX Spectrum, MSX 1, ColecoVision, SG-1000, Master System	Donationware
Roland	[56]/GitHub	✅	❌	✅	0.70	Apr 20, 2017	❌	❌	-	Open source
Ronald	[57]	❌	❌	⚠️		May 10, 2023	⚠️	❌	-	Open source
SugarBox	[58] [59]	✅	✅	✅	2.0.1	May 26, 2023	⚠️	✅	-	Open-Source
Virtual CPC	[60] [61]	✅	❌	❌	1.1	Aug 8, 2011	⚠️	❌	-	Freeware
WinAPE	[62] CPCwin	✅	❌	❌	2.0b2	Jan 5, 2016	✅	✅	-	Donationware
WinCPC	[63] vbCPC	✅	❌	❌	0.9.26	Feb 1, 2007	✅	❌	-	Freeware
Xcpc	[64]	❌	❌	✅	0.38.1	Apr 8, 2023	❌	❌	-	Open source
XNACPC	[65] CPC3D	✅	❌	❌	1.0	Nov 11, 2011	❌	❌	-	Open source
YACE	[66]	❌	❌	⚠️		Nov 12, 2014	✅	❌	-	❌ Unreleased
ZEsarUX	[67]	✅	✅	✅	X	Sep 8, 2023	⚠️	❌	PCW, ZX Spectrum, ZX80/81, MSX 1, ColecoVision, Spectravideo, Jupiter ACE, Sam Coupe, SG-1000, Master System, Sinclair QL, MK14, Z88	Donationware & Open source

Alternative OS

Host system	Emulator name	External link	Current version	Latest release	Developer tools	Amstrad Plus	Also emulates	License
AmigaOS PPC	Arnold	[68]	1.15	Dec 17, 2012	❌	✅	KC Compact	Open source
AmigaOS PPC	SDLMESS	[69]	0.146u4	Aug 19, 2012	⚠️	✅	KC Compact, Aleste 520EX & lots of other computer systems	Open source
Haiku	ACE	[70] [71]	1.25.0	Feb 18, 2023	✅	✅	-	Freeware
Haiku	AdvanceMAME	[72]	3.9-1	Feb 3, 2020	⚠️	✅	KC Compact, Aleste 520EX & lots of other computer systems	Open source
MorphOS	ACE	[73]	1.25	September 8, 2022	✅	✅	-	Freeware
MorphOS	MESS	[74]	0.113	Nov 1, 2007	⚠️	✅	KC Compact, Aleste 520EX & lots of other computer systems	Open source

Mobile

Host system	Emulator name	External link	Current version	Latest release	Amstrad Plus	Also emulates	License
Android	andcpc	[75]	1.5.1	Apr 4, 2011	❌	-	Open source
Android	Azimuth	[76]	1.11	Aug 22, 2023	❌	-	Adware and in-app purchases💲
Android	CPCDroid	[77]	1.5.1	Mar 2, 2011	❌	-	Open source
Android	CPCemu	[78]	2.5	Aug 14, 2022	❌	-	Freeware
Android	Droid-CPC	[79]	1.1.01	Dec 15, 2016	❌	-	Commercial💲
iOS	CPCemu	[80]	2.5	Aug 13, 2022	❌	-	Software available on request
iOS	CrocoDS	[81]	2.1	Jun 21, 2013	❌	-	Open source

Discontinued Operating Systems

Host system	Emulator name	External link	Current version	Latest release	Amstrad Plus	Also emulates	License
Acorn RISC OS	!CPC	[82] [83]		Jul 28, 1996	❌	-	Open source
Acorn RISC OS	!CPCemu	[84]	1.21	Mar 22, 2016	❌	-	Open source
AmigaOS m68k	A-CPC	[85]	2.0	Mar 30, 2002	✅	-	Open source
AmigaOS m68k	Ami-cpc	[86] Ami-cpc2	0.46	Jan 21, 1998	❌	-	Open source
AmigaOS m68k	CPE	[87]		Feb 24, 1995	❌	-	Open source
AmigaOS m68k	EmuCPC	[88]	0.7	Sep 15, 1996	❌	-	Open source
BlackBerry OS	BB-CPC	[89] (dead link)	1.0.1.3	Jul 15, 2013	❌	-	Commercial💲
Classic Mac OS	CPC++	[90]	1.3.2	Oct 6, 1997	❌	-	Shareware💲
DOS	AdvanceMESS	[91]	3.9	Sep 8, 2018	✅	KC Compact, Aleste 520EX & lots of other computer systems	Open source
DOS	Arnimedes	[92]	0.8a	Apr 15, 2000	❌	-	Freeware
DOS	Caprice32	[93]	1.11	Sep 20, 1999	❌	-	Open source
DOS	CPC	[94]	0.55b	May 16, 1997	❌	-	Freeware
DOS	CPC-em	[95]	0.4	Jul 7, 2004	❌	-	Open source
DOS	CPCE	[96]	1.94	Jun 2, 2011	❌	-	Freeware
DOS	CPCemu	[97]	1.5	Jul 7, 1998	❌	-	Freeware
DOS	CPE	[98]	5.2	Apr 21, 1997	❌	-	Open source
DOS	NO$CPC	[99]	1.8	Nov 2, 2000	✅	-	Freeware
DOS	PC-CPC	[100]		Feb 3, 1998	❌	-	Open source
DOS	RWCPC	[101]		Mar 23, 1995	❌	-	Freeware
DOS	SIMCPC	[102]		Dec 10, 1989	❌	-	Shareware💲
DOS	YAGE	[103]	0.91	Oct 24, 1998	❌	-	Freeware
EXOS	Software CPC Emulator	[104] [105]	1.3	Jan 11, 2013	❌	-	Open source
Maemo	CPCm	[106]	1.20-1	Apr 27, 2010	❌	-	Open source
MSX-DOS	EMU6CPC	[107]		Dec 17, 2018	❌	-	Freeware
Palm OS	CaPriCe for Palm OS	[108]	2.8	Jun 28, 2011	❌	-	Open source
Palm OS	CoPaCabana	[109]	0.75	Dec 4, 2007	❌	-	Freeware
Pocket PC	PocketCaprice	[110]	0.9	Aug 19, 2007	❌	-	Freeware
SunOS	CPC++	[111]	1.3.0	Feb 22, 1997	❌	-	Shareware💲
Symbian	S60-CPC	[112]	0.74	Feb 21, 2006	❌	-	Open source
Windows 9x	CPC-em	[113]	0.3	Jan 22, 2004	❌	-	Open source
Windows 9x	MTMW	[114]	1.30B	Jan 11, 2000	✅	ZX Spectrum, ZX80/81, Enterprise, Jupiter ACE	Freeware

Home Consoles

You can use RetroArch for Amstrad CPC emulation on Apple TV, Android TV, Nvidia Shield, Xbox One, Xbox Series, PS2, GameCube, Wii, Wii U and Switch. Or you can use these stand-alone CPC emulators:

Host system	Emulator name	External link	Current version	Latest release	Amstrad Plus	Also emulates	License
Microsoft XBOX	ArnoldX	[115] [116]	v5	Apr 20, 2010	✅	-	Freeware
Microsoft XBOX	CoinOPS (RetroFE)	[117]	5	Oct 18, 2012	❌	Lots of other computer systems	Freeware
Microsoft Xbox 360	XNACPC	[118]	1.0	Nov 11, 2011	❌	-	Open source
Nintendo Wii	Wiituka	[119]	0.98.8	May 15, 2009	❌	-	Open source
Sega Dreamcast	CPCast	[120]		May 6, 2006	❌	-	Freeware
Sega Dreamcast	DreamCPC	[121]	Alpha 3	Oct 16, 2005	❌	-	Freeware
Sony PS2	CPC-em	[122]	0.4	Dec 22, 2004	❌	-	Freeware
Sony PS3	Caprice32	[123]	4.1.0 DBG	Apr 9, 2012	❌	-	Open source

Handheld Consoles

Note: Android-based handheld consoles (Razer Edge, Ayn Odin Pro, Retroid Pocket Flip, GPD XP, ...) will work with stand-alone Android CPC emulators or with RetroArch, same as an Android phone.

You can use RetroArch for Amstrad CPC emulation on PSP, PS Vita, DS, 3DS, Switch, Steam Deck, RetroFW, Miyoo and OpenDingux. Or you can use these stand-alone CPC emulators:

Host system	Emulator name	External link	Current version	Latest release	Amstrad Plus	Also emulates	License
Anbernic RG350	CrocoDS	[124]		Jan 15, 2020	❌	-	Freeware
Dingoo A320 / A330	Pituka Dingux	[125]	0.8pre	Aug 19, 2010	❌	-	Open source
Dingoo A320 / A330	Dingux-CAP32	[126]	1.1.2	Oct 17, 2009	❌	-	Open source
GamePark Caanoo	Caanoo-CAP32	[127]	1.1.3	Apr 24, 2011	❌	-	Open source
GamePark GP2x	CapriceGP2x	[128]	0.5	Feb 22, 2006	❌	-	Open source
GamePark GP2x	GP2X-CAP32	[129]	1.5.1	Aug 29, 2009	❌	-	Open source
GamePark GP32	Pituka GP32	[130]	1d	May 15, 2010	❌	-	Open source
GamePark Wiz	Wiz-CAP32	[131]	1.1.0	Aug 29, 2009	❌	-	Open source
GCW Zero	Dingux-CAP32	[132]	1.1.2	May 25, 2014	❌	-	Open source
JXD S5110 / S601 & Yinlips G18	JXD-CAP32	[133]	1.1.1	Oct 27, 2012	❌	-	Open source
Nintendo DS	AmeDS	[134]	4.0	Apr 25, 2010	❌	-	Freeware
Nintendo DS	CrocoDS	[135]	2.0	Nov 9, 2007	❌	-	Freeware
Nintendo GameBoy Advance	Mini Amstrad Emulator	[136]		Dec 26, 2005	❌	-	Open source
Odroid GO	CapriceESP32	[137]		Dec 3, 2020	❌	-	Open source
Pandora	Pandora-CAP32	[138]	1.1.0	Jun 27, 2010	❌	-	Open source
Sony PSP	Caprice32 PSP	[139]	4.2.0.2	Nov 28, 2007	❌	-	Open source
Sony PSP	CPCPSP	[140]	0.1	Dec 24, 2005	❌	-	Freeware
Sony PSP	PSPCAP32	[141]	1.5.1	Aug 21, 2009	❌	-	Open source
Trimui Model S	Arnold Trimui	[142]		Oct 19, 2021	✅	-	Open source

Single-Board Computers / Raspberry Pi

LibRetro / RetroArch is used as the foundation of Lakka, Recalbox, Batocera and RetroPie alternative OSes for the Raspberry Pi and other SBC. But you can also use RetroArch for Amstrad CPC emulation on a stock Raspberry Pi OS. Or you can use these stand-alone CPC emulators:

Emulator name	External link	Current version	Latest release	Amstrad Plus	Also emulates	License
#CPC4Rpi	[143]	1.1	Dec 19, 2013	❌	-	Commercial💲
CapriceRPI	[144]	1.3d	Feb 28, 2016	❌	-	Open source
Clock Signal	[145]		May 15, 2023	❌	ZX Spectrum, Enterprise, MSX, ColecoVision, Acorn Electron, Apple II, Oric, VIC-20, ZX80/81, Atari 2600, Atari ST, Macintosh	Donationware & Open source
CPCEPower	[146]	2105	Jun 4, 2021	✅	-	Freeware
MAME	[147]	0.258	Aug 30, 2023	✅	KC Compact, Aleste 520EX & lots of other computer systems	Open source
SugarPi	[148]	1.2.0	Feb 3, 2021	✅	-	Open source
ZEsarUX	[149]	X	Sep 8, 2023	❌	PCW, ZX Spectrum, ZX80/81, MSX 1, ColecoVision, Spectravideo, Jupiter ACE, Sam Coupe, SG-1000, Master System, Sinclair QL, MK14, Z88	Donationware & Open source

Hardware

CPC TREX CPC-ONE TurboCPC core running on a FPGA board
CPC FPGA CPC emulation running on a custom made FPGA board
FPGAmstrad CoreAmstrad CoreDocAmstrad CPC for MIST and MISTer Translation of JavaCPC from Java into VHDL on a MiST board
CPC2 Project CPC emulation running on a Cyclone V FPGA board
ESP32 TinyCPC Port from CPC-em emulator to TTGO VGA32 v1.x board with ESP32
SDiskEmul Floppy-drive emulator released in 2007. Abandoned now. Supports DSK, EDSK disk-images
HxC Floppy Emulator Commercial floppy-drive emulator. Supports HFE, DSK, EDSK, IPF disk-images
FlashFloppy Open source floppy-drive emulator for the ubiquitous Gotek hardware. Supports HFE, DSK, EDSK disk-images

Mass-storage, RTC and network dilemma

Multiple mass-storage, RTC and network solutions already exist for the Amstrad CPC. We can put them in 3 categories:

Historical: The Vortex Winchester Drive and the Dobbertin HD20 with Dobbertin Smart Watch were sold during the commercial lifetime of the CPC. But these solutions are clumsy today with their very small capacity, their CP/M filesystem and their non-standard hard-drives and interface.
Historically-plausible: The Symbiface II or X-Mass with Nova NVRAM/RTC are using the IDE/PATA interface created in 1986 for mass-storage access. However, the IDE interface was introduced on the CPC way after its commercial lifetime, the Symbiface II being released in 2006. The whole IDE/PATA sector access and FAT filesystem dance the CPC has to perform here is not necessary with more modern solutions. On the positive side, this isolation of the filesystem guarantees that the CPC software and the CPC emulator cannot inadvertently do wrong on the host filesystem, as the operations are limited to modifying the contents of the virtual hard-drive file. A direct file view on the host side can also make trouble if the CPC assumes it is the sole owner of the filesystem and doesn't accept that we change files and folders behind his back. The Cyboard is a Symbiface II clone that adds Ethernet support at a TCP/UDP level. The Net4CPC is the Ethernet part of the Cyboard provided without the Symbiface II.
Modern: Albireo, ULIfAC, Symbiface 3 and M4 Board as they give the CPC a direct file view of the mass-storage instead of a sectors view. These solutions are well suited to provide network too, as HTTP and FTP are file access protocols. The Symbiface 3 and the M4 Board provide a NetAPI to access the Internet unlike the Albireo and the ULIfAC. The Symbiface 3 also emulates other peripherals (Dobbertin HD20, SSA-1 speech synthesizer, Digiblaster and AmDrum soundcards) but it is going overboard with its embedded MP3 player.

Emulator support is as follows:

Dobbertin HD20 with Dobbertin SmartWatch is emulated by MAME
Symbiface II or X-Mass IDE/PATA is emulated by ACE, Caprice Forever, MAME, WinAPE, WinCPC, Arnold, Virtual CPC
Albireo is emulated by ACE, Caprice Forever
M4 Board is emulated by CPCemu
Vortex, Net4CPC, ULIfAC and Symbiface 3 are not supported by emulators

CPC cartridge slot

Emulator support for a CPC cartridge slot is as follows:

Dandanator brings a non-standard physical cartridge port and a very exotic non-standard memory mapper that spies on Z80 instructions. It is emulated by ACE, Retro Virtual Machine, CPCEC, ZEsarUX
Plus2CPC and Play2CPC bring a standard physical Plus cartridge port to the CPC. They are not supported by emulators
M4 Board simulates a standard Plus cartridge port on the CPC and handles standard CPR files. M4 Board is emulated by CPCemu

Why is the Dandanator winning over standard Plus cartridge solutions like the Plus2CPC? It's because some CPC games (The Sword of Ianna, Los Amores de Brunilda, ...) are released exclusively for it. So emulators are then forced to support it.

The situation would be different if those games were converted to standard CPR format by the community.

Audio devices

Emulator support is as follows:

SSA-1 speech synthesizer is emulated by ACE, JavaCPC, MAME
Dk'Tronics speech synthesizer is emulated by ACE, JavaCPC, MAME
TMPI speech synthesizer is emulated by ACE, Caprice Forever
AmDrum is emulated by ACE, JavaCPC, MAME, WinAPE
Digiblaster is emulated by ACE, JavaCPC, MAME, WinAPE, Caprice Forever, CPCEC, WinCPC, Virtual CPC
PlayCity is fully emulated by ACE, MAME, Arnold, SugarBox. The audio part of PlayCity is emulated by JavaCPC, Caprice Forever, CPCEC
Play2CPC is an amputated PlayCity, with no CTC chip and only one soundchip instead of two, but otherwise compatible with the PlayCity
OPL3 (Willy) is emulated by ACE
Speak&SID, LambdaSpeak 3, General MIDI (Willy), SE-One (Amsdap) and Moonsound (Amsdap) are not supported by emulators

Emulator accuracy checking tools

Quick evaluation

From Scratch demo with reference images: Media:Fromscratch1.png Media:Fromscratch2.png
Camembert 4 demo with reference images: Media:Hsyncartefacts camembert4.png Media:Camembert 4 Pixel Precise.jpg

Z80 CPU

ZEXALL and ZEXDOC Z80 CPU instruction set exercisers
Z80 Full Test Z80 Doc Test Z80 Flags Test Z80 Doc Flags Test Z80 MEMPTR Test Z80 CCF Test
Arkanoid Light Corridor Z80 IM2 usage, Z80 useless instruction prefixes
Z80 instruction set Z80 MEMPTR (aka WZ) internal register Even weirder Z80 behaviour To get to the bottom of it How the Z80 behaves
Z80 T-state timings Other source about T-state timings Ultra accurate timing behaviour

Diagnostics

Official Amstrad CPC hardware diagnostics Non-official Amstrad Diagnostics v1.3a
RAM Expansion Test MemTest RAM Test CRTC4 Testprogram For All ERAM Xenon 2 Take On Me RAM testers
"Acid" test suite [150] Tests results in ACE PPI tests Chips tests by arnoldemu
Plus Test [151] CPC and CPC+ Emulator test suite (including Instruction and Interrupt timing tests)

Amstrad Plus

Plus diagnostics cartridge Official Amstrad diagnostics
File:Roudoudou CPR tests.zip Amstrad Plus tests by Roudoudou
4096k Tester No Exit Amstrad Plus palette, Floating bus problem
6128 Plus Dma Fairy Soundtracker DMA To test DMA and to compare the PSG output with the output from a real Amstrad Plus
Black Sabbath X-Mas 2008 Funerapolis Sappy To test hardware sprites emulation

Graphics

Amstrad CPC CRTC Compendium with Shaker tool Shakerland Portal Ultra accurate CRTC documentation and its associated CPC testing tool
Equalizor Revolog Technical explanation Unpredictable behaviour of the real Amstrad CPC chips (ie. outside the realm of emulation)
Test CRTC type v3.0 CRTC editor CRTC software CRTC tools
Smooth CRTC Register 3 scrolling test Edge Grinder CRTC Register 3 horizontal scrolling trick Mission Genocide CRTC hardware vertical scrolling
HSYNC test HSYNC-based demo effects Handling invalid CRTC HSYNC Backtro Other World 3 CRTC effects
"Mode 5" Viewer Split-Rasters Test CRTC1 Les split-rasters Odyssey Onescreen Colonies Imperial Mahjong Mode 3 Test Split-rasters, multi-mode effects
Mire Test interlace color Perfect Pix Paint Climax-G 4 Sins Twinblast MCS 6 Thunder Blade Turrican To test the VDU

Peripherals

Magnum Light Phaser SkeetShoot for Trojan Phazer Dk'Tronics Light Pen Light Pen Mark II To test lightguns and lightpens connected to expansion port
West Phaser Gunstick Trojan LP-1 To test lightguns and lightpens connected to joystick port
Amstrad SSA-1 Dk'Tronics TMPI To test speech synthesizers emulation
AmDrum Digitracker To test AmDrum and Digiblaster soundcards emulation
Advanced OCP Art Studio To test AMX and Kempston mouse emulation
UniDOS SymbOS HDCPM To test the M4 Board emulation
The Sword of Ianna Los Amores de Brunilda MojonTwins romset To test the Dandanator emulation

Copy-protection

FDC test suite Disk drive tests CDT/TZX test suite for emulators Set of tests by arnoldemu
DskTest Dlfrsilver Dump Tool Test Suite ParaDOS Discology Discology plus Hercule II Midline Process To test FDC emulation
FatMag The HFE trackload version is designed as a very rigorous test of the FDC emulation Open Tower Defense Emulator detection through a FDC test
Le Nécromancien E.X.I.T Basun Tensions Pacific Wild Streets Skyx Some copy-protected disk-images
Protection schemes documented Copy-protection in EDSK images Implementation in SugarBox emulator FDC blog articles (in french) Technical explanations

File format specifications

DSK / EDSK HFE File formats of disk-image
WAV PCM CSW CDT / TZX File formats of tape-image
CPR cartridge SNA snapshot SNR session Other file formats used in CPC emulators
Archive of SNR sessions
IMG VHD File formats of flat hard-drive image

Emulation Tools

CPCDiskXP DSK iDSK Dsktools ManageDSK WriteDSK SAMdisk SugarConvDsk DiskUtil HxCFloppyEmulator software Disk Image Manager sector-cpc Set of tools about disk-images
CPCTapeXP CDTMaster 2CDT CSW2CDT CDT2WAV SugarConvTape TapeUtil tzxtools Set of tools about tape-images
CPRTools Edit Amstrad Plus CPR cartridge-images
WinImage, DiskExplorer, Mtools Ultimate Imager CP/M Image File Explorer Access and edit IMG hard-drive images. No need of tools for VHD images with FAT filesystem, they are supported directly in Windows Explorer: it works the same way as ISO files
CPCGamesCD-CPCLoader CDROM containing a navigable database with all the games of the Amstrad CPC
CPC Analyser Help reverse engineer Amstrad CPC games
Emulator tooling UI screenshots of tooling in CPC emulators
WinAPE WinCPC JavaCPC Caprice Reloaded Caprice Forever Emulators with an integrated Z80 Assembler
Java Z80Assembler Pasmo UZ80 Rasm BASM SjASMPlus cpctools Disark Tools for CPC cross-development in Z80 Assembler
ccz80 SDCC SDCC vs PhrozenC SDCC vs z88dk Phactory cpc-dev-tool-chain CPCtelera Cross-platform CPC development in C
Turbo Rascal Syntax Error CPC demo made with TRSE TRSE CPC tutorial A complete suite (IDE, compiler, resource editor) for developing CPC games/demos in Pascal
CPC Basic CPCBasic Unchained CpcAlive ugBASIC Cross-platform CPC development in BASIC
8BP CPC games made with 8BP Laser Basic Laser BASIC Compiler CPC game made with Laser Basic Sprites Alive CPC game made with Sprites Alive B-ASIC CPC+ game made with B-ASIC Useful CPC tools to beef up the BASIC language
ConvImgCPC DaDither Martine Splitraster+ UniPixelViewer UniPixelViewer tutorial Image converters from PC to CPC
GrafX2 Multipaint Retro Game Asset Studio Cross-platform CPC pixel art editors
CHIPNSFX Arkos Tracker 2 WYZTracker Cross-platform CPC music creation suites

Emulator Detection

If you want to promote usage of real CPC computers, you can detect CPC emulators by:

Checking if the memory is initialized with zeroes, as real machines have random memory values at boot
Focusing on the minute details in emulated Z80, CRTC, and PPI chips. They are most often wrong in emulators
Examining the FDC chip. It is only replicated more or less superficially in all emulators because the internals of the chip are still unknown

Combining these methods will definitely get you a 100% success rate in detecting emulators, even the toughest ones.

Emulator undetected
Emulator detected

There is also this initiative for emulators who willingly want to be detected: Emulator IDs

Emulators running on the Amstrad CPC

Emulator name	External link	Current version	Latest release	License	Emulates
CPCZVM	[152]		Jul 6, 2019	Open source	Z-Machine
Pac-Man	[153]	1.1	Jun 5, 2014	Open source	Pac-Man arcade
Phoenix	[154]		Jan 6, 2019	Freeware	Phoenix arcade
Space Invaders	[155]	1.0	Jun 11, 2016	Freeware	Space Invaders arcade
ZXM	[156]		1993	Freeware	ZX Spectrum
Zym	[157]	0.9	Feb 19, 2022	Open source	Z-Machine

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