LOADSTAR COMPLEAT

THE 23-YEAR RUN
OF THE CLASSIC
COMMODORE 64 and 128
DISK MAGAZINE

680 MEGABYTES OF
GAMES, PUZZLES, MUSIC, ART
AND MORE!

Announcement

LOADSTAR IS SEEKING CONTRIBUTIONS AGAIN!
We aim to make more issues, to get the total count up to 256!
If you have a C64 project that you'd like to get in on our attempt to revive a piece of Commodore history, let me know, my email address is johnwh (at) gmail.com.

-- IMPORTANT RUNNING INFO --
See INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS at bottom for important running information! For Windows it should just work, on Linux it's best to not run from the itch.io app, although you can use it to download, and to use your distribution's own package of the Commodore 64 emulator VICE. BTW, it doesn't yet, but we are considering how to make the menu work on Mac computers. (If you want to try to get it to work on unsupported platforms, main.py is what you want to run. It will need Python and Pygame.)

LOADSTAR was one of the first of the microcomputer disk magazines. In 1981 Jim Mangham got the idea for a monthly magazine on disk filled with programs, graphics and text that people would run on their computer. After releasing Softdisk for Apple II machines, in 1984 came the first issue of LOADSTAR, a magazine for the Commodore 64/128 computers. Over the next 23 years and 250 issues came an overbearing wealth of software, games, art and music.

In 1987, with Loadstar issue #42, managing editor Fender Tucker ("named for a guitar") came on board and would remain until issue #199. He was soon joined by associate editor Jeff Jones, and together the two would stamp the magazine with a distinctive voice. Fender's run ended in 2000. For context: the Commodore 64 was launched in 1982, and left production in 1994, an eon in the era of microcomputers. The C64 got started in the golden age of arcades, and production ended shortly before the release of Windows 95. And Loadstar then continued for yet five years after that. In fact, it then kept going for another 50 issues or so, under the helm of the worthy Rev. Dave Moorman!

Now, for $15, you can have it all: over 600 megabytes of Commodore software containing games, art, music, Fender's Tucker's wonderful writing style, and a whole lot more, and we bundle the open-source VICE emulator for ease of running it. And on Windows and Linux, you can use the Loadstar Explorer, presenting everything (6,000+ items!) through a menu system, as well as lists of highlights and collections of the work of the most prolific of Loadstar's creators and full text search.

Of course, Loadstar is available in other places, should you seek them out (hint: the Internet Archive is one place to check). This version has been (and continues to be) worked on to fix file corruptions and organize everything, and has the blessing of Loadstar's owners and editors. You don't need that to enjoy the thousands of items on these disks, but it'll make it a lot easier! But now, 18 years after the last issue went out, please enjoy Loadstar however you can, and spread the word.

AND, if you want to talk about Loadstar with other enthusiasts, please  visit us in the community at loadstarce.com! And If you want to let Fender known how much you appreciate his work, you can contact him at fender.tucker@gmail.com!

In this package are:

199 250 issues of Loadstar for the Commodore 64, containing a wealth of software, both of itself and from issues of Commodore Magazine! Disk images are provided in both 1541 (.D64) and 1581 (.D81) formats.

42 issues of Loadstar 128, for the Commodore 128!

Five Star Extras!

21 issues of UpTime, a separate magazine that Loadstar gained the rights to!

76 issues of the Loadstar Letter newsletter in PDF! (in the full download)

72 covers for the newsstand version of Loadstar, along with 7 covers for Loadstar 128! (in the full download)

Plus: Brain Stuff, Compleat Bible, Compleat Programmer, Crosswords, Flags & Anthems, Knees' PUD, Loadstar Gourmet, Maurice Jones' card games, SID Music, ProseQuest, Roger Unwrapped, Serious Stuff, SongSmith and the art of Walt Harned! And some extra MP3s from Dave Marquis and Knees Calhoon (in the full download).

NOTE 1: LOADSTAR COMPLEAT contains 680 megabytes of files! Please be prepared for this when you download!

NOTE 2: VICE, the Versatile Commodore Emulator, is a separate, open-source project, and available at https://vice-emu.sourceforge.io/. We do not wish to imply ownership of VICE, nor that we are selling it to you. We provide it in our package as a convenience, to save you the step of setting it up yourself.

NOTE 3: There is a problem with some of the disks being improperly copied, those with GEOS files. For issues up to 72 that should be corrected now thanks to the efforts of Ricky Derocher  and Dominic Pessagno. However, to be safe, if you're using GEOS you should use the 1541 disk images: the ones ending with .d64. You can't run GEOS files from either Loadstar's Presenter or the Loadstar Explorer anyway.