JavaCPC Desktop - Impressive CPC emulation and Shadow of the Beast [UPDATE]

A world without emulation, what a thought! No way of playing retro games other than on the system hardware they were designed for and having to spend thousands upon thousands of pounds just to play every game in that retro catalogue. So we have to be thankful for emulation such as the Amstrad CPC - JavaCPC Desktop by Devil Markus (Markus Hohmann), of which we are going to give a quick feature today that does a lot more than play just Amstrad games.

Now of all the emulators we've tried, JavaCPC is certainly one to impress. It isn't just a quick file loader with boring boot screens, but an impressive desktop with detailed backgrounds, a stunning wallpaper, an emulation output for Amstrad originality and settings that would impress any Amstrad gamer. What impressed me the most was the ability to change not only the system specifications in the GUI settings but also the sound output. So if you want it to really sound like an Amstrad CPC, this desktop software can do just that. What's more, available on the desktop are a number of applications such as the browser (Registration), TapeDrive emulation and a free game called 'Deathsword'.

This Amstrad CPC desktop software certainly wow'd me and it came as no surprise coming from the same creator of the massive online Amstrad playable game website of JavaCPC. But before we go ahead and list all the features which I haven't even delved into it. I seriously recommend trying out the Amstrad CPC Shadow of the Beast music remake, which is available in disk form from HERE and can be loaded through the JavaCPC Desktop.

Now time for those features ;
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- Integrated Z80 Assembler: Feel free to create your own programs in Z80 Assembler. Compile them directly into the CPC's ram.
- Improved Debugger
- Virtual Keyboard: You cannot find your key you need? Use the virtual Keyboard then.
- Alarm Clock: A simple alarm clock, which reminds you when you have something else to do.
- YM-Control: Record and playback your own YM files.
- Manage DSK (Windows only!): Copy files from your PC on a DSK or vice versa.
- Audio Capture: Record your favourite CPC sound as WAV file.
- TapeDrive: A fully controllable virtual tape drive. Supports CSW, CDT, WAV and MP3
- JavaCPC Paint: Paint your own screens in normal mode or also as Overscan pictures. Convert existing images to CPC format.
  (Supported import-Formats: PCX, TGA, BMP, PNG, GIF, JPG, SNA)
- Mandelbrot: A simple app to paint Mandelbrot fractals directly on the CPC screen.
- Tiled Mapeditor: You can use it to create game maps etc...
- Poke Finder: A simple tool to find PEEKS and POKES to cheat in games.
- Calculator: A scientific calculator which understands string input with brackets etc...
- WebBrowser: A webbrowser
- GameBrowser: Don't waste your time by downloading hundreds of CPC games without checking them! Just load them directly into the emulator and play them.
- Virtual Floppy: A little thingie to see what your virtual disc drive does.
- SubPopRadio: Listen to the best CPC-tunes available in WWW!
- JavaCPC Chat: Chat with other JavaCPC users all over the world. (Experimental)
- Favourites: Add and load your favourite DSK, CDT or SNA files with a few mouseclicks only!
- DSK2CDT: Simple filetransfer to copy files from an existing DSK file on a new CDT file (Windows only!)
- And much more!!!

The main emulator files are available HERE
The JavaCPC website is HERE

UPDATE : According to Markus the latest JavaCPC update no longer requires a registration form and all applications are accessible without registering. Go to Help Tab - Check for update - Select Yes in JavaCPC Desktop and run the updater. If you get an error after updating, run the Update.jar in the main directory and try loading the JavaCPC desktop again.

What's more you can now run the 'Game Browser' through the desktop of JavaCPC and have access to pretty much every Amstrad game ever released, directly playable through JavaCPC Desktop. The emulator downloads and processes the file directly into it. Make sure to have 'Emulator Output' opened on the JavaCPC desktop and 'Boot Game' is selected at top of the 'Game Browser' screen.

What can I say, just fantastic!