ACE-DL

ACE-DL


Developer(s)	Philippe Rimauro (Roudoudou)
Latest version	20260914 [+]
Active	Yes
Platform(s)	Windows macOS Linux Raspberry Pi
Architecture(s)	x86_64, ARM
Emulates	Amstrad CPC
Website	roudoudou.com
Programmed in	C, C++

ACE-DL is a cross-platform emulator for the Amstrad CPC and CPC Plus home computers. It is based on the ACE emulator originally developed for MorphOS and uses the same accurate emulation engine while featuring a minimalist SDL-based interface. The emulator is designed to provide high-quality emulation with support for various CPC hardware configurations and peripherals. ACE-DL is actively developed and supports Windows, macOS, Linux, and Raspberry Pi platforms.

Download

Official builds

Features

ACE-DL inherits its core emulation accuracy from the ACE project and includes:

Hardware Emulation

ACE-DL emulates the full range of CPC and CPC Plus models with accurate Z80 CPU emulation, support for up to 256 expansion ROMs and 4 MiB of extended memory, precise CRTC emulation of various types, Gate Array emulation of all variants, and CPC Plus ASIC emulation. The emulator also supports monitor emulation including CTM644, GT65, and MM12 models with dynamic analog behaviors.

Audio and Video

The emulator features accurate PSG emulation and precise audio DMA emulation on CPC Plus systems. Multiple CRT filters are available including CTM with glowing slot mask, Trinitron for arcade-style display, and GT6x for monochrome monitors. Full screen and overlay display modes are supported, including 50Hz display.

Storage and Media

ACE-DL provides accurate FDC emulation with realistic floppy drive rotation speed computation, manual drive and side switches support, and CPC Plus cartridge port emulation. The emulator supports DSK disk images and can load snapshots in various formats including ASIC chunks, REMU, extended RAM, ROM, and firmware backup formats.

Expansion Hardware

Support for various CPC expansion hardware includes joysticks with up to three fire buttons, printer redirection to file, Multiface Two hardware debugger, Digiblaster and Soundplayer 8-bit sound cards, Kempston Mouse, multiple light gun models, Albireo MicroSD and USB interface, X-Mass IDE interface, Play2CPC cartridge module with embedded PSG sound card, and Nova NV-RAM and RTC.

Development and Debugging

ACE-DL includes debugging tools such as editor and analyzer windows for emulated CPU and chipsets, advanced breakpoints management, memory inspection, and trace functionality. The emulator supports snapshot saving with F4 key and can reset from trace mode.

Additional Features

Notable features include joystick support, video recording, and rewind functionality. The emulator also supports gamepad mapping configuration and OPL emulation for Play2CPC.

System Requirements

The emulator can run on relatively modest hardware. The original ACE emulator was designed to run one frame on a G4 processor with only a few hundred MHz. ACE-DL has been tested on systems as old as an Athlon-II from 2008. For audio, the emulator works best with Pipewire on Linux systems.

Usage

Disk images must be placed in the dsk folder. To load a game, press F12, select Floppy & Drives, then insert Floppy in drive A. Press Esc to return to the emulator screen, type cat to view the directory, then type run with the game name in quotes.

Development History

ACE-DL is derived from ACE, which was coded from scratch using a real CPC as reference. The original ACE emulator was designed specifically for MorphOS and later ported to Haiku. ACE-DL was created to bring the same emulation quality to Windows, macOS, and Linux users with a simplified SDL-based interface.

External Links