After a massive rewrite and extensive testing I present the newest version of the Python based SD Card Formatting tool for the MEGA65. It's main feature is a specific "defrag" mode that is designed to fix SD Cards that misbehave. It still can format blank SD Cards in a MEGA65 compatible way and add extra partitions which is pretty useful for the Minimega core, as it allows a virtual harddrive larger than the 4GB filesize limit.
https://files.mega65.org?id=193be07e-b206-4d79-b5ab-f5b50e34e9a6
Why "defrag"? There are more and more reports of Cores crashing with SD Card access errors sometimes. The MEGA65 can be picky and so something you never thought would come back in the age of SSDs is a feature again: Defrag!
When you delete files or directories on an SD Card and then write other files to it, the FAT32 filesystem can get messy and some files might not be contiguous anymore. This leads to all kinds of strange defects. The best way to deal with this so far was: Re-Format in the MEGA65 (Alt-on-Powerup), then transfer files via M65Connect.
With this tool you can "--defrag" any SD Card. It does not do secret magic: It will just backup all files from the FAT32 filesystem, format the drive, then write them back. But it will write them back specifically ordered and named so that the MEGA65 can access it faster and without hiccups.
I had Gemini, Claude and ChatGPT, all in paid mode, look at the code for **Linux **and Mac and they agree it SHOULD work and do nothing bad, but it still needs brave testers. I ran it through a dozen tests and had the cards working in my MEGA65 and did not lose any data on my Windows machine (where the super protective ChatGPT put in several extra layers of checks to make sure you do not format the wrong drive even intentionally).

C64 for MEGA65 - Alpha 22X1 for Version 6

While Alpha 22 enhanced the core by adding NTSC (which also needs more testing), this Alpha 22X1 adds Turbo Modes to the C64 cores. I need to admit, that I am entering territory now, that is a bit unfamiliar to me, I have zero experience with Turbo mode. Yet - full AI disclosure - with the help of my AI Coding Agent friends I implemented a supposedly rock solid version of the core with Turbo Modes. Several very thorough testbenches where run, to ensure that also:

• IEC devices
  
• Hardware cartridges
  
• Simulated REUs and cartridges
  
• PAL and NTSC subtleties
  
• Flicker-Free Modes

still work while the Turbo Modes are on. Yet, I need your help to test this. Maybe a good starting point is Boris Schneider-Johne's pimped Rescue on Fractalus: https://www.lemon64.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=89700

Here is how the feature works:

• Choose "Turbo mode" and "Turbo speed" (2x, 3x or 4x) in the "Model" submenu.
  
• "Off" (default) is a standard 1 MHz C64.
  
• "C128" runs the CPU faster only while a program sets bit 0 of $D030, the 2 MHz switch the C128, so software made for it turns the turbo on and off by itself.
  
• "Smart" is always fast but falls back to 1 MHz for half a second after activity on the clock line of the IEC bus (as on the MiSTer), so that loading from disk keeps working, while timing-critical games and demos may break. Video, sound, timers and DMA keep their original timing, and hardware cartridges stay usable because every access to the expansion port still runs at 1 MHz.

(GitHub issue https://github.com/MJoergen/C64MEGA65/issues/87))

P.S: I tested Super Mario using NTSC (60 Hz) and the 128 4x Turbo Mode with Dual SID. WOOOOOOW!! 🏎️ 🚀

I recently ported a 1980s Commodore VIC-20 text adventure to Inform / Z-code, and now it's available on Filehost: https://files.mega65.org?id=187722d3-c453-41ec-85af-ce264d17a801

If you ask me, I'd say you can expect it to be:

• Very retro
  
• Graphically underwhelming
  
• Hard
  
• Unfair
  
• Tense
  
• Charming
  
• Totally AI free

There is also a walkthrough available.