Build an Amiga

Les Pounder turns a lowly 2019 Intel Celeron-based laptop into a high-end Amiga machine – 1994 Les would be so envious!

AMIKIT

Credit: www.amikit.amiga.sk

OUR EXPERT

Les Pounder is associate editor at Tom’s Hardware and a freelance maker. He blogs about hacks and makes at http://bigl.es.

QUICK TIP

Can’t find the Aminet icon on your desktop? We couldn’t find it on one of two installations we performed. Fear not. On the AmiKit desktop, press and hold both mouse buttons, select FTP and in the dialog enter the host aminet. net and click Connect.

The mighty Commodore Amiga computer is where this author cut his teeth in journalism. T No, not writing for Amiga Format (that was the dream, though), instead making his own Amiga coverdisks and zines for a loyal group of five readers in the school playground. Times change, but his love for the Amiga is still true.

There are many ways to emulate the classic Amiga experience: UAE (Ultimate Amiga Emulator) and Fellow, or you can even buy an Amiga Mini, essentially a Linux SBC running a custom OS. However, our favourite way to emulate an Amiga is via Amiga Forever, which creates a simple means to dip into a game, tinker with Workbench, and so on. Emulating a classic Amiga isn’t difficult, but there are steps that need to be taken in order to get the best experience.

Imagine a world where Commodore was still around, the Amiga continued its lineage, and we had new machines in 2023. What would they look like and, more importantly, could we still play Cannon Fodder?

Thanks to AmiKit, we don’t have to stretch our imagination too far. We can build our own high-end Amiga using old kit – yes, even that old laptop from 2016! Created in 2005 by Ján Zahurančík, AmiKit offers a classic Amiga experience, but with over 350 applications, demos, games and Rabbit Hole (a means to access host OS applications through the Amiga OS).

In this tutorial, we will guide you through making your own high-end Amiga using an older PC or laptop. The same process is applicable to a Raspberry Pi. For best results, we recommend a Raspberry Pi 4, 400 or the new Raspberry Pi 5.

If the Amiga had survived into the 21st century, AmiKit is probably what it would have looked like.

During the install process, you are asked to set your desktop resolution. You can alter this using the Morpheuz application.

Amiga Forever?

If you are an Amiga fan, chances are that you already know about Cloanto’s Amiga Forever. It is more than just an emulator; it is a package of Amiga software and necessary ROMs and Kickstart files. It is also an easy and legal way to get into emulation. Sure, you can emulate using WinUAE, UAE or other Amiga emulators, but you need a legal Kickstart file in order to boot your emulated machine. AmiKit relies on the user having legal Amiga Kickstart ROMs and an Amiga OS, and Amiga Forever provides just that.