Sparkle is an easy-to-use “all-in-one” cross-platform solution to creating multi-file Commodore 64 projects with an IRQ loader (demo, game, disk magazine, music collection, etc.), inspired by the loaders of Lft, Krill, and Bitbreaker. The Sparkle PC tool will generate D64 disk images using the information you provide in a text file called loader script that will allow you to load your files, code, data, music, etc. in the order of your preference with a state-of-the-art IRQ loader and simple loader calls.

Please see the user manual for details.

New in Sparkle 3.1:

- New optional command line parameter: -p [a/e] to pause on exit. Use this parameter if you want Sparkle to pause on exit and wait for Enter to be pressed before finishing. If you only want to pause on error, then use it with the value e. To always pause on exit, use it with the value a. The -p command line parameter must always be preceded by the script file name.
- Alternative File, HSFile, and Mem entry type syntax. Space is now allowed as file parameter separator if the file name is placed between double quotation marks (as in “path/part.prg”). If double quotes are not used, then only the tabulator character is accepted as file parameter separator, as in previous versions. 
- Alternative file parameter syntax for PRG files and other file types with a 2-byte PRG header. To use this syntax, the first file parameter must be “-“ (hyphen), the second one is the memory address of the first byte, and the third one is the address of the last byte to be loaded.
- Put the file name in {curly brackets} instead of double quotes if you want to have them added to the disk uncompressed. The use of curly brackets also allows using space as file parameter separator.
- Multi-side D64s are now automatically marked with _SideA/B etc. if the Path entry with the D64 file names of the sides is omitted in the script.
- Custom drive code plugin. Adding the Plugin: custom entry to the Disk Info section of the script will instruct Sparkle to add the plugin to the disk. It uses the last two blocks of the disk and can be evoked with bundle index #$7e (similar to the hi-score saver plugin). To free the drive’s RAM, part or all of Sparkle’s drive code must be transferred and stored on the C64 (max. 6 blocks needed). The plugin uses $0100-$017f after the code transfer, so the entire zeropage + $0180-$07ff are available on the drive if needed. Once the custom drive code is no longer needed, Sparkle’s drive code can be restored from the C64, or the drive can be reset.
- Updated bootstrap code to allow “Mount & Run” on the Ultimate family and proper loading of the drive code even if the drive is reset or power cycled between BASIC commands LOAD and RUN.
- Sparkle’s installer no longer sets the NMI vector to an RTI instruction.
- Bugfix: loading to the zeropage was handled by the same code as loading to the shadow RAM under the I/O registers. Because of this, in previous versions, Sparkle wrote $34 to data input/output register $01 in both cases, thereby turning I/O off also while loading to the zeropage, which could lead to a crash if the IRQ was not prepared to handle this. This issue is now fixed and loading to the zeropage will not affect the status of $01.
- Thanks to hedning/G*P for testing, Raistlin/G*P for help and testing, and Wacek/Arise for suggestions and testing!