1984 v0.4.8 adds serial emulation and deeper CPC fixes

1984 v0.4.8 pushed the Amstrad CPC emulator into harder-edged hobby territory by adding USIfAC II RS232 emulation. That opens the door to serial workflows, peripheral experiments, and the sort of Unix-like retro computing that goes well beyond loading games and watching them run.

The release also added scripted joystick support and headless capture for automated UI tests, a sign that 1984 is being exercised like real software rather than treated as a novelty build. For anyone debugging emulator behavior or validating a repeatable setup, that matters as much as any single compatibility tweak. It means UI paths can be tested without a human sitting at the keyboard, which makes regressions easier to catch when the code changes.

The fix list is broad and pointed at the systems-minded crowd. 1984 improved FUZIX-on-Net4CPC behavior, corrected a W5100S handshake, cleaned up ephemeral ports, and fixed M4 booting by implementing C_ROMLOW. It also added symbol-import support for SDCC .map files in the F8 monitor, a useful detail for anyone tracking down addresses and symbols while working on CPC software or homebrew tooling.

There were practical comfort upgrades too. The release notes call out a new monochrome tint option, a per-process randomization of the ephemeral source port, an updated LED display, a documentation page for LEDs, and a new man page. Earlier items in the same release history also brought CPC 664 model support, config-file persistence under %APPDATA% on Windows, and more networking and FUZIX work, which shows the project tightening up its day-to-day usability as it expands its reach.

Taken together, v0.4.8 is the kind of release that changes how 1984 gets used. It still runs CPC software, but now it also looks ready for serial hardware, networked oddities, boot testing, and the kind of reproducible tinkering that turns an emulator into a serious platform.