The latest version of the vAmiga emulator brings welcome improvements for Amiga fans on macOS. Created by Dirk Hoffmann, vAmiga now supports version 4.3, which fine-tunes compatibility and introduces new features for Amiga 500, 1000, and 2000 emulation.
Version 4.3 adds accurate support for illegal CPU instructions—those undocumented quirks that some demos and games exploit. This change boosts compatibility with edge-case software that previously failed to load or crashed. There’s also improved behavior for the Blitter, a critical component responsible for graphics rendering. With these updates, the emulator more closely matches real hardware, especially under unusual memory or CPU stress.
Another welcome change is better support for writing files to virtual hard disks (HDFs), which helps when running productivity software or games that expect hard drive access. Developers working with Amiga software will also appreciate enhanced logging and debug tools—especially the improved CPU tracer that now tracks illegal opcodes more accurately.
Interface-wise, the user experience remains clean and native to macOS. However, v4.3 improves how snapshots are handled, fixing a bug where saving a snapshot could result in a corrupted memory state. Keyboard and mouse input mapping has also seen refinements, particularly when dealing with non-U.S. layouts.
The vAmiga emulator has become a reliable tool not just for casual Amiga gaming but also for debugging, development, and testing. With every update, Hoffmann gets closer to an experience that mirrors original hardware behavior while remaining accessible and performant on modern Macs.
