Published by Alex on July 18, 2018 at 12:03:35 PM CST | Discuss this article (1)

13 years ago we launched our IRC Channel on the Efnet Network; a year later the first version of SAX was released by KermMartian. A few years after SAX was released, the IRC-SAX bridge was permanently brought online and helped establish instant chat as a cornerstone of the Cemetech community.

Now, after a suggestion from mets11rap, we now have a Discord server that is bridged to IRC! So, feel free to join our Discord server by clicking the image below and join in on the discussion!



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Published by _iPhoenix_ on July 8, 2018 at 3:13:11 PM CST | Discuss this article (11)

As many of our members get out of school and away from their calculators, there will probably be less projects. This fact has not stopped our members from working on many cool and interesting projects! In fact, some of our members have taken the opportunity to spend more time working on their projects.

This month had a lot of amazing projects, with some large releases and many promising new projects. Many of the projects this month feature screenshots (or even animated screenshots), so be sure to check out the projects' respective threads!

Here are all of the Projects of the Month for the month of June:

• A Ti-84+CE as an Atari 2600 controller (for Maker Faire?): From Pieman7373, this project is a cool attempt to create a potentially awesome display for Maker Faire 2018. He is encountering (and solving) lots of problems with his project. Despite these problems, it appears that Pieman7373 is making lots of progress on this project, and we wish him the best of luck!
  
• Arduino Stabilized/Guided Rockets: theprogrammingcube made great progress on his project this month! He is trying to use an Arduino to enhance his model rockets. This project is really cool, so we would love to see more of this project.
  
• BasicNote CE Progress Thread: Michael2_3B has created an epic text editing utility for the TI-84+CE graphing calculator! It features line wrapping, We can't wait for new updates!
  
• Block Ninja: _iPhoenix_'s project "Block Ninja" is a Fruit Ninja-inspired game written in Python! He is using the IOS app Pythonista to do his programming. Go check out the thread, where there is source code and a YouTube video!
  
• Calc Crusader (TI-84 Plus CE, ICE): dankcalculatorbro has created a sweet game based around the Crusades! He added a very cool-looking battle screen and has We would enjoy seeing more of this project.
  
• Chip-84 - A Chip-8 Emulator for TI-84 Plus CE: From ckosmic, this projects is a amazing Chip-8 emulator. This month, he improved the UI on both the ROM selection screen and the pause menu. More information (including a download and several animated screenshots!) can be found in the thread.
  
• Chip-84 Port to Unity: As seen in the title, Chip-84 Port to Unity is a port of ckosmic's above Chip-8 emulator for the TI-84+ CE over to Unity. created by ckosmic! He already has some amazing eye candy in the thread, so I highly recommend checking it out for yourself. Check out the thread to see it for yourself!
  
• Converting Markdown into BBCode and HTML: _iPhoenix_'s project "Converting Markdown into BBCode and HTML" is a proof-of-concept tool to convert the popular markup language "Markdown" into both BBCode and HTML. He is trying to use regular expressions to find and replace certain strings in the Markdown with their BBCode and HTML equivalents. Check out the thread to see it for yourself!
  
• Gateway to Legend: 123outerme's project "Gateway to Legend" received several improvements this month. These improvements include a transition screen, a bunch of cool map-making features, and much more. It looks interesting, so go check it out!
  
• NOS - A alternative shell: LAX18 made some progress on his project this month! He added a bunch of cool tools and features this month, as well as posting some of his ideas for the future of the project. It looks like LAX18 is making lots of progress!
  
• Orbit Game (TI-84+ CE): Michael2_3B has created a captivating game! As the title suggests, it is based around orbits, and you have to dock to a space station by manipulating your orbit. The screenshots are truly awesome, so check out the thread to see it for yourself!
  
• Tanks! CE: commandblockguy's project "Tanks! CE" is a game heavily inspired by the game "Tanks!" from Wii Play. He added cool collision detection and a few more missions. We would enjoy seeing more of this project.
  
• TI Monopoly: Kydapoot has been working hard adding improvements to his revived project, TI Monopoly! He added almost all of the core game features, including dice rolling, player moving, player imprisonment, and much more! You can find more information in the thread.
  
• TI-Boy CE Progress Thread: calc84maniac has finally finished his long-awaited Gameboy emulator for the CE. It has all kinds of amazing features, so go check out the thread and try it out for yourself!
  
• Tic Tac Toe CE (C): Pieman7373 has created an entertaining 2-player Tic-Tac-Toe game in C for the CE! It is fully-functioning, with win detection, cool sprites, and an awesome "win" screen. More information and some screenshots can be found in the thread.
  
• Too Many Boats [CC20] [TI 84 Plus CE]: TheLastMillennial has been hard at work adding improvements to his program, Too Many Boats! He added lots of new features and bugfixes, and even released a download! Go check out the thread for a full list of improvements and a download link!
  
• Village: _iPhoenix_ has created an amusing esoteric programming language/strategy game hybrid! You assume the role of a very forgetful village chief who writes down all of the tasks for the day in order. It has all kinds of cool commands, all of which were added this month. Go check out the thread and try it for yourself!
  
• [slowly] Programming 2D Minecraft clone: As seen in the title, this is an attempt to port a 2D version of Minecraft over to the TI-84+ CE created by c4ooo! He is not sure if he will continue working on it, so go show c4ooo some support to cheer him on!
  
• _iPhoenix_'s website!: _iPhoenix_ has been working hard adding improvements to his website, which he uses to display his projects. He is going for a very intriguing markdown editor-esque feel, using cool CSS concepts make it work. Check out the thread to see it for yourself!
  

After you have checked out the projects above and all of their respective topics, be sure to vote in the poll for your favorite one! There were lots of releases this month, so choose wisely!

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Published by Alex on July 2, 2018 at 10:53:37 PM CST | Discuss this article (7)

It's Summer which means we've got roughly two months before classes start up again and half way through the year. Do you guys have any trips planned? Visiting colleges? Taking this time to learn something new or get caught up on a project? Don't forget to share any projects in the "Your Projects" sub-forum.

• ckosmic has started teaching himself Unity by porting his CHIP-84 project, which is an interpreter/emulator for the CHIP-8 & SuperChip-8. He's textured everything that's not included in Unity himself, such as the TV.
  
  
• Pieman7373 is working on a way to control an Atari 2600 using a TI-84+CE for this years Maker Faire in New York, which will be Cemetech' 7th year having a booth at this world wide event.
  
  
• Admittedly, we're really looking forward to theprogrammingcube's progress on his Arduino Controlled/Stabilized Rockets. He first shared this project with us in April with a few videos. He's utilizing 3D printers to create components for testing. He's then stuffing servos, wires, sensors, and an Arduino into these prototypes. Hopefully one of these Arduino rockets will fly soon.
  
  
• On the other hand, new Cemetech member Decepticon7 would like to know how to create 3D worlds on a TI-89. His topic hasn't gotten any replies yet, but if you feel like you know of any good resources, ideas, or examples please share them in his topic.
  
  
• c4ooo would like to know if it's possible for a TI-84+CE to talk to an Arduino over USB. If you have any pointers or resources to share, that'd be helpful for the project he's working on, looking forward to seeing more details of this project soon! ;)

We hope you guys are having, and continue to have, a fantastic summer. Feel free to share any candid photos you guys take on trips and adventures ;D

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Published by PT_ on June 21, 2018 at 10:49:04 AM CST | Discuss this article (2)

Cemetech member and assembly expert calc84maniac has finally released the alpha version of TI-Boy CE, a Game Boy emulator he has been working on for about 2 years for the latest Texas Instruments calculator, the TI-84 Plus CE, and its French counterpart, the TI-83 Premium CE. With this program, you can play Game Boy games on your calculator, though note that Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advanced games are not supported (yet). In the development process, he already showed us some marvelous videos running games on his calculator, and now it's finally public! The program is still in alpha stage, which means it still contains some issues. According to the official website, it has these features:

• Emulates original Game Boy hardware (except audio and linking)
• Emulates real-time clock for certain cartridges
• Save states with compression
• Fullscreen and 1:1 scaling modes (with optional skin)
• Automatic and manual frameskip
• Turbo mode (with speed display)
• GBC-style selectable color palettes for Game Boy games
• Customizable controls

calc84maniac managed to reach the 60FPS, thanks to the highly optimized assembly and the extra RAM in this system, which allows caching for speeding up graphics rendering. Yes, it's entirely written in ez80 assembly, which is absolutely remarkable because of the system's complexity. He also published the source code, so if you want to take a look at the source, go for it and try to understand it! Your bug reports (in the attached topic or posted as issues on his repository) and your positive feedback will no doubt help him continue to hone this flagship community project.

Download:
TI-Boy CE (alpha version)



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