Published by TheLastMillennial 4 weeks ago (2021-03-16T03:42:50+00:00) | Discuss this article

November was another busy month for Cemetech members with lots of great releases! Without further ado, here's what went down!

• A dragon on the CE!: Privacy_Dragon has started a virtual pet-like program based on the book series Dragan Duma. They're just brainstorming right now but it looks promising!
  
• BOS for CEmu: beckadamtheinventor just combined two of his projects: noti-eZ80 which is an open-source boot ROM, and BOS which is a custom OS, into a single ROM image you can use in CEmu! It's an awesome project that even has USB support for Linux devices. Be warned it's not designed for use on a physical calculator, but you can have as much fun as you want with it in CEmu!
  
• Calculator In Minecraft: Many of us are aware of redstone programming in Minecraft, a mechanic analogous to circuit design in 3D space. _iPhoenix_ has taken this to a whole new level and created a working calculator that can add, subtract, store numbers, and even looks like a TI-84 Plus CE! It's an impressive project with an equally impressive writeup, go check it out!
  
• Day of Week Calculate tool: Privacy_Dragon has released a smaller version of their tool that will tell you what day it was on any date. It's more accurate than TI's built-in DayofWk( command and pretty small so go try it!
  
• DIY Astrophotography Camera: Creating your own camera from scratch is no easy task, but Botboy3000 is making good progress figuring out how the odd components work and developing a circuit that will control them. That doesn't mean help isn't appreciated, if you've got advice, Botboy3000 would love to hear it!
  
• ez80 and z80 syntax highlighting for Visual Studio Code: Liberal_Eater has updated their syntax highlighting extension for VS with some creature comforts such as documentation appearing when you hover over it, and the ability to search for documentation. Go try it out if you enjoy programming ASM in Visual Studio!
  
• Jetpack Joyride for the TI-84 Plus CE: Great progress has been made on porting the popular mobile game Jetpack Joyride! This month, King Dub Dub added missiles, corrected the size of the coin sprites. Despite the headache of updating the project to the new toolchain, development is going quickly with lasers planned in the near future!
  
• Latest News on TI-Trek: ACagliano has continued his steady development of the first major online multiplayer TI-84 Plus CE game TI-Trek. This month they've started adding particle effects like cracks on the screen. They've also released a new beta version which adds a chatting system and a custom firewall! There's a lot of great progress with lots of screenshots so go check it out!
  
• Maze Dash CE [C]: matkeller19 has released a port of the mobile game Maze Dash to TI-84 Plus CE! It's an awesome puzzle game nearing 300 levels total so you have plenty of content to last you for hours! Go try it out with the download in the thread!
  
• Mode-7 style Pseudo-3D on Ti-83+: Everyone loves 3D programs on calculators, so Crazy_Fox2 has been working on a Mode-7 style 3D racing game! This month they've worked on optimization and managed to improve the speed by 75%! There are a few videos of demo content so go give it a look!
  
• Organizer CSE/CE: RoccoLox Programs has released a patch to their powerful program that keeps track of calendar events, tasks, and contacts. Now the date will show up normally again so you won't be left wondering what year you've landed yourself in!
  
• Pi84--, BUILD your OWN Linux-powered TI-84+ calculator!: Muessigb has released the PCB files for their custom TI-84 Plus modification that turns it into a Linux machine! Now you can create the project yourself, assuming you already have the software to view it. Visit the thread for more information on it!
  
• Random Demos: jacobly graphed some polynomials.
  
• RoulCE: New member ZebraVogel has started work on a roulette wheel program for the TI-84 Plus CE. The wheel sprite is very beautiful and the performance is really great already! Go show the author some support!
  
• Story game for the TI-84+ CE: Inspired by Storycubes, Privacy_Dragon has released a game written in C that provides 16 random words from a 100-word database. With these words, you get to create a story out of them! It's a neat program so go try it out with the download link in the thread!
  
• Suzan: Wavejumper3 has started work on creating a chat-bot in TI-Basic. Despite the awful setback of the program getting deleted, a backup was saved so progress can continue! Go show the author so support!
  
• Tanks! CE: Massive changes have been made to commandblockguy's port of Tanks! from the Wii. They've switched languages to C++, adjusted the code so objects are stored in memory better, and object collision is improved! There's far too much information to fit in a brief description, so check out the thread and see what's changed, there's even a screenshot of progress!
  
• tihle: calculator emulation without ROMs: Tari has updated his amazing project which lets you emulate .8xp programs without requiring a calculator ROM! He's worked on improving the interactive debugger. Check it out and play some calculator games!
  
• VYSION CE - the ultimate CE shell: epsilon5 has finally revealed a secret project he's been working on for two months, a Windows-like shell with a full filesystem, a taskbar, and tons of customization! For those unsatisfied with Cesium, this may be the shell for you. The shell looks beautiful so go visit the thread and check out the screenshots!

That's all for this month, catch you in the next one for the final PotM of 2020!

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Published by mr womp womp 1 month, 1 week ago (2021-03-02T17:01:03+00:00) | Discuss this article

TI officially announced the TI-82 Advanced Edition Python today by adding it to their lineup of graphing calculators on education.ti.com.

Critor broke the news this morning over on TI-Planet with a full article going into the advertised specs and some speculation about its hardware. I strongly recommend you go take a look at that thread to get all the details but here is a summary of noteworthy points:

• It seems likely this contains the hardware of a TI-83 Premium CE Edition Python given the advertised specs and the relatively small amount of time between the release of that calculator and this one.
• I'm surprised they decided to stick with the TI-84 Plus style case (like the TI-82 Advanced because they haven't removed it, but I'm not so sure about that because the newest we've seen was manufactured in early 2018.
• It will have an exact math engine like the TI-83 Premium CE and TI-83 Premium CE Edition Python.
• Of course, like the old TI-82 Advanced, the Python Edition will have the USB port on the top, so it can't be the exact same PCB as a TI-83 Premium CE, but I would expect just a rearranging of the board rather than a full redesign.
• Just like the TI-82 Advanced, there's no assembly language support.

As soon as the calculator is available, you can rest assured that a more in-depth look and teardown will be available on Cemetech and elsewhere.

More Information

TI-82 Advanced Edition Python at TI Education France

TI-Planet's article on the TI-82 Advanced Edition Python

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Published by epsilon5 1 month, 2 weeks ago (2021-02-23T02:01:54+00:00)



NOTE: Unlike CC24, this is not a team contest: entries will be created individually.

Cemetech Contest #25 is all about games featuring heat, as the kind produced by a fire, oven, or star. Games must feature the concept of heat as a primary game mechanic to be eligible for this contest.

General
Games for this contest may be in any language, for any platform. Game engines, such as Unity and Unreal, will also be allowed; the use of any assets, such as sprites and code, will also be permitted provided that they are public at the start of the contest. Projects released or started before the contest's beginning are ineligible for entry in the contest. In order to qualify for the contest, the game must feature heat as a primary game mechanic, but how you choose to implement this is up to you. The contest is open to all Cemetech users, except for judges.

Development
Please create a thread to document your progress throughout the contest, in the format "CC25: <your username>". Receiving help is also allowed for the contest, provided it is done through a Cemetech-run public place of discussion, such as the forums, SAX, IRC, or the Cemetech Discord server. If you receive help from someone, be sure to give them credit in your thread and/or game.

Submission
Submit your entries via email to contest [at] cemetech.net. Submit it in the same format as you would upload the file to the Cemetech archives. In the readme file, please include a contest-specific section that includes the language it is written in and the platform it was written for. Include any optional screenshot(s) in the submission itself. As code quality will be assessed by the judges for scoring, your submission must include the source code for your program. You may choose not to include the source code when you upload your program to the Cemetech archives, but it is required for the email submission. You are also allowed to submit your entry to the Cemetech archives, however, it will not be accepted until the contest submission period is over. All entries must be in by the dates outlined below, under Timeline. You may only submit one entry (if you want to submit an update to your entry, PM either epsilon5 or KermMartian, and re-email your submission).

Judging and Scoring
The standings for the contest will be determined by means of a new format: entries will be graded by a panel of judges in the same manner that was done for the 23rd and 24th Cemetech Contests, and there will also be a community vote, in the fashion of Cemetech Contest 22. The program receiving the highest marks by the judges will obtain an additional 50% of the votes that were submitted to the contest (so if there were 50 community votes, the best-judged program would receive 25 extra). The judging will take place before the community poll, and its results will be released in the final standings post. To that end, please PM me if you would like to be a judge for this contest, I need at least 2 besides myself.

Timeline
This contest will begin on February 22, 2021, and end one month afterward, on March 22, 2021, at 11:59 PM EST. Assuming no delays or extensions, the judges' results will be finalized on or before March 29th, with the community poll starting on March 30st. Final results will be posted within a week after the community poll completes.

Good luck to all the contestants, I expect some great entries!

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Published by TheLastMillennial 2 months ago (2021-02-08T17:26:03+00:00) | Discuss this article

October was a another thriving month for Cemetech members, over twenty awesome projects were worked on and a few were even released! Don't forget to vote in the poll and show these authors some support!

• A Cemetech/Texas Instruments manga!: Wavejumper3 is practicing his drawing skills by drawing a cool manga featuring Cemetech members and calculator drama. They've posted some work on Discord so go check it out!
  
• ACT Helper: For those who need a bit of assistance recalling or calculating common ACT math requirements, Roccolox Programs has you covered with this ACT helper! Not only does it store a dozen formulas to refer to, it can do plug and chug calculations as well so go visit the thread!
  
• Cap'n Hook: If you're tired of programs not playing nice and overwriting other program's hooks, then you need Cap'n Hook! commandblockguy created this awesome manager so developers don't have to worry about compatibility with other programs. Go visit the thread for more information!
  
• CE Font-Via-Localization Hook: Iambian is working on an amazing project which lets you change the calculator's font to whatever you want! They've made some great progress and even have a beta you can try yourself. Checkout the thread to see how to do it!
  
• Chip-84 Ports: ckosmic has been busy with another great port of Chip-8, this time they got it running on a PlayStation! If you're a fan of Chip-84, now you have lots of non-bugy new games to play on a PlayStation you can actually buy!
  
• Day of Week Calculate tool: Unsatisfied with the built in Day of the Week function, Privacy_Dragon decided to make a better one in ICE and TI-Basic. Give it a look if you want to calculate ancient dates for Gregorian and Julian calendars!
  
• DIY Astrophotography Camera: After salvaging a sensor out of a camera, Botboy3000 aims to make a camera for astrophotography. However, they need assistance interpreting the data sheet first. Go visit the thread and if you want to help make an awesome project come to life!
  
• Donut Quest CE: TIny_Hacker wants to port Mikhail Lavrov's Donut Quest II to the TI-84 Plus CE. Go show your support if you want to see this happen!
  
• ez80 and z80 syntax highlighting for Visual Studio Code: Those familiar with using Visual Studio as your primary IDE, you'll be thrilled to hear Liberal_Eater has created an extension which adds syntax highlighting for (e)Z80! Visit the thread for the download!
  
• FPGA as ti link cable: New user rv68k has created a significantly faster way to communicate with your calculator via link port! No more waiting on the slow official SilverLink cable to transfer data at a pitiful 4.4KB/s, now you can unleash over twice the performance at 9.6KB/s! The source code has been posted so go check it out!
  
• GPA Calculator: Schizal is working on a useful program which will calculate your GPA and even calculate what grades you need for a goal GPA! Go show your support in the thread!
  
• h interpreter: For the dozens of people that program in the real programming language called h, Oxiti8 created an interpreter for it completely in TI-Basic! It's an easy language to learn so go give it a try!
  
• Jetpack Joyride: King Dub Dub has made some amazing progress on his port of the popular mobile game Jetpack Joyride! This month he added animations and a jetpack sprite. Go check out the thread for some eye-candy!
  
• knightos-nix: Some of you may be familiar with the alternative OS for the TI-84 Plus family, KnightOS. Despite being released years ago, it's still in development. siraben has made it significantly easier to build and run the latest KnightOS by using Nix! Go visit the thread and see how to easily you can build the OS in just a few terminal lines!
  
• TI-Trek: Acagliano is making solid progress on his incredible StarTrek-based multiplayer game! They've implemented two-way chat communication, some game balancing, and UI improvements. It's an awesome project so go visit the thread to see some screenshots and the website!
  
• Mode-7 style Pseudo-3D on Ti-83+: Crazy_Fox2 has created a Mode-7 engine for the TI-83 Plus! They're planning on using it to create a racing game and already have a proof of concept video up! Go check it out if you love 3D-like calculator games!
  
• Organizer CSE/CE: If you need a great program to keep track of your schedule, tasks, and contacts, you'll be thrilled to hear Roccolox Programs has updated a program that does exactly that! Now your contacts will be automatically sorted alphabetically and the UI has been improved. Go see the thread for some screenshots and the download!
  
• Pixel Art Creator: RoccoLox Programs just made a quick update to their awesome Pixel Art program. There's now a few more tools and different canvas sizes! Give it a download if you enjoy creating art on the calculator!
  
• AutoInstallWin: Nomkid is creating a useful tool wich will automatically install and set up a list of common Windows applications for you! There's already a download and the source code is released so go check it out!
  
• Rpg for ti 83+: Wavejumper3 is re-creating a cool looking RPG which, unfortunately, got deleted. Thankfully they didn't let that get them down and they're coming right back and making it even better this time with a full storyline and graphics overhaul. There's a video in the thread of the original RPG so go give it a watch!
  
• Sonic CD Intro on Ti-83+SE: Crazy_Fox2 has updated their impressive app which will play the Sonic CD intro! This month they stopped the app from changing your settings when it exits. It's a beautiful project and there's even a video of it running in the thread!
  
• Sonic TI-Blast: Sticking with the Sonic theme, Oxiti8 has made great progress on his port of Sonic Blast from the Sega Genesis. This month they've made the program enable and disable Classic mode to gain a speed advantage, and added different difficulty levels. There's a download available so go visit the thread to try it out!
  
• TI-84+CE Mode7 test: Those who have been dying to get their hands on tr1p1ea's MarioKart-inspired Mode7 demo for the TI-84 Plus CSE, you can rejoice because it's now up for download! tr1p1ea warns us this requires Doors 8 so is not compatible with the TI-84 Plus CE, and it's still a demo so it may have serious bugs. Nevertheless, it's an awesome looking project you can finally download in the thread!

This month's article was pretty lengthy so congratulations on reaching the end! Be sure to vote for your favorite project this month!

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