Published by epsilon5 2 days, 20 hours 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 weeks, 3 days 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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Published by _iPhoenix_ 3 weeks, 5 days ago (2021-01-30T17:03:17+00:00) | Discuss this article

September 2020 was a busy month for our members, with many engaged in less-than-engaging virtual classes. We had nearly twenty projects with substantial progress this month. Remember to vote in the poll at the top and leave feedback for the authors in each of the threads.

Here are the projects for September 2020:

• ACT Helper: RoccoLox Programs released a program promising to help students with the math section of the ACT, a standardized test most commonly taken by high-school students in the US.
  
• BASE: From BioHazard, Base is a new TI-BASIC game promising lots of fun while attacking enemies. This game features intense gameplay and a nifty achievements system, with nearly thirty advancements and four difficulty levels. The thread has a download link, go check it out!
  
• Caterpillar Puzzles: RoccoLox Programs has started working on a novel game where you take the place of a caterpillar eating fruit in a room to escape. The thread has a screenshot and a download.
  
• CE Font-Via-Localization Hook: Ever wanted to install fonts on the CE other than the admittedly quite average built-in font? Iambian has you covered. This project provides a way to give your calculator a fresh look and feel- check out the thread for hilarious screenshots and more.
  
• Chip-84 Ports: Resurrecting his old thread, ckosmic shares with us his port of the Chip-8 to the raspberry pi. Take a peek at the thread to see his other ports, including some for graphing calculators.
  
• Cow Clicker: TIny_Hacker released his clone of the game Cow Clicker to the TI-84+. It features cute sprites and a cursor that mooves very smoothly, using the DCS libraries. Check out the thread for more info.
  
• DCS 7 Clock: TIny_Hacker's clever program modifies its own icon to show the time when it is run, using the DCS libraries. Check out the thread for complete source code and optimizations provided by our helpful members.
  
• SI Prefix Appending tool: Iambian's handy new tool uses the homescreen hook to append SI prefixes after calculations. He's produced versions for the 84+/83+ monochrome calculators, the CSE, and the CE, and the source code is available on GitHub- check out the thread.
  
• HotkeySE: NonstickAtom785 has written a new DCS shell expansion that allows you to customize hotkeys. It was accepted into the archives and the download link is available in the thread, be sure to take a look.
  
• Cemetech Userstyles: _iPhoenix_ has started a project to rework the styling on Cemetech by way of a browser extension. He's received contributions from mr womp womp and ideas from other members- check out the thread to try it yourself and provide feedback!
  
• Jetpack Joyride: King Dub Dub has started a CE port of the mobile game Jetpack Joyride. Using the C toolchain and libraries for the CE, it has stunning graphics and the fun movement system that makes the original game so much fun.
  
• Math Finder: jake01756's new math utility has tools for calculating various properties of geometric shapes, among other things. The thread contains a download link, a complete list of features both planned and implemented, and several screenshots. Take a look!
  
• Maze Runner: BioHazard has been working with a small team of Cemetech members to create a new maze game for the monochrome TI-84+ and TI-83+ calculators. This game has 15 levels to choose from, with the ability to add more in the future. Check out the thread for a download that includes an animated GIF.
  
• Pixel Art Creator: This month, RoccoLox Programs has been working very hard on improving and releasing an update to their pixel art suite for the color calculators. Take a look at the thread for a download link and some screenshots.
  
• Programmer's Calculator CE: DrDnar has released a major update to his programming utility. It allows the user to quickly perform arithmetic in various commonly-used bases, without having to reserve extra valuable screen space on their main computer. Check out the thread for a link to the GitHub page and some nice screenshots of the new and improved UI.
  
• Sonic TI-Blast: Cemetech newcomer Oxiti8 has started work on a fantastic game inspired by the game Sonic 3D Blast for the Sega Genesis. It features some cool art and the thread has a screenshot and a download link.
  
• World of Goo: commandblockguy has started work on a CE port of the popular game World of Goo, using the C toolchain and libraries. The thread includes an animated screenshot of a neat tech demo and lots of positive feedback- check it out!
  
• Xenon Development: Alvajoy123's shell for the CE learned some shiny new tricks this month, with new icons, a password/pin feature, and more.
  

That's all, folks! Remember to leave your remarks in the threads and to vote in the poll for the best completed project of this month.

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Published by Michael2_3B 2 months, 1 week ago (2020-12-19T11:46:42+00:00) | Discuss this article

We are back for another round of projects from the month of August! As you can see, there were many exciting projects being worked on, and even some long-running projects finally released. So in case you missed some of them, here's a quick recap!

• Amnesiac Engine (Pyglet Edition): beckadamtheinventor has announced that they have been working on a top-down 2D game engine, programmed in python, and there is even a demo available! It is still a work in progress, so be sure to go show your support.
  
• BASE: BASE is a fun new action strategy game being developed by BioHazard for the TI-84 Plus SE monochrome calculator! There are several difficulty levels and many features to this game, so check out the thread for more info.
  
• Bubbles!: We are glad to see a new project by SomeCoolGuy, who has started to develop a bubble shooter game for the color calculators. So far he has the main mechanics working, and it looks great so be sure to show your support!
  
• CalcBucket, an easy way to manage your calculator programs: Nomkid has been working hard this month on a new all-in-one computer program that expedites the process of program finding, downloading, and transferring to the calculator, even including any libraries you may need. It sounds like it will be a very useful tool!
  
• CEVidium - Video playback for the CE: Cemetech member Iambian has made some changes to his video player for the CE, and even improved the user interface a bit too. The screenshots look amazing, you don't want to miss this!
  
• Contagion CE - Plague, Inc. port: This month, epsilon5 and EverydayCode have been working very hard and now have officially released their new game, Contagion CE! Based on the game Plague, Inc., Contagion CE allows you to create your own virus and simulate it on a global scale. It is quite an interactive game, so be sure to go give it a try and let them know what you think!
  
• Cow Clicker for the TI-84 Plus/SE: TIny_Hacker has announced a new clicker game, written in TI-Basic! In this game, clicking on cows earns you "Mooney" which you can use to buy upgrades, more cows, and custom cows. If you're into clicker games, keep an eye on this one!
  
• HexaEdit CE: On-calc hex editor: Looking for a way to debug your games without a computer? Captain Calc has just the solution for you, with a hex editor that allows you to edit files directly on the calculator! This month, Captain Calc has made 2 small updates which make the user experience even better, so don't miss it.
  
• Maze Dash CE [C]: Cemetech member matkeller19 has been continuing work on this fun new puzzle game, this month finishing the tiles and working on the user interface. The objective of Maze Dash is to cover all the squares of a level using a snake and all the resources given to you. It looks like it's coming together nicely!
  
• n-as, a TI-Nspire on-calc assembler: Just as the title suggests, nspiredev500 has created and released his very own assembler program for the TI-Nspire, written in C. If you like to program, and you own a TI-Nspire, this assembler is for you!
  
• NESizm (Casio Prizm NES emulator): tswilliamson has officially released version 1.00 of his NES emulator for the Casio Prizm! This is an impressive achievement, seeing as it was started all the way back in 2017. Be sure to congratulate them and try it out for yourself!
  
• Oiram port to Prizm: Cemetech member tswilliamson has also completed another project, a port of MateoConLechuga's famous Oiram game onto the Prizm calculator! If you own a Prizm, you don't want to miss out on this.
  
• Programmer's Calculator CE: DrDnar has announced a new tool for programmers, a calculator that provides functionality such as arithmetic in binary, hex, and decimal, for numbers up to 128 bits in size. There are even more features coming, so go show some support!
  
• RGB to 1555 [C]: matkeller19 has completed a simple little project that converts RGB to 1555 IBGR format. It has a great user interface and looks very simple and practical!
  
• Sonic CD Intro on Ti-83+SE: New cemetech member Crazy_Fox2 has come out of the blue with an app that plays video on monochrome calculators at up to 15 frames per second! Using a combination of RLE (Run Length Encoding) and LZSS (LZSS) to compress each frame of video, this app allows video files to take up less space and play at great speed. Be sure to check out some of the impressive videos in the thread!
  
• Tanks! CE: commandblockguy has made good progress on his Tanks game for the CE this month, including graphical improvements, developing more of the game mechanics, and more. Be sure to follow this thread!
  
• The fantasticabulous CALCbox rebirth!: Nomkid has announced the rebirth of CALCbox, based on his Calcnet box which was allows you to plug in external devices, as well as a 84+CE or anything else with MiniUSB, in order to expand the functionality of the calculator. Be sure to check out this cool hardware project!
  
• TI-81 Wi-Fi enabled keypad mod: tr1p1ea has continued their work on a TI-81 calculator completely remotely controllable via Wi-Fi! tr1p1ea has troubleshooted some issues, and it seems to work great now. Be sure to check out the thread for videos!
  
• TI-Authenticator: OTP for the CE [C]: deuteriumoxide has created a One Time Password (OTP) program for the CE, which has allowed him to learn about HMACs and OTPs. Check out the thread for more info.
  
• tihle: calculator emulation without ROMs: Spurred by the recent development of TI removing Assembly support from the TI-84 Plus CE, Tari has started creating a new emulator that doesn't use any of TI's code at all. This means you can emulate any program without the need for a ROM which all other emulators require. Even better, you can run tihle directly in a web browser! There's a far more detailed description on its capabilities and the development process which you can read by visiting the link in the thread.
  
• TI-Trek: This month, ACagliano has announced a publicly available pre-release! TI-Trek is a major project with many ships, features, and will eventually be a fully complete multiplayer Star Trek game. In this version, there is a splash screen, menu options, and logging in and registration menus. beckadamtheinventor and commandblockguy have been helping out with the development as well, so go show some support for this impressive project!
  
• Upgrading Breakout v2.1: KermMartian has began work upgrading his Breakout clone, which dates back to April 2003! It is a very simple yet classic and fun game, so go show your support for this great project! Kerm has even said he might port it to the CE eventually which would be great!
  
• z80 QR Code generator: ReGuess has let us know that he is restarting on this project, and is making a bit of progress! Inspired by his past attempts at making a QR generator in Basic, this version is in assembly which will allow for far bigger, more complex QR codes.
  
• [TI-84+] 9-Level GrayScale Image Viewer: tr1p1ea has dug up an old project of theirs and publicly shared it! This program allows you to view 9-level grayscale images directly on your monochrome calculator, although the author has noted it may have some issues so be careful!
  
• [TI84PCE] Scratch CE Development [C]: Alvajoy123 has made some impressive progress on his implementation of Scratch, the popular block-based language, for the CE. This month he has been adding new features, commands, and GUI improvements so go check it out, especially if you like scratch.
  
• [TI84PCE] Trello CE [C]: Alvajoy123 has been working on another app called Trello, inspired by the original project board manager. The screenshots look great so be sure to check it out!
  

And that's it! There was certainly a lot going on this month, so don't worry if you couldn't keep up with everything. But please make sure to check out all the finished projects and vote for your favorite in the poll! There were quite a few impressive ones, so pick carefully!

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