Welcome back to Projects of the Month! This September, our members worked on several interesting projects, so let's take a look:

• 3d Renderer for the TI84+: New to Cemetech, Znak_Pares made their very own wireframe 3D object rendering program for the monochrome TU-84 Plus/TI-84 Plus.
  
• An Honest Effort: Programming in C for the Ti 83/4/SE/+/CSE: theprogrammingcube has started a project which aims to make C programming viable for the TI-83/84/+ calculators, by utilizing the Z88DK toolchain. This has historically been difficult due to hardware (e.g. register) limitations of the z80 CPU that preceded the TI-84 Plus CE's ez80 CPU, so we're following this effort with interest. Be sure to check it out!
• AtomicOS Develoment Thread [TI-83/84 Plus/SE]: New Cemetech member spiCE_456 has been documenting their work on a new shell for the TI-83/84/+/SE, which aims to be a Windows-like interface for managing and launching different apps. They're writing the shell in the Axe Parser language, which generally reduces development time for skilled Axe developers versus z80 assembly. Thus far, they have demonstrated features such as a window renderer with resizable windows.
  
• BOOMTANK for the TI-84+: This month, BPierce released their new game for the TI-84+. Just like the original video game "Scorched Earth", the goal of BOOMTANK is to aim and fire at other enemies on the randomly generated terrain. Be sure to download and give it a try!
  
• CRAWLER | A TI-Basic Top Down Rouge-like: DragonScholar71 created a TI-BASIC top-down rogue-like game for the monochrome TI-83 Plus/TI-84 Plus calculators. It features randomly generated maps with 56 rooms each, three types of enemies, and an unusual combat system. It hasn't quite hit the archives yet, and the author discussed potential challenges to porting it to the color-screen calculators, so feel free to encourage DragonScholar71 to continue the project in the topic!
  
• [Verilog] FPGA as ti link cable: queueRAM re-awakened discussion on this 2020 by rv68k, building on the original poster's work with their Pmod FPGA interface board (later discussed in its own project topic). This one was borderline for inclusion, but gets an honorable mention for work from several years ago inspiring and forming a partial foundation for a new project.
  
• Github Skyline - Your Github Contribution Story in 3D: Frequent GitHub users may be familiar with the 2D heatmap generated by the platform, showing your commit frequency to (public, mostly) repositories over the past year. Battlesquid adds a new dimension: an in-browser 3D renderer that turns your contributions into a 3D bar graph, complete with a nifty plinth, that you can rotate and explore. We haven't seen anyone 3D-print their contributions yet, but we have some serious Cemetech karma waiting for the first person to do so.
  
• INTRUSION CE: AcHamYT (and Gemini) created this C-language puzzle-like, horror-ish game, in which you defend your house from an intruder with your various security systems, such as cameras. motion scanners, and door locks. If you successfully defend your house for five nights, you win.
  
• Leaf Editor: AchakTheFurry has shown a demo of a beautiful on-calculator text editor for the TI-84 Plus CE. It supports formatting text with colors, inserting symbols, tokens, and the time and date, and even themes. As of the last update, the author was working on in-program linking support to transfer your documents to another calculator running Leaf Editor. If you're intrigued, share your comments in the topic!
  
• Pmod breakout board for TI graph link and voltage translation: queueRAM posted a topic all about the FPGA-interfacing Pmod breakout board he created for calculators. With a Pmod interface at one end, a 2.5mm stereo TRS socket at the other, and some handy breakout pins in between, it lets you easily prototype and test FPGA bitfiles to interface with any graphing calculator that supports the 2.5mm jack. It even includes the passive components necessary to support both 3.3V and 5V FPGA interfaces without damaging your calculator. If you like to experiment with FPGAs and calculators, this is the project for you!
  
• Shards of Grandeur PC RPG: 123outerme released the latest version of their indie turn-based RPG, Shards of Grandeur. Version v0.4.1 adds more features and bugfixes to this Godot-based game for PC and Android, which you can find on GitHub. We love seeing calculator programmers create exciting games for other platforms, and this is a perfect example.
• SnClair, a ZX Spectrum Emulator for CE: NoahK is known for nifty software and hardware projects like the TI-84 Plus KE (Keyboard Edition), and this project remains true to form. NoahK is still designing this ZX Spectrum emulator for the TI-84 Plus CE, and community discussion has already yielded a punny project name: SnClair can also be interpreted as "Tin"clair (that is, TI-Sinclair), based on the chemical symbol for tin. It's an ambitious but potentially impressive project, so be sure to add your encouragement in the topic!
• Thread Wires Calculator for 68k: Three-wire measurement is a simple way to determine the thread pitch of a bolt or screen with three wires of known diameter and a standard micrometer, without any further tools. CVSoft has built a 68k BASIC program that perform the necessary computations for you. The audience for this might be slightly niche, but if you're a machinist or work with hardware a lot, it might be just what you're seeking!
  
• TICEVID - A USB Video Player: ThePinkHacker is building a C-language video player for the TI-84 Plus CE, capable of streaming the video from a flash drive. Compression to improve the framerate, subtitles, and other metadata are in ThePinkHacker's future plans, so be sure to check it out and share your ideas and comments in the topic.
  
• Train Simulator Controller: KermMartian posted more updates from his years-long effort to build a physical train simulator in his house, modeled on the UK Class 80x passenger train. Many recent updates have been about the CAN bus controller and instruments in the design, but this time, Kerm has showed a laser-cut hardboard prototype of the central panel of the interface. We expect that the next update will show this assembled and populated with controls and instruments. If you're interested in putting a train cab in your own house, this is the project to follow.
  
• Working Ti-84 Plus CE Text Converter: Zytue67 has used the Scratch programming language to build a program to convert text files into .8xp files you can use on your calculator. It requires quite a few steps at the moment versus other methods like the TI Connect CE program editor, TokenIDE, or SourceCoder 3, but it's a promising project that also has excellent learning opportunities for becoming more familiar with TI program formats.
• Znak's BASIC Tetris for TI83+/TI84+: Znak_Pares managed to bookend this project list, building a TI-BASIC Tetris game with the basics you would expect: seven Tetromino types, rotation, and line-clearing. Tetromino previews, holding Tetrominos, and losing (!) are still to come.
  

Hey there Cemetechnicians! Despite the busyness of Back-to-School season, August saw several completed projects, and several other projects in the works. Let's take a look:

• AsmHook2 with OS 5.8.3 support: RoccoLox Programs has announced a new release of AsmHook2, now packaged as an app installer so it works on TI-OS 5.8.3. This has been a frequently-requested upgrade, and RoccoLox completed it just in time.
• DYNATRIS - a Tetris clone for the HP Prime: komame has completed their Tetris game for the HP Prime! This month, they finalized it with a title screen and several optimizations, and have released a download in the thread. Following the high standard set by many HP Prime games, the graphics and animations of this Tetris game are polished.
  
• FF:MF Save Editor 3: AchakTheFurry has announced and completed their project, a save editor interface for DJ Omnimaga's Final Fantasy: Manta Force game. If you play FF:MF, be sure to check it out!
  
• First Fantasy II: Pokéwalrus (Pink version): And on a related note, DJ Omnimaga announced the new "Pink version" of their infamous Final Fantasy game! This version includes several new walruses, a new dungeon, a new battle move, and several bug fixes. You don't want to miss this!
  
• Fragment shaders (kinda)... on the CE: This month, jasper7474 has started work on a GLSL-esque fragment shader renderer on the CE. It's a clever proof-of-concept for a device that lacks a GPU to execute shaders; if you're a low-level graphics pro, check it out and let jasper7474 know about any optimization ideas you have.
• narser: Performant replacement to Nix's nar subcommand: Clevor has made no secret of their affinity for NixOS; this month, clevor has created a faster and more memory-efficient replacement for Nix's nar subcommand.
• Shards of Grandeur PC RPG: Long-time Cemetech member 123outerme has announced release v0.4.0 for their roleplaying adventure game on PC! This version includes many new features and content, including the Quiet Tundra zone, better battle mechanics and weather effects, and several other bug fixes and quality of life improvements. We love to see what Cemetech members continue to create even when they move beyond graphing calculator software: be sure to try it for yourself (and share your own non-calculator software projects)!
  
• Space Invaders for TI-83+: This month, Monado07 added enemies to their monochrome Space Invaders game, as well as improving the missile routines and movement code. Check it out!
  
• Sudoku CE: After a 5-year hiatus, Jeffitus has come back to his Sudoku game to implement AppVar font pack compatibility, and has plans to add support for multiple fonts, color palettes, and AppVar puzzle packs.
  
• TI-80 OLED screen replacement: Due to common screen issues with the TI-80, queueRAM has been working on reverse-engineering the calculators LCD in order to replace it with an OLED screen, driven via a Raspberry Pi Pico. This is an increasingly important issue as graphing calculators age and the conductive glue on their LCD cables dry up/fail, so it's great to see creative solutions to keep nearly antique devices functioning for hopefully decades longer.
  
• Ti-Basic Practice Program: Tetris: Jeff calc 84 has continued work on their Tetris game for the TI-83/TI-83 Plus/TI-84 Plus monochrome calculators. The progress looks great, however the project has been put on hold for the time being. Be sure to go show your support if this intrigues you, and encourage them to continue the project!
  
• TI-Boy CE Progress Thread: This month, calc84maniac has released version 0.3.1 of TI-Boy CE, which includes a new upscaling mode and enhanced ROM trimming, as well as various bugfixes and interface improvements. TI-Boy CE is one of the most popular pieces of software for the TI-84 Plus CE, and this update makes it even more user-friendly.
• TI-Planet's "Project Builder" with online CE C/C++: Adriweb has added more Makefile options directly configurable from the (CE) project settings.
• TIB.js — JavaScript API that generates and emulates TI-BASIC: This month, JerryChu has been working on TIB.js, a JavaScript API that converts javascript code into TI-Basic code. Check it out!
• TiFS v1.4 (Texas Instruments Flight Simulator): Cemetech member Aeroslate has finished their flight simulator for the TI 84+ CE! The v1.4 release includes a cockpit view, a revamp of the physics system, and an optional day/night cycle add-on. Be sure to give it a try!
  
• Virus management game in TI-BASIC: Lucaz37 has released their virus management game for the 83/84/+, created entirely on-calculator. Check it out!
  

And that's it for August! Thank you for reading, and be sure to vote for your favorite finished project in the poll.

The history of native code execution on the TI-84 Plus CE and TI-83 Premium CE has been a tumultuous one. Ever since OS 5.3.1 in 2020, TI has been cracking down on native code execution on the CE series - their most popular offering. Here at Cemetech, where tens of thousands of students, teachers, and hobbyists have learned and taught STEM with graphing calculators, we see major pedagogical value in being able to create and run native (ASM/C) programs on TI calculators. However, pressure from standardized testing boards and teachers, some triggered by misleading videos, contributing to TI blocking this capability:

• In OS 5.3.1, they disabled the Asm84CEPrgrm token.
• In OS 5.5.1, they removed the ability to run ASM programs all together.
• A few months later, YvanTT released a jailbreak restoring the ability to run native code which exploited a bug in the CabriJr app.
• In OS 5.8.3, TI patched the bug used by arTIfiCE and a similar bug in the Python App which was exploited by arTIfi82, its french counterpart for the TI-82 Advanced Edition Python.

Today, YvanTT has released arTIfiCE v2.0, an updated version which now supports all OS versions greater than or equal to 5.3.0. Note that it will not run on versions older than 5.3.0, where it is not needed.

Unlike previous versions of arTIfiCE, this release is compatible with the entire ez80 family, including OS 5.6.5 on the TI-82 Advanced Edition Python. The new version consists of a TI-BASIC program which can be launched directly. No more faffing around with AppVars in the CabriJr & Python apps.

Download:
arTIfiCE v2.0

With summer in full swing, plenty of Cemetech members are keeping busy with some amazing projects. As always, make sure to check them all out and show the creators your support and encouragement:

• DYNATRIS - a Tetris clone for the HP Prime: komame showed off a slick-looking version of the classic block-dropping, line-clearing puzzle game for the HP Prime, written in Python. The game runs very well for a Python game thanks to the superior speed of the HP Prime. Check out the thread for more info and to show your support!
  
• HD Picture Viewer [C] [TI-84 Plus CE]: TheLastMillennial worked on adding 16-bit color support to this picture viewing utility for the CE family of calculators. As noted by TLM, the recent 16-bit graphics library (which won May's PotM) makes the increased colors easier to implement for this and other CE projects. Check out the latest posts in the topic to see some neat comparison images showing the power of the increased color palette! There's even a beta download if you're interested in trying it out yourself.
• Liquid Sort for the TI-84 Plus CE!: sumde2 announced a new CE game, now available in the archives! This puzzle game about sorting liquids into various vials currently has 12 levels, with instructions in the readme on how to add custom levels, so definitely give it a try if you are a CE owner.
  
• Live Base Converter CE: TheLastMillennial, along with mr womp womp, updated this useful tool to fix some bugs and minimize code size. Check it out if you are in need of a convenient way to convert between bases, right on your calculator!
• [TI-BASIC] Shades 84+ CE Port: Michael2_3B uploaded a YouTube video showcasing a recreation of his classic TI-BASIC CE game, this time in Minecraft using redstone. Watch the video if you want to see all the juicy technical details, along with a world download to try for yourself!
• Sudoku CE: Cars and Ice Cream shared another brief update, improving on the size of the stored sudoku puzzle AppVar. Be on the lookout for the first release of this Celtic CE-powered puzzle game!
• Tari's opportunistic Z80 computer: Tari posted about his recent efforts to build a custom z80 computer, using parts recycled from a point-of-sale terminal and a custom mainboard. Check out the topic for more info on this cool project using a beloved calculator CPU.
  
• Ti-Basic Practice Program: Tetris: Another Tetris clone this month, this time coming from Jeff calc 84, written in TI-BASIC for the monochrome z80 family. So far progress looks good, with basic block falling and line clearing working well, along with a list of planned features including a high score table featuring several statistics for classroom bragging rights. For more details be sure to check out the thread!
  
• Train Simulator Controller: KermMartian posted another update on his Train Simulator project, this month featuring a cardboard dashboard prototype along with a plethora of buttons, knobs, and other real train parts. If you're at all interested in trains, simulators, or hardware projects in general, check out the post, or even the extended blog post linked within!
  

That's all for July! Since Liquid Sort was our only completed project this month, it automatically wins the PotM. Come back next month for even more great project updates!