Hello,
I just got a graphing calculator for my birthday! But it was a TI-85 - not the newest thing in the world.
So what do I do with it (barring graphing and calculating - obviously )? Does anybody know? What is the best shell, the best games, and utilities? Are there any BASIC libs? Are there any multiplayer games that can play with a 82 or 83? Can it play music? Does it have good grayscale?
I don't program in ASM, by the way.

Ticalc should have some answers.

The TI-85 is like the TI-82, but with a wider screen and a different menu interface. Sadly, it doesn't have as much of a body of work for it as the TI-83/TI-84+ series, but as one of the (the?) first ASM-programmable calculators, it has some great first steps into ASM games. I believe these include link-play games and (maybe) grayscale. I recommend you browse the ticalc.org archives and try some of the programs and games out for yourself!

TI-85 was the first for which a way to run ASM/machine code was discovered. It was also the one where I had my first exposure to ASM programs on the calc. You can install the old ZShell and see what things were like back in the good/bad old days.

Actually, though, Usgard appears to be the preferred/more supported shell, and is ZShell compatible. There were definitely some grayscale programs available. I can't say much since my memory is quite hazy, and I shortly afterward got the 86 and was more interested in programs for it at the time. The 85 and 86 were rather similar, and I think there were some 86 shells that could run most of the older 85 ASM games.

ZTetris was a great Tetris game for the TI-85, and it features a linkplay mode which should work fine linking to an 82, 83, 83+, etc. playing the same game. Here's the link for the TI-85 Usgard compatible version:
http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/fileinfo/14/1437.html

Sqrxz is also another game that springs to mind, which was a Mario-style platformer. It's only single player, but quite addictive imo. Here's the TI-85 Usgard compatible version of Sqrxz:
http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/fileinfo/21/2152.html

You might notice that both of these games are by Jimmy Mardell, who was one of the early TI assembly programming greats. He also has plenty of other TI-85 games, which you can find on his ticalc.org author page here:
http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/authors/0/41.html

Hope this gets you started

Which OS version is it running ? IIRC, the key combo is MODE ALPHA S; but then, don't enter the self test

Thank you everybody!



It is running OS X.

Thanks for the imput, James, I'll try those.

@Kerm: Note that I mean link-play to other models of calculators (82 & 83), as many link-play games are only for two 85s, and there is no chance I will get another one.

And sound? Are there any opinions on Future OS, by any chance?

He means on the calc. If you try the key combo, don't press ENTER when it asks for self test unless you want to clear RAM.


There are some, but apparently not too many.


I know nothing about it. It appears to be a relative latecomer, so probably not a lot of programs available for it unless it can also run ZShell and Usgard programs.

If I remember correctly, the TI-85/86 should have prettier games, since their LCDs and display drivers were of much higher quality than the later 82/83/83+/84+ series. I also remember them having slightly more advanced math features, at least compared to the 83. Might want to try and find a copy of the manual.

My Star Wars themed Phoenix mod has an 85 build for the Usgard shell. I'm pretty sure I only ever tested it in emulation though:
http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/fileinfo/393/39357.html

Yes, the 85 and 86 had memory-mapped LCD instead of a driver, so display updates were faster and more efficient.

More advanced math features (although missing some of the features introduced with the TI-82) and much more flexibility with variable creation: number of each type of variable is unlimited, with custom 1–8-character names allowed for each.

Manual:
http://education.ti.com/calculators/downloads/US/Guidebooks/Detail?id=6126&ref=%2fcalculators%2fdownloads%2fUS%2fGuidebooks%2fSearch%2fResults%3fcp%3d17%23view-27

That is the calc's OS version. OS 10.0.
And so far, I have found the ability to have both uppercase and lowercase letters, and 8 characters available, for labels, variables, and program names, extremely useful!

Update now that I have finally gotten a Serial Graphlink:
So far, Usgard seems like the best shell when used with CoolShell. zShell is more stable to me, but has less programs. Usgard with WinShell is very nice, but seems generally less stable. FutureOS was very nice too, but few programs were available.

As a general rule, though, the TI-85 makes me appreciate the stabilities of DCS7, because none of the operating shells crashed as little as it.

I tried Mario for it and was very unimpressed; it looked and functioned quite badly.

Welcome back in the '90s

I have a TI-85 by the way (OS 3.0 I think), but I didn't have time to try many games other than some 3D maze that had grayscale. ASM programs work weirdly on this calc sometimes, because they are in string format.