Introduce Yourself!

Sounds cool Madskillz, can't wait to see it.

Hi, I guess I haven't posted here in quite a while. Over 4 or 6 years ago, if I remember. I didn't even remember if I made an account after the data/domain name loss. I have still been active in the community since then, but at one point a few years ago I stopped visiting as many forums and when I started browsing more forums again, I always forgot to check the smaller and less active sites, especially the French ones.

Basically, I started calculator programming back in July 2001, on the TI-83+, using TI-BASIC and hybrid BASIC (I mostly programmed RPGs) until Axe Parser came out in 2010, then I stopped developing games until 2013, concentrating mostly on music making, and when I started calculator programming again, I switched to the then-new TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition and HP Prime calculators. My newest release is First Fantasy: Mana Force, a Doors CSE-enhanced TI-84+CSE BASIC RPG.

I also founded the Omnimaga calculator group in 2001, which got its first site in 2004, then in 2014 I co-founded another one called CodeWalrus. Both are quite calculator-related. I was also staff of Epic Programming Studios from 2004 until its demise in late 2005. I've started visiting calculator websites in October 2001, in the middle of the Ticalc.org CD incident then started participating on calculator forums in Sept 2003 on MaxCoderz, and yes, I saw Spitfire Productions, Greenfire, Drubu, Outer Limit Software. Outside the TI community, I was mainly active on some happy hardcore forum then started my own music making forum in 2007 (although it died in 2012).


What I would like to say is props to Revsoft team for managing to keep this site alive despite everything you went through (eg the massive user exodus during the DarksunDS incident in 2009 and the several months of downtimes combined with the loss of your entire forum, domain name and URL referrals in 2011). In fact, it seems like forum activity is up from the last few year and I was shocked when I read somewhere that even Zelda was still being worked on. So keep it up

[chickendude]

Heh thanks DJ. I still do assembly programming from time to time, though the past couple months add and i have been working on another project together (an RPG for the NDS) which is my first time working on a big project using a language other than asm. Sometimes it's frustrating when i think how easy it'd be to do something in asm (other times it's nice when i think how many lines of code i'd have to write to do the same thing in asm). Maybe we should open a project thread here one of these days.

NanoWar's a machine, always working on some cool projects (i dunno if you saw the screenshots to their latest project). And yeah, it appears that Spencer's still been doing some work on Zelda, or at least on the map editor. I believe NanoWar recently got in touch with Spencer, too.

Honestly, i think TI should've skipped the CSE and released the CE directly instead, at least for those of us who write games and programs it sounds like a much better platform, though as always i've been impressed by what people have been able to do to get around the limitations. Your RPG is one example, then there's calc84's stuff, MateoConLechuga and AssemblyBandit have done tons of cool stuff, too. I hope they both continue on to the CE as well.

[Madskillz]

I gotta give props to some of you guys still pumping out the assembly, I just dont have the time anymore. I heard about the color 84+, I like what I saw. Is it too late though?

It's hard to tell. The main problem right now is that TI's first Z80 calculator was botched, featuring a 15 MHz Z80 that could barely even handle the larger screen and the slow TI-OS. They fixed this with a new color model, but the problem is that most ASM/hybrid programs made for the CSE no longer runs on the CE, so that's almost two years of hard work that could have went to the CE instead if TI hadn't screwed up. I bet that many of the CSE ASM coders won't even have the motivation to port their games over to the new platform. And TI screwed up yet again with the CE by not allowing community Flash APPs. Now all we can use are 8xp ASM/BASIC programs, so if we ever get a calc shell it will have to be like Ion, Venus, SOS or AShell instead of MirageOS, ZStart or Doors CS. I'm unsure if it's too late, since there are still new programs being worked on, but the ASM scene seems quiet lately. And now with Summer kicking off we will have to wait until next school year to see if the CE will really take off.


Also in France, the TI-83 Plus.Fr (which was a renamed TI-84 Plus Silver Edition) is being replaced with the TI-82 Advanced, which locks down ASM like the TI-Nspire did. The color model still allows it, though (except Flash apps), so it's probably a marketing ploy to lure people towards the more expensive color calc, but that still cuts down the potential TI-monochrome ASM audience.

I think I remember reading with the CE the size limitation on programs is gone. That should help some even if we don't have apps. I'd also agree, that TI should've skipped the CSE and just released the CE instead.

[NanoWar]

May the sign key cracking begin.

I think I remember reading with the CE the size limitation on programs is gone. That should help some even if we don't have apps. I'd also agree, that TI should've skipped the CSE and just released the CE instead.

There's still a size limit, sort-of. It's 64 KB, since a 8xp file cannot be larger than that on the CE.

May the sign key cracking begin.

I'm curious about how one will crack a 2048 bits key, though. If it took years to factor a 768 bits key with modern equipment, imagine how long it will take to factor a 2048 bits one.

[NanoWar]

I'm curious about how one will crack a 2048 bits key, though. If it took years to factor a 768 bits key with modern equipment, imagine how long it will take to factor a 2048 bits one.

Then we must infiltrate TI and leak the key .

@DJ: Ahh ok, I wasn't sure. At least that helps some.

[chickendude]

Personally i don't see what we need apps for anyway. All of us here at least grew up with Ion/Ashell/SOS/etc. Installing hooks/tokens and stuff might be more of a pain, but i never had a problem just running prgmA back in the day. All you really need is a set of common routines, you could even load the shell itself into saferam giving you the full 64kb for your program. I dunno what that'd mean for xLibCE, though i have to admit i haven't touched TI BASIC in probably 15 years...

Once i get through some of my projects i'd like to jump into CE programming, too. I guess i'm a bit lazy and would rather have fun programming on the already well documented 83 series (and lately the NDS) But i'm really excited to see what possibilities the CE holds in store for us.

The reason why people wants apps is because it makes it easier to install parser hooks apparently and the app can be ran from archive even immediately after a RAM clear, unlike an archived copy of Ion.

Without parser hooks, we can forget about xLIBCE. If we rely on the Asm() command instead of parser hooks, then hybrid BASIC games will run as slow as The Reign of Legends 3 because of how slow the command gets with a clogged VAT.

Chickendude you should share some of your NDS projects in the calculator community

[chickendude]

Yeah, but another option might be installing things into saferam at the start of the program. There are some very large saferam areas on the new calc, you'd just need to find something that doesn't get touched by the OS during BASIC program execution. I'm not sure how feasible that is or how exactly token hooks on the new calc work, but i'm sure there's a way to add hybrid BASIC functions without reverting to the old X:Asm(prgmX) trick.

I won't get any programming done over the summer (i'm actually teaching Esperanto at an Esperanto center in northwest China right now) but once the next school semester starts i'm sure add and i will quickly have enough done for a nice demo of our NDS project

Yeah, with chickendude away I don't feel as I should touch much of anything, I want to know what I'm touching too, I wasn't coding the last few days that the project wasn't on break so I'm quite unfamiliar with the new sections (although I don't think it'd be that much effort to understand the new parts).
I'm back from a vacation too so now I feel... well awful really, but still more energy than I had before so I guess that's a plus.

Yeah, but another option might be installing things into saferam at the start of the program. There are some very large saferam areas on the new calc, you'd just need to find something that doesn't get touched by the OS during BASIC program execution. I'm not sure how feasible that is or how exactly token hooks on the new calc work, but i'm sure there's a way to add hybrid BASIC functions without reverting to the old X:Asm(prgmX) trick.

I won't get any programming done over the summer (i'm actually teaching Esperanto at an Esperanto center in northwest China right now) but once the next school semester starts i'm sure add and i will quickly have enough done for a nice demo of our NDS project

I am not sure anymore, but I recall tr1p1ea saying on #CodeWalrus IRC channel that he managed to get parser hooks running on the new calc and I think there was a screenshot of it in action. However, I expect hooks installed from a 8xp program launched from RAM to not be the most ideal scenario. IMHO it would be better than nothing, though, because I don't think TI will give Kerm the private RSA key to sign apps that he needs to make Doors CE (which would include tr1p1ea's BASIC libs)

Welcome Ivoah!
May the light be brought forth!

Welcome Ivoah!
May the light be brought forth!

Thanks for the welcome

Project "Restart the Revolution" is slowly turning it's wheels

Lol I kinda wish the site didn't die last Summer (activity-wise). It was on a roll at the start of the year (at least compared to the two or three years before), kinda like MaxCoderz in early 2013, but then it went poof :/. But I guess that with fewer calc programmers around and the fact that forums as a discussion medium are dying in favor of Facebook, Stackexchange and Reddit makes it hard for more than like four sites to have significant activity. I still hope to see many RS projects see the light of the day, though.

I still hope to see many RS projects see the light of the day, though.

Yup, this is a greater wish from the whole community..

[NanoWar]

For TI stuff, I mainly commuicate via forums. How would I know about other projects? Github maybe... I often lurk Cemetech.

Yeah, I just don't get why newer Internet users don't care about forums as much anymore. It seems that everyone nowadays prefer centralized social networks with no customization and stuff, like with Facebook groups and sub-reddits. At least forums can have character or be about a specific topic or range of topics and it feels more like a family or community. Plus with Github, your calc projects risks being missed by forum users if you avoid cross-posting progress on forums. I once searched Github and found many dead Nspire projects I never heard of anywhere else before.

Yeah, I just don't get why newer Internet users don't care about forums as much anymore. It seems that everyone nowadays prefer centralized social networks with no customization and stuff, like with Facebook groups and sub-reddits.

"Newer internet users" are hip kids who only use those media for reasons like: they find forums too slow in this speed-craving world.

[chickendude]

I don't really use SE (afraid to ask a question), Reddit, or Facebook (afraid to sign up). I didn't realize people still used Facebook so much, i thought it had met a similar fate as MySpace (MyAdSpace). Though i suppose a lot of people are saying the same things we are reminiscing about mailing lists.

Yeah it seems younger people no longer have the patience to join new forums or stick around there and prefer to go to 1 or 2 site max.

As for Facebook, I think what kept them around as a discussion medium were groups. I don't like FB groups because it's like if you were using a forum with just 1 single section. There's no way to categorize stuff and no way to customize the site look.