Published by tifreak8x 8 years, 5 months ago (2015-11-09T02:01:03+00:00) | Discuss this article

This past month has been quite the busy one for our growing community, and the list of projects shall surely reflect that. There have been some amazing projects started and released, and others that have received some updates. As I perused through all the projects, I remain astonished at what you programmers are able to make your calculators do. Here, check it out for yourself:

• Nspire Chess: Awesommee333 has released a chess game for the Nspire, with some nice, simple graphics to use. The engine doesn't check for check or checkmate, and is 2 player based with no bot to play against. Check out their topic if your Nspire is lacking in a good chess game!
  
  
• Kimp: KnightOS Image Manipulation Program: MaxLeiter, a newcomer to assembly programming, is building, as the name suggests, an image editing program for the KnightOS project. More information can be found in his topic.
  
  
• Spot: JWinslow23 has brought a Reversi type game to the 83+ family of calculators, written in Axe. The screenshots show off some pretty awesome graphics in shiny grayscale.
  
  
• PHASM: Epharius this past month released a shell for the TI-83 Premium CE and the TI-84+ CE. He have gotten a couple of items done on the to do list, with a few more to complete. Check into the topic and offer up suggestions and feedback so he knows what else his shell needs.
  
  
• Lazer 2: C4ooo has released an update to this fun little game, and has posted up a list of fixes that were completed.
  
  
• BallMaze Lite: In Ballmaze, a project by PT_, you direct a ball through a maze to get to the finish. The game uses simple graphics, and pulls off being a fun time waster in between classes. Check out his topic for some screenshots and more information!
  
  
• HoustonTracker 2: Member utz has come in swinging with this project, one that is sure to blow everyone away. Made for the 82, 83, 83+, and 84+ line of calculators (and their French counterparts), you can use this project, along with 2.5mm headphones or an adapter, to make some brilliant music and share it with your friends. The topic includes screenshots, a video, and a music sample of what this project is capable of. Make sure to visit this thread to have your mind blown!
  
  
• Escheron: Twilight over Ragnoth: Iambian and geekboy have been hard at work on their project, and boy does it show. They've posted up some more impressive screenshots showing off the maps, item shops, and so much more. Seriously, if you are not all jumping up and down for this game to show up, something could be wrong with you. And the game moved to alpha with a closed release, check out this thread for any bugs that might get found by the chosen few who are playing.
  
  
• TILP: Lionel Debroux has released an update to the popular calc to computer linker, adding a few new features, and improving upon others. Check the topic for the latest downloads and information!
  
  
• Billionaire CSE: This is a game being ported to the CSE based on a released version to iOS and Android. The objective is to build your empire through building up businesses and becoming the richest man on Earth.
  
  
• Alien Breed 5 E2: JamesV has come back with some updates to the achievement system, and added a quick save/quit game feature. Check the topic for a list of other things that have been done and updated since the last update in March-ish.
  
  
• Chemical Formula Balancer: elfprince has resumed work on this project, and is looking into how to speed some aspects of his program up. Take a look at his work, and see if you can help him out, I'm sure he'd greatly appreciate it.
  
  
• Mandragore: A project by Critor and Adriweb, this is an 80s based game for the C64 / ZX Spectrum / CPC etc. This was programmed in C for the CE version of calculators, and moves around at a really fast speed. Check out the topic for a youtube video and screenshots of the game in action.
  
  
• DocEdit CSE: PT_ has been working on a document editor, similar in usage and function to Word. He shows off many screenshots, documenting progress as it is made. Check out this project if you've been missing a good document editor in your life for your CSE calculator.
  
  
• Sorcery of Uvutu: RPG project by 123outerme, and a sequel to the project Dragonslid. Large plans are in store for this project, so check out the topic and read up on what 123outerme is up to!
  
  
• TI-Flow BW: jonbush has done some upgrades to his project, and even pushed it for release. From the screenshots, the game looks fantastic, so check out the topic for a download link to this game!
  
  
• Shades CE: Shades for the CE has been released upon the world, for those looking for something a little different. There are some screenshots posted up in the thread if you'd like to get an idea of what the game is like, so check it out.
  
  
• Doors CE: The ever-so-pressed for time KermMartian has, this past month, begun work on giving us a program version of Doors CS for the CE. A variety of progress has been made over the past month, all documented in the thread. Ideas are still being formulated on how to get some things done, since this won't be available as a flash app as the CSE version was. Bounce over to the topic to check out what's done, what's to come, and pass along any encouragement you can send over, I'm sure he'll be appreciative!
  
  
• Cesium: MateoConLechuga. Let me say now, you need an easier to spell name. Though you'd think with all the work I've posted about, I'd know it better. Regardless! Cesium is a surprise shell that broadsided Cemetech with its announcement, and the driving force to get KermMartian working on his. It offers a long list of features in a simplistic design UI, while still adding things like icons and information. For those needing a shell right away, this gem is one you need on your calculator!
  
  
• Quenya8x: elfprince13 has brought into the world a program allowing you to use your calculator (and apparently other keyboard types) to type elvish on your computer. If something like this interests you, you should probably pop off over to the thread and read up what elfprince has shared, along with watching the video, will most likely give you more information than I can offer.
  
  
• Omnicalc to FT3 converter: Another item by elfprince. This topic discusses in detail the workings of how omnicalc and floppy tunes works, and what is needed to do a conversion. A fascinating read, for anyone looking to make music on their calculator.
  
  
• CalcDCC: Kerm Martian is working on a way to combine two Arduino libraries, CmdrArduino and ArTICL, to let graphing calculators control model trains. Although he's currently working with the Arduino, he has also expressed interest in porting the project to TI's MSP432 Launchpad. Check out his topic if you are interested in Arduino programming or model trains, and you can also see the source on GitHub.
  
  
• MicroCat: Muessigb and gbl08ma, along with a group of other programmers, are making a retro-style game console. Built around an ARM CPU, 128x128 grayscale LCD, and 10-key controller, it will have a small memory and a small physical size, but aim to echo the games of yesteryear. Currently, the team is prototyping an operating system and a few sample games, and deciding between Lua and a custom language for games. Be sure to take a look at their topic and offer encouragement!
  
  
• Upgraded N Scale Amtrak P42 Locomotive: In other train news, Kerm Martian has been upgrading a Kato N scale model Amtrak P42 locomotive to have more (and more realistic) lights. The project is more of an EE and fabrication puzzle than a train puzzle, and he has nearly completed his modifications. Check out the project log linked above for the full details; he has said he'll post a video once the project is done.
  
  
• Photolithographic 3D Printer: Botboy3000 has given us some updates on his photolithographic 3D printer. Most recently, he has been soldering arrays of UV LEDs to perfboard, LEDs that will be used to cure a UV-sensitive resin into layers to create solids. Botboy3000 is currently trying to find an LCD panel that will let UV light through un-darkened pixels. Feel free to offer your thoughts if you have any experience with photolithography, or just think a homemade light-based 3D printer is a cool project.
  

I hope you found something that interested you to try, or at least leave some feedback (why not a bit of both?) in the list above. We'll be watching with interest through November as you all post your projects for the rest of us to enjoy!

Until next month, happy programming!

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