Published by KermMartian 1 month, 1 week ago (2024-09-01T17:26:50+00:00) | Discuss this article

As Summer 2024 draws to a close and people return from vacations or get ready to go back to school, we look back on the calculator and computer software and hardware projects that Cemetech's members worked on in August. As is often the case, we fielded an influx of new users who either recently got a new calculator or who picked their calculator up after the summer break, and we've seen some impressive projects started by these newcomers. Of course, the existing vanguard of users hasn't slacked on their usual passion and productivity, and we have a host of exciting project introductions and updates to share. Without further ado:

• Based - A Base Converter for the TI-84 Plus CE: New Cemetech member Voodoo1455 wrote a base converter for the TI-84 Plus CE, for positive bases between 2 and 32. Although it's not the first flexible base converter we've seen, it may be the one with the best interface: instead of navigating menus or answering a series of prompts to chose the from and to base and the value to convert, you enter your arguments at a command line separated by colons. It also handles decimals, not just integers, so if you need to convert plenty of numbers between different bases quickly, give Voodoo1455's converter a try!
  
• Basic Basic Revolution: The Graphical: StephenM announced that they're rewriting the graphics for this DDR-style rhythm game in Celtic CE, making it simultaneously faster and more beautiful. The process is still in progress, so if you have encouragement or opinions about the pre-Celtic CE version, be sure to share them in the thread.
  
• BBR Chart Editor: Relatedly, StephenM completed and uploaded a "chart" or song editor for Basic Basic Revolution, compatible with the original text-based version and the more recent graphical version. If you play BBR and want to create and edit songs, this is the tool you'll need.
• Cahute, a toolset for protocols and file formats used with CASIO calculators: Although Cakeisalie5's post count is low, their contributions to the community are not, embodying our mantra of "quality over quantity". Around 2016-2017, they created a variety of tools for Casio calculators, including transfering files to and from many different models' main and storage memories, recording Casio calculators' screens, and flashing the operaating system. If you're a Casio power user, this suite of tools may make your life a lot easier.
• Calc-Kill Extreme: linkjt9 finished and released this arcade-style fighting game for the TI-84 Plus CE, including some rebalancing from player feedback. It's written in ICE and makes great use of the language's graphics features; if you're a fan of fighting games, you owe it to yourself to check it out.
  
• CEaShell: A Shell for the TI-84+ CE: TIny_Hacker and Roccolox Programs have been diligently tracking down bugs in this increasingly popular TI-84 Plus CE shell, including a downright obscure one that interfered with the Probability Simulator app working correctly. They have also been adding some quality-of-life fixes: if you haven't tried this attractive and simple choice in TI-84 Plus CE shells, why not do so now?
• Celtic CE Catalog: Voodoo1455 added a few updates on their ongoing progress, including their challenges in word-wrapping long explanatory text to fit on the screen.
• Citadel: A TI-84+CE Roguelike [C]: kilo reassures us that this project is far from abandoned, even though their last update was seven months ago. Mobs can now damage the player, there's a new menu system that drives an inventory, and like all good programmers, they've been refactoring their code as they go. The screenshots show a lot of progress, so if roguelikes are your cup of tea (or even if not), go encourage kilo to maintain their momentum!
  
• CosmoCE: A Cosmodread-based roguelike for the TI-84CE: Speaking of roguelikes, DaniNyaaa showed off a graphics mock-up on emulator, on-calc, and then began fleshing out the main and new game menus in actual code. DaniNyaaa's been thinking aloud about aspects of game design in the thread, so feel free to chime in with your thoughts and feedback!
  
• DecBot4: merthsoft brought DecBot4 online on the first of the month, and Cemetechians have wasted no time resuming distributing karma like candy. Don't know what I'm on about? Check out our Discord server, linked to IRC on EfNet in the #cemetech channel, or via the SAX chat app built-into this page for logged-in users at the side (desktop) or bottom (mobile).
• Elite for the TI-84 Plus CE: euphory shared that they have uploaded some updates to this project's Github and that it continues. There are no new screenshots at this time, but the ones in the topic's first post show a very promising project, so don't hesitate to give euphory your encouragement and feedback.
• IC0NPRO - Icon Creator for TI84+ CE: Cars and Ice Cream was inspired by TIny_Hacker's Spriter program to create a tool that is focused specifically on program icons. Like many recent graphical TI-BASIC programs, it takes advantage of Celtic CE, and the author is now working on making it able to import and replace programs' existing icons.
  
• Katib Text Editor: StephenM wrote a tiny command-line text editor in Lua, tested with Lua for Linux but possibly functional on other platforms that support Lua as well. We don't see as many computer projects here on Cemetech as I would like, so be sure to check out StephenM's work (and maybe post your own computer projects).
• lwIP Library with CDC-Ethernet for the TI-84+ CE: ACagliano posted an update on this networking stack for TI calculators, a port of the open-source lwIP project started by commandblockguy. Many of the improvements are to the API, but it now also supports up to 8 interfaces and has better error handling, and TLS support continues to improve. ACagliano has been working tirelessly on this project despite juggling an internship at the same time, and he has a request for help with two math functions, so check out the topic and lend your assistance if you can!
• My new ti-basic game: Early in the month, guywithathing shared their progress on a new project, a puzzle game with aspects of Cell Machine by Sam Hogan and Laser Mayhem. The author is currently looking for ideas for the game's name: if you have any inspiration, post in the topic.
• Psilocybe, a mushroom themed deckbuilding RTS: Arcturex77 posted updates about this GameMaker-powered, Supreme Commander-inspired, mycelium-themed game. Mycelium now spreads, your mushroom "towers" can spawn units, you can place these "towers" via cards from your deck, and dynamic recoloring of the game's major components is supported. If you have feedback, suggestions, or compliments, be sure to post in the thread.
  
• QIXBALL: HydrideGS announced a TI-BASIC game for the TI-84 Plus CE, a port of what in my Windows 95 days was known as Jezzball. It's an impressive effort for TI-BASIC, and if you have any encouragement or optimization tips, don't hesitate to share them.
  
• Theory to fixing TI-84 Plus CEs that won't charge.: TheLastMillennial has been investigating this annoying issue, where TI-84 Plus CEs new or old have batteries depleted so far that they can't charge. Most TI customers stuck with such batteries need to send them in for replacement, but TheLastMillennial has been trying to come up with easier alternatives. There are some tests you can run yourself in the topic, so lend your aid, adventurer!
• TI-84 Plus CE / CSE Low Battery Screen Generator: HydrideGS became enchanted by the low battery screen on the TI-84 Plus CE/TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition, and built a meme-generator-style tool that lets you generate your own low battery screen. If you're a calculator-themed memelord, here's your chance to diversify your portfolio.
• TI-Planet's "Project Builder" with online CE C/C++: Adriweb announced a new addition to this web-based TI program editor, wherein you can drag-and-drop .8xp files to view their contents directly in the tool. It's a useful addition, especially if you're curious how any existing program works.
• TI-Toolkit bot on Discord: Adriweb created a Discord bot to provide information on TI-8x-family tokens, including their history, byte equivalents, and how they're generally represented in computer-side TI-BASIC editors. This is quite a useful tool, especially for TI-BASIC editor developers, so don't forget that it's available if you frequent our Discord server, and be sure to check out the TI-Toolkit information from which it draws.
  
• TI Toolkit Token Sheets: Speaking of TI Toolkit, its developers have taken TokenIDE's token lists, one of the community's most authoritative set of token lists that is used in places like SourceCoder 3, and added lots of extra information. For example, they now include the history of the token and more of the ways that tokens are typically rendered on computer and calculators. If you're building a next-gen calculator program editor or viewer, they encourage you to draw from this comprehensive source.
• Train Simulator Controller: KermMartian has been sharing regular updates on his project to build a physical train console to control Train Simulator, philosophically akin to the realistic flight decks that flight simulator enthusiasts have been known to create. This month, he showed off how he disassembled and shipped a power/brake controller (a combination of the main controls that make a train go and stop), then how he reassembled it and tested a prototype controller to integrate it into Train Simulator. If like Kerm, you've always dreamed of driving trains, check out the detailed blog posts and videos.
  

Seven projects were finished this month, so get you're vote in for the one you think is the best project of August 2024. We don't expect September to be any less busy around here: don't forget to post new projects and project updates in the Your Projects subforum, and you'll see your project in this space next month!

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