TI-99/4A development resources

Don't forget to visit Ninerpedia; our wiki about the TI-99/4A. Check here.

If you are the owner of one of the programs or sites and do not want it posted, please let me know and it will be removed immediately.
Also if you think a reference to an important development resource is missing, then please let me know and I'll be happy to add to the list.

If you are new to the TI-99/4A or returning after a long time, then you might want to check out the TI-FAQ page here.

Latest update: May 9th 2013

1. EMULATORS

classic99 ^win
Windows-based emulator including TI-99 ROMs under license from Texas Instruments.
Debugger, memory heatmap, OS file support, support for 128K bank-switch carts, can create ROM/GROM cartridges, possibility to record AVI movies.
User manual is included.
(Author: Tursi)
MESS ^win+linux
Multiple system emulator that supports the TI-99/4, TI-99/4A, TI-99/8, and Geneve.
Emulates more than 400 systems. Requires ROMs from the original systems.
Features a powerful Debugger, most accurate emulation, support for 64K bank-switch carts / Gram Kracker / UCSD p-system card.
Possibility to record AVI movies.
Also see the MESS section in ninerpedia.
The MESS debugger documentation can be found here.
(Author: mizapf)
V9t9 ^win+linux
TI-99/4A emulator written in java. Has support for TMS9918A VDP, TMS9919 sound & TMS5220 speech.
Debugger included. V9t9 also supports the UCSD P-Code system.
Some of the advanced V9t9 features include: ability to save/restore emulator state, record & playback, support for V9938 VDP.
Requires ROMs from the original systems.
This emulator needs the Java Runtime Environment available for free at Oracle.
V9t9 discussion thread can be found here.
(Author: eswartz)
Win994a ^win
Windows-based emulator of the TI-99/4a
Good TMS9900 cross-assembler included. No debugger.
Ti994w ^win
Windows based emulator with 80 column support
TI-99/Sim ^linux
Linux-based software simulation of the TI-99/4A.
PC99 ^DOS
Commercial DOS-based emulator licensed by Texas Instruments to sell ROMs.

2. PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES

Assembler

Winasm99 ^win
Windows based TMS9900 cross assembler with GUI and ability to build 8K cartridge roms.
Is part of the Win994a emulator.
asm990 ^linux
Linux based cross Assembler for the TI 990 with optional TI-99/4A output mode.
You'll also need lnk990 a separate linker which can be found on the same page.
TIasm ^win
TMS9900 cross assembler TIasm will build 8K console (>0000) or cartridge (>6000) rom.
Is part of the old V9T9 emulator package. Source is included.

Basic

Power BASIC ^TI-99/4A
This is a port of the 'Power BASIC' interpreter used with the TMS9995-based Powertran Cortex machine.
It is written in pure assembly. Graphic commands, sprites and saving to disk are supported. Currently no sound and speech supported.
Power BASIC instruction manual available.

Fortran

99-9640 Fortran ^{TI-99/4A & Geneve}
The zip archive contains LGMA Products' FORTRAN v4.4 in both a version for the TI-99/4A and the Geneve 9640 computer.
Documentation in PDF format included. The discussion thread on Atariage can be found here.
Special thanks to: dano

Forth

Turboforth ^TI-99/4A
A brand new implementation of the Forth langugage for the TI-99/4A.
The Forth system itself is written in assembler and is optimized for speed.
It runs from the cartridge space so there's plenty of space for your program in the 32K memory expansion.
Click here for seeing some Turboforth video tutorials.
(Author: Willsy)

Pascal

Turbo Pasc'99 ^TI-99/4A
The zip archive has the patched version of Wiposofts Turbo Pasc'99 which you can run on your favorite emulator or on the TI-99/4A itself.
While Turbo Pasc'99 is not as complete an implementation of Pascal as the UCSD Pascal system, it does have the advantage of not requiring
any special hardware other than 32K RAM and a disk drive, and will likely meet the programming needs of most TIers.
Check here for an english translation of the german documentation.
This version is started by running the Editor Assembler #EA5 program image DSK1.TP99A
Special thanks to: Vorticon, apersson850, retroclouds and lucien2

3. TOOLKITS AND COMPILERS

Assembly language

SPECTRA2 ^TI-99/4A
Library for programming games in TMS9900 assembly language.
Has routines for handling tiles, sprites, sound & task scheduler.
Full documentation is included.
(Author: retroclouds)

TI Basic

Harry Wilhelms' Basic compiler ^TI-99/4A
The zip archive contains the disk with compiler and documentation. As this is a TI-Basic compiler no sprites are supported.
This is the compiler used to convert the great TI-Basic game Bouncing Babies to assembly language.
Here's a tutorial video by Opry99er showing how to compile a basic program.
And this is another video demonstrating the difference in speed between normal and compiled code.
(Author: senior_falcon)

Extended Basic

Harry Wilhelms' XB Compiler v2.1 ^TI-99/4A
New compiler for compiling Extended Basic programs. XB Compiler supports most Extended Basic features, including sprites.
The zip archive contains both the compiler and its documentation.
The development thread can be found here.
(Author: senior_falcon)
The Missing Link 2.0 (TML)  ^TI-99/4A
The zip archive contains "The Missing Link 2.0" and its documentation.  This was published by Texaments in 1990.
It gives the XB programmer easy access to the bit mapped features of the 9918 VDP.
Full color cartesian graphics, turtle graphics, sprite graphics (32 sprites with auto motion) are supported.
Text can be displayed on screen with fonts having sizes ranging from 4x6 pixels to 8x8 pixels.
The manual is updated with many previously undocumented features. A tutorial called Potatohead" is included.
There is a loader that embeds A/L programs in high memory - they can be saved as an XB program and run directly out of high memory.
(Author: senior_falcon)
My Little Compiler (MLC) ^TI-99/4A
Library for using assembler-like language & routines from Extended Basic.
Great for putting more power in Extended Basic programs. Now includes a precompiler for high-level language syntax. Demo Pong game and documentation included.
The MLC development thread can be found here.
Check out the video by rocky007 on his MLC based TI-99/4A port of Kaboom!
(Author: moulinaie)

4. UTILITIES

File transfer

TIImageTool ^{win + linux}
TIImageTool is a tool that allows you to open disk image files as used with many emulators, and to work on them with common disk operations (like cut/copy/paste of files).
It is particularly tailored for use with MESS but can also be used with other emulators.
Has support for v9t9 format, PC99 format, CHD format, working with files & directories, Archiver support (can process Archiver files on the images), ...
This utility needs the Java Runtime Environment available for free at Oracle.
Supports Cf7a+ card images.
(Author: mizapf)
TI99Dir ^win
TI99 filemanager for windows. Great for transferring disk images to the TI-99/4A.
Supports Cf7a+ cards and Cf7a+ card images.
Cf2k - Compact Flash 2000 ^TI-99/4A
Cf2k (Compact Flash 2000) is a file manager for the TI99/4a with a CF7A+ compact flash adapter.
With CF2k it is possible to protect/unprotect files, rename files/volumes, format volume, mount volume, copy/move/delete files,
execute program files, ...
Supports Cf7a+ cards.
TI99-PC ^win
The Windows software TI99-PC will read, write, format, catalog, copy and convert
TI-99/4A floppy disks on a PC. You will be able to transfer your real TI floppy disks
from/to the TI-99/4A.
CS1er tape conversion ^win
After your have converted your TI-99/4A cassettes to WAV soundfiles, you can use
this windows software to extract your programs as FIAD disk images for your
favourite TI-99/4A emulator. Detailed instruction manual enclosed.

Audio

ePSGMOD player ^TI-99/4A
Player for running PSG tunes composed with Mod2PSG2 tracker.
(Author: Tursi)
ModConvertPSG ^win
This program converts 4-channel NoiseTracker (and ProTracker?) MOD files into VGM files using only the PSG.
It produces sound chip data in VGM format, which is a standard format so it's easy to find players to test it with.
It's a very simple format that basically has timing information and the actual bytes that you send to the sound chip.
Here is a demo^video.
(Author: Tursi)
QBOX Pro ^win
QBOX Pro is the windows software that converts WAV files to LPC speech data for playback on the TI-99/4A speech synsthesizer.
This is a 16bit windows application but it still runs in Windows 2000/XP/Vista.
It requires the BWCC.DLL library which can be found here.

Graphics

Convert9918 ^win
Windows program for converting images into TMS9918A Graphics II (bitmap) mode.
Output is in TI-Artist format or raw image/pattern dump.
The article Modern Graphics on the 9918A^PDF gives an interesting overview on the techniques used in Convert9918.
(Author: Tursi)
Grapefruit ^win
This utility for Windows lets you convert graphics to text (programming language data statements) to be included
in your programs (basic, extended basic or assembler).
Supports double sized sprites. Includes code to demo character or sprite design. Includes 14 charactersets/examples to
work with. Has a built-in character editor, but still the idea is to work with your graphics in your favourite graphic
package (eg. Photoshop).
Turn on an 8x8 grid in your graphic software to assist you.
This utility needs the .NET framework available for free at Microsoft.
(Author: sometimes99er)
TI-99/4A Limelight Font Ripper ^win
With this windows tool you'll be able to extract/rip fonts from different file formats and save as a
image file for use in TI utilities like Magellan, CartographPC and Grapefruit.
It reads Commodore 64 fonts (*.64c), Nintendo Entertainment System fonts (*.nes) and TI-99/4A Classic99 VDPDUMP (*.bin)
A collection of more than 200+ converted fonts can be found here.
Here is a demo^video of Limelight.
This utility needs the .NET framework available for free at Microsoft.
(Author: sometimes99er)
GraphiCV ^{win/linux/osx}
Sprite Editor written in java. Draw your sprites on the PC and export them for use in Extended Basic and Assembler.
Also supports export to Colecovision C format.
Work with multiple sprite "layers" for creating multi-colored sprites.
Click here for the GraphiCV development thread on atariage.
This utility needs the Java Runtime Environment available for free at Oracle.
(Author: unhuman)
Magellan ^{win/linux/osx}
TI-99/4A map editor written in java. This is the updated, unofficial 1.5 version.
Draw your maps/screens on the PC and export them for use in Extended Basic and Assembler.
Has a rich feature set: Import character set from '.PNG' or '.GIF' file, copy & paste, drawing functions, Export in XB display merge format, etc.
Possibility to export maps as data statements for Extended Basic and Assembler, binary export also possible.
Click here for the Magellan development thread on atariage.
This utility needs the Java Runtime Environment available for free at Oracle.
(Author: The Codex)
Sprite Editor ^TI-99/4A
TI-99/4A sprite editor written in C99. Runs from Editor/Assembler #EA5.
Draw your sprites in an emulator or on the TI-99/4A machine.
The zip file contains both the files for use in emulator and a TI disk image for easy transfer to the TI-99/4A.
README file with detailed instructions included.
You can see the Sprite Editor at work building some sprites: Jet Set Willy^video and Parsec^video.
(Author: Willsy)
Patterns ^flash
TI-99/4A sprite editor written in Flash for many operating systems and browsers. Draw your sprites, export to clipboard and paste
patterns directly into program lines of emulated Extended Basic (Classic99 or MESS).
This utility needs Flash player available for free at Adobe.
Most have this installed already.
Here is a demo^video of Patterns.
(Author: sometimes99er)

Others

Notepad++ ^win
Notepad++ is a free source code editor that supports several languages.
Runs in Windows environment.
Notepad++ syntax highlighting file ^win
Syntax highlighting file for Assembler and Extended Basic to be used with the Notepad++ text editor.

5. MANUALS

Assembly language

Editor/Assembler reference manual ^{PDF + online}
The official Editor/Assembler reference manual. Note that this is not a tutorial for beginners.
Still, it's an essential manual when writing assembler for the TI-99/4A.
The Scribd online version can be found here.
TMS9900 Microprocessor Data Manual ^PDF
Data Manual on the TMS9900 16-bit processor. The TMS9900 is the CPU used in the Texas Instruments TI-99/4A Home Computer.
Contains instruction execution times, opcode size, etc.
Guide for ROM command module ^PDF
Description on how to write software that runs from cartridge ROM.
COMPUTE!'s beginner's guide to assembly language on the TI-99/4A ^{PDF + online}
The Lottrup book. The only manual available today focusing on programming games in TMS9900 assembler.
The examples in the book are for the Mini Memory line-by-line assembler which is rather limited.
The manual also contains a few errors. Check here for the corrections.
Nonetheless this book is a must-read for everyone seriously interested in writing assembler games for the TI-99/4A.
The Scribd online version can be found here.
Introduction to Assembly Language for the TI Home Computer ^PDF
The Molesworth assembly language introduction book.
Covers VDP communication, keyboard reading, file access and a lot more.
The Art of Assembly series ^PDF
The full series of articles by the late Bruce Harrison compiled as PDF. Over 600 pages, very well written and thorough.

GPL / OS (Monitor)

GPL Programmers Guide ^PDF
The original GPL programming reference manual from Texas Instruments.
Covers all opcodes and advanced stuff like coincidence detection, I/O routines, etc.
TI-Intern ^PDF
Details on "Monitor", the OS of the TI-99/4A. Disassembly of console ROM/GROMS and GPL interpreter.
Has details on interrupt routine, utility subprograms, basic interpreter, etc.

Basic / Extended Basic

COMPUTE!'s Programmer's Reference Guide to the TI-99/4A ^{web + PDF}
TI-Basic programming manual touching graphics and sound.
Note that registration at Scribd is required for downloading the PDF version.
COMPUTE!'s TI Collection volume One ^{PDF + online}
The Scribd online version can be found here.
Best of TI-Basic programming by C. Regena
COMPUTE!'s First Book of TI Games ^{web + PDF}
About 29 explained programming listings of TI Basic and TI Extended Basic games.
Note that registration at Scribd is required for downloading the PDF version.
Texas Instruments TI-99/4A user reference guide ^PDF
The official user reference guide with details how to setup and connect your TI-99/4A.
Includes an introduction on the TI-BASIC programming language.
Extended Basic reference manual ^PDF
The official extended basic manual, explaining the 40 new or expanded commands, sprites, etc.
Extended Basic online reference ^web
Online manual with command lookup functionality.
MG Night Mission ^PDF
Advanced tutorial on how to program an arcade game in Extended Basic.
MG Smart Programming Guide for Sprites ^PDF
Advanced tutorial on how to efficiently use sprites in Extended Basic.

LOGO

TI-LOGO programming manual ^{PDF + online}
The official TI-LOGO programming manual.
The Scribd online version can be found here.

Forth

TI Forth Instruction Manual "2nd Edition 2013" ^PDF
2012 enhanced version of the original TI Forth Instruction Manual in PDF format by Lee Stewart.
Look here for details on manual improvements, etc.
The updated TI-Forth system disk can be found here.

UCSD Pascal

The UCSD Pascal manual package ^{ZIP + PDF}
The official UCSD Pascal programming manuals. The zip file (70 megabytes) contains all manuals in PDF format.
Here are the PDF manuals for online viewing: Compiler, Editor, Filer, Utilities, Assembler, Linker, p-code card
The UCSD system disk images in v9t9/MESS format can be found here.

Graphics, sound & speech

VDP Programmer's guide ^PDF
The official programmer'a guide for the TMS9918A and its variants. The 9918A is the Video Display Processor
chip used in the TI-99/4A and several other home computers + game consoles of that era.
SN76489 sound chip datasheet ^PDF
Data sheet for the SN76489 sound generator. The TMS9919 in the TI-99/4A is close to being identical with the SN76489.
TMS5220 Speech Synthesizer Data manual ^PDF
Data manual for the TMS5220 chip used in the TI-99/4A speech synthesizer device.

6. TUTORIALS

Assembly language

Building a multi-bank ROM image ^PDF
Tutorial on compiling a 32K bank-switched cartridge ROM image starting from assembly source code (deref utility included).
How to implement an assembly sound player for XB ^web
Very well written tutorial on how to implement an assembly sound player for Extended Basic.
It covers the tools needed and steps involved.
Commented assembly source codes
Not a tutorial in the classical sense, but the commented source codes of the below games should help you get the idea.
Pitfall! source code  ^web

Munchman source code  ^PDF

TI invaders source code  ^PDF
We now have the OCR'ed and tweaked source code ^TXT available & ready for assembly with Winasm99. Thank you Stuart!

7. VIDEO TUTORIALS

TMS9918/TMS9928 Video Display Processor

TMS9918/9928 video modes ^video
Video tutorial explaining the supported graphic modes of the video processor used in the TI-99/4A.
TMS9918/TMS9928 Sprites and Characters ^video
Video tutorial about the use of sprites and character patterns in the different video modes.
TMS9918/TMS9928 How to create a bitmap title screens ^video
Video tutorial on how to create a bitmap screen for games.

Speech Synthesizer

Convert WAV file for playback using speech synthesizer ^video
Video tutorial on how to use QBOX Pro to convert a 8kHz mono WAV file to LPC speech data
for playback on the TI-99/4A with the speech synthesizer device.
It shows how to embed the LPC byte stream into your own assembly language program.

Basic Compilers

The Wilhelm Basic compiler ^video
Video tutorial on how to compile a basic program to assembly language.
(Author: Opry99er)

GPL

GPL HOW 2 SERIES ^video
A complete series on how to program GPL (Graphics Progroamming Language) on the TI-99/4A.
Each tutorial has its own support package with example code, GPL assembler, etc.
Video tutorials done by Rich, the programmer of Rich Extended Basic.
(Author: RXB)
- GPLHOW2A - Introduction ^{video / zip}
- GPLHOW2B - Sprite demo ^{video / zip}
- GPLHOW2C - How to make a Screen Editor like TI Writer or Editor Assembler ^{video / zip}
- GPLHOW2D - Editor Assembler TI BASIC support.^{video / zip}
- GPLHOW2E - DMII cartridge upgrades and how GPL works ^{video / zip}
- GPLHOW2F - TI Basic to GPL. Converting a TI Basic program to GPL ^{video / zip}
- GPLHOW2G - TI Basic CALL SOUND to GPL ^{video / zip}
- GPLHOW2H - Simultaneous sound lists and interrupt timer in GPL ^{video / zip}
- GPLHOW2I - XB2GPL demo of a XB game Baloons converted into a GPL program ^{video / zip}
- GPLHOW2J - Update to GPLHOW2I and adds a automatic music to the game from the last demo ^{video / zip}
- GPLHOW2K - How to make XB Program Image files into I/V 254 files ^{video / zip}

File transfer

(TI99->PC) RS232 File Transfer ^video
Video tutorial on file transfer from the TI-99/4A to the PC using a serial connection cable.
(Author: Opry99er)
(PC->TI99) RS232 File Transfer VIEW PART 1 / VIEW PART 2 ^video
Video tutorial split in 2 parts dealing with file transfer from the PC to the TI-99/4A using a serial connection cable.
In detail: DL a game from TI Gameshelf, Use ARC303G to unarchive it, Test in Classic99, Transfer using QModem and MFM, Running game on TI.
(Author: Opry99er)

8. WEB SITES

TI-99/4A @ wikipedia
Introduction and basics of Texas Instruments TI-99/4A Home Computer.
ninerpedia
Wiki with information on MESS and its multicart format (RPK). Home of the TI-FAQ.
Thierry Nouspikel's Tech Pages
Probably the best TI hardware and software tech page. It has a wealth of technical details on all things TI-99/4A.
This includes GPL, GROM, keyboard scanning, speech, etc.
You can also download the full site as a zip file for offline viewing.
Mainbyte's home of the TI-99/4A
Very good tech site with many detailed pictures and reference area.
Includes various projects for upgrading your TI-99/4A, e.g. build a supercart cartridge.
Jon's hexbus page
Several hardware projects including pictures. Home of the 64K bank-switched cartridge project.
(Author: acadiel)
[Code|Hack|Create]
New website run by Matthew of the Atariage group. The site covers many new hardware projects as the F18A FPGA based VDP and Bank-switch mini 256K.
There's also a store where you can buy cartridge PCB's and other funky stuff.
Author: matthew180
The nanoPEB & CF7+ Website
The official website. Has the documentation, tools and some source code of the popular TI-99/4A Compact Flash device.
TI projects page
Several hardware and software projects for the TI-99/4A by Fred Kaal.
Home of TI-99Dir and TI99HDX.
TI-99/4A Home Computer Book Archive
A new site where you find many books about the TI-99/4A not seen elsewhere.
(Author: airernie)
TI-99/4A Game Shelf
Provides a gallery of interesting games with images of the opening screen as well as an
in-play snapshot, along with a brief review tested on a real TI 99/4A system. Hardware
requirements are also listed. Has many good Extended Basic games.
(Author: Vorticon)
WHTech
WHTech is the primary archive - though it's a bit overwhelming.
But pretty much all software, hardware docs, etc, are available there.
It's undergoing a reorganization at the moment to hopefully make it more useful.
Navigate WHTech using PEEKBOT
Alternate interface that allows you to view/download the contents of files stored in disk images on WHTech.
99er.net
Site with useful file archive and forum functionality.

9. LIST GROUPS

YAHOO! TI-99/4A list group 1
YAHOO! TI-994A list group 2
YAHOO! TMS9900 programming list group
The above list groups are currently the main meeting point for the TI-99/4A community.
Search and you will find. Ask and you will get answers.
Registration is required for posting.
comp.sys.ti
Covers all TI devices, including calculators.

Edited by retroclouds, Thu May 9, 2013 12:37 PM.

kroy2049, on Mon Dec 7, 2009 3:10 AM, said:

Noted, I've just adjusted the wording a bit. I also just checked the debugger page at MESS wiki;
The debugger really has some features I didn't think were there. Cool :cool:

I'll also try to be more objective

Although MESS does not have a "memory heatmap" as Classic99, you gotta love the flexibility of MESS’ watchpoints ...

Examples:

hotspot 0,10
Looks for hotspots on CPU 0 using a search buffer of 16 entries, reporting any entries which end up with 250 or more hits.

hotspot 1,40,#1000
Looks for hotspots on CPU 1 using a search buffer of 64 entries, reporting any entries which end up with 1000 or more hits.

wp 1234,6,rw
Set a watchpoint that will halt execution whenever a read or write occurs in the address range 1234-1239 inclusive.

wp 23456,a,w,wpdata == 1
Set a watchpoint that will halt execution whenever a write occurs in the address range 23456-2345f AND the data written is equal to 1.

wp 3456,20,r,1,{printf "Read @ %08X\n",wpaddr; g}
Set a watchpoint that will halt execution whenever a read occurs in the address range 3456-3475. When this happens, print Read @ <wpaddr> and continue executing.

temp0 = 0; wp 45678,1,writeval==f0,{temp0++; g}
Set a watchpoint that will halt execution whenever a write occurs to the address 45678 AND the value being written is equal to f0. When that happens, increment the variable temp0 and resume execution.

:cool: