"BEST" *NEW* Game of 2013

[Omega-TI]

Is there an annual BEST NEW GAME category anywhere for the TI-99/4A? If not, I'd like to see a BEST PROGRAMS of the YEAR award. It would be great to see some of these guys get some major recognition.

 

If something like this could be organized, I'd be willing to PayPal a few bucks to chip in for a couple plaques or a trophy and the postage to send the winner the prize. Quite simply, without these guys, the TI would have withered and died on the vine.

 

For example, a category for software could even have subcategories like:

 

1) Best new UTILITY

2) Best new GAME (for example Titanium)

 

I'm not sure how often it would be given out, but a best new HARDWARE ITEM category would be cool too.

 

I'd love to see what you all have to say about this.

[+Vorticon]

Nice:) I assume the deadline in December 31st 2013?

I suggest we collect here all the new games or utilities produced in 2013 and in January 2014 have a poll to vote on the best program in each category.

It will up to the individual authors to place an entry for their program, although I suppose we could also do it for them if they are shy

The prize? Eternal fame! I am also willing to create a special section on the TI Gameshelf site to showcase these gems each year.

[Tursi]

The Jim Peterson award comes to mind, but certainly no harm in other competitions.

[OX.]

If H.E.R.O sees the light of day this year then I would say that - http://atariage.com/forums/topic/194355-upcoming-new-games-hero/, else Titanium up to now (pending updates). Lots of other games in development by posters on here that I wou;d love to see completed.

[unhuman]

Been thinking about starting a Compiled XB Game competition - but waiting on the final compiler... And, of course, just lethargy.

[Omega-TI]

I suggest we collect here all the new games or utilities produced in 2013 and in January 2014 have a poll to vote on the best program in each category.

 

Good idea, some people may have missed a release, or joined the forum late, etc. Where do you suggest all the entries go, so people can download & check them out?

[Omega-TI]

Been thinking about starting a Compiled XB Game competition - but waiting on the final compiler... And, of course, just lethargy.

 

That is a GREAT idea! What do you think of a sub category? Example:

 

1) BEST NEW GAME OF 2013

a) Assembly Language

b) Extended BASIC

c) ??

[Omega-TI]

The Jim Peterson award comes to mind, but certainly no harm in other competitions.

 

Oh, hey, never mind.... I did not know they already had a yearly contest for this stuff.

[RXB]

That is a GREAT idea! What do you think of a sub category? Example:

 

1) BEST NEW GAME OF 2013

a) Assembly Language

b) Extended BASIC

c) ??

 

Compiled only?

[Tursi]

Oh, hey, never mind.... I did not know they already had a yearly contest for this stuff.

 

It's not a contest, it's a yearly award - you have to be nominated for it and then the community votes. Not game-specific, either. It's not really the same thing - I say continue.

 

For categories, I'd say the best one right now is "completed", hehe.

 

[Omega-TI]

For categories, I'd say the best one right now is "completed", hehe.

ROTFLMAO!

[+Vorticon]

How about a pinned topic just for the programs themselves? That way it will be easy to locate and download the entries.

And programming language categories is likely a must, otherwise it will be an unfair field (XB versus assembly for example).

In the end though, any game developed for the TI is a nice gift to the community as they are getting all too rare unfortunately...

[mnbvcxz]

Categories would need to include the hardware on which the program runs, ie, console only, console plus minimem, console plus 32k ram etc.

Simplest is probably to use an emulator.

Or was the use of an emulator implied?

[Omega-TI]

Categories would need to include the hardware on which the program runs, ie, console only, console plus minimem, console plus 32k ram etc.

Simplest is probably to use an emulator.

Or was the use of an emulator implied?

 

Good question. That's something that'll have to be worked out and agreed upon with others input.

 

IMHO - Since it's for the TI-99/4A I think any submission SHOULD be able to run on a REAL CONSOLE with 32K and at least one disk drive (real or emulated). Additional points could certainly be awarded for extra utility like checking for and working with additional hardware like the F18A, SAMS , COM1 etc.

[Omega-TI]

How about a pinned topic just for the programs themselves? That way it will be easy to locate and download the entries.

And programming language categories is likely a must, otherwise it will be an unfair field (XB versus assembly for example).

 

A pinned topic would be GREAT if they would do it. Good idea.

I agree, XB & E/A would be like comparing apples to oranges, but how would Forth or compiled versions of programs fit into the mix?

[RXB]

A pinned topic would be GREAT if they would do it. Good idea.

I agree, XB & E/A would be like comparing apples to oranges, but how would Forth or compiled versions of programs fit into the mix?

 

Well you could class C, Forth and Assembly as almost the same as they are all compiled, that would include any version that is compiled from XB as it is no longer really XB anymore.

 

XB would be just XB or a variant of XB as they are all pretty much XB with some modifications. A conundrum in RXB as it will run any TI Basic programs unless EA support is needed.

 

Maybe we need:

1. Assembly

2.C

3. Forth

4. Compiled XB

5. XB

6. Basic

7. Other like Logo or Pascal.....

[Omega-TI]

Well you could class C, Forth and Assembly as almost the same as they are all compiled, that would include any version that is compiled from XB as it is no longer really XB anymore.

 

I think that is a damn good idea Rich, as well as Tursi's suggestion the program/project has to be completed (no Beta's).

Let's see how other's weigh in on this before anything gets locked in stone.

 

So far I see 3 major categories with two sub categories....

 

1) NEW Compiled Programs (completed) - Using any language such as Assembly, C, Forth or Extended BASIC

A) Game Category -- (examples: In The Dark, Titanium)

B) Utility Category

 

2) Extended BASIC Programs (completed)

A) Game Category

B) Utility Category

 

3) Hardware Hacks (assembled, working and reproducible with plans)

A) Let's see what develops if anything

 

What do you think of this so far?

 

Also. if it's okay with you guy's I like to include an UPDATED program category. Some guys are doing some amazingly fantastic work updating programs like CF2K and possibly even TELCO to work on multiple platforms/equipment. This deserves recognition in my book.

[Willsy]

Would be cool. Would be happy to knock out some games in Forth if there is sufficient interest, and time/family permitting. I'm playing a *lot* more guitar these days, and not doing so much programming.

 

Any games that I put together would be more in the vein of trying to show how to do it in Forth, in the hope that others will pick it up and give it a try.

[OX.]

Would be cool. Would be happy to knock out some games in Forth if there is sufficient interest, and time/family permitting. I'm playing a *lot* more guitar these days, and not doing so much programming.

 

Any games that I put together would be more in the vein of trying to show how to do it in Forth, in the hope that others will pick it up and give it a try.

 

*AHEM* Manic Miner? (Featuring an exclusive extra TI99/4A level)

Edited August 20, 2013 by OX.

[Omega-TI]

Would be cool. Would be happy to knock out some games in Forth if there is sufficient interest, and time/family permitting. I'm playing a *lot* more guitar these days, and not doing so much programming.

 

Any games that I put together would be more in the vein of trying to show how to do it in Forth, in the hope that others will pick it up and give it a try.

 

-- Switching: NOOB MODE ON --

I've never run Forth, never seen the program, I have no clue what is involved on a TI or in emulation or even how to load it, let alone how to get a copy of it. I'm always interested in something NEW for the TI though! Of course any new games are always of interest and I'm sure anything you come up with will be great. Just don't make the mistake of asking me for game ideas, I'm overloaded with them.

-- Switching: NOOB MODE OFF --

[+Lee Stewart]

-- Switching: NOOB MODE ON --

I've never run Forth, never seen the program, I have no clue what is involved on a TI or in emulation or even how to load it, let alone how to get a copy of it. I'm always interested in something NEW for the TI though! Of course any new games are always of interest and I'm sure anything you come up with will be great. Just don't make the mistake of asking me for game ideas, I'm overloaded with them.

-- Switching: NOOB MODE OFF --

 

H-m-m-m—TI Forth was placed in the Public Domain on December 21, 1983 and donated to all officially TI-recognized user groups for copying and distribution as they saw fit. I bought the manual and 90KB diskette at that time from the DC-area users group for $25 (charge was for materials and copy expenses). It was this programming language that kept me involved with the TI-99/4A all this time, with a TI-Forth-programming hiatus of maybe 10-15 years. I've always had one of my consoles and PEBs operating in the library for my kids' and grandkids' amusement/education. I used it all the time for quick and dirty calculations (usually trigonometric) when designing projects around the house.

 

The postfix (RPN) notation and stack usage were/are a deterrent for many, particularly those who had experience with other programming languages; but, TI Forth has been there since almost the beginning. Another problem for some with learning TI Forth was the fact that TI Forth is sector-based, not file-based, i.e., it reads/writes directly to disk, bypassing any file structure, for Forth screens (now termed blocks). @Willsy fixed this when he wrote TurboForth to use files for Forth blocks. TurboForth is also cartridge based, so there is more programming space available than with TI Forth and, in many respects, it is faster. TurboForth is also based on a later standard (Forth-83) than TI Forth (fig-Forth and Forth-79). I have since developed an implementation of TI Forth I'm calling fbForth (you've no doubt seen it in passing here on this forum) that also uses files for Forth blocks. I have a little more work to do on fbForth before I begin working on putting it into cartridge form, as well.

 

My second edition of the TI Forth Instruction Manual is in the TI-99/4A development resources thread of this forum. The TI Forth disk is available there where the manual is linked.

 

fbForth is available in the fbForth—TI Forth with File-based Block I/O thread.

 

I am confident that @Willsy will chime in on TurboForth.

 

...lee

[Omega-TI]

My second edition of the TI Forth Instruction Manual is in the TI-99/4A development resources thread of this forum. The TI Forth disk is available there where the manual is linked.

 

fbForth is available in the fbForth—TI Forth with File-based Block I/O thread.

 

I am confident that @Willsy will chime in on TurboForth.

 

...lee

 

I've of seen it in passing in this You Tube video when I was researching the F18A :

The fact that Forth will do 80 columns with the F18A really impressed me, I'm still chomping at the bit to buy and install an F18A, in fact the wait is killing me!

 

I have a couple of questions:

1) Are Forth cartridges available?

2) If so, how much do they cost and where can I get one?

 

While it looks a little complicated at first glance, I'll check out the links you mentioned as time allows. I'll also see what software is available for it as well. This aspect of the TI is ALL NEW TO ME.

 

One last question... any issues with a V2 Nano-PEB?

Edited August 20, 2013 by Kevan

[RXB]

How would they classify a GPL game?

 

Not Assembly or XB so unlike Forth or C that is pure Assembly and not written in XB but the language that makes XB, Basic, and Logo work?

[Tursi]

Performance probably means that only Basic/XB need to be broken into special categories, IMO. GPL is fast enough to play beside the assembly/compiled languages.

 

TurboForth is included in Classic99 under the Apps menu, so you can at least boot it up. ISTR a thread here to introduce people to it, so you can try typing in a few sample programs.

[Omega-TI]

How would they classify a GPL game?

 

Not Assembly or XB so unlike Forth or C that is pure Assembly and not written in XB but the language that makes XB, Basic, and Logo work?

My question is does it really matter? If you can load it with an E/A or with Extended BASIC what difference does it make to the end user? I believe playability (smoothness & flow) and quality of graphics and how fun the game is are one of the most important items to the end-user. That is why I like the COMPILED category idea.