MLC 68K

[bfr]

The Multi-platform Language for Calculators (MLC) was something originally thought up and made by a programming group called the Epic Programming Studios (web archive link), and they made MLC interpreters and programs for the Casio AFX and TI-86.  Besides being multi-platform, it's faster than TI-BASIC and supports grayscale, tile-mapping, and has a lot of commands that would be helpful to game programmers, like collision-detection ones.  The group broke apart a few years ago, but I thought the MLC project was pretty cool, so I made a MLC interpreter for the TI-89/TI-92+/Voyage 200 calculators - MLC 68K (some Casio people also continued the project as well). 

It's nearly complete (it supports every MLC variable and expression type, allowing for things like: %I+=@ARY(3*%VAR)+3-*PTR), but I still need to fix a few bugs and things.  Here are some screen shots of MLC games originally written for the TI-86 interpreter running on the MLC 68K interpreter:



And here's a short demo showing grayscale and tilemapping in MLC 68K;



Here are some screenshots of MLC games running on various interpreters, and here is some general information about MLC as part of some documentation I'm working on.

I also started working on an on-computer IDE for MLC which will be able to generate MLC programs for all supported calculators in the appropriate file formats (.86p for TI-86 MLC programs, etc.)

Download MLC 68K Alpha 1 - MLC sample programs (written by the Epic Programming Studios) included - MLC programs on 68K calculators are stored as text files and can be ran on the homescreen by doing: mlc2("progname").

Note that I don't think any of the sample programs work completely, so if anybody could figure out what exactly is causing them to not work, that'd be great.   And remember, there's some online documentation that's nearly complete here if you need help getting started programming with MLC.

Hopefully I'll have a new release within a few weeks of MLC 68K that has some bugs fixed, is compressed, has a "tokenizer" for smaller and faster programs, and has better key layouts on the TI-92+ and Voyage 200.

[DJ Omnimaga]

Wow glad a version is avaliable. These screenshots brings me back old memories from EPS when Deimos and 4nic8 did full of MLC games. I hope one day I can make games for both platforms at the same time, even if a huge RPG or metroid game wouldn't fit well. Nice job

[Dantes]

Wow, I'd heard of a MLC 68k version still being worked on but I never thought I'd see it come to any form of fruition. Bfr, this is awesome. I was one of the original staff members (known as Unknown/The Unknown One/the_unknown_one) who thought of and started working on MLC. Though personally I never got around to doing more than testing, programming a few games (Shoot! is one I can think of) and discussing the platform/giving ideas (I was supposed to work on the TI-83+ version but I never got around to it), it was awesome and I'm glad it's still alive. For me, the problem was that it was just too ambitious, making an interpreter for all (or at least several) calculator models while keeping speed and all... It was a huge project, and we weren't able to pull it off. But I think we have like... The 86 version, 68k version, two Casio versions and the PC IDE, right? That's not bad. If I ever get the time and motivation for calculator programming again, maybe I'd make some games for it or even an TI-83/84 interpreter... Who knows what the future holds? Anyway, thanks for keeping this alive, bfr. If you're still working on it, keep us informed about updates please, I'd like to stay in the know about this.

[DJ Omnimaga]

welcome back dantes , EPS brings be back some old memories. It really brought the TI and Casio community together and without this group I doubt MLC would ever have happened.

[DJ Omnimaga]

MLC alpha doesnt work, I get an "ASAP Or Exec String Too Long" error when I type for example mlc("lights") on the home screen I tried on VTI 92+ and 89

EDIT: Nvm got it to work fine on calc. It appears either it's titanium only or it only supports AMS above 2.04 or something

[Speler]

Wow, I'd kind of assumed this project had died.  Awesome to see that it still exists.

[Art_of_camelot]

I'd say MLC has been sucessful. TI-86, several CASIO calcs, a TI-89 version nearing completion, and an unfinshed TI-83 version floating around somewehere. That ain't bad at all.

[Tribal]

Looks nice, I might have download this and try it sometime, and learn 68K sometime   

[uberspire]

Cool, I'll try this out on my TI-89.

Right now I've halted MLC for fx-9860G and am now working on MLC for my Falcon calculator.

[DJ Omnimaga]

Falcon calculator? Did a new company started doing graphing calcs? I only knew HP did, and Casio/TI still does.

[uberspire]

Falcon is a calculator that I'm designing (original design) and building. I have a thread about it at here: Falcon 8. I kind of got the idea from some guy at United-TI who wanted to build his own TI-86. I thought to myself, why not build my own with decent specs.

It uses MLC as one of it's native languages. Lua might be added later.

[DJ Omnimaga]

Oooh ok I see now. I remember on the EPS forums around early 2005 I think there was someone who asked for help to build a calc, altough he almost got banned because he was extremly rude. Sounds like a cool project. Will it be compatible with other calcs?

[ASHBAD_ALVIN]

this is really cool!  is it almost done yet?

keep up the great work!

[FinaleTI]

this is really cool!  is it almost done yet?

keep up the great work!

*cough*Necropost*cough*

[AngelFish]

HOLY NECROPOST, BATMAN 

Two years...