Omnimaga
General Discussion => Technology and Development => Other => Topic started by: Keoni29 on June 19, 2013, 01:22:25 pm
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I just made this thingie in photoshop.
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:D That's awesome!
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That'd be really cool, but what if certain games use different controls?
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That'd be really cool, but what if certain games use different controls?
Then you rewrite the whole game! I mean why not? ^.^
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That'd be really cool, but what if certain games use different controls?
Maybe you could have a screen were you map the controls to your liking?
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Games that do not use these controls cannot be played. Simple as that. It's either this or a crapton of buttons:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Nokia_N-Gage.png)
There will be small buttons on the top for accessing important menu's such as archive, mem, apps,prgm etc.
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Nice, but I would make it black or dark gray instead of the same GBA color, replace 2nd with ALPHA then replace MODE with ALPHA, since most people use ALPHA for B/cancel and 2nd for A/confirm.
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Yeah... about that. My game uses 2nd and mode as fire buttons for left and right fire. Someone else's game uses all num-keys. See n-gage. The button wireing is a point of discussion. There's not a real standard yet.
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you mean mode/alpha, as alpha is also often used as b :P
but yeah, that is looking awesome O.O
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I guess maybe there could be options to configure the key mode. But of course, it is guaranteed that we can't satisfy every game's need, such as Fruit Ninja, for example (which uses the entire bottom half of the gamepad)
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I guess maybe there could be options to configure the key mode. But of course, it is guaranteed that we can't satisfy every game's need, such as Fruit Ninja, for example (which uses the entire bottom half of the gamepad)
Touch screen :P, XD.
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I guess maybe there could be options to configure the key mode. But of course, it is guaranteed that we can't satisfy every game's need, such as Fruit Ninja, for example (which uses the entire bottom half of the gamepad)
Touch screen :P, XD.
I was thinking more of a slide phone type thing for that. :P
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Consolized something? Hmmmm....
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/C64GS-Console-Set.png/320px-C64GS-Console-Set.png)
???
Seriously though, backlight and sound chip might be worth it. Throw in some support for SD cards and you have a nice handheld thingy.
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Hmm. SD cards could work if I put an spi header on the soundchip interface (it's a microcontroller running the soundchip program and a software communication protocol)
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Is this just some random photoshop project, or an idea you'd like to throw into the community, or are you actually going to make this?
I'd prefer the latter, of course :P
BTW: can the soundship only play music of compatible games or can it also play music of games using the linkport to play music?
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But yeah I think the color should be a bit different, else people would think it's a fake GBA or something. :P
SD card support would be great! Just switch between savestates and such stuff or maybe ROMs (although I doubt that TI would like if a third-party hardware could run their OSes).
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I am not sure. I do not own a TI83+. I'd have to buy one for this project. If I were to make this I should probably do some more research on which buttons are used by games and menu's.
My own TI84+ had a soundchip in it at some point and I know there is not a whole lot of electronics inside of a calculator. I could just cut off the entire keypad pcb and and rewire some buttons. I'm pretty confident it would fit inside a GBA case if I use a lithium ion battery.
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SD card support would be great! Just switch between savestates and such stuff or maybe ROMs (although I doubt that TI would like if a third-party hardware could run their OSes).
If you own the calc, and you use a ROM that you dumped yourself, it should be legal, no?
I'm pretty confident it would fit inside a GBA case if I use a lithium ion battery.
Rechargable?
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SD card support would be great! Just switch between savestates and such stuff or maybe ROMs (although I doubt that TI would like if a third-party hardware could run their OSes).
If you own the calc, and you use a ROM that you dumped yourself, it should be legal, no?
I don't see why it wouldn't be, it is your ROM after all.
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Yes, the flat battery pack kind of lithium batteries like the ones you find in iDevices.
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It would be, but I think it might depend of patents or something. For example, most NES patents expired in 2003, so since then, making NES clones like the RetroDuo or FC Twin is legal (although Nintendo tried to sue a company in 2005 once), but beforehand it could have led you into legal troubles. And that's despite the fact that those fake consoles emulated the games via emulators sometimes, using no Nintendo code or anything.
Also, back in the days, I remember that Nintendo sued Galoob for releasing the Game Genie (I think it was called Action Replay in Europe, right?), claiming it created derivative works from copyrighted material or something. Atari also sued a company for releasing adult games on the 2600. If companies sued for such things, I would be surprised if TI tried for a TI-83+ clone.
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Simple solution: ViewScreen calc, TI Keyboard, power expander for a desktop 83+. For a portable calc, use a slide-out full keyboard. Perhaps a vertical design, in a form factor like the GBC, will allow for easier gameplay on a sliding keyboard.
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Yes, the flat battery pack kind of lithium batteries like the ones you find in iDevices.
You actually find them in a lot of portable devices. And I'm glad it's the rechargable type, and not the flat, round silver type of lithium-ion batteries, because they are expensive and hard to find.
Will it also include an 15MHZ and possible even an overclocked CPU speed mode?
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We've proven stability at 20 MHz, so yes
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My intentions are not to clone a TI calculator, but to consolize an existing one.
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Yes, but a 15MHz mode is needed for some games. And an overclocking mode (perhaps by a turbo button?) might be a cool touch to it.
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If only an adapter could be made that people can put on their calc without much modding that would be cool. But I understand this would be hard to pull off, due to different key locations and lack of direct key wiring.
A consolized calc would still be cool, hardware-modding-wise, though. :)
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I made a gamepad for my calc once, but the microcontroller inside is not running very optimized code. It's polling for a signal and I should have used hardware interrupts for that. To play games using this thing people will have to add gamepad support in their game.
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funny how much conversation one photoshop image brings :P
But yeah, add some USB ports and a SC card would be nice indeed :D
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Usb? Then we're talking 84+.
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Hell yeah, why not the 84+ if possible? :P
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Because second hand ones go for €20 more than a 83+ on average. I am a poor hacker.
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uho, then cut usb out for now :(
Would be awesome, though :P
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I still got an expansion port on the side of my own calculator. I could rewire it so there are buttons mapped to it. I could make a button attachment thingy so there is a d-pad on the left and two buttons on the right for example.
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I wonder: how much more/less would it cost if you don't use a real 83+, but shoose other hardware, which is capable of executing z80 asm code (like the ez80), or which is powerfull enough to emulate the 83+? If you have more powerfull hardware, you can play better games on it, which would be good for the console part.
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Writing an emulator would be a lot harder than cutting up a TI83+ and putting it in a gba shell.
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That says the hard-ware modder >.>
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Unless you used an already existing emulator, but then you need much better hardware to run it than running a real ROM directly :P
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The eZ80 can run at 50Mhz and the pipeline technology makes it more efficient. There are versions with 16k of built in SRAM and 256k of flash. It has all sorts of interfaces including SPI and I2C which makes it easier to interface with serial LCD's, SD cards etc.
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Also, older 83pluses are separated into two PCBs, one half with the display and the other with the keyboard and brains. If you want USB, you can integrate a SilverLink. 84pluses are on one PCB with the display glued on, so the older 83pluses are a better choice if portability is desired. It would also make a slide-out keyboard easier.
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This is a pretty neat idea. I've actually thought about this as well. I was considering the 84 pocket (since it's smaller) and orienting it like a ti-92 or v200. The problem of course is fitting all the buttons and still managing to have a decent layout. :/
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That reminds me, one key layout could maybe have 2nd and ALPHA (or mode) mapped to the L and R buttons, since in modern shooters you shoot with L or R.
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For some reason when I first saw the thread title, what came to mind was some sort of atari jaguar-like controller hooked up to a 12" crt screen..
Or this. (http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2008/05/5-2-08-alphagrip-hc.jpg) Imagine rocking a case like that in math class :P
Looks pretty cool anyways.
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Haha that's what I thought as well, although I didn't see that gadget, but rather thought about the Atari Jaguar gamepad and the Atari 5200 one.
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Well benryves did make a TI-83+ output on a television! Perhaps a calc console would be a reality?!
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Oh I remember that it was awesome. He also made a TI-83 emulator for the Sega Master System too, right? TOo bad the TV thing was only for PAL TVs, though. D:
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Well benryves did make a TI-83+ output on a television! Perhaps a calc console would be a reality?!
I think it could be done, but only with the help of a graphics coprocessor (read: another calc)
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Now if only most people had two compatible calcs, games using an extra calc for sound or graphics would have a much bigger audience convincing people to make more games like that. :P
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I did that once: a sound engine that uses another calculator to generate the sound. There are multiple options for sound: just one calc, another calculator, my soundchip, a digital to analog converter or a midi interface. I have tried each and everyone of these and I have come to the conclusion that my soundchip is the best option I have come up with so far. Every soundchip will always sound the same and you don't need to carry around two calculators just to play one game. Calculators are more expensive than an Atmega 328 with some wires and capacitors. The midi option is also not very feasable since you don't have a midi keyboard with you all the time and it's not suitable for sound effects (unless your game is Super Pianoland Bros.)
Here are some video's on all the different sound options:
1 from calc
2
Early chiptune engine with two channels and drums blended with arpeggio's
(all notes of the song converted by hand and wavetable done by ear :P)
3 from calc
TRAXE (onCalc chiptune tracker with one channel)
4 from second calc
HeroCore's initial sound effects engine (uses a second calc for sfx)
5 midi
Uses an arduino
6
Very basic demo of my soundchip. Still don't have a decent music editor for it.
Most of these vids are 2 years old.
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True, the dual calc option is more for people who got parents who are paranoid about online transactions and the unavailability of the required equipment at physical stores near the person. And of course there is the issue of certain physical stores lcharging like $19.99 for a 2.5 to 3.5mm adapter, so even if everything was available there, it would cost you more for the entire hardware than the calc.
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I got my 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter for €2,50 at the local parts&stuff shop. (The guy who runs the place smokes cigars in his shop :P)
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Lol over here it's illegal to smoke at any public place (even cigarette) anymore except on streets or 3 meters away from public building/stores/shopping mall doors . And yeah I remember RadioShack over here sold them for around $4.99 or less and that was back when the Canadian dollar was still worth $0.80 or so. It's just The Source that is overpriced (although most stuff other than wires/hardware material is cheaper than RadioShack
There is another store selling more stuff in Quebec City, but it's in the middle of nowhere and takes like 2 hours to reach in city bus.
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There is another store selling more stuff in Quebec City, but it's in the middle of nowhere and takes like 2 hours to reach in city bus.
You don't have a car ? :P
Also for the smoking thing it's the same as in Québec over here. Though it's still raging to be caught in the middle of a nasty smoke cloud while peacefully walking in the street. Also, asthma. D:
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I think wilrandship was inspired by this topic and he is going to make a neat little portable device with two ez8 cpu's in it (similar to z80).
Check it out here: http://ourl.ca/19128/352468
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I live close to a Fry's, so I get adapters for $2, tops. It's great!
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Yea, adapters aren't too bad from what I've seen. Many cellphone headsets come with them, and in my area local Radio Shacks tend to have them as well.
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Yeah I saw, this is really cool. :)
You know, maybe one day there will be someone who will start some sort of company that makes clones of such devices or older computer into console form, instead of just clones of the NES, SNES and Sega Genesis. :P
Of course it wouldn't be as popular, though, and it would have to be named in a way that doesn't include TI in the name, nor the original model number. For example, the NES clones are called FC Twin, RetroDuo, Retron, etc, so maybe it could be called CalcGaming, RetroCalc or something.There is another store selling more stuff in Quebec City, but it's in the middle of nowhere and takes like 2 hours to reach in city bus.
You don't have a car ? :P
Nah. Too expensive for my current revenues. If I get a car, I'll either end up having to stop going out, buying games or anything else for 5 years with no exception in order to pay the car payments, and if it's an old cheaper car, then I'll spend that money into repairs every few month instead. Add to that insurances, which are more expensive for newer drivers. Since I live close to most essential stuff and have a decent bus transit to go out on day/evening times, I prefer to use that instead and be able to enjoy life.
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Nah. Too expensive for my current revenues. If I get a car, I'll either end up having to stop going out, buying games or anything else for 5 years with no exception in order to pay the car payments, and if it's an old cheaper car, then I'll spend that money into repairs every few month instead. Add to that insurances, which are more expensive for newer drivers. Since I live close to most essential stuff and have a decent bus transit to go out on day/evening times, I prefer to use that instead and be able to enjoy life.
100% agreed. Though you can still borrow someone's car.
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True, but then I need a driver license, which I didn't bother getting yet since it's expensive too and I feel it wouldn't be that useful if I only use it every 2 year or so.
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The problem with a clone device that emulates a TI calculator is the OS and the rom. Those are still property of TI, so you can't have them on your clone device. You would have to write a lightweight OS from scratch that can only play games and nothing else (so that would also mean dropping TI BASIC).
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Indeed that's a problem, and rewriting the OS from scratch would be out of the question. It might be best to just write some shell that uses MOS/DCS routines and even then you would still have to reprogram many BCalls from scratch since some games use TI-OS routines. Maybe a Grammer emulator could be done as well.