When listening to my old DJ mix called hardcore armageddon a few days ago, I got inspiration to do a new remix of my old song Firestorm. This is the 4th remix of it and the 2nd UK hardcore version. It tries to remain true to the original, while incorporating my new UK hardcore styles.

I hope you like


(Original 2003 version:

2007 eurodance remix:

2007 UK hardcore remix:

)

This is not really a project but rather an idea (since that sub-forum is also for ideas) and that idea was attempted way back in 2007 and in case someone or myself ever needed inspiration for an RPG, I thought I would share that story with newer TI community members who are not very familiar with older calculator projects. Similar ideas such as Omnimaga: The RPG, were suggested or started a few years after this happened, but never came to fruition either.


So basically, in June and July 2007, the last of three failed attempts at creating a 4th RPG in The Reign of Legends series happened with ROL4 and this time, the game was to feature a job system like in Final Fantasy III for the NES and V for the SNES. The game featured 6 kingdoms protected by an elemental crystal, each kingdom being located near one of them, and they were in danger if you didn't stop the Void from engulfing the world. Only 1 hero had the power to hold the holy sword that can defeat it, but that hero had vanished a long while ago.


However, what was particularly special about this game is that the storyline was almost entirely based on TI community events of the time, just re-incarnated into a fantasy adventure tale inspired from various Final Fantasy games. The 6 kingdoms were named after the big TI community forums and websites of the era: Unitia (the first to be visited), Omnitia (nearly deserted on first visit), Cemetia, Maxitia, Revitia and Titia, and the element that each kingdom represented was chosen after the respective site color scheme of the time (for example, since United-TI forum theme had blue, then Unitia represented water). The vanished hero name was my original nickname spelled backwards, missing 1 letter, while two of the playable characters had names heavily based on a temporary set of IRC nicks and usernames I used in July to hide my real identity for a while. The world, or at least the 6 kingdoms, were pretty much the community.

The middle part of the story was not exactly based on TI community events, but it involved saving the world, while in the TI community, we tried to prevent its death. During the intro, two warriors would find a mysterious warrior lying on the ground with a sword that would eventually be revealed as the holy sword and as they wander back to the kingdom of Unitia, they would discover that the crystals are weakening and you must get their power and find the hero of light to fight the void before it's too late. You would find Omnitia, the kingdom ruled by the hero of light who vanished, almost deserted, as the people left for Cemitia, Maxitia and Unitia until the hero returns, although they would return as the three warriors clear the cave separating the kingdom from Unitia from monsters. As you progress, you would get help from NPCs, face your usual RPG dangers and get new jobs from crystals, as you learn that the hero of light might be somewhere close to the Kingdom of Titia, where the final encounter shall occur. The question is whether the hero of light would appear or not.


But unfortunately, after 2005, I didn't manage to finish a full new RPG due to less motivation to code so that game in particular never got further than planning stages, although the entire in-game menu was done (see Omnimaga downloads section). But this was the idea behind the game and just in case somebody (most likely not me, as I have other RPG ideas, unless I decided to revive ROL4 as a KuroRPG project when that software gets translated to English) who was interested into making a new Omnimaga-themed RPG or something like that, maybe that could be an idea for a story?

As you probably noticed in the last two years, the rate at which I have been posting news articles about TI, Casio and HP community releases has slowed down dramatically and the features pending queue often piling up to ridiculous proportions, resulting into news articles featuring dozens of games at a time, often released several months before. This is mostly because of how tedious the task of monitoring community releases accross multiple websites and writing long articles about them is. The news article I posted last month featured 19 calculator utilities. This next one, which covers games, is my final coverage of calculator releases in the community, so future news requests have to be posted there. It doesn't mean that I will no longer let staff know if I see notable stuff when visiting another calculator website, but as I have been debating to do since last Summer, I won't be writing the articles anymore.


So without further ado, here are 32 calculator games you might have missed over the last year and/or that deserves mention before it's too late:

TI-84+

-Super Smash Bros Open (by Hayleia): http://www.omnimaga.org/super-smash-bros-open/

It was inevitable that this game would make it on this list, even in early demo stages. Being developed at the same time as a 3DS version came out and with a Wii U version on the horizon, this particular TI-84 Plus game, assuming progress doesn't stall halfway through, will definitively be a major TI calculator hit! The TI community is invited to create their custom playable characters, for which tutorials have been posted in the SSBO sub-forum above. The game supports link play and via Badja's scaled sprite routines, the game camera zooms in in the same fashion as classic Smash games.

-GLIB (by TheMachine02): http://www.omnimaga.org/ti-z80-calculator-projects/glib-a-graphics-axe-3d-librairy/msg383996/#msg383996

This one isn't really a game and the download is not a playable demo either, but it's a promising 3D engine that has recently been revived. Even at 6 MHz, certain features still runs fast enough. It is still early for a game news feature since it lacks a downloadable game demo, but given how amazing this engine is and the fact it's my last feature news, I'm putting it in the list anyway so you can check it out!

-IkarugaX (by Matrefeytontias) http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/fileinfo/457/45712.html

This mention was a long overdue. This is a bullet hell space shooter like those Danmaku games and it runs extremely fast considering the extreme amount of bullets and ships on the screen. A must try if you haven't already! A TI-Nspire version, called nKaruga, is also underway.

-Particles (by Xeda112358) http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/fileinfo/457/45799.html

Another of those particles program where you drop particles that acts like real water, but most of them only displayed 255 particles at once. This one by Xeda112358 displays thousands!

-Axe 3D Tunnel (by Matrefeytontias) http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/fileinfo/457/45784.html

Another Matrefeytontias game. This one is a Tunnel game but in 3D and it looks pretty impressive and smooth. It might remind you a bit of some Star Fox stages.

-Axe Worms Demo (by Matrefeytontias) http://www.omnimaga.org/ti-z80-calculator-projects/(axe)-worms-name-subject-to-changes/msg385504/#msg385504

Yet another one, this time a Worms platformer where you must aim and shoot at your enemies, which destroys the land in the process.

-Pokémon Battle Factory (by LAT10S) http://www.cemetech.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=220982#220982 http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/fileinfo/461/46103.html

There are many Pokémon games for the calculator, but this is one of the few that stand out. This one isn't a full exploration RPG, but rather a battle arena game. But it's probably the most polished arena-based calculator RPG out there!

-Source Seeker 84+/CSE (by 123outerme) http://www.omnimaga.org/ti-z80-calculator-projects/(to-be-named)-dungeon-crawlercollection-game/?topicseen

Play as an unarmed civilian, living in the nation of Uvutu, who wishes to return peace to the world after it has been tipped by the Terrors, a group with a mysterious weapon. Collect the Ancient Uvutian artifacts, and search for The Source to once again live in balance! Solving puzzles, defeating enemies, and solving puzzles with enemies, you must get to the Terrors's castle and stop their reign. With a real-time fighting system, complex weapon mechanics, compatibility between both non-color and color calculators using the same files, a suspenseful story and more, Source Seekers is sure to be fun!

-Maximum Security Demo (by Deep Thought): http://www.omnimaga.org/maximum-security/demos-and-bug-reports-21366/msg391694/#msg391694

Deep Thought comes back with another platformer, this time in Axe, with heavy inspiration from big physics-intensive Axe platformers. A must try!

-TI-2048 (by JWinslow23) http://www.omnimaga.org/ti-z80-calculator-projects/ti-2048-by-josiah-w

There have been many 2048 clones for TI a few months ago, but this one started by JWinslow23 is probably one of, if not the, best looking one.

-Bouldash (by Zemmargorp) http://www.omnimaga.org/ti-z80-calculator-projects/(axeasm)-bouldash/

Back in 1997, the TI community was rocked by Jimmy Mårdell's many calculator games, including a Boulder Dash clone. 17 years later, Zemmargorp comes up with another clone, featured animated graphics and faster speed. A level editor is also available.


TI-84+CSE

-Decimal Defender (by Kerm Martian) http://www.cemetech.net/programs/index.php?mode=file&id=1056

There was a space invasion of Kerm color 84+ games using xLIBC a while ago and this one was one of them. Educational and entertaining at the same time.

-Black Jack (by Zeldaking) http://www.omnimaga.org/ti-z80-calculator-projects/(cse)-(xlibc)-blackjack/

xLIB 84C rendition of Black Jack that looks impressive. A little slow at times but still fun to play. By Zeldaking.

-Minesweeper CSE (by Zeldaking) http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/fileinfo/461/46115.html

And now its Minesweeper counterpart, by the same author!

-Cookie Clicker (by Kerm Martian) http://www.cemetech.net/programs/index.php?mode=file&id=1048

Cookie Clicker might be pointless to play, but for some reasons it's still fun and get us hooked and coming back to achieve the highest amount of money possible. If only that money was real... great looking TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition hybrid BASIC rendition of the game, by the way!


68K

-Sonic Misadventures v0.41 (by PpHd) http://www.yaronet.com/t3/?id=7

Here's an oldie from the early 2000's by Time to Team. Older community members are probably aware that this game exists, but since it's not available on Ticalc.org it's very unknown nowadays. If you have a 68K calculator, this Sonic demo is definitively a must try!


TI-Nspire

-Ice Breaker: JezzBall Clone (by AJOrians) TI-Nspire http://www.omnimaga.org/ti-nspire-projects/jezzball-for-nspire/msg370738/#msg370738

Amazing looking JezzBall clone by AJorians, released a while ago. Requires Ndless

-FIFA CX (by Creative Basic) http://tiplanet.org/forum/archives_voir.php?id=11635

It isn't really a real FIFA soccer game, since it has less players on the field but it still looks pretty fun and great, and it also features some Nintendo characters. Requires OS 3.6 (or 3.9?)

-nGravnix (by AJOrians) http://www.omnimaga.org/ti-nspire-projects/ngravnix-for-nspire/new/#new

Another cool looking puzzle game by AJorians, also for Ndless.

-Call of CX (by Creative Basic) http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/fileinfo/460/46098.html

No it's not a full 3D port of CoD, sorry, but it's still very fun to play and looks good. It requires OS 3.9, so this means you have to (permanently?) part ways with Ndless to play it or use an emulator. But the good side is that it includes a scene close to TI HQ so feel free to shoot everything on your path there as revenge against OS 3.9.

-Swing Copter Nspire (by Sarasinna & scalc.org) http://tiplanet.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=169376&sid=2e0c07edd90be3ee54b6bae13954ec20#p169376

Flappy Copterness for the TI-Nspire.

-Dragon Ball Z (by Creative Basic) http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/fileinfo/461/46117.html

There are 958 Dragon Ball games for the TI-84 Plus and only 1 for the TI-Nspire, yet the only TI-Nspire version available is polished and look very fun to play. It's from France, but don't worry, it doesn't include this.


Casio FX-9860G

-IPod Graviton (by Kirafi) http://www.planet-casio.com/Fr/programmes/programme2594-1-IPod-Graviton-kirafi.html

You move up and down non-stop and must avoid projectiles that come from each side of the screen. Very hard!

-IPod Dextris (by Kirafi) http://www.planet-casio.com/Fr/programmes/programme2574-1-IPod-Dextris-kirafi.html
[ Invalid YouTube link ]
Amazing puzzle game for Casio calculators

-IPod SpikeBird (by Kirafi) http://www.planet-casio.com/Fr/programmes/voir_un_programme_casio.php?showid=2634

You bounce from the top to bottom of the screen and must avoid spikes while eating candies and you can buy new characters and stuff.

-Timberman 9860G (by Xavier59) http://www.planet-casio.com/Fr/programmes/programme2630-1-timberman-xavier59.html

Chop down trees without getting hit by branches!


Casio PRIZM

-Cookie Clicker (by Spenceboy98) http://www.omnimaga.org/casio-prizm/(prizm)-cookie-clicker/msg389049/#msg389049

Another awesome-looking Cookie Clicker game to play when bored, this time by SpenceBoy98 and for the fx-cg10/20 calculators.


HP Prime

-Columns (by Han) http://www.omnimaga.org/hp-prime/columns-scoring-rules/

HP Prime port of the Game Gear puzzle game. A bit similar to Puzzle Frenzy and Tetris.

-CHIP 8 emu for the HP Prime (by eried) http://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-475.html

Not really a game by itself, but rather a CHIP-8 emulator. It's very slow, but some games that were converted are very playable, which shows once again how powerful HP PPL can be, and it's still in the early stages.

-HP Tetris clone (by iconmaster) http://www.omnimaga.org/hp-prime/tetris-for-the-hp-prime!/

A more recent HP Prime Tetris clone with highscores, less bugs and better graphics.

-LightOut for the Prime (by ArielP): http://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-302-post-2022.html#pid2022

Simple but fun and cool-looking LightsOut clone that makes use of the HP Prime touchscreen.

-Breakout (by Egan Ford) http://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-317.html

Awesome, but hard touchscreen-based Brick-breaking paddle game

-Sokoban (by ArielP) http://www.omnimaga.org/hp-prime-projects/sokoban-gam/

Awesome looking port of Sokoban with many levels already. 

-Cute Invaders (by Handmixer) http://www.omnimaga.org/hp-prime-projects/spaceinvader-game/

A quite elaborate Space Invaders clone with many stages and challenging foes. Very original, smooth and fun.

-2048 (by Francois Lanciault) http://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-2157.html

HP Prime port of the popular web game. Simple in look, but it does the job.


So I hope you enjoyed those articles in the last few years and hopefully another staff or group of staff will take over. I'll still post my own releases in news (assuming I keep news editing privileges in one way or another) but other than that I'll only post, code calculator stuff, chat on IRC or sorunomize members now.

http://xlib.mtv-music-generator.com/DJOmniUnnamedEurodance.mp3

I haven't done non-hardcore dance stuff in ages. I don't know what I will do with this one since my current album has an UK Hardcore-related title and picture and it would be weird to put eurodance on it. I might just slap extra text on the album cover stating that it features both hardcore and some eurodance music, so that I don't need to restrict the album to hardcore. But yeah the song demo above is something I was working on recently.

It's pretty inspired from 1999-2002 eurodance, especially the Froggy Mix album


Also here are more songs I have worked on lately:



UPDATE (October 7th): Demo of Firestorm remix in the works: http://xlib.mtv-music-generator.com/DJ%20Omnimaga%20-%20Firestorm%202015%20Demo.mp3

Basically M$ bought Mojang
https://mojang.com . what do you think this means for the modding community and the future of the game on non-XBox consoles?

So 3 years ago, I bought an iPod Touch 4 that I stopped using the next year, but back then I was not familiar with batteries in those devices so I just let the device sit in standby mode, unused, in the drawer after I "upgraded" to a Samsung i5510 phone.

I recently heard that leaving batteries of such devices at 0% charge for months could actually damage the battery in some ways but I was unsure which one exactly. I heard stories about swollen batteries and explosions, but a lot of Google posts mentionned that it happens when the battery is overcharged, overheated or if it's several years old. But without charging it I will never know if it can still hold a charge (so that I can trade-in my iPod Touch at the Gamestop store).

Should I take a chance and see if it will charge or should I just immediately discard the unit inside a Staples electronic recycling bin?

As you are probably unaware due to the fact only my albums made since 2011 are available on Bandcamp, I actually released many albums beforehand, but none ever got for sale except a short-lived attempt with an happy hardcore compilation (the site that let me sell music for free didn't even work). This would be the chronology of my releases (some extra info is available at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aq6FkghT6iTtdHZwaGFXLTU2SXpvV0dURHJzZV9qV1E&hl=en_US#gid=0 except the oldest and newest albums):

2003: Omnidance 1
2003: Omnidance 2
2004: Omnidance 3 (CANCELED)
2007: Epic Journey Through the Galaxy
2007: Dark Side of the Moon (re-released as Journey through the Moon Dark Side)
2007: Enter the Dream World
2007: Hardcore Armageddon
2007: Angel In the Stars
2008: It's the End of Time
2008: Destiny Knight
2009: Magic Hardcore (CANCELED)
2011: Tales of the Knight of the Moon
2012: A Decade of Magic Hardcore (2002-2012)
2012: A Decade of Omnidance (2002-12)
2013: Ancient Kingdom of Omnimaga
2014: Unfinished (Single)
2014: Ancient Kingdom of Omnimaga Special Edition (The last two combined together)

Unfortunately, in 2007 I lost half of the album cover artwork files I had except for low quality GIFs at lower resolution. The first 5 albums are the ones affected. Luckily, however, back in the day I printed cheap jackets for CD covers and back covers using the high quality image files, so now I have decided to scan them then filter them so that higher quality versions of my old album covers can once again be seen! Keep in mind that for the Destiny Knight and canceled Magic Hardcore albums, there was never a back cover made for it. The first images won't be as good as the 2007-08 files, but at least they will be much better than the 350x350 (or worse) GIF files I had.

Click the images for larger view:























Unused cover->





There are obviously no original covers for the Omnidance albums, as they used recordable cassettes and I had no computer back then to create cassette artwork.