Post your ideas for new graphics programs here, or build on ideas posted by other visitors.

I have heard rumors that color can be generated on the
TI83(+)...No, NOT THE BLUE LINE THING...

I read I thing (maybe somewhere in TIcalc) that tells
how [the illusion of] color can be generated by
flashing pixels in weird patterns creating such an
effect; it told the patterns and everything...

(its like those spinny-wheel things with the Blck/Wht
pattern on it that makes color rings when you spin it)

There is that 2-color Pong game in the archives (if you look, it REALLY IS dark blue and yellow [when
compared to normal])

...SOMEBODY MAKE ANYTHING THAT DEMONSTRATES COLOR ON A
TI83(+); IT WOULD BE COOL

How does the blue line thing work anyways?

if i remember correctly the 'blue line thing' works by overloading(i'm not sure about this) the lcd screen, creating something similar to some sort of leak. but it is very dangerous and could permanently damage the screen. as far as i know, it can't be controlled in any way, so it's pretty useless unless you like breaking expensive things.

I had an 83+ that was partly broken, so I ran the blue waves program for 5 minutes straight. It does cause long-term effects to your calculator.

I know how to make colour - really, I do!
It didn't work for me because of the backing on the LCD (if I replaced it with a plain white it might work better). What it was was a bit of electronics with a RED, BLUE and GREEN light on it, which plugged into the link port. I could control (via ASM) which light to shine on the screen. Now, by flicking VERY FAST between the three colours and three different B/W images on the LCD an illusion of colour could be produced. In a pitch-black room with my (rather dim) lights I got a definate set of colours - a reddy brown, a muddy green and a dull blue. With three lights and standard B/W flickering, you could get up to 8 colours.
Maybe if I put some LED's around the inside edge of the LCD (like the lights on NOKIA cellphones) and had some electronics inside the case then I might get better results...

wow
i never though of external attachments
thats cool

the led thing would be pretty dam perfect, if you cud install the leds behind the lcd screen and they were strong enuf to light the entire screen. then it wud work the same as greyscale ie:

draw all the green objects when the green led is on. draw all the red objects when the red led is on
draw all the blue objects when the blue led is on.
to draw purple, you cud draw it when its red, and leave it there until its blue, to light both blue and red and then draw all the purple objects.

this way it wud work the same, more or less, as greyscale, just flicker the differnt colors, becuase when your eye sees the image, it also sees what color its lit, before the frame is finished being drawn, you will have seen all the colors flash... it will appear to be color!

the only prob is the fact that in bright places, the leds wont be visible..indoors probably, but outside probably not.

it wud be tough, but i think someone good enuf cud handle it.

i created a flash animation to simulate the method. its not perfect tho, since its flashing pictures, not iluminating a screen, which would look better.
see it here: (Warning, if you are eplieptic, i suggest you dont go there. you've been warned =) )

http:// www.angelfire.com/ games4/ rctcool_stuff/ tistuff/ color_flicker.swf

NOTE: that url is long, i could not fit it in the url post thing, and its to long to be together, so when you go there, dont include the spaces after the /

Why don't you tear apart a gameboy and put that screen in here? Forget silly flashing LEDs, that would add up the price of the thing (although adding a gameboy color screen would too).

While you are at it, you could just create an entire new calculator. with the color screen, you would add a faster processor (than the TI83+ Silver, which is 2.5x faster than the normal TI83+ respectively) and the graphics would be a lot better. Also, memory space would have to go up.

Kids at my school love the game Pheonix, if you have played that game, imagine it in color and even better graphics than what are already there. Another popular game is Gimini. Imagine that in color!

If a gameboy color screen doesn't work well, try something like a LCD screen. This would probably shoot up the price so high, no one would think about buying it.

A rumor I have heard floating around my area was TI was coming out with such a calculator, but I heard that 3 years ago.

If this idea has already been posted, or was posted before mine, I am sorry for bringing up the subject again.

LMAO. thats the funniest idea ever. y not just rip a lap top screen off, and use that? hell why not just use a lap top? ok none of that would actually work, gb color screen or anything, flashing led's have a chance, at only the expense of: a screw driver to unscrew your case, 3 different leds, and uhhh, sore wire. vs $80 gb color screen? flash mem? better processor? hahaha

why not just get a laptop?

Yeah. Why's everybody trying to make graphing calculators laptops? Diff of only (800-90) bucks or something similar and a crapload of RAM, GBs, colors, and everything else.

Just get a Gameboy Advanced SP

wouldn't it just be simpler - and less dangerous to the electronics - to get both a gba and calculator, so you can play games on the gba and your homework on the calc?

how do you control the color of things?

i also have a ti 83+ which is partly broken and would like to run the blue waves program, but i don't know how to make it or where to get it. please help me out.
thanks

Can someone send me the program, source code or whatever does the blue line thing

i would like to try it and see what it does

this was my last post but i forgot my e-mail adress

Can someone send me the program, source code or whatever does the blue line thing

i would like to try it and see what it does

send it to crsent@dc4pc.net

Thank you

Yes, you're probably right, I personally think it's done this way:
This is LCD crystal showing "white" - no charge
(light reflects off scren)
_
_
_

This is "black" - charge is normal
(light doesn't reflect)
I
I
I

Here is overpower - blue
(only short lightwaves - violet & blue could go through) so this REALLY should look violet
/
/
/

If this is right, if you underpower, you get the same effect, or you can even get cyan or green without damaging the LCD

In the readme for 2-color pong (by Michael Vincent), he says something about changing the tint to achieve yellow and blue. How much can the tint be changed and to what effect?

What he really ment was that he changed the entire LCD controls!! if you do that you will not need LEDs or anythign like that.

Underpower means light grey.

I know how to make color!
First.. Take out your calculator!
It doesn't even need to be on!
Now, press down on the screen with you finger.

Watch and be awe struck as the screen displays color
before your very eyes!!!

-It's Magic!

Funny. Harsh, yet funny... The TI-83+ were designed to be black, white, blue with the danger of ruining your calc and grayscale with a little asm programming. But color is out of the question. You can ask TI (at ti.com) to make one of their new (or old revised models) color-screen. But until then settle for monochrome.

Also, considering many of us have a limited budget, color would not only cost more to begin with but the amount of batteries used would also sky-rocket. Unless you got rechargable batteries of course, but those are steep too. Color is not necessary, but I agree it does add a nice touch. Also, the on topic part of this post: Someone should make a REAL Assembly graphics studio program. I would, but I am still learning ASM, so it would be a while before I get around to it. Anyway, using the basic features of a simple program such as MS-PAINT would create a very useful program. Also, features such as saving the pictures drawn in the PIC slots, etc. I gotta go now!

Gerhalt

Paint is useful, but it should probably have some sort of cursor. I realize there is a way to make a pixel or group of pixels move using keypresses, but it is slow. Is there any way to have an external mouse on a TI=83 Plus?

Slow?!?!? In assembly, if you right it right an 8x8 block will move EXTREMELY quickly across the screen. All depends on whether you are using basic or ASM, and if you optimize the code of not.

Gerhalt

I dunno... The only real cursor experience I've had was with Solytare for the TI-83+... The MirageOS version didn't have that fast of cursor motion.

That's because he doesn't want it to move that fast.

You could try the calc menu for drawing pictures...

Wait till becomes cheap, then buy it. Don't buy it during the holiday season though.

A rechargable lithium battery would be great. I don't know why TI chosed AAA batteries for the "great battery selection of graphing calculators." If they expect people to make battery juicing ASM programs for the calculators, why not have a better way of batteries?

I think the AAA batteries were only for compactness.

The batteries needed to run the thing wouldn't necessarly skyrocket, it just might need to run on something a little larger. i.e.: double a batteries
instead triple a.

The TI-83+ should have a big rechargeable battery like the Gameboy Advance SP(r).

aaa bateries have the same power as aa bateries (1.5 volts)

Same voltage, yes. Same capacity, no.

AAA batteries have (I estimate based on the volume of the casing) about half the capacity (Amp-hours) of AA batteries.

They were only designed to have black and white actually. People creating greyscale are just improperly using the screen.

They were only designed to have black and white actually. People creating greyscale are just improperly using the screen. I'm not complaining though.

Improperly using the screen? Greyscale utilizes the screen in a fuller manner. It does not do ANY damage to it, so how can you say the screen is being used improperly? Just because TI didn't implement it in the OS doesn't mean it is improper. If what you're saying is true, then using lower case is improper, because it is not available using ONLY the OS (Note: I am not including ASM programs or Applications, where all you need to do is set one flag...). Anyway, I think greyscale is great, and is not abusing the screen, but instead utilizing it to the fullest extent possible.

I agree.
If grayscale is improper then adjusting contrast(dimond key + -) is improper too, and cause damage to the sreen as well!!!

actually greyscale is done differently than the way constrast works. on machines designed for greyscale, then amount of current (not voltage) each pixel recieves, determines its grey ness. then the hardware is built to be able to allow different currents thru.

ti calcs arent built to work this way. the way people achieve greyscale in asm, is to make about 4 different pictures, then the flicker the pictures in order, in an endless loop, with he following rules: a black pixel is to be on all 4 pix, in the same spot. a dark grey is to be on 3 of the pix, in the same spot. a light grey is to be on just 2 pix, in the same spot, a faint grey is to be on just one picture, and a white pixel should be on none.

because the pictures have to flicker extremely fast, only ti-89s and above can have full greyscale games, and run them well. 83s and 86s can try, but the flickering will be visible.

i suppose what he meant was the "proper" use is to turn on a pixel and leave it on until the sprite moves of disaprears or whatever, not to constantly, purposly filcker them.

by the way ti conect which came with my calculater utilizes gray scale in pics that you can send to your calc.

AAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!! people!! think about it!!! the human eye is so friggin slow!!! if yer using an 89, flashing pixels fast enough will create flikerless greyscale!! the 89's LCD driver is so fast we can't see the changes fast enough!! ITS NOT THE AMOUNT OF VOLTAGE IN THE PIXELS!! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THAT WOULD COST IF IT WERE TRUE!! RRAAAAGGGHH!

I would be nice to see 8 colour (240*128 pixels) grayscale pictures on my TI-92 Plus!
Can someone make a program that simply opens this kind of files on the calculator?
Thank you.

You can make grayscale pictures using TI-BASIC using "cyclepic" function. 3 n&b pictures are necessary for 8 grayscales. I made a program in QBasic to convert 256colors bitmap (*.bmp) to 3 n&b pictures for 8 grayscales, so anybody can make it. After, you have just to slide show the three pictures very quickly in the right order. The darkest layers must appear more time than the brightest. You might need to set up the contrast to better see the picture. I made it (a nude woman on my ti89), and it has a good effect.

P.S: Ma prof d'anglais est une incompétente.

You know what, keep it G. Not all of us find that funny or even acceptable.

And by the way, El burro sabe mas de muchos personas.

actually, i don't think sound is the future, but sound!!

ps: ubi nummi mei tuti satis esse possunt?

i mean i don't think color is the future, but sound!!

ps: si hoc legere potes, sapiens es

If you change the way the LCD "bleeds" (basicly change the controls) than color can be acheived. if you want details EMAIL ME!!

THIS IDEA REAALLY SUCKS SO DONT TELL ME IT SUCKS
BECAUSE I ALREADY KNOW IT SUCKS. BUILD A ROBOT THAT
HOOKS UP TO THE LINK PORT AND PRESSES DOWN ON
DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE SCREEN TO CREATE COLOR

I know how to create color on the TI-86 using a process similar to the one used to create grayscale. My implementation is very poorly done (red & green swap at random intervals), but if I could get the timing right, it would sure be cool to have color games. I never knew anyone else knew about this or even cared.

Update on the above program...I improved it, & the result can be seen on the news page of my website (see the 8/30/2004 entry).

Pssst...I heard a rumor(from my teacher who just spent 3 months at TI training camp)that TI is working in a TI-83 gold edition that will support a backlight colour LCD. He said the project might be dropped because of battery and LCD comsption. Also TI will 1mb of ram and double the CPU using the new ez80 processors from zilog making it 30 Mhz(making it only 3Mhz slower the a PS One!).The acucual size of the Flash is still in debate!!!! Tell every one!

PROBABLY THE 84

I too am interested in color. Though I am a poor Asm programmer, I know what can and can't be done. I do know that it would be possible to flash the screen from white to black at an extrememly fast rate to create the illusion of flashing between white, yellow, and black. Similar illusions could create very poor colors. Not as good as two-color pong, but good enough to pass for colors. If you flash between all the possible grayscale colors, you may create the illusion of flashing between all the colors.

I really don't know too much. If you try to achieve colors, don't ask me for help.

you can get blue just it bad for calc

ACTUALLY you can create color by changing the LCD driver controls. if you want to know more EMAIL ME!!

How so? Colors other than blue would certainly be interesting.