Sam Heald Responds to 83+ Problems
Posted by Nick on 19 October 1999, 23:02 GMT
I got this email in my box today and I figured I would share it with everyone. It's from Sam Heald, creator of more assembly programs than you can shake a TI-89 at (I know, lamest comparison ever). I won't say anything to this because it pretty much speaks for itself. Enjoy.
As the instigator of the 83+ "boycott", I wish that you would please post my response as you have posted Ahmed's. I'm typing it now, so if there are any gross gramatical errors, please fix them. [I changed a few spelling/grammatical errors, but otherwise the original intent of the article was not changed in any way. -ed.] The "Boycott" is over Okay, as you all have now heard, I was planning to boycott the 83+ community. TCPA got themselves involved (rather complicatedly), and now the whole thing seems rather pointless. Ahmed, fed up with the TI scene as a whole, is taking a vacation, so to speak. Therefore, I'm dissolving the 83+ boycott before it starts. It has become obvious that the whole process will be more effort than the 83+ community is worth (in my opinion). I apologize to all those infuriated and all those sympathetic with my cause whom I have disappointed. I never did give a public account of my reasonings. Here is a small summary: Why [were we] upset with [the] 83+ community? The flames had gotten out of control after the Ztetris mishap. Admittedly, Ahmed made a huge mistake, but that is no excuse. I hadn't been mailbombed since my AOL days over 4 years ago! The magnitude of hatemail increased sharply. Then, as if the Ztetris release was some indication that I had entered the 83+ realm, I start receiving many many port requests. Usually, they are complimentary. People like your game and want to play it, yes? Not these, these requests were more like demands as if my free time is their god-given right. Sorry - no. The newbie 83+ questions were also getting ridiculous. "What's ION? Where's ION? How do I use ION? How do I send XXXX to my calculator? I sent the .83p version and it doesn't work." These weren't as courteous, either. "I downloaded your program. You're a *censored* liar, because it doesn't work." Frequently in the past, I received newbie email, requests, and criticisms, and never before has it bothered me. But the sheer magnitude and attitude of the 83+ community caused me to make an exception to my tolerance. Why boycott? My "boycott" was just a silly means to an end. I want merely to raise awareness in the TI community about the problem of programmer respect. I understand that the TI community is made mostly of "immature teenagers", so I don't expect much. But keeping that in mind, I realized that if I simply wrote a TI-Files editorial or a ticalc.org news article, nothing good would happen. The same morons who send me hatemail would reply to the articles and laugh (see the ticalc.org article about Mario 83). [You can find that here. -ed.] By holding a temporary boycott (probably lasting 4-8 weeks from D-Day), the issue would be forced to the forefront. Many people appreciate my work, but they act not quite as vocally as the disrespectful ones, so they do not stand out. Those that do appreciate surely prefer my time and efforts to be placed elsewhere (Zelda), not wasting literally hours responding to the vocal garbage of idiots. Many people would dislike the policy, but with anger and tension comes the need for resolution. That's essentially the purpose of any boycott. Agitate the violators until the point of collapse. My intentions were not that sinister. If I was not going to end the boycott, why would I bother making the 83+ port work? I could have simply altered the header and recompile it. Ahmed liked the idea (he, too, suffered 83+ indecency, perhaps more than I), and he signed on. Why I did choose this method? - People can't request ports if they've already been made.
- 1/2 of 83+ owners send the wrong file anyway.
- If the 83+ versions don't work, don't release them. Don't call it a boycott, call it "extended beta-testing."
- The presence of exclusion is more emphatic and effective than mere absence. Out of sight, out of mind; so to speak.
I had some other reasons for this method (instead of a boycott), The fourth reason was the primary one. 1 through 3 were meant to agitate the 83+ [users]. With agitation comes awareness, then comes resolution. My plan was simple: - Release 15-30 Void Productions to 83 ION on one day. The sheer magnitude will bring the topic to the surface. Never before had Ahmed or I ever used our "mini-monopoly" on 82/83 games for our own cause.
- Exclude the source codes and .8xp versions (and tell why).
- Include a screenshot of the 83+ version to prove that it works.
- Post an article regarding respect in the TI community on a major TI site.
- Wait. How long depended on the TI scene's reaction to the article. I would have been forced to wait at least a month just to show the severity of the problem and my own dedication to the cause (if I folded early, nothing would be resolved).
- Once the time has come (depends on reaction to article/boycott), I release 20-30 ION games with the 83+ version and source code. I'm happy because my issue has been somewhat addressed, and the 83+ community is happy because they just tripled their game selection in one day. Ideally, everybody would win.
So, that's that. I hope the limited exposure that my "plan" received will have some effect on the respect given to authors. It seemed most "gamers" were extremely agitated with me, and most "programmers" were very sympathetic to the cause. So I guess for a "boycott" that wasn't, it was fairly successful. Whether I'm going to release any ION versions of Void games to the public is, as of yet, undecided. I haven't made any of the conversions, yet, so it depends on whether or not I feel the effort to be worth the time. I would rather (as I'm sure most would agree) work on Zelda TI-8X. I might be releasing a new demo of that soon. Sam Heald
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The comments below are written by ticalc.org visitors. Their views are not necessarily those of ticalc.org, and ticalc.org takes no responsibility for their content.
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Re: Sam Heald Responds to 83+ Problems
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Scott Uhl
(Web Page)
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Yea! First comment! Anyway, it's for the +, so it doesn't really matter to me. But people with one might care. I just wanted the first comment!
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19 October 1999, 23:09 GMT
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Re: Re: Sam Heald Responds to 83+ Problems
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Gockies
(Web Page)
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What is the problem here?!
Another programmer went on vacation???! What the hell is everyone's grudge against Ahmed and Sam?! Why can't you all just shut the hell up and let them do their thing?! I mean, all you idiots (sorry, but now I'm pissed) with ti83+s who don't know sh|t about using files and sending and all that crap- appearently 99.9% of you have not read the damn instruction manual that came with the calc, have not visited ti.com to see how the graph-links work, and have not pestered anyone else about how they work. But NOOOOOO, you have to go and annoy the SH|T out of the better assembly programmers about "how do you send stuff to the calculator?" GET A BRAIN, and do something called RESEARCH. FIND OUT FROM OTHERS about how to do that crap. And another thing- why is everyone getting all mad because they are porting games?! What the hell is your problem?!! Just stop pestering them about "can you do this?" or "can you do that?" How do you think they became who they are? Practice. Learn Basic, master it, and move on to assembly. Make games yourself for Christ's sake! Why do you expect everything from these two people? Just look at any comment regarding a game at ticalc.org or calc.org. "Wow! Mario for the ti-83! Can they make this for 83+?" or "Wow! Tetris multiplayer super alpha beta with cheat mode! When is someone going to make this for 83+?" DO IT YOURSELF! Maybe there's a message here: they are not listening to you relentless demands. Put that in your head. Just had to throw my two cents in, because some dumbasses are pissing Ahmed and Sam off, and they have made most of the better games on the 83.
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20 October 1999, 00:06 GMT
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Re: Sam Heald Responds to 83+ Problems
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DWedit
(Web Page)
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Yes! Finally Zelda is in development again! Didn't a computer crash wipe out the include file?
Also, please everybody, stop the threads about 83+ lamers. We don't need 1000 posts that say "83+ sucks" or "port this dammit". Let's stop these posts first of all by not replying to this one about the TI83+ topic.
It's amazing how a bunch of lamers can almost stop a project until the author wakes up.
Great games, Sam. Great until my TI82 was stolen.
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19 October 1999, 23:15 GMT
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Re: Re: Re: Sam Heald Responds to 83+ Problems
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Ernie Dodds
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I agree there. Nothing wrong w/ the TI83p except that some people just don't get the way thingsa are. If you want the game and can't get it...make it. Hell, I'm tackling checkers, chess (2 player) and Tetris, with nothing to guide me. I write BASIC 'cause I can do it in class. A few people I simply won't give anything to, because they are those raving idiots. Most of the people are fine though, even if it doesn't work. In fact, several of them are writing stuff without even the manual (OK, nothing big--until the for( and similar). If you want your every whim catered to, you have to do it yourself. Also, I've noticed the 'raving idiots' tend to be the ones assuming you're always playing a game, too.
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21 October 1999, 05:16 GMT
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