MueThor

Dear Tursi , Congratulations on your artwork. I received my cart a couple of weeks ago. It is a fantastic, great and jaw-dropping work from you. All has been made with a lot of love. I am very pleased with your work, so the price for the purchase of this cart and especially the price for shipping of all parts (to a place outside the States) are completely justified. Probably I should have bought two of this cart instead of only one . Nice greetings

Dear arcadeshopper, Not only the discontinued board was ordered. Please look up in our thread "TI Stuff Questions" for all items I have ordered. In addition, everything is already paid. Sincerely

Hello arcadeshopper, You have been asked twice the same question in messages I sent to you (see our messenger communcation). Why don't you answer my question? Sincerely

Dear Asmusr, It was not meant that you should also take the same coloring for the TI graphics from the Spectrum graphics. As far as I know, the patched coloring of the Spectrum graphics of Blue Max results of a sort of technical restriction for the Spectrum (no hardware sprites?)!?

Dear Asmusr, Wouldn't it be a good idea to primarily realize the game "Blue Max" for the TI? As you surely know, in this case you can use the graphics from the version of this game for the ZX Spectrum. Regards

Dear ti99iuc, Thank you for the videos and the small insight on your meeting in Rome. How many persons did participate in this meeting? Regards

Hi folks, The proposal of a competition in programming of 4k playground games would be great. Thereby all guys participating in such a competition would generate a bunch of programs, which can serve as sample programs for dummies like me . Regards

Dear RXB, Thank you for your explanations on GPL. At this point I have a question: Of course Assembly Language programs written for EA run faster than GPL programs, or? Regards

Dear sometimes99er, You ask me such a question? Do you really want to hear the answer ? Better not . Regards

Dear Lee Stewart, Thank you for your short overview and your simple explanations on this topic . Well, I asked myself following: Is it possible to run small parts of a long ALC program in scratchpad RAM for extreme fast calculation of intermediate results used by the much bigger, but also more slowly executed parts of this ALC program running in the 32k RAM, which can be accessed by Editor/Assembler? Does your answer in the quotation above imply that the answer for my question below the quotation is negative? Regards

Hello sometimes99er, Thank you for making it possible for us to directly test your prototype game released on the page https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/679083?id=679083. While playing the game for about half an hour, I couldn't believe what you have realized using only XB as programming language, thereby assuming that timing and speed for the movement of the different objects in your prototype game on the aforementioned page will be the same as on real iron. However, I propose following: Please use more and/or different colors for the objects, especially for the aliens, because that is something what I am missing in your game. Regards

Hello all, Unfortunately, nobody of you wanted to answer my questions posed in my message under the link http://atariage.com/forums/topic/218904-playground/page-6. I would be delighted, if anyone of you will be so nice to answer my questions, give an outline and/or links regarding the topic short machine language programs to be executed in scratchpad RAM. Hence I repeat the aforementioned message in the following: Here (in the program Playground) a way was found to access scratchpad RAM directly from TI BASIC. It is surely possible to access this scratchpad RAM from XB and EA too, or? If so, can you return from scratchpad RAM to XB and EA? BTW, does there exist an overview of machine language addresses, which can be accessed from scratchpad RAM in dependance of the programming language used for accessing scratchpad RAM, i.e. TI BASIC, XB or EA? Regards

Hi tibasic, What are the formats of your files and with which programs can I open them? I ask you this question, because I am using V9T9 as TI 99 emulator. Regards

Hi folks, Here a way was found to access scratchpad RAM directly from TI BASIC. It is surely possible to access this scratchpad RAM from XB and EA too, or? If so, can you return from scratchpad RAM to XB and EA? BTW, does there exist an overview of machine language addresses, which can be accessed from scratchpad RAM in dependance of the programming language used for accessing scratchpad RAM, i.e. TI BASIC, XB or EA? Regards

Hi towmater, You joker . I bet that matthew180 has read dips instead of DIPs. The acronym DIP stands for dual in-line package according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_in-line_package. They have been mainstream in the 1970s and 80s. In addition, all TI ICs of the TI 99 have been realized in DIP technology. Regards

Hello barry.peterson, No, you won't believe it: I am not better off with German sources . Thank you for your hint. Regards

Dear Asmusr, Probably you all are right, but the game runs on MSX1 with only 16k VDP RAM and a maximum of 64k RAM (okay, TI 99 has only 16k VDP RAM and 32k RAM...). I presented the SMB clone to show that 16k VDP RAM would be enough to let a quite colorful realization of a SMB clone run on a TI 99 without F18A, which would be more colorful than (the) SMB (clone) for the ZX Spectrum. Regards

Dear Asmusr, It would be nice, if I was able to pull up such an project. I can't, because I neither have ever written programs for the TI in Assembly language, nor do I have any experience with assembling and disassembling of code written for the Z80 (the latter is the main reason for not being able to pull up such a project). Regards

Dear matthew180, About what do you think I am talking here in the forum for the TI 99 4a ? Also I spoke about ceramic DIPs. Are modern day ICs realized as ceramic DIPs? Of course I am talking about the old TI ICs like the 9900, 9918A etc. Now, if I don't want to be or can't be a hero, where can I purchase old TI ICs? Do you know trustworthy, concrete addresses, where you can buy these old TI ICs in not too big quantities and therefore at an expensive total price as a private person, not as a company? Some companies don't even talk with private persons at all... Yes, I know that I can help myself on my own. Regards

Dear Asmusr, Again: Yes, your game Super Mario Brothers is great, but in my eyes with the necessity of F18A not really the original TI 99 anymore. In reaction to this statement from me you wrote following: I think that above cited statement from you is not 100% correct . I rank the FinalGROM 99 cartridge among the original hardware of the TI. So if it isn't possible to realize SMB or a clone of it for the original TI 99 with 32k RAM, then it should be possible to create the game so good using additionally FinalGROM 99 as it can be seen below (SMB clone Super Boy I from Zemina. Please ignore the statement "One of the worst Super Mario clones..." below the video in the original link): The ROM file for the game can be downloaded here: https://www.msxgamesworld.com/gamecard.php?id=2746. Furthermore you can run it on the MSX emulator blueMSX, which can be downloaded here: http://bluemsx.msxblue.com/download.html . In addition, you can run the emulator with MSX1 settings. Moreover you can disassemble the game using the disassembler of the emulator. Now, I could of course theoretically create such a game for the TI, but neither have I ever written programs for the TI in Assembly language, nor do I have any experience with assembling and disassembling of code written for the Z80 as I have already mentioned earlier in a message here in one of the threads of the TI forum on atariage.com. Regards

Dear Asmusr, There is a question that I would also have asked you: Regards

Hello folks, Where can I purchase (plastic and ceramic DIPs) TI ICs in low quantities as a private person? Are there existing any other addresses beside eBay? Regards

Dear Tursi and all other guys, Thank you for answering my questions and your patience. Be also clear in your mind that I have only programmed in TI Basic and Extended Basic in earlier years, but never in Assembly language. For this reason I am asking you questions. Not knowing, what scanline techniques are, I assume that it is not flicker? If so, would it be possible to create on screen real bitmap images of 256 pixels x 192 pixels size and 1 of 16 colors for each pixel of this image? If the latter can be realized, would you be so nice to also implement this into your Convert9918 tool? Please heed that the motivation for my reinvolvement with the TI is not limited to retro gaming and following: Way back in my youth time it was very early clear to me that the full capabilities of the TI would never be exhausted without 32k RAM, RS232 and a printer. Additionally, as you know the CRT TV or Monitor was the standard by that time. Therefore my reinvolvement with the TI today is always connected with following question: What would have been possible, if I had the money to buy the 32k RAM, RS232 and a printer? BTW, would you be so nice to agree to release the code for this aforementioned special flicker mode in this thread? In case that you have already released the corresponding code somewhere in this forum: Please specify the link to this code. @Asmusr (now the same questions and requests to you, only in connection with your code for the scanline techniques to increase the number of sprites on the screen ): Would you be so nice to agree to release the code in this thread? In case that you have already released the corresponding code somewhere in this forum: Please specify the link to this code. Regards

Dear matthew180, You wrote that one of the specifications for your F18A as it is realized up to this date(!?) is 16K VDP RAM using the FPGA’s block RAM. Does it mean that the original VDP RAM on the TI console still has to be accessed by the TMS9900 processor on the F18a circuit board (did I understand it correctly that there is an TMS9900 on the F18A circuit board?)? Regards

Dear jedimatt42, Thank you for your answers. Unfortunately, I forgot to also ask you following: Where have you bought the breadboard or the parts for erecting it? Regards