Calculator Gaming: Super Smash Bros.

[@PurpleLPikmin]

Super Smash Bros Open having a dynamic camera which scales sprite quality & size with distance all at a decent frame rate on a Ti-83 plus is one of the craziest things I've ever seen. Give that dude a medal.

[@camd1552]

fr

[@thewolfin]

It's in the same sphere as that insane OpenLara GBA port. Never would've imagined this would be possible on such dated hardware. Last post from Hayleia on omnimaga looks to be from Nov 2015. God bless 'em, wherever they are (probably programming for dated yet crucial air-gapped banking/military systems).

[@marcomoscoso7402]

I was in total awe when the camera zoomed in the characters, just like a good old smash bros game

[@electriccomics]

I wouldn't have even assumed it was possible.

[@STICKOMEDIA]

Facts

[@LeviKanal]

That is soo damn impressive, not even the SNES was able to do proper scaling and camera distance without some tricks or graphics modes, but this dev made it run with playable framerates on a low power mashine only designed to display text

[@champion_ofcloud-var]

this man beat nintendo with a CALCULATOR

[@psionikal]

I believe the reason why they're percentages in Smash is because that's how much the knockback on getting hit is increased by. Also, I was very disappointed when the reflector didn't deal damage. 10/10 game.

[@Games_for_James]

That makes sense!

[@Juanus14]

The scaling doesn't match what happens in the game. when you're on 100% you get knocked back more than 2x normal.

[@WohaoG]

I'm assuming that's for drama purposes@@Juanus14

[@SEMIA123]

​@@Juanus14it's not linear scaling and there's plenty of other variables like the characters weight and the type of move they got hit by, plus in 4/ultimate there's moves getting stale and the rage mechanic.

[@rosestrohm7986]

My theory was that usually, 100% is when smash attacks usually start killing reliably. Thus its called "kill %" in the community

[@Chlorate299]

Given the Grand Theft Auto attempts I wasn't expecting much, but that first game was really impressive

[@wavejumper3]

As someone in the calc dev community, a few things: Smash open has character files (you can make your own!). There's not many right now, but it basically has rivals workshop. Also, the port you used to connect to pc? It can link to calculators for *2 calculator play* (last i checked) Smash open's code is actually easier to approach than some calculator programs. Stuff like this is usually asm, hardware-level, very unreadable. Axe (what this is made in) is in between: still powerful but easier to write. You could open the code for this, and might even be able to read it!

[@wavejumper3]

Also theres a lot of impressive projects. Recently someone finished an earthbound-beginnings-inspired game. On the ti 84+ CE, theres a gb emulator. The Ti 84+ CE has the most active homebrew scene (common in schools, has a homebrew C toolchain). I'd love to guide you on a deeper dive into calc homebrew, its a deep iceberg not really on youtube :/

[@DUKE_of_RAMBLE]

Must... Push comment... To top!

[@CainXVII]

Wow. I had a Casio

[@NinjaWeedle]

oh hi

[@Yoshizuyuner]

@@NinjaWeedletbh any home brew games you can probably add stuff to

[@monkeyman767]

The zoom in and out on Smash Brothers Open blew my mind, it was super smooth! Kinda sad i missed out on all this stuff as a kid but tempted to explore it now!

[@K3NnY_G]

The scaling on that first SSB is amazing, everything about it really; each thing pulling it together was probably a lot of work.

[@glorbo_42]

Can't believe how much more natural james has become behind the camera

[@fresanegra77]

More like behind it

[@glorbo_42]

Something like that

[@Rac00n]

That's why he sounded familiar. For some reason I haven't looked at the name of the channel

[@alnoso]

yeah, he was really awkward in his first vids and a bit hard to follow but now it's like he's been making videos for years

[@zerocks88]

holy fuck thats impressive on a calculator wow

[@theskullemoji]

Real

[@SirSaizo]

oh my god the dynamic camera on smash bros open and the sprites getting more detailed when it zooms in actually blew me away.

[@Mar-uc7kk]

"You louse?! I didnt even do anything how did i louse?!?!" Absolutely wheezing

[@thewolfin]

Supper Smash Brothers: Mele

[@mazda9624]

My jaw dropped when you actually booted into the stage for the first time. It looked *significantly* better than what I was expecting, and they got the camera movements down to a tee. The game seems kind of miserable to play, but it's just so interesting from a technical perspective alone. I definitely expected the game to be much more similar to all of those poor examples you showed towards the end of the video. I'm not in school anymore, so I don't really have a reason to care about it, but I do really hope the creator of that first Smash game comes back and finishes the project since the novelty is just too good.

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

It's definitely the smash 4 menu

[@sgtsalmon]

Really is crazy that this channel is this good in its infancy. Keep up the good work!

[@Games_for_James]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@Randomguyjhdhdhfhfhf]

This channel has a similar vibe as Dankpods, I reckon they should collab.

[@Shillabritish]

Yeah, maybe they should do some videos about silly cars

[@roland985]

Yeah it's really sad they don't know each other or do a car channel together. Would have been legendary to watch.

[@maksymiliankuznik4856]

Yeah, James needs more attention. Who knows, maybe one day...

[@Games_for_James]

Lmao

[@DUKE_of_RAMBLE]

​@@Games_for_JamesTo carry over my joke from the "Hello, I'm Gaming" thread... I think you'd get along well with the James from Garbage Time! 😎👍 😅

[@NukeKioh]

I'm not used to seeing calculator stuff, but SSB Open is insanely impressive from that camera alone.

[@kaitlyn__L]

...I've been playing Smash for 20 years and I never thought to think of it as loosely sumo inspired before. Mind blown, thank you James

[@JMPDev]

The dynamic camera and zoom are honestly super impressive.

[@megacherv]

"The Patreon isn't for an after show, just shows off every cool gaming thing I buy" my guy that is *exactly* what I want to see

[@RivLabs]

"That's... why I'm here."

[@lordchiopet1630]

TWO cat meows in one video? You'll spoil us James

[@GreyJolly]

The first game was absolutely insane, I would love to see how they managed to program it for a TI-83...

[@fermin3rd]

That massive level is "New Pork City", from the layout you can see the floating bits, the roof, the underground area, and on the right is the higher area with more floating bits

[@skalkabobsgarage]

"i louse!? i didn't even do anything how did i louse?!?"

[@SandmanDP]

12:00

[@HannahFortalezza]

Back in my day the only games we had on Ti83 were that rpg about getting drunk, and drug wars. Oh and doom. The effort people put into these calcs is amazing

[@chunkedname]

Can't believe we went from this, to ARM CPUs in newer Texas Instruments Calculators Keep it up man!

[@pocketpc_]

I mean, that's only on the N-Spire line. They're still making new models that run on the same Z80 architecture as this one (at significantly higher speeds of course)

[@abhimaanmayadam5713]

The TI-89 actually has a motorola 68000 cpu. Yes A 68k calculator.

[@DamianRavenhold]

I haven’t seen any of James’ videos until now. This feels like a strange alternate timeline where instead of a chaotic but endearing idiot sharing random stuff with us we get an insanely smart but equally chaotic and endearing man sharing stuff with us. Im for it

[@gazehound]

I remember that smash open game, I checked it out when I was in middle school. It blew me away with how smooth it was

[@willsell456]

You provided the best explanation of Super Smash I have heard yet. I now understand what in the world is going on when I see the game.

[@marktubeie07]

Line of the week James: _"Calculators are not usually known for fast paced gaming!"_ 😂😂

[@imnotevensure5955]

It’s crazy how James made his channel and instantly started making bangers

[@thewolfin]

suggests prior knowledge, either by intensive observation or repeated failure in whatever form

[@athens1005]

Let's goo James, keep up the grind mate

[@2-Way_Intersection]

i love how you know exactly what kind of smash player coded this due to not having any of the big boys and just the competitive fucks.

[@jaredjoe133]

As someone who has a school filled with TI 83+ calculators, this is a blessing from the heavens God has saved me

[@Games_for_James]

Ahaha still running those? Shows how good they were when they launched I guess!

[@انا_ابراهيم_البناوي]

These calculators are amazing the amount of the stuff you kind you do is amazing

[@Windows95-likes-old-tech]

James i love your content keep up the fabulous work, ill tell my mates to subscribe to you

[@Games_for_James]

Thanks! Will do!

[@SyrusDrake]

That first game is beyond impressive. I didn't even know the Ti-83 could do those things.

[@LeedleFace1212]

That test stage that was supposed to crash the game, that was actually new pork city. Very impressive!

[@EpicVideoGamer7771]

James Channel just keeps on giving

[@grizzlybearpikachu8683]

Massive props to the guy that made the first one, that’s awesome

[@CaptQtip]

The most impressive game I’ve played on my Ti-84+ Fruit Ninja, you run your fingers over the number keys to swipe fruit and it actually works really well

[@CreamAle]

That first smash game.. actually had me saying wow out loud. This is homebrew... Bro, that's actually amazing. That zoom in when the characters were hanging and you actually saw the pixel art.. Straight up amazing.

[@kooldudeno-lastname]

I'm glad you made a channel and honestly, it's just really chill and your technique is really cool!

[@GigaLem]

I remember having these calculators in high school, I didn't know much of a homwbrew scene it had until years later

[@syazwantheboogies8616]

That actual pretty decent! Look like an actual SSB running on a calculator! You make me want to buy Ti-83 plus

[@williamsanborn9195]

I would’ve TOTALLY had this game on my calculator when I was in high school. The homebrew scene for the TI calculators is pretty darn impressive!

[@Retrolovegamer]

James Will make a computer out of a rock , 2 coins and for some reason a nuclear reactor that he has laying around his house , Legend

[@theftking]

This game is okay but the raytracing introduced a huge performance hit that you need DLSS to overcome, plus the Ti-83+ doesn't have RT cores. For that you need the Ti-84+ Silver Edition or better.

[@NiGHTSaturn]

You’re usually awesome at making shit work, but sometimes, you gotta use what was actually intended 😂 How amazing is it that you can still do this with a Mac Mini M1. When I experimented with a Sony Clié for my Aibo, it was a riiiide. I needed an old PC just for that.

[@Games_for_James]

Yeah I really thought I’d be stuck with a legacy pc or something but I gave it a shot and it just worked!

[@thewolfin]

It Just Works™* *Provided that client buys the appropriate (probably proprietary) hardware.

[@NinjaWeedle]

What can I say Silverlink cables are amazing

[@oni5213]

As someone who mods Smash Bros and knows a lot of technical details about it There's 3 kinds of knockback Base knockback which happens no matter what and is always the same Knockback growth which scales with your percent at your percent And then forced knockback, which just forces you to move to a specific position or a set amount

[@coolduder1001]

That's actually insane. This makes me think you could actually port smash to an og Gameboy. They're both z80 based, they both have dot matrix screens, but the Gameboy should have better handling of sprites and things.

[@DUKE_of_RAMBLE]

Bomberman was my fav back in school. Mainly because, in addition to multilayer, it had single player. The graphics were just as good as that game, too. I still have the calc (a Ti-86, IIRC), after 20+ yrs since highschool... But I'm *_almost positive_* the games are lost due to the CR2032 undoubtedly being dead. _(I seem to recall checking around a decade ago)_

[@eDoc2020]

I don't know how the 86 works but on the TI-83+ the Apps are stored in flash so they'll persist after battery loss.

[@DUKE_of_RAMBLE]

@@eDoc2020 Yea, old Ti calcs all had volatile storage. It took 4x AAA for powering it, but then used a CR2032 for keeping the memory powered. Same as, say, Zelda for NES. (but they used barrel cell, I think; like a CR123) In practice, it keeps the storage powered for years and years and years after the AAA run flat... So I suppose it's *_plausible_* mine hasn't reset. I seem to recall on a @BenHeck vid, that he had found decades old cells still chugging along, and, that the circuit didn't necessarily even need the full 3.3v/3v to keep the memory alive.

[@jamesonwhite167]

I think this is literally one of the coolest things I've ever seen!

[@InThee1104]

you were dead on when you said the 2nd one would be alright for a 70/80s arcade game - the mechanic of hitting your opponent to the edge of the screen to win is used in Nintendo's 1984 arcade game Urban Champion

[@alexdunt8590]

The test stage is new pork city, which originated in super smash bros brawl. That might be why you didn't recognise it...

[@ray2op]

Way better than I was expecting. This is so well made.

[@thekingoffailure9967]

The game calling you a louse is far more devastating than it declaring you’ve lost.

[@Monkeymoo1111]

Very interesting I downloaded the game awhile back for my ti 84 plus silver edition Although on the read me it said it would not run on a ti 83 Mine did also say map test would crash but it didn’t for me and loaded into a map albeit very laggy due to the detail on it It might have been because the silver edition ti 84 plus has better hardware although I’m not sure

[@skalkabobsgarage]

you bought a $500 calculator?!

[@Monkeymoo1111]

500? I got it for 80 quid I don’t know where you got 500 from all the ones on ebay are selling for 40-80 quid

[@skalkabobsgarage]

@@Monkeymoo1111 if you get one brand new they go up to $500 aud

[@Perc1000]

lmaooo you posted this literally the day after i got my ti-83 and a cable for it theres only enough storage space for bubble bobble on it too

[@Games_for_James]

Haha yeah the flash memory is rather small, at least it’s easy to transfer files with the usb cable

[@obscuremix8198]

This channel is just getting better and better. I feel at home here.

[@givowo]

i remember trying out the first one you played when it only had fox and falco that was like 3-4 years ago

[@thewolfin]

"I hate using up as jump in smash brothers" I somehow knew you'd be anti-up-jump gang before even hearing this, but only realized my prediction after you'd said it. A true man of culture. Continue to be "that guy" that needs to tweak the one profile option before joining in.

[@Lizlodude]

Ok wow, that first one is insane. I did a lot of messing around on my TI84+, and yeah those later ones were a lot closer to what I was able to achieve. Just having it render at that framerate is nuts.

[@OutbackCatgirl]

your kitty is an absolute purrfessional at meows. please release regular cat noises on your patreon

[@atif.u]

imagine playing this during maths class

[@izanegi]

The huge level at the end was New Pork City from Brawl!

[@Games_for_James]

Ohhh, I played brawl a lot less than melee

[@Motorjam]

for the percent thing, every move has a base knockback and a variable knockback. your percent is what percent of the variable knockback you take when you get hit

[@Games_for_James]

That makes sense but also seems like something the players weren’t expected to be told so relating to it is kinda odd still

[@crozzo08]

This makes we wonder what modern graphical calculators are capable of, fancy smash bros in colour by any chance?

[@Games_for_James]

Full emulation of some consoles. I’ve got plenty more ti-83+ content to investigate before I move on to anything newer though

[@crozzo08]

@Games_for_James Alr, am excited to see it!

[@endy2629]

I believe one of my friends downloaded mario kart and pokemon on their cas lol

[@superbub1]

I'm sure someone else has suggested it, but smash bros on an overclocked calculator would be fun to see.

[@derekw8039]

This has to be the best calculator game ever made! The only thing that shocks me is that Mr. Game and Watch isn't playable, given the calculator graphics!

[@BLOODY__FATALITY]

I can't believe how well made this is even if it's unfinished. I can't believe this is literally running on a calculator.

[@DerpfishsaysNO]

ALRIGHT I TOTALLY DIDNT REALIZE IT WAS OL' MATE JAMES I JUST WAS CURIOUS HOW SMASH ON A CALC WOULD WORK

[@kusfhizjingjiongia4564]

this man is NOT dankpods

[@sorrynotsorry3]

Im pretty sure the last map in smash bros open is new pork city

[@EeveeEuphoria]

how in the world are they doing this on such an ancient CPU, all under BASIC no less?

[@ChristianStout]

They probably use z80 Assembly for things like this.

[@EeveeEuphoria]

@@ChristianStout you can't do z80 assembly without modding the calculator though, can't you?

[@ChristianStout]

@@EeveeEuphoria I don't know how to do it myself, but I know it's possible. There's an Assembly compiler for Windows that will make calculator executables.

[@pjousma]

Oh wow, the scaling and graphics are very good

[@silpheedTandy]

knowing that James played hours of Smash just made him 20 points sexier to me

[@Skippyxlxlxl]

I can't wait for smash bros but on a happy meal lcd toy.

[@gowanlore2434]

Honestly Texas Instruments should delve into the console market.

[@mcm2230]

I like the part where James.

[@Games_for_James]

It’s Fox!

[@sammyb9683]

I thought the best was doom but I have been proven wrong

[@lego_minifig]

I remember running one of these smash bros homebrew games. I could never get it to work with multiplayer over 2 calculators and it ran in slow motion

[@mysfiring]

I can't help but feel that while this channel is obviously influenced by Dankpods there's a tiny bit of This Old Tony thrown in as well. Good stuff mate!

[@ThinkAboutVic]

james channel (real legal name) being a melee player wasn't on my bingo card

[@RetroT-Bones]

I’m actually impressed by this. It will be cool to see street fighter or any other game on a calculator

[@FemboyVegeta]

In my mind, Wade is always sitting in the corner of the room playing the drums for the background music

[@JomasterTheSecond]

0:05 OK, you've teased us with Marvel Vs. Capcom. *Now I wanna see this.*

[@gentlesoul221]

The TI-83 is like yellow post-its. Everyone has one in their house somewhere

[@Ghost._.16]

I love your channel and I was getting in to calculators and you made this at the right time😂

[@MajorSSC_Gaming]

That's an amazing calculator mod ngl. They need this one on the TI 84 Plus CE. These ones Are Better Than The GTA Ones.

[@ralseibutitsacat8169]

You’ve heard of “can it run doom” now get ready for “can it run smash”

[@Thewaterspirit57]

Wade has every iPad, and then James just has the mini :P lol perfect. Man knows peak iPad.

[@LazoLad]

Makes sense that you can play games on calculators, computers are just bigger stronger calculators, but this is amazing. It looks like an actual game!

[@erzajumeidi]

I was expecting texts like previous gta but holy moly it's actually smash bros, and it has camera movement 😮

[@donnikthejedi2222]

"So you can each have a Calculator and play 2 Player" well that's a Sentence for sure XD

[@luiscomic5138]

i audiably said "holy shit!" when i saw the stage load. This is so so cool!

[@SNintendoFreak]

Wow Open far exceeded my expectations when I first clicked on the video. Would be so cool to see him return to this project!

[@oliverunger7301]

Based off of the layout i'd say the "Hyrule" level is actually "New Pork City"

[@bluejay21.]

Now we wait for the competitive scene to play Smash Open...

[@Evixyn]

It would be heavily interesting to see this title completed.

[@rakim126]

Had mario on ti 83+ in 2001-2. Got it via transfer cable from a legend

[@GreyJolly]

Two cat clips? You're spoiling us!