Insofar as I can tell, using calcnet seems to be fairly simple - a certain amount of RAM is allocated for data, and there are about 4 commands I can use to send/recieve data.  However, I have no idea on the specifics, and the nature of the sending-of-data.
So out of curiosity...

1] Which area of RAM can I store data to?  (I think it's L1?)
2] How do I instruct my calculator to send/recieve data?
3] When sending data, how exactly does it work?  Does it take the contents of my buffer and update every other buffer to match mine, or what?
4] Is there a way to use Calcnet without having to require/bundle DoorsCS 7.1 with each program?
5] Could somebody provide a simple example of an Axe program using Calcnet?
6] How do I simulate linking two calculators in wabbitemu?
7] How is Calcnet spelled?  Is it 'calcnet', or 'CalcNet', or 'Calcnet', etc...

1) About the first 600 bytes of L1 are used by CALCnet2.2, so if you want to store data, you must store to the end of L1, to L3 (abandoning grayscale, L4 (abandoning archiving), or an appvar in user memory (this is actually what I do in Eitrix, which is being developed here).
2) Read the CALCnet whitepaper on cemetech.net. Sending basically is storing bytes in certain locations in a certain order. Recieving happens automatically, and you only have to check the recieve buffer, do what you want with it, and then clear it. The CALCnet interrupt takes care of the rest.
3) CALCnet uses point-to-point sending. Each calculator has a unique 3-byte address based on its serial number. When you send data, you store where you want it to go, and it will get there in less than a tenth of a second if everything is working right. You would store 0 to the address to send the message to everyone (this is how you would send your ID), and use AAAAAA to connect to a router that connects to the Internet.
4) Sadly, you do need DoorsCS, unless you can somewhow embed the libraries into your program. Someone with influence at Cemetech could convince Kerm to make a smaller version with some of the features removed (such as the BASIC libs).
6) I don't know about wabbitemu, but Tilem 0.992 (the emulator I use) supports libticables, which allows an instance of the emulator to set a virtual link cable for linking together two calculators. You can also use this to link with a real cable (except for TI-84 Plus Directlink) which you could modify or couple to link with more than one calculator (although I don't know how good that is for your computer).
7) The first time you use it, you write CALCnet2.2. Thereafter, you can write CALCnet.

CALCnet is essential when you are sending a lot of data or linking more than one calculator (through simply splicing link cables together). Other than that, you should use Axe's linking functionality.

Hey guys! I have a new version of Eitrix: 0.3.1!

The big new thing is Attacks: effects that mess up your block configurations. Every frame, there is a 1 in 256 chance that you will recieve an Attack on your screen.

However, the real reason that I wanted to post now is that I wanted to get some optimizations before I added CALCnet2.2. These are the things that need fixed:
- The game becomes incredibly slow when more blocks are added to the grid
- The title screen does not like to show up when compiled with Axe 0.4.7
- The game freezes when run with Doors CS 7.1

Please look at this code and tell me what you find!

EDIT: I just made a change to the game code that made the game a whole heck-of-a-lot faster. It uses an appvar to keep a rendered copy of the grid, and the grid is only rerendered when it is changed. This makes the game that much faster (except when specials are active). I'll post this update soon, after I fix the key timers to be more sane.

I can't download the program myself, but I think that it would be cool to interface this game with CALCnet2.2 on DoorsCS, if you are an advocate of that. Four player (or eight player) Lightcycle would be awesome, and it would also be cool with the tank and disc fighting mode.

One thing that I've always wanted to do for a Tron game is where every calculator is a User, and a User could have multiple Programs, which you send on raids to steal files from other Users, which are worth points. Users would use their Game Grid games to defend their files (e.g. you have to play Lightcycle to get that government intelligence, for example).

call ** == $CD
Just put that hex in the program followed by the hex equate of the subroutine so:
[shameless plug] http://future_history.freehostia.com/Files/Resources/program%20readmes/Axe/Commands.htm#Sym [/shameless plug]

Code: [Select]

...code...
Asm(CD####)
...code...I believe this works.

Thank you, Eeems. I'll remember that, and I'll be forever greatful.

One thing I also read in the whitepaper is since CALCnet2.2 uses interrupts, it does not like GetCSC as a scan code, instead providing its own subroutine for getting keys. However, the keys are debounced, which is probably not what I want. What method does Axe use for the direct Getkey method (getkey(XX))? If it uses GetCSC, how would I read the input directly?

Oh - and I also read the Axe documentation and noticed that the direct getkey command had been changed so that it could use a variable and not just a constant. If, of course, this doesn't mean it's using GetCSC, I could let players remap the keys to whatever they want. How does that sound?

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I have a nice Christmas present for all of you: Eitrix version 0.3! This new version contains Special Blocks, blocks with special powers that are activated when they are cleared. It's all in the readme.

And also, is there a more appropriate place to put this topic? I know that there is a Calc Projects board somewhere, and I think that that board would be a better place to move this. What do you think?

Thank you so much for the peanuts. You have some creative skills. I wish I had a sack of peanuts to contribute.

Actually, this isn't my first Axe game. I've coded several games before, and my first Axe game was a simple zombie shooter that can be found on ticalc.org (Axe Zombie). I used Paint to make the cool title screen for that game, and I will probably use it again to revamp the HUD picture.

Thanks for your feedback, everyone! And that's really good news that I will be able to move A-Z around. And thanks for that screenshot, ScoutDavid.

I think that the best way to make a game slower is to embellish it. If you have a lot of processor power, don't waste it with Pause commands or whatnot. Make your game look better. Put in some nice looking grayscale or something!

But yes, if you are looking to save power, then I don't know how to help you. I don't think it can be done, unless you want to lower the contrast on the calc automatically (that should lower power consumption). The battery life on those things lasts for about a year anyway. AAA batteries aren't that expensive.