Hrm
Super Mario 86 ROCKS compared to most anything that has been released, but just a few suggestions:
The background seems to make enemies invisible and easy to run into, perhaps grayscale?
Pogo-stick jumping is annoying (wince)
compliments:
SOUND! you used sound! blessed art thou :) sound games are rare it seems, as are grayscale games...
Very excellent graphics besides background visibility probs
questions:
I've tried to find your web site with info about aurora, ended up hacking into an icon file to figure it out. If you have an automated on-calc icon editor (besides converting binary strings to hex and compiling) I'd love to see it. ASE, as it has been said, combined with Aurora would really deliver a blow to the 85. Right now the only advantages the 85 has is the ability to run larger ASM files and run Usgard, a really advanced shell. Aurora+emulation+easy icon edits+start menu+grayscale=truly amazing.
if I forgot to mention it, Smario86 ROCKS.

I don't think the vision problem should be fixed with grayscale. The problem only occurs with the goomba enemies because they are all black with only two white eyes (Are there any other enemies that are hard to see?). The easy way to fix the problem would be to surround the goomba sprite with an outline of white pixels, then you could see its outline against a black background. this would help.

First of all, great game!!! By far the best for the ti-86 yet. I also had problems seeing enemies because I lost them in the background. I think that making both the enemies and mario at least partially grayscale would be a great enhancement.(mario in the dungeon level didn't work to well). It would also be nice to see some sort of animation above a coin box when you hit it .
Once again thank you Bill for the great games and keep up the good work!
Rich

I think that Bill is one of the best 86 programmers out there. I can't believe that he's just giving his programs away. I love Aurora as a graphical shell, and ASE 1.3 for emulation. I think that a combonation of the two would be perhaps the best shell on any calculator. I also find myself using his grey background program alot. All I can say is "Bill, keep up the good work!"

I think that Bill is one of the best 86 programmers out there. I can't believe that he's just giving his programs away. I love Aurora as a graphical shell, and ASE 1.3 for emulation. I think that a combonation of the two would be perhaps the best shell on any calculator. I also find myself using his grey background program alot. All I can say is "Bill, keep up the good work!"

Bill,
I too want to join the multitude of people in saying that this Super Mario 86 is truly incredible and inspiring. It's fast and very entertaining. Personally, I prefer the fast speed, and don't think it should be slowed down in any way. If anything, and if you have the time to meet the demands for speed changes, you could add a speed changer as in LodeRunner for the 85. In that way, people could adjust the speed to fit their desired preference. I'm not sure if you overlooked this or just forgot to include it or are adding it in a later version, but I've noticed that big mario doesn't have the ability to duck. Also, if you recall in the Nintendo game, mario can also go into the ducking state when running and sliding so that he could get under places he would not normally be able to get under in the big state by just regularly walking and then ducking. Please consider adding this feature to the game as time permits. Thanks.

Don

Yeah, I speed changer like the one in SQRXZ would be great! Just don't make it as slow as Penguins or Mega Man 83.

First of all I've talked to Bill (through e-mail).
In Quotations are the things I reccomended. Everything else is what he told me.

Things I thought were Bugs:
"Turtle Shells Don't Kill Enemies"
Bill: It takes too much cpu time
"When you get 100 coins they're not set back to 0"
Bill: Coins count as score. Every 100 gives you a life.
"It's too fast."
Bill: I think it's too slow.
"Pirana Plants Come out of Pipes Even If you're on them"
Bill: It's more challenging that way.

Suggestions (Only the important ons):
"Greyscale"
Bill: Scrolling and Grayscale are Impossible
"Ducking"
Bill: Will Do
"Running"
Bill: He's already running.

I asked him some other stuff but I forgot the rest. I think Super Mario 86 1.0 will rule ;P

This is THE BEST GAME so far for the TI-86 or any other, but since there is the ability to make your own levels, I foresee a tremendous influx of custom levels. Will TI-Calc.org create a directory for the levels?

I already created a directory for Super Mario 86 levels. It is at http://www.ticalc.org/pub/86/asm/games/levels/smario/ There are (I think) five levels there right now, and more coming everyday.

I read the docs and the help screen, but for some reason, after I test a level, i can't get back to it if it's the 2nd or 3rd world in. Is this a bug? or have i just not found the right keys to press?

I had the same problem but all u have to do is press the Plus (+) sign to move up a level or if you want to go back press the minus (-) button.

This really doesn't have much to do with Mario 86, seeing as how I don't have a TI-86 and can't play it. However, I think it looks like an excellent game, and I hope someone will take the time to port it to the 89 when it comes out, because that will probably be the last calc I am going to buy (and it looks like the best out of all TI's...).
Anyway, I also had a question about speeding up your calc, or as it has been referred to in here, havina a "turboed" calc. I've got an 83 and an 85 and was wondering how I would go about "turboing" (sp?) them, or whatever.
Thanks for reading this, and Bill, keep up the great work!

Go to http://cccsrv.trevano.ch/~blutz/TIGen/TIElectronics.html You need some experience in soldering to do it, however.

Wow! Great game, Bill! Just have a few questions:

Are you going to create warp tube support (by that I mean being able to go through tubes and/or warp to different levels)?

I'm not sure I understand how to kill Bowser.

If you do decide to put in fireballs, are they going to be like Mario Land fireballs (they bounce and they are gone), or like Mario World fireballs (they go straight)?

Keep up the great work.

--Jared

If you want to know how to kill bowser, it's real simple, so I'll tell you. all you have to do is make him fall through the holes that he makes in the ground, the first time he falls through one, he's dead!!! Hope this helps!!!

mike

I know everyone's been telling Bill what to add to the game so I'll put in my 2 cents:
All these ideas I got from Mario 1 and 3 for NES:
1.)Add a hidden vine block that goes to sky Bonus worlds. (This should be easy to add)
2.)Make powerup blocks that can be hidden in bricks so they are disguised.
3.)Add invisible blocks that you can't see until you hit them. Also make invisible 1-up blocks.
4.)Make a Pipe that warps to other levels!

I agree 100% and I also have a few things to add.
1) You COULD add grayscale without scrolling. When the screen moves, it can be black and white, when it's still, it can be grayscale.
2) Add scrolling both ways, back and foward.
3) Make turtle shells destroy enimies.
4) I'm creating a web site on how to make a great amplified speaker or headphone system for the TI-86 for use with games supporting sound (i.e SM86). It should be listed in the TIcalc.org informational section shortly. Give it 2 weeks. If your dying to make it, get the following items from radioshack. (1) 1/8" (3.5mm) Mini Jack Coupler (Cat # 274-1555C), (1) Shielded Adapter (2.5mm) phone jack to (3.5mm) phone plug. Get your headphones and plug them into one end of the coupler, plug the male side of the adapter into the other end of the coupler, plug your link cable into the link port while SM86 is running, and finally, the other end of the link cable into the female end of the adapter. PUSH HARD! It takes some work to make it stick. If it seems like the link cable's male end is too long for the adapter, just cram it in there, it'll fit! I personally use headphones with mine for portablility issues but I've also used it on Labtec LCS150 computer speakers, all the details, even how to use it with subwoofers will be on my web site shortly!

If you use simply the 2.5mm->3.5mm adapter, it will work with nearly any type of speaker system with an 1/8" input, as far as I've seen. I just plugged my calc into my regular computer speaker system (with a subwoofer and junk) and it worked perfectly. I got Super Mario with tons of bass. Crank it up, dude. Anyways, the portability thing is kind of an issue, because i found some crappy 4w speakers to plug in, but unhappily discovered that the sound outputted from them is about equivalent to the sound that comes out of headphones. Perhaps an amplifier is needed? Do they make portable ones?

My wishlist for the next version of Mario86:

1. Vertical scrolling
2. A top-of-water tile (so that water can be identified)
3. Objects (like coins) that have black backgrounds
4. Turtle shells that kill enemies
5. Fireballs!!
6. How about RabbitEars (like in SML2)?
7. Grayscale??
8. Thwomp traps should shake the screen when they hit, pause, then go back up
9. Vines
10. Outlined goombas (for better visibility)
11. Classic "Pause" sound when pausing
12. Podobo's don't really kill you right now
13. Lakitu
14. Spiky's (can only be killed by fireballs)
15. Blocks don't break when you are little mario
16. Little mario can crawl into tight spaces
17. Music in the beginning
18. Cheep cheeps
19. Boo Diddley's
20. Pipes you can go down

Like I said, it's a wishlist. As it is, M86 is pretty damn cool anyways.

i can not get this game to work plz tell me how it always says error 07 ok so that what i think of this game

You need to use the Asm( function, which is located in the CATALOG. Press [2nd], [CUSTOM], [F1], scroll down to Asm( and press ENTER. Then press [PRGM], [F1], select mario, and hit ENTER.

Or download ASE or Rascall and run it from there.