
SmileBASIC 4 for Nintendo Switch - Fr0styMatt88
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/smilebasic-4-switch/
======
jquast
> In order to upload your works to the server or unlimited downloading of the
> published works, you need to purchase Server Tickets in the game.

ok.. so it costs money, but if I want to share a game I write, or look at
others, I'd have to buy some kind of ticket? $9 to upload a limited amount of
code,
[https://ec.nintendo.com/AU/en/titles/70010000010544/consumab...](https://ec.nintendo.com/AU/en/titles/70010000010544/consumables/cqjhtpfl6uprvlt0)

What's next, some kind of "purchase another 100 lines of code" DLC package?
You know, as a kid I learned BASIC from school friends, neighbors, and family
members, and taught BASIC to many more, by trading the source code freely.
Books like "BASIC Computer Games" were gotten at the library for free. My
computer booted into BASIC for free.

Now I realize how disadvantaged I was, _this_ is the future -- teaching
children about "platforms", that hold your code hostage, monetize on your
creative works, and nickel and dime away your creative energy.

To think, all that nasty PIRATING of BASIC code !! Without paying anyone?!
Thousands of dollars on the table, finally somebody is monetizing this!

~~~
Razengan
We need a modern “codable console” in the spirit of the Commodore 64 and
Sinclair Spectrum etc.

Something you can just unbox and start playing and programming on right away.
The Raspberry Pi is not it, the iPad isn’t it, and neither is any Android. The
remakes/revivals of the C64 etc. are not it either.

Something like a laptop that boots into a _friendly_ GUI/CLI hybrid within 1
second, and doesn’t require the internet or signing-up or any other bullshit.
Just a big fat blinking cursor.

~~~
pjmlp
There are plenty of them to choose from.

[http://www.ic0nstrux.com/](http://www.ic0nstrux.com/)

[https://www.hardkernel.com/shop/odroid-
go/](https://www.hardkernel.com/shop/odroid-go/)

[https://www.hardkernel.com/shop/odroid-go-
advance/](https://www.hardkernel.com/shop/odroid-go-advance/)

[https://arduboy.com/](https://arduboy.com/)

[https://www.specnext.com/](https://www.specnext.com/)

~~~
Razengan
The Spectrum Next seems to be the closest to the ideal, and obviously it's
perfect for Spectrum fans including me, but it's missing:

• A built-in display.

• A platform not tied to imitating an older platform.

• A language not tied to an older language.

As for the others, despite being commendable efforts, they're also missing one
or more of:

• Usable straight out of the box; no assembly required, and without need to
connect and update the system first.

• A single official repository (not excluding others) for sharing and
distributing user-made programs, accessible from the device itself as easily
as the App Store.

• Standard keyboard AND standard game controller (most have only one or the
other).

• No fragmentation: If you wrote a program for the Commodore 64 or ZX
Spectrum, it would run on 99% of the C64s or Speccies (the only differences
that I can recall were the 48K/128K versions, and things like "speech" packs
etc. but we don't need separate "upgrades" like that today).

As "blondin" commented:

> _i see people talking about the arduinos, raspberry pis, and all these micro
> devices for which you have to pick additional components among myriads and
> you will be very lucky if 10 more people have the same setup that you have.
> these people are missing an important point about platform and sharing
> here._

~~~
pjmlp
I kind of agree, however they are the closest one will ever get like those old
platforms.

Waiting for the perfect unicorn will not work out.

------
jchw
I’m currently mindblown at one of the programs publicly available for download
in the software, which is a NEC PC-8801 emulator... I peeked at the BASIC code
and it does indeed appear to be emulating a Z80 and it even includes support
for loading real BIOS dumps and floppy images seemingly.

I can’t find much information about the software online but I think it was
developed for one of the competitions and I’d highly recommend checking it out
if you decide to purchase SmileBASIC 4.

~~~
qilo
Can you share a link? Do you think would it be possible to play with the code
from the (free) book "Machine code for beginners" [0] with that emulator? I'd
like to get some familiarity with machine code, and thought maybe it's a
simplest way to start with. Or maybe you can give other suggestions for the
emulator?

From the book (page 3):

> The book is specially written for computers with a Z80 or 6502
> microprocessor.

[0] [https://usborne.com/browse-books/features/computer-and-
codin...](https://usborne.com/browse-books/features/computer-and-coding-
books#__mcenew)

------
tabs_masterrace
Very cool. This will probably get some kids onto the path of a future
programming career. I remember my first PC running MS DOS, being young and
curios I just had to try everything, eventually stumbling upon Pascal, and
that would basically shape my adult life.

Sometimes I worry about the new generation though, despite the prevalence of
technology and information, most grow up on locked down mobile systems, which
are made for consumption and don't promote creating very well. They are also
very opaque to what's actually happening under the hood. Mobile UI is an
godsend for user experience, but it's also one heck of an abstraction layer.

Maybe that's why so many people are trying their luck with becoming
influencers, streamers or youtubers, because that's seems like the kind of
content creation these devices promote.

Anyway, on the same vein, I was positively surprised when Overwatch added some
kind of visual coding environment for custom games a year or so ago. Seemed a
bit silly, but give kids the tools, and they'll create. I'm sure that alone
will have a real positive impact for many young adults.

~~~
thedevelopnik
I’ve gotten my kid very into Nintendo Labo. You build toys from cardboard that
hold the controllers and so you can drive a car in the game with a cardboard
wheel, for example. But the whole thing is a veneer on learning how the toys
work through additional activities, and then a drag and drop programming
interface is available so you can make your own interactive tools using the
Switch. He’s not quite old enough to grasp the programming interface, but the
discovery section demystifies the abstraction layer of the controller. Its not
just a box. Its a box you open up and change.

~~~
mobiledev2014
If you haven't bought the VR kit, they added a full 3D editor on top of the
engine from the first few releases, which allows you to create VR or non-VR
games. It's absolutely incredible and was sadly overlooked. I've been hoping
for them to update it with proper sharing and do a new marketing push but
doubtful such a thing is coming. There are 2 VR sets available- the full kit
is more impressive but the software is the same on both if you care more about
the diy games than what Nintendo provides.

------
blondin
i waited forever for a release on the DS. it finally came but on the switch.
also the developers told me that a switch lite wouldn't be the best experience
(not TV output among a few things).

~~~
niconii
Previous versions of SmileBASIC also exist on the DSi (under the name "Petit
Computer") and 3DS (simply called "SmileBASIC").

------
kennydude
I wonder how tihs compares to FUZE [https://www.fuze.co.uk/nintendo-
switch.html](https://www.fuze.co.uk/nintendo-switch.html)

~~~
dukoid
No public API docs for either platform it seems?

~~~
niconii
[https://sup4.smilebasic.com/en/doku.php?id=reference:top](https://sup4.smilebasic.com/en/doku.php?id=reference:top)

[https://fuzearena.com/help](https://fuzearena.com/help)

------
strategarius
That's not the first solution, when gaming console gave access to hardware
through simple programming language for the purpose of entertainment and
education. There was Sega Saturn Game Basic [0], published in 1998 and giving
access to almost all console hardware capabilities.

However, 2020 is not 1998, and I personally consider Basic a bit outdated even
for education purposes. Don't get me wrong, it's a great tool to introduce
world of programming to kids, but Python would have been much more practical
and extremely simple to learn.

[0] [https://youtu.be/O_QU8eaMymo](https://youtu.be/O_QU8eaMymo)

