I'll be editing this more by the time it actually comes out so I have some vague idea of what I'm actually talking about.
SmileBASIC for Wii U is supposedly set to launch in Japan this month next week (as of 12/07/2016). There really isn't any central point of discussion for it, so here's a big megapost about it all!
If I miss anything, PLEASE tell me. I'll put more stuff in here as things happen/are discussed because I don't like sitting and doing one thing for hours I need my breaks ok
The software is set to be loaded with SmileBASIC 3.5.0, with a 3.4.0 update for 3DS planned.
NEW FEATURES
- USB Keyboard Support - A USB keyboard can be plugged in and used as the keyboard.
- Double-Res Graphics - A double-resolution mode will be available. This increases the upper-screen resolution to 800x480 and the lower to 640x480. Double-res variant of XSCREEN 4 unknown.
- Resizeable GRPs - Exactly what it says on the tin. Seems as though you can specify different sizes for the graphic page in a special screen mode, up to twice the size.
- Larger Editor Screen - 71x43 editor with a 16x16 font. Side note: this size is on account of the UI and menu systems running natively at 720p, it seems.
- Two SMILE Buttons - There are now two SMILE Buttons. Thus, you can have two tools mapped at any given time.
- 3DS/WiiU Compatibility Switches - There will be some kind of switches in the code that specify a program is a Wii U one and will enable specific features. There might also be one that specifies 3DS, whether or not this instruction will be present in a 3DS update is unknown.
- Performance Enhancements - As to be expected. Approx. 3x faster than N3DS (which is 3x faster than O3DS last I checked). 64MiB total heap memory (that's 8x what we have now!)
- Microphone is supported via USB, not through the Gamepad (for some reason?)
- Multiplayer was changed. Instead of connecting and communicating with multiple SB systems, up to 3 more controllers can be connected and used. All standard Wii U controllers (read: not GameCube) seem to be compatible.
- Obviously, no 3D display. Z-coordinate is still used in contexts of draw order and stuff of course.