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@cyningstan@mastodon.social · 2 weeks ago

But in early 2025 I picked up my #cga roguelike #gamedev project for #msdos The Chambers Beneath again, which I'd been working on since 2021 and put aside to avoid burnout. The Chambers Beneath was released in July 2025, and shortly afterwards, the #DOSember game jam was announced. Since abandoned projects were allowed for this non-competitive jam, I thought #Barbarians would make a good entry. https://cyningstan.itch.io/barbarians-dos

Portable Barbarians: two pocket computers running the game: a Psion Series 3 running the EPOC16 version from 2010, and a Hewlett Packard 100LX running the new MS-DOS version from 2025.

itch.io

Barbarians (DOS) by Cyningstan

A strategy game for MS-DOS

Cyningstan

@cyningstan@mastodon.social · 2 months ago

At the end of 2012 I started developing games in assembly language for the #Sinclair #ZXSpectrum instead. I'd learned Z80 assembly language in my teens, decades before, but teenage me lacked the patience to develop anything serious in assembly language. Adult me would have lacked the patience to develop on the cassette-based Spectrum too, but by 2012 there were PC-based tools that made the process much smoother. https://cyningstan.itch.io/barbarians #gamedev #Barbarians

A close up of the original ZX Spectrum with its infamous rubber keys. Despite not being a portable computer, the ZX Spectrum's main unit was smaller than the Psion Series 7 and netBook.

itch.io

Barbarians (ZX Spectrum) by Cyningstan

Protect your empire from the advancing hordes!

Cyningstan

@cyningstan@mastodon.social · last month

I limited myself to the basic 16k #ZXSpectrum, to prevent feature creep, and decided that a good first #gamedev project would be a port of my Psion game #Barbarians. Being out of work at the time, this took me only a month to complete, and was based on the look of the 16-bit Psion versions. The gameplay remained the same, although the game now realises you've lost if the number of barbarians gets unmanageable. https://cyningstan.itch.io/barbarians

The title screen of the ZX Spectrum version of Barbarians hides a trick. Nestled around that sunset image, in black pixels on a black background, is the full detail of the game's HUD, stretching right down to the bottom of the screen. The sunset image is placed within the map area of the screen. When the game starts, only the colours need to be changed to make the HUD visible. This takes much less memory than copying all the HUD graphics from RAM, and allows a reasonably detailed display that wouldn't normally be possible on the 16k Spectrum.

itch.io

Barbarians (ZX Spectrum) by Cyningstan

Protect your empire from the advancing hordes!

Cyningstan

@cyningstan@mastodon.social · last month

Despite a lull in the Spectrum's popularity when the machine became obsolete, it had such affection among its former owners that its revival as a retro platform in the 2000s has allowed the #ZXSpectrum to maintain its popularity to the present day. So in 2012 when I released #Barbarians, the game attracted much more attention than the original Psion version ever did. It got some video playthroughs, and even a review in the Crash magazine annual! https://cyningstan.itch.io/barbarians #gamedev

The Barbarians victory screen on the ZX Spectrum. The map display fits nicely into the ZX Spectrum's attribute grid, allowing quite a colourful display. Only two of the machine's 15 colours remain unused in the game, the two blue shades. Even magenta is used, for the cursor not shown here.

itch.io

Barbarians (ZX Spectrum) by Cyningstan

Protect your empire from the advancing hordes!

Cyningstan

@cyningstan@mastodon.social · 4 weeks ago

Fast forward to 2024 and I decided the time was right to prepare the groundwork for an #msdos version of #Barbarians. I've been doing MS-DOS #gamedev aimed at early #cga #ibmpc machines since about 2020, and had already ported my third ZX Spectrum game Ossuary. I have more advanced ideas for ancient warfare than Barbarians, so I decided to start work on an MS-DOS port before the idea gets eclipsed by a more complex game on the same subject. https://cyningstan.itch.io/barbarians-dos

A composite image my two games now ported from the ZX Spectrum to DOS. On top, Ossuary, with the Spectrum version on the left and the DOS version on the right. On the bottom, Barbarians, again with the Spectrum version on the left and the DOS version on the right.

itch.io

Barbarians (DOS) by Cyningstan

A strategy game for MS-DOS

Cyningstan

@cyningstan@mastodon.social · 2 weeks ago

itch.io

Barbarians (DOS) by Cyningstan

A strategy game for MS-DOS

Cyningstan

@cyningstan@mastodon.social · 6 days ago

My #ibmpc #gamedev projects use C, making this the third language I've used for #Barbarians. The graphics were based on the 32-bit version for the Psion Revo, but the 4-greyscale monochrome graphics were recoloured in the most colourful or gaudy of #cga palettes: blue, green, red, yellow. This palette gives a number of possibilities for dithered colours, so I have purple mountains, brown city walls, and forests in all kinds of autumnal shades. https://cyningstan.itch.io/barbarians-dos

A screenshot from the MS-DOS version of Barbarians, showing off the palette. The thick forest shows the various autumnal shades this palette is capable of through dithering: purples, oranges, browns, and various shades of green.

itch.io

Barbarians (DOS) by Cyningstan

A strategy game for MS-DOS

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