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cyningstan.bsky.social
Cyningstan
@cyningstan.bsky.social
310 followers 260 following 720 posts
Hobbyist retro-game developer. Writing for the ancient IBM PC of 1981: fun in all four colours. Also an ancient board game nerd.

Website: http://dos.cyningstan.org.uk/
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cyningstan.bsky.social
Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 23d
I've now submitted my entry for the #DOSember Game Jam 2025. I've ported my Psion & ZX Spectrum game #Barbarians to #dos, as usual aimed at the original #ibmpc with #cga graphics. Download it from cyningstan.itch.io/barbarians-dos
Barbarians (DOS) by Cyningstan
A strategy game for MS-DOS
cyningstan.itch.io
cyningstan.bsky.social
Some spacecraft I designed for a possible future game in the #StarCadre series. Imagine boarding missions aboard these ships. It's going to be a long time before I get around to that game, though. #gamedev #msdos #cga
A lightly armed ship with some cargo space and some empty rooms awaiting a purpose. To the left is the rear of the ship, with engines and cargo bay. At the top, left of centre, is the crew quarters. The projecting sections at the sides of the ship (top and bottom of the plan) are the turrets with seats for the gunners. Ahead of this is a meeting room, and on the right is the bridge. An armed merchant ship. The bridge is to the left, and the "pods" above and below the central corridor are a crew quarters pod and three cargo pods. Towards the rear is a meeting room and the engines. The bridge needs more decoration. A heavily armed starship with four turrets. At the top is the bridge. Forward left and right are the turrets and room for the gunners. Straddling the central corridor are the crew quarters. Between the engines at the bottom are a meeting room on the left, and a cargo bay to the right.
November 8, 2025 at 1:27 PM
cyningstan.bsky.social
Recently I released #Barbarians for #msdos. This release was for the #DOSember Game Jam, a 3-month game jam for MS-DOS preceding the month-long DOSember streaming event for 2025. cyningstan.itch.io/barbarians-dos #gamedev
A screenshot from the recently released Barbarians for MS-DOS. It uses a similar layout to the versions ZX Spectrum and some Psion pocket computers. A central main map is surrounded by various information panels: on the left, information about the empire as a whole, on the right, information about the last referenced map square, and underneath, the game's name and a one-line prompt and menu display.
November 7, 2025 at 2:05 PM
cyningstan.bsky.social
A lovely review in Czech of #Barbarians has just been posted by @sledgehv.bsky.social which you can read at www.high-voltage.cz/sortky/barba...
Barbarians, nová tahovka pro DOS, a běží na 8088 s CGA | high-voltage.cz
Udělal to znovu! Kdo? Cyningstan! Co? Stvořil novou hru pro DOS! Tvůrce, který nás neúnavně zásobuje "novými starými hrami", přichází se strategickou novinkou Barbarians. Jde…
www.high-voltage.cz
November 3, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Reposted by Cyningstan
decafjedi.com
My Space Quest site, Roger Wilco's Virtual Broomcloset, launched 30 years ago this month. That makes it one of the oldest video game fan sites on the web.

To celebrate the milestone, I've updated the site for the first time in ages with tons of new content. Check it out! wiw.org/~jess/roger.html
Roger Wilco's Virtual Broomcloset: The Original Space Quest Fan Site
The web's first and most comprehensive Space Quest fan site, packed with Easter eggs, trivia, downloads, and retrospectives on Sierra's classic adventure series.
wiw.org
November 1, 2025 at 1:18 PM
cyningstan.bsky.social
I've just uploaded a video of the #Barbarians title screen music to YouTube. The video description identifies the piece, and gives a brief explanation of the game. www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1B3...
Barbarians Title Screen Music
YouTube video by Cyningstan
www.youtube.com
November 2, 2025 at 3:45 PM
cyningstan.bsky.social
Shortly after its release, Sparcie made this review video about #StarCadre Combat Class. www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4yi... #ibmpc #msdos #cga
MS-DOS Homebrew: Star Cadre: Combat Class
YouTube video by Sparcie
www.youtube.com
November 1, 2025 at 1:26 PM
cyningstan.bsky.social
This robot's movements remind me of the guy from that game about falling down mountains. Baby steps I think?
wsj.com The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 11d
The loading-the-dishwasher struggle is real. Even—or especially—for the $20,000 1X Neo humanoid home robot.

🔗: on.wsj.com/47whlZ1
November 1, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Reposted by Cyningstan
emmfoolery.bsky.social
I made a shorter game (for DOS) with worse graphics (CGA) and I'm NOT KIDDING.

It's free, it's silly, and you can download it here!

(Est. 20-30 minutes for a first playthrough.)
Emmy, Fool of Fen by emmfoolery
A short, silly, swampy adventure for MS-DOS.
emmfoolery.itch.io
October 31, 2025 at 3:34 PM
cyningstan.bsky.social
The latest member of my #Psion family arrived today, another Series 3 classic 256k. I've installed #Barbarians on it, along with Ground Attack, which you can get from damian.cyningstan.org.uk/downloads/21... (I plan on creating a proper home for my Psion games eventually).
A Psion Series 3 "classic" 256k model. It's one of the newer ones, with the memory printed on the keyboard half of the clamshell case; older ones have it with the rest of the text to the right of the screen. It's running Ground Attack, a game I developed mostly in 2011/2012. The game is fun, but the computer player is inadequate.
October 31, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Reposted by Cyningstan
yuv422.bsky.social
I'm working on an entry for the #DOSember Game Jam.

Skifree DOS edition!

Are you sick and tired of booting into Windows just to play Skifree? Now you can get your skiing fix directly in DOS.

There's still a bit to do but I'm happy with how it's progressing.
#DOSGaming
October 26, 2025 at 11:31 AM
cyningstan.bsky.social
If you like the #cga nostalgia palette, you can play #StarCadre in those colours. Just launch the game with the '-p' option (for palette, or purple, or pink, take your pick). #ibmpc #msdos
Star Cadre: Combat Class in play. Scout Aremiy creeps into a doorway and spots Emynt in the adjacent room. The game is played in a palette of black, cyan, magenta and white, which is the default palette for CGA graphics and is used by many CGA games.
October 25, 2025 at 1:07 PM
cyningstan.bsky.social
My new game #Barbarians has a long history that predates my current interest in developing for #ibmpc with #cga graphics. Here's a composite image of it running on the #Psion Series 3 (2010), the ZX Spectrum (2012) and #msdos (2025). The MS-DOS version is at cyningstan.itch.io/barbarians-dos
Barbarians, from top to bottom, running on the Sinclair ZX Spectrum (released 2012), the Psion Series 3 (released 2010), and MS-DOS (released 2025).
October 24, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Reposted by Cyningstan
0xc0de.bsky.social
Anyone who has (or can make!) *original format* tape images (HQ UEF, WAV, etc) of Acorn Electron games that have tape protection and/or custom tape loaders, please get in touch 😎
Examples of games I am looking for in next post...
October 21, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Reposted by Cyningstan
thelastpsion.com
Sure, the iPhone is all well and good. But can you physically support an entire building with your pocket computer?

The Organiser II was built to last. This LZ64 is in amazing condition.

#Psion #RetroComputing
A Psion Organiser II LZ64, powered on, next to its leather case.
October 19, 2025 at 5:55 AM
Reposted by Cyningstan
shaneir.bsky.social
Just upping @thelastpsion.com's post over on LinkedIn - Alex is doing a super (and important) job - #Retrocomputing is not just #Nerdstalgia - it is exploring vital territory in human/tech interaction. #Permacomputing #Psion www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
#retrocomputing #nerdstalgia #permacomputing #checkyourdrawers | Shane McKee
Alex has been doing a brilliant job bringing together people interested in the old Psion machines. Although #Retrocomputing can be thought of as #nerdstalgia, re-exploring the functionality of these d...
www.linkedin.com
October 19, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Reposted by Cyningstan
emmfoolery.bsky.social
What's that????? 🤔
Only a month and a half left to make a game for the DOS jam????? 🤔
You want to make something but you don't know where to start????? 🤔
Your inner perfectionist won't stop screaming????? 🤔

Let me "inspire" you.
twitch.tv/emmfoolery
Emmfoolery - Twitch
DOS Games Were A Mistake
twitch.tv
October 16, 2025 at 5:38 AM
Reposted by Cyningstan
wargamingscribe.bsky.social
Operation Cerberus (1985) by Colin Bishop is the only game I know about the Feb '42 Channel Dash. The strategic layer is cosmetic; the game is rather a collection of minigames depending on what you attack with (plane, MTB, destroyer or even Dover guns!)
Review here: zeitgame.net/archives/19428
October 18, 2025 at 7:14 PM
cyningstan.bsky.social
I've now submitted my entry for the #DOSember Game Jam 2025. I've ported my Psion & ZX Spectrum game #Barbarians to #dos, as usual aimed at the original #ibmpc with #cga graphics. Download it from cyningstan.itch.io/barbarians-dos
Barbarians (DOS) by Cyningstan
A strategy game for MS-DOS
cyningstan.itch.io
October 18, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Reposted by Cyningstan
brewotaku.bsky.social
Star Cadre: Combat Class is here! A tactical combat RPG from @cyningstan that's a true MS-DOS throwback. Command your four-unit squad in challenging missions. Get that perfect score,cadet!

Read full review in BrewOataku 003: www.brewotaku.com/2025/10/star...

#StarCadre #MSDOS #BrewOatku
Star Cadre: Combat Class (2024) MS-DOS » BrewOtaku Homebrew Retro Gaming Magazine
Star Cadre: Combat Class is a free MS-DOS tactical combat game where you command squads, complete missions, and prove your worth as a Star Academy cadet.
www.brewotaku.com
October 17, 2025 at 5:00 PM
cyningstan.bsky.social
Here's the first instalment of what looks to be an interesting series: a playthrough of the DOS RPG Albion, recounted in blog form by Daniel Zima. It's in Czech, but the browser's translation feature does a decent job of rendering it in English, at least. www.high-voltage.cz/2025/rpg-den... #msdos
RPG Deník: Driscollův manuál na přežití aneb zápisky z nečekaně zelené planety (1. část) | high-voltage.cz
Píše se rok 2025 a já, namísto abych řešil smysluplné problémy reálného světa, spouštím třicet let starou hru na moderním Debianu. Ano, je to jako…
www.high-voltage.cz
October 14, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Reposted by Cyningstan
thegreenherring.neocities.org
One seven-hour weekend livestream produced this CGA pixelart of Blaze the Protogen (they/them), burning with fighting spirit and ready to take on all comers! [1/3]

#FurryArt #PixelArt #CGA #Protogen #Art #Furry #Retro
Rendered through four-color pixel art in a high-contrast palette, a protogen, a cyborg alien, in black armor stands poised to fight with a blazing aura flame in one hand, challenging the viewer to approach them with the other. Their hair explodes from the back of their head in a wild stalk, and the molded display that is their visor face shows a confident smirk. Their ears are long and pointed, furred within. Their black armor is dotted with big, bright gemstones implying the power that they carry; and their fingers and toes are tipped with sharp claws. They are wide-hipped with powerful legs, and their tail sweeps back behind them with the fur withered away at the end to reveal its metallic interior, ending in a massive claw. Their surroundings are lit up with a burning aura radiating from the protogen, that is pushed away by their fireball and their beckoning hand.
October 13, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Reposted by Cyningstan
thegreenherring.neocities.org
A protogen warrior rendered in glorious CGA cyan-magenta! Why? Because I wanted to, that's why! [1/2]

#FurryArt #PixelArt #CGA #Protogen #Art #Furry #Retro
In a piece of four-color pixel art with a high-contrast palette, a protogen, a species of cyborg alien, soars through the air with their arm and knee forward and their other arm reared back, preparing to stab something with their sharp claws. The protogen, drawn in flat colors, has the appearance of a furred reptile with a face consisting of a shaped electronic display that shows a simple, smiling and determined facial expression. Their hair is a long stalk that is blown back by their movement, they appear to be wearing angular chest armor with pauldrons bearing ring patterns, their digitigrade legs are metallic with bulbs on the sides and furred forelegs, and their tail has fur missing in patches revealing its metal shell. They are outlined against an abstract background of an aura drawn with many long lines, implying the protogen is descending at high speed toward their target.
October 6, 2025 at 5:15 PM
cyningstan.bsky.social
I've just published another library that I've been successfully using in my own projects. LevelMap is the library I used to generate the dungeons in The Chambers Beneath, and the mission locations in Star Cadre: Combat Class. Find out more at cyningstan.itch.io/levelmap
LevelMap by Cyningstan
A library for generating small dungeons and other game locations
cyningstan.itch.io
September 28, 2025 at 11:52 AM
cyningstan.bsky.social
Today I've made the second version of #cgalib available. CGALIB 2 now includes support for keyboard input, and sound effects and music, making it a general #gamedev library for #msdos systems with #cga graphics and #pcspeaker sound. You can download it from cyningstan.itch.io/cgalib2
CGALIB 2 by Cyningstan
A game library for retro game development.
cyningstan.itch.io
September 26, 2025 at 3:09 PM
cyningstan.bsky.social
#BarrenPlanet didn't have a straightforward development journey. Shortly after development in 2023, I posted the story of how the game came to be. You can read the first article at dos.cyningstan.org.uk/post/180/bar.... #gamedev #ibmpc #msdos #cga
A battle rages in Barren Planet. This is the first battle of the supplied campaign, First Landing. Numerous futuristic military units battle over resources on a desert planet, marked with rocky areas and magma flows.
September 23, 2025 at 2:00 PM