@cyningstan@mastodon.social
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

cyningstan

@cyningstan@mastodon.social

Developing #retrogames for the #ibmpc of the early 1980s running #msdos and featuring #cga graphics. Turn-based strategy, puzzle and RPG! Fun in all four colours. With a fondness for Sinclair #zxspectrum and #psion handhelds too.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

cyningstan, to VintageOSes
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

Here's my palette chart. It shows the 78 unique 4-colour palettes available in 320x200 resolution on machines from the early era. It's probably the prettiest technical document I've ever made.

cyningstan, to VintageOSes
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

Here's an updated mini-album of my most recent games for DOS. If you want to check them out, you can visit my site at http://dos.cyningstan.org.uk/

Team Droid
The Anarchic Kingdom
Ossuary

cyningstan, to VintageOSes
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

CGALIB has had an update! Not to the library itself, but the supplied utilities for creating assets are much improved.

Full projects will still go beyond what the new utils can do, but simple projects will be easier to get started. Good for jam games, maybe.

http://dos.cyningstan.org.uk/post/204/a-cgalib-update-some-new-utilities

The bitmap editor, showing the graphics from the demonstration game.

cyningstan, to random
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

is released today! This turn-based strategy game runs in on the original with graphics. Two mining corporations fight a series of battles to gain control of a mineral-rich but lifeless planet. Also runs in DOSBox on just about any computer or mobile device! Get it at http://dos.cyningstan.org.uk/downloads/7/barren-planet

cyningstan, to VintageOSes
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

It's exactly a year ago that I released Barren Planet into the world. Since then I've added two expansions to it. You can download them all from the game's web page: http://dos.cyningstan.org.uk/downloads/7/barren-planet
The game is free, there's a ko-fi link there if you want to show your appreciation.

cyningstan, to VintageOSes
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

Ossuary continues to be popular, according to my download stats. So here's a tutorial to get you started in the game. Ossuary: Your First Descent. http://dos.cyningstan.org.uk/post/37/ossuary-your-first-descent

cyningstan,
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

Ossuary is a very simple roguelike. Magic is much simpler than in other roguelikes, but also very different. This article describes how to make use of magic in the game. Ossuary: the Role of Magic. http://dos.cyningstan.org.uk/post/38/ossuary-the-role-of-magic

cyningstan, to VintageOSes
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

DOS ain't dead: an article in the MagPi magazine, featuring various games including https://magpi.raspberrypi.com/articles/dos-aint-dead

cyningstan, to VintageOSes
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

The Polar Expedition was the first expansion for Barren Planet. After one of the two warring corporations takes over the desert, they go on to fight over the ice caps. Download it along with the game, from http://dos.cyningstan.org.uk/downloads/7/barren-planet.

cyningstan, to VintageOSes
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

Yesterday, @fractalmindmike played Barren Planet on stream. Go to https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1900139077?t=3h6m56s if you want to see how he got on. There are some other cool games for C64 and DOS showcased in the rest of the stream.

cyningstan, to VintageOSes
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

There can be up to eight terrain types in a Barren Planet campaign. The terrain used in each scenario is drawn from these, so each battle map will have its own individual character. A couple of tables of stats define the effects of terrain.

cyningstan, to VintageOSes
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

My stream is starting! Today I'll be playing The Anarchic Kingdom. Can I fight off my rivals to create the biggest barony? Come join me and find out! Love at https://twitch.tv/cyningstan

cyningstan, (edited ) to VintageOSes
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

An expansion is now available for Barren Planet! In The Polar Expedition, the beaten corporation returns to Dapra to try to take and hold the so far unexploited polar regions of the planet.

The expansion features a new campaign with sixteen battlefields, new units, and new terrain. You can download the expansion and its PDF manual from the game's web page: http://dos.cyningstan.org.uk/downloads/7/barren-planet

cyningstan, to VintageOSes
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

In just over an hour (7pm BST) I'll be on Twitch, continuing my play through of Barren Planet: First Landing. Join me there as I attempt to finish the campaign. As I'm a new streamer, follows on Twitch are especially welcome! https://twitch.tv/cyningstan

cyningstan, to VintageOSes
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

Struggling with The Anarchic Kingdom? Or wondering what it's all about? Today I start a series of blog posts with hints and strategies for shaking off the other baronies! http://dos.cyningstan.org.uk/post/221/the-anarchic-kingdom-getting-started

The introductory text.
The initial state of your barony.

cyningstan, to random
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

The stream is starting! Today I'm playing Team Droid, the game of cute robots. I'll have a go at the DLC level pack Double Trouble: two robots, two data cards, and two card readers on every level. Join me at https://twitch.tv/cyningstan

cyningstan,
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

The stream is over! I didn't get through all of Double Trouble, so I can finish it off next week. You can watch the VOD for this week's stream at https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2144086612

cyningstan,
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

The latest VOD is now up on YouTube too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh-TxU9Yez8

cyningstan, to VintageOSes
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

Over the coming weeks I'll be describing the various creatures that will cross your path in Ossuary, with occasional tips on how to deal with them. You can download and play Ossuary at http://dos.cyningstan.org.uk/downloads/6/ossuary

cyningstan,
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

Daemons are spirits of the underworld, the strongest monster in the game. Blades bounce off them, so defeat them with scrolls or the magic wand.

cyningstan, to VintageOSes
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

A Team Droid level is made up of a number of different cells, some helpful, some not. The two most basic elements are floors and walls. All droids can travel smoothly over floors. But nothing can pass through (or over) a wall. http://dos.cyningstan.org.uk/downloads/129/team-droid

cyningstan,
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

Turntables, well they turn. If your robot stands on one, it'll turn 90° in the indicated direction. Occasionally this is helpful, but usually it's confusing - especially when you're trying to plan the robot's steps ahead of time. http://dos.cyningstan.org.uk/downloads/129/team-droid

cyningstan, to VintageOSes
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

The eight baronies in The Anarchic Kingdom take the names of eight noble families of medieval England. Take control of one of them at http://dos.cyningstan.org.uk/downloads/64/the-anarchic-kingdom

cyningstan,
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

The terrain on the horizon in The Anarchic Kingdom is purely decorative, but differs for every barony. So it's easy to visually spot your own barony when paging through the landscapes. http://dos.cyningstan.org.uk/downloads/64/the-anarchic-kingdom

cyningstan, to VintageOSes
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

The second expansion for Barren Planet is Waterworld. Dapra's neighbouring planet Dalen is over 95% covered with water. And at the bottom of these oceans: crystal nodes! Let battle commence! Get it at http://dos.cyningstan.org.uk/downloads/7/barren-planet.

cyningstan,
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

Hoverbugs, the small anti-gravity combat vehicles familiar from earlier campaigns, are present here on Dalen. They can hover over land or shallow water, but are not stable enough to cope with the rolling waves of the deeper ocean.

cyningstan,
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

Destroyers are the smallest sea combat units. They have little firepower and a short range, but are lightly armoured. They can navigate both deep and shallow water, although they can't navigate too close to the sandbanks.

cyningstan,
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

Air Fighters are another unit brought over from Dapra. They can fly over anything except volcanoes, whose eruptions are too dangerous for airborne traffic to venture near. Air Fighters have a longer attack range than Hoverbugs or Ports.

cyningstan,
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

The construction and repair units in Waterworld are static, while the harvesting units are mobile. This is a reversal of roles compared to The Polar Expedition, and gives players of this campaign some new strategies to experiment with.

cyningstan, to random
@cyningstan@mastodon.social avatar

If you like the games I make and want to support me, one good way to do so is to download my games from Itch. They're free, although a donation when you download is welcome. Find my DOS games, as well as my Spectrum and TinyBASIC games, at https://cyningstan.itch.io/

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • JUstTest
  • GTA5RPClips
  • thenastyranch
  • ethstaker
  • everett
  • Durango
  • rosin
  • InstantRegret
  • DreamBathrooms
  • magazineikmin
  • Youngstown
  • mdbf
  • slotface
  • tacticalgear
  • anitta
  • kavyap
  • tester
  • cubers
  • cisconetworking
  • ngwrru68w68
  • khanakhh
  • normalnudes
  • provamag3
  • Leos
  • modclub
  • osvaldo12
  • megavids
  • lostlight
  • All magazines
    •