@cyningstan@mastodon.social
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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.

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cyningstan, to random
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I've started uploading VODs of my Twitch livestreams to YouTube for storage in the longer term. You can see them all (three so far) on my channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi6aDVk6l8zEwtZAFsuw7Ow - new subscribers would be much appreciated!

cyningstan, to VintageOSes
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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, to VintageOSes
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The VOD from my Ossuary stream last week is now available for the long term on YouTube. If you want to see me play through the game a couple of times, and witness a dramatic camera collapse, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxC71UR6wac

cyningstan, to random
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I've just finished my second stream; for some reason the announcement didn't post here. We played through the entirety of Team Droid (the Jam Levels) in about 2½ hours. For the next seven days, you can catch the vod at https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2113605437

cyningstan, to random
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Following a successful test stream yesterday, I'll soon be streaming on Twitch. I'm thinking of a weekly stream, not too lengthy, as I don't want to take time away from game development. If you want to see when I stream, follow me at https://twitch.tv/cyningstan

nuxi, to retrocomputing
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Say hello to GROTTY-1, the world's dirtiest /4A. I got it as an untested throw-in with a Cor-comp micro expansion system. I stupidly didn't take photos of the initial cleanup, but the case itself contained, besides hairballs and general grunge, a dead wasp and a brass thumbtack. Miraculously, the thing worked when I plugged it in.

cyningstan,
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@nuxi This is definitely a computer that cries out for a big hug and some TLC. These are lovely looking machines when in good condition. I'm glad it works!

cyningstan, to VintageOSes
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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, (edited )
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There's now infrastructure like roads, monorails and buildings that you can use to move and protect your units. If you take over an area in one battle, you'll sometimes see this infrastructure appear in the same place in the next battle.

cyningstan,
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The Combat Droid is still the backbone of your army. It is good at trudging through snow and can even cross ice flows, slowly and with care. Only Combat Droids can occupy buildings and gain protection from them, so they are great for defending a built-up base.

cyningstan,
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The Hoverbug is a little grav tank that's so cute it just had to be brought along into this campaign. It can hover over most terrain without difficulty. Only buildings get in its way. It's faster than Combat Droids but its top speed is slower than most other units.

cyningstan,
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The Air Fighter is another unit familiar to players of the First Landing campaign. It has exactly the same strengths and weaknesses here in the polar regions as it does in the desert: fast, with a decent attack range, but weak and easily shot down.

cyningstan,
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The Snowmobile is a modified Ground Rover adapted for the wintry conditions of the ice caps. Its retractable snow skis allow it to move over the snowy plains at top speed. It is a light unit, with modest attack power and short attack range.

cyningstan,
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The Ice Tank is a modified Laser Tank, fitted with snow skis like the Snowmobile. Its great weight still slows it down in the snow plains though, so it only travels at top speed along roads. It has more attack power than any unit except the Gun Platform.

cyningstan,
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The Gun Platform is the most powerful attack unit. Normally static, it can be mounted on a carriage for fast travel along monorail lines. This makes it a devastating unit for defending a large built-up mining installation. It can take out some small units in one hit.

cyningstan,
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The Mining Station is a static unit that can be built on Crystal Nodes to extract resources from the ground. These resources are used to build and repair other units. The Mining Station is weak, so it shouldn't be left to its own defence.

cyningstan,
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Most of The Polar Expedition's battle maps are made up of Snow plains. Some units can travel at full speed here, but the soft snow can slow other units down, such as the Ice Tanks and the Constructor. Units out in the open here are not protected from attack.

cyningstan,
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@thomas_klopf You can download it from my web site, at http://dos.cyningstan.org.uk/downloads/7/barren-planet

You'll need DOSBox to play it on a modern PC. There's a link on the game's page to try the game out in your browser, although the web version only plays the default First Landing campaign, and doesn't preserve saved games.

cyningstan,
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The snow plains are strewn with Rocks, fields of boulders that impede movement. Apart from getting in the way, they provide a little protective cover to some units that can hide behind them.

cyningstan,
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Ridges are formed both from tectonic forces and from crater impacts. They slow some units down, but also provide a protective advantage due to the high ground, and the ability for smaller units to hide behind the crest.

cyningstan,
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Ice flows are icy rivers partially melted by volcanic activity under the surface. They can only be crossed by Combat Droids on foot, and by Hoverbugs and Air Fighters that can pass freely over them. Ground vehicles need to find a way around them.

cyningstan, to VintageOSes
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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,
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Arachnids are giant spiders that can deliver a fierce bite to a hero who is not protected by a shield.

cyningstan,
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Serpents are giant snakes whose scaly hide gives them great defensive ability. A decent blade helps dispatch them quickly.

cyningstan,
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Cadavers are decomposing bodies that are still dangerous foes. They are sometimes carrying loot, which they will drop when killed.

cyningstan, to VintageOSes
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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, (edited )
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This final article in The Anarchic Kingdom hints and tips series appropriately describes some strategies for when the end of the game approaches - especially if you're still behind. http://dos.cyningstan.org.uk/post/245/the-anarchic-kingdom-the-end-game

cyningstan, (edited ) to VintageOSes
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A new series of tutorial articles for Team Droid has started today. The first post concentrates on the programming process itself, and the user interface. Team Droid: Some Tips to Help You Out http://dos.cyningstan.org.uk/posts/207

cyningstan,
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Some Team Droid levels will feature multiple robots, and they often have to team up to get one or more data cards to their destinations. This article shows how the robots can work together. http://dos.cyningstan.org.uk/post/217/team-droid-multiple-robots

cyningstan,
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The final article in the Team Droid hints and tips series deals with looking ahead, dry-running your actions and predicting how map tiles will affect them: http://dos.cyningstan.org.uk/post/219/team-droid-level-tiles-and-thinking-ahead

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