The cursor highlights an area of deep water.
All of the boats and ships can travel over Deep Water, as well as the Air Fighters. It is here that most of the large-scale naval battles take place, since the bigger ships can't navigate shallower water. cyningstan.itch.io/waterworld. #ibmpc #msdos #cga #BarrenPlanet #Waterworld
Bulleth the Scout uses their Stealth skill to peer into a long corridor without being detected and immediately attacked by the enemy Ceirrassi. Bulleth should now retreat back into the room behind, and let a soldier or an auxiliary take care of Ceirassi.
Entering an unseen area can be intimidating in #StarCadre Combat Class, you've no idea what's there. This is a good time to make use of Stealth. Make sure you don't leave your unit in the doorway though! Get the game from cyningstan.itch.io/star-cadre-c... #ibmpc #msdos #cga
Aren the Ranger is wielding a Shortbow. Because he is also using a Quiver, Aren doesn't need to hold the arrows. The Sling in Aren's other hand guarantees that when Aren runs out of arrows, the Sling will automatically take over as the primary weapon, and Aren will always be able to defend himself. The Shortbow is enlarged in the inset.
The Shortbow is a compact bow for causing moderate damage to enemies at a distance. Arrows must be held in the offhand, unless a quiver is equipped. The Shortbow needs Archery:3. Get The #ChambersBeneath from cyningstan.itch.io/the-chambers... #roguelike #ibmpc #msdos #cga
The eighth level of Double Trouble is mindbending. Both droids began in the top left chamber, and Bouncer has travelled against the conveyor belts to reach the bottom left chamber where both the data cards are. Thinker waits for the data card to travel down the conveyor belt.
Double Trouble level 8 is like a merry-go-round, with conveyor belts taking the robots clockwise around the complex. But you'll probably solve it more efficiently if you find a way to go against the flow sometimes. #TeamDroid cyningstan.itch.io/team-droid #ibmpc #msdos #cga
The cursor highlights the shallows off the coast.
Shallows are the areas of the ocean generally near the coasts. Their waters are calm enough to allow hoverbugs to float over them, but they are not deep enough to allow Cruisers or Battleships to pass. cyningstan.itch.io/waterworld. #ibmpc #msdos #cga #BarrenPlanet #Waterworld
Vametier the Medic is already carrying as much as they can reasonably manage: a strength of five, minus two, gives three, which is the number of items they are already carrying. In this gathering mission, carrying the items should be left to Vemetier's colleagues if the player wants Vametier to have the energy to perform their medical duties.
If a #StarCadre Combat Class unit carries more items than they can manage, they'll start to slow down. Each unit can carry a number of items equal to their strength minus 2, before encumbrance takes effect. Get the game from cyningstan.itch.io/star-cadre-c... #ibmpc #msdos #cga
Lanera the Warrior has found a Shield in the dungeon. She can't yet use it, as it requires Dodging:2 skill and Lanera doesn't have Dodging skill at all. But the shield can be put aside for a while, maybe stored in the safe deposit box in the merchant shop, and picked up again when needed. The shield is shown enlarged in the inset.
The shield is a round wooden buckler with an iron rim, the shield provides protection from enemy blows when equipped in the offhand. Get The #ChambersBeneath from cyningstan.itch.io/the-chambers... #roguelike #ibmpc #msdos #cga
The droids have just begun to solve the puzzle of Double Trouble level 7. Thinker is about to rush to pick up the phaser, ready to fire at the guards in the next chamber before the pick-up and shoot actions disappear from the library. Soldier has the same errand; it has the shoot action in its ROM but must still rush to pick up the data card in time.
Level 7 of Double Trouble is split into a number of chambers. Two droids must each figure out their own way of crossing a chamber full of patrolling guards. A phaser is provided for the purpose of shooting them. #TeamDroid cyningstan.itch.io/team-droid #ibmpc #msdos #cga
Sandbanks on the coast of an island.
Sandbanks clog up rivers and coastal areas around the islands. Air Fighters and Hoverbugs can travel over Sandbanks, but of the sea units, only Mining Boats can navigate these areas, and even those at a careful pace. cyningstan.itch.io/waterworld. #ibmpc #msdos #cga #BarrenPlanet #Waterworld
Today, YouTube creator Sparcie uploaded this lovely video showcasing The #ChambersBeneath - check it out for a brief overview of the game! www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwR6... #ibmpc #msdos #cga
The player's units make opportunity attacks during the computer's first turn. One of the computer's units, Oxybre, is unfortunate enough to enter the vestibule immediately after the player's units take up a defensive position. After Tapheran the auxiliary and Usay the scout fire at Oxybre, the medic Amiren shows that marksmanship isn't their strong point.
Opportunity Attacks in #StarCadre Combat Class allow units to attack enemies during the enemy's turn. If a unit has enough action points when an enemy appears within attack range, the unit will attack. Get the game from cyningstan.itch.io/star-cadre-c... #ibmpc #msdos #cga
Brittina the Mage is about to read a scroll before descending into her first dungeon. In this particular run the M scroll is the Magic Dart spell, but these letter assignments are random. So a different set of letters will represent each spell from one run to the next. The scroll is enlarged in the inset.
Upon scrolls magic spells are written. The scroll will need to be read or identified to tell what spell it contains. Casting the spell is dependent on skill in the appropriate branch of magic. Get The #ChambersBeneath from cyningstan.itch.io/the-chambers... #roguelike #ibmpc #msdos #cga
In level 6 of Double Trouble, Soldier inside the central chamber has already shot one forcefield generator, allowing Carrier on the outside to progress towards the phaser. Carrier will then use that phaser to shoot the generator powering the forcefield that divides the central chamber in two.
The sixth level of Double Trouble for #TeamDroid resembles the first, in that the complex is divided into inner and outer sections. But in this case, two robots have to disable each other's forcefields. Get the game and the level pack from cyningstan.itch.io/team-droid #ibmpc #msdos #cga
The cursor highlights some land on the map.
Open Ground forms most of the larger islands, and is where Ports are built. Ports are generally next to Deep Water so the port can build the largest ships. Hoverbugs and Air Fighters can move over this terrain. cyningstan.itch.io/waterworld. #ibmpc #msdos #cga #BarrenPlanet #Waterworld
Aren the Ranger finds, among other things, some rope in a chest. A piece of rope in the hand allows a character to climb swiftly out of a pit trap, rather than struggling over a period of turns while monsters are potentially converging from multiple directions. The Rope is enlarged in the inset.
A length of rope in the hand allows a character to more quickly escape the simple pit traps that are scattered around the dungeons. Get The #ChambersBeneath from cyningstan.itch.io/the-chambers... #roguelike #ibmpc #msdos #cga
Level 5 of Double Trouble has the robots navigating twisting pathways. Bouncer at the top is about to pick up the phaser, and bounce over the conveyor belts to shoot the forcefield generator. Soldier at the bottom has picked up a spring so that it can do the same.
Double Trouble level 5 has two robots navigating winding pathways, with forcefields and conveyor belts to deal with. In this level each droid has to disable its own forcefield, or jump over it. Get the game and the level pack from cyningstan.itch.io/team-droid #TeamDroid #ibmpc #msdos #cga
The map cursor highlights a deep ocean square.
As you'd expect for a campaign called "#Waterworld", most of the maps are made up of ocean. But there are small areas of land that poke up above the ocean surface, and there is a variety of terrain there. cyningstan.itch.io/waterworld. #ibmpc #msdos #cga #BarrenPlanet #Waterworld
The score table. I've been playing this for a while, so there's a score logged for every mission, but some could do to be improved upon.
The score table contains an entry for each mission type at each difficulty level, to encourage you to play them all, Download the game from cyningstan.itch.io/star-cadre-c... and give it a try! #starcadre #ibmpc #msdos #cga
A trip down a memory lane 😎:
“DOS Memory Management”, Michal Necasek (www.os2museum.com/wp/dos-memor...).
Via HN: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4719...
#DOS #MSDOS #RetroComputing #MemoryManagement #PC #IBMPC #OldSkool #Nostalgia
Selling resources on the MS-DOS and ZX Spectrum versions of Barbarians, showing how similar the interfaces are. The graphical Psion versions leaned more heavily on the operating system's own GUI elements, things not available on the ZX Spectrum or MS-DOS.
I worked from the #Psion OPL source code, which is easier to read than the Z80 I used on the #ZXSpectrum. Presentation is a combination of all previous machines, with graphics reminiscent of the Psion versions, and a menu system like the Spectrum. cyningstan.itch.io/barbarians-dos #ibmpc #msdos #cga
The Quiver makes it more practical and useful to carry multiple stacks of arrows. As one stack of arrows is depleted, the next stack will be drawn from. Because Phamart the Ranger is wielding both the bow and the sling, when all the arrows are depleted, he will start shooting with the sling instead. The quiver is enlarged in the inset.
The Quiver is a special container for arrows that makes them easier to fire quickly. With a quiver equipped you need not have arrows equipped; they just need to be somewhere in the inventory. Get The #ChambersBeneath from cyningstan.itch.io/the-chambers... #roguelike #ibmpc #msdos #cga
In the fourth level of Double Trouble, both robots have picked up a data card and are getting ready to rush across the alley of dangerous guard bots, which shoot their phasers every turn.
Level 4 of Double Trouble for #TeamDroid has the two droids crossing a dangerous alley full of guard bots. They must get their timing right to get to safety without being fired upon by the guards! Get the game and the level pack from cyningstan.itch.io/team-droid #ibmpc #msdos #cga
These gun platforms are ready to repel any attack from the sea.
Gun Platforms are static land-based units, useful for defending ports. They're static units, but they have a longer firing range than any other unit in the game, so can keep enemy ships away from your Ports. cyningstan.itch.io/waterworld. #ibmpc #msdos #cga #BarrenPlanet #Waterworld
Our hero finds a banish spell on level 10. These start to appear just before the spectres and daemons, and are some characters' only means of dealing with those monsters. The banish spell is enlarged in the inset.
#Ossuary players with weak magical ability will rely on banish spells to banish the spectres and daemons who are immune to blade weapons. Get the game from cyningstan.itch.io/ossuary #ibmpc #msdos #cga #zxspectrum
Suchyles has found two data cards already, but in a Gathering mission there are bound to be more.
For a Gathering mission you need to stick around a bit longer and find as many data cards as you can. You're scored on the number found and time taken, so you must decide when to stop looking. cyningstan.itch.io/star-cadre-c... #starcadre #ibmpc #msdos #cga
Fancy a Two Hour documentary about the history of the IBM PC from it's inception to today?
Here you go! 🙂👍
https://youtu.be/ZOJ73rjNYbc
It's by RetroBytes so you know it's going to be good!
Long! But good.
You can doomscroll the news once it's finished 🫣
#RetroComputing #IBMPC #Documentary […]
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.
My #ibmpc #gamedev projects use C. The graphics were based on the version for the Psion Revo, but the 4-greyscale monochrome graphics were recoloured in the most colourful or gaudy of #cga palettes. cyningstan.itch.io/barbarians-dos
Aren the Ranger buys a couple of poultices at the ranger supply shop. These can be used with a skill of Medicine:1, but at that skill level, many will be wasted in unsuccessful attempts to heal. At Medicine:2 skill there's nearly a 50% chance of success, so they become more worth buying. The Poultice is enlarged in the inset.
A preparation of herbs for healing wounds, a Poultice can be applied to wounds to heal them at the rate of 1 hit point per turn. The poultice will often fully heal the character. Get The #ChambersBeneath from cyningstan.itch.io/the-chambers... #roguelike #ibmpc #msdos #cga
In the third level of Double Trouble, Multibot has just shot a forcefield generator, disabling forcefields that extended from it to the north and south. Meanwhile, Strider navigates a corridor full of crates to reach its data card at the top.
Double Trouble level 3 builds on the same theme as level 2. The robot in the bottom half needs to shoot the generator that powers forcefields blocking both robots' paths. Get the game and the level pack from cyningstan.itch.io/team-droid #TeamDroid #ibmpc #msdos #cga
A Battleship, escorted by Cruisers and Destroyers.
Battleships are the largest ships afloat. They have more power and a longer range than cruisers, and are the best units to have in a sea battle. They are also good for offshore bombardment. cyningstan.itch.io/waterworld. #ibmpc #msdos #cga #BarrenPlanet #Waterworld
