iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Cyningstan

birdrun.bsky.social @birdrun.bsky.social · 12h

Programming EGA graphics in MS-DOS like it's 1991, playing with some parallax scrolling ideas. #MSDOS #MS-DOS #Gamedev

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 2h

Oops, not the original. That had hot pink and turquoise on it too, I now see.

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 2h

With the help of dithering, you can get an approximation of the original 1978 rainbow flag. High intensity palette 0 (green/red/yellow) on a high intensity blue background.

The 1978 rainbow pride flag rendered in 4-colour CGA, resolution doubled to 640x400 for visibility. Uses high intensity palette 0 (green, red, yellow) on a high intensity blue background. Orange is dithered red and yellow. Purple is dithered red and blue.

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 6h

This was supposed to say "My Namelib library..." which would have been informative. Oh for an edit button.

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 10h

The library is public domain.

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 12h

My Namelib is finally available! It can read in ASCII text in a language, and spit out names that vaguely sound like that language, giving each faction or region in your game its own flavour. You can get the library on its Itch page: cyningstan.itch.io/namelib #msdos #gamedev

cyningstan.itch.io

NameLib by Cyningstan

A name generator for procedural games

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Reposted by Cyningstan

Breathing Retro @breathing-retro.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

For those starting to learn #Assembler - step-by-step, how to create a flight simulator for #MSDOS www.reddit.com/r/Assembly_l... #retrogaming #retrocomputing

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Reposted by Cyningstan

Silicium @assosilicium.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

L’IMC Jr+ ? Un compatible IBM PC à base de 8088, mais emballé comme si un Apple IIc et un PC avaient eu une aventure à Taïwan. Lecteur 5¼ intégré, clavier complet et MS-DOS au programme. As-tu connu cette obscure PC ? #Silicium #Retrocomputing #IBMPC #8088 #MSDOS

Un lecteur 5¼ intégré : le SSD NVMe avait encore quelques réunions de retard.

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

The #levelmap library has been updated! Some functionality previously left to the host game has now been integrated into the library: side entrances, natural chambers, and some other improvements. Download the updated library from cyningstan.itch.io/levelmap #ibmpc #msdos #cga #gamedev

cyningstan.itch.io

LevelMap by Cyningstan

A library for generating small dungeons and other game locations

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I once tried to get XTM to run some CGA stuff and it utterly failed, on a 5mx and a 7. I'm glad you can get it to run. Or crawl, if I remember rightly.

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Thanks! You'll have to start looking out for a Psion MC600 now...

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

An update to the #cgalib game library is released! Improvements were made for the development of Star Cadre: Team Command, and the results of those are now available for other developers. Download the updated library and its manuals from cyningstan.itch.io/cgalib2 #ibmpc #msdos #cga #gamedev

Screenshot of the CGALIB2 demonstration game as used on the manual cover.

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Reposted by Cyningstan

Michael @michaelklamerus.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I also think The Chambers Beneath is a neat roguelike for DOS and again, the source code was released and the game is pay what you want cyningstan.itch.io/the-chambers...

cyningstan.itch.io

The Chambers Beneath by Cyningstan

A role-playing dungeon crawler game for DOS

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Reposted by Cyningstan

Michael @michaelklamerus.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I really enjoyed this new turn based game for DOS and the source code was just released for it earlier today. Available for Pay What You Want. @cyningstan.bsky.social’s games are all wonderful

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

#StarCadre Team Command Source Code is Available! The contents of the archive are intended to be built in an MS-DOS environment using the OpenWatcom C compiler and toolset. Get it from dos.cyningstan.org.uk/downloads/40... #msdos #cga #gamedev

A promotional image for Star Cadre: Team Command command comprising of a sci-fi cityscape on an alien planet, with part of the game's source code superimposed, and the game title superimposed over that.

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Reposted by Cyningstan

Richard Troupe @richardtroupe.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

@shaneir.bsky.social Here's a cool little video on the Psion Series 5... youtu.be/kht2c7DyhlQ?...

youtu.be

This Goes Much Deeper Than I Realized

YouTube video by Janus Cycle

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

You can play #StarCadre Team Command on any #msdos machine with at least an 8088 processor, #cga or Hercules graphics, and 512k RAM, and it also plays well in DOSBox. Feedback is welcome, as are donations if you enjoy the game! Get it from cyningstan.itch.io/star-cadre-t... #ibmpc

A screenshot of Star Cadre: Team Command, with the Debriefing screen showing a perfectly completed mission. High performance merits a special reward, in this case a donation of 3000 credits, enough to buy some extra equipment or fund one team member for a month. Success at any level can open up new missions. And if the player advances to more difficult missions, a handsome 3000 credit increase to the monthly budget can fund an additional team member.

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Planning on Star Cadre: Team Command started as soon as #StarCadre Combat Class was released in 2024, but most of the work went on during 2026. This game was completed with the help of a team of volunteer beta testers. Get it from cyningstan.itch.io/star-cadre-t... #ibmpc #msdos #cga

A screenshot of Star Cadre: Team Command, showing the simple New Game screen. The "Expansions" label hints that there is more to come. Beta testers had the patience to play through many games in order to help isolate bugs and other issues with the game, and their time is much appreciated.

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Reposted by Cyningstan

Emmy @emmfoolery.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

ONE MONTH DOWN, TWO MONTHS TO GO, BAYBEYYYYYYY itch.io/jam/ms-tres

It's my DOS game jam! There's officially two months left!

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Star Cadre: Team Command follows on from #StarCadre Combat Class, a simpler tactical combat game that used the same core mechanics for short games of a single mission. See what improvements the new game makes at cyningstan.itch.io/star-cadre-t... #ibmpc #msdos #cga

A screenshot of Star Cadre: Team Command, showing one of the improvements over the earlier game Star Cadre: Combat Class. A game consists of multiple missions with the same characters, and training allows these characters to improve their stats and skills between missions. Here, Orfabam is about to improve their Stealth skill.

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Reposted by Cyningstan

Wesley Games @wesley-games.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Hopefully, before the end of this week, we'll be releasing an alpha demo of our first game we'll be releasing for the #MSTRES game jam! We're excited to show off a new port of a game that's been ported to just about every other platform except MS-DOS PCs ... using only stock IBM CGA graphics.

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

It's a valid palette: tell the CGA card to go into "greyscale" mode when you've got an RGB monitor attached and this is what you get. Black can be swapped out for any of the other 15 colours too. I play with that ability a lot 🙂

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

And once you're up to speed with that one, the new one's just come out too 🙂

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Reposted by Cyningstan

Matty @zagrebista.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

This MS-DOS CGA game is worth a gander if you've good memories of early Julian Gollop games, or if you just fancy your squad-based tactics games nice and light (and in four colours) cyningstan.itch.io/star-cadre-c...

cyningstan.itch.io

Star Cadre: Combat Class by Cyningstan

A tactical combat game for DOS

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

There's a genuine interest in DOS-era hardware over in China, hence the Book 8088 and the various new 8086 and 386 based projects. It's interesting to see what they're coming up with, especially with period hardware becoming increasingly difficult to keep working reliably.

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

You'll play from 6 to 16 randomly chosen missions in a single game of #StarCadre Team Command. Each is procedurally generated, so you'll see something different every game. The presentation is #cga: 4 glorious colours! Get it from cyningstan.itch.io/star-cadre-t... #ibmpc #msdos

A screenshot of Star Cadre: Team Command, showing a short list of missions on the deployment screen. The player has completed their initial mission, resulting in two "novice" level missions becoming available. Completions of a "novice" mission will lead to missions of higher difficulty. After the player progresses through further levels of difficulty, a "final" mission will eventually become available.

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

And having a compoſe key makes it eaſy to acceſs!

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

You'll spend most of your time in #StarCadre Team Command commanding your away teams on their turn-based missions, exploring, shooting, rescuing, and retrieving items. There are 24 missions in 4 environments. Get it from cyningstan.itch.io/star-cadre-t... #ibmpc #msdos #cga

A screenshot of Star Cadre: Team Command, showing the team out on a mission to a forest planet. Harroke entered first, and spotted Onne, an NPC. The player can scroll around the map to see Onne, and determine if they are friend or foe.

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

You recruit, equip and train your #StarCadre operatives, and send them on various missions. Your goal is to ensure Star Cadre's future by succeeding at the most challenging missions the universe can throw at you. cyningstan.itch.io/star-cadre-t... #ibmpc #msdos #cga

A screenshot of Star Cadre: Team Command, showing the personnel screen, where the player is about to recruit a new member to the team. The current team is in the panel on the left, and the recruitment pool is in the central panel. The right panel is currently showing the details of one of the existing team members.

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

You'd need to replace my bespoke CGA library with an EGA equivalent, which is a bigger job than just redrawing assets. If you were satisfied with "any 4 colours" it would be easier to tweak the CGA library to support that on EGA. Or just use the excellent PALSWAP utility by RetroErik.

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The source and assets will be ready for release shortly. You can modify the graphics in PCPaint and rebuild the asset files then.

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

These are standard 320x200. When I post individual screenshots I tend to expand them to 640x400 for clarity. I *should* stretch them to 640x480 because CGA pixels aren't square, but then you lose fidelity because of the smoothing.

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Reposted by Cyningstan

schledorn.bsky.social @schledorn.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The world is bit brighter every time a new DOS game is released.

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

In #StarCadre Team Command, the Unity of Free Planets is in a state of cold war against the alien Donos Empire, and also has to defend its citizens from other enemies. You command a unit of operatives for the Unity. cyningstan.itch.io/star-cadre-t... #ibmpc #msdos #cga

A screenshot of Star Cadre: Team Command, showing a briefing for a mission where the team are to enter a hostile industrial complex and gather parts for a dangerous weapon.

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Thanks! Minimum specs are 8088, CGA or Hercules graphics, 512k RAM, single 360k floppy disk. This is the 43rd DOS game I know of this year; there were 72 games last year and 51 the year before, so there's quite a bit to choose from.

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

A new tactical combat game for #msdos has been released! #StarCadre Team Command puts you in charge of a squad of elite operatives in the far future, conducting special missions on behalf of an interstellar civilisation. Get it from cyningstan.itch.io/star-cadre-t... #ibmpc #cga

A collage of screenshots of Star Cadre: Team Command against a background image. The background images shows the K-53 modified fighter craft in the foreground, that takes the away team on their missions, on a landing pad beside its hangar, with planting around, a city scape behind, mountains in the far distance. The screenshots are all in 4-colour CGA. They include: the title screen which is a 4-colour version of the background image, a mission taking place in an industrial complex, and the personnel screen where a new recruit is being added to the team.

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Reposted by Cyningstan

Pixel Prophecy @pixelprophecy.com · 26/09/2026

Today's stream will start ⚠️one hour later than usual⚠️ at 22:00 CEST / 20:00 UTC I'ts going to be about various tool recommendations and possibly playing some more DOS games for DOStember. 🌈🦄✨ twitch.tv/PixelProphecy

twitch.tv

PixelProphecy - Twitch

📹YouTuber, 🦄 unicorn herder, 🕹Indie Game Dev, and, well, 🔴 streamer apparently) from Austria. I love being creative with a computer, be it game dev, art, music, CGI, or the random dive down memory lan...

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I ordered a printed copy of the manual for the forthcoming #starcadre Team Command. Some things to tidy up, but it came out reasonably well. #msdos #cga

The printed Player Guide for Star Cadre: Team Command.

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Reposted by Cyningstan

Mongoose Publishing @mongoosepublishing.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Want to try the Traveller RPG? What to try it for free? The Traveller Starter set includes the core rules, and two free adventures for you to dive right into - Stranded, and the classic Death Station. Start rolling up your Travellers now! www.mongoosepublishing.com/products/sta... #ttrpg #RPG

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I especially like the asymmetry of this one!

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I love Olipix's videos, but I'm especially fascinated by the ones about electro-mechanical games that came before true video games in arcades. I have a vague memory of watching my older brothers playing one of them, but I was too young to enjoy them myself. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iRm...

youtube.com

Before video games 🕹️ 1972 Electro Mechanical arcade games

YouTube video by Olipix Retrotech

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Reposted by Cyningstan

G @jasky.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

this is old as hell but i still think it’s dope

Mona Lisa in the CGA magenta cyan white black palette in pixel art

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I hope it all goes well and that you're better soon.

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Reposted by Cyningstan

Juan F. Ramírez @juanfr.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 14/09/2026

Brand new Spectrum game: Mels Disco Bassoon, by orac81. Includes also versions for with #Atari 400/800, #Commodore64, #Commodore16, #Vic20, #MSDOS & #Windows/ #Linux via SDL Download: orac81.itch.io/mels-disco-bassoon #zxspectrum #retrogaming

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Cyningstan @cyningstan.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I found out when I wrote a little text mode firework display on my 5150, which I guess must have used some trig functions. I took it into college, and the 12MHz 286s there didn't quite keep up. Quite embarrassing when I tried to show it to my college friends on one of the 8088s.

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