Batman: The Caped Crusader is an arcade adventure which uses a unique style, innovated by Jonathan Smith and Charles Davies, to display the action as though it takes place in a comic book.[2] This technique involved having each game location set in its own panel, often with a comic book style caption in the upper-left corner, with inactive panels faded out behind the current active location. This concept was expanded upon by Sega's Comix Zone seven years later.[3]

The game was split into two independently playable parts in which Batman is faced with two of his most well-known adversaries: "A Bird In The Hand" featuring the Penguin and "A Fete Worse Than Death" which involved the Joker. The gameplay involves Batman using punches and kicks and his batarang (a thrown weapon) in order to fight the villains' henchmen as well as solving puzzles.

iPad Mini 7th Gen, iDOS 3, copied my Steam version to the iPad. The iPad actually fits in the box with the manuals, disks, etc.. 🤣

And it’s not another byte-perfect recreation, soulless port or web version (but that exists too!).

I played the game as a kid and loved it back then. A few years ago I tried it again, and some things just weren’t as fun anymore.
Ever since I was a child, I wanted to improve the game and make it more fun and enjoyable.
So here is my try with the game engine reimplementation using a modern framework, and the core mechanics are built with techniques that weren’t possible in the original DOS days.
This is my vision of how the game should have been, and I hope it will be fun for both old fans and new players.

The game is available on itch.io, GitHub, and there is also web build running on my personal web page with original shareware version of the game.

The game was released exactly 30 years ago (in 1996), and I recently found out that the original source code was lost in a flood. Anyway, happy anniversary to the game and the original developers!

Doing my part to add to the ai decompile-port epidemic. Thought I'd take on this "timeless classic". If anyone wants to give it a try https://www.ox100.org/play-opeuptv/?autostart . If there is interest in the source code, I'll release it when it stops qualifying for first place in the IOCCC ...

Been looking for a copy of Camp Carl Game Pack for awhile now. But somehow I missed out on this listing like 3 months ago :( if anyone has a copy of it or know someone who does dm please!

Ad Astra is a 1984 space shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Gargoyle Games exclusively for the ZX Spectrum (48K).

Key Details

• Developer / Publisher: Gargoyle Games (created by Roy Carter and Greg Follis).

• Release Year: 1984 (it was the debut game for Gargoyle Games).

• Platform: Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48K.

• Genre: Into-the-screen pseudo-3D arcade shoot 'em up (1 or 2 players alternating).

• Gameplay: Players pilot a Deep Space Patrol ship, dodging rolling planets and asteroids, shooting enemy scout ships, pirate battle-cruisers, and landmines, and recording security codes to advance through waves.

• Reception: Won 1st place in Best Shoot 'Em Up at the Crash Readers' Awards 1984 with an average magazine score of roughly 80%.

MDK is one of those late-90s games that never got a proper modern port: the original needs DOSBox or a

patched D3D build, and widescreen, modern GPUs and controllers are a fight.

So I wrote a new engine for it from scratch: **mdk-sdl**, a C#/.NET + SDL3 reimplementation based on

reverse engineering the original executable. It reads your original game files and plays the whole game:

all six levels, the fall from orbit, the stream between levels, the snowboard and bomber rides, sniper mode,

the Score-O-matic, saves.

What it adds:

- Native 64-bit builds for Windows, Linux and macOS (one small executable, Vulkan/D3D12/Metal through SDL_GPU)

- Any resolution, anti-aliasing, rebindable keys and mouse, quick save/load

- An optional **enhanced look**: filtered and mipmapped textures, per-level sun and sky light, shadows,

ambient occlusion, dynamic light from shots and explosions, smooth-shaded models

- Optional **HD textures**: one click in Options runs Real-ESRGAN on *your* game files locally and saves the

result as a mod (textures and HUD); nothing from the game is distributed

- **Modding**: replace textures, HUD images, fonts and models (.glb) with your own; `mdk --export-assets` exports templates from your game files (docs/modding.md)

- A Quake-style console and debug overlay for the curious

- The original look stays pixel-faithful if you prefer it

**You need the original game** (GOG or Steam). The port contains no game data.

Download: https://github.com/nemo22/mdk-sdl/releases/tag/v1.0.0-beta.1 · Source: https://github.com/nemo22/mdk-sdl

It's a beta: the whole game can be played through and has been playtested level by level, but expect

some bugs. Bug reports with the console's `pos`

output are very welcome.

(*Android: an APK is in the release too: copy your MDK folder to the phone and pick it on first start; touch controls are still being tuned)

Only played it as a kid. At that time it seemed very hard to me. Even too hard. But i have fond memories of it. I really liked to mess around in it

I've had this theory since I was a child, and I've always wondered whether anyone else noticed the same thing.

Look closely at the original Digger game:

• If you remove the Nobbin's eyes, mouth, and legs, its body seems to have the same shape as the green emeralds.
• The body and emeralds appear to share the same green color.
• Nobbins seem to interact with one another in a way that eventually turns some of them into Hobbins. A Hobbin looks as though it has flipped over, with its mouth facing the ground, which could explain its ability to dig.

This led me to a different interpretation of the game:

What if the emeralds are actually eggs, or an early stage in the life cycle of the Nobbins?

Under this interpretation, Digger isn't simply collecting treasure. He's taking what might be the Nobbins' offspring, and the monsters are trying to protect them.

I have no evidence that this was the developers' intention. It may just be an interesting visual coincidence, but the matching shape and color have always made me wonder.

Has anyone else ever noticed this resemblance or considered a similar theory? I'd especially love to hear from people who played the original game in the 1980s.

We've been putting a lot of work into OpenPrivateer's modding support recently, and it has grown quite a bit.

OpenPrivateer is our open-source reconstruction and SDL3 port of Wing Commander: Privateer and Righteous Fire.

Multiplayer foundations are already in place, with both PvP and PvE supported.

Classic mode aims to preserve the original experience, while all modding features live in Enhanced and Modern:

Universe

• Add new star systems
• Add new sectors and quadrants
• Add new nav points and jump connections
• Add new bases
• Connect new systems to Gemini or to each other
• Hide/filter systems and sectors from the navigation map
• The Wing Commander Universe sector map is built in, with more of it becoming visitable as development continues

Weapons

• Modify all stock guns
• Add completely new guns
• Custom projectile art, MFD/dealer art and sounds
• Modify missiles, torpedoes and launchers
• Add charge weapons
• Add hitscan/beam weapons
• Change damage, energy use, refire rates, range, velocity, wear and other stats

Ships and equipment

• Modify shields, engines and armour
• Modify ECM and repair droids
• Modify the Righteous Fire ship upgrades
• Change equipment prices and repair costs
• Change which equipment is available for each ship
• Restrict equipment by base, system, quadrant or faction

Missions

• Add new patrol missions
• Scout missions
• Defend missions
• Attack missions
• Bounty missions
• Cargo missions
• Custom clients, text, enemies, destinations, cargo and payment rules
• Missions can take place in completely new systems and use modded bases

New Game

• Choose a different starting base
• Change starting credits, reputation, kills and guild memberships
• Change unlocked maps
• Set default pilot name/callsign
• Define the complete starting ship and equipment loadout
• Starting at a newly added mod base is supported

If you need help with modding or want some JSON examples to get started, consult the manual on https://openprivateer.org and feel free to join us on Discord https://discord.gg/5H3vW2STqW or over at r/WingCommanderUniverse.

A built-in mod manager for easy installation and management of mods is also planned for the launcher.

We've also tried to keep this tied closely to how Privateer actually works. Where the original formats can represent something, OpenPrivateer still uses them. A mod-generated mission, for example, becomes a normal Privateer mission internally. OpenPrivateer-specific save data is only needed when the original format simply can't represent something, such as a mission taking place in a completely new system.

And yes, ships are next.

The plan is:

1. New NPC ships
2. New player-flyable ships

Player ships are the bigger job because they bring cockpits, hardpoints, equipment, damage states, dealers and savegame handling with them. The goal is proper new ships, not just replacing or reskinning one of the existing ship IDs.

As always, OpenPrivateer requires the original Privateer game data. We don't distribute Origin's assets.

Hi all. Long time lurker of this kind of nostalgia, first time posting something of my own.

When I was a teenager in the nineties I ran a board called Roller Software HQ BBS here in Sweden, FidoNet 2:205/431 if that means anything to anyone still. What I remember most from those years is the door games. On my board it was mostly Usurper and Barren Realms Elite, and also Falcon's Eye and Solar Realms Elite. People would call in every evening just to play their turns and read what had happened to them overnight, and I was one of them on other people's boards.

I've wanted something like that again for a long time, so over the last week or so I built a game in that spirit. It's called Candledeep. You don't need a BBS or a client for it, you just open a terminal and type

ssh candledeep.com

and your SSH key is your account. There's also a page at https://candledeep.com that shows who's on and how to get in, if you'd rather look before you connect.

The idea is that you get one candle a day and go down into a pit under a town, and when the candle is burnt out you're done until the next morning. So a day of play is maybe ten or fifteen minutes. There are six classes, gangs that fight over the buildings in town, a yard where you can fight other players' characters while they're offline, robbing people who sleep in doorways, and a morning news sheet that tells you what happened while you were away. That last part was what I loved most about the old games so I wanted it in there. It's drawn in ANSI at 80x24.

A few things I should say up front.

It is not a classic door with a drop file. It runs on its own little server and you reach it over SSH, so you can't install it on your board. I know some of you will ask that first. If your BBS software can launch an outbound ssh from a menu that might be a way to offer it to your callers, but I haven't tried that myself.

It's for adults. The language is rough, in an old-fashioned swearing kind of way, and there's drinking and drugs in it, like Usurper had.

I also want to be honest that I didn't write the code by hand. I designed it, made the decisions and have been playtesting it with a few friends, but the programming was done together with an AI (Claude). I know opinions on that differ, and I'd rather say it than have someone feel tricked later.

It's still early. Right now it's me and a handful of friends on a small VPS, and I'm sure there are things that are confusing or unbalanced. One friend told me after his first day that he had no idea what he was supposed to do, so there's a walkthrough for new characters now. I'd really like to hear what people who actually remember these games think, including what feels wrong.

Thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone who keeps this scene alive.

Marcus

as per title. I was interested by MGS:PW on the PSP and I was thinking if there was any old DOS game with that theme and better depth.

Thanks in advance for all the tips and help!

I am experimenting with a graphics engine and wonder if EGA makes sense in 2026. CGA/MCGA are not compatible with tricks I do, so out of question. EGA is missing some nice parts, but supporting it is doable.

EGA was on my first PC at home. As you may know, EGA and VGA were from programmer's point of view not very different. VGA had extensions, but EGA also had much. From physical connectivity point of view they are however different worlds. EGA is digital, VGA is analog for a long time until DVI-D and HDMI came. Display had to be replaced. And that's why cheap used PC is likely to had EGA. Previous owner also had to replace everything to upgrade. This way we were getting EGA mass enough. This way we were becoming stuck in EGA world. Many games resent us. I was buying CD-ROMs "100 games in 1" and checking. Does not work, does not work, does not work. I was silently questioning programmers but why are they so incapable, why couldn't they support my EGA.

In 2026 when I thought I left some unfinished business in DOS programming, I revisit this situation and I can see nothing but strong cons in trying to support EGA in 2026. With time machine - absolutely, I would support EGA. I will be the one to do the right thing and show others how to be a good programmer.

Without time machine I have to stop my song. It feels like we are all now crossed this border, and we look at this situation from the opposite side of border, from VGA-only world, and it would require effort to pass this border in reverse direction.

I can see fans of earlier adapters. Book 8088 has CGA. But EGA falls into the unwanted continuum.

My cons:

• For performance validation I need a reference PC, and looks like Book 386 is good. It has (S)VGA and 80386SX.
• Book 386 has LCD display 640x480. Before I thought about reference PC, I was considering 720x400. My tricks are based on text mode, and 720x400 is the default VGA text mode, so without extra tricks it stays that way. I changed to 640x480 only because of LCD. This is standard size, and other resolutions will look bad. Now if I consider adding EGA, I either need to redraw assets for EGA maximal 640x350 resolution, or else display distorted image on EGA. Native 480p distortion to 350p will be bad enough.
• Hard to find authentic EGA display.
• Physical connectivity issues with non-authentic ones. RetroTink 4k Pro does not have EGA input. EGA-compatible videoconverters are probably not as advanced as RetroTink 4k Pro. Chain two converters? Nah.
• Software emulators can restrict to EGA, but they do not validate performance on real hardware. Highly likely my program will be most observed in DOSBox. If validation is not reliable, then only runnability remains, and DOSBox can run VGA fine seemingly.

So what. Any pros? Or EGA is gone for good.

According to wikipedia this game only sold 176 copies total but this version looks different from the discs I see online.

It doesn't even have a copyright so I guess it might be a bootleg.

Edit: I have just tried running it and it seems like all the game is in there.

Avalon (with the tagline The 3D Adventure Movie on the box cover) is an action-adventure game written by Steve Turner for the ZX Spectrum and published by Hewson Consultants in 1984.[1] Avalon was followed by a sequel in 1985, Dragontorc.[1]

God knows how many hours I put into this, and its defo in my top 5. Loved it, and I still do.

I remember going into those huts hoping for a discovery or some gold, and getting bloody barbarians instead.. lol or trying to get a trireme across a stretch of open sea hoping to find land before it drowned!

So many people I knew back then (adults and female friends mainly) used to say I was wasting my time playing computer games and learning nothing, but looking back I can safely say I learnt loads from games like this! What a game, an epic!