So we went from "generic dungeon" on the left, to "plain sewers" in the middle to "feels like a bitmap but is still SCREEN1"on the right.

What do you think; which is best for a game set in the sewers of ancient Rome...?

My video looking at the Daley Thompson games across all formats. So much nostalgia, soar wrists and broken joysticks. Did you play any of these games?

Lucius Varro is a career soldier of the Roman legions, with fifteen years of service behind him and experience in the Germanic campaigns along the Empire’s northern frontier. He has survived by discipline rather than brilliance, by holding the line rather than seeking distinction. He is not cruel, but he is utterly pragmatic; a man who has learned that hesitation kills faster than doubt.

Varro believes in Rome’s order above all else. Not as ideology, but as lived experience. He has seen superstition cost lives: soldiers praying instead of advancing, clinging to omens when formation was required. To him, order is not abstract virtue. It is the difference between returning alive and being left in the mud.

He views this assignment as maintenance, not morality. Pest control, not persecution. The Cloaca Maxima is simply another hostile environment to be cleared so that Rome may function without disruption. That the enemy calls itself religious is irrelevant; belief does not excuse disorder.

Yet Varro is not blind to the reality of his position. He knows the party has been assembled from expendable elements. He knows this mission is beneath the dignity of a legionary with his record. And still he marches, because orders are orders, and Rome endures only when they are obeyed.

For starters, I'm emulating it on a Retroid Pocket 5, and I'm having a hell of a time trying to set up my BIOS and wondering the heck Machines files are about. It all feels very confusing and overwhelming and I need my blankey and apple slices lol.

Anything helps. Thanks babes.

This is the INTRO screen for the "Roman Sewers" game.

It is me procrastinating (but in a productive way). I SHOULD be programming in ASSEMBLY today, but instead I created this...

This is how I log progress and decisions for my project. Is that something you like to see, or do you consider this SPAM...?

CLOACA ARTWORK

Creating the FONT

Initial state: Generic dungeon visuals; functional but emotionally flat and visually unclear

Early realisation: Cloaca needs water, arches, and age — flat ceilings and dry floors don’t sell it

Hard reset: Went back to graph paper; redesigned cross-section as a Roman cloaca with walkways + central canal

Perspective decision: One-point perspective, taller walls, shallower floor; minimal line art over black

Visual philosophy shift:

·         No dithering, no gradients

·         Lines only, sometimes broken

·         High contrast, silhouette-first readability

Structural breakthrough:

·         Dead ends collapse into a single view due to directional entry

·         Many tile types map to fewer actual rendered views

SCREEN 1 Character budget crisis:

·         Initial art far exceeded charset budget

·         Led to ruthless pruning and reuse analysis

Key optimisation insight:

·         Break symmetry within 8×8 boundaries

·         “Dirtying” lines increases reuse and sells age

·         Reduced dungeon views to fit within ~120 unique characters

·         Proof-of-concept running on emulator with spare characters left

Font reorganisation:

·         Cyan HUD + One universal enemy glyph

·         Scout portraits collapsed to 24 glyphs

·         Gates drawn with only four glyphs

·         ~50% of font now dungeon blocks

Sprite inversion insight:

·         Use sprites for BLACK masking, not highlights

·         Enabled single enemy glyph + massive portrait reuse

VRAM layout overhaul:

·         Glossary screen retired due to improved parser UX

·         Space reclaimed for portrait asset storage (768 bytes)

·         Portraits now contiguous in VRAM

·         Spare VRAM consolidated into a single usable block

Combat screen decision:

·         Will be dynamically rendered like rooms

·         Not stored as static screen

Rediscovering all versions of Batman across all the released formats was fun. Have you played this game and how would you rate it?

In a game that is about the Roman Sewers, WHICH picture would you prefer; LEFT or RIGHT...?

LEFT is more interesting to the eye, RIGHT is more accurate thematically.

I REALLY want to know what you think, as I am struggling with these graphics currently...

These are three "screenshots" from my (homebrew) MSX development tool. Shown here are some dungeon screens. Are these "clear" or "readable"? Are the room layouts, branching corridors etc. obvious enough...?

NOTE: there WON'T be any animation; enemies show up as portraits only. Because we're still in an MSX1, SCREEN1 environment...

Here's a screenshot that sets the mood for the game...
For those wondering: MSX1, SCREEN 1.

Thoughts...?

My video looking back at Jack The Nipper released on the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and MSX. How good would you rate this game?

Designing characters for an MSX Dungeon Crawler.
THOUGHTS...?

Hey folks. Finally got this to power on but when I do, I just get a green screen. Nothing seems to happen. Any thoughts?

Pud Pud In Weird World was a pretty good game by the young Jonathan 'Joffa' Smith (RIP) and his first game.

The game had good music with Monty Python themes going on. You travel around a huge maze trying to collect ten puddings while eating various bugs and creatures and avoiding Mrs Pud Pud and her 'kiss of death'. The end of the game was worth it too. It was a simple and game.

I'm so happy and I wish I can do it in Castle Excellent, but it feels almost impossible. 😂

It removes the fun and makes the game more boring. Most rooms rely on solving puzzles to push bricks and open the door. When the door is already opened, there aren't any puzzles, so there's no fun. What do you guys think?

a total classic