#Tag · bonfire.cafe

The #Psion pocket computer for which the game was designed was the Psion #OrganiserII. This computer with an 8-bit HD6303X processor came in several models, from the CM with its 8k RAM and 16x2 character display, to the LZ64 with 64k RAM and a 20x4 character display. http://damian.cyningstan.org.uk/downloads/215/barbarians #gamedev

The Psion Organiser II, the platform for which Barbarians was originally designed. All of the Organiser II machines featured this 36-key alphabetic keyboard, which is well designed and surprisingly easy to get used to. Pictured is a model LZ, which has 32k of RAM and a 20x4 character display.

Cyningstan

@cyningstan@mastodon.social · 3 weeks ago

Cyningstan

@cyningstan@mastodon.social · last month

Recently I released #Barbarians for #msdos, a simple strategy game about repelling a barbarian invasion in ancient times. This release was for the #DOSember Game Jam, a 3-month game jam for MS-DOS preceding the month-long DOSember streaming event for 2025. The rules stated that picking up "abandoned projects" was allowed, and Barbarians for MS-DOS was a project I'd put aside at the end of 2024; the jam was the perfect time to pick it up again. https://cyningstan.itch.io/barbarians-dos #gamedev

A screenshot from the recently released Barbarians for MS-DOS. It uses a similar layout to the versions ZX Spectrum and some Psion pocket computers. A central main map is surrounded by various information panels: on the left, information about the empire as a whole, on the right, information about the last referenced map square, and underneath, the game's name and a one-line prompt and menu display.

Cyningstan

@cyningstan@mastodon.social replied · 4 weeks ago

But the development history of #Barbarians is much longer than that. #msdos is the third platform for which I've released the game. The original version goes right back to 2010, when the game was developed for the once-popular range of pocket computers from #Psion, computers which are often sold short by being referred to as "PDAs." http://damian.cyningstan.org.uk/downloads/215/barbarians #gamedev

Three of the platforms on which Barbarians has been released. Top to bottom: a screenshot from the ZX Spectrum version, a Psion Series 3 running the game, and a screenshot from the MS-DOS version.

dch :flantifa: :flan_hacker: boosted

RetroPsion

@RetroPsion@oldbytes.space · 4 weeks ago

This #Psion 5mx is connected to the internet via a serial cable and a mobile phone. It can read emails and browse the web using its native apps.

RetroPsion

@RetroPsion@oldbytes.space · 4 weeks ago

This #Psion 5mx is connected to the internet via a serial cable and a mobile phone. It can read emails and browse the web using its native apps.

¡Abbie! boosted

The Last Psion | Alex

@thelastpsion@oldbytes.space · 3 months ago

Obligatory train travel shots.

#Psion #permacomputing #retrocomputing #train #railway #travel

The same as the previous photo, but from a different angle. There is some lens flare to the right of the shot.

Photo of a Psion Series 3mx, sitting on a table on a Greater Anglia train. To the right is a mediocre filter coffee. To the left is a Psion SIBO SSD. Through the window, trees, sky and clouds can be seen rushing past.

The Last Psion | Alex

@thelastpsion@oldbytes.space · 3 months ago

Obligatory train travel shots.

#Psion #permacomputing #retrocomputing #train #railway #travel

mat boosted

Matt Lewis

@semiprime@mastodon.online · 3 months ago

I've released version 0.3.8 of my WIP #Psion Agenda-like "Pygenda" app targeting keyboard-equipped PDAs running Linux (e.g. #GeminiPDA, #CosmoCommunicator, #PinePhone with keyboard).

The main additions this release are:
• Anniversaries – something that Psion Agenda had, but which isn't in the iCal spec.
• Calendar styles, so you can set CSS for entries depending on the entry's calendar source (see photo for example).

Docs & source on Codeberg (or GtHb): https://codeberg.org/semiprime/pygenda
#Palmtop #PDA

A photo of a Gemini PDA - a clamshell palmtop computer with a keyboard similar to a Psion Series 5, bit with a colour screen. The Gemini is running Pygenda under Linux. Pygenda is in Week View, with a layout like a traditional paper diary. Various events are shown and are highlighted in yellow (for work entries) or blue (for personal entries).

Matt Lewis

@semiprime@mastodon.online · 3 months ago

I've released version 0.3.8 of my WIP #Psion Agenda-like "Pygenda" app targeting keyboard-equipped PDAs running Linux (e.g. #GeminiPDA, #CosmoCommunicator, #PinePhone with keyboard).

Docs & source on Codeberg (or GtHb): https://codeberg.org/semiprime/pygenda
#Palmtop #PDA