https://github.com/w84death/cortex-labs-assembly-game
Cortex Labs - Real-time, puzzle, strategy game for x86 processors made in assembly. MS-DOS.
https://github.com/w84death/cortex-labs-assembly-game
assembly-language assembly-x86 baremetal baremetal-programming floppy freedos game msdos msdos-game strategy-game
Last synced: 15 days ago
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Cortex Labs - Real-time, puzzle, strategy game for x86 processors made in assembly. MS-DOS.
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/w84death/cortex-labs-assembly-game
- Owner: w84death
- License: mit
- Created: 2025-06-07T09:27:07.000Z (about 1 year ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2026-05-27T20:40:08.000Z (about 1 month ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-05-27T21:12:46.402Z (about 1 month ago)
- Topics: assembly-language, assembly-x86, baremetal, baremetal-programming, floppy, freedos, game, msdos, msdos-game, strategy-game
- Language: Assembly
- Homepage:
- Size: 18.2 MB
- Stars: 4
- Watchers: 1
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
# 
Real-time strategy for x86 processors made in pure assembly. Art made in custom tool (Zig).
# Latest build
* PLAY HERE IN [WEB DOS EMULATOR](https://smol.p1x.in/assembly/game12/game12.html)
# The Game
> Cortex Labs is still in development and has no finished gameplay yet. The main goal of the project is to learn x86 assembly, keep the game code within a 16 KB limit, and make it run on bare-metal PCs.
Cortex Labs is a strategic resource management game set on the hostile planet Kepler-486i, where you command robotic expeditions to harvest Neurofung - a revolutionary organism that can enhance human cognition and extend life by centuries. Operating from a safe orbital distance, you'll build an automated rail network to extract and transport three vital resources across a challenging 128x128 tile map.
Deploy cargo pods on your expanding railway system, strategically placing switches at junctions to optimize routes between extractors and your main base. Establish stations with specialized buildings - factories to refine resources, laboratories to unlock new technologies. Balance the collection of crystals for construction, veins for fuel, and the precious Neurofung mushrooms that must be carefully managed to avoid depletion.
## Story
Earth’s last unaging generation is dying.
For three decades the greatest minds of Cortex Labs have chased a single impossible dream: Neurofung, the wild mushroom that grows only on the surface of Kepler-486i. A single gram extends human cognition and cellular lifespan by centuries. A kilogram could rewrite the future of our species.
You are Orbital Commander, voice and mind of the automated expedition.
Your mission is to harvest as much Neurofung as possible before the meteorite storm closes in and destroys the return rocket. This is the last chance to secure the precious fungi!
Good luck.
## Resources
* *Aetherweave* - delicate, glowing white root-like veins that spread through the upper layers of Kepler-486i’s crust. These organic-mineral hybrids constantly release volatile methane-rich gases.
* *Cryonite* - dense, metallic-blue crystal rock formations embedded in the planet’s ancient basalt plates. Cryonite is incredibly hard yet surprisingly workable once fractured. It serves as the primary structural material for rail tracks, factories, extractors, and base expansions.
* *Neurofung* — the most precious biomass in the known galaxy. Harvest carefully. Over-extraction collapses the fungal network for decades. Under-extraction dooms Earth.
## Features
* VGA 320x200, 16 colors (DawnBringer palette), 256-color mode
* 2D tile-based, top-down view
* Full keyboard and mouse support
* Bare-metal PS/2 mouse driver packed into the boot sector; DOS builds use the system `int 33h` mouse driver
* 16x16 sprites/tiles (2-bit palette compression, 4 colors + transparency)
* Procedural map generation (weighted adjacency rules)
* 128x128 tile map with viewport scrolling
* Double-buffered framebuffer with partial terrain redraw
* RLE image compression for pre-rendered backgrounds
* Sound effects via PC Speaker (IRQ-driven PIT playback)
* Rail system with automatic track orientation and switch logic
* Pod (cart) entity system: moving goods on rails, collision handling
* Base expansion and building placement
* 8 building types: silos, collector, extractor, refinery, lab, radar, pod factory, power
* 3 resource types (white, blue, green): extraction, transport, refinement
* Extractor setup with targeting and resource type selection
* Fog of war with radar visibility expansion
* Radar minimap (satellite view)
* UPX-compressed COM output for DOS
* Bootable FAT12 floppy image with boot-sector mouse driver for bare-metal runs
* Development tools (vibe coded C):
* png2asm - convert PNG tilemap to 2-bit paletted assembly
* rleimg2asm - convert images to RLE-compressed assembly
* fnt2asm - convert font charset to 1-bit assembly
* All game graphics were made with my own tool: **P1Xel Tool**
* Source code: https://github.com/w84death/p1xel-tool
* Binary included in this repo: `tools/p1xel_tool`
## Tileset
## Running
Boot from a floppy or run from MS-DOS (FreeDOS). The floppy image contains `GAME.COM`, the manual, and a FAT12 boot sector for bare-metal runs. On bare metal, the boot sector installs a tiny PS/2 mouse driver before jumping to the game, so the game can use the same `int 33h` mouse path as it does under DOS.
## Building
Uses Zig build system (`build.zig`) with FASM assembler.
### Requirements
- `zig`
- `fasm`
- `upx`
- `mtools` (`mformat`, `mcopy`, `mdir`) for floppy image creation
- Optional runners: `qemu-system-i386`, `bochs`
Build bootable floppy image (default):
```
zig build
```
Build compressed COM file with UPX:
```
zig build com
```
Build uncompressed COM file:
```
zig build com-raw
```
Run in QEMU:
```
zig build qemu
```
Run in Bochs:
```
zig build bochs
```
Build jsdos archive:
```
zig build jsdos
```
Burn floppy image to physical device (`/dev/sdb` in build script):
```
zig build burn
```
Display project statistics:
```
zig build stats
```
Display opcode usage stats:
```
zig build opcodes
```
Build release tooling executable:
```
zig build tools
```
Decompress COM file for debugging:
```
zig build decompress
```
Test UPX compression levels:
```
zig build test-upx
```
Check UPX compression status:
```
zig build check-upx
```
Build DOSBox portable bundles:
```
zig build bundle-windows
zig build bundle-linux
zig build bundle
```
Package DOSBox release archives:
```
zig build package-windows
zig build package-linux
zig build package
```
Clean artifacts:
```
zig build clean
zig build clean-tools
```
Show all available targets:
```
zig build help
```
## DOSBox Releases
Prebuilt DOSBox bundles are published on the GitHub Releases page:
https://github.com/w84death/game12-asm/releases
Look for:
- `Cortex-Labs-windows.zip`
- `Cortex-Labs-linux.tar.gz`
## Tools
### png2asm
For converting .png tilemap into 2-bit compressed and palettes assembly code.
```./png2asm tileset.png palettes.png ../../src/tiles.asm```
### rleimg2asm
For converting .png image into RLE compressed assembly code.
```./rleimg2asm frames/p1x.png ../../src/rle_p1x.asm -asm p1x_logo_image -stats```
### fnt2asm
For converting .png font charset into 1-bit compressed assembly code.
```./fnt2asm font.png ../../src/font.asm```
