An open-source engine port of Dungeon Master (1987), Chaos Strikes Back (1989), and eventually Dungeon Master II for modern platforms.
Firestaff now has a real front door and a real in-game slice.
Working today:
- launcher with game selection
- persistent startup settings
- DM1 asset validation via MD5
- runtime language / graphics / window-mode switching in the launcher
- first in-game DM1 view with real dungeon loading
- real movement / facing / tick updates backed by world state
- first front-cell attack affordance driven by real tick/emission state
- cleaner in-game HUD with readable location, supplies, and action readouts
- launcher to game to launcher loop with explicit in-view controls
- clickable in-view controls for movement, inspect/action, and direct champion pick
- deterministic verification suite still green
Not there yet:
- full classic Dungeon Master viewport rendering
- full audio layer
- complete CSB / DM2 asset support
- full end-to-end playable UI/HUD flow
Firestaff is a deterministic, modular re-implementation of the FTL Games engine, designed to run on macOS, Linux, and Windows.
The project is built around portable C, explicit data structures, and aggressive verification. The goal is not just to "run the game somehow", but to preserve its behaviour in a form that is inspectable, testable, and maintainable.
- DM1 / CSB / DM2 game list
- startup settings screen
- built-in fallback launcher card art
- future-ready slot system for real card assets
- clean path for future custom dungeon sources
- explicit product direction that DM2 belongs in the supported game family, even if runtime support is still ahead
- boots from real
DUNGEON.DAT - enters a real game-view state from the launcher
- displays dungeon-backed view state instead of fake placeholder text
- movement / turning / ticking mutate real world state
- Enter now inspects, Space acts, and Tab cycles the front champion inside the real game view
- Space now attacks front-cell creature contact through the real tick orchestrator when a target is there
- mouse clicks now drive the in-view control strip, viewport inspect, and champion selection from the live HUD
- pseudo-viewport slice now gives a forward-facing dungeon view
- HUD readouts now prioritise player-facing labels over raw debug telemetry
- deterministic verification remains green
- DM1 asset detection is MD5-based, not filename-based
- CSB / DM2 validator path is scaffolded honestly, without invented support
- README and roadmap now call out DM2 as a real planned target, not an afterthought
Launcher / game view:
./firestaff --data-dir "$HOME/.firestaff/data"In the game view: Enter inspects, Space acts or waits, Tab cycles the active champion, Esc returns to the launcher. You can also click the viewport to inspect, click the control strip to move/act, and click a party card to arm a champion directly.
Headless launcher smoke test:
./run_firestaff_m11_launcher_smoke.shVerification suite:
./run_firestaff_m10_verify.sh "$HOME/.firestaff/data/GRAPHICS.DAT"- deepen the first combat/action loop beyond the current inspect / strike slice
- replace more fallback launcher art with real assets
- add verified CSB / DM2 asset hashes where evidence exists
- keep widening the in-game command surface past the current first clickable HUD slice
- fuller viewport rendering
- audio layer
- broader settings coverage
- better language support
- stronger custom dungeon / custom map entry path
- first real CSB and DM2 validator/data integration steps
- reorganise the codebase into clearer source directories instead of keeping everything in one flat pile
- full Chaos Strikes Back support
- preserve Amiga CSB in-game map support as a product requirement, not an optional extra
- full Dungeon Master II support
- replay system
- packaging and release builds
- Use real game data whenever possible
- Do not fake support we have not verified
- Keep deterministic behaviour intact
- Build additive slices that stay green
- Prefer honest progress over flashy shortcuts
Firestaff's development has been informed by Christophe Fontanel's reverse-engineering work on ReDMCSB. His documentation of the original engine's bugs, quirks, and mechanics has been invaluable as a reference, though no ReDMCSB source code is included in Firestaff.
The original Dungeon Master and Chaos Strikes Back games were designed by Doug Bell, Dennis Walker, Mike Newton, Andy Jaros, and Wayne Holder at FTL Games.
Firestaff is released under the MIT Licence. See LICENSE.
This licence covers only the engine code. Dungeon Master and Chaos Strikes Back are © FTL Games / Software Heaven, Inc. You must own a legal copy of the original games to use them with Firestaff. No original assets are distributed with this project.
Issues and discussion are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for repository policy and current contribution guidance.
- Dungeon Master Encyclopaedia: dmweb.free.fr
- ReDMCSB reference project: dmweb.free.fr/?q=community/redmcsb
- Project tagline: An open Dungeon Master engine, deterministic, modular, museum-grade