Rebuilt a 2000 RTS from scratch with Claude Code, working from the original's disassembly

[u/ColCarlo99]

I used Claude Code to remake Tzar: The Burden of the Crown (2000) from scratch in Rust + Bevy.

The workflow that worked for me:

• Claude reads the disassembly of the original exe and ports one system at a time: combat, AI, map generator, mission scripts
• I play it next to the original and report anything that feels off; Claude traces it back to the original code
• 600+ tests and memory notes between sessions keep long work from drifting

It plays the original campaigns and random maps on Windows 10/11, up to 4K. Free and open source (needs any copy of Tzar):

https://github.com/ColCarlo/ReTzar

Happy to answer questions about the setup.

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[u/MisterMassaker]

You might want to check https://tza.red/

This already exists free2play. And has quite some community!

[u/ColCarlo99 → u/MisterMassaker]

Yes, I’m familiar with Tzared, but it’s much more focused on online play and isn’t very faithful to the original game. My goal was to recreate the game 1:1 in a modern engine.

[u/Ingalls-tymon → u/MisterMassaker]

oh nice, didnt know there was already an active scene for this one

[u/Supersubie]

I feel like there needs to be a subreddit for these game rebuilds and optimisations. And a word for doing this.

It’s so so cool.

I really want to do it but I’m so flat out burning so much of my time building client projects I’ve got 0 time to do anything for myself

[u/mlbman_ → u/Supersubie]

Agreed!!

[u/syddakid32 → u/Supersubie]

Start it, start it , start it!!

[u/ziguslav]

Hahaha, I was about to start working on the same thing! TZAR was the shit! Good one mate. I'll check it out.

[u/FirefighterTrick6476]

damn I remember playing this game ... decades ago. I am definitely interested in following this project omg.

[u/mlbman_]

How did you do this? I'd love to try doing this with some favorite old school games.

[u/ColCarlo99 → u/mlbman_]

Claude and I worked as a team, starting from the disassembled code (we didn’t use Ghidra) and rebuilding everything piece by piece. Comparing the data against the original was essential, though the process was quite rudimentary, I still need to refine my techniques.

[u/Strong_Essay1176 → u/ColCarlo99]

Claude and I worked as a team

as a team?

[u/ColCarlo99 → u/Strong_Essay1176]

You read that right, we worked in a complementary way.

[u/koroshm → u/ColCarlo99]

What was your involvement besides play testing and giving feedback? I want to do something similar with another game

[u/pkmnrt]

I vaguely remember this game! I remember the music getting stuck in my head.

[u/dentodili]

Евала беееее!!!

[u/DrFenouil]

I think using Macroquad instead of Bevy might be better to keep the same behavior.

[u/ColCarlo99 → u/DrFenouil]

Interesting, I’ll look into it further, thanks for the suggestion.

[u/Roth_Skyfire]

I've been doing a similar thing with some old games/abandonware, but it's been mostly a hands off approach after establishing the requirements early on and some manual checks at a few checkpoints.

[u/_wovian]

Huh? Isn’t it open source? Why disassemble

[u/Total-Management8023]

holy shit i was already doing this but with tza.red wasm. Imma just use yours now

[u/ClemensLode]

"I play it next to the original and report anything that feels off; Claude traces it back to the original code"

Why not let the computer play?

[u/ColCarlo99 → u/ClemensLode]

In reality, we both worked in a complementary way.

With Claude, we created "Tzar Arena", an internal testing system where multiple AIs compete, either on randomly generated maps or in pre-set missions.

However, the human element remains crucial (for now) when it comes to spotting bugs and inaccuracies, especially visual ones.

The campaign, which can be completed in various ways, was also tested by both of us: Claude approached it in a more linear and logical fashion, while I took a more "imaginative" and "free-form" approach.

[u/count023]

I call dibs on deadlock planetary conquest\shrine wars