If you haven't played Zarch on the Acorn Archimedes. Do so.
April 18, 2025 at 12:00 AM
If you haven't played Zarch on the Acorn Archimedes. Do so.
The biggest leap in gaming technology I ever witnessed was Zarch, on the Acorn Archimedes.
The Computer Science teacher loaded it, when we were used to playing Scramble on a BBC micro.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing….
… but we all saw the future.
The Computer Science teacher loaded it, when we were used to playing Scramble on a BBC micro.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing….
… but we all saw the future.
November 24, 2024 at 5:20 PM
The biggest leap in gaming technology I ever witnessed was Zarch, on the Acorn Archimedes.
The Computer Science teacher loaded it, when we were used to playing Scramble on a BBC micro.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing….
… but we all saw the future.
The Computer Science teacher loaded it, when we were used to playing Scramble on a BBC micro.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing….
… but we all saw the future.
An Archimedes A310 and a game of Zarch. One of the many exhibits you can try at The Retro Collective.
Visit retrocollective.co.uk to book your visit
#nostalgia #retro #gaming
Visit retrocollective.co.uk to book your visit
#nostalgia #retro #gaming
April 7, 2026 at 4:50 PM
An Archimedes A310 and a game of Zarch. One of the many exhibits you can try at The Retro Collective.
Visit retrocollective.co.uk to book your visit
#nostalgia #retro #gaming
Visit retrocollective.co.uk to book your visit
#nostalgia #retro #gaming
The original advertisement artwork used for David Braben's Archimedes game, Zarch - aka Virus on other platforms. Sadly, I don't own this, but it's great to see after all this time. Now in the hands of a private collector.
March 31, 2025 at 10:24 AM
The original advertisement artwork used for David Braben's Archimedes game, Zarch - aka Virus on other platforms. Sadly, I don't own this, but it's great to see after all this time. Now in the hands of a private collector.
Check out 'Orion Patrol' for the BBC Micro. A very clever 'Zarch-a-like' game by Angus Hughes ( 2025 ).
www.bbcmicro.co.uk/game.php?id=...
www.bbcmicro.co.uk/game.php?id=...
Orion Patrol
Self-published in 2025
www.bbcmicro.co.uk
October 6, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Check out 'Orion Patrol' for the BBC Micro. A very clever 'Zarch-a-like' game by Angus Hughes ( 2025 ).
www.bbcmicro.co.uk/game.php?id=...
www.bbcmicro.co.uk/game.php?id=...
David Braben created several graphics demos for Acorn Computers when they launched the Archimedes in 1987. This is one of them, usually refered to as the 'Union Jack' demo. The rendering tech was used in the 'Lander' demo and the game 'Zarch' ( Superior Software ) - aka Virus on other platforms.
March 30, 2025 at 11:14 AM
David Braben created several graphics demos for Acorn Computers when they launched the Archimedes in 1987. This is one of them, usually refered to as the 'Union Jack' demo. The rendering tech was used in the 'Lander' demo and the game 'Zarch' ( Superior Software ) - aka Virus on other platforms.
Zweng - Zarch - Bassdscho
February 11, 2026 at 8:38 AM
Zweng - Zarch - Bassdscho
Actually it's the Zarch demo on the Acorn Archimedes.
every British guy between the ages of 38 and 52 has intense, borderline troubling nostalgia for some insanely unplayable looking Amiga game called like “Bonky’s Quest”
March 14, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Actually it's the Zarch demo on the Acorn Archimedes.
David Braben's game 'Zarch' for the Archimedes was published by Superior Software in 1987. A full game based on the original tech demo 'Lander' that was shipped on the welcome disk with every machine. All achieved by brute force on the 8MHz ARM processor - no GPU or FPU helping out here!
April 23, 2025 at 4:34 PM
David Braben's game 'Zarch' for the Archimedes was published by Superior Software in 1987. A full game based on the original tech demo 'Lander' that was shipped on the welcome disk with every machine. All achieved by brute force on the 8MHz ARM processor - no GPU or FPU helping out here!
BBC Micro Elite II contains a 3D landscape routine that uses Fourier synthesis, just like Lander and Zarch.
So what does this landscape actually look like?
Behold, the gentle slopes of planetary surfaces in Elite II, courtesy of Wolfram Alpha.
#retrogaming #retrocomputing #zarch #elite #bbcmicro
So what does this landscape actually look like?
Behold, the gentle slopes of planetary surfaces in Elite II, courtesy of Wolfram Alpha.
#retrogaming #retrocomputing #zarch #elite #bbcmicro
October 25, 2024 at 6:28 PM
BBC Micro Elite II contains a 3D landscape routine that uses Fourier synthesis, just like Lander and Zarch.
So what does this landscape actually look like?
Behold, the gentle slopes of planetary surfaces in Elite II, courtesy of Wolfram Alpha.
#retrogaming #retrocomputing #zarch #elite #bbcmicro
So what does this landscape actually look like?
Behold, the gentle slopes of planetary surfaces in Elite II, courtesy of Wolfram Alpha.
#retrogaming #retrocomputing #zarch #elite #bbcmicro
What's your "no one but me remembers" game?
September 16, 2024 at 3:02 PM
What's your "no one but me remembers" game?
The Acorn Archimedes was the first computer surpassing the Amiga in processing power. I remember seeing David Braben’s Zarch game (later known as Virus) on an Archimedes at the European Computer Trade Show in London in the late 1980s. We were there as youngsters to find a publisher for our games.
What if the Acorn Archimedes had its own Star Fox? Wing Star is a 90s 3D demo that pushed the system in impressive ways, blending ideas from Star Fox and Afterburner.
You can try it yourself too at Games That Weren't.
You can try it yourself too at Games That Weren't.
September 9, 2026 at 9:21 AM
The Acorn Archimedes was the first computer surpassing the Amiga in processing power. I remember seeing David Braben’s Zarch game (later known as Virus) on an Archimedes at the European Computer Trade Show in London in the late 1980s. We were there as youngsters to find a publisher for our games.
Abstract tiled 3D landscapes and particle effects that were showstoppers in 1987/88. The first 3D game to have shadowing and lighting effects, with the 'Zarch' original version for Acorn Archimedes sporting light-sourced polygons.
📺: Virus, 1988, David Braben (Amiga version pictured)
📺: Virus, 1988, David Braben (Amiga version pictured)
February 24, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Abstract tiled 3D landscapes and particle effects that were showstoppers in 1987/88. The first 3D game to have shadowing and lighting effects, with the 'Zarch' original version for Acorn Archimedes sporting light-sourced polygons.
📺: Virus, 1988, David Braben (Amiga version pictured)
📺: Virus, 1988, David Braben (Amiga version pictured)
Holy moly - someone's only gone and made David Braben's Zarch/Virus for the BBC Micro!
Angus Hughes has effectively achieved the impossible - it has all of the speed of the Archimedes original.
Stunning!
#retrogaming #bbcmicro #8bit
bbcmicro.co.uk/game.php?id=...
Angus Hughes has effectively achieved the impossible - it has all of the speed of the Archimedes original.
Stunning!
#retrogaming #bbcmicro #8bit
bbcmicro.co.uk/game.php?id=...
Orion Patrol
Self-published in 2025
bbcmicro.co.uk
September 25, 2025 at 7:58 AM
Holy moly - someone's only gone and made David Braben's Zarch/Virus for the BBC Micro!
Angus Hughes has effectively achieved the impossible - it has all of the speed of the Archimedes original.
Stunning!
#retrogaming #bbcmicro #8bit
bbcmicro.co.uk/game.php?id=...
Angus Hughes has effectively achieved the impossible - it has all of the speed of the Archimedes original.
Stunning!
#retrogaming #bbcmicro #8bit
bbcmicro.co.uk/game.php?id=...
Enjoying some Actual Computer Gaming History at comp club today - playing a little of the Lander Demo in an Acorn Archemedies (A3000).
Lander of course begat Zarch, and Zarch begat Virus (when it got converted to other machines).
Of course, I’m as rubbish as I always am with it. No surprise!
Lander of course begat Zarch, and Zarch begat Virus (when it got converted to other machines).
Of course, I’m as rubbish as I always am with it. No surprise!
December 6, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Enjoying some Actual Computer Gaming History at comp club today - playing a little of the Lander Demo in an Acorn Archemedies (A3000).
Lander of course begat Zarch, and Zarch begat Virus (when it got converted to other machines).
Of course, I’m as rubbish as I always am with it. No surprise!
Lander of course begat Zarch, and Zarch begat Virus (when it got converted to other machines).
Of course, I’m as rubbish as I always am with it. No surprise!
You can play the very first ARM processor based game in your browser.
David Braben created Lander in 1987 for the Acorn Archimedes. It later became Zarch (Virus on other platforms)
It all started here folks!
archi.medes.live#ff=14400&dis...
David Braben created Lander in 1987 for the Acorn Archimedes. It later became Zarch (Virus on other platforms)
It all started here folks!
archi.medes.live#ff=14400&dis...
Archimedes Live! - Online Acorn Archimedes emulator
archi.medes.live
March 9, 2026 at 5:44 PM
You can play the very first ARM processor based game in your browser.
David Braben created Lander in 1987 for the Acorn Archimedes. It later became Zarch (Virus on other platforms)
It all started here folks!
archi.medes.live#ff=14400&dis...
David Braben created Lander in 1987 for the Acorn Archimedes. It later became Zarch (Virus on other platforms)
It all started here folks!
archi.medes.live#ff=14400&dis...
Zarch made the Acorn Archimedes look like the future had landed in a British school computer room. Fast solid 3D terrain, ARM power, David Braben, and a machine most of the world barely noticed. www.generationamiga.com/2026/06/20/z... #Acorn #Archimedes #ARM #UK #retrogaming
Zarch: the British ARM showcase that made the Acorn Archimedes look years ahead
Picture a British school computer showroom in 1987. Not a place of neon futurism, not a Silicon Valley launch theatre. More likely, there are trestle tables
www.generationamiga.com
June 20, 2026 at 12:55 PM
Zarch made the Acorn Archimedes look like the future had landed in a British school computer room. Fast solid 3D terrain, ARM power, David Braben, and a machine most of the world barely noticed. www.generationamiga.com/2026/06/20/z... #Acorn #Archimedes #ARM #UK #retrogaming
I wish They™ would make more 3D games w/ the low-poly visual style of Zarch/Virus from the ol' Archimedes days
October 30, 2025 at 4:06 PM
I wish They™ would make more 3D games w/ the low-poly visual style of Zarch/Virus from the ol' Archimedes days
I remember playing Zarch on one at junior school. Blew my mind with the graphics.
August 4, 2025 at 3:07 PM
I remember playing Zarch on one at junior school. Blew my mind with the graphics.
I remember seeing Zarch running once on one of my high school's Acorn Arcs. I still had only a C64, and the kind of fast 3D it was pushing around blew my mind. Especially next to something like Castle Master on C64 with its glacial framerate.
February 24, 2025 at 6:36 PM
I remember seeing Zarch running once on one of my high school's Acorn Arcs. I still had only a C64, and the kind of fast 3D it was pushing around blew my mind. Especially next to something like Castle Master on C64 with its glacial framerate.
It's honestly surprising how many people - including some who frankly should know better - would rather say "PAL games are shit" instead of "I don't actually know much about PAL games"
kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com/2023/08/14/v...
kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com/2023/08/14/v...
Virus: Infectious fun
Booting up Virus (also known as Zarch on some, but not all, other formats) for the first time in decades revealed a sight that seemed more than a little out of place in a game released in the same …
kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com
December 29, 2024 at 6:19 AM
It's honestly surprising how many people - including some who frankly should know better - would rather say "PAL games are shit" instead of "I don't actually know much about PAL games"
kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com/2023/08/14/v...
kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com/2023/08/14/v...
Nice to get a reply from David Braben to my post about the 'ARM Evaluation System' 2nd processor in the CfCH museum. He confirmed the Archimedes Lander demo and Zarch game didn't use the MUL/MLA instructions as they weren't available when he was coding them on his early ARM 1 system.
November 14, 2024 at 3:37 PM
Nice to get a reply from David Braben to my post about the 'ARM Evaluation System' 2nd processor in the CfCH museum. He confirmed the Archimedes Lander demo and Zarch game didn't use the MUL/MLA instructions as they weren't available when he was coding them on his early ARM 1 system.
OK, *this* is why I love software archaeology.
Browsing the newly released #BBCMicro #Elite 2 source, I spot the attached. See the comments? Hey! I know this one:
lander.bbcelite.com/deep_dives/g...
So: proof that Elite II begat Lander/Zarch/Virus’s landscape. Wow!
#retrogaming #retrocomputing
Browsing the newly released #BBCMicro #Elite 2 source, I spot the attached. See the comments? Hey! I know this one:
lander.bbcelite.com/deep_dives/g...
So: proof that Elite II begat Lander/Zarch/Virus’s landscape. Wow!
#retrogaming #retrocomputing
October 24, 2024 at 6:42 PM
OK, *this* is why I love software archaeology.
Browsing the newly released #BBCMicro #Elite 2 source, I spot the attached. See the comments? Hey! I know this one:
lander.bbcelite.com/deep_dives/g...
So: proof that Elite II begat Lander/Zarch/Virus’s landscape. Wow!
#retrogaming #retrocomputing
Browsing the newly released #BBCMicro #Elite 2 source, I spot the attached. See the comments? Hey! I know this one:
lander.bbcelite.com/deep_dives/g...
So: proof that Elite II begat Lander/Zarch/Virus’s landscape. Wow!
#retrogaming #retrocomputing
zarch is really pretty
May 21, 2026 at 12:00 AM
zarch is really pretty
@raspberrypi.com's Eben Upton has been working on a version of David Braben's Virus/Zarch.
For the BBC Micro 😧
Angus Hughes' Epsilon Protocol now has competition for technical achievement on a 40+ year old machine!
Mind-blowing.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpII...
For the BBC Micro 😧
Angus Hughes' Epsilon Protocol now has competition for technical achievement on a 40+ year old machine!
Mind-blowing.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpII...
Virus for the BBC Micro
YouTube video by Eben Upton
www.youtube.com
March 23, 2026 at 8:32 AM
@raspberrypi.com's Eben Upton has been working on a version of David Braben's Virus/Zarch.
For the BBC Micro 😧
Angus Hughes' Epsilon Protocol now has competition for technical achievement on a 40+ year old machine!
Mind-blowing.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpII...
For the BBC Micro 😧
Angus Hughes' Epsilon Protocol now has competition for technical achievement on a 40+ year old machine!
Mind-blowing.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpII...