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Mars DOS demo by Tim Clarke (1993)

Sean Barrett · demo · Watch on YouTube

Demoscene & retrocomputingComputer graphics & rendering

What it is

A one-minute capture of Tim Clarke's 1993 'Mars' DOS demo, a roughly 5 KB program that renders a navigable terrain landscape in real time.

Why Hacker News recommends it

Remembered fondly as a tiny, efficient demo that inspired graphics programmers and is a benchmark for modern terrain rendering.

  • 2 people recommended it
  • 2 different months
  • 1 strong recommendations
  • first 2016, last 2025

What HN commenters said

  1. “I saw Mars demo which hooked me forever on the path of graphics programming.”

    Demo that inspired a career in graphics programming

    Keyframe, 2016-06 · Strong recommendation · in “Source code for 4kb demoscene production “Elevated” released”

  2. “Just 6 kilobytes and 30+ fps on a 12MHZ 286 (2).”

    6KB terrain demo running at 30+ fps on a 286

    reconnecting, 2025-07 · Recommendation · in “MacPaint Art from the Mid-80s Still Looks Great Today”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: demoscene, dos, voxel terrain, size coding, graphics

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