Fantasy Foundry DOS Tools Pack Released
After a short holiday break, Fantasy Foundry Retro Lab is back at the keyboard. This time, the release is not a game, but something just as important for the project: a small pack of MS-DOS tools used for retro game development, graphics editing, map creation, sprite work and sound experiments.
These utilities were created during the development of projects such as Grand Prix 2D and are now being released for anyone interested in old-school DOS development, vintage computers, real floppy disks, DOSBox workflows or simply experimenting with a more authentic retro toolchain.
What is included?
The first public DOS tools pack includes the following utilities:
PIXEDIT
A simple pixel graphics editor for creating and editing raw retro-style image data.
PIXVIEW
A lightweight viewer for checking raw graphics files directly in a DOS environment.
PIXSPR
A sprite editor used for small game objects such as cars, characters and other pixel elements.
MAPEDIT
A simple map editor for tile-based games and track layouts.
TILEEDIT
A tile editor for preparing and modifying tile sets used by DOS game projects.
RAW2BMP
A small converter for exporting raw graphics into BMP files for easier viewing on modern systems.
SNDEDIT
A simple sound editor for creating or modifying small sound effect files.
SNDPLAY
A DOS sound playback utility for testing sound effects created with SNDEDIT or used in game projects.
Why release the tools?
One of the goals of Fantasy Foundry Retro Lab is not only to release finished games, but also to document the development process and share the small utilities that make these projects possible. The tools are intentionally simple, limited and very direct. They are not meant to compete with modern editors. Their purpose is to provide a lightweight, old-school workflow that feels close to the machines and software of the era.
For a project like Grand Prix 2D, this kind of toolchain is part of the experience. Maps, sprites, tiles, raw images and sound effects can all be handled in a way that keeps the project close to DOS development, while still allowing modern users to experiment through DOSBox or DOSBox-X.
Community use
The tools are released for hobby use, learning, experimentation and community-driven retro game development. They can be used to inspect project assets, create custom maps, edit sprites, test sounds or simply explore how a small DOS game workflow can be built.
If someone creates something interesting with these tools, such as a custom Grand Prix 2D track or a small experiment of their own, it would be great to see it shared with the retro community.
Recommended environment
The easiest way to try the tools is through DOSBox or DOSBox-X on a modern computer. They are also intended to run on real MS-DOS or FreeDOS machines, preferably with a VGA-compatible graphics card. As always with hobby DOS software, compatibility may vary depending on the exact machine, operating system and hardware configuration.
mount c c:\retro
c:
cd toolsFrom there, the utilities can be launched directly from the DOS command line. On real hardware, the package can be copied to a hard drive, CompactFlash card, floppy disk or any other DOS-accessible storage medium.
Download
The Fantasy Foundry DOS Tools Pack is available from the Downloads section of the website. The archive also includes a README file with a short description of each tool and basic usage notes.
This is an initial public release, so there may still be limitations, rough edges and bugs. Please keep backups of your work before editing files.