A custom virtual machine for the Stars! 4X game

Chris Wellons · 17 Sept 2026

Chris Wellons did not write this page.

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Our reading
Software built under tight hardware constraints tends to have faster, more responsive UI than software built without such limits.

Their wordsTargeting old 16-bit computers, the authors couldn't afford to build a sloppy, wasteful UI, and so by modern standards the game UI is remarkably fast and responsive.

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