{"slug": "scorched-earth", "name": "Scorched Earth", "category": "media", "category_name": "Media and creative", "description": "", "recommenders": 4, "commenters": 4, "warners": 0, "score": 3.639, "rising": -1.31, "first": "2026-05-13", "latest": "2026-06-24", "why": "I prefer the original which is easy enough to run via dos-box", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 4, "neutral": 0, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "I prefer the original which is easy enough to run via dos-box", "kind": "game", "icon": true, "domain": "archive.org", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://www.whicken.com/scorch/", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Scorched Earth"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 778657296, "item_id": 48666081, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48666081", "by": "vunderba", "date": "2026-06-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "the original creator of Scorch Earth has also recently rebooted it for the web as well!", "excerpt": "Nice job - you might be interested, but the original creator of Scorch Earth has also recently rebooted it for the web as well! http://www.scorch2000.com", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Windage \u2013 free browser remake of Scorched Earth"}, {"id": 778650641, "item_id": 48665665, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48665665", "by": "WorldMaker", "date": "2026-06-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This copy of the shareware demo is also browser playable", "excerpt": "It's close, but it doesn't quite capture the old DOS pixelated gradients aesthetic. It also doesn't (yet?) capture the meta-game that was the biggest part of playing scorch in my youth: when you killed a tank it would pop up random insults, and the insults file was just a text file so your local file would eventually be full of in jokes and personal insults for you and your friends. This copy of the shareware demo is", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Windage \u2013 free browser remake of Scorched Earth"}, {"id": 770115664, "item_id": 48132229, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48132229", "by": "reconnecting", "date": "2026-05-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Don't forget the official Scorched Earth website", "excerpt": "Don't forget the official Scorched Earth website (1) and an interview with its creator, Wendell T. Hicken (2) 1) https://www.whicken.com/scorch/ 2) https://arstechnica.com/features/2005/03/scorched/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Scorched Earth 2000 is back"}, {"id": 770100896, "item_id": 48131306, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48131306", "by": "ticulatedspline", "date": "2026-05-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I prefer the original which is easy enough to run via dos-box", "excerpt": "Mother of all games. Played so much SE when I was younger, one of my all time favs. This version is ok but I prefer the original which is easy enough to run via dos-box, emulators of similar ilk or even online in a few places: https://archive.org/details/msdos_Scorched_Earth_1991 https://dos.zone/scorched-earth/ https://www.playdosgames.com/play/scorched-earth I loved turning the explosion to the max and launching Nu", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Scorched Earth 2000 is back"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": [], "compared": [], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48662903", "title": "Windage \u2013 free browser remake of Scorched Earth", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48129694", "title": "Scorched Earth 2000 is back", "mentions": 2}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"recommend": 2}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 2}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {}}, "quotes": [{"id": 778657296, "item_id": 48666081, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48666081", "by": "vunderba", "date": "2026-06-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "the original creator of Scorch Earth has also recently rebooted it for the web as well!", "excerpt": "Nice job - you might be interested, but the original creator of Scorch Earth has also recently rebooted it for the web as well! http://www.scorch2000.com", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Windage \u2013 free browser remake of Scorched Earth"}, {"id": 778650641, "item_id": 48665665, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48665665", "by": "WorldMaker", "date": "2026-06-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This copy of the shareware demo is also browser playable", "excerpt": "It's close, but it doesn't quite capture the old DOS pixelated gradients aesthetic. It also doesn't (yet?) capture the meta-game that was the biggest part of playing scorch in my youth: when you killed a tank it would pop up random insults, and the insults file was just a text file so your local file would eventually be full of in jokes and personal insults for you and your friends. This copy of the shareware demo is", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Windage \u2013 free browser remake of Scorched Earth"}, {"id": 770115664, "item_id": 48132229, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48132229", "by": "reconnecting", "date": "2026-05-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Don't forget the official Scorched Earth website", "excerpt": "Don't forget the official Scorched Earth website (1) and an interview with its creator, Wendell T. Hicken (2) 1) https://www.whicken.com/scorch/ 2) https://arstechnica.com/features/2005/03/scorched/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Scorched Earth 2000 is back"}, {"id": 770100896, "item_id": 48131306, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48131306", "by": "ticulatedspline", "date": "2026-05-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I prefer the original which is easy enough to run via dos-box", "excerpt": "Mother of all games. Played so much SE when I was younger, one of my all time favs. This version is ok but I prefer the original which is easy enough to run via dos-box, emulators of similar ilk or even online in a few places: https://archive.org/details/msdos_Scorched_Earth_1991 https://dos.zone/scorched-earth/ https://www.playdosgames.com/play/scorched-earth I loved turning the explosion to the max and launching Nu", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Scorched Earth 2000 is back"}]}