Show HN: Termcraft – terminal-first 2D sandbox survival in Rust

Terminal-first 2D sandbox survival in Rust, tuned toward a classic early-2012 block-survival loop.

Docs · Installation · Gameplay · Supported Content · Media Credits

Unofficial fan project. Not affiliated with Mojang or Microsoft.

Early alpha. The game is playable, but some systems are still rough or buggy.

Full highlight video: termcraft.mp4

YouTube: https://youtu.be/kR986Xqzj7E

Soundtrack in the full highlight: Fantasy Orchestral Theme by Joth and Boss Battle #2 [Symphonic Metal] by nene via OpenGameArt, both CC0. Full details: Media Credits

termcraft keeps the classic survival progression, dimensions, crafting, and exploration pressure of the early block-survival formula, but adapts the experience to a side-on terminal game.

Current scope:

• procedural Overworld, Nether, and End generation
• mining, placement, inventory, crafting, furnaces, brewing, boats, and chests
• health, hunger, combat, weather, fluids, gravity blocks, crops, and farming
• passive and hostile mobs, villages, dungeons, strongholds, and Nether fortresses
• repo-local save persistence and autosave

Requirements:

• Rust stable toolchain
• a terminal with raw input support
• mouse support for the best local experience

Install Rust first:

Clone the repo and start the game:

git clone https://github.com/pagel-s/termcraft.git
cd termcraft
cargo run --release

If you want the optimized binary directly:

git clone https://github.com/pagel-s/termcraft.git
cd termcraft
cargo build --release
./target/release/termcraft

If you want it installed into Cargo's local bin path after cloning:

git clone https://github.com/pagel-s/termcraft.git
cd termcraft
cargo install --path .
termcraft

Local saves are written into saves/ inside the repo.

A/D or arrow keys: move W/Up/Space: jump or swim up X: toggle sneak E: inventory 1-9: hotbar selection Left Click: mine / attack Right Click: place / interact F: explicit hovered-block use fallback if right click is unreliable in the current terminal O: settings menu Q/Esc: close UI or quit from world view

Developer/test shortcuts currently available:

F5: travel to Overworld F6: travel to Nether F7: travel to End F8: return to spawn F9: equip diamond combat loadout

• The primary supported mode right now is local single-player.
• Client/server code exists, but it is still experimental and is not a featured public mode yet.
• If mouse right-click is unreliable in your terminal, use F as the explicit interaction fallback.

For feedback, bugs, or release questions, contact: [email protected]

Useful checks:

cargo test --quiet
cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings
./scripts/release_smoke.sh

Release process:

Local saves are written under saves/ and are intentionally repo-local, not OS-global.

• chunk files: saves/<dimension>_chunk_<x>.bin
• progression file: saves/player_progression.bin

See World Format for the current save layout.