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Moonstone AGA Project FAQ

We hope the Moonstone AGA Project will generate plenty of curiosity and excitement within the Moonstone, Amiga, and wider retro gaming community.

This page aims to answer some of the most common questions about the project, including its goals, technical approach, development status and future plans.

As development progresses and new questions emerge, this section will continue to be expanded and updated.

If you don’t see your question answered here, feel free to get in touch via the Tavern or our social channels.

What is the Moonstone AGA Project?

The Moonstone AGA Project is an ambitious community-led effort to bring Moonstone: A Hard Days Knight to the Amiga AGA platform while preserving the atmosphere, gameplay and spirit of the original 1991 classic.

Rather than reinventing Moonstone, the aim is to celebrate and enhance what made the original game so special.

When will it be released?

That’s the question everybody asks!

The honest answer is that we don’t have a firm release date yet.

However, development is progressing extremely well and significant progress has already been made. While it’s still too early to make promises, our current ambition is to release Moonstone AGA at some point in late 2026.

Like any game development project, unexpected challenges can arise, so we’d rather be cautious than make commitments we can’t keep. The project will be released when it meets the quality standard that both the team and the Moonstone community deserve.

For now, all signs are encouraging.

Is it free?

That’s the other question everybody asks(!)

The base Moonstone AGA game will be 100% free to download and play.

If in time, if the community was interested in added functionality (like online multiplayer), there may be a small voluntary charge to help us with hosting costs etc.

We would consider setting up some kind of mechanism like a Patreon to facilitate.

However, this is all still being discussed within the team.

So it’s for Amiga, right?

Yes that’s correct. Moonstone AGA will be available via the AmigaOS HD Installer and, if possible, WHDLoad on original Commodore Amiga 1200 systems equipped with FAST RAM (TBC whether it will require 4 MB or 8 MB).

It will therefore be playable on original Commodore Amiga 1200s, via WinUAE or other software emulation like THE A1200, and hardware emulation like the MiSTer FPGA.

Why an AGA version?

Moonstone was originally developed for the Amiga and remains one of the platform’s most beloved titles.

The Amiga AGA chipset offers opportunities for:

  • Remastered graphics
  • Remastered audio
  • HD installer
  • Party-save feature
  • Improved stability and fewer bugs (hopefully 🙂
  • OCS/AGA compatibility (combined build)

while remaining firmly rooted in the original game and hardware.

For many fans, it will hopefully feel like a natural evolution of what Moonstone might have become had the original development continued a little longer.

We want to take you back to the early 90s again!

Who is working on the project?

The project is currently being spearheaded by Tony Landais, a long-time Moonstone fan and former Team17 developer.

Tony previously worked on titles including:

  • Worms 3D
  • Worms Forts: Under Siege

and more recently served as VFX Supervisor on the brilliant PS4 experience Erica.

The project is also being supported and documented by Rob Taylor, former professional videogame journalist, founder of the Moonstone Tavern, and long-time custodian of the Moonstone community.

What is Tony actually doing?

Tony has developed specialist tooling that allows him to analyse and work with the original Moonstone assets. This has allowed him to reverse-engineered the original assembly code and adapt it for modern AGA Amigas with hard drives.

The game logic and gameplay are faithfully preserved, while the original codebase has been optimised and improved for better robustness and performance on faster systems.

The goal is not to replace Moonstone’s identity, but to build upon it respectfully.

Is this a remake?

Not exactly.

The current focus is creating an enhanced AGA version of the original game rather than a full remake.

The project sits somewhere between:

  • Preservation
  • Restoration
  • Enhancement

while remaining faithful to the original experience.

Is Rob Anderson involved?

Rob T has a longstanding friendship with Rob Anderson, creator of Moonstone, and we’ve reached out to him about the project.

As Moonstone AGA progresses, our dream would be for Rob to become officially involved. Watch this space!

Will the original soundtrack remain?

Absolutely.

Richard Joseph’s soundtrack is one of the defining elements of Moonstone.

Our ambition is not to replace the iconic music, but rather to explore ways of presenting the original audio in the best possible quality alongside the enhanced visuals.

Will gameplay change?

The primary objective is to preserve Moonstone’s gameplay.

However, the project is investigating opportunities to:

  • Improve enemy AI
  • Address known bugs
  • Refine balance
  • Restore or expand unfinished ideas
  • Enhance presentation

Any gameplay changes will be approached carefully and respectfully.

What about the (not so) Black Knights?

One particularly interesting area of investigation involves the original Black Knight AI.

Early demos of Moonstone appeared to feature more aggressive opponent behaviour than the final release.

Whether this can or should be revisited is something we’re actively exploring.

Rob Anderson has previously spoken about other aspects of the game he’d loved to have fleshed out if he had more time, including a more drawn-out lead up to the fight with the Guardian of the Valley, extra swords, curses, and magic, maximising the gameplay value of the various moon phases and more… but at the moment we’re fulled concentrating on delivering a faithful AGA enhancement of the classic original.

So far, the knights are black 🙂 We shall investigate the AI issue!

Will there be a demo?

Quite possibly! We loved the CU Amiga demo disk (no. 18 if you’re interested) knight vs. knight fight back in the day, so it may well be along those lines…

Will it be possible to play multiplayer online?

Nothing has been decided yet.

There are many exciting possibilities thanks to modern technologies, but the current focus is firmly on delivering a high-quality Amiga AGA experience first.

However, online multiplayer is certainly a concept that excites us.

How will I be able to play?

Our ambition is to make the project as accessible as possible.

While we want to begin with a release for the Amiga itself, we’re also exploring the idea of potential browser-based experiences hosted through the Moonstone Tavern.

This could bring online multiplayer into the equation, which is something we find very exciting!

More details will be shared as development progresses.

Will there be a physical release?

Wouldn’t that be great!

If the project proves successful and there is sufficient community interest, we’d love to explore the opportunity.

However, no decisions have been made at this stage; it all depends on the project’s reception.

Could David O’Connor become involved?

We would love that.

David O’Connor’s box and poster artwork remains an important part of Moonstone’s history and identity.

Whether any future collaboration becomes possible remains to be seen, but it’s certainly something we’re excited to explore and Rob T has already had an interesting conversation with David himself.

Again, watch this space…

Could Moonstone AGA appear on other platforms?

The current focus remains firmly on the Amiga AGA version.

However, Moonstone’s history has always been filled with “what ifs?”

While no additional platforms are currently in active development, we’re certainly interested in exploring what might be possible in the future. Modern reverse-engineering, preservation work and advances in development tools have opened up exciting possibilities that simply didn’t exist a few years ago.

Several retro platforms are discussed by fans, including:

  • Mega Drive / Genesis (a platform cited by Rob Anderson himself as one he’d love to have brought Moonstone to)
  • Super Nintendo

At this stage these discussions remain purely exploratory, but we’re excited by the possibilities to bring Moonstone to a wider audience of retro enthusiasts and will share any developments if and when there’s something concrete to announce.

For now, all roads lead to the Amiga which is, after all, Moonstone’s spiritual home.

What happens if the project succeeds?

Let’s get the AGA version finished first!

That said, many of us share a long-term dream of seeing a completely new 2D Moonstone game one day built from the ground up for modern systems.

If the AGA version proves successful, it may help demonstrate by way of proof-of-concept that Moonstone’s unique blend of:

  • Exploration
  • Atmosphere
  • Combat
  • Competition
  • Storytelling
  • GORE

…still resonates with contemporary players and retro gamers alike. (We’re pretty confident it will!)

Beyond that, we’ll simply have to see where the adventure takes us.

How can I follow development?

The best places to stay updated are:

  • The mailing list which will include Tony’s development blog (a must see!) and new timed exclusive Moonstone articles which will latterly appear on The Moonstone Tavern. Sign up here.
  • Other places include:

We’ll be publishing regular updates, screenshots, videos and behind-the-scenes articles as development continues.

Why Now?

It’s a fair question.

Moonstone was originally released in 1991, so why revisit it more than three decades later in time to celebrate the game’s 35th anniversary?

We LOVE Moonstone, and retro gaming is thriving like never before.

Over the last few years we’ve seen an explosion of interest in classic gaming hardware, preservation projects, FPGA technology and new software development for vintage platforms. Modern systems have made it easier than ever to enjoy classic games while remaining faithful to the original experience, and entirely new hardware projects continue to attract enthusiastic communities around the world.

Far from disappearing into the sunset, retro computing is enjoying a glorious renaissance.

For many of us, these classic machines were never simply pieces of technology. They were creative platforms with distinctive identities and communities. Today there are talented developers, artists, programmers, and enthusiasts continuing to push those platforms in exciting new directions.

The Moonstone AGA Project is part of that broader movement.

Our goal isn’t simply to revisit the past. It’s to celebrate one of the Amiga’s most distinctive games while exploring what might have been possible with a little more power, a little more memory, and a little more time.

We’re incredibly excited to be part of this new wave of retro development and look forward to sharing the journey with the Moonstone community.

Can We Help?

More than you probably realise; without you, this project simply won’t work.

Initiatives like ours thrive on community enthusiasm and support. Every like, comment, share, discussion, screenshot repost and article recommendation helps us build momentum and demonstrate that people still care about Moonstone more than three decades after its original release.

The more this community engages with the project:

  • the more visibility it receives
  • the easier it becomes to justify future development
  • the more opportunities are created for additional content, features and potentially even future Moonstone-related projects

If you’d like to help:

  • Firstly subscribe to channels like our mailing list so you get to see all the coolest stuff first and never miss an update
  • Then, follow the project on the Tavern, and via Facebook and X
  • Share updates with other Moonstone fans
  • Join the conversation
  • Tell your friends
  • Spread the word

Every fresh Moonstone knight recruited to our cause helps!

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The innkeeper of the Moonstone Tavern is Rob Taylor ©2002-26.

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Dedicated to a Moonstone-playing compadre of mine, Daniel Wright. Dan died in 2005, aged just 25. Rest in peace, Wrighty.