Simone Systems Research

Simone Systems Research / One-page journalist fact sheet

The Baldies remake: fact sheet

Jonathan Simone, of Simone Systems Research, made an unofficial remake of Creative Edge Software's god game Baldies (Atari Jaguar CD, December 1995; PC, 1996) without its source code. The Windows desktop build reads the original levels from a copy you own. AI coding agents wrote and tested the code under his direction. A browser version with generated levels and new art runs at simoneresearch.com, where anyone can change the game's rules while it plays.

Press kit files: Fact sheet (PDF, 1 page) Repo build timeline (HTML) Still 1: Grass world (2560x1440 PNG) Still 2: Ice world (2560x1440 PNG) Still 3: Circus world (2560x1440 PNG)

Fast facts

Original game Baldies by Creative Edge Software (Atari Jaguar CD, ; PC, ). Not sold on GOG or Steam today; 341 GOG Dreamlist votes as of .
Builder & role Jonathan Simone, of Simone Systems Research. Directed AI coding agents across two independent prototypes, chose which modules to keep, combined them, and had an AI coding agent run the verification checks.
Build dates Earliest preserved prototype file ; two playable prototypes reviewed ; combined desktop remake completed at commit c37f1b5 on (calendar time, not hours worked).
How it works No original source code. One prototype wrote a new deterministic Python simulation, interface, and procedural art from public specs without decompiling the executable. The second decoded the level files and used a disassembler with Consumption Engine context to carry extracted data tables (such as house capacities) into code. The remake pairs the first prototype's simulation with the second prototype's level format support and data tables.
Desktop edition Windows 11 build (Python 3.11.9, pygame-ce 2.5.7). Loads and draws all 100 original levels across 5 worlds (grass, ice, circus, sand, hell) with the original art, at runtime from an owned copy. Not distributed.
Browser edition Runs live on simoneresearch.com (45 Python files, about 16,100 lines) on generated levels with project-made art and five live rule sliders (walk speed, breeding speed, house capacity, Hairy difficulty, Hand grab cost). Contains no original game files.
Press assets 1-page PDF, repo timeline, and 2560x1440 PNG stills (Grass, Ice, Circus).
Contact jon@simoneresearch.com / simoneresearch.com/contact/

What was checked on the Windows 11 desktop build

Re-run on a fresh checkout on (full verification record):

  • 334 automated tests pass in 34 seconds on Windows 11 (Python 3.11.9, pygame-ce 2.5.7).
  • All 100 original campaign levels load in all 4 views from multiple camera positions with 0 errors (slowest level load: 479 ms).
  • Save and continue matches after 600 ticks in 8 tested situations (7 gameplay states plus an invention installed mid-flight on levels 10, 25, and 61).
  • All 6 corrupted saves left the game running with a message; 1 malicious save was refused without running any code.
  • 9,000 random inputs across 3 seeded runs of 3,000 finished with 0 exceptions (11.4 to 11.9 ms headless 95th-percentile frame time).
  • 7 AI red-team findings from were fixed and rechecked at build 01415d3.

What the 1996 game files showed

  • The world is drawn from 1,280 tiles of 16 by 16 pixels, with trees, rocks, and houses painted into the tiles.
  • A level file stores a grid of tile numbers, starting tribes, and research availability; breeding, jobs, and combat lived inside the executable.
  • There are 31 inventions, and each level carries its own settings for the Hairy AI.
  • The original simulation ran at 10 steps per second; the remake runs at 20. In the remake, a house holds 10 Baldies and grows to 20, 30, 40, and 50.

Limits

  • The rules are the remake's own tuning and have not been checked against the original game.
  • Playtested by the author. The red team was an AI review, not an outside human review.
  • The 479 ms load time and 11.4 to 11.9 ms headless frame time come from the native Windows desktop build; browser edition performance has not been benchmarked.
  • If the rights holders ever re-release Baldies, I'd welcome it and step aside.

Press stills (2560 by 1440 PNG, procedural edition, project-made art)

Grass world in the Baldies procedural edition: green meadow, red-roofed houses, builders by a flag, and soldiers near water.

Grass world (PNG): workers, builders, soldiers, and red-roofed houses on a generated meadow map.

Ice world in the Baldies procedural edition: snowfields, pine trees, frozen blue lakes, snow-roofed houses, and units.

Ice world (PNG): snowfields, pine trees, frozen lakes, and competing tribes around a construction flag.

Circus world in the Baldies procedural edition: lavender fairground with sawdust paths, balloons, lanterns, and striped tent houses.

Circus world (PNG): lavender fairground, balloons, lanterns, and striped tent houses.