diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 2d4ffdf..1577f75 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # Compiler and flags
 CXX = g++
-CXXFLAGS = -std=c++17 -Wall -Wextra -O3
-LDFLAGS = -lncurses -ltinfo
+CXXFLAGS = -Wall -Wextra -O3
+LDFLAGS = -static
 
 # Directories
 SRC_DIR = src
diff --git a/src/Aquarium.cpp b/src/Aquarium.cpp
index 65010e9..9f8cbd5 100644
--- a/src/Aquarium.cpp
+++ b/src/Aquarium.cpp
@@ -8,19 +8,88 @@
 #include "Waterline.h"
 #include "Whale.h"
 #include <algorithm>
+#include <cstdio>
+#include <cstring>
 #include <iostream>
+#include <signal.h>
+#include <sys/ioctl.h>
+#include <termios.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
 
-int g_maxCells = 0;
+// ANSI color codes
+namespace ANSI {
+const char *RESET = "\033[0m";
+const char *BOLD = "\033[1m";
+const char *CLEAR_SCREEN = "\033[2J";
+const char *CURSOR_HOME = "\033[H";
+const char *HIDE_CURSOR = "\033[?25l";
+const char *SHOW_CURSOR = "\033[?25h";
+
+// Colors (foreground)
+const char *BLACK = "\033[30m";
+const char *RED = "\033[31m";
+const char *GREEN = "\033[32m";
+const char *YELLOW = "\033[33m";
+const char *BLUE = "\033[34m";
+const char *MAGENTA = "\033[35m";
+const char *CYAN = "\033[36m";
+const char *WHITE = "\033[37m";
+// Colors (background)
+const char *BG_BLACK = "\033[40m";
+const char *RESET_BLACK_BG = "\033[0;40m";
+
+// Move cursor to position
+std::string moveTo(int row, int col) {
+  char buffer[32];
+  snprintf(buffer, sizeof(buffer), "\033[%d;%dH", row + 1, col + 1);
+  return std::string(buffer);
+}
+} // namespace ANSI
+
+// Global terminal state
+static struct termios original_termios;
+static bool termios_saved = false;
+
+// Signal handler for cleanup
+void cleanup_terminal(int sig) {
+  if (termios_saved) {
+    tcsetattr(STDIN_FILENO, TCSANOW, &original_termios);
+  }
+  printf("%s%s", ANSI::SHOW_CURSOR, ANSI::RESET);
+  fflush(stdout);
+  if (sig != 0) {
+    exit(sig);
+  }
+}
 
 Aquarium::Aquarium() {
-  initscr();
-  noecho();
-  cbreak();
-  nodelay(stdscr, TRUE);
-  curs_set(0);
-  initColors();
-  timeout(100);
-  getmaxyx(stdscr, height, width);
+  // Save original terminal settings
+  if (tcgetattr(STDIN_FILENO, &original_termios) == 0) {
+    termios_saved = true;
+  }
+
+  // Set up signal handlers for cleanup
+  signal(SIGINT, cleanup_terminal);
+  signal(SIGTERM, cleanup_terminal);
+  signal(SIGQUIT, cleanup_terminal);
+
+  // Set terminal to raw mode
+  struct termios raw = original_termios;
+  raw.c_lflag &= ~(ECHO | ICANON | ISIG);
+  raw.c_iflag &= ~(IXON | ICRNL);
+  raw.c_oflag &= ~(OPOST);
+  raw.c_cc[VMIN] = 0;  // Non-blocking read
+  raw.c_cc[VTIME] = 1; // 100ms timeout
+
+  tcsetattr(STDIN_FILENO, TCSAFLUSH, &raw);
+
+  // Initialize display
+  printf("%s%s%s%s", ANSI::CLEAR_SCREEN, ANSI::CURSOR_HOME, ANSI::HIDE_CURSOR,
+         ANSI::BG_BLACK);
+  fflush(stdout);
+
+  // Get terminal size
+  getTerminalSize();
 
   currentFrame.assign(height, std::vector<Cell>(width));
   previousFrame.assign(height, std::vector<Cell>(width));
@@ -31,6 +100,18 @@ Aquarium::Aquarium() {
   }
 }
 
+void Aquarium::getTerminalSize() {
+  struct winsize ws;
+  if (ioctl(STDOUT_FILENO, TIOCGWINSZ, &ws) == 0) {
+    height = ws.ws_row;
+    width = ws.ws_col;
+  } else {
+    // Fallback
+    height = 24;
+    width = 80;
+  }
+}
+
 void Aquarium::ensureEntitiesSorted() {
   if (entities_need_sorting) {
     std::sort(entities.begin(), entities.end(),
@@ -49,7 +130,6 @@ void Aquarium::redraw() {
   clearCurrentFrame();
   ensureBigEntityExists();
 
-  // Use static vectors to avoid per-frame allocations
   static std::vector<std::unique_ptr<Entity>> newEntities;
   static std::vector<size_t> entitiesToRemove;
 
@@ -109,16 +189,10 @@ void Aquarium::redraw() {
 }
 
 void Aquarium::resize() {
-  clear();
-  getmaxyx(stdscr, height, width);
+  printf("%s%s%s", ANSI::CLEAR_SCREEN, ANSI::CURSOR_HOME, ANSI::BG_BLACK);
+  fflush(stdout);
 
-  if (g_maxCells && height * width > g_maxCells) {
-    endwin();
-    std::cerr << "Error: Terminal too large. Maximum allowed area is "
-              << g_maxCells << " cells, but current size is "
-              << (height * width) << ".\n";
-    std::exit(1);
-  }
+  getTerminalSize();
 
   currentFrame.assign(height, std::vector<Cell>(width));
   previousFrame.assign(height, std::vector<Cell>(width));
@@ -153,7 +227,7 @@ void Aquarium::ensureBigEntityExists() {
     }
   }
 
-  // No big entity found, spawn next in cycle (Ship, SeaMonster, Whale)
+  // No big entity found, spawn next in cycle
   int entity_type = big_entity_index % 3;
   if (entity_type == 0) {
     addEntityImpl<Ship>();
@@ -191,18 +265,23 @@ void Aquarium::drawToFrame(int y, int x, const std::string &line,
 
 void Aquarium::initColorLookup() {
   for (int i = 0; i < 256; ++i)
-    colorLookup[i] = 8; // Default black
-  colorLookup['r'] = 1;
-  colorLookup['g'] = 2;
-  colorLookup['y'] = 3;
-  colorLookup['b'] = 4;
-  colorLookup['m'] = 5;
-  colorLookup['c'] = 6;
-  colorLookup['w'] = 7;
-  colorLookup['k'] = 8;
+    colorLookup[i] = ANSI::BLACK; // Default black
+
+  colorLookup['r'] = ANSI::RED;
+  colorLookup['g'] = ANSI::GREEN;
+  colorLookup['y'] = ANSI::YELLOW;
+  colorLookup['b'] = ANSI::BLUE;
+  colorLookup['m'] = ANSI::MAGENTA;
+  colorLookup['c'] = ANSI::CYAN;
+  colorLookup['w'] = ANSI::WHITE;
+  colorLookup['k'] = ANSI::BLACK;
 }
 
 void Aquarium::renderToScreen() {
+  static std::string output;
+  output.clear();
+  output.reserve(height * width * 20); // Reserve space for efficiency
+
   for (int y = 0; y < height; ++y) {
     for (int x = 0; x < width; ++x) {
       const Cell &newCell = currentFrame[y][x];
@@ -210,30 +289,49 @@ void Aquarium::renderToScreen() {
 
       if (newCell != oldCell) {
         oldCell = newCell;
-        move(y, x);
 
-        int colorPair =
-            colorLookup[static_cast<unsigned char>(newCell.colorChar)];
-        attrset(COLOR_PAIR(colorPair) | (newCell.bold ? A_BOLD : A_NORMAL));
-        addch(newCell.ch);
+        // Move cursor to position
+        output += ANSI::moveTo(y, x);
+
+        // Reset cell
+        output += ANSI::RESET_BLACK_BG;
+
+        // Set color and attributes
+        if (newCell.bold) {
+          output += ANSI::BOLD;
+        }
+        output += colorLookup[static_cast<unsigned char>(newCell.colorChar)];
+
+        // Add the character
+        output += newCell.ch;
       }
     }
   }
-  refresh();
-}
 
-void Aquarium::initColors() {
-  if (has_colors()) {
-    start_color();
-    init_pair(1, COLOR_RED, COLOR_BLACK);
-    init_pair(2, COLOR_GREEN, COLOR_BLACK);
-    init_pair(3, COLOR_YELLOW, COLOR_BLACK);
-    init_pair(4, COLOR_BLUE, COLOR_BLACK);
-    init_pair(5, COLOR_MAGENTA, COLOR_BLACK);
-    init_pair(6, COLOR_CYAN, COLOR_BLACK);
-    init_pair(7, COLOR_WHITE, COLOR_BLACK);
-    init_pair(8, COLOR_BLACK, COLOR_BLACK);
+  // Output everything at once
+  if (!output.empty()) {
+    std::cout << output << std::flush;
   }
 }
 
-Aquarium::~Aquarium() { endwin(); }
+// Check for input (non-blocking)
+int Aquarium::checkInput() {
+  char c;
+  if (read(STDIN_FILENO, &c, 1) == 1) {
+    return c;
+  }
+  return -1; // No input available
+}
+
+// Check if terminal was resized
+bool Aquarium::checkResize() {
+  struct winsize ws;
+  if (ioctl(STDOUT_FILENO, TIOCGWINSZ, &ws) == 0) {
+    if (ws.ws_row != height || ws.ws_col != width) {
+      return true;
+    }
+  }
+  return false;
+}
+
+Aquarium::~Aquarium() { cleanup_terminal(0); }
diff --git a/src/Aquarium.h b/src/Aquarium.h
index 80e00a8..5464b87 100644
--- a/src/Aquarium.h
+++ b/src/Aquarium.h
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 #pragma once
 #include "Entity.h"
 #include <memory>
-#include <ncurses.h>
 #include <vector>
 
 extern int g_maxCells;
@@ -15,7 +14,6 @@ private:
     char ch = ' ';
     char colorChar = 'k';
     bool bold = false;
-
     bool operator==(const Cell &other) const {
       return ch == other.ch && colorChar == other.colorChar &&
              bold == other.bold;
@@ -28,9 +26,8 @@ private:
   std::vector<std::unique_ptr<Entity>> entities;
   size_t big_entity_index = 0;
   void ensureBigEntityExists();
-
   bool entities_need_sorting = true;
-  static inline short colorLookup[256] = {0};
+  static inline const char *colorLookup[256] = {nullptr};
   static inline bool colorLookupInitialized = false;
 
 public:
@@ -53,17 +50,21 @@ public:
   void addShip();
   void addSeaMonster();
   void addWhale();
-
   void redraw();
   void initColors();
   void resize();
   void drawToFrame(int y, int x, const std::string &line,
                    const std::string &colorLine);
 
+  // New termios-specific methods
+  int checkInput();   // Returns character code or -1 if no input
+  bool checkResize(); // Returns true if terminal was resized
+
 private:
   void clearCurrentFrame();
   void renderToScreen();
   void ensureEntitiesSorted();
+  void getTerminalSize();
   static void initColorLookup();
 
   template <typename T, typename... Args> void addEntityImpl(Args &&...args) {
diff --git a/src/main.cpp b/src/main.cpp
index 6a3a919..aadd1f1 100644
--- a/src/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main.cpp
@@ -1,35 +1,32 @@
+// main.cpp
 #include "Aquarium.h"
-#include <cstdio>
-#include <cstdlib>
-#include <unistd.h>
-
-int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
-  int opt;
-  while ((opt = getopt(argc, argv, "r:")) != -1) {
-    switch (opt) {
-    case 'r':
-      g_maxCells = std::atoi(optarg);
-      break;
-    default:
-      fprintf(stderr, "Usage: %s [-r max_cells]\n", argv[0]);
-      return 1;
-    }
-  }
 
+int main() {
+  // Get the singleton instance
   Aquarium &aquarium = Aquarium::getInstance();
-  aquarium.resize();
 
+#ifdef __OpenBSD__
+  if (pledge("stdio tty", NULL) == -1) {
+    perror("pledge");
+    return 1;
+  }
+#endif
+
+  // Initialize the aquarium display
+  aquarium.resize(); // Setup initial entities
+
+  // Main game loop
   while (true) {
-    aquarium.redraw();
-    int ch = getch();
-    if (ch != ERR) {
-      if (ch == 'q')
-        break;
-      if (ch == 'r')
-        aquarium.resize();
-      flushinp();
-      usleep(100000);
+    int input = aquarium.checkInput();
+    if (input == 'q' || input == 'Q' || input == 27) { // ESC key
+      break;
     }
+
+    if (aquarium.checkResize()) {
+      aquarium.resize();
+    }
+
+    aquarium.redraw();
   }
 
   return 0;