looks like your allmost there. the main reason you can't see anything is because the variable's you set at the top are not global, meaning the function does not recognize them. you can either:
pass the variables to the function eg. statusbartext("Press ENTER to let Player"+str$(beginplayer)+" start dealing",settings_xres,settings_yres).
make them global eg. dim settings_xres(1):settings_xres(1)=1152
or set them in the function making them local eg.
settings_xres=1152
settings_yres=864
settings_colordepth=16
sync on
set display mode settings_xres,settings_yres,settings_colordepth
cls
do
if count=0
statusbartext("Press ENTER to let Player"+str$(beginplayer)+" start dealing")
count=1
endif
sync
loop
function statusbartext(statusbartext$)
settings_xres=1152
settings_yres=864
rem clear status bar
ink rgb(0,0,0),rgb(0,0,0)
box 1,settings_yres-30,settings_xres-1,settings_yres-1
ink rgb(255,255,255),rgb(0,0,0)
rem position cursor
set cursor 25,settings_yres-20
rem print text
print statusbartext$
endfunction
