Category Archives: Oldskool/retro programming

The myth of the vertical retrace interrupt

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Scali

This is a draft from March 18th, 2019. We’re slowly cleaning out the backlog. The few remaining drafts are going to take more time to work into an article though, as actual code or configuration is required to work out … Continue reading →

Posted in Oldskool/retro programming | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

More donut madness

Posted on December 4, 2022 by Scali

This draft, created on May 27, 2015, only had a single link: http://www.lugreat.com/ihe/pdfs/v1article3.pdf And the problem with a link that was stored over 7 years ago? It’s no longer available, and it also wasn’t cached by the Wayback Machine. But, … Continue reading →

Advertisement

Posted in Oldskool/retro programming, Software development | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Another adventure in downgrading, part 3: XP

Posted on November 25, 2022 by Scali

Taking the application down even further than last time. Windows XP? You’re probably thinking: “Direct3D 11, Media Foundation, WIC, that’s never going to work in XP! What are you thinking?” And you’d be right. If the codebase was entirely aimed … Continue reading →

Posted in Direct3D, Oldskool/retro programming, Software development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Another adventure in downgrading, part 2: Vista

Posted on November 12, 2022 by Scali

Okay, picking up where we left off last time: we have an application that now runs on .NET 4.6.2. So far it’s only tested on Windows 7 and Windows 10 platforms, which the .NET 4.8 version was targeting anyway. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Direct3D, Oldskool/retro programming, Software development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

VGA and MCGA, what’s the difference?

Posted on September 29, 2022 by Scali

When running old DOS games, you often have to manually select which type of graphics adapter you use. Some games allow you to select VGA for 256 colour mode. Others use the term MCGA for 256 colour mode, and some … Continue reading →

Posted in Oldskool/retro programming | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Area 5150, a reflection

Posted on September 16, 2022 by Scali

As I said in my previous coverage of Area 5150, I was not sure whether I should comment on the demo. But I have given it some thought, and have decided to give some background info on the development process. … Continue reading →

Posted in Oldskool/retro programming | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Area 5150: 8088 MPH gets a successor

Posted on August 8, 2022 by Scali

In case you have missed it, over the weekend, a new demo for IBM PC with CGA was released at Evoke, under the name Area 5150. It placed first in the competition, which should not surprise anyone: I was wondering … Continue reading →

Posted in Oldskool/retro programming | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Retro programming, what is it?

Posted on May 20, 2022 by Scali

As you may have seen, in the comment section of my previous two articles, a somewhat confused individual has left a number of rather lengthy comments. I had already encountered this individual in the comments section of some YouTube videos … Continue reading →

Posted in Oldskool/retro programming | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

An Amiga can’t do Wolfenstein 3D!

Posted on March 13, 2022 by Scali

Like many people who grew up in the 80s and early 90s, gaming was a 2d affair for me. Scrolling, sprites and smooth animation were key elements of most action games. The Commodore 64 was an excellent gaming machine in … Continue reading →

Posted in Oldskool/retro programming | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Do 8-bit DACs result in 8-bit audio quality?

Posted on January 29, 2022 by Scali

During a “””discussion””” some weeks ago, I found that apparently some people think that any system that uses 8-bit DACs is therefore ‘8-bit quality’. A comparison was made between the Amiga and a Sound Blaster 1.0. Both may use 8-bit … Continue reading →

Posted in Oldskool/retro programming | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments