🚀 go-pugleaf

Hello all,

   I'm a (very) novice C programmer, and I've got some questions/comments
regarding the undocumented VGA Mode X and its applications shown on this
newsgroup:

1) Are there any tutorial or reference books outlining what this mode is,
how to access it, how to implement it in C code, etc.?  I don't want to
pester you net.users with silly questions... or at least not before I know
what I'm talking about.  :-)

2) Is there a FAQ for this newsgroup?  There are many tips, tricks and terms
which have been mentioned here, and it would be SO helpful for a novice like
myself to have these compiled into a handy reference.  If there isn't a FAQ,
would anyone be interested in at least getting the ball rolling?

3) I grabbed the XBLT02.ZIP code/demo and noticed that the typical
Turbo/Microsoft C graphics routines like "registerbgidriver()",
"initgraph()", etc., can be bypassed entirely.  If this is the case, then
how can I use the built-in graphics functions like "getimage()",
"floodfill()", "line()", etc.?  Would I have to roll my own routines or use
some other graphics library that works with Mode X?
   (By the way, I recompiled the XBLT02 "game.exe" demo with Borland C++
v2.0 and noticed that it would only work with the "compact" memory model, as
someone had pointed out earlier.  With all other memory models the
background and animation would work correctly, but the kite sprite would
simply be a jumble of different colours.)

   Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!  You can either post your replies
for all to see, or e-mail me at one of the two addresses below.  Or better
yet, do both, since both postings and e-mails sometimes fall into a
bottomless void here on the UofT systems...  :-)

Thanks,

     - Mark Rosteck -
(g1marker@cdf.toronto.edu)
(ematias@csri.toronto.edu)