🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <79615@ut-emx.uucp> baylor@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Baylor) writes:
>
>	Besides the installed base, is there any reason why games like
>Keen are written in ega (asuuming vga is easier to program in)?

>baylor@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu            free leonard peltier

Well, programs like Keen are written in 320x200x16 (Mode 0x0D) for the EGA, 
as opposed to the mode which has become a trademark for VGA, the 320x200x256
mode (Mode 0x13).  Being that we have 4 bits per pixel in the 16 color EGA mode
and 8 bits/pixel in the VGA mode, it takes twice as much memory to store the
VGA 256 color mode graphics.  Also, because the EGA mode uses less memory, 
you have extra unseen pages which you can store pixels in, or use for page
flipping (Mode D has 8 pages, as opposed to mode 13's one page).  

IMHO, the VGA modes are not really that much harder to program than the EGA 
modes.  People are just hung up on the VGA mode 13 because it has 256 colors
(ooohh, catch me I'm about to faint I'm so overwhelmed :-)   ).  
Well programmed Mode D games are faster and smoother than Mode 13 games as far
as arcade games are concerned, and I'd rather play a game that is smooth than
one that strives to outshine a box of Crayola Crayons :-)

Just my $.03
Michael Duffy (mduffy@aludra.usc.edu)