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The port to 8088 is really interesting. I can't find the minimum system requirements for the original Wolf 3D, but didn't it require a 386? (I'm pretty sure i
by rwmj 4y ago
The port to 8088 is really interesting. I can't find the minimum system requirements for the original Wolf 3D, but didn't it require a 386? (I'm pretty sure it used a 32 bit DOS extender).
- ajross 4y agoIt was a real mode program. It was written to VGA modes (and IIRC soundblaster audio?), but as long as you had a 8 bit VGA card (they did exist) it would in principle run on an original PC. ID surely never tested or supported that configuration though. The README in the project talks about "8088 support" being added, but the only thing I see in the commit log is the replacement of a stray 286 assembler directive.
- andrewf 4y agohttps://github.com/id-Software/wolf3d/blob/master/WOLFSRC/WL_DR_A.ASM#L389 https://github.com/id-Software/wolf3d/blob/master/WOLFSRC/WL... Shift-by-immediate-value was introduced with the 80186 (and became broadly available with the 80286). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_80186#cite_ref-6 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_80186#cite_ref-6
- rep_lodsb 4y agoYou can replace the 8088 in the original PC with a NEC V20, which provides these extra instructions. IIRC the CPU detection code in Wolf3D has to be patched too to make this work, because it only checks for 286+ and would exit with an error message.
- alex3305 4y agoAFAIK Wolf3D required a 286 and I found a forum thread[1] that seems to agree. 1. https://forum.vcfed.org/index.php?threads/wolfenstein-3d-system-286-vs-8086.31815/ https://forum.vcfed.org/index.php?threads/wolfenstein-3d-sys...
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- komadori 4y agoTotally off the top of my head, but I'm pretty sure Wolfenstein 3D was real mode, because I remember reading that Rise of the Triad was based on the Wolfenstein engine and one of the changes involved converting it to protected mode.
- rwmj 4y agoI'm probably confusing it with DOOM, which definitely did use a DOS extender (Watcom 4GW).
- paines 4y agoExactly. I had a 286 for a long time and then jumped to a Pentium. In between that period I missed a lot of games which would only run on >386 especially Doom. I played a lot of Wolfenstein. My first walkthru was with one life and lots of lots of saving and reloading, because I didn't realize you could press m to use a medipack, HAHAHA dang!
- elvis70 4y agoFrom memory, it could run on a 286. Here is this version running on a NEC V20 at 9.55 MHz, an Intel 8088 clone, but was closer to the 80188 : https://twitter.com/Jameshhoward/status/1612900164745981953 https://twitter.com/Jameshhoward/status/1612900164745981953
- mtillman 4y agoI ran wolf just fine on a Tandy 2600 which featured “10 mhz of Intel processing power” according to the instructions. Spear of destiny too if I recall.
- hakfoo 4y agoI can recall playing it on a 10MHz 286 and having to shrink the window for good framerates.
- bryanlarsen 4y agoTandy 2000 (and presumably the 2600) used an 80186.
- mtillman 4y agoThe 2600xl came later and featured an upgraded processor from the 1000 line.
- hakfoo 4y agoI tried it out on an 8MHz V40 (think V20 with onboard peripherals), and it delivers five frames per second. Definitely as smooth if not smoother than Quake on a 486DX. (lest we forget that it was the Crysis of its era since hardware 3D acceleration didn't yet exist on most consumer-grade kit) The dithering (on a VGA card and modern LCD) sort of makes it hard to view; an EGA port might be interesting as 16 colours might be enough to make it workable without dithering. Although if they're using 2x2 blocks for dithering, they'd be effectively cutting the number of "pixels" to render by a factor of four, and that might make it viable.
- deckard1 4y ago
- bluedino 4y agoiD (id?) didn't use DOS extenders until Doom IIRC
- pridkett 4y agoDefinitely was a 286. I had a 486sx and loved the game. I took it over to a friend who had an 8086/88 but had a CD-ROM, which was quite cool at the time in the very early 90s. Even now, 30 years later, I remember the screen saying it needed a 286. He was crestfallen. It was the first time we experienced our computers being “different” other than the CD-ROM.
- buildsjets 4y agoThere was even an Apple IIgs version. 2.8 mHz yeah. It was totally unplayable without an accelerator card. https://youtu.be/E3uHip1Qr-4 https://youtu.be/E3uHip1Qr-4
- Zardoz84 4y agoI think that ran on 286 computers
- 2000UltraDeluxe 4y agoThe requirements are on the official web site: http://legacy.3drealms.com/wolf3d/index.html http://legacy.3drealms.com/wolf3d/index.html You need to decrease the window size a bit if want it to be playable on a 286, though. At full size, I tend to get a headache.
- voytec 4y ago> "Due to the game content, this game may not be ordered by residents of Germany" Germany has unbanned Wolfenstein in 2019 :)
- walrus01 4y agoWolf3D as I recall could run on a 286 but it required a "fast" late model 286 (like the 16 MHz part from AMD) to run at an acceptable frame rate. It was also quite choppy in frame rate on like a 386SX/16. https://en.wikichip.org/wiki/amd/am286 https://en.wikichip.org/wiki/amd/am286
- duffyjp 4y agoI had a 12mhz AMD 286 as a kid and played the crap out of Wolfenstein. I'm sure it was running terribly but I didn't know any better.