Very cool. I remember the FAQ of some game (maybe Raptor: Call of the Shadows) answering the question why the game is protected mode with DOS extender. It said

Very cool. I remember the FAQ of some game (maybe Raptor: Call of the Shadows) answering the question why the game is protected mode with DOS extender. It said something about such a large and complex (heh) game being "impossible" under the constraints of real mode. I had a 486 so I didn't mind, but the argument always seemed a bit dishonest to me. Like c'mon, you did it because it's easier. That's okay, ecpecially if your hardware requirements are 386+ anyway. Also interesting that it's faster than the original on 386SX but slower on 386DX and higher. So RealDOOM is less bandwidth limited and more "ALU limited" than the original. Not entirely unexpected.