From: jamesb AT wam DOT umd DOT edu (James Jeffrey Benjamin) Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.djgpp Subject: Re: Mode-X ? Date: 1 Feb 1997 08:05:35 GMT Organization: University of Maryland, College Park, MD Lines: 35 Message-ID: <5cutgf$6on@dailyplanet.wam.umd.edu> References: <32EFB92E DOT 1443 AT post DOT comstar DOT ru> <19970129 DOT 150806 DOT 4951 DOT 0 DOT chambersb AT juno DOT com> NNTP-Posting-Host: rac9.wam.umd.edu To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com DJ-Gateway: from newsgroup comp.os.msdos.djgpp Benjamin D Chambers (chambersb AT juno DOT com) wrote: : On Wed, 29 Jan 1997 12:55:10 -0800 Dim Zegebart : writes: : >Hi, : >Since I spend all my time in standart VESA modes, : >I'm wonder - what is Mode-X. And what benefits it has ? : Mode-X is a hackish way to use high-res modes with stock VGA. It's : slower than VESA, generally lower resolutions, and only 8bpp graphics (at : most - I've never heard of anyone doing 16 or 4 color modes with Mode-X, : but I suppose they could...) : Anyways, it was the best there was when VGA came out (simply incredible : at the time) but now I wouldn't suggest bothering with it. It's like : being able to use an abacus faster than anyone else in the world - nifty, : but a 486dx/33 is still faster... Unfortunatly, not all chipsets can handle lower resolution VESA. I know the Diamond Stealth with the S3 968 chipset goes as far as 512x384. Nothing lower. If you want 320x240 or around there (that is, tweak a little more than 320x200) then ModeX is the best and most compatible way. Though some resolutions are extremely slow and some don't work on older monitors. The lowest resolution that you can expect for best compatibility that's greater than that would be 640x400 or 640x480 VESA. HA! Only 8bpp graphics is fine. For general gaming purposes, 8 bits is the best. Anything higher you just weigh the CPU down. Until graphics accelerators (VBE/AF, MMX, AGP, etc) become real standards, I wouldn't suggest going any higher than 8bpp. You don't want to write something that only a P166 or P200 can handle. P90 is probably the best processor to go for. Maybe a P100. Unless your audience are only the upper class. I'm personally writing for 320x240 ModeX. It may be slow but at that low of resolution, it's no problem. My P133 can do 640x480 smoothly but without parallex scrolling. That's when the fun will begin. (3 backgrounds and one foreground will be a dream)