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
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References:	<32EFB92E DOT 1443 AT post DOT comstar DOT ru> <19970129 DOT 150806 DOT 4951 DOT 0 DOT chambersb AT juno DOT com>
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To:	djgpp AT delorie DOT com
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Benjamin D Chambers (chambersb AT juno DOT com) wrote:

: On Wed, 29 Jan 1997 12:55:10 -0800 Dim Zegebart <zager AT post DOT comstar DOT ru>
: 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)

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