Questions tagged [gaming]
Retro games, both hardware and software-based. NOT EVERY GAMING QUESTION IS ON-TOPIC. See tag wiki for guidance.
136
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Why does the boot-up screen for Cruis'n USA (arcade version) display this strange text?
(I originally asked this in the "gaming"/Arqade section. However, it was suggested by a commenter that I should instead migrate it here. Since I don't know how one "migrates" a ...
4
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2
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How did wolfenstein do 3D graphics when 3D graphics couldn't exist? [closed]
Did they use trigonometric functions to place every pixel on the screen independently?
It seems like you could rotate the camera 90 degrees, and the scene would refresh much faster than all those ...
22
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3
answers
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Is there a technical reason why Datel Action Replay on PC required a card?
In the mid-90s, there was an ISA expansion card called “Datel Action Replay” that could be inserted into almost any PC-compatible machine (e.g. 80286). By pressing a button on a device (plugged into ...
10
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1
answer
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Is there any DOS game before Quake era (1996) that makes heavy use of the FPU?
Quake was one of the earliest DOS games to show most gamers the importance of having a fast FPU to play with. Were there any other games (probably 3D) before Quake that started using the FPU?
For ...
3
votes
1
answer
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How does Quake 1 access video memory in software mode? [closed]
I have WinQuake.exe game file which I compiled myself from source.
In software mode (without DirectX/OpenGL), what function is used to access video memory?
I know, for example, the DrawDibDraw WinAPI ...
8
votes
3
answers
513
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Using the reset button to enable double firing in Space Invaders on the Atari VCS\Atari 2600: was it a glitch or a hidden feature?
As a kid a favorite game was Space Invaders on Atari (I'm guessing it was a 2600, it was the late 70s to early 80s). In addition to fast reflexes I had a card up my sleeve that secured me high scores: ...
60
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3
answers
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Does this 8088 code in the Leisure Suit Larry 2 game actually do anything?
In the Sierra On-Line game "Leisure Suit Larry 2" there's a part in the game where the main character (Larry) has to write a program in 8088 assembly language as part of his tribal ...
-4
votes
1
answer
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Does DOS run Crysis? [closed]
There certainly exist machines that can run both DOS and Crysis, but both at the same time? I had something like the HX DOS extender in mind and mesa3d can be compiled for DOS and Windows. There seem ...
8
votes
0
answers
255
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What were the licensing terms for The Hobbit? [closed]
The Hobbit was a 1982 illustrated text adventure game released initially on the Spectrum, based on the Tolkien novel of the same name.
According to https://www.filfre.net/2012/11/the-hobbit/
Unlike ...
11
votes
1
answer
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In Super Mario Bros., how can I start a simultaneous multiplayer game?
I happened to receive an old NES with Super Mario Bros.
My kids pointed out that there's a two-player mode where both Mario and Luigi play at the same time. Does anybody know how to get it going?
FWIW,...
14
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2
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What is the bug in Creative Computing's version of "Amazing"?
I am reading about the history of the "game" Amazing that was converted to MS BASIC in BASIC Computer Games. These articles often note that the game has a bug in it, but I cannot find anyone ...
7
votes
2
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586
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Were VGA palette's HSV math properties used in practice?
In "Why were those colors chosen to be the default palette for 256-color VGA?", we've established that 216 of its colors represent a 24x3x3 truncated HSV color space.
This results in an ...
12
votes
2
answers
584
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Significance of compass heading values 4100-8200 in an old game?
I'm developing a server for an old game client. The client sends the character's compass heading as a big-endian uint16 with a strange value. Due south is 4100. The value increases westward, ...
4
votes
1
answer
665
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Isometric fantasy action RPG game for the PC from the late 1990s
Please, help identify an old computer game.
Year: 1995-1998 (possibly earlier, but no later than 2005).
Genre: action RPG (or related)
Theme: Fantasy.
Platform: PC (Windows 95-98).
Control: keyboard (...
17
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8
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Why did they create PC games relying on a fixed CPU frequency instead of a clock function?
I know there have been computer games which rely on a fixed CPU frequency. Instead of a clock function they rely on the fact that the CPU needs some time to execute the code.
But why did they do it? ...