
8088 MPH: The final version - zdw
https://scalibq.wordpress.com/2015/08/02/8088-mph-the-final-version/
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fit2rule
Having grown up with this whole "step backwards" that we took when the PC hit
the scene, the most interesting aspect of this demo has been the understanding
that some people just don't get why it is so freakin' AMAZING that they were
able to coax such art out of this severely limited hardware. CGA was _never_
supposed to be able to produce such complex and beautiful images - take a look
at the screenshots here:

[https://www.google.at/search?q=cga+graphics&tbm=isch](https://www.google.at/search?q=cga+graphics&tbm=isch)

.. and what do you see? Mostly Cyan/Magenta graphics, which was 'the norm' for
that era. It took another few years before we got EGA - and then, finally VGA
- graphics, which we've all become very accustomed to in this day and age.

But seeing 16 - and then _256_ colors - being produced by a CGA is truly a
feat of technical wonder. For anyone who doesn't get why this demo is so
important, you have to understand: we never, ever thought such capabilities
were possible with CGA hardware.

~~~
comrh
I tried reading the technical expectation, a lot of it was lost on me, but it
seems like they just implemented bug fixes and tweaks but added nothing that
wasn't impossible in ~1981? Was this possible back then even?

~~~
rzzzt
Only when using composite output, I think. The 9-pin connectors had TTL-level
pins.

~~~
Scali
Actually, IBM did not supply a TTL-monitor for CGA until 1983 (the 5153). So
in the early days, using the composite output (which is standard on IBM CGA
cards) would be the easiest way to get CGA output to a screen in 1981.

~~~
rzzzt
I stand corrected. :) Did those cards have an RCA connector? I came across a
64K full-width EGA card that had two of those, but never figured out what sort
of output they produced.

~~~
ajenner
They did, and it worked! The RCA connectors on the IBM EGA card aren't
connected to anything - they only work if an add-on daughterboard is installed
(I don't know if that daughterboard was ever actually made).

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EdSharkey
The music at the end sounds great. No whine from the PC speaker at all!

I remember pulling the 16 color trick in high school on the old original IBM
PC's, but our CGA cards displayed a TON of snow whenever I updated the
characters. Was never sure how to work around that, but it felt pretty elite
to get nice colors out of that cyan-magenta-white CGA s __t show.

Getting 256 colors at no extra cost and 1024 colors with lotsa shepherding is
so amazing.

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vmorgulis
Very cool!

For those who don't know the previous version (8088 Domination):

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWdG413nNkI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWdG413nNkI)

