How did DOS games draw to the screen so fast?

The EGA and VGA video standards share some similarities with how the Amiga did graphics, but the similarities end when it comes to the 256 color graphics that defined 90s PC gaming. Topaz walks you through the basics of how those video modes worked, and what made them get so fast over time. Thanks to Tyrel ([@tyrel@mastodon.social](https://mastodon.social/@tyrel))! * Mastodon: https://oldbytes.space/@TopazRabbit * Website: https://theindustriousrabbit.com/ * RSS: https://theindustriousrabbit.com/index.xml * Donate: https://ko-fi.com/topazrabbit --- References 3d game source code: * Wolfenstein 3D (https://github.com/id-Software/wolf3d/blob/master/WOLFSRC/WL_AGENT.C#L244-L361) - Wolfenstein 3D using latched VGA copies to draw things on screen * Duke Nukem 3D (https://github.com/grepwood/duke3d/blob/master/source/buildengine/dos_drvr.c#L532) - The DOS driver shovels data into the chunky mode as fast as it can. It didn't use page flipping. * Quake (https://github.com/id-Software/Qua