"For its 32nd anniversary the legendary PC demo 'Second Reality' got an official 32 bit Windows port..."
category: general [glöplog]
Very nice work, congratulations!
So it seems that they were always rendering the shadow particles over the blue particles (you can just about see this in a youtube, even at super HD and 50 fps, there is a lot of compression) ! how weird
If you didn't notice for 30 years, it means it worked.
Mad props for the effort! It really needs that 4:3 aspect ratio option though ;)
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So it seems that they were always rendering the shadow particles over the blue particles (you can just about see this in a youtube, even at super HD and 50 fps, there is a lot of compression) ! how weird
It’s probably because it doesn’t use a software backbuffer (which would be heavy for a 386 and an ISA video card), nor a hardware multipage mode (like mode-X). Instead, particles are drawn and erased in a single pass using some clever trickery. But in some cases, the draw order gets messed up. I’m not even sure there’s any Z-sorting going on ;)
Maybe Gargaj could shed some light on this mystery :)
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Instead, particles are drawn and erased in a single pass using some clever trickery. But in some cases, the draw order gets messed up. I’m not even sure there’s any Z-sorting going on ;)
All correct, and there isn't really any clever trickery, just storing the old position in a buffer and stamping over the background in the next frame. You can actually see the drawing order issue if you take a high enough quality capture and frame-by-frame it.
Did you use some kind of automated regression testing to make sure everything still matches pixel-for-pixel?
By the way, my favourite part during the screening at Assembly was the spinning bars part starting at about 3:11 because the effect really worked well - no tearing, no stuttering or dropped frames, no codec-produced mushiness, and a fixed framerate throughout. I know that this is partly because they pre-record things at Assembly, but it was still nice to properly see the effect as it was intended.
By the way, my favourite part during the screening at Assembly was the spinning bars part starting at about 3:11 because the effect really worked well - no tearing, no stuttering or dropped frames, no codec-produced mushiness, and a fixed framerate throughout. I know that this is partly because they pre-record things at Assembly, but it was still nice to properly see the effect as it was intended.
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Did you use some kind of automated regression testing to make sure everything still matches pixel-for-pixel?
No, because of the timing struggles I'm not sure how feasible that would've been, so it was just good oldfashioned eyeballing and dedication to the craft.
Maybe you are interested into the original 'Making of Second Reality', too? Dunno. If yes, go and enjoy.
I would be, but alas...
Great job Gargaj! :)
I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, but I ran this Win32 port just now on my Ryzen 5 5600G and Win10 and the music to the climax is suddenly cut short (the lady riding the creature is on screen at that point) and goes straight to the endpart with the ship doing the city fly-over.
The timing discrepancy could be because I was running it at 50Hz, but I'll have to double-check that.
The timing discrepancy could be because I was running it at 50Hz, but I'll have to double-check that.
Yep, it was the timing; switched to 60Hz, the demo ran fine this time.
I normally keep my PC on 50Hz for the emulation of demos, and use YouTube for PC demos.
I normally keep my PC on 50Hz for the emulation of demos, and use YouTube for PC demos.
Win32 Port ? That does not start on Win95/98 or even Win2K ?
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Win32 Port ? That does not start on Win95/98 or even Win2K ?
Did I not use the right terminology for that type of exe? What are they called these days?
Demo restoration should be an honorary demo profession! It makes me think of those guys who imitiate Van Gogh's unique pigment blending technique and then apply those strokes with tweezer level precision.
Great work guys!
Great work guys!
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Win32 Port ? That does not start on Win95/98 or even Win2K ?
Win32 is included in Windows 11. Supporting 30 years old computers is not part of the definition.
Ah, ok. I thought I could use it on my retro-machines. ;)
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Ah, ok. I thought I could use it on my retro-machines. ;)
Did you try to run it?
Why would you run the Windows port on a machine that can already run the original?
The original is speed sensitive. You have to use nearly the same machine it's programmed on wich is a fast 386 slow/mid 486. If you use anything faster the music is not synchronized, the effects are not synchronized, some parts do not work or freeze the machine (circling dot's). Therefore it had been pretty nice to use it on Win95 with a Pentium let's say 60 up to P3/500 and even get the experience like running it on the original hardware. I thought this win32 port was one of those old dos-demos that were made around 2000, but it's obviously not that kind of stuff. Sorry for bothering you.
"speed sensitive", is that how you young whippersnappers misunderstand framerate independent timing / temporal interpolation these days?
Circling dots freeze happened if you ran the demo from a deeper directory.
That's the urban legend but considering the source is out there, did anyone figure out WHY?
Look at us, all old men having a jolly time!