MartinHowe
Junior Member
Posts: 140
Registered: 04-02 |
Well, this arose because I have wanted to see a "pure" MBF port to Windows for years, but always had too many other projects on the go and no experience of graphics or sound I/O programming. I always wanted to roll my own MBF based DOOM port purely to have fun with engine functionality. As long as it runs properly on Windows in full-screen mode I couldn't give a rats ass about hi-res graphics, OpenGL, MP3, OGG or whatever. So it was very discouraging to think of having to jump through hoops just to get pictures on the screen and sound in the speakers.
I don't see "letterboxing in full-screen mode" as an "MBF purity" issue, I see it as a "hardware compatibility" issue; in fact, that is how I regard screen resolution as a whole; it is nothing to do with the "purity" of an engine at all. The screen and sound should ideally be a "black box" that the engine writes to without any knowledge of what goes on inside (this is what the EDGE team's "EPI" is supposed to eventually be).
Quite frankly, I am surprised that SDL does not automatically letterbox programs that insist on a 4:3 aspect ratio wherever the hardware cannot do it. I'd quite happily accept 640x400, but not with a copy of a quarter of the screen appearing in real-time below the "real" screenful.
As to "why MBF": well, it is the highest functionality port that is still a "pure" DOOM engine and thus I really ought to start from there. No disrespect, but Eternity, EDGE, ZDoom and, A L I E N help us, Vavoom (washes mouth out with soap :-) :-) ) are no longer pure DOOM ports. As for PrBoom, that is not 100.00% MBF-compliant; no DOOM press-release beta support, no config-in-a-pwad. In fact for me, the big kicker is that nobody seems to know exactly what is missing from PrBoom -- "most, if not all MBF features" is not exactly statment that inspires confidence, is it?
Anyway, don't worry about it, guys, I am not asking for Quasar to do it, just for a few pointers in the right direction from anyone who knows SDL. I should be able to accomplish at least this much by sheer hard work if I know where to look :-)
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08-10-04 02:02 
