A celebration of classic software rendering that argues its visual character often beats early hardware-accelerated modes. Software rendering means the CPU draws every pixel, producing pixel-perfect texels, hard-edged shadow steps from 256‑colour palette lighting lookup tables, and a gritty, tightly defined look that bilinear-filtered 3D cards smoothed away. Concrete examples include Quake running in its DOS software renderer at 800×600 locked to 60fps on a Dell OptiPlex 380, and Build-engine titles like Duke Nukem 3D and Blood at high VESA modes; Ion Fury is cited as a modern game that still ships with a software renderer. There are exceptions: a Voodoo2 can make some games run and look great in 3dfx mode, and Tomb Raider’s underwater sections appear distinctly better when accelerated.
The piece also covers practical trade-offs: software rendering scales with CPU work, so pushing original engines to high resolutions needs much faster machines than were available in the 90s. Benchmarks show even fast modern CPUs struggle with extreme VESA modes (an example cited where a 3.3GHz quad Xeon can’t hold full 1600×1200 in Shadow Warrior). For the truest experience the recommendation is native DOS on real hardware rather than emulation or ports, though that raises sound-compatibility issues. Recommended picks to try are Quake (software, 800×600+), Duke Nukem 3D, Blood and Screamer.
Summary generated by AI from the linked article. hn.today is not affiliated with Hacker News or Y Combinator.
Russian forces are targeting Kyiv with efforts to make the city unlivable through ongoing attacks. The situation reflects the broader conflict between Russia and Ukraine, impacting civilian life in Kyiv. (nytimes.com)
Radioactive monazite ore contains rare earth elements that China currently dominates in extraction and processing. Developing alternative sources like monazite could reduce China's influence over the global rare earth supply chain. (spectrum.ieee.org)
Tesla's new Roadster has a flying debut, reaching 60 MPH in less than a second. The vehicle demonstrates advanced aerodynamics and performance capabilities. (foxbusiness.com)
Tesla showcased the new Roadster in a replay broadcast, highlighting its features. The event emphasized Tesla's ongoing development of high-performance electric vehicles. (x.com)
Insider trading is illegal in the stock market because it gives unfair advantage, but a legal form exists where individuals use confidential information for career moves. Nokia engineers, for example, knew the company's decline before the market did and used that knowledge to switch companies, akin to legal insider trading. (coached.com)
Philippine authorities fined six companies 1.76 billion pesos for forming an onion cartel that caused prices to surge past 800 pesos per kilogram in 2022. The crackdown was the largest fine since the Philippine Competition Commission's formation in 2016, amid shortages and smuggling of onions. (bbc.com)
Today's best Hacker News stories, summarized and screenshotted, one email a day.