snappy|nuts wrote on 2022-12-25, 00:25:
Yeah I have and NEC V30 installed in my PC1512 ..... Thexder runs fine in CGA.... was just curious if it fell into the same pot as the other Sierra games that can use the PC1512.DRV option.
Whoever installed it did make a wise decision here. 🙂👍
Depending on the type of calculations/arithmetics, the NECs are much quicker.
The average improvement over an Intel is about 10%, at least.
That being said, the original 8086 was a much better chip than the 8088, already.
The NECs also support the newer Real-Mode instructions found in 80186, which make DOS programs from the 90s happy.
(Those which were compiled with AT or 80286 PC in mind.)
snappy|nuts wrote on 2022-12-25, 00:25:
I don't find much speed difference between CGA and the Amstrad 16 color modes within the Sierra games mentioned in this thread.
That's cool, glad to hear! 🙂
Maybe Thexder is a bit special here, though.
Like Zeliard, it was from Japan. It seems that Sierra On-Line merely ported the game for the western audience.
So maybe the engine is different and doesn't know things like dirty-rectangle yet (merely update parts on screen which have changend). 🤷♂️
Edit: iI forgot to mention. I'm not saying that Benedikt is wrong anyhow.
I just wonder how the better 1512/1640 compares over a standard 4,77 MHz PC.
If things like RAM access are 16-Bit, too, then the Amstrads don't have the PC's bottlenecks.
But on the other hand, I don't know much about Thexder or shoot 'em ups in general.
Scrolling might be an performance issue, but maybe the NEC is better at such calculations,
if V20/V30 or 80186 instructions are used by the engine or the display driver.
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