root42 wrote:However EGA could choose from 64 colors.
Only in the hi-res (640x350) EGA resolution. Most games used low-res (200-line) modes, and for those modes EGA sends out a CGA-compatible signal - which means it's limited to the 16 RGBI colors. (That was apparently a deliberate design decision, to simplify compatibility with CGA monitors while making it easy for EGA monitors to understand which signal they're being fed.)
Not too many games used hi-res EGA, and even fewer bothered to use the extended palette in that mode... but nice examples do exist, like these from Magnetic Scrolls:
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/fish/screenshots
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/corruption/screenshots
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/pawn/screenshots
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/jinxter/screenshots
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/guild-of-th … ves/screenshots
There were some clone EGA cards that could actually use the 64-color range in 200-line modes, but only on multisync monitors. Naturally this was very non-standard, but a tiny handful of games did support it (see e.g. http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/rambo-iii/screenshots, the shots marked "EGA Enhanced Color").
It seems back in the 80s PC Magazine published a TSR called SPECTRUM to modify the palette for programs using the regular CGA palette
There's also this old thing: How to tweak CGA / EGA game palettes easily :)
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