The framerate's always intended to be low, though newer video chipsets (i.e. Matrox) can be a factor to bugging VGA scrolling some. Try a Goodbye Galaxy keen game and see if your card can expose the out-of-bounds tiles off the starting edge of a level. 😀

Also videos of VGA dos games online will not be that accurate for motion as 70Hz 320x200 modes vs 60/30fps rates enforced by online video platforms

leileilol wrote on 2025-06-08, 04:50:

The framerate's always intended to be low, though newer video chipsets (i.e. Matrox) can be a factor to bugging VGA scrolling some. Try a Goodbye Galaxy keen game and see if your card can expose the out-of-bounds tiles off the starting edge of a level. 😀

Also videos of VGA dos games online will not be that accurate for motion as 70Hz 320x200 modes vs 60/30fps rates enforced by online video platforms

Yeah, good point. Doubtful these videos are run on old machines. I’m assuming that could explain why the online videos have a feel of running slightly smoother.

I feel like this is more becoming a product of me troubleshooting this system I’ve been working with so much, to the point by where I’m nitpicking games that are 30+ years old. There’s a good reason why the scrolling on PC games at the time was mostly not smooth. It really never bothered me all these years until I actually started to focus on it a little more.

Keen really was one of the smoothest back at that time. Closest you could get to console level of smooth scrolling.

I’m assuming that could explain why the online videos have a feel of running slightly smoother.

Actually it should be choppier rather than smoother, as 70 Hz and 60 or 30 fps don't match. When I watch 25fps or 50fps TV content on my computer, it's never as smooth due to the 60Hz that my monitor runs at. On a 50Hz TV it's perfectly smooth.

What kind of monitor are you using? If it's not a CRT, then it also depends on the monitor itself. Some can run at 70Hz, some run at a fixed 60Hz (which adds some stutter), and some (like one I have) are even worse and add tearing to the stutter.

Kalle wrote on 2025-06-08, 09:35:

I’m assuming that could explain why the online videos have a feel of running slightly smoother.

Actually it should be choppier rather than smoother, as 70 Hz and 60 or 30 fps don't match. When I watch 25fps or 50fps TV content on my computer, it's never as smooth due to the 60Hz that my monitor runs at. On a 50Hz TV it's perfectly smooth.

What kind of monitor are you using? If it's not a CRT, then it also depends on the monitor itself. Some can run at 70Hz, some run at a fixed 60Hz (which adds some stutter), and some (like one I have) are even worse and add tearing to the stutter.

Using a Dell M780 16” SVGA CRT monitor!

Kalle wrote on 2025-06-08, 09:35:

I’m assuming that could explain why the online videos have a feel of running slightly smoother.

Actually it should be choppier rather than smoother, as 70 Hz and 60 or 30 fps don't match. When I watch 25fps or 50fps TV content on my computer, it's never as smooth due to the 60Hz that my monitor runs at. On a 50Hz TV it's perfectly smooth.

What kind of monitor are you using? If it's not a CRT, then it also depends on the monitor itself. Some can run at 70Hz, some run at a fixed 60Hz (which adds some stutter), and some (like one I have) are even worse and add tearing to the stutter.

Speaking of Hz setting, my current display properties are at 640x480 running at 60Hz, FWIW

I tried both games on my CRT and they indeed stutter when scrolling. The title screen of Secret Agent scrolls smoothly up and down, thus the stutter ingame would surely be normal.

Kalle wrote on 2025-06-08, 17:39:

I tried both games on my CRT and they indeed stutter when scrolling. The title screen of Secret Agent scrolls smoothly up and down, thus the stutter ingame would surely be normal.

Thanks for taking a look! I think I may just be over analyzing games that are a product of the limitations at that time. It doesn’t help that Secret Agent and Crystal Caves have had HD remasters that run very smoothly. You really notice the difference.

I asked my wife if she noticed the same screen scrolling as I was running the game. She did not notice it nearly as much as I was. I think this is something I’m focusing on now that I never focused into previously.

I just wanted to make sure there’s nothing in my configuration that’s causing performance issues

Benson879 wrote on 2025-06-08, 05:14:

Keen really was one of the smoothest back at that time. Closest you could get to console level of smooth scrolling.

i guess jazz jackrabbit is when they fully got there, though it still took an oddball video mode resulting in compatibility issues on some cards. and then ironically the second game had pretty choppy scrolling...