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Doom’s 386 Trick: The Lie That Made 3D Run Without a GPU
Post Reply RetroFed Forums Forum Index » Retro Gaming
AuthorMessage
bat1000
sh.itjust.works
bat1000@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2026-10-01
Posted:   Subject: Doom’s 386 Trick: The Lie That Made 3D Run Without a GPU Quote

Link: https://playstationcouch.com/post.php?id=817

Doom ran on a 386 with zero 3D hardware because it was never truly 3D. Every wall is a column of pixels, every floor a row. Carmack didn’t build a 3D engine. He built the best lie in gaming. What’s the cleverest cheat you know?
24   Original
Cypher
aussie.zone
Cypher@aussie.zone
Joined: 2023-06-14
#2 Posted:   Subject: Re: Doom’s 386 Trick: The Lie That Made 3D Run Without a GPU Quote Reply

The fast inverse square root used for Quake III Arena

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_inverse_square_root

From back when developers were actually coming up with clever optimsations rather than treating customers like poors who needed to upgrade their PC to play.
14
rockSlayer
lemmy.blahaj.zone
rockSlayer@lemmy.blahaj.zone
Joined: 2025-02-24
#3 Posted:   Subject: Re: Doom’s 386 Trick: The Lie That Made 3D Run Without a GPU Quote Reply

My favorite is Level of Detail algorithms. Invented with Spyro, it creates a great illusion of a much larger world. Only downside are LOD pops
3
not
lemmy.dbzer0.com

not@lemmy.dbzer0.com
Joined: 2025-03-28
#4 Posted:   Subject: Re: Doom’s 386 Trick: The Lie That Made 3D Run Without a GPU Quote Reply
Cypher wrote:
The fast inverse square root used for Quake III Arena https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_inverse_square_root From back when developers were actually coming up with clever optimsations rather than treating customers like poors who needed to upgrade their PC to play.

That thing is black magic!
2
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