This use of photographic techniques to import real world objects into video games was fairly new and groundbreaking at the time of Doom's release an analogous example exists in the arcade game Mortal Kombat, released one year prior to Doom, which used similar techniques to provide photo-realistic images of the in-game fighters. To capture images from the camera and convert them to the VGA palette, John Carmack developed a NeXTStep tool named Fuzzy Pumper Palette Shop the captured images could then be transferred to the PCs to be cleaned up into proper graphics to be used in-game. However, the NeXT workstations were still used the NeXT machines included built-in DSP chips that made them capable of still and video image capture with a Magnavox Eas圜am camera connected, Carmack and Cloud were able to digitally photograph various different objects and drawings to use as source material for Doom's art. The NeXT machines allowed rapid development of the tools used by the team, including the DoomEd editor used to create the levels.ĭoom's artists did the majority of their work using the DOS-based Deluxe Paint II. The id team adopted an unusual development environment, using DOS-based PCs in conjunction with NeXT workstations which at the time constituted cutting-edge hardware. While still not fully true color, with a carefully chosen palette, a VGA screen can provide a reasonable approximation of photo-realistic graphics.ĭevelopment setup for photography of crafted models on a lazy susan turntable the camera was connected directly to a NeXTCube computer. EGA supports a 16 color palette selected from a range of 64 colors, while VGA supports a 256 color palette selected from a range of 262,144 colors. The primary advantage of the VGA hardware over EGA is the added color depth. Doom was the first game developed from the beginning to target the VGA hardware. Wolfenstein 3D was the first to target the newer Video Graphics Array (VGA) hardware however, it was originally developed as an EGA game, meaning that the majority of its graphics were still based around the restricted EGA palette. This includes Hovertank 3D and the Catacomb 3-D series, which constituted their first 3D shooters.
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Id Software's earliest games were designed for the IBM Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) hardware.