Difference between revisions of "Enhanced Graphics Adapter"

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[[Image:EGA - IBM Card.jpg|thumb|256x256px|An IBM EGA card.]]
 
[[Image:EGA - IBM Card.jpg|thumb|256x256px|An IBM EGA card.]]
  
An '''''Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA)''''' is a piece of hardware developed by [[IBM]] and sold in 1984, which gave IBM personal computers graphics capabilities superior to IBM's the previous graphics adapter the [[Color Graphics Adapter]] (CGA). In 1987, it was superseded by the [[Video Graphics Array]] (VGA), although software continued to support it for years to follow.
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The '''''Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA)''''' is a piece of hardware which gives IBM personal computers color graphics capabilities superior to those from the earlier [[Color Graphics Adapter]]. It was designed and developed by [[IBM]] and first sold in 1984, but competing companies quickly reverse-engineered it and sold clones. It was superseded in 1987 by the [[Video Graphics Array]] (VGA) which added superior color graphic capabilities, although software continued to support it for years to follow.
  
EGA supports four graphics modes and four text modes. It's best graphic resolution is 640x350 at 4-bit color (16 distinct colors at once, chosen from a palette of 60 colors), but most programs which supported EGA used its more primitive 320x200 resolution and didn't change from the default color palette. The display type was extremely popular for DOS programs through the mid to late 1980s.
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EGA supports four graphics modes and four text modes. Its best graphic resolution is 640x350 with 4-bit color (16 distinct colors at once, chosen from a palette of 60 colors), but most programs which supported EGA used its more primitive 320x200 resolution and didn't modify the default color palette. The display type was extremely popular for [[MS-DOS]] programs through the mid to late 1980s.
  
 
I spent a lot of my childhood acquainted with EGA graphics, not just because a lot of games I played used it, but because it was a very popular [[QuickBASIC]] screen (screen 7). Even though I haven't bothered with it in decades, I still have the default EGA color palette memorized.
 
I spent a lot of my childhood acquainted with EGA graphics, not just because a lot of games I played used it, but because it was a very popular [[QuickBASIC]] screen (screen 7). Even though I haven't bothered with it in decades, I still have the default EGA color palette memorized.
  
==Games==
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==Software==
:''All games that used [[:Category: 4-bit Color Graphics|4-bit Color]]''
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:''All software that used [[:Category: 4-bit Color Graphics|4-bit Color]]''
  
These are games that I think made good use of EGA graphics:
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These are programs that I think made good use of EGA graphics:
  
* [[Commander Keen IV: Secret of the Oracle]]
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<gallery>
* [[King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human]]
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Commander Keen 4 - DOS - Map - Bean-With-Bacon Megarocket.png|[[Commander Keen IV: Secret of the Oracle]]
* [[King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella]]
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King's Quest IV - DOS - Screenshot - Genesta's Bedroom.png|[[King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella]]
* [[Loom]]
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Loom - DOS - Screenshot - Dye Room.png|[[Loom]]
* [[The Secret of Monkey Island]]
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Secret of Monkey Island, The - DOS - Screenshot - Island Cannon.png|[[The Secret of Monkey Island]]
* [[SimAnt]]
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SimAnt - DOS - Screenshot - EGA.png|[[SimAnt]]
* [[Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter]]
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Space Quest II - DOS - Screenshot - Asteroid Base.png|[[Space Quest II: Volhaul's Revenge]]
* [[Space Quest II: Volhaul's Revenge]]
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</gallery>
  
 
==Documentation==
 
==Documentation==
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* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Graphics_Adapter en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Graphics_Adapter] - Wikipedia.
 
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Graphics_Adapter en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Graphics_Adapter] - Wikipedia.
 
* [http://www.shikadi.net/moddingwiki/Raw_EGA_data shikadi.net/moddingwiki/Raw_EGA_data] - Modding Wiki graphic details.
 
* [http://www.shikadi.net/moddingwiki/Raw_EGA_data shikadi.net/moddingwiki/Raw_EGA_data] - Modding Wiki graphic details.
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* [http://www.mobygames.com/attribute/sheet/attributeId,3 mobygames.com/attribute/sheet/attributeId,3] - MobyGames.
  
  
 
[[Category: Computers]]
 
[[Category: Computers]]
 
[[Category: Computer Hardware]]
 
[[Category: Computer Hardware]]

Revision as of 15:50, 20 March 2018

An IBM EGA card.

The Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) is a piece of hardware which gives IBM personal computers color graphics capabilities superior to those from the earlier Color Graphics Adapter. It was designed and developed by IBM and first sold in 1984, but competing companies quickly reverse-engineered it and sold clones. It was superseded in 1987 by the Video Graphics Array (VGA) which added superior color graphic capabilities, although software continued to support it for years to follow.

EGA supports four graphics modes and four text modes. Its best graphic resolution is 640x350 with 4-bit color (16 distinct colors at once, chosen from a palette of 60 colors), but most programs which supported EGA used its more primitive 320x200 resolution and didn't modify the default color palette. The display type was extremely popular for MS-DOS programs through the mid to late 1980s.

I spent a lot of my childhood acquainted with EGA graphics, not just because a lot of games I played used it, but because it was a very popular QuickBASIC screen (screen 7). Even though I haven't bothered with it in decades, I still have the default EGA color palette memorized.

Software

All software that used 4-bit Color

These are programs that I think made good use of EGA graphics:

Documentation

Links