3DO Source Code editing [BIG and difficult] question

[Dexiaz]

Hello everyone.

As far as we know there is 3DO Doom source code released in 2014.

Few enthusiasts (and also 3DO game lovers) trying to edit this source code to made 3DO Doom better than before. As far as I know they add already PC features like monsters teleport, for example.

But main question is:

How to made this game running faster than before? According to Heineman words, 3DO Doom team created this source code in ten weeks. That's too fast, so game has problems like low-FPS all time.

3DO engine uses the "cell-Engine":

While game code is largely shared with the Jaguar version, the rendering engine is completely customized to draw walls through the 3DO's hardware "cell engine." Floors and ceilings are drawn in software, however, due to difficulties in drawing perspective-projected graphics through the cell engine. Heineman states work on piping that drawing through the hardware was in-progress but had to be abandoned due to unresolved bugs at launch time.

Well, how to fix this? I know it's a really simplified, noobish question because it's a programming thing.

But there are no such tutorials about Doom source code editing. I saw some in Moddb.com website, they are about "decorate-like things", not about "walls rendering".

Any ideas or tips about this?
I'll be very grateful for answers. Sorry for being a noob kid that doesn't know anything about source code editing but without this thread I'll just "stay in the middle of nothing" and it's not good for being without any thoughts.

[Quasar]

There are two major problems.

The first is that Heineman is using cells to draw individual columns until the machine runs out of them, dumping the results so far to a buffer, and then continuing to draw columns. This is a gross misuse of the hardware where, with the right settings, you could potentially draw a whole wall segment with a single hardware cell. This would require major re-architecting of the renderer, but it's the "right thing to do."

Meanwhile the drawing of floors is not being accelerated at all because she "ran out of time to fix a bug in it before release." So that should be revisited entirely.

[Versus]

Very actual thread! Hope people here knows some technical info about how the 3DO cel engine works in case of 3DO Doom.

Quasar said:

is using cells to draw individual columns until the machine runs out of them, dumping the results so far to a buffer, and then continuing to draw columns.

Could you show the exact place in source code doing this?

Quasar said:

This would require major re-architecting of the renderer, but it's the "right thing to do."

Any thougts how to do that?

[Dexiaz]

Quasar said:

There are two major problems.

The first is that Heineman is using cells to draw individual columns until the machine runs out of them, dumping the results so far to a buffer, and then continuing to draw columns. This is a gross misuse of the hardware where, with the right settings, you could potentially draw a whole wall segment with a single hardware cell. This would require major re-architecting of the renderer, but it's the "right thing to do."

Meanwhile the drawing of floors is not being accelerated at all because she "ran out of time to fix a bug in it before release." So that should be revisited entirely.

Thank you very much for reply! Your answer allows me to understand where I must look for.

I'm sorry for being impudent person, but could someone say who can help me with editing this source code? I'm not even an amateur in "serious" programming :\

[Cire]

Sorry for posting semi-unrelated to the OP, but it would be interesting to see stuff like the 3DO source ported to PC.

[Versus]

Like this?
http://www.moddb.com/games/doom/addons/3do-doom-maps-for-modern-engines

[Quasar]

Versus said:

Like this?
http://www.moddb.com/games/doom/addons/3do-doom-maps-for-modern-engines

Converting the maps is not the same as porting the engine.