Classic Games Emulated: The Need for Speed for MS-DOS

 

This is Where One of The Most Recognized Racing Franchise Got its Start.

The first game in what would eventually become the biggest racing franchise in the gaming industry, The Need for Speed was a revolutionary title back in its day. First released on the failed 3DO console, it was later ported to DOS and Windows and introduced in 1995. The PC landscape was rapidly changing. Just a short time earlier, id Software released Doom for DOS, and this title took PC gaming  by storm. It also elevated PC gaming to new, unseen heights. Boring spreadsheet machines no more, as Stuart Brown would say, PC's were now at the forefront of gaming. The PC was now capable of running intensive, first person environments. The FPS (First Person Shooter) was the envy of the 16-bit consoles, which didn't have the power to run such environments.  The power of first the Intel 386, and then the 486, unlocked capabilities that allowed PC's everywhere to become gaming powerhouses. The Need for Speed was released in this environment. This game became another reason to justify purchasing a 486 multimedia PC equipped with a Creative Labs SoundBlaster 16 and S3 SVGA Video Adapter. By 1995, even the Intel 486 was being left in the wind with the mass adoption of the Intel Pentium processors, which would have been a necessity for running Windows 95. Even more powerful than their predecessor, these CPU's were pushing the capabilities of these computers even farther. Most of these machines were equipped with SVGA (Super VGA) adapters made by companies like S3 and Cirrus Logic, and utilized the Creative Labs SoundBlaster audio adapters that were capable of CD playback. Many of these computers started shipping with CD-ROM drives that held a lot more storage than what a floppy disk could ever hold.

My PCEM virtual machine was equipped with a Award SiS 496/497 motherboard and a Intel 486 DX4 CPU running at 75MHz. On my quad-core AMD machine, the 486 emulation can achieve full speed most of the time. The lowest I dipped was 94%, but stayed at 100/101% for the game-play. Also included on the emulated motherboard was a Creative Labs SoundBlaster 16 and S3 SVGA Video Adapter  to provide both higher resolutions and higher screen depth. I went with this video adapter because it had really good support for the VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association) video modes. VESA is a universal display standard that allows developers  to write software that utilizes high resolutions and high color depths using a universal video standard, and not conforming to proprietary protocols. Universal VESA support means that any software which embraces this standard could run on any SVGA adapter that supports VESA. In the middle 90's, this was most SVGA cards. It's still supported now and is still incorporated in most 3D accelerators and integrated video chipsets as a fall-back mode. There is 16MB's on the emulated motherboard. The emulator has an IDE Hard Drive interface with the supporting drive running MS-DOS 6.22. A capable virtual machine by 1995 standards. 

Published by EA, this game was marketed under Road & Track, a automotive enthusiast magazine. This game was very well received. On PCEM, The Need for Speed starts up without issues. The graphics don't hold up by modern standards. That's to be expected. But this game would have looked amazing by 1995 standards. In that 1995 mindset, to see the intro video play (video playback on the PC was still a novelty in '95) would have amazed anyone witnessing it. The game is running at 640 by 480, 256 colors, and utilizes the VESA video capabilities found in the S3 864 SVGA adapter that the emulated computer is equipped with. The 3D racing environment and textured 3D cars would have been unseen on the PC at this time. The audio blasting out of the SoundBlaster 16 would have amazed those listening to it. The car dashboard was very well detailed, and the race tracks provided awesome visuals that again, wouldn't have been seen in a game of its day. Not only that, The Need for Speed ran well too. I didn't notice any stuttering or noticeable performance issues during the game-play. This game was a visual treat that had the awesome game-play to back it up to. The Need for Speed did for racing what Doom did for the FPS genre. They both helped revolutionize PC gaming. A awesome way to start the franchise.
Articles Of Interest:

PCEM - https://pcem-emulator.co.uk/

The Need for Speed - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Need_for_Speed

Video Electronics Standards Association- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Electronics_Standards_Association

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