WinG

Background

WinG fixed two problems. The first problem that WinG fixed was that Windows 3.x did not support creating Device Contexts (DCs) based on device independent bitmaps, only actual display devices. One major limitation of the Graphics Device Interface (GDI) DCs was that they were write-only. Data, once written, could not be retrieved. The second problem was that all GDI drawing was implemented in the Windows 3.x video drivers. This included the drawing of bitmaps. Obviously performance of such routines varied across drivers.

Alex St. John, one of the creators of DirectX, said in a 2000 interview that, |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091006022255/http://www.firingsquad.com/features/alexstjohn/ |archive-date=6 October 2009

Microsoft announced WinG at the 1994 Game Developers Conference, demonstrating it with a port by id Software of Doom. WinG was shipped on September 21, 1994.{{cite web |access-date=2008-01-19 |archive-date=2012-07-11 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711181236/http://craig.theeislers.com/2006/02/directx_then_and_now_part_1.php |url-status=dead

Implementation

WinG introduced a new type of DC called a WinGDC,{{cite web |access-date=2009-01-19

WinG would also perform a graphics hardware/driver profiling test on the first execution of the program in order to determine the best way to draw DIBs. This test showed a window full of red curved lines, sections of which would wobble as performance was tested. Once WinG had determined the fastest calls that did not cause graphics corruption, a profile would be saved so that the test would not need to be performed again.

Support

WinG out-of-the-box support (i.e. as a separate API to Win32) was dropped in Windows 98 Second Edition (which integrated DirectX 6), as it did nothing but pass through to the Win32 APIs that it was wrapping (including CreateDIBSection). WinG DLLs were sometimes distributed with an application, at which point it merely became a matter of copying the files wing.dll, wing32.dll, wingde.dll, wingdib.drv and wingpal.wnd to the system32 directory (for 32 bit Windows) or SysWOW64 directory (for 64 bit Windows) to regain system-wide support.

List of applications using WinG API

• Adobe Photoshop 3.0 (1994)
• Adobe Photoshop 4.0 (1997)
• Alone in the Dark: Ghosts in Town (1996)
• Bad Toys 3D (1995)
• CivNet (1995)
• Comix Zone (1995)
• Dark Seed II (1995)
• Doom (1995)
• Disney's Animated Storybook: The Lion King (1994)
• Dust: A Tale of the Wired West (1995)
• Fury3 (1995)
• Garfield: Caught in the Act (1996)
• Grant - Lee - Sherman: Civil War 2: Generals (1997)
• Heroes of Might and Magic II (1996)
• Industry Giant (1997)
• Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow (1996)
• Microsoft Bob (1995)
• Microsoft Oceans (1995)
• Microsoft Return of Arcade (1996)
• Monopoly (Westwood Studios) (1995)
• Muppets Inside (1996)
• Nitemare 3D (1994)
• Noir: A Shadowy Thriller (1996)
• P.T.O. II (1995)
• The Rise & Rule of Ancient Empires (1996)
• This Means War! (1995)
• Sid Meier's Colonization (1995)
• Sid Meier's Civilization II (1996)
• SimCity 2000 (Windows 16-bit) (1995)
• SimTower (1994)
• Sonic's Schoolhouse (1996)
• Star Wars Screen Entertainment (1994)
• Time Gate: Knight's Chase (1996)
• Titanic: Adventure Out of Time (1996)
• Total Distortion (1995)
• Toy Story (1996)
• Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness Map editor
• Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat (1995)
• Wishbone Activity Zone (1997)
• Woodruff and the Schnibble of Azimuth (1995)
• Entomorph - Plague of the Darkfall (1995)

References

References

1. (July 1994). "The Designer's Dilemma: The Eighth Computer Game Developers Conference".
2. [https://www.classicdosgames.com/game/Microsoft_Return_of_Arcade.html Microsoft Return of Arcade 1996 review: RGB Classic Games]