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rendering loop
About this tag
The tag 'rendering loop' on WindowsForum.com covers discussions about how software applications, particularly games like Space Cadet Pinball for Windows, manage frame rendering. A notable thread recounts how an early Windows port of 3D Pinball lacked a frame-rate limiter, causing it to draw frames as fast as possible—reaching around 5,000 FPS on modern hardware. This design choice, originally made for constrained systems, became a CPU-hogging issue as processors evolved. The fix involved implementing a simple frame-rate limiter, a pragmatic solution that restored performance balance. The tag explores the engineering history and practical fixes related to rendering loops in Windows software.
Dave Plummer’s confession that his port of 3D Pinball for Windows — the Space Cadet table so many of us grew up with — once drew frames “as fast as it could” and reportedly hit roughly 5,000 FPS on newer hardware has resurfaced a powerful, funny and instructive moment in Windows engineering...
5000 fps
64-bit port
computer history
cpu usage
cross architecture
dave plummer
delta time
frame rate
game porting lessons
legacy code
mip
porting
r4000
raymond chen
renderingloop
software compatibility
space cadet pinball
timing-sensitive software
vsync
windows engineering