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[IbizaPocholo]

It's MiSTer FPGA NEWS AND UPDATES time! except NOT really...as there is a new 3DFX Voodoo FPGA core in development on the Terasic De-10 which is the same board used FOR MiSTer FPGA...but this is different! and its why retro gaming is making a comeback!

• (00:01–00:22)
  A developer is working on a full FPGA reimplementation of the classic 3dfx Voodoo 3D accelerator, which is described as a major and exciting breakthrough for retro gaming and hardware preservation.
• (00:22–01:05)
  The Voodoo chipset is praised for its unique visual style and nostalgic "look" that differs from modern GPUs, making it especially beloved among retro PC and arcade gamers.
• (01:24–01:40)
  Voodoo hardware wasn't just for PCs—it powered arcade systems like Konami and Midway boards, often delivering graphics that rivaled or exceeded home PCs at the time.
• (01:40–02:13)
  Some arcade boards used dual Voodoo chips in SLI configurations, showcasing how powerful and widely adopted the technology was in high-end arcade machines.
• (02:13–02:47)
  The FPGA core (being developed on a DE10-Nano / Cyclone V chip) is already capable of running demos like Quake, and most core components are nearly complete.
• (02:47–03:20)
  Only minor features (like stipple effects or chroma key details) remain unfinished, indicating the project is close to functional completion.
• (03:20–04:08)
  Despite progress, this won't run on current MiSTer FPGA setups due to hardware limitations—existing FPGA chips lack the power needed for full Voodoo + CPU emulation.
• (04:08–04:54)
  The real potential lies in the future: pairing a Voodoo FPGA core with a Pentium-class FPGA CPU could recreate a full late-90s PC environment in hardware.
• (05:48–06:28)
  The Voodoo architecture is complex and unique, using custom hardware pipelines (not standard APIs like DirectX), making this FPGA recreation technically impressive.
• (06:28–07:16)
  While current hardware can't handle it, future FPGA platforms (a hypothetical "MiSTer 2") could make fully functional Voodoo-based systems viable.
• (07:16–09:06)
  The project is open-source and already ~95% of the foundational work needed, meaning it could significantly accelerate future developments in FPGA-based retro PCs and arcade preservation.
• (09:06–10:06)
  Long-term vision: FPGA cores could replace fragile, rare arcade hardware (like Konami or Midway boards), offering a more reliable and accessible way to preserve gaming history.

 

[asdasdasdbb]

y tho

(again)

Don't think there are any Glide Exclusive games anymore.

 

[Guilty_AI]

y tho

(again)

Don't think there are any Glide Exclusive games anymore.

Some arcades also used it. And having more stuff is always nice regardless.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Ahh when I first saw 3DFX acceleration vs software rendering it was a life changing moment!

I used to SLI two Wicked 3D Voodoo 2's.

 

[falconhoof]

If it doesn't do this then I don't want any part of it.

 

[Buggy Loop]

If it doesn't do this then I don't want any part of it.

That's definitely a requirement, I doubt they'll skip on that detail

 

[cartman414]

y tho

(again)

Don't think there are any Glide Exclusive games anymore.

You're missing the point.

This is for running old games that used Glide.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

As modern gaming continues to go down the shitter (and get prohibitively expensive for more & more people), I'm expecting continued growth in renewed interest of retro games and systems, and doing more new stuff with what's came before.

A lot of those older games are still very playable, and can be made new again with mods & texture packs, plus new community content, translation patches, fan games etc. And the old hardware is just infinitely more interesting to study and learn for hobbyists, so it's good to see new efforts in preserving or replicating the function of that hardware as accurately as possible.

Good to see that attention now shifting to the PC graphics accelerator space; it's kind of the last untapped bastion in that regard (both IBM-compatible and non-IBM compatible).

 

[KuraiShidosha]

Have any Glide wrappers been seeing any more work towards compatibility today? I've been using the same old ones for Diablo 2 and maybe Unreal games although to be fair those games have perfectly fine DX9 renderers that do everything Glide did and more so it doesn't really matter there.

 

[Dirk Benedict]

If it doesn't do this then I don't want any part of it.

Getting a nerd boner, rn.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

I absolutely love Glide. The games that used it have such a distinctive look and feel to them. Great piece of tech, and I'd like to see this project evolve.

 

[bad guy]

I was never a fan of the glide look, but still mad respect for the effort.

 

[M0G]

If you could one day buy a PCI card with an FPGA on it, and you could flash different Voodoo chip cores onto it... that would be amazing. Fucking around making a Voodoo3+ card support every generation of Voodoo can be a real pain in the ass.

 

[ljubomir]

If you could one day buy a PCI card with an FPGA on it, and you could flash different Voodoo chip cores onto it... that would be amazing. Fucking around making a Voodoo3+ card support every generation of Voodoo can be a real pain in the ass.

I'm looking forward to Mister-on-PCI graphics card in the future! That would be mighty dope! Switching between voodoo, riva tnt, s3 virge cores. Future is exciting again .

 

[Londo]

Bought one as a kid just to play Tomb Raider... and to finally unlock the true visual power of the nude mod.

 

[M0G]

I'm looking forward to Mister-on-PCI graphics card in the future! That would be mighty dope! Switching between voodoo, riva tnt, s3 virge cores. Future is exciting again .

If that's happening, my wallet is going into a world of hurt lol

 

[deriks]

Bought one as a kid just to play Tomb Raider... and to finally unlock the true visual power of the nude mod.

And that's how we, 90s boys, became man. Great times

I had a Voodoo2 back in the day. I played Star Wars Racer like crazy... Until my PC broke for some reason, then my father let on some store to fix it, and they stole the card - I have no idea if the problem was the card, but they could at least gave the dead piece, right?! They didn't, so my 3D games were over and at least I discovered the land of emulators

 

[Ishma3L]

 

[SScorpio]

I'm looking forward to Mister-on-PCI graphics card in the future! That would be mighty dope! Switching between voodoo, riva tnt, s3 virge cores. Future is exciting again .

It's not FPGA, but we have that on the sound side with PicoGUS.

3D cards get really tricky. Especially all the pre-Direct3D APIs. GLIDE was great, but everything else was very rough and there's very good reasons why Voodoo cards became the go to. Once Direct3D took off things standardized. It's a big uplift to play really poor versions of some of the games. S3 Virge cards are inexpensive, we'll see if anyone takes up the massive work for very little pay off.

Have any Glide wrappers been seeing any more work towards compatibility today? I've been using the same old ones for Diablo 2 and maybe Unreal games although to be fair those games have perfectly fine DX9 renderers that do everything Glide did and more so it doesn't really matter there.

dgVoodoo2 is pretty much the end game already. The author is very active in responding to bug reports. Though most I've seen are for later Direct3D games as the project expanded from just GLIDE to DX 1-7, 8, and 9 and converting them to DX 11, and 12.