# narzoul/DDrawCompat

DirectDraw and Direct3D 1-7 compatibility, performance and visual enhancements for Windows Vista, 7, 8, 10 and 11

Repository: https://github.com/narzoul/DDrawCompat
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/ddrawcompat
Language: C++
License: 0BSD
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2026-01-25T15:36:34+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 64/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 64, release rhythm 43, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3905, "days_push": 220, "days_rel": 220, "gap_med": 153.5, "n_releases_24m": 3}
- flags: prerelease_only
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1389, forks 84 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:35.344406+00:00)

## What it is
DDrawCompat is a DLL wrapper that fixes compatibility, performance, and visual issues in games using DirectX 1-7 (DirectDraw and Direct3D) APIs on modern Windows. It works by intercepting native API calls without conversion, keeping rendering in the original DirectX and GDI libraries.

## Use cases
- fix old DirectDraw games on Windows 10 and 11
- improve performance of legacy DirectX 7 games
- fix visual glitches in retro PC games
- run old Windows games in borderless fullscreen
- replace ddraw.dll wrapper for a classic game
- fix GDI rendering in old applications

## When to choose
- you need to fix a legacy DirectX 1-7 game on modern Windows
- you want a drop-in ddraw.dll wrapper without API conversion
- you need visual enhancements like scaling or filtering for old games

## When to avoid
- the game requires an internet connection
- you run Windows in a VM, Wine, or Insider preview
- you already use another wrapper, hook, or overlay that conflicts with it

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: graphics, simulation
- domain: gaming-tools, windows, graphics
- platform: windows, cpp
- tags: directdraw, direct3d, dll-wrapper, game-compatibility, retro-gaming, gdi

## Member repositories
- narzoul/DDrawCompat (main) score 64

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:35.344406+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T04:39:43.064636+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/narzoul/DDrawCompat (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:35.344406+00:00, sha ed88a9eead8f)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.