> I tried it sometime ago, and it was really slow -- but that
> was an early version, and I hear it's been vastly improved since.

I haven't had any real problems with it. Of course, I haven't written my CRPG yet, so you may find problems with a large scale project that I didn't run into with smaller ones. If you do decide to play around with it, make sure you read the FAQ - there's a bit of weirdness due to the Win32 nature of the new mod and the DOS nature of DJGPP.

> The reason I want Visual C++, however, is to ease the writing
> of the UI. I'd rather have the methods for doing all the UI
> event queue stuff built in than do it all myself.

Suit yerself. If you want that level of automation, go for it.

> Did you know that I know D. J. Delorie, the guy who wrote DJGPP?
> Well, not personally, just in passing. Until recently he
> worked at the same company that I do, on the floor below me.

Oh, great, make me envy you even more.

On a slight tangent: I've often remarked that one of the great things about computer-related professions is that most of the luminaries are still alive and working in the industry. It's odd to think that you might happen to bump into someone like Richard Stallman just wandering around town. Well, you'd have to be in Cambridge, which probably involves a plane ride for most people reading this, but still.

> He wrote it pretty much just to prove it could be done.

It's odd how much good software is written for this very reason. The original versions of the ITS and the UNIX kernel, for instance.