DOSBox = Greatest Invention Ever.

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 1:58 am

I just want to say, after fiddling around with MS-DOS 6.22 (the real deal) in an emulator, and hunting down old hardware (and the DOS drivers) to build a machine capable of playing old DOS games, I have to give my respect to DOSBox and D-Fend.

I couldn't get the stupid Soundblaster drivers to install in MS-DOS, and trying to install Command & Conquer greeted me with "Divide Overflow" when trying to run Dos4GW.

DOSBox was installing and running the game flawlessly in less than 3 mins. That's top notch.

Huw the Poo · Post by **Huw the Poo** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 2:22 am

That good, huh? I might give it a bash then. It's HELL trying to get old games to run, especially in the sound department.

bluefugue · Post by **bluefugue** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 2:49 am

DOSBox is awesome.

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 3:01 am

Huw the Poo wrote:That good, huh? I might give it a bash then. It's HELL trying to get old games to run, especially in the sound department.

In DOSBox, the sound worked right out of the gate. I had a stuttering problem with the sound, but tinkered a little and got it working. The initial setting it used was to try and emulate 3000 cpu cycles per second. I cranked it up to 20000 (my host CPU usage jumped up to about 40% or so). Everything was smooth after that.

Playing the original C&C again was a blast. I forgot how much that game rocked and how much I loved the soundtrack.

It also played "Ancient Art of War" without a problem, although that's a much more resource friendly game (played fine on the 3000 cycles setting).

Now I have to hunt down more DOS games in my basement to play!

Chesspieceface · Post by **Chesspieceface** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 4:04 am

I wish I could get a copy of EA's "Seven Cities of Gold" that wasn't on 5.25" floppy. Although it might not hold up as well as say, Pirates!.

DosBox is mighty handy though.

The Mad Hatter · Post by **The Mad Hatter** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 8:55 am

RunningMn9 wrote:
Huw the Poo wrote:That good, huh? I might give it a bash then. It's HELL trying to get old games to run, especially in the sound department.
In DOSBox, the sound worked right out of the gate. I had a stuttering problem with the sound, but tinkered a little and got it working. The initial setting it used was to try and emulate 3000 cpu cycles per second. I cranked it up to 20000 (my host CPU usage jumped up to about 40% or so). Everything was smooth after that.

Playing the original C&C again was a blast. I forgot how much that game rocked and how much I loved the soundtrack.

It also played "Ancient Art of War" without a problem, although that's a much more resource friendly game (played fine on the 3000 cycles setting).

Now I have to hunt down more DOS games in my basement to play!

Ancient Art of War? Good grief, that makes C&C look postmodern. That was one of the first games I played on an IBM PC, after I sold my C64 and bought my step-father's computer. Crusade in Europe was the other one from that time, ate up entire months with it.

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 9:07 am

So far I've played C&C, Ancient Art of War, Ancient Art of War at Sea, and one of my all-time favorite Sports games - Front Page Sports: Football by Dynamix (the original one).

The last one took a bit of work to get the sound stuttering to go away - had to emulate Soundblaster Pro instead of Soundblaster 16. But it's all good.

And old. But that's good.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 9:09 am

Damn you DOSBox. Damn you for dashing my dreams against the rocks.

I'll have to check said software out.

The Mad Hatter · Post by **The Mad Hatter** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 10:28 am

RunningMn9 wrote:So far I've played C&C, Ancient Art of War, Ancient Art of War at Sea, and one of my all-time favorite Sports games - Front Page Sports: Football by Dynamix (the original one).

The last one took a bit of work to get the sound stuttering to go away - had to emulate Soundblaster Pro instead of Soundblaster 16. But it's all good.

And old. But that's good.

Empire was my favorite from those days, that and Empire Deluxe. So many hours spent on those games...

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 11:49 am

Dosbox is good, but still flawed:

It still runs too slow on my machine for some games
It can't handle VESA games
minor other incompatabilities

It does run some games none of my rigs will play, but most of the times it's just easier to run it without Dosbox.

Then again, I'm still on Win98.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 11:51 am

Nade wrote: Then again, I'm still on Win98.

Win98=DOSBox+

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 12:08 pm

The Mad Hatter wrote:Empire was my favorite from those days, that and Empire Deluxe. So many hours spent on those games...

Empire actually plays in a regular command prompt from within WinXP. But it also plays fine in DOSBox, I forgot to mention that one. Empire is one of my favorite games of all time.

Next up is the entire Ultima series, the Bards Tale, Wizardry, Daggerfall, and some other old RPGs I have laying around.

Nade wrote:It still runs too slow on my machine for some games

I noticed that the default setting is 3000 cycles. It said if you have performance problems, increase the number of cycles until your CPU is tapped at 100%, then back it off just a little. I bumped it up to 20000 cycles, and my CPU is only at about 40%. That has run everything I've thrown at it very smoothly.

Red Alert runs fine too.

My machine is a 3.2GHz PIV with Hyper-Threading, so maybe that helps.

It can't handle VESA games

Examples? I don't even know if I have any VESA games to throw at it.

Then again, I'm still on Win98.

Oh, you're disqualified then.

moss_icon · Post by **moss_icon** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 12:14 pm

i barely have enough time to play new games, let alone old ones.

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 12:32 pm

RunningMn9 wrote:
My machine is a 3.2GHz PIV with Hyper-Threading, so maybe that helps.

Yes, it might

Examples? I don't even know if I have any VESA games to throw at it.

The one I remember having the most difficulty with was Star Trek: A Final Unity. I'm able to play that on my laptop without problems.

Oh, and Angel Devoid, but that seems to be unplayable under any system I've tried.

Then again, I'm still on Win98.
Oh, you're disqualified then.

Zekester · Post by **Zekester** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 1:32 pm

If you get MOO to run with it, let me know!

I couldn't.

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 1:44 pm

Zekester wrote:If you get MOO to run with it, let me know!

I couldn't.

Don't have it. It turns out that the number of DOS games that I actually hung on to is pretty small.

CeeKay · Post by **CeeKay** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 2:28 pm

I got Dream Web to work with it, sound and all. Hell, I couldn't get that game to work when I had an actual DOS machine!

Huw the Poo · Post by **Huw the Poo** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 2:36 pm

Dreamweb?! Kick arse! I had that fabulous game on the Amiga but a bug prevented me from ever finishing it.

Head · Post by **Head** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 3:42 pm

Anybody know if the original Silent Hunter works in DOSbox? That alone would be worth pursuing.

Windows95 · Post by **Windows95** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 3:47 pm

For those who haven't used DosBox, I recommend getting a front end program for it like D-Fend. DosBox ain't hard, but it does take a bit of work to get things going.

Veloxi · Post by **Veloxi** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 4:30 pm

I too love all things DOSbox. Anything that allowed me to play Crusader: No Remore AND the original Tie Fighter earns high props in my book. Have any of y'all tried its various front-ends, like D-Fend?

Padre · Post by **Padre** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 6:04 pm

I love DosBox too. You gotta do the overclocking thing RM9 suggests to properly appreciate it - just hit Ctrl-F12 by default - each time you press it it increases the clock cycles a bit. Sending ti too far tends to cause issues with my computer, but a happy medium can usually be found.

I've been using it to play Ascendancy.

Grifman · Post by **Grifman** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 11:27 pm

And here I was thinking totalitarian agriculture was the greatest invention ever . . .

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 12:25 am

Veloxi wrote:I too love all things DOSbox. Anything that allowed me to play Crusader: No Remore AND the original Tie Fighter earns high props in my book. Have any of y'all tried its various front-ends, like D-Fend?

Like a jackass, at some point I tossed my Tie Fighter disks. I'm so stupid. That's a game I would love to play. The later games just didn't have the same magic for me.

Veloxi · Post by **Veloxi** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 12:33 am

RunningMn9 wrote:
Veloxi wrote:I too love all things DOSbox. Anything that allowed me to play Crusader: No Remore AND the original Tie Fighter earns high props in my book. Have any of y'all tried its various front-ends, like D-Fend?
Like a jackass, at some point I tossed my Tie Fighter disks. I'm so stupid. That's a game I would love to play. The later games just didn't have the same magic for me.

I did something similar, selling my copy as part of a bundle when I lost my job a while back, needing the money. Luckily I got the CD collector's version (the original one, still the best one, not the updated 3D nonsense) for a few bucks on eBay. Do a search for "tie fighters collectors" or some such. Good luck!

O.DOGG · Post by **O.DOGG** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 10:32 am

Oh, man, I tried DOSbox yesterday and it brought so much joy. Now I can play again Dune and Chaos Engine and Moonstone and all these old adventure games. Thanks for mentioning it!

Dogstar · Post by **Dogstar** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 4:02 pm

Please don't flame/expel me if it's forbidden to list the site here. Honestly not that familiar with this sort of thing, other than this thread and another one inspired me to track down some old games.

For the individual that was looking for Seven Cities of Gold, you can find it at: <link removed by setaside>

Can't believe some of you are still playing Ancient Art of War... used to have that on my old Apple I think.

Note from moderator: I'm slacking in my duties so I didn't catch this one when you posted it. Sorry, we currently don't allow links to abandonware sites. If you have questions, feel free to email or PM me.

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 4:15 pm

I am going to see if I can't buy Tie Fighter again. I loved that game.

I finally got Daggerfall working this morning. A *huge* pain in the keister, but easy now that I know how to get it working.

Veloxi · Post by **Veloxi** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 8:05 pm

RunningMn9 wrote:I am going to see if I can't buy Tie Fighter again. I loved that game.

Make sure you get the DOS CD-ROM collector's edition, which is fairly easy to acquire. The more recent Windows collector's edition, which uses the X-Wing Vs. Tie Fighter engine, isn't as good as the original, IMO.

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 11:50 pm

You have to be kidding me. I was hunting around on the net for various games that I owned at one time or another. You know the drill.

On the bright side, I did find a number of games released for FREE by the Publisher (for guilt-free playing on my part), most notably The Elder Scrolls: Arena.

But when I came across Terminal Velocity, I thought "cool". Until I saw that 3D Realms is still selling TV for $15. FIFTEEN dollars. For a game released in 1995. FIFTEEN. I have no problem with them charging for the game - it's their game. But $15 for a 9-10 year old MS-DOS game?

WTF?

They're still selling Rise of the Triad too. That's crazy talk.

Huw the Poo · Post by **Huw the Poo** » Sat Dec 11, 2004 10:23 am

O.DOGG wrote:Oh, man, I tried DOSbox yesterday and it brought so much joy. Now I can play again Dune and Chaos Engine and Moonstone and all these old adventure games. Thanks for mentioning it!

Hey, isn't Moonstone that fantastically gory arcade-adventure-beat 'em up type thing? With the knights and dragons? I played that to death on the Amiga, it was ace!

Eel Snave · Post by **Eel Snave** » Sun Dec 12, 2004 11:57 pm

Arena is out there for free? Cool beans!

DOSbox rules.

Huw the Poo · Post by **Huw the Poo** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 4:23 am

Well, this glorious little program seems to do exactly what it says on the tin. I had a good old bash at Covert Action over the weekend.

It still ran a little too quickly though, despite my best tinkering with the settings. But I've never been able to play CA (emulated) with sound before. I wonder what to try next.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 10:17 am

RunningMn9 wrote:But when I came across Terminal Velocity, I thought "cool". Until I saw that 3D Realms is still selling TV for $15. FIFTEEN dollars. For a game released in 1995. FIFTEEN. I have no problem with them charging for the game - it's their game. But $15 for a 9-10 year old MS-DOS game?

WTF?

There is a copy of Terminal Velocity on the Pay it Forward thread. I also believe that the original Krondor game was released to the public a few years ago, although you'll have to look around to find it.

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 10:36 am

Blackhawk wrote:There is a copy of Terminal Velocity on the Pay it Forward thread. I also believe that the original Krondor game was released to the public a few years ago, although you'll have to look around to find it.

I like the idea of the Pay if Forward thread - but I don't give away my own games. The collector in me won't allow that to happen.

I think they released "Betrayal in Krondor" for free when they were getting ready to ship "Betrayal in Antara". Regardless, I found it on Friday, along with some other old school gems (like Arena).

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 2:43 pm

RunningMn9 wrote:
Blackhawk wrote:There is a copy of Terminal Velocity on the Pay it Forward thread. I also believe that the original Krondor game was released to the public a few years ago, although you'll have to look around to find it.
I like the idea of the Pay if Forward thread - but I don't give away my own games. The collector in me won't allow that to happen.

Well, then send me your address and the collector in me will send the game to the collector in you anyway.

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 5:06 pm

Blackhawk wrote:Well, then send me your address and the collector in me will send the game to the collector in you anyway.

You are the best ever.