Convert old system to DOS only, need help

[Bandit LOAF]

WC1 is the only one with real speed issues, the others all have limiters (or available patches) during gameplay. To play WC2 'right', though, you'll need to slow down... otherwise the mouthes and flyby scenes are silly.

 

[ZFGokuSSJ1]

Yeah, I play WC2 in regular DOS, no DOSBOX, and the cutscenes go outrageously fast while the gameplay plays regular.

 

[jammyo2k]

Ah, yes. I remember now. The hyperactive cutscenes and flybys never reall bothered me that much, especially as the voiceovers worked fine for the most part. The gamplay was pretty good though and Priv 1 worked perfectly.

 

[GeeBot]

However, why I post is, the FSB of the latest PIV is 200Mhz, only cause it's "Quad-pumped" (or how it's called) it's 800Mhz. So it "should" be 200Mhz effectively after dsiabling Cache (I think).

Actually, the quad-pumping refers to the external bus only, so even after disabling the cache, it's still running at an effective 800 MHz. You're correct that the physical bus is only 200 MHz, but the data rate really is 4x that. It basically works by using 4 voltage levels to encode 00, 01, 10, 11, plus using both the rising and falling clock edges (the DDR technique), and thus 1 clock tick (1 rising + 1 falling clock edge) really can express 4 bits. DDR is a lot more common than QDR, because the voltage level logic is much harder to get right (and more expensive to make) than simply working on both clock edges, which just requires basically inverting the clock signal to generate a second clock from the original one.

 

[bdseavey]

I recently uncovered my favorite game of all time from a moving box, Wing Commander 4. However, to my dismay, when I try to install the game, the screen is very shifted and fuzzy. I am running on Windows XP. I have tried changing compatability options for the game, but no love. Any ideas?

 

[Dervish]

dbseavey,

Your query should really be directed toward the tech support forum. Before you ask there, though, I'll tell you what I did; I am able to run WC4 on Windows XP perfectly since I have the wc4 windows 95 patch. I'm not quite sure where you'd find it now, just do a search on google, you're bound to find it quickly.

 

[BigsWickDagger]

So what is your general opinion about Kilrathi Saga?

So is it worth getting the Kilrathi Saga if I can turn an old PC into a good gaming PC for these old DOS games? I've read that the Kilrathi Saga, although being able to play in Windows, does not give the same feel as the originals and I don't want to spend $150+ on something that I might not even feel is worth it.

I started playing Wing Commander on a 386SX 25MHZ circa 1990. When I finally upgraded to a P133 in 1995 I was crushed to find that the games (WC1 & 2) flew at "light speed." The Internet really hadn't become as mainstream then as it is today, so seaching for a patch or a fix, though none even existed at that time (I believe), would have been fruitless. I always hoped that Intel or AMD would make a processor with the backwards compatibility necessary to play those games again, so I kept everything I had rather than toss it out or give it away. But, I got tired of waiting.......

I missed out on the whole Kilrathi Saga release a couple of years later, and really hadn't heard of it until about a year ago. In 19996-98 WCIII, IV, and Prophecy played fine on the PCs I had, so I wasn't too concerned. But, old guys like me eventually get bitten by the nostalgia bug so I decided to give it a shot a few months ago.

First I got a 486DX2 50 for $5. All it really needed was a CMOS battery, but I cleaned it up, added some RAM, and everything worked fine. I reinstalled Win3.1 and DOS 5.0. I use that machine for Privateer and plan to use it for Academy and Armada. Next I bought a P166 from a local library equipment sale for $8. I've also seen them at garage sales and in second-hand stores, and they practically give them away. I had a copy of Win95A, so I backed up the drivers, erased the P166's HD, and reinstalled the OS.

Next I got a copy of KS auctioned on eBay with copies of IV and Prophecy for about $80. The trick to saving money is to buy a copy missing content like the box or the calendar, something you really don't need in order to play the game. Look in "lot" sales too- like I did. Plus, CDs, unlike floppy disks, rarely go "bad." That can serve as reason enought to obtain a copy of KS. I installed KS on the P166 and it plays great. There are some very, very subtle differences between the KS version and the originals, but I have no speed or sound issues, joystick support is no problem, and I don't have to use any third-party software or make any major adjustments to how the PC would normally operate. My total investment, including the two computers and software, is under $150.00 less my time. So far, so good.

If you have a difficult task give to a lazy man. He'll find an easier way to do it.