Run All Old WC Games in DOSBox Walkthrough

ChrisReid said:
Just copy the whole thing to a hard drive folder and mount it. Avoid mscdex altogether.



Certainly sounds like a problem related to that. The message is telling you that it needs EMS enabled, but we've previously established that in DOSBox you need to disable EMS to run Privateer (it's not necessary in Privateer and beyond). Have you played with any other settings?


With Dosbox 0.65 you can leave ems=true as it works perfectly for me for Privateer CD. Also you do not need loadfix to run it. I'm playing it night and day with these settings for several weeks now an it works good.
 
I purchased the Wing Commander II Special Edition a while ago and just successfully installed it. It's playing okay. Sounds kind of funny but I think I should just rearrange my sound configuration. I am definately wondering if I can get it to play on a full screen though, currently I'm seeing it on just a tiny part of the screen. Any help? Did I download the wrong DosBox (.65?)? Why can't I play WC2 in full screen?
 
Scratch my last post I figured it out. There doesn't seem to be any way to delete or edit my message so I apologize for the board clutter. I do have another question though.

In Wing Commander II Special Edition I'm having some sound issues. I can hear everything fine, it's just really poor quality. I try to set it to Roland speakers or any of the more suped up sound but it doesn't seem to stick, and the sound effects I hear are -really- sad. Laser shots sound terrible, I can't hear the fighters flying by in the autopilot sequence, etc.

Secondly, there's some slowdown. Most notably during the cutscenes (taking off seems a bit slow) but most distractingly when I engage fighters w/ Concordia in the backround (like in the second mission).

Are these just hardware problems or can I fix them? I should hope they're not hardware, I have a brand new computer. You'd think I'd be able to play this game in better quality, DOS emulator or not.
 
Falcon988 said:
Scratch my last post I figured it out. There doesn't seem to be any way to delete or edit my message so I apologize for the board clutter. I do have another question though.

So what did you do? Alt+Enter?

Falcon988 said:
In Wing Commander II Special Edition I'm having some sound issues. I can hear everything fine, it's just really poor quality. I try to set it to Roland speakers or any of the more suped up sound but it doesn't seem to stick, and the sound effects I hear are -really- sad. Laser shots sound terrible, I can't hear the fighters flying by in the autopilot sequence, etc.

Just configure it to Soundblaster in the installer. Make sure you note that DOSBox defaults to IRQ7.

Falcon988 said:
Secondly, there's some slowdown. Most notably during the cutscenes (taking off seems a bit slow) but most distractingly when I engage fighters w/ Concordia in the backround (like in the second mission).

How fast is your computer and how many cycles are you running the game at?

Falcon988 said:
Are these just hardware problems or can I fix them? I should hope they're not hardware, I have a brand new computer. You'd think I'd be able to play this game in better quality, DOS emulator or not.

You have to tell us more about this brand new computer and the settings you have set in DOSBox.
 
Yes, I figured there might be some trick command and found alt-enter. Worked like a charm. I'm also happy to note that I've solved the problem with slowdown in WC2 and now it's working fine. I turned off the speech and implemented loadfix -32, so I'm not entirely sure which variable was the deciding factor. Regardless I never cared for the speaking in the intro so it's no great loss.

I'm still having this damnable sound problem though. I have a Vaio Notebook, 1.73 GHz, 504 MB so I hope this is not an unresolvable hardware issue because the audio truly sounds terrible. I go into Winstall (and I've tried doing the same with Install, Install1, and Install2) to change my sound to Creative Labs Sound Blaster. But it always is reverted back to "PC Speaker (sound effects only)" when I go back to it later. And I do have the IRQ set to 7, which you say is the default for DosBOX. But I don't really know what IRQ is or how I can change it so that it would assist my problem.

Right now I hear music fine, it's the same familar midis I used to know and love. The problem is in space. As I noted earlier the laser blasts sound terrible and despite the sound configuration supposedly being set to "sound effects only" I hear very few sound effects. When the ships flyby in autopilot I don't hear them, when there's a missile alarm I don't hear it, etc etc.

I haven't really changed DosBOX at all since I downloaded it, the only configuration I've done is in the WC2 installer which detailed earlier in this post. Is there anything that can be done or will I just have to live with this?
 
Falcon988 said:
I'm still having this damnable sound problem though. I have a Vaio Notebook, 1.73 GHz, 504 MB so I hope this is not an unresolvable hardware issue because the audio truly sounds terrible. I go into Winstall (and I've tried doing the same with Install, Install1, and Install2) to change my sound to Creative Labs Sound Blaster. But it always is reverted back to "PC Speaker (sound effects only)" when I go back to it later. And I do have the IRQ set to 7, which you say is the default for DosBOX. But I don't really know what IRQ is or how I can change it so that it would assist my problem.

When you select the Soundblaster, it'll ask for things such as the IRQ. You just set it to 7 there. Don't use Winstall, 1 or 2. For this, you'll just want to use the regular Install.exe. Where are you running this from? Once you've done a hard drive install, make sure you're doing this on the hard drive and not on the disc. Make sure you save changes. This is not related to hardware at all. You just need to get WC2 set to use the Soundblaster, because the PC Speaker just means the little beeps that your PC puts out internally (however regurgitated through your sound card in this case).
 
It might be possible that the .cfg file is set as readonly as it is copied from the CD and therefore it doesn't save the changes. Have a look at the cfg file and remove the read only attribute if present.
 
So I have Armada on floppy disks, and I can copy the data from the disks to my harddrive, but I can't install (doesn't detect and disk in the A: drive). Is it hopeless to try to get Armada installed from old floppies?

Thanks in advance!
-Ulala
 
As long as the floppy disks work, it shouldn't be very hard to install the game. You have to be sure to mount everything correctly. The two lines below should go in for starters

mount a a:\ -t floppy
mount c c:\
 
WC2 Freezing

Greetings, all.

I'm running DosBox 0.65 in Mac OS X, with an Intel Core Duo processor and 2 GB of RAM. I can play Wing Commander just fine, but Wing Commander II is giving me trouble.

During the second mission, when the last enemy is destroyed, the game always freezes. I have also used play-wc2.bat to choose misisons to fly, and I have about a 50% fail rate with the game freezing.

I have tried loadfix -32, loadfix -64, and loadfix -128, all to no avail. I have also tampered with DosBox settings, allocating various CPU configurations, all for not. I have seen this issue elsewhere on the internet, and people always suggest using loadfix. Anyone else have a different suggestion?

For the record, this is Wing Commander II Deluxe Edition (CD-ROM). I have tried the game with and without speech enabled.
 
Loadfix almost always does it, but a dual core Intel running OSX is going to be a fairly unique setup around here. Have you tried loadfix without any -numbers on the end? Just try "loadfix wc2" Do you have sound set up correctly to Soundblaster and the IRQ you have selected? Does it still lock up when you have all sound turned off in the installer?
 
WC2 Freezing

Thanks for responding.

I also run Windows on this hardware, and have the same problem. So I wouldn't worry so much about the OS X part as I would the core duo.

When I do loadfix without any number specified, it frees up 64kb. Loadfix kind of confuses me, so let me describe what happense so you can see if it's typical. I'll type "D:>loadfix -32 wc2" and then "32kb allocated / 32kb freed" is displayed, then I have an empty D prompt, and I just type wc2 and hit enter. It that what is supposed to happen?

My soundblaster settings in the dosbox preferences are as follows:
sbtype=sb16
sbbase=220
irq=7
dma=1
hdma=5
mixer=true
oplmode=auto
oplrate=22050

That matches what I tell wc2 setup to use.

I have not tried running the game with no sound enabled. I'll try various sound configurations in setup to see if I have any luck. Else, any further advice will be greatly appreciated.
 
The proper way:

D:\>loadfix -16

16 kb allocated.

D:\>wc2

(in Dosbox 0.65 16kb should be enough and allow (at least me) to have speech)
 
Thanks unregistered!

I did exactly what you described (though I did 32), and I just got past mission two. Here's hoping the trend continues!
 
well I am having a very common problem it seems, I have dosbox .65 and I have tried messing with the ems = true/false thing and with the load fix, and for some reason on my windows XP I can't get my Privateer to work.says I don't have enough high mem, I have seen earlier in post that somethings you had to do in .63 dosbox you don't now? can someone tell me if Privateer even runs on xp or if I'm wasting my time trying? thanks
 
Unregistered said:
well I am having a very common problem it seems, I have dosbox .65 and I have tried messing with the ems = true/false thing and with the load fix, and for some reason on my windows XP I can't get my Privateer to work.says I don't have enough high mem, I have seen earlier in post that somethings you had to do in .63 dosbox you don't now? can someone tell me if Privateer even runs on xp or if I'm wasting my time trying? thanks


Privateer 1 plays just fine in dosbox in winXP

make sure both ems and xms are true
 
I am wrestling with the "program halted by code" nastygram trying to run WC ARMADA and am about to tear out my remaining hair.

I am trying all the DOS BOX settings Chris recomends, and it does not work

I set IRQ at 7 in both the DeFend set up and also in the game install,
I set IRQ at 1 in both
I set EMS at false in the game profle, but NOT in the default, as I didnt want to screw up all the other games I use DOSBOX for which are more normal and sane...
I chose SB16 in both, tried SB PRO, and SB 1

None of them got past the Program halted by code.
I tried Loadfix needed check box in De Fend, no go

I tried going into DOSBOX at the z prompt and got it started up a bit,
got to the c prompt, and then to the -i install prompt and got the
program halted by code..

any suggestions?

I am running AMD 3300 2.5ghz~ 400 GB hard drive, 256 MB RAM, Audigy Z2S Snd card, Geforece 6600 FX vid card, XP PRO SP2

I have been trying to get Armada to run for several days, off and on and need any help possible...if possible, :mad: :)

EDIT:
oK, i got it to go to the c:|ARMADA finally
but i still get the same warming, here is exactly what the DOS screen shows, and by the way I have NO idea how to go into DOS and set the EMS=false thing that Chris recomends, I can find it in the DeFend config settings but not in pure DOS Box

the screen says:

Memory Original Current Used
NEAR 0 21246 -21246
FAR 0 431052 -431052
HIGH 0 7534784 -7534784

Error #1910
Filename ..\..DATA\mouse.SHP
Length=o
Positioin=0
mode=READ
Program halted by code
C:ARMADA

and it does it over and over again if i try to enter ARMADA or ARMADA.EXE or whateer
 
Christopherger said:
by the way I have NO idea how to go into DOS and set the EMS=false thing that Chris recomends, I can find it in the DeFend config settings but not in pure DOS Box


Without D-fend you need to open up dosbox.conf in notepad. Change the line manually and then resave the file. Then restart dosbox and that setting will be loaded. Here's what mine looks like ( I have a similar PC with the exception of an ATI card instead of an nvidia):

Code:
[sdl]
# fullscreen -- Start dosbox directly in fullscreen.
# fulldouble -- Use double buffering in fullscreen.
# fullresolution -- What resolution to use for fullscreen: original or fixed size (e.g. 1024x768).
# windowresolution -- Scale the window to this size IF the output device supports hardware scaling.
# output -- What to use for output: surface,overlay,opengl,openglnb,ddraw.
# autolock -- Mouse will automatically lock, if you click on the screen.
# sensitiviy -- Mouse sensitivity.
# waitonerror -- Wait before closing the console if dosbox has an error.
# priority -- Priority levels for dosbox: lowest,lower,normal,higher,highest.
#             Second entry behind the comma is for when dosbox is not focused/minimized.
# mapperfile -- File used to load/save the key/event mappings from.
# usescancodes -- Avoid usage of symkeys, might not work on all operating systems.

fullscreen=false
fulldouble=false
fullresolution=original
windowresolution=original
output=surface
autolock=true
sensitivity=100
waitonerror=true
priority=higher,normal
mapperfile=mapper.txt
usescancodes=true

[dosbox]
# language -- Select another language file.
# memsize -- Amount of memory dosbox has in megabytes.
# machine -- The type of machine tries to emulate:hercules,cga,tandy,pcjr,vga.
# captures -- Directory where things like wave,midi,screenshot get captured.

language=
machine=vga
captures=capture
memsize=16

[render]
# frameskip -- How many frames dosbox skips before drawing one.
# aspect -- Do aspect correction, if your output method doesn't support scaling this can slow things down!.
# scaler -- Scaler used to enlarge/enhance low resolution modes.
#           Supported are none,normal2x,normal3x,advmame2x,advmame3x,advinterp2x,advinterp3x,tv2x,tv3x,rgb2x,rgb3x,scan2x,scan3x.

frameskip=0
aspect=false
scaler=normal2x

[cpu]
# core -- CPU Core used in emulation: simple,normal,full,dynamic.
# cycles -- Amount of instructions dosbox tries to emulate each millisecond.
#           Setting this higher than your machine can handle is bad!
#           You can also let DOSBox guess the correct value by setting it to auto.
#           Please note that this guessing feature is still experimental.
# cycleup   -- Amount of cycles to increase/decrease with keycombo.
# cycledown    Setting it lower than 100 will be a percentage.

core=dynamic
cycles=7500
cycleup=500
cycledown=20

[mixer]
# nosound -- Enable silent mode, sound is still emulated though.
# rate -- Mixer sample rate, setting any devices higher than this will
#         probably lower their sound quality.
# blocksize -- Mixer block size, larger blocks might help sound stuttering
#              but sound will also be more lagged.
# prebuffer -- How many milliseconds of data to keep on top of the blocksize.

nosound=false
rate=22050
blocksize=2048
prebuffer=10

[midi]
# mpu401      -- Type of MPU-401 to emulate: none, uart or intelligent.
# device      -- Device that will receive the MIDI data from MPU-401.
#                This can be default,alsa,oss,win32,coreaudio,none.
# config      -- Special configuration options for the device. In Windows put
#                the id of the device you want to use. See README for details.

mpu401=intelligent
device=default
config=

[sblaster]
# sbtype -- Type of sblaster to emulate:none,sb1,sb2,sbpro1,sbpro2,sb16.
# sbbase,irq,dma,hdma -- The IO/IRQ/DMA/High DMA address of the soundblaster.
# mixer -- Allow the soundblaster mixer to modify the dosbox mixer.
# oplmode -- Type of OPL emulation: auto,cms,opl2,dualopl2,opl3.
#            On auto the mode is determined by sblaster type.
#            All OPL modes are 'Adlib', except for CMS.
# oplrate -- Sample rate of OPL music emulation.

sbtype=sb16
sbbase=220
irq=7
dma=1
hdma=5
mixer=true
oplmode=auto
oplrate=22050

[gus]
# gus -- Enable the Gravis Ultrasound emulation.
# gusbase,irq1,irq2,dma1,dma2 -- The IO/IRQ/DMA addresses of the 
#            Gravis Ultrasound. (Same IRQ's and DMA's are OK.)
# gusrate -- Sample rate of Ultrasound emulation.
# ultradir -- Path to Ultrasound directory.  In this directory
#             there should be a MIDI directory that contains
#             the patch files for GUS playback.  Patch sets used
#             with Timidity should work fine.

gus=true
gusrate=22050
gusbase=240
irq1=5
irq2=5
dma1=3
dma2=3
ultradir=C:\ULTRASND

[speaker]
# pcspeaker -- Enable PC-Speaker emulation.
# pcrate -- Sample rate of the PC-Speaker sound generation.
# tandy -- Enable Tandy Sound System emulation (off,on,auto).
#          For auto Tandysound emulation is present only if machine is set to tandy.
# tandyrate -- Sample rate of the Tandy 3-Voice generation.
# disney -- Enable Disney Sound Source emulation.

pcspeaker=true
pcrate=22050
tandy=auto
tandyrate=22050
disney=true

[bios]
# joysticktype -- Type of joystick to emulate: none, 2axis, 4axis,
#                 fcs (Thrustmaster) ,ch (CH Flightstick).
#                 none disables joystick emulation.
#                 2axis is the default and supports two joysticks.

joysticktype=2axis

[serial]
# serial1-4 -- set type of device connected to com port.
#              Can be disabled, dummy, modem, directserial.
#              Additional parameters must be in the same line in the form of
#              parameter:value. Parameters for all types are irq, startbps, bytesize,
#              stopbits, parity (all optional).
#              for directserial: realport (required).
#              for modem: listenport (optional).
#              Example: serial1=modem listenport:5000

serial1=dummy
serial2=dummy
serial3=disabled
serial4=disabled

[dos]
# xms -- Enable XMS support.
# ems -- Enable EMS support.
# umb -- Enable UMB support (false,true,max).

xms=true
ems=true
umb=true

[ipx]
# ipx -- Enable ipx over UDP/IP emulation.

ipx=true
[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
mount c: c:\ 
mount d: g:\ -t cdrom 
c:
cd armada

I have no trouble with armada with those settings. If you have trouble head over to #wingnut on IRC and we can look at it some more.
 
Thanks a million AD, i will try this, sorry to be so ignorant, but where do I find the
DOSBOX.conf file? Is it in the DOSBOX folder in programs? I tried finding it last night but did not locate it, as I had suspected I needed to adjust its config......
thanks again for the help, much appreciated. I feel I am almost there, ....

one queston, I have read that ems should be false, (in Chris's first post in the playing old games topic...) but when I start the game up i keep seeing the message
Starting EMS so i wondered about that....
cheers
chris
 
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