DOSBOX Week!

[Omega-TI]

Okay do you have a favorite old PC game? Would you like to introduce the game to others? Lets have a DOSBOX week!

 

Upload a game in ZIP format with the program in its own directory, one that can be easily loaded and executed.

I'll upload mine after work tomorrow, hopefully there will be a couple from others by then.

[CatPix]

I'm not sure Albert would like your ZIP idea. after all most DOS games aren't public domain yet. They are in that gray area where editors/copyright owners don't wanna delve so much. Some publishers like LucasArt clearly stated that they didn't wanted their games as abandonwares.

 

One old DOS game I like is the Jill of the Jungle trilogy.

It's a well made platformer, but controls very PC-like - no Mario here - but well. And snarky texts on the walls and boxes abotu the games, other games, and the player (like, a text written down a death pit that say "not this way" )

 

 

Edited August 28, 2015 by CatPix

[mbd30]

"Pharaoh's Tomb" and "Arctic Adventure" are excellent platformers that are now freeware. I had a blast going through all the episodes. I recommend everyone play them.

[7800fan]

Many games are still protected. EA for example gets nasty if you tried to make their 25-year old games available for free even though they don't sell it currently. I strongly suggest not adding any game or link to them, let us do the searching for them and let some other web site bear the brunt of wrath from copyright police. Leave AA alone.

 

I do have SimCity 2000 (was offered free legally a while back) and Ultima 3 (still free atm) and I do enjoy them.

[bohoki]

my 386 came with a game called crime wave it was kind of a narc copy

 

also liked star control in melee mode

test drive 3 was neat too

[mikey.shake]

As far as older PC/DOS games go, last year I spent some time getting reacquainted with some Sierra classics. It had been forever, but I plowed through King's Quest I-V and Leisure Suit Larry 1-3, 5, and 6.

 

... and finally got around to playing some Space Quest and Police Quest games. I was overdue, and they were worth it.

 

I am neither a console RPG fan, nor a big point-and-click fan. But oh, man... it was like being eight years old again.

 

And those amazing remakes of the early King's Quest games... wow.

 

Just... wow.

[zylon]

I spent lots of time with AD&D Pool of Radiance, both on C64 and old Tandy 1000's.

[Reaperman]

Wing Commander Privateer is my favorite DOS game.

Sadly, the version that gog sells with dosbox is pretty unplayable.

 

I don't know if dosbox is trash, or if it's just gog that's trash, so I kind of defaulted to having a negative opinion of both.

[CatPix]

Neither are. It's still emulation so sometime you can't get the best of it.

So far DosBox worked on all DOS games I tried. The only exception is TES Daggerfall (despite being the version provided by Bethesda. This one game won't work.

Also depends if you run your game in your own DosBox (but as you mention GOG, probably not) by default DOSbox is set to a 20 Mhtz speed. for late MS-DOs games, they need something a bit more beefy.

[Reaperman]

Neither are.

At the very least GOG is. I unknowingly paid them to configure dosbox for me, and their idea of 'good' was something that didn't even support analog joysticks.

[CatPix]

I own a good bunch of GOG games and so far none failed on me.

 

For analog joysticks, that might be a DOSbox limitation. It depends if you are using a serial or an USB analog stick. I'm not 100% sure that Dosbox recognize USB analog sticks. And you mgiht need additionnal drivers to get a serial analog stick to work... like in the real DOS days.

 

But you are right to complain if their emulation crashes on you. Have you reported the issue to them?

[Reaperman]

But you are right to complain if their emulation crashes on you. Have you reported the issue to them?

Their Wing Commander forums have been with complaints of controller issues (on all wc games) for years, but no, I have not wasted my time reporting the issue to them. It was no overlooked mistake, gog's quality standards are simply out of sync with mine. At the least it should have been mentioned on the site prior to purchase (as it should have been mentioned that it came packed with dosbox).

 

I'm curious to know if it's a dosbox limitation--because most of the 'fixes' for controllers on the forum, also end with unhappy gamers. As often as not, posts in there seem to be blaming the original games for the control problems.

 

edit: Heck, I just noticed it's missing the expansion advertised in bold on their site--yeah, gog is awesome. 10/10 seller right there.

Edited August 30, 2015 by Reaperman

[CapitanClassic]

X-com UFO defense is regularly mentioned as one of the best video games of all time. I suggest getting xcomutility (I think it has a new name now) though. The original game requires that you load out each solider, but the utility allows you to create specific load outs for scouts/heavy weapons/cannon fodder/etc.

 

It also fixes several bugs and allows so interesting modifications of the game.

[mbd30]

DOSBOX isn't one of the more accurate emulators. I've had bugs with various games and it requires a lot of tinkering with config settings depending on the game.

 

But it seems the only decent option for playing old DOS games other than obtaining the real hardware.

Edited September 1, 2015 by mbd30

[RodLightning]

I remember playing Terminal Velocity during the mid 1990s. I played it a few times with networked pcs and the multiplayer games were especially fun.

 

 

I found this link with a description and download of the actual msdos game:

 

http://pc-freak.net/blog/play-terminal-velocity-terminal-reality-3d-shooter-dos-game-on-debian-squeeze-gnu-linux/

[Algus]

Dungeons & Dragons: Stronghold

 

Sadly not one of the games GOG released

 

It is a City Building game with a 2D perspective. You navigate your city by moving squares and each square shows the city on a 2D plain. You start by creating your Lord and can add up to four other city leaders. Each character provides buildings and attracts followers based on their class (so fighters attract fighters, elves attract elves, etc.) You can't directly control your fighting forces (which you need to clear monsters...who have their own strongholds and leaders) but you can set certain tiles to "attract" your forces who aren't currently tied up guarding your town. In long games you can eventually build Outposts that attract your units to locations far from your city.

 

It is a great game and very complex for an early 90s computer game. I usually create a dwarf as my lord and set the core of my city in the mountains. Dwarves are good miners and the mines in the mountains are better and last longer.