Adventures In Old-School Gaming...

I've been an old-school Dos gamer since I had a 286 PC running actual Dos. I even wrote my own Dos-based game launcher program to make my life easier back in the day. Now, I'm running Windows, but, I still like to play the old DOS-based classics. So, first I needed to install DosBox. The basic version of DosBox is 0.74. Then, there are patches for DosBox that need to be applied, I just download whatever the latest version of the patch files exists on the DosBox development site, unpack and copy the files to the DosBox installation folder. This will solve some common issues with some Dos games misbehaving.

With DosBox installed and patched, then I create a main folder for all of DOS games to live. Each game gets its own subfolder within the main folder -- I happened to use Dos as my main folder. Some games will require configuration or installation before their first use. I use DosBox to open a Dos window and manually configure or install each of the games that require that step. Later, once the game is installed and configured, I'll save a backup of the entire directory, so, that I don't have to manually reconfigure or install my games again.

In DosBox, if I need to work a game folder called EXAMPLE, I would mount a drive and point that drive to C:/DOS/EXAMPLE as in the following code snippet:

mount c C:\DOS\EXAMPLE
c:

Once I'm done in that particular instance of DosBox, I can type EXIT from the command prompt or just close the window. Once all of the installation and setup is complete for all of the individual Dos games, then I need to apply a config file to each game folder with specific DosBox settings for each game. The following is a sample config file that I use for my Dos games:

# This is the configurationfile for DOSBox 0.74. (Please use the latest version of DOSBox)
# Lines starting with a # are commentlines and are ignored by DOSBox.
# They are used to (briefly) document the effect of each option.

[sdl]
#       fullscreen: Start dosbox directly in fullscreen. (Press ALT-Enter to go back)
#       fulldouble: Use double buffering in fullscreen. It can reduce screen flickering, but it can also result in a slow DOSBox.
#   fullresolution: What resolution to use for fullscreen: original or fixed size (e.g. 1024x768).
#                     Using your monitor's native resolution with aspect=true might give the best results.
#                     If you end up with small window on a large screen, try an output different from surface.
# windowresolution: Scale the window to this size IF the output device supports hardware scaling.
#                     (output=surface does not!)
#           output: What video system to use for output.
#                   Possible values: surface, overlay, opengl, openglnb, ddraw.
#         autolock: Mouse will automatically lock, if you click on the screen. (Press CTRL-F10 to unlock)
#      sensitivity: Mouse sensitivity.
#      waitonerror: Wait before closing the console if dosbox has an error.
#         priority: Priority levels for dosbox. Second entry behind the comma is for when dosbox is not focused/minimized.
#                     pause is only valid for the second entry.
#                   Possible values: lowest, lower, normal, higher, highest, pause.
#       mapperfile: File used to load/save the key/event mappings from. Resetmapper only works with the defaul value.
#     usescancodes: Avoid usage of symkeys, might not work on all operating systems.

fullscreen=true
fulldouble=false
fullresolution=1280x1024
windowresolution=1280x1024
output=overlay
autolock=true
sensitivity=100
waitonerror=true
priority=higher,normal
mapperfile=mapper-0.74.map
usescancodes=true

[dosbox]
# language: Select another language file.
#  machine: The type of machine tries to emulate.
#           Possible values: hercules, cga, tandy, pcjr, ega, vgaonly, svga_s3, svga_et3000, svga_et4000, svga_paradise, vesa_nolfb, vesa_oldvbe.
# captures: Directory where things like wave, midi, screenshot get captured.
#  memsize: Amount of memory DOSBox has in megabytes.
#             This value is best left at its default to avoid problems with some games,
#             though few games might require a higher value.
#             There is generally no speed advantage when raising this value.

language=
machine=svga_s3
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.
#              If 'forced' is appended, then the scaler will be used even if the result might not be desired.
#            Possible values: none, normal2x, normal3x, advmame2x, advmame3x, advinterp2x, advinterp3x, hq2x, hq3x, 2xsai, super2xsai, supereagle, tv2x, tv3x, rgb2x, rgb3x, scan2x, scan3x.

frameskip=0
aspect=false
scaler=normal2x

[cpu]
#      core: CPU Core used in emulation. auto will switch to dynamic if available and appropriate.
#            Possible values: auto, dynamic, normal, simple.
#   cputype: CPU Type used in emulation. auto is the fastest choice.
#            Possible values: auto, 386, 386_slow, 486_slow, pentium_slow, 386_prefetch.
#    cycles: Amount of instructions DOSBox tries to emulate each millisecond.
#            Setting this value too high results in sound dropouts and lags.
#            Cycles can be set in 3 ways:
#              'auto'          tries to guess what a game needs.
#                              It usually works, but can fail for certain games.
#              'fixed #number' will set a fixed amount of cycles. This is what you usually need if 'auto' fails.
#                              (Example: fixed 4000).
#              'max'           will allocate as much cycles as your computer is able to handle.
#            
#            Possible values: auto, fixed, max.
#   cycleup: Amount of cycles to decrease/increase with keycombo.(CTRL-F11/CTRL-F12)
# cycledown: Setting it lower than 100 will be a percentage.

core=auto
cputype=auto
cycles=auto
cycleup=10
cycledown=20

[mixer]
#   nosound: Enable silent mode, sound is still emulated though.
#      rate: Mixer sample rate, setting any device's rate higher than this will probably lower their sound quality.
#            Possible values: 44100, 48000, 32000, 22050, 16000, 11025, 8000, 49716.
# blocksize: Mixer block size, larger blocks might help sound stuttering but sound will also be more lagged.
#            Possible values: 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 512, 256.
# prebuffer: How many milliseconds of data to keep on top of the blocksize.

nosound=false
rate=44100
blocksize=1024
prebuffer=20

[midi]
#     mpu401: Type of MPU-401 to emulate.
#             Possible values: intelligent, uart, none.
# mididevice: Device that will receive the MIDI data from MPU-401.
#             Possible values: default, win32, alsa, oss, coreaudio, coremidi, none.
# midiconfig: Special configuration options for the device driver. This is usually the id of the device you want to use.
#               See the README/Manual for more details.

mpu401=intelligent
mididevice=default
midiconfig=

[sblaster]
#  sbtype: Type of Soundblaster to emulate. gb is Gameblaster.
#          Possible values: sb1, sb2, sbpro1, sbpro2, sb16, gb, none.
#  sbbase: The IO address of the soundblaster.
#          Possible values: 220, 240, 260, 280, 2a0, 2c0, 2e0, 300.
#     irq: The IRQ number of the soundblaster.
#          Possible values: 7, 5, 3, 9, 10, 11, 12.
#     dma: The DMA number of the soundblaster.
#          Possible values: 1, 5, 0, 3, 6, 7.
#    hdma: The High DMA number of the soundblaster.
#          Possible values: 1, 5, 0, 3, 6, 7.
# sbmixer: Allow the soundblaster mixer to modify the DOSBox mixer.
# oplmode: Type of OPL emulation. On 'auto' the mode is determined by sblaster type. All OPL modes are Adlib-compatible, except for 'cms'.
#          Possible values: auto, cms, opl2, dualopl2, opl3, none.
#  oplemu: Provider for the OPL emulation. compat might provide better quality (see oplrate as well).
#          Possible values: default, compat, fast.
# oplrate: Sample rate of OPL music emulation. Use 49716 for highest quality (set the mixer rate accordingly).
#          Possible values: 44100, 49716, 48000, 32000, 22050, 16000, 11025, 8000.

sbtype=sb16
sbbase=220
irq=7
dma=1
hdma=5
sbmixer=true
oplmode=auto
oplemu=default
oplrate=44100

[gus]
#      gus: Enable the Gravis Ultrasound emulation.
#  gusrate: Sample rate of Ultrasound emulation.
#           Possible values: 44100, 48000, 32000, 22050, 16000, 11025, 8000, 49716.
#  gusbase: The IO base address of the Gravis Ultrasound.
#           Possible values: 240, 220, 260, 280, 2a0, 2c0, 2e0, 300.
#   gusirq: The IRQ number of the Gravis Ultrasound.
#           Possible values: 5, 3, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12.
#   gusdma: The DMA channel of the Gravis Ultrasound.
#           Possible values: 3, 0, 1, 5, 6, 7.
# 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=false
gusrate=44100
gusbase=240
gusirq=5
gusdma=3
ultradir=C:\ULTRASND

[speaker]
# pcspeaker: Enable PC-Speaker emulation.
#    pcrate: Sample rate of the PC-Speaker sound generation.
#            Possible values: 44100, 48000, 32000, 22050, 16000, 11025, 8000, 49716.
#     tandy: Enable Tandy Sound System emulation. For 'auto', emulation is present only if machine is set to 'tandy'.
#            Possible values: auto, on, off.
# tandyrate: Sample rate of the Tandy 3-Voice generation.
#            Possible values: 44100, 48000, 32000, 22050, 16000, 11025, 8000, 49716.
#    disney: Enable Disney Sound Source emulation. (Covox Voice Master and Speech Thing compatible).

pcspeaker=true
pcrate=44100
tandy=auto
tandyrate=44100
disney=true

[joystick]
# joysticktype: Type of joystick to emulate: auto (default), none,
#               2axis (supports two joysticks),
#               4axis (supports one joystick, first joystick used),
#               4axis_2 (supports one joystick, second joystick used),
#               fcs (Thrustmaster), ch (CH Flightstick).
#               none disables joystick emulation.
#               auto chooses emulation depending on real joystick(s).
#               (Remember to reset dosbox's mapperfile if you saved it earlier)
#               Possible values: auto, 2axis, 4axis, 4axis_2, fcs, ch, none.
#        timed: enable timed intervals for axis. Experiment with this option, if your joystick drifts (away).
#     autofire: continuously fires as long as you keep the button pressed.
#       swap34: swap the 3rd and the 4th axis. can be useful for certain joysticks.
#   buttonwrap: enable button wrapping at the number of emulated buttons.

joysticktype=none
timed=true
autofire=false
swap34=false
buttonwrap=false

[serial]
# serial1: set type of device connected to com port.
#          Can be disabled, dummy, modem, nullmodem, directserial.
#          Additional parameters must be in the same line in the form of
#          parameter:value. Parameter for all types is irq (optional).
#          for directserial: realport (required), rxdelay (optional).
#                           (realport:COM1 realport:ttyS0).
#          for modem: listenport (optional).
#          for nullmodem: server, rxdelay, txdelay, telnet, usedtr,
#                         transparent, port, inhsocket (all optional).
#          Example: serial1=modem listenport:5000
#          Possible values: dummy, disabled, modem, nullmodem, directserial.
# serial2: see serial1
#          Possible values: dummy, disabled, modem, nullmodem, directserial.
# serial3: see serial1
#          Possible values: dummy, disabled, modem, nullmodem, directserial.
# serial4: see serial1
#          Possible values: dummy, disabled, modem, nullmodem, directserial.

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

[dos]
#            xms: Enable XMS support.
#            ems: Enable EMS support.
#            umb: Enable UMB support.
# keyboardlayout: Language code of the keyboard layout (or none).

xms=true
ems=true
umb=true
keyboardlayout=auto

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

ipx=false

[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
# You can put your MOUNT lines here.

mount c C:\DOS\EXAMPLE
c:
start.exe
exit

I save this file as a text file and name the file app.conf. My config files are set to a resolution of 1280x1024. This is not what the game requires, but, rather the resolution of my monitor. With the app.conf file in place, I create a shortcut to launch the game. I navigate to the DosBox installation folder and right-click on the DosBox executable and select Create Shortcut. Windows might advise that the shortcut needs to be created on the desktop. I copy the shortcut to each game folder and edit each shortcut to match its game. I right-click on the shortcut and select Properties. I can then change the Target to point to the app.conf file in my respective game folder from the following:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\DOSBox\DOSBox.exe"

To the following:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\DOSBox\DOSBox.exe" -conf "C:\Dos\EXAMPLE\app.conf"

At this point, if I wanted to change the icon, I would select the change icon button. Otherwise, I would select OK. Once the shortcut is saved in the game folder, I remane the shortcut and copy the shortcut my games folder on my desktop. Sometimes a game will need its full config file in place before setup can run properly. In these cases, I edit the app.conf file and comment out the last few lines like the following snippet:

[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
# You can put your MOUNT lines here.

mount c C:\DOS\EXAMPLE
c:
#start.exe
#exit

Then, I launch the game with my newly created game shortcut. This allows DosBox to apply the game-specific configuration but doesn't launch the game. I can run the setup and diagnose issues, for instance, if the game only supports Adlib, but, my app.conf file is set to Sound Blaster. Once that is complete, I can edit the app.cof file to restore the commented lines and launch the game normally. For a game like Creature Shock which lives on two CDs, I needed to copy each CD to two separate folders and install the game in a third folder and the business end of the app.conf file looks like the following:

[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
# You can put your MOUNT lines here.

mount c C:\DOS
mount d C:\DOS\CRSHOCK1 -t cdrom -label CRSHOCK_1
mount e C:\DOS\CRSHOCK2 -t cdrom -label CRSHOCK_2
c:
cd crshock
shock.exe

unmount d
unmount e
exit

In this case, the game believes that it was installed on the C drive (CRSHOCK) and both CDs occupy D and E respectively. Note, each CD requires a specific label to be recognized by the game. Also, the CDs should be unmounted before exiting the game. I don't think anything horrible would actually happen if a virual CD wasn't unmounted, but, it's considered good practice to clean up after oneself.

There's probably a DosBox launcher out there that can do all of this without all of the manual editing, but, I prefer this method. It speaks to the programmer in me and also allows me to express my artistic side by making custom icons. That's all that I have for today. Enjoy.