Run All Old WC Games in DOSBox Walkthrough

WC3 crashing in videos after first mission, joystick problems

Same guy as above - just created an account. Wanted to add I am running DosBox .73. I have tried running with the default DosBox settings as well as a variety of custom ones. Is it worth trying an older version of DosBox? In case it helps, here is my current config:

# This is the configurationfile for DOSBox 0.73.
# Lines starting with a # are commentlines.
# They are used to (briefly) document the effect of each option.

[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 video system to use for output.
# Possible values: surface, overlay, opengl, openglnb, ddraw.
# autolock: Mouse will automatically lock, if you click on the screen.
# 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.
# usescancodes: Avoid usage of symkeys, might not work on all operating systems.

fullscreen=true
fulldouble=false
fullresolution=1024x768
windowresolution=original
output=overlay
autolock=true
sensitivity=225
waitonerror=true
priority=highest,normal
mapperfile=mapper.txt
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=64

[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,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 increase/decrease with keycombo.
# cycledown: Setting it lower than 100 will be a percentage.

core=dynamic
cputype=auto
cycles=fixed 30000
cycleup=1000
cycledown=500

[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: 22050, 44100, 48000, 32000, 16000, 11025, 8000, 49716.
# blocksize: Mixer block size, larger blocks might help sound stuttering but sound will also be more lagged.
# Possible values: 2048, 4096, 8192, 1024, 512, 256.
# 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.
# 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 README for details.

mpu401=intelligent
mididevice=default
midiconfig=

[sblaster]
# sbtype: Type of sblaster to emulate.
# Possible values: sb1, sb2, sbpro1, sbpro2, sb16, 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 or old might provide better quality (see oplrate as well).
# Possible values: default, compat, fast, old.
# oplrate: Sample rate of OPL music emulation. Use 49716 for highest quality (set the mixer rate accordingly).
# Possible values: 22050, 49716, 44100, 48000, 32000, 16000, 11025, 8000.

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

[gus]
# gus: Enable the Gravis Ultrasound emulation.
# gusrate: Sample rate of Ultrasound emulation.
# Possible values: 22050, 44100, 48000, 32000, 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=22050
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: 22050, 44100, 48000, 32000, 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: 22050, 44100, 48000, 32000, 16000, 11025, 8000, 49716.
# disney: Enable Disney Sound Source emulation. (Covox Voice Master and Speech Thing compatible).

pcspeaker=true
pcrate=22050
tandy=auto
tandyrate=22050
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).
# Possible values: auto, 2axis, 4axis, 4axis_2, fcs, ch, none.
# timed: enable timed intervals for axis. (false is old style behaviour).
# 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=2axis
timed=true
autofire=false
swap34=false
buttonwrap=true

[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.
# 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=false
umb=true
keyboardlayout=auto

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

ipx=false

[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
mount c c:\DOS
mount e e:\ -t cdrom
e:
 
That sounds an awful lot like what was happening to me with Privateer 2. The issue ended up being a switch that had to be added to the CD-ROM mounting line. It wouldn't hurt to give it a shot: Use "mount d: d:\ -t cdrom -ioctl" (minus the quotation marks) instead of the regular mounting command.

Alternately, try setting up your sound hardware in the WC3 installer to a lower level than what you actually have. So if you are setting it to an SBawe64 try an SB16 or even an SBPro.
 
Thanks!

My video hang problem is now solved thanks to adding the -ioctl to my CD mount line :)

Thanks for the quick responses!
 
Just wanted to pop in real fast and say a big THANK YOU for the info contained herein. I was having problems with WC2 freezing on me, and the loadfix -32 trick worked in DosBox, so it doesn't freeze now. I was going to start a new thread asking this question, but did some reading first, and after I read this and tried it, I went: "these guys are fricken awesome!" Thanks!!! :D:D
 
i'm having the same issue that bongo clive had with wc2. everything runs just fine. have cycles set to about 4200, and the game runs very smoothly. the problem occurs when there are several ships around. everything lags very very badly. increasing the cycles doesn't help whatsoever. does anyone else have this problem with wing commander II? it's not apparent in the first few missions, but once you really start getting into it it becomes unplayable. i'm no stranger to dosbox, and i've tried the usual solutions, but neither frame skipping or increasing cycles seems to work.
 
There are more dosbox options to play with. Have you tried changing the core between auto, normal and dynamic? The CPU type options are new and interesting. I haven't tried those yet, but they're work investigating. It's also worthwhile to change the frameskip and cycles in concert, or up the cycles a bunch and then slow the game down internal to WC2 with ALT+ and ALT-.
 
i think i fixed it. my problem was if i raised my cpu cycles to over about 5000 or so my fighter would automatically drift to the right, as if i were slightly angling my joypad.

i changed the 'timed' feature from 'true' to 'false', and now i can get it to run at any cpu cycle speed i want. have it running at about 9000 right now with no trouble. still skips every now and then, but i can live with it.
 
Answers to Secret Missions 1

Since this is first post, let me say thanks to the entire community for helping me get up and running. I've pretty much been able to run WC1 thru WC3 with a lot of help from the forum and CIC and re-live the glorious Wing Commander experience.

Just jumped into SM1 and am having difficulty looking up answers to the questions

e.g. How many ki~~~iters of special does Goddard export?

Appreciate any help. Thank you.
 
Since this is first post, let me say thanks to the entire community for helping me get up and running. I've pretty much been able to run WC1 thru WC3 with a lot of help from the forum and CIC and re-live the glorious Wing Commander experience.

Just jumped into SM1 and am having difficulty looking up answers to the questions

e.g. How many ki~~~iters of special does Goddard export?

Appreciate any help. Thank you.

Solved my problem, found this link:

First, all of the documents you need are in our Manuals section linked to on the wcnews.com main page: https://www.wcnews.com/manuals.shtml

Second, don't link to warez sites for any reason.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Could anyone please post a working Priv2 dosboxconf file?
I just can't get it to work anymore.
 
Could anyone please post a working Priv2 dosboxconf file?
I just can't get it to work anymore.

The key for me was to use the alternat -ioctl switch on the cd-rom mounting line. Before that, nothing I did worked.
 
WC3 - wierd colors?

Hey folks,

this now finally is my 1st post and let me thank you all that provided informations here - its awesome to get help for all the good old games (that are so much more fun than most new ones).

Sooo, meanwhile I have managed to get WC3 (DOS version CDs) to run via DosBox 0.73. Sound is smooth, game is fast.
Problem: The graphics seem to be messy, in such that colors seem to not smoothly, dynamically blend over from color to color, darker to lighter.
I have attached 2 screenshots to give an impression.

I wasnt sure if this could be normal (haven't played the game in ages), but considering the movie quality shown on wcnews.com Im sure something is going wrong for me. Is this effect called dynamic lighting or something? Does it have anything to do with shadows? All static objects that have no light source attached seem to be perfectly drawn - the star on the one picture at that time isnt moving anymore actually, but still functions as a light source aparently.....
I was wondering if my graphics-card or its settings in the Nvidia Control Panel could have effects on that or does this only have to do with DosBox-settings & game-settings? Is it a missing VESA-Support?

Im running an Athlon XP 2600+ with a Geforce Fx 6800.

I installed the game to c:\wc3, although not really many files are copied over and I still have to start the game from mounted cd-drive d:\ since no exe was copied to my game-folder (that normal?).
When starting wc3 the game tells "VESA Driver present - SVGA possible", while when I use the vgaonly machine option under dosbox.config I am told "No VESA Driver - cannot use SVGA". But either way looks the same, so no clue what that means.


Here my DosBox.config (0.73):
______________________________________________
[sdl]
fullscreen=false
fulldouble=false
fullresolution=original
windowresolution=
output=surface
autolock=true
sensitivity=100
waitonerror=true
priority=highest,normal
mapperfile=mapper.txt
usescancodes=true

[dosbox]
language=
machine=svga_s3
captures=capture
memsize=64

[render]
frameskip=1
aspect=false
scaler=normal2x

[cpu]
core=dynamic
cputype=auto
cycles=30000
cycleup=500
cycledown=500

[mixer]
nosound=false
rate=22050
blocksize=2048
prebuffer=10

[midi]
mpu401=intelligent
mididevice=default
midiconfig=

[sblaster]
sbtype=sb16
sbbase=220
irq=7
dma=1
hdma=5
sbmixer=true
oplmode=auto
oplemu=default
oplrate=22050

[gus]
gus=false
gusrate=22050
gusbase=240
gusirq=5
gusdma=3
ultradir=C:\ULTRASND

[speaker]
pcspeaker=true
pcrate=22050
tandy=auto
tandyrate=22050
disney=true

[joystick]
joysticktype=auto
timed=true
autofire=false
swap34=false
buttonwrap=true

[serial]
serial1=dummy
serial2=dummy
serial3=disabled
serial4=disabled

[dos]
xms=true
ems=false
umb=true
keyboardlayout=auto

[ipx]
ipx=false

[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
mount c c:\

mount d d:\ -t cdrom
d:
______________________________________________


Maybe you hopefully know any hints or ideas.

Thanks alot in advance,
Fritschi Fritsch
 

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That looks normal, the video quality in the PC version was pretty crappy. The 3DO and Playstation versions looked better.
 
The key for me was to use the alternat -ioctl switch on the cd-rom mounting line. Before that, nothing I did worked.

I tried all the -ioclt modes, no dice. The game starts, the DOS loading parts show up (version 1.7 buffalo wings, memory found etc). and then the screen goes black and I'm dumped on the desktop.

Could anyone post a working dosbox.conf file? I wanna doublecheck all options. Thanks.
 
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