[Ninth]

Originally Posted by Kurufinwe

Yes, but using the windows version of GK1 you don't have DOSBox's scalers (=> ugly pixellated graphics, esp. on my laptop)

Do you mean there are graphic filters on DosBox? (hm, after rereading your posts, that's not what it sounds like, but I still had to ask)

Also, I just wanted to add support to VDMSound. It's so much easier to use than DosBox than it's worth having just in case the painful process of setting up DosBox for a game is not needed.

[Kurufinwe]

Originally Posted by Ninth

Do you mean there are graphic filters on DosBox? (hm, after rereading your posts, that's not what it sounds like, but I still had to ask)

Also, I just wanted to add support to VDMSound. It's so much easier to use than DosBox than it's worth having just in case the painful process of setting up DosBox for a game is not needed.

If you still haven't found the scalers (or graphic filters, call them whatever you want) in DOSBox, you're indeed better off using VDMSound.

(of course)

[Ninth]

Originally Posted by Kurufinwe

If you still haven't found the scalers (or graphic filters, call them whatever you want) in DOSBox, you're indeed better off using VDMSound.

(of course)

WHAAAT? How do you enable them?

[Kurufinwe]

Originally Posted by Ninth

WHAAAT? How do you enable them?

See the render section in dosbox.conf. It reads :

[render]
# frameskip -- How many frames dosbox skips before drawing one.
# aspect -- Do aspect correction.
# scaler -- Scaler used to enlarge/enhance low resolution modes.
#           Supported are none,normal2x,advmame2x,advmame3x,advinterp2x,interp2x,tv2x.

So you just set (for instance):

aspect=true
scaler=advmame3x

in this section.

[Ninth]

Originally Posted by Kurufinwe

Supported are none,normal2x,advmame2x,advmame3x,advinterp2x,inte rp2x,tv2x.

Which one are you using, yourself? For, say, Discworld?

And thanks!

[Kurufinwe]

Originally Posted by Ninth

Which one are you using, yourself? For, say, Discworld?

I always use advmame3x (and in ScummVM too). Nice, not blurry (I hate that) and not too much a resource hog.

If you like HQ2x, and have a modern video card (which is not my case), you could try letting your card do the scaling, with OpenGL-HQ for SDL. Do read the documentation carefully, though, as I understand there are quite a few steps to get it to work.

Oh, and always turn on aspect ratio correction. Unless, of course, you're one of those people who enjoy watching the evening news with a squashed look on their fancy wide-screen TV (or are too dumb to find the aspect ratio button on their remote control ).

I also turn off scalers for games which use a resolution of 640*480 (or higher); they're not really needed then, and you usually need all your processing power to just run those games smoothly. Actually, I'm not sure DOSBox doesn't just auto-disable them for resolutions above 320*200.

And thanks!

You're welcome. I guess "read your dosbox.conf" is something I should add to my recurring list of advice regarding DOSBox.

[Ninth]

Originally Posted by Kurufinwe

I always use advmame3x (and in ScummVM too). Nice, not blurry (I hate that) and not too much a resource hog.

It didn't fit Discworld very well, in my opinion. I don't mind blurry, so interp2x was OK, but I think I'll settle for advmame2x.

Originally Posted by Kurufinwe

You're welcome. I guess "read your dosbox.conf" is something I should add to my recurring list of advice regarding DOSBox.

But that would be... you know... tiring!

[nikoniko]

Originally Posted by MdaG

I would buy a DOS computer as suggested above, but today I have no room for one and I'm not sure I will have in the coming years :-(
And my girlfriend would kick my ass if I put an ugly old computer in the living room ;-)

My solution to the no-room-for-a-big-ugly-old-computer problem was to get a small ugly old computer... in other words, a laptop. I seldom hear it mentioned by anyone, but since you can pick up old Pentium laptops for US $100 or less these days (see computer listings on Craigslist for the "or less" ones or pick up something at RetroBox for some right around the $100 point), one can not only have a nice system perfectly suitable for playing old games - but a portable one, too!

My 233 Mhz IBM Thinkpad 600 works great for games from the '80s up to about '97 or '98. Main considerations are whether you need a system with floppy and / or CD, whether the laptop's sound chip has good DOS drivers available with SoundBlaster compatability, and whether an active matrix screen matters to you. My Thinkpad has a good active matrix screen, emulates a SB Pro perfectly, has hot-swappable CD and floppy drives, and only cost me about $125 when I picked it up two years ago. All in all, I've had more fun with the Thinkpad than with my souped up desktop.

[fov]

That's a good point. And if you hook it up to your monitor, keyboard, and mouse, you really can't tell it's a laptop.

I have an old Dell Optiplex (desktop) that my company was throwing away a few years ago. It's hooked up to the same monitor, keyboard, and mouse on my regular computer through a KVM switch. I can understand being short on space, but it really doesn't take up that much room. And it's SO nice to be able to play a game on it right out of the box, without having to tinker with DosBox and the like.

Oh, and Craigslist rocks.

[MdaG]

Originally Posted by Ninth

It didn't fit Discworld very well, in my opinion. I don't mind blurry, so interp2x was OK, but I think I'll settle for advmame2x.


But that would be... you know... tiring!

Hehe, try D-fend if you think DOSBox is a pain to setup in itself. I tend to use ScummVM for all the games that it supports and DOSBox for the rest.

[Ninth]

Originally Posted by MdaG

Hehe, try D-fend if you think DOSBox is a pain to setup in itself. I tend to use ScummVM for all the games that it supports and DOSBox for the rest.

I will.