[Collector]

I have written new installers for some of the Sierra games that will automatically install and setup the game to run run in DOSBox (and for CD games, without the CD) and can be started by just double clicking a Windows shortcut. Your CDs or floppies are only needed to install the game. For CD games just insert your CD and run the installer. For floppy games run the installer form a folder that you have copied the contents of the disks.

Find them here:

New Sierra DOSBox Game Installers

[beverheim]

Very nice little helpers for us who hate tweaking and struggling to make games work in DOS-box!

Does anybody know if there is similar installers out there for non-Sierra games?

[Collector]

What game(s) would you be talking about?

[phildarke]

I bought the Leisure Suit Larry, Kings Quest and Space Quest Collections for Widows XP.
They all work OK except for one thing. The game screen is too big, the top and bottom of the screens are cut off, so I can't access the menu bar at the top of the screen or any thing at the bottom of the screen.
Any suggestions please

Thank you, Phil

[misslilo]

Your monitor should have a button to manually adjust the screen size... or maybe even an Automatic Adjustment button.

[Collector]

Originally Posted by phildarke

I bought the Leisure Suit Larry, Kings Quest and Space Quest Collections for Widows XP.
They all work OK except for one thing. The game screen is too big, the top and bottom of the screens are cut off, so I can't access the menu bar at the top of the screen or any thing at the bottom of the screen.
Any suggestions please

Thank you, Phil

Did you install the patches? Without them you will be using a very old version of DOSBox. You can find them at The Sierra Help Pages.

[phildarke]

Originally Posted by Collector

Did you install the patches? Without them you will be using a very old version of DOSBox. You can find them at The Sierra Help Pages.

Thank you for your suggestion. I haven't installed the patches because I can't find them. The Sierra help pages (www.sierrahelp.com) gives patches for specific games but none for DOSbox itsself. If you can point me in the right direction I would be most grateful.

[Collector]

King's Quest Collection Help

Space Quest Collection Help

[Mintora]

Hi,

I'm new and apologize if I make a debacle of things but here goes . I have read several different threads about the King's Quest Collection Series (2006), and found they are really helpful, especially regarding DOSbox and patches. I thought I had everything installed correctly, but when I try to run KQVII, I barely even click on "Start New Game" and then DOSbox crashes and I receive this windows error message: DOSbox DOS Emulator has encountered a problem and needs to close..." and then asks if I would like to send the error report. Did I install something incorrectly and is there a way to fix this?

Oh and if this the wrong place to post this, could you point me in the right direction? Thanks so much for your time and (possible) help

-Mintora

[Collector]

In the future, anyone that is having issues with the installers or patches from The Sierra Help Pages should ask for help on SHP's forums, http://sierrahelp.com/forums/ . I don't always check these forums.

If you used the SHP DOSBox patch, run the diagnostic tool for KQ7 and post the results.

[Mintora]

Thanks for quick response. I'll be sure to get registered over at the Sierra Help Forums asap.

I ran the diagnostic tool for KQ7 and 2 windows popped up. This is what popped up in the 2nd window:


King's Quest 7 diagnostic information:


================================= Game Files List =================================

List of files in CSierra\King's Quest Collection\KQ7\AVI:


91.RBT
911.RBT
912.RBT
E108X11.AVI
E208X11.AVI
GAMEDAT.SHP
INT08X11.AVI
ListFiles.exe
PHANT.AVI

Or do you need information from the diagnostic log window? Just in case you do, here it is:
Any issues with this installer can be reported on the Sierra Help Pages Forum
http://sierrahelp.com/forums/

If requested, please include the following information:


King's Quest Collection™ (2006) DOSBox Patch diagnostic information:


=================================== System Info ===================================

Windows XP (5.1.2600.2) 32-Bit, English
Service Pack : 3
Account type : Administrator

CPU : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E8400 @ 3.00GHz, ~2999 Mhz
Memory : 2048MB RAM
Graphics Adapter : ATI Radeon HD 4770 w/ 256MB of memory.
Screen Resolution : 1600 x 900, 32 bit color
DirectX Version : DirectX 9.0c
CD-ROM Drive(s) : D


==================================== Game Info ====================================

Game = King's Quest 7
Game Version = 2.00b
Game Path = CSierra\King's Quest Collection\KQ7
Patch Version = 4.0
Start Menu Directory = Sierra\King's Quest Collection
UninstallString = CSierra\King's Quest Collection\uninst.exe


============================= Game Configuration File =============================

RESOURCE.CFG

videoDrv = VESA.DRV
soundDrv = GENMIDI.DRV
audioDrv = DACBLAST.DRV
joyDrv = NO
directory = .\
cmd = KQ7
mouseDrv = STDMOUSE.DRV
memoryDrv = ARM.DRV
minMemory = 1600k
brightness= 0
language = 1
minCPU = 386
CD = NO

resMap=.\
resAUD=.\
resSFX=.\
patchDir=.\;.\PATCHES;.\AVI
robot=.\AVI


=================================== DOSBox Info ===================================

DOSBox Path = CProgram Files\DOSBox\dosbox.exe
DOSBox version 0.74

Your version of DOSBox is up to date.


=================================== dosbox.conf ===================================

[sdl]
output= overlay
fullresolution= 0x0
windowresolution= 800x600
fullscreen= false
autolock= false

[dosbox]
machine= svga_s3
captures= CDocuments and Settings\Asialynn Edwards\Local Settings\Application Data\DOSBox\capture

[render]
aspect= true
scaler= normal3x

[cpu]
core= normal
cycles= 10000

[autoexec]
cls
@ECHO OFF
mount c "CSierra\King's Quest Collection\KQ7"
c:
cd \
SIERRA -o .\RESOURCE.CFG
exit


================================= Game Files List =================================

0.CHK
ADL.DRV
ALTRES.000
ALTRES.MAP
ALTRES.MDT
AVI
Conf.exe
D2HTOOLS.DLL
DACBLAST.DRV
DACMSSYS.DRV
DACPRO.DRV
DACPRO16.DRV
DACPRO8.DRV
DiagnosticTool.exe
dosbox.conf
GAMEDAT.SHP
GENMIDI.DRV
INSTALL.EXE
INSTALL.HLP
INSTALL.SCR
INSTALL.TXT
King's Quest VII- The Princeless Bride.lnk
KQ7.ico
KQ7GAME.HLP
KQ7HR.ICO
KQ7v2 Patch README.txt
MT32.DRV
PATCHES
PROAUDIO.DRV
README.TXT
RESOURCE.000
RESOURCE.AUD
RESOURCE.CFG
RESOURCE.LST
RESOURCE.MAP
RESOURCE.MDT
RESOURCE.SFX
RESOURCE.WIN
run.dat
SADL.DRV
SBPRO.DRV
SCIDLL.DLL
SIERRA.ERR
SIERRA.EXE
SIERRAW.EXE
Upgrade.exe
VERSION
VESA.DRV

Thanks again!

[Collector]

Off hand I'm not noticing any missing files. Remove the "exit" from the dosbox.conf and try to run the game. Note any error messages.

[Mintora]

Removed what you said to remove, same error message pops up that's it.


**edit** I just tried to run the other King's Quest games as well and I get the same error message as well.

[Collector]

Sounds like you have a problem with DOSBox itself, not the games. Go to www.DOSBox.com and download 0.74 again. Do a clean install in C:\Program Files\DOSBox.

[Mintora]

So I've reinstalled DOSbox, and still getting the error message. Not sure what I can try next.

[Collector]

What happens if you just launch DOSBox by itself?

[Mintora]

When I open DOSbox by itself, 2 windows open up. One says DOSbox Status Window, and the other says the version with the cpu speed. This box opens up with the default z:\> . One thing I notice is that a status window doesn't open up with the KQ DOSbox version, don't know if important, just volunteering info.

[Collector]

Can you run any games at all in DOSBox?

[Mintora]

This is the first game I've tried to run on DOSbox. I don't know if this would have anything to do with it but when I try to run KQ7 with the patch, the window says Cpu speed is 10000 cycles, but if I open just plain DOSbox, it says 3000.

I'm trying to reinstall the game and the patch now, I noticed the autorun is still trying to run when I install disc 1 (which I thought I turned off), what is the best way to turn off the autorun feature. (Worth a shot)

PS Just clicked on watch intro and the movies run fine, it's only when I actually try to play.

[Collector]

The AutoRun hang is a known problem with the collection when changing discs. You can bypass AutoRun if you hold the shift key down after inserting the CD and continue holding it until Windows reads the disc. I want to narrow this problem to see if it is a DOSBox problem. Try some shareware DOS games to see if they work OK. www.dosgames.com/ or www.classicdosgames.com/