DOSBox Native Setup #268
Replies: 7 comments 19 replies
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See the last thing i commented here #259 (comment) |
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I gave you a collaborator access for this repo! also ive moved the DosBox stuff to a separate/dedicated section here: https://github.com/TriForceX/MiyooCFW/wiki/DosBox-Setup |
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Hi @TriForceX. Thanks, but the instructions on that page are conflicting with this setup. It would be very confusing to have both instructions on the same page (unless it was made clear that they are two entirely separate setups), and I don't want to edit/remove your instructions/setup, as for certain uses/users it may prove more practical. This DOSBox native setup really needs its own page, with a FAQ, and a support/comments section. (Most DOS games are not simple to set up and run for newcomers, because it's so different to what users are used to these days. I need to provide helpful information/tips, guide snippets, like the ones I've left in these comments, and users need to be able to ask for help if they get stuck setting up a DOS game.) |
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Should we have two pages for DOSBox in the wiki? One titled DOSBox LaunchBox Setup, and the other DOSBox Native Setup? |
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Why just not describe it on first sentence that there are 2 different setups? Making another branch on wiki will make people likely to think that there are 2 other emulators for that system... and as for the support section you can always redirect anybody to this thread for any questions. Lets not complicate stuff and be creative here! Thanks @Rezzy-dev for your insight in this matter, your native setup made it much more usuable for me and I did not see audio stutter even on more demanding titles. |
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Sighs. That's easier said than done, but I'll have a look at how to logically separate the two content so that it makes sense on the page, and people don't get confused and start to mix the two -- because that's the big danger here (effectively rendering both setups useless in the process). The problem is that my setup also needs a FAQ -- so it will be quite lengthy and it should probably go after the LaunchBox setup on that page.
Glad to hear that, @Apaczer. ^_^ Yes, not using any extra software layer, but instead the system's native UI, and exiting per game to free up the memory, this setup does have a considerable performance benefit -- as well as allowing for more customisation and custom setting up (tweaking) for DOS games. It won't make post-1992 DOS games run fast on the system, but CGA/EGA era games, and less demanding VGA era games run quite well with it. I found it visually nice and really easy and practical to use for me (I'm using it to run all my childhood DOS games), so I thought to share it -- that others may find it useful/practical, too. Glad to hear it has its uses. |
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For the yet uninitiated, the executables run in order of practical priority like this in DOS:
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For best performance, when given a choice, you'll want to set your games to CGA video mode. For best graphics, at the cost of performance, you'll want to set them to VGA mode. For a compromise between the two, go with EGA (but this is rarely used in practice, as the performance hit is nearly as big as VGA, and VGA gives you much better colour/graphics). Some older games only have CGA or CGA and EGA video mode. When it comes to sound, on the Miyoo devices and this version of DOSBox you'll want to use the PC speaker for best performance sound effects, and the AdLib for best performance music. (Note: using the PC speaker for music on this version of DOSBox can result in your game freezing/crashing while attempting to play complex music.) For best quality, mainstream sound (at the cost of performance), you'll want to use the then industry standard Sound Blaster card. If asked, the Sound Blaster card settings in DOSBox are: Sound Blaster (16/Pro), address 220, IRQ 7, DMA 1 (sometimes high-DMA 5). |
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Hi @Rezzy-dev, Could you give me a list of changes you've done to default mapping.txt? I see they act diferently through Virtual Keyboard (L1) than standard, I can't figure out which button does what on that keyboard layout. |
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You may find this of interest, too, if you're playing around with the button-to-key mapping: DOSBox has a way of defining modifier keys in the keymap file, so that when that key/button is held and a certain other key/button is pressed, that follow-up key/button can act differently than normal (be mapped to a different key or function). I didn't use it, but it's there if you need to. :) (Because there are only so many buttons on a Miyoo device.) |
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TY for the explanation and above link. I'm finding trouble using numeric keypad on Virtual Keyboard, it seems you can use it only in NumLock OFF position (without numeric keys), pressing NumLK seems to do nothing for it. Maybe I could use that modifier to bind numeric keypads to D-PAD with another button (we will see)! EDIT: Sorry there is no in fact Numeric Keypad on that Overlay Keyboard, was mistaken by the buttons arrangment on it. |
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Just to be clear, there is no way to emulate mouse movement in that DOSBox revision for MiyooCFW? |
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Yep, unfortunately there is no numeric keypad in the Miyoo version of DOSBox. I've included binding/support for it in the keymap file, but the virtual keyboard is lacking that feature -- so it still needs to be implemented. That doesn't mean, however, that you can't simulate it using a modifier key/button if you really need to for a game's controls. The numeric keys are still there and work, they're just not accessible through the virtual keyboard at the moment.
Most DOS games with mouse support feature both a mouse and a keyboard mode. The mouse was a new thing in the DOS days. That's why I've included the MOUSEOFF.COM executable binary. If you put it at the very start of the BAT file, the game will not run in mouse mode, but will instead be forced to switch to the back-up keyboard mode (since there is no mouse plugged in to be detected). Most mouse-driven DOS games allow you to move the mouse cursor around with the arrow keys (D-pad) in keyboard mode, giving you the mouse emulation you're looking for. ;) |
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Here's a concrete example of how to assign the buttons X (Left Shift, 304) + Up (273) to act as the Numeric Keypad 8 key (264): key_kp_8 "key 273 mod1" (The modifier button/key binding, the second line, needs to be placed at the very end of the keymap file, on the last line. You can have more than one modifier key/button if you need to, just give them a different number in sequence: "mod_1", "mod_2", "mod_3", etc.) You'll find all the numeric keypad keys towards the end of the keymap file I created. You can also have more than one button/key bound to a keyboard key or function: key_kp_8 "key 264" "key 273 mod1" (In this example either pressing the Numpad 8 key on the keyboard, or Left Shift + Up will press the Numpad 8 key.) |
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The thread starts with Rezzy-dev saying she created a custom version of Dosbox and associated keymap file and that they will share if anybody is interested. Was this ever shared? I looked through the comments in this thread, but could find no reference to this being downloadable anywhere. Perhaps I just missed it somewhere? |
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(Rezzy is a she, last I checked. 😉) You did indeed -- the 4th comment from the top. :) But I should probably update the intitial post and add the download link there, for clarity. I'll do that now. |
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Thank you very much for this Sorry about my mistake in regards to gender, old habit that I am trying to break. I had already made a change later in the message that removed the pronoun; but missed that first one. I've updated my message. Thanks again. |
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Thanks, I appreciate it. 🤗 |
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List of known supported games: Games that have been play-tested and confirmed to run well on Miyoo with DOSBox (using this native setup):
Early 90s: Centurion - Defender of Rome:
North & South:
Note: This game has a strange control scheme in the DOS version that forces you to be Player 2 (the South) in order to be able to control both the game's menu and for the player controls to work using the same buttons. So we don't have a choice but to play as the South on Miyoo. Tip: To switch control over units on the battlefield, press the X button (SHIFT). Use the D-Pad to control the units, and press or hold the A button (SPACE) down to shoot. To retreat from battle, press the Select button (ESC). Extra Tip: This game also allows you to watch the computer play itself if you set both sides to be played by the computer. The outcome of the war is different each time, so you never know which side is going to win, and things play out differently each time as you watch the battles, chance events, and real-time strategy unfold. At times it can get quite comical, and it's quite entertaining to watch. Prehistorik:
Tip: After the title screen, to start the game, press the A button (SPACE) when the image of the sleeping caveman appears. Prince of Persia:
Tip: The action buttons in Prince of Persia are the X button (SHIFT) and Up on the D-Pad. Up jumps and goes up (the same as Down crouches and goes down). Holding the X button allows you to perform various actions, such as approach carefully, or hang onto a ledge. Pressing X will allow you to pick up or use an item. Once you have a sword, the player character will draw his weapon automatically, the first chance he has, once he sees an enemy. Press Up to parry with the sword, or X to attack with it. Pressing down while the sword is drawn will sheathe your sword. To unsheathe it again, press X while an enemy is near. Pushover:
Note: The music will begin playing even before the menu finishes loading, so you'll see a black screen for about 10 seconds at the start. The menu will run slow when there are a lot of character sprites moving on-screen (the more, the slower it gets), but the game runs just fine. (Ironically, the game's menu is more resource-demanding than the game itself.) Ski or Die:
Tip: The Start button is the main action key in this game. Hold it down in combination with other keys to perform actions. Tank Blaster (or Tank Wars):
Tip: You start the game at the player selection screen by pressing the Select button (ESC). You shoot in-game using the Start button (ENTER). To switch weapon type, bring up the virtual keyboard (with the Left Shoulder button) and press the B button (to press the selected, TAB key). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Manhattan Missions:
Note: You'll need to turn the music off each time before you start the game, as this setting isn't saved by the game. If you don't turn it off, the game will run very-very slow, as the background music playback will take up most of the processing power and memory. Tip: You draw your weapon with Start + A, and fight by holding down the Start button (ENTER, to attack) or holding down the A button (SPACE, to block) while using the D-Pad to execute various moves. 80s: Alley Cat:
Airborne Ranger:
Budokan - The Martial Spirit:
Battle Chess:
The Cycles - International Grand Prix Racing:
Note: You won't get a smooth framerate on Miyoo DOSBox with this game, but it's playable. World Class Leader Board Golf:
Note: You'll need to use DOSBox's virtual keyboard for navigating the entire menu in this game, but gameplay is mostly using physical Miyoo device buttons. Soko-Ban:
Tip: The elevator in this game is the level selection screen. Pressing number keys on the virtual keyboard will make the player character press those numbers in the lift. Pressing the A key (for "Accept") on the virtual keyboard will take you to the entered level, and pressing the C key (for "Clear") will clear the level previously entered from the elevator's selection display. Pressing the L key will return the character to the lobby on the ground floor (the main menu). To abort a floor/level you're on, press the Select button. You can go to any floor/level at any time in the game. Higher floors/levels are more challenging. The Games - Summer Edition:
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Im sorry to ask, but I cant find any info about how to actually run dosbox on Powkiddy V90. Im on custom firmware and have copied given file "dosboxnative.zip", followed the structure inside the zip and have it in my console, added some games. Now comes the problem: I cant see DOSBOX executable anywhere in the console? To my deffense, I have every emulator available up and running... Is there any good soul that could point me in right direction? Thanx in advance |
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well I got it all sorted out... for future comers like me, its fairly simply - you have to download older version of custom firmware which contains DOSBox executable to put it to your actual release... |
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Since it supports command-line parameters/instructions, I've managed to create a version of DOSBox for Miyoo that launches games the same way as the other emulators do, through the native file browser.
I have created a much-needed keymap file containing the most common DOS game keyboard keys/controls mapped to the buttons of the PowKiddy Q90 / Pocket Go. It allows the user to quit DOSBox by pressing the Reset/Power button.
I've also made some performance tweaks in DOSBox's config file to ensure a smoother audio playback (no or much less sound stuttering). The speed of the virtual machine is set to that of an i486 PC, as this seems to be most that Miyoo devices can reliably do in terms of speed using DOSBox DOS emulation. (This is the best setting for running games/software made in the 80s, up until 1992. Games made past 1992 are generally too demanding for current Miyoo hardware, unless they are not graphics and music intensive, in which case they'll run just fine on an i486, too -- so an i486 processor speed setting seems optimal.)
The "ROMs" for DOSBox are essentially BAT (MS-DOS Batch) files in my implementation (conforming to DOS conventions: no greater than 8 characters length in the name, and containing no spaces in the name) -- simple user-created text files that tell DOSBox where to look for and launch the game/program -- which are then given full names using the alias feature of GMenuNX:
/mnt/roms/PC/DOS/ALLEYCAT.BAT:
CD ALLEYCAT
CAT.EXE
/mnt/emus/dosbox/aliases.txt:
ALLEYCAT=Alley Cat
The game files are simply copied in their (matching) DOS-named folder to "/mnt/roms/PC/DOS/", and don't show up in the ROM browser.
(I've also included MOUSEOFF.COM, an executable binary that can be used to unplug the mouse in DOSBox for the duration of the emulation session, intended for games/software that rely on an auto-detection feature to enable keyboard/button control. Simply write MOUSEOFF as the first command, at the very start of your BAT file, to unplug the mouse before starting the game.)
It's neat and clean, it's flexible enough, and it works great!
If anyone's interested: https://github.com/TriForceX/MiyooCFW/files/7742804/dosboxnative.zip
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