Tomatohead
Learned
Not sure if this is the right place for this thread or if there is any need for this. If not, please transfer or nuke the thread.
I'd like to share info on how to setup Dosbox with CRT emulation to make all those old DOS games look nice and crisp. The default branch of Dosbox doesn't support any kind of shaders and it's development has beenstopped slowed down so we will need to use different branch for our needs. I assume we are on Windows now but setting it up on any Unix-like system shouldn't be that much different.
Download the latest version from here:
https://github.com/aqualung99/dosbox-0.74-ES/blob/master/dosbox-0.74-ES_Windows_041617.zip
By default it will use a config file located at %appdata%\local\DOSBox\dosbox-0.74-ES but we are using different way to make our own config files for each game. As you remember some games need different configurations be it memory or sound devices etc. The basic idea is to have Dosbox installed in it's own directory which in our case is D:\Vidya\Dosbox and games are in separate directories under D:\Vidya\* (for example D:\Vidya\Wizardry 7\ etc). For each game we'll do a separate config file and use a shortcut to launch the game.
Here's basic config for Dosbox-ES which has been setup to run in 922p window which will fit to your 1080p screen nicely. When it's fullscreen it runs in normal 1920x1080 resolution. There's also couple of lines for the pixel shader as well. Dosbox-ES is using Timothy Lotte's shader which is pretty nice. If you need to edit the shader parameters you'll need to edit the .ps file itself.
Save this file for example as Wizardry7.conf into your Dosbox-ES directory:
At the end of the config file are the actual mount commands which you need to set to point to the game directory in question and depending what you need to run first. Usually you'll want to run setup or install first and after that the game executable.
And you can make a shortcut for the game like this:
D:\Vidya\DOSBOX\dosbox.exe -conf Wizardry7.conf -noconsole
This way it's easy to store everything inside Dosbox directory and make configuration for each game separately.
I'd like to share info on how to setup Dosbox with CRT emulation to make all those old DOS games look nice and crisp. The default branch of Dosbox doesn't support any kind of shaders and it's development has been
Download the latest version from here:
https://github.com/aqualung99/dosbox-0.74-ES/blob/master/dosbox-0.74-ES_Windows_041617.zip
By default it will use a config file located at %appdata%\local\DOSBox\dosbox-0.74-ES but we are using different way to make our own config files for each game. As you remember some games need different configurations be it memory or sound devices etc. The basic idea is to have Dosbox installed in it's own directory which in our case is D:\Vidya\Dosbox and games are in separate directories under D:\Vidya\* (for example D:\Vidya\Wizardry 7\ etc). For each game we'll do a separate config file and use a shortcut to launch the game.
Here's basic config for Dosbox-ES which has been setup to run in 922p window which will fit to your 1080p screen nicely. When it's fullscreen it runs in normal 1920x1080 resolution. There's also couple of lines for the pixel shader as well. Dosbox-ES is using Timothy Lotte's shader which is pretty nice. If you need to edit the shader parameters you'll need to edit the .ps file itself.
Save this file for example as Wizardry7.conf into your Dosbox-ES directory:
[sdl]
fullscreen=false
fullresolution=1920x1080
windowresolution=1280x922
output=opengles
autolock=true
sensitivity=200
waitonerror=true
priority=higher,normal
mapperfile=mapper-0.74-ES.map
vertex_shader=.\Shaders\DosBoxMain.vs
pixel_shader=.\Shaders\DosBoxMain_Lottes2.ps
pixel_shader_no_palette=.\Shaders\DosBoxNoPal.ps
vertex_shader_pass2=.\Shaders\fb.vs
pixel_shader_pass2=.\Shaders\fb.ps
perform_2pass=false
use_16bit_textures=false
show_perf_counters=false
[dosbox]
language=
machine=svga_s3
captures=capture
memsize=16
[render]
frameskip=0
[cpu]
#cycles = fixed %NUMBER or max or auto
core=auto
cputype=auto
cycles=fixed 10000
cycleup=10
cycledown=20
[mixer]
nosound=false
rate=48000
blocksize=2048
prebuffer=80
[midi]
mpu401=intelligent
mididevice=default
midiconfig=1
[sblaster]
sbtype=sb16
sbbase=220
irq=7
dma=1
hdma=5
sbmixer=true
oplmode=auto
oplemu=default
oplrate=48000
[speaker]
pcspeaker=true
pcrate=44100
tandy=auto
tandyrate=44100
disney=true
[joystick]
joysticktype=none
timed=true
autofire=false
swap34=false
buttonwrap=false
[serial]
serial1=dummy
serial2=dummy
serial3=disabled
serial4=disabled
[dos]
xms=true
ems=true
umb=true
keyboardlayout=auto
[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
# You can put your MOUNT lines here.
mount c "D:\Vidya\Wizardry 7"
c:
DS.EXE
#RUN.BAT
#install.exe
fullscreen=false
fullresolution=1920x1080
windowresolution=1280x922
output=opengles
autolock=true
sensitivity=200
waitonerror=true
priority=higher,normal
mapperfile=mapper-0.74-ES.map
vertex_shader=.\Shaders\DosBoxMain.vs
pixel_shader=.\Shaders\DosBoxMain_Lottes2.ps
pixel_shader_no_palette=.\Shaders\DosBoxNoPal.ps
vertex_shader_pass2=.\Shaders\fb.vs
pixel_shader_pass2=.\Shaders\fb.ps
perform_2pass=false
use_16bit_textures=false
show_perf_counters=false
[dosbox]
language=
machine=svga_s3
captures=capture
memsize=16
[render]
frameskip=0
[cpu]
#cycles = fixed %NUMBER or max or auto
core=auto
cputype=auto
cycles=fixed 10000
cycleup=10
cycledown=20
[mixer]
nosound=false
rate=48000
blocksize=2048
prebuffer=80
[midi]
mpu401=intelligent
mididevice=default
midiconfig=1
[sblaster]
sbtype=sb16
sbbase=220
irq=7
dma=1
hdma=5
sbmixer=true
oplmode=auto
oplemu=default
oplrate=48000
[speaker]
pcspeaker=true
pcrate=44100
tandy=auto
tandyrate=44100
disney=true
[joystick]
joysticktype=none
timed=true
autofire=false
swap34=false
buttonwrap=false
[serial]
serial1=dummy
serial2=dummy
serial3=disabled
serial4=disabled
[dos]
xms=true
ems=true
umb=true
keyboardlayout=auto
[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
# You can put your MOUNT lines here.
mount c "D:\Vidya\Wizardry 7"
c:
DS.EXE
#RUN.BAT
#install.exe
At the end of the config file are the actual mount commands which you need to set to point to the game directory in question and depending what you need to run first. Usually you'll want to run setup or install first and after that the game executable.
And you can make a shortcut for the game like this:
D:\Vidya\DOSBOX\dosbox.exe -conf Wizardry7.conf -noconsole
This way it's easy to store everything inside Dosbox directory and make configuration for each game separately.
Last edited:
I'm sure it's something simple; the shaders work fine even on 10+ year old Macs with bottom-of-the-barrel crap integrated Intel GPUs and other ancient hardware... So your issue must be something simple.
