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Provide an "emulated text mode" like in Windows, for Dosbox.

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First post, by dicen

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When you run a DOS text program in Windows you can set the Font to be whatever Windows provides (TrueType). This is a big help in the Quckbasic 50 column mode (qbx /h). The font in Dosbox in unreadable and you can't just use TrueType fonts in DOS (not that I have figured out yet). Windows doesn't obey the Video mode and just emulates the text its way.

I have messed with vmode, but it doesn't work with this app, nor does it do what Windows will. Instead of displaying the font in DOS, Windows reads the DOS character and displays it in Windows. It seams to me this would be the easiest way for Dosbox to emulate the text modes anyway. Maybe it already does this and we just have to change the font in the code? Hopefully?

Thanks...

dicen

Reply 1 of 9, by MiniMax

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Not llikely. For 2 reasons:

1) DOSBox' main goal is compatibility with games and game-play features. 50-column text-mode does not fall into this category.

2) DOSBox needs to run on many kind of systems, not just Windows. So it would have to work with both Linux, Mac OSX, and even handhelds.

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Reply 2 of 9, by dicen

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You guys are like a broken record 😀.

1. You ever heard of QuickBasic games!

2. I know you use the SDL library. Well, it must output text. So where in the code do I change it?

3. You must admit the text modes look like crap. Even Windows emulates this better. If games run under Windows 98 (or even 3.1), they are going to run with the text fixed. But, it can always be made an option.

dicen

Reply 3 of 9, by Qbix

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you can modify the fonts dosbox uses to render the screen
they are in src/ints/int10_memory.cpp

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Reply 4 of 9, by Zup

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1.- Yes, and Nibbles works nice.

2.- DOSBox output is always graphical

3.- DOSBox "text" output is pixel perfect (or at least it is very close). The goal is making games act and feel like in DOS times, so it must use the same fonts.

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Reply 5 of 9, by DosFreak

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1. You ever heard of QuickBasic Games!

Are they referred to now as QuickBasic games? I always thought they were BASIC games, although I guess a game programmed in QuickBasic could be labeled a QuickBasic game.

I've played BASIC games programmed in GW-BASIC using QBasic so I think I'll stick with BASIC when I refer to BASIC games.

P.S. You are missing a "?" in your.....statement...or question or whatever that was.

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Reply 6 of 9, by wd

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QBasic (delivered with msdos) is different, but understands gwbasic stuff
(lots of line numbering in that stuff), and QuickBasic is QBasic+Compiler
iirc (and QBX is the extended version of that)

Reply 7 of 9, by TeaRex

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<plug>
I've made a small patch that stops the wide letters from sticking together (i.e. when you type MMMMM you can actually see some black between the several M's). Mail me if interested.
</plug>

tearex

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