VOGONS


First post, by NeilAHiggins

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

I have battled with DOSbox under Ubuntu, trying to figure out a configuration that supports Autosketch 3 fully. I can't draw horizontal, wide (non-zero-width) polylines. It sounds like a trivial thing, but in a CAD program, horizontal lines are pretty common! Every horizontal segment of a wide polyline is drawn as a filled triangle, not as a filled rectangle. Everything else (including oblique and vertical polylines) works without a hitch. I have fiddled with a range of settings, to no avail. In my frustration, I downloaded DOSemu and it just worked. The basic operative configuration from Autosketch's perspective is just VGA and Microsoft mouse - nothing special.

Reply 1 of 10, by ripsaw8080

User metadata
Rank DOSBox Author
Rank
DOSBox Author

I'm not experiencing a problem drawing polylines of any angle, size 0.2, solid fill. This is with AutoSketch 3.1 configured for Microsoft Mouse and VGA Graphics; running with default settings in official Win32 DOSBox 0.74 and my own SVN build.

You say you can't draw horizontal non-zero-width polylines, but what exactly happens (or doesn't happen)? I guess a screencap of what you're seeing would help.

Reply 2 of 10, by NeilAHiggins

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Works fine for me in DOSbox under Windows 10, but not under Ubuntu 16.04. I can't see an obvious way to upload a screen capture in this forum ... imagine I'm trying to draw a horizontal polyline segment left to right (or right to left): I get a triangle with its apex at the left endpoint, expanding to the full width of the polyline at the right endpoint. I noticed another post elsewhere in this forum, exclaiming VERY LOUDLY that DOSbox is not suitable for non-game applications. Goodness knows why, but if that's the case, perhaps I'm just wasting my time (or perhaps the author of said article is sadly mistaken).

Reply 3 of 10, by ripsaw8080

User metadata
Rank DOSBox Author
Rank
DOSBox Author
NeilAHiggins wrote:

I noticed another post elsewhere in this forum, exclaiming VERY LOUDLY that DOSbox is not suitable for non-game applications. Goodness knows why, but if that's the case, perhaps I'm just wasting my time (or perhaps the author of said article is sadly mistaken).

That warning is no mistake. DOSBox is intended for DOS games. If an app happens to work, lucky you; but if it doesn't work then don't expect to get help here, as there is no official support for apps.

Anyway, the problem you describe seems to be related to the platform/build. Make sure to try default settings in DOSBox if you haven't already. Default settings should result in normal core being used because AutoSketch is a real-mode program, and normal core will avoid any potential dynarec issues.

Also, have you tried both the with-FPU and without-FPU versions of AutoSketch? You're given a choice of which one you want to use when installing AutoSketch.

Reply 4 of 10, by NeilAHiggins

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Strange. I think of DOS games as an anarchic superset of DOS applications - if games run, applications should. No?

Anyway: I have arrived at the same conclusion, but I'm not really inclined to download all of the crud and corruption needed to do a local build (even if I had the skills and patience needed to execute such a build); I'll just have to put up with what I have for now. If you have any idea where I could source a recent build for Ubuntu 16.04, please let me know.

Thanks for your help.

Reply 6 of 10, by NeilAHiggins

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

P.P.S. Screenshot attached.

Attachments

Reply 8 of 10, by Dominus

User metadata
Rank DOSBox Moderator
Rank
DOSBox Moderator

Difference between programs and games is that you can take shortcuts (== faster) for games. Not to mention things like "share" that programs might rely on but games do not. And it's a much needed disclaimer as people (and more so companies) want to use DOSBox for running mission critical programs but this is not safe.

Windows 3.1x guide for DOSBox
60 seconds guide to DOSBox
DOSBox SVN snapshot for macOS (10.4-11.x ppc/intel 32/64bit) notarized for gatekeeper

Reply 9 of 10, by DosFreak

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

and companies (which is most of the people using dosbox for applications) should spend their money on upgrading their ancient software not use dosbox or expect a free ride on the backs of people who do this as a hobby for the love of gaming.

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Make your games work offline

Reply 10 of 10, by Jo22

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

In case of AutoSketch, though, there might be some reasons to stick to specific version (though not necessarily in the official DOSBox).
Did you know, for example, that version 2.x for Windows was about the only release to ever have had a makro language/scripting abilities ?
I didn't know myself until I've stumbled upon a German Wiki page that says it was a defacto-standard at the fields of accident reconstructions.
http://www.colliseum.net/wiki/AutoSketch

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//