1) Got a link to that demo?
2) What version of DOSBox?
3) Tried asking the people that runs the site where you got the PDA version from?

1) Got a link to that demo? Unfortunately, not any more. Sorry about that. However, since it even started to boot up exactly like the PC did after automatically starting DOS, and at the same speed for loading time, I guess I figured it HAD to be the right demo for DOS...

2) What version of DOSBox? It's n0p's DosBox v 0.63, the latest and (apparently) fastest and best at emulating games. However on no site that I've found about this version does Dark Forces appear in working OR not working lists! There's just no info about it...

3) Tried asking the people that runs the site where you got the PDA version from? I can't ask the originator of it, his site is completely in German. However, through Aximsite I asked the moderator Menneisyys in his sticky post for MWDos (80x86) emulation guide, who speaks German and translated a lot of the info, but he didn't post a reply yet. I only mentioned the specific error, as I can't find it anywhere online even in normal DOS help sites.

Things that make you go hmmm....
MadM@

Please keep your replies within the original thread.

The specific error message most likely comes from within the game, so I am not surprised that you can't find it anywhere.

0.63 is old. Current version is 0.72.

And unless you can replicate the problem using one of the official builds for Windows, Linux or MacOSX, you shouldn't hold your breath while waiting for an answer.

Sorry about that, wrong button...
MadM@

I wouldn't even bother with a 0.63 port, especially for a game like Dark Forces which uses protected mode. (and you can only use normal core pn PDA's)

Find a newer port if there is one or don't even bother.

By normal core do you mean "verysimple"? That's what the default setting is in dosbox.config... with recommendations to not change it whenever possible... and with other listed types available as "simple", "normal", "full", and "dynamic". Do you recommend just trying each one of these and trying the demo again with them?

What about purchasing the version from www.pocketdos.com then? It's latest version is 1.12.1. Would that work better do you think? They have a very large list of games that do work too, but again Dark Forces isn't on it, working or not... it's a 1995 game I think so it SHOULD theoretically work, even if slowly, no?

Thanks for the advice regardless!
MadM@

PS post to Minimax's last reply - come to think of it, the error message and d:> prompt were at the size that the GRAPHICS should be displayed at, not the emu's command prompts. So you're probably right.
Will start a new search for answers with that in mind. Hadn't occured to me.
Thank you!

On pocketdos.com they say it's up to 80286. Now go look up the minimum system requirements for your game...

dark forces works for sure on dosbox 0.72, so just port that (have fun!)

PocketDOS and DOSBox are 2 different products. I see that they have evaluation versions available for download, so I would try it. They even a version of PocketDOS that run on a real Windows PC - I guess that is for development and testing purposes?

But note what DosFreak writes about Dark Forces requiring this thing called 'protected mode', and what the PocketDOS FAQ has to say about this:

Why do you emulate such an old intel??? Why don't you emulate a 286 or 386??? There would be no problems then, and a StrongARM w […]
Show full quote

Why do you emulate such an old intel??? Why don't you emulate a 286 or 386??? There would be no problems then, and a StrongARM would have enough power for that.

CPU emulation is an incredibly complex task. The current 80186 CPU emulation is around 100,000 lines of code. An 80286 or later processor needs to emulate "protected mode" as well. This is very complex and would result in an emulation that ran too slowly even on the fastest handheld CPU available.

Are there any .SYS device files for DOS which can trick the application that the processor is 80286 or higher? A few of my programs detect the processor.

We are not aware of any utilities which are able to perform this. PocketDOS can run all "real mode" 80286 software (as can any 80186 processor), but is not able to run software that requires "protected mode". Generally software that requires an 80286 or later processor needs to run in "protected mode". "Protected mode" is far more complex (and hence slower) to emulate and can not be emulated by a DOS memory resident driver. It is possible to load a 3rd party CPU plug-in to emulate later processors under PocketDOS. See the downloads page on our website for available plug-ins.

OK, a few things then;

First, wd, n0p's own site says the current version for pocket pc's only goes up to 0.63 - to get 0.72 on the PDA, how do I "port" this? Of course, back to a total NOOB question...

Second, stay tuned and I'll be trying the eval. version from www.pocketdos.com and get back with whether or not this helps.

Third, this is more hope than I even hoped for, so thank you all most profusely.

Stay tuned...

MadM@

PS again I can't find any system requirements other than 386 minimum/486 recommended... not sure how this relates to 80286 but if it's a 286 then I guess I'm possibly screwed anyway, by 100.

I'm still going to try, dammit.

MadM@

Either you're a pocketpc developer yourself, or you need one. Maybe contact
the guys around n0p to see if they think a port of the current dosbox version
is possible.
There has been some work towards handhelds (psp, gp2x) so it might be
possible to put up a port again.

You guys are awesome.

It could take a couple days for me to get back here with news, but I will.

MadM@

Well if you find somebody just direct them to this thread.

Will do.

MadM@

I'm back.

Dark Forces IS WORKING, albeit slowly so far. But first things first.

MiniMax, your suggestion to try the demo of PocketDOS was the key. The "base" model doesn't work with it, it comes up with the error as you thought it would from the FAQ from the site; protected mode, 386 or 486 required.
I don't know why the solution isn't ALSO in the FAQ, because the solution comes from the same site.
You have to ALSO download BOCH's CPU plugin, choose the CPU type of your PDA (ARM in my case), and copy that .dll file to the same folder as your installed PocketDOS.exe file. Just the .dll file; and make sure there aren't any OTHER .dll's of this type in that same directory. It emulates a 486.
Then, you run PocketDOS, and under "settings -> system -> CPU/FPU" tab, and choose the BOCH's plugin from the drop down list. This option will not be available in "safe mode". It's also recommended to change your "memory" settings to a higher #, but not the maximum... especially the XMS memory in this case, to the minimum requirements of the software you're trying to run.
Finally, it's recommended for faster screen drawing to enable "Write directly to display memory" option in the "Settings->Display" menu item.

So it works. Again I can only thank you for your input.

Two more things; I got in touch with a gentleman associated with n0p, and he said that n0p's port of DOSbox to 0.72 isn't possible at the moment, and there's no plans for it - n0p doesn't have the time apparently.

Second, I'm still playing with PocketDOS to try to get a better framerate out of Dark Forces, as it's very slow right now. But at least it works!

And on this note, I leave you again... for now. I'll play with all the settings I can to get it faster, but if anyone here has any more input on THAT idea, please let me know! If and when I can get it going as fast as I can on my own I'll post those solutions as well.

Thank you thank you thank you all!

MadM@

isn't possible at the moment

They don't have the time to do it or is it the limited amount of memory?
In the latter case they should use/have a look at the CVS sources,
especially the banked tlb.

He said specifically he didn't have the time... that's all I know. He may get to it eventually then I guess.
MadM@