your output is surface. Try something else, like opengl or ddraw. Nvidia cards slow down heavily in 8bpp fullscreen modes when a palette operation occurs.

I've tried all the available options. The issue persists.

Verify the version of game. There are reports that the digital releases are patched to version 3.0. Did you submit report to gog.com? Did you test on another computer system? Do other dosbox games have issues on your current system?

Since you modified dosbox.conf many times, revert back to the gog.com original settings before further testing.

Also, test change to sound emulation by modifying the following lines in dosbox.conf (backup original file):
[mixer]
nosound=false
rate=44100
blocksize=1024
prebuffer=50

TROUBLESHOOTING:
gameplay video and dosbox.conf hint: http://www.pixelships.com/adg/ep0128.html
dosbox.conf hint: http://www.gogwiki.com/wiki/Blake_Stone:_Aliens_of_Gold
forum: http://www.gog.com/forum/blake_stone_series
another forum: http://forums.3drealms.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=54

Another game release: https://3drealms.com/catalog/3d-realms-anthology_50/

fulldouble then?

truth5678 wrote:

Verify the version of game. There are reports that the digital releases are patched to version 3.0. Did you submit report to g […]
Show full quote

Verify the version of game. There are reports that the digital releases are patched to version 3.0. Did you submit report to gog.com? Did you test on another computer system? Do other dosbox games have issues on your current system?

Since you modified dosbox.conf many times, revert back to the gog.com original settings before further testing.

Also, test change to sound emulation by modifying the following lines in dosbox.conf (backup original file):
[mixer]
nosound=false
rate=44100
blocksize=1024
prebuffer=50

TROUBLESHOOTING:
gameplay video and dosbox.conf hint: http://www.pixelships.com/adg/ep0128.html
dosbox.conf hint: http://www.gogwiki.com/wiki/Blake_Stone:_Aliens_of_Gold
forum: http://www.gog.com/forum/blake_stone_series
another forum: http://forums.3drealms.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=54

Another game release: https://3drealms.com/catalog/3d-realms-anthology_50/

Let's see... About the game's version: the title screen of the GOG version said 2.10R. The official 3.00 patch wouldn't work with said version. I managed to patch it using an unofficial tool. Didn't help.

About other DOSBox games: Wolfenstein 3D, which I believe works on the same engine, works flawlessly.

About other systems: I've tested the game on a computer along the lines of: Celeron 366, 128 MB RAM, S3 Savage4, Sound Blaster 16. Amazingly, the issue was still there! But on the other hand, I've seen some Youtube playthroughs with no sign of any stutter. I have also asked a friend to test the game for me and she reported no problems on her end.

I have tested the modified sound settings, still no luck. The GOG forum from your link has a recent thread describing the same issue as mine: http://www.gog.com/forum/blake_stone_series/s … ollecting_items Sadly the author never received any conclusive help.

leileilol wrote:

fulldouble then?

Unfortunately, changing that still didn't help.

I've had similar problems with various games. Solution was frameskip=1 and/or tweaking Dosbox source code to skip presenting some frames. However, if fulldouble=false does not help you, this probably won't either.

It's bad luck having an issue which isn't reproducible, even among the several hundred reviewers at gog.com (and the countless others). And that no other dosbox games are identified as having issues on either of the systems. Perhaps it's gremlins. 😀

After numerous unsuccesful experiments, I have discovered that using DOSBox version 0.65 reduces the stutter greatly, perhaps even completely. Any idea why?

Also, right now my greatest worry is getting Blake Stone to play smoothly in 0.65. With output=surface, core=dynamic and cycles set very high (I've tried values ranging from 30k to 75k), it works very well most of the time, but slows down noticeably during busy combat situations, like firing the PDU at multiple enemies.

Oh don't use very high cycles for wolf-based games, just use cycles=max if you want consistent smoothness for it.

leileilol wrote:

Oh don't use very high cycles for wolf-based games, just use cycles=max if you want consistent smoothness for it.

You're right, except apparently there was no "max" setting back in DOSBox 0.65. There is one in 0.70, but 0.70 has the lag when picking up items problem. Is there some sort of in-between version? A beta or release candidate, or something?

Make sure your display isn't forcing vsync.

When using output=opengl do NOT force vsync and do NOT force triple buffering. This will cause serious display lag within dosbox. Though overlay and surface should not be causing lag. Still, be sure you are not forcing any kind of vsync.

Hello,

This problem was solved here by removing VW_VBLWait(1) from the damage flash routines (click on the spoiler).

http://diehardwolfers.areyep.com/viewtopic.php?p=91761#91761

Cheers! 😁