First post, by truth_deleted
There is not enough information on running this combat flight simulator inside dosbox, and some of the available information is unnecessarily convoluted. This is the one of the highest rated WW2 combat flight sims for DOS, sometimes referred to as a “prop sim”, so the gameplay is different from the modern jet flight sims where avionic instrumentation is a focus, or the focus, leading some to call these “avionic simulators”. And there are many choices that fit into this category in DOS, such as EF2000 which has SVGA graphics and other modern features. However, there is less choice for a realistic WW2 sim which bridges the gap between the older DOS and Windows versions within this subgenre, though Pacific Air War is at the top of the list; another option is Aces Over Europe, featuring a different “theater of operations”.
Pacific Air War Gold has all the content of Pacific Air War for DOS (PAW), but also includes the Scenario add-on pack and multimedia content which has optional features such as flight training tutorials. PAW Gold is for Windows 3.1 because the multimedia features require it and the sound utility does, too. However, dosbox supports 3.1 and so it is possible to run this utility under that OS while inside dosbox. However, once the sound is setup (and there may yet be a way to configure sound in DOS), then I’ve run PAW Gold in dosbox without 3.1, just from the regular dosbox command prompt. There are multiple executables, such as 1942.EXE, which allow the Gold version to directly run in DOS.
To enable the digital sound effects, then modify the dosbox configuration file so ems, xms, and umb are set to false; also, load JEMM memory manager (thanks ripsaw) at the dosbox command line like so: JEMMEX FRAME=E000 LOAD. The screen resolution is 320x240 with 256 colors, but I used the opengl-hq scaler to obtain satisfactory visuals while scaled to a conventional desktop resolution. The advantages of the Gold version, apart from the 3.1 specific features, are the additional planes, scenarios, and a large number of additional missions. There is also a multiplayer capability over a modem so two players can connect and play cooperatively or competitively (also available in Scenario Add-On). I haven’t tested this feature, but it presumably works inside dosbox.
Since dosbox is cross-platform, these DOS titles provide access to combat flight sims on many systems and architectures. Some categorize these into prop, jet, and helicopter sims. PAW provides the prop sim, EF2000 provides a modern jet sim, while Jane's AH-64D Longbow for DOS (the non-Gold version) places the pilot inside a combat helicopter. All these have robust campaigns/missions, good stability in DOS, a focus on realistic flight models, and a competent A.I. However, PAW is unique in its attempt to recreate a part of war history along with documentation to read and watch about that period.
