I did a few test with 86Box 3.2.1, configured to emulate an Amstrad PC1512, to try to validate some things.

- Maupiti Island has the same box around the mouse cursor with 86Box as in DOSBox-X
- Iznogoud still only shows CGA after selecting Amstrad
- The Bob Morane Chevalerie 1 and Jungle 1 games hang after selecting Amstrad
- The Bob Morane Science Fiction game hangs even earlier on the language select (it takes a long time on DOSBox-X, but eventually continues to the next screen)

In another board, member Ignatus confirmed the game "Top Gun" has PC1512 support. His screenshots:

In the second one he mentions that he has identified some glitches regarding PC1512 emulation under DOSBox-X. In the bottom section you can still see the Ocean logo, for instance.

Just thunk of another reason why a game might specify PC1512/PC1640 support without special graphics modes. The mouse is weird, so a game that doesn't use MSDOS mouse calls through the driver might need specific Amstrad mouse support. Also, you can plug a digital joystick to the keyboard so it may indicate Amstrad joystick support.

I've tried a few games that are categorized in the Amstrad graphics list on https://www.mobygames.com/ .... specifically Die Hard 2: Die Harder and Metal Mutant and neither seem to have an "Amstrad " mode...... not sure if the versions I have don't support the Amstrad mode, but I would think it would be a default option in official releases.

I just had to jump in here to say I've tried for many years to get Infogrames' Iznogoud game to display in Amstrad PC1512 graphics mode, but have never had any luck getting anything but CGA out of it in all the emulations I've done. Though I was convinced the game had an enhanced color mode, because the back of the box for the PC release shows a fuller color version of the game that looks like a it's a PC version.

If anybody can manage to make Iznogoud come up in 16 colors, I will shower praises on them forever. I have even considered getting my hands on a real Amstrad PC1512 to finally know the answer once and for all.

--SKot (www.iznogoudworld.com)

skotk wrote on 2023-03-08, 10:59:

I just had to jump in here to say I've tried for many years to get Infogrames' Iznogoud game to display in Amstrad PC1512 graphics mode, but have never had any luck getting anything but CGA out of it in all the emulations I've done. Though I was convinced the game had an enhanced color mode, because the back of the box for the PC release shows a fuller color version of the game that looks like a it's a PC version.

If anybody can manage to make Iznogoud come up in 16 colors, I will shower praises on them forever. I have even considered getting my hands on a real Amstrad PC1512 to finally know the answer once and for all.

--SKot (www.iznogoudworld.com)

I tried this game after reading this and there is an option to choose AMSTRAD PC 1512 when you load the game, but once it loads, it is just CGA color...... no idea what the purpose of that option is, unless it does something different with the display as compared to just choosing CGA..... I'm using an actual Amstrad PC1512.

snappy|nuts wrote on 2023-03-14, 01:36:

I tried this game after reading this and there is an option to choose AMSTRAD PC 1512 when you load the game, but once it loads, it is just CGA color...... no idea what the purpose of that option is, unless it does something different with the display as compared to just choosing CGA..... I'm using an actual Amstrad PC1512.

So you're just getting the standard 4 colors? That's disappointing...I really hoped the graphics would display in the extended colors on an actual PC1512.

--SKot

skotk wrote on 2023-05-28, 00:27:

So you're just getting the standard 4 colors? That's disappointing...I really hoped the graphics would display in the extended colors on an actual PC1512.

--SKot

Yeah exactly.... sorry about the late reply haha

Looks like another game with PC1512 support has surfaced. I've found elsewhere a version of Cyrus / Cyrus II Chess / 3D Chess with this mode. Previous versions didn't have it, apparently.

If you run the game with DOSBox-X and machine=amstrad you get this:

However 2D mode (you change modes with T, BTW) shows errors.

First capture is in real resolution, the second is doubled.

Hi, I found this thread through searching and thought this might be of historical interest, at least.
Millennium 2.2 was released for DOS CGA and PC1512 graphics around 1989 by Electric Dreams.
It's missing some parts of the game plot compared to its Amiga and Atari ST counterparts, either due to smaller disk space or a rushed release.
The game was later re-released for DOS in 1991 by Paragon Software, much improved as "Millennium: Return to Earth" with EGA/VGA/MCGA etc. I think it might've been re-released for the Amiga with that name as well, using the same graphics as DOS version. Personally I prefer the original Amiga art.

Anyway, the CGA/PC1512 graphics are completely different from both styles, and a lot more primitive.

The screenshots are from pcem. It was a bit of pain to get the game running, I had to crack the weird old disk-based copy protection on my 5.25" copy of the game. Once that was gone it seems to run fine, though.

That's very cool, I never heard of PC1512 graphics in this game. PCem is great, but it was abandoned before many disk-based protections were implemented. Its PC Booter compatibility is pretty low compared to DOSBox.