DOS games that require windows to play?

Reply 20 of 25, by sulix

Posted on 2025-01-28, 09:12

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I'm not sure if any commercial titles used it, but libraries like DS4QB ran the sound system from windows, while the game was a 16-bit QuickBasic executable. Apparently they used some windows-specific clipboard interrupts to send commands back and forth.

The games I remembered usually also provided a "NOSOUND.EXE" or similar for those running in pure DOS, so that at least you could play without windows, even if there was no sound.

Reply 21 of 25, by Grzyb

Posted on 2025-01-28, 10:23

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Gmlb256 wrote on 2025-01-27, 16:44:

a DPMI server is also required as well.

What's the recommended DPMI server for DOS ?
I mean other than Windows...

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Reply 22 of 25, by dr_st

Posted on 2025-01-28, 10:38

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Grzyb wrote on 2025-01-28, 10:23:

Gmlb256 wrote on 2025-01-27, 16:44:

a DPMI server is also required as well.

What's the recommended DPMI server for DOS ?
I mean other than Windows...

I think all DOS games that required a DPMI server embedded one in its main program. DOS4GW, PMODE/W, DOS32A...

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Reply 23 of 25, by Grzyb

Posted on 2025-01-28, 10:57

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Anyway, interesting topic...

Originally, Windows didn't provide any services for DOS programs - if you wanted to use Windows services, you had to create a Windows NE EXE.

Then there came Microsoft TCP/IP-32 For Windows For Workgroups 3.11, which contains a few utilities compiled as regular DOS EXE - but they don't work in pure DOS, they need the TCP/IP services from Windows.

Windows 95 (or was it already in NT 3.xx ?) introduced LFN services for DOS programs.

Open Cubic Player can use DirectX as the sound output - though this service isn't provided by Windows itself, it's provided by CPHOST, a Windows PE EXE.

And I'm sure that's not all...

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Reply 24 of 25, by digger

Posted on 2025-01-28, 11:37

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dr_st wrote on 2025-01-28, 10:38:

Grzyb wrote on 2025-01-28, 10:23:

Gmlb256 wrote on 2025-01-27, 16:44:

a DPMI server is also required as well.

What's the recommended DPMI server for DOS ?
I mean other than Windows...

I think all DOS games that required a DPMI server embedded one in its main program. DOS4GW, PMODE/W, DOS32A...

The HX DOS extender actually supports a subset of the Win32 API, allowing at least command-line Windows applications (and even some graphical applications) to be run from DOS.

Reply 25 of 25, by Gmlb256

Posted on 2025-01-28, 12:43

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Grzyb wrote on 2025-01-28, 10:23:

Gmlb256 wrote on 2025-01-27, 16:44:

a DPMI server is also required as well.

What's the recommended DPMI server for DOS ?
I mean other than Windows...

The executable of Star Havoc is built with DJGPP, meaning that CWSDPMI or HDPMI (found in the HX DOS extender that digger mentioned) can be used.

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