VOGONS


First post, by adsood

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The main issue with SC3 for me is that every time the game needs to display text on the screen it gets printed on top of the graphics and without any positioning at all.
It starts from the top of the screen when the game starts and continues until reaches the bottom of the screen. All further output happens on the last line of the screen. In a dialog with a character when the reply options are presented the text goes at the bottom of the screen, but the area sensitive for mouse click is where the text was supposed to be printed.
Seems like text-display-mode printing functions are used over the display in graphical mode.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Reply 1 of 6, by adsood

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Based on recommendations from
Follow These Guidelines When Submitting Help Requests
I am posting some tech details in case it helps:

# Motherboard - ASYS P4P800 SE
# Processor - Intel(R), Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00Ghz
# Amount and type of RAM - 3.37 GB of RAM
# Video board - RADEON 9200
# Sound board - Built-in
# Operating system - Windows XP, SP2
# Game name - Start Control 3
# Reproducibility of problem (always, only once, always but only on a specific level, etc.)
Always.

# Sound mode used
SoundBlaster compatibility. No issues with sound.

# Video mode (Software, OpenGL, Direct3D, or Glide, and resolution)
Here are the DOSBox settings:
[sdl]
fullscreen=false
fulldouble=false
fullresolution=original
windowresolution=original
output=surface
autolock=true
sensitivity=100
waitonerror=true
usecancodes=true
priority=higher,normal

[render]
frameskip=0
aspect=true
scaler=hq3x

# Version of emulator (for VDMSound, probably 2.0.4 or 2.1.0; for DOSBox, 0.58+)
DOSBox 0.73

# Steps already attempted to solve the problem
(please say you've read the README if you haven't, and READ IT IF YOU HAVEN'T!)
I have read the Readme.

Reply 2 of 6, by robertmo

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enclose your dosbox's config file
where have you got your dosbox from?

Reply 3 of 6, by adsood

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http://www.dosbox.com/

# This is the configurationfile for DOSBox 0.73.
# Lines starting with a # are commentlines.
# They are used to (briefly) document the effect of each option.

[sdl]
# fullscreen: Start dosbox directly in fullscreen.
# fulldouble: Use double buffering in fullscreen.
# fullresolution: What resolution to use for fullscreen: original or fixed size (e.g. 1024x768).
# windowresolution: Scale the window to this size IF the output device supports hardware scaling.
# output: What video system to use for output.
# Possible values: surface, overlay, opengl, openglnb, ddraw.
# autolock: Mouse will automatically lock, if you click on the screen.
# sensitivity: Mouse sensitivity.
# waitonerror: Wait before closing the console if dosbox has an error.
# priority: Priority levels for dosbox. Second entry behind the comma is for when dosbox is not focused/minimized. (pause is only valid for the second entry)
# Possible values: lowest, lower, normal, higher, highest, pause.
# mapperfile: File used to load/save the key/event mappings from.
# usescancodes: Avoid usage of symkeys, might not work on all operating systems.

fullscreen=false
fulldouble=false
fullresolution=original
windowresolution=original
output=surface
autolock=true
sensitivity=100
waitonerror=true
priority=higher,normal
mapperfile=mapper.txt
usescancodes=true

[dosbox]
# language: Select another language file.
# machine: The type of machine tries to emulate.
# Possible values: hercules, cga, tandy, pcjr, ega, vgaonly, svga_s3, svga_et3000, svga_et4000, svga_paradise, vesa_nolfb, vesa_oldvbe.
# captures: Directory where things like wave, midi, screenshot get captured.
# memsize: Amount of memory DOSBox has in megabytes.
# This value is best left at its default to avoid problems with some games,
# though few games might require a higher value.
# There is generally no speed advantage when raising this value.

language=
machine=svga_s3
captures=capture
memsize=16

[render]
# frameskip: How many frames DOSBox skips before drawing one.
# aspect: Do aspect correction, if your output method doesn't support scaling this can slow things down!.
# scaler: Scaler used to enlarge/enhance low resolution modes. If 'forced' is appended,the scaler will be used even if the result might not be desired.
# Possible values: none, normal2x, normal3x, advmame2x, advmame3x, advinterp2x, advinterp3x, hq2x, hq3x, 2xsai, super2xsai, supereagle, tv2x, tv3x, rgb2x, rgb3x, scan2x, scan3x.

frameskip=0
aspect=false
scaler=normal2x

[cpu]
# core: CPU Core used in emulation. auto will switch to dynamic if available and appropriate.
# Possible values: auto, dynamic, normal, simple.
# cputype: CPU Type used in emulation. auto is the fastest choice.
# Possible values: auto, 386, 386_slow, 486_slow, pentium_slow, 386_prefetch.
# cycles: Amount of instructions DOSBox tries to emulate each millisecond. Setting this value too high results in sound dropouts and lags. Cycles can be set in 3 ways:
# 'auto' tries to guess what a game needs.
# It usually works, but can fail for certain games.
# 'fixed #number' will set a fixed amount of cycles. This is what you usually need if 'auto' fails.
# (Example: fixed 4000)
# 'max' will allocate as much cycles as your computer is able to handle
#
# Possible values: auto, fixed, max.
# cycleup: Amount of cycles to increase/decrease with keycombo.
# cycledown: Setting it lower than 100 will be a percentage.

core=auto
cputype=auto
cycles=auto
cycleup=500
cycledown=20

[mixer]
# nosound: Enable silent mode, sound is still emulated though.
# rate: Mixer sample rate, setting any device's rate higher than this will probably lower their sound quality.
# Possible values: 22050, 44100, 48000, 32000, 16000, 11025, 8000, 49716.
# blocksize: Mixer block size, larger blocks might help sound stuttering but sound will also be more lagged.
# Possible values: 2048, 4096, 8192, 1024, 512, 256.
# prebuffer: How many milliseconds of data to keep on top of the blocksize.

nosound=false
rate=22050
blocksize=2048
prebuffer=10

[midi]
# mpu401: Type of MPU-401 to emulate.
# Possible values: intelligent, uart, none.
# mididevice: Device that will receive the MIDI data from MPU-401.
# Possible values: default, win32, alsa, oss, coreaudio, coremidi, none.
# midiconfig: Special configuration options for the device driver. This is usually the id of the device you want to use. See README for details.

mpu401=intelligent
mididevice=default
midiconfig=

[sblaster]
# sbtype: Type of sblaster to emulate.
# Possible values: sb1, sb2, sbpro1, sbpro2, sb16, none.
# sbbase: The IO address of the soundblaster.
# Possible values: 220, 240, 260, 280, 2a0, 2c0, 2e0, 300.
# irq: The IRQ number of the soundblaster.
# Possible values: 7, 5, 3, 9, 10, 11, 12.
# dma: The DMA number of the soundblaster.
# Possible values: 1, 5, 0, 3, 6, 7.
# hdma: The High DMA number of the soundblaster.
# Possible values: 1, 5, 0, 3, 6, 7.
# sbmixer: Allow the soundblaster mixer to modify the DOSBox mixer.
# oplmode: Type of OPL emulation. On 'auto' the mode is determined by sblaster type. All OPL modes are Adlib-compatible, except for 'cms'.
# Possible values: auto, cms, opl2, dualopl2, opl3, none.
# oplemu: Provider for the OPL emulation. compat or old might provide better quality (see oplrate as well).
# Possible values: default, compat, fast, old.
# oplrate: Sample rate of OPL music emulation. Use 49716 for highest quality (set the mixer rate accordingly).
# Possible values: 22050, 49716, 44100, 48000, 32000, 16000, 11025, 8000.

sbtype=sb16
sbbase=220
irq=7
dma=1
hdma=5
sbmixer=true
oplmode=auto
oplemu=default
oplrate=22050

[gus]
# gus: Enable the Gravis Ultrasound emulation.
# gusrate: Sample rate of Ultrasound emulation.
# Possible values: 22050, 44100, 48000, 32000, 16000, 11025, 8000, 49716.
# gusbase: The IO base address of the Gravis Ultrasound.
# Possible values: 240, 220, 260, 280, 2a0, 2c0, 2e0, 300.
# gusirq: The IRQ number of the Gravis Ultrasound.
# Possible values: 5, 3, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12.
# gusdma: The DMA channel of the Gravis Ultrasound.
# Possible values: 3, 0, 1, 5, 6, 7.
# ultradir: Path to Ultrasound directory. In this directory
# there should be a MIDI directory that contains
# the patch files for GUS playback. Patch sets used
# with Timidity should work fine.

gus=false
gusrate=22050
gusbase=240
gusirq=5
gusdma=3
ultradir=C:\ULTRASND

[speaker]
# pcspeaker: Enable PC-Speaker emulation.
# pcrate: Sample rate of the PC-Speaker sound generation.
# Possible values: 22050, 44100, 48000, 32000, 16000, 11025, 8000, 49716.
# tandy: Enable Tandy Sound System emulation. For 'auto', emulation is present only if machine is set to 'tandy'.
# Possible values: auto, on, off.
# tandyrate: Sample rate of the Tandy 3-Voice generation.
# Possible values: 22050, 44100, 48000, 32000, 16000, 11025, 8000, 49716.
# disney: Enable Disney Sound Source emulation. (Covox Voice Master and Speech Thing compatible).

pcspeaker=true
pcrate=22050
tandy=auto
tandyrate=22050
disney=true

[joystick]
# joysticktype: Type of joystick to emulate: auto (default), none,
# 2axis (supports two joysticks),
# 4axis (supports one joystick, first joystick used),
# 4axis_2 (supports one joystick, second joystick used),
# fcs (Thrustmaster), ch (CH Flightstick).
# none disables joystick emulation.
# auto chooses emulation depending on real joystick(s).
# Possible values: auto, 2axis, 4axis, 4axis_2, fcs, ch, none.
# timed: enable timed intervals for axis. (false is old style behaviour).
# autofire: continuously fires as long as you keep the button pressed.
# swap34: swap the 3rd and the 4th axis. can be useful for certain joysticks.
# buttonwrap: enable button wrapping at the number of emulated buttons.

joysticktype=auto
timed=true
autofire=false
swap34=false
buttonwrap=true

[serial]
# serial1: set type of device connected to com port.
# Can be disabled, dummy, modem, nullmodem, directserial.
# Additional parameters must be in the same line in the form of
# parameter:value. Parameter for all types is irq.
# for directserial: realport (required), rxdelay (optional).
# (realport:COM1 realport:ttyS0).
# for modem: listenport (optional).
# for nullmodem: server, rxdelay, txdelay, telnet, usedtr,
# transparent, port, inhsocket (all optional).
# Example: serial1=modem listenport:5000
# Possible values: dummy, disabled, modem, nullmodem, directserial.
# serial2: see serial1
# Possible values: dummy, disabled, modem, nullmodem, directserial.
# serial3: see serial1
# Possible values: dummy, disabled, modem, nullmodem, directserial.
# serial4: see serial1
# Possible values: dummy, disabled, modem, nullmodem, directserial.

serial1=dummy
serial2=dummy
serial3=disabled
serial4=disabled

[dos]
# xms: Enable XMS support.
# ems: Enable EMS support.
# umb: Enable UMB support.
# keyboardlayout: Language code of the keyboard layout (or none).

xms=true
ems=true
umb=true
keyboardlayout=auto

[ipx]
# ipx: Enable ipx over UDP/IP emulation.

ipx=false

[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
mount c: E:\GAMES\DOSBOX\DOSBox.HD
mount x: x:\ -t cdrom
c:
cd sc3
sc3.exe

Reply 4 of 6, by ripsaw8080

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Using DOSBox 0.73 with the default configuration, I see no problems with the game, and the text is drawn correctly. Using the X: drive for the CD is unusual; you should use the D: drive to avoid potential problems; but I tried installing using X: for the CD drive and the game has no trouble with it.

Make sure you are installing the game with DOSBox and not with Windows, and keep the drive mounts the same for both installation and playing.

Are you installing from a CD or an image of a CD, or are you trying to use a ripped version of the game? (I have to ask under the circumstances) If you are installing the game from a CD, which installation size option are you choosing in the installer program? How are you configuring sound in the game's sound setup?

Reply 5 of 6, by adsood

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I have a CD, but I installed it long ago last time on my 486 box. Since then the game is moving around as a run-image (it is DOS game. whatever it installs is in the game folder. nice old times...). And it worked fine just needed to update legend.ini references.
Currently, all files from CD is on hard drive and legend.ini updated accordingly. The problem does not seems to be related to a missing resource, but rather as SVGA driver issue.
The CD does contain some Universal VESA BIOS driver.
I will try installing from CD under DOSBox and see if it works.
Thanks for the idea.

Reply 6 of 6, by adsood

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So, it works. I am happy 😁 and quite confused now. 😕
I compared the installation folder with the old one and the only changes I see are: sc3.pif file (which is fine) and two entries in legend.ini file:
SECTOR=0 1 1 0 1 1
CONFIG=1 1 1 1 127 127 127

The meaning of it is unclear to me.

I am not sure how to verify if any changes have been done to "autoexec.bat" and/or "config.sys" by the installation program.
The [autoexec] section in dosbox.conf did not change.

How does it work in DOSBox?

I performed full installation, copied PIC, VOC, Q folders from CD to the local drive, updated references in legend.ini
PICDATA=CD\PIC\
VOCDATA=CD\VOC\
QDATA=CD\Q\
SAVEDATA=.\
SECTOR=0 1 1 0 1 1
CONFIG=1 1 1 1 127 127 127

and mount cdrom back to X (virtual drive).

Now I do not need CD to run the game and IT WORKS!

Simple things are often overlooked....
Thanks a lot ripsaw8080.

P.S.
Universal VESA BIOS driver seems to be not required. At least I do not see any traces of it and it did not run as part of installation.