Tyrian menu too fast with 486-like number of cycles

Posted on 2023-05-23, 11:48

by

by vanfanel

in DOSBox Games/Apps

in DOSBox Games/Apps

Hi all, I have noticed that setting around 20.000 cycles (fixed) in DosBox, which is roughtly equivalent to a 486 at 66MHz, the game menu appears very briefly and demo mode starts running in like 1-2 seconds. Thing is, Tyrian is supposed to run right on a Pentium machine. So why does it display the …

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Lemmings DOS versions: music order

Posted on 2023-05-20, 19:23

by

by vanfanel

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

Hi all, I have noticed that every Lemmings 1 (DOS) I can find online has a a very strange music order: in other words, the musics and the stages don't match what I had back in 1993 on my 486 computer. So, are there different Lemmings versions with different music order in the stages?? Is that known …

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Re: What's the video mode refresh rate used by Prehistorik Man 2?

Posted on 2023-05-20, 19:20

by

by vanfanel

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

In every card I have tried, from S3 Trio to Matrox or even Diamond Edge 3D, I have seen this game set a "custom" video mode...

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What's the video mode refresh rate used by Prehistorik Man 2?

Posted on 2023-05-20, 18:16

by

by vanfanel

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

Hi all I have noticed that Prehistorik 2 does some strange VGA register manipulation on launch, so the game sets a very strange video mode. Do you guys happen to know what's the exact video refresh rate set by this game? It's not typical 70Hz or mode-x (~60Hz), that's for sure...

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Re: Commandline parameters for SuperFrog executable?

Posted on 2023-05-19, 20:45

by

by vanfanel

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

Well if the manual doesn't mention them it's unlikely that there are any (although not impossible). So you observe tearing only on one machine? If the monitor is common you could try swapping VGAs around to see if you can positively blame it on the video card. I can see it on different monitors. …

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Commandline parameters for SuperFrog executable?

Posted on 2023-05-19, 15:56

by

by vanfanel

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

Hi there, I am investigating why SuperFrog shows tearing on one of my DOS machines, and I know some games can use different VGA video modes via commandline parameters. For example, Jazz JackRabbit allows passing /v to use an alternative video mode. I already tried passing /help , /? , etc... And the …

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Re: "Elder Scrolls: Arena" hangs after character creation

Posted on 2023-05-18, 20:03

by

by vanfanel

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

I only have this from the GoG version 1.07 CD, using the bundled DOSBox 0.74 - which is using FreeDOS, but not JEMMEX. In the GoG DOSBox config log 'stdout.txt' there is a line: "Memory sizes above 31 MB are NOT recommended." Not sure if they mean the total memory or just the EMS size, but I have …

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"Elder Scrolls: Arena" hangs after character creation

Posted on 2023-05-16, 20:33

by

by vanfanel

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

Hi there, I have Elder Scrolls: Arena (Floppy version 1.06 from Bethesda) starting on different systems, all of them using FreeDOS, and in all of them I have the same problem: the game starts, but then hangs on a black screen after I create the character and go into the game itself just after the …

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Re: SBEMU: Sound Blaster emulation on AC97

Posted on 2023-05-16, 14:44

by

by vanfanel

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Ah that's great to hear that the Linux code is there as a reference! I have copied this information to the issue I opened on the SBEMU git repo: https://github.com/crazii/SBEMU/issues/16 OK, you might want to add a bit more information to the issue, lspci -nn shows the PCI IDs in addition to the …

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Re: Newer iGPUs (past HD5xx) and VBE 2.0/3.0 modes: any hope?

Posted on 2023-05-16, 12:26

by

by vanfanel

in Marvin \ Video

in Marvin \ Video

Well, VINFO doesn't report any video modes on HD 500, but there's this "AdvanceCAB" set of utilities, available here: http://mirrors.arcadecontrols.com/AdvanceMAME/cab-download.html The inlcuded utility called VGA.EXE can detect these modes on the HD 500: report7.jpg However, after loading this "VGA …

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Re: SBEMU: Sound Blaster emulation on AC97

Posted on 2023-05-15, 09:26

by

by vanfanel

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

I am trying SBEMU on a modern-ish SBC with an N3350 chip, which is Gen8/Braswell and has Intel HDA, and Intel HD Graphics 500. This should work, in theory, since there are reports of SBEMU working on Coffe Lake SOCs, wich are even more modern if I'm not mistaken. They're both part of the Skylake …

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Re: Help please: Is Intel HD Graphics 500 good for DOS gaming?

Posted on 2023-05-15, 09:14

by

by vanfanel

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

@jtchip: I have posted in that thread, maybe I'll get some insight there. Seems to be about beyond-HD500, but I am trying to figure out the actual HD500 compatibility. @RetroGamer4Ever: No way I am touching Windows with a 10 mts pole. For DosBox, I use dosbox-core with shaders on Wayland (GNU/Linux …

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Re: Newer iGPUs (past HD5xx) and VBE 2.0/3.0 modes: any hope?

Posted on 2023-05-15, 09:05

by

by vanfanel

in Marvin \ Video

in Marvin \ Video

Hi, I am experimenting with Intel HD 500 (not past HD 500, but the actual HD 500). I am finding some strong incompatibilities with HD 500, but I understand the HD 500 should be mostly OK for DOS. Games seem to have a hard time working. For example -SuperFrog looks like this: report5.jpg -Prince of …

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Help please: Is Intel HD Graphics 500 good for DOS gaming?

Posted on 2023-05-14, 22:01

by

by vanfanel

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Hi! I recall reading somewhere around here in the forums (I can't find where!) that, around Intel UHD 600 or something like that, Intel graphics started to be problematic for DOS gaming because of broken VESA modes, etc. So, is Intel HD 500 good for DOS gaming? Or does it already have disabled / …

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Re: SBEMU: Sound Blaster emulation on AC97

Posted on 2023-05-14, 21:55

by

by vanfanel

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Hello there, I am trying SBEMU on a modern-ish SBC with an N3350 chip, which is Gen8/Braswell and has Intel HDA, and Intel HD Graphics 500. This should work, in theory, since there are reports of SBEMU working on Coffe Lake SOCs, wich are even more modern if I'm not mistaken. SBEMU loads without any …

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Re: TinyLlama (Vortex86EX SBC)

Posted on 2023-04-26, 10:22

by

by vanfanel

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Looking at some recent Rasteri experiments, it seems that the PCIe VGA module has some "artificial limit" set on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQR2LxR7VdM Maybe a BIOS update could remove that limit somehow? Or maybe another VGA PCIe chip is needed?

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Tinyllama compatibility and workarounds

Posted on 2023-03-20, 09:36

by

by vanfanel

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

Hi there, The Tinyllama is a DOS-oriented x86 SBC, built around the Vortex86EX SOC. More information here: https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=84880 I am creating this thread to share what we find about the ways to run "problematic" games on the system. -The Tinyllama BIOS currently offers …

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Re: TinyLlama (Vortex86EX SBC)

Posted on 2023-03-17, 15:57

by

by vanfanel

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Other games I can't make to work half right on the Tinyllama are: -The Elder Scrolls: Arena -> Goes back to DOS prompt. -Psycho Pinball -> Hangs after selecting a table. -Wing Commander -> Hangs on the demo sequence. If I skip if by rapidly hitting a key, I can get in-game, and then it hangs on the …

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Re: TinyLlama (Vortex86EX SBC)

Posted on 2023-03-09, 16:41

by

by vanfanel

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Hi there! New Tinyllama V2 user here! I received my board(s) a couple of days ago, and man has it been a journey! I can't think on anything else! I get home from work and... Tinyllama time until bedtime :D Thanks to @Eivind for creating such an AMAZING piece of hardware and for his great support. …

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Re: TinyLlama (Vortex86EX SBC)

Posted on 2022-10-26, 18:08

by

by vanfanel

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

The TinyLlama Github repo contains schematics, board layout, BOM suggestion and basic assembly instructions (in addition to a modified and customized BIOS/ROM), all free and open sourced - however, if you want to go down the road of putting together a unit completely from scratch, without the …

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