VOGONS

Common searches


The hatred of DosBox

Topic actions

  • This topic is locked. You cannot reply or edit posts.

Reply 21 of 142, by DosFreak

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Yeah, just trying to reduce the # of questions.

So....next time someone has a problem with mounting that's covered in the Readme.
Official VOGONS stance:

Q: "I can't mount, I'm a dumbass"
A: "RTFM, and/or get a FrontEnd".

Back to old school VOGONS helpfullness. I like it! 😁

Last edited by DosFreak on 2005-04-25, 02:44. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 22 of 142, by HunterZ

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

DosFreak: I do have one issue with mounting problems: There aren't enough good examples in the readme for mounting on non-Windows systems. For example, I know for a fact that despite being intimately familiar with DOS, Windows, and *nix, I wouldn't have a clue how to mount my CDROM drive in DOSBox on a Mac.

Reply 23 of 142, by `Moe`

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

I really like the idea of a n00b-flag. Though most of the things that were suggested aren't actually internal to DosBox.

Someone would be my personal hero if she created an installer that:

- creates the mentioned default dosbox.conf
- creates shortcuts that unmistakably use that one default config (using -conf, if neccessary)
- tunes that dosbox.conf for good performance, perhaps by running a test program that benchmarks several output= options and finds out a decent cycles= value, core=dynamic and frameskip=1 or 2 or so, perhaps even higher on real slow machines.
- installs a second dosbox.conf with a second shortcut called "DosBox (safe mode)" for normal core
- includes mount options in both dosbox.conf'ens which map each windows drive to the corresponding dosbox drive (yes, it's messy, but users will understand it better that way), including -usecd and -ioctl where appropriate
- finishes with a list of clickable links to all known frontends and the notice that dosbox is way easier to use with one of these.

In return, I'd suggest adding the following functions to dosbox:
- a n00b-friendly crash handler that pops up a message when dynamic core crashes (basically just stating: "This game must be run in dosbox (safe mode)")
- the n00b-flag like I first suggested it: if someone runs dosbox directly, not using the two shortcuts as mentioned above, pop up a dialog box that states in big letters: "DOS is hard to use. Don't panic: read the documentation now" including a button to open the README.

I guess that would eliminate many questions and increase the awareness that DOS cannot be as simple as other emulators. And it means little to no changes to dosbox itself (the two additional functions could be implemented in a separate wrapper program)

Reply 25 of 142, by Reckless

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

I can't really see the point of dumbing down DOSBox.

Besides how much effort is already spent (and wasted) on giving help to people who drop by, ask a few 'daft' questions only for them to be 'shocked' at how crap the specific game is anyway and not played anymore that the once getting it to work.

People who used DOS in the day will be more acceptant of the technology constraints of the time - especially if it's replaying a old 'gem'. This group of people would [usually] not be in need of basic help. On the other hand the people who [typically] download old DOS games 'cause they've heard it's good are not likely to have a lasting relationship with the games they try given the tech.

Having said that, there are some specialist games configurations (mounting a CD using IOCTL, why use dynamic vs. normal core, etc.) which could do with some better clarity in the readme. The readme is quite utilitarian whereas it could be a tad more supportive.

Last edited by Reckless on 2005-04-25, 19:17. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 28 of 142, by Qbix

User metadata
Rank DOSBox Author
Rank
DOSBox Author

I'm really willing to have this kind of discussion.
How to improve dosbox so there will be less newbie questions.

As people might know all text inside dosbox can be changed.
(config -writelang dosbox.txt edit it and set in in dosbox.conf as language file)

So feel free to change the text of the startup message in a way that helps stimulates newbies to read (the hopefully) improved readme and doesn't annoy experienced users.

Any other ideas I welcome as well. Please help us make dosbox less hatred.

Water flows down the stream
How to ask questions the smart way!

Reply 29 of 142, by MasterRyu

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

If those people would bother to read the README, they would know that it takes a lot of processing power to emulate even a 486 box, and wouldn't have to bitch about the game not running correctly, besides, DOSBox is a work in progress, and as such, it is amazing how far it has progressed so far, people should be glad they can play most of the classics without having to drag out their ancient gameboxes, and most work well on a mid-range PC, with graphics filtering to boot. Now, I do not claim to be a computer expert, although I have used them since my family got their first PC - a Texas Instruments TI-99/4a, I am somewhere between your average user and computer nut, I can usually figure out most programs pretty easily, and I do a little programming here and there, but I sure as hell know how to read a documentation file.

You should tell these same people that many of the 3D Games they are trying to run in DOSBox have competent Windows OpenGL ports, such as Doom engine games (the excellent Doomsday), Duke Nukem 3D (Jonof's Duke 3D port), Shadow Warrior (Jonof's SW port - very early build), and Quake (can't think of any right now, but I know they are out there.

I for one appreciate the effort that goes into DOSBox so that classic gaming/DOS Programs can be preserved and enjoyed on current PCs, I think the devs are making excellent progress.

I apologize if that was a bit long-winded, but I felt the need to speak my mind.

Reply 30 of 142, by CraigG

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

Best post so far, the above.

You know be by now, I like to have a rant, now and then. 😉

What really bloody annoys me are the ones who come here with crap computers. I mean, really crap computers. 300mhz, 400 mhz, etc.. and hardly any ram, running WinXP or Win2k. For crying out loud, get a faster computer.

It's like people you see across the web, STILL with Riva TNT's and they are trying to play Doom 3 or Half-Life 2. Get a life. Christ, how old is your hardware ?

Then then moaners here on this forum. How about the guy who moaned about Monkey Island and that the door sound was wrong 😳
The f%^*^%(&^% Door sound ? Give me a break, how about, thanks for allowing me to play the bloody game in the first place. 🙄

If half the crap thats asked here, was asked on Mame.net, or most other emu authors page, you would get told to F*ck off, and rightly so.

If you are too young to remember DOS, and have never used DOS, go get a console. You're probably not going to like the graphics, anyway.

Sorry for the moan. I really love what you guys do with this amazing program. Thats why it pains me to see some of you getting the flak you guys usually get.
Colin will be along in a mo, to tell me off. 😁

Athlon 64 3000+ stock
MSI NForce 4 K8N Neo Platinum
2Gb RAM
nVidia Geforce 6800GT stock clocks
SBLive! Platinum + Audigy ZS2 Drivers
WinXP Pro SP2

Reply 31 of 142, by HunterZ

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

CraigG: For me there's a difference between whining that it's too slow or hard to use, and pointing out actual bugs or incompatabilities in the emulation. In my opinion, it's important for the devs to be made aware of issues that they might not have run into before, so that they can improve DOSBox's compatability with an increasing number of games. We're the test team for DOSBox, running it with our own individual stashes of old games, and the devs depend on us for constructive feedback that can be used to improve the emulator.

Reply 32 of 142, by CraigG

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

HunterZ, listen, there's a huge difference between Constructive critisism, and people just whining.
I'm all for bug reporting, but show me threads lately that have been exactly that ?
All I see lately, is just bitching and moaning.
Nearly every thread, lately, has needed a post from either a dev, or just a user, asking people to post things like specs, what OS, etc...

I just tell it as it is, I don't try and hide behind anything, and will always speak my mind on things.
A couple of years ago I stuck up for Paul, simply because the sad geek brigade that is the Red Baron users, Demanded that Paul fix a bunch of stupid silly bugs in Red Baron. I was having none of it, and Paul was, is still is (I hope) a friend.

I WILL speak my mind, and if you don't like it, you'll have to ban me to stop me.
I just think lately, the place has been filled with complete morons, that blatantly refuse to read a damn thing.

Sorry If you don't agree, sorry if it upsets you. But thats how I am, and I don't plan on changing.

Athlon 64 3000+ stock
MSI NForce 4 K8N Neo Platinum
2Gb RAM
nVidia Geforce 6800GT stock clocks
SBLive! Platinum + Audigy ZS2 Drivers
WinXP Pro SP2

Reply 33 of 142, by HunterZ

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Whoa, dude, calm down - we're all on the same side here. As far as I'm concerned, you can say whatever you want (I'm not a moderator or anything so I don't worry about such things unless someone is being a complete asshole).

Also, in answer to your request for a constructive thread: A-Train graphics issues

Reply 34 of 142, by avatar_58

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

Some people still think that running games under Windows 98 is better than using one program to run 90% of their oldies. Since dosbox is better (by far) at getting games working with minimal tweaking (sometimes nothing at all) I would say that assumption is false.

If I could just show them my D-Fend list and how pain-free it is to add additional games....they could not have such a stupid arguement.

You see, once upon a time it was very hard to get oldies running without a headache or 2 million tweaks/utilities. That time is now gone and dosbox is the future of game compatibility. As we get bigger and better PCs (and dosbox eventually becomes 64-bit optimized) there won't be any more speed issues either. That means some time in the future (almost near future!) practically every game that ever existed in the dos days will run without a flaw.

EDIT: oh yeah, one more thing. With dfend I can pack up my folder along with the games onto say a DVD, then I can just extract onto my PC at a later date all with the exact same configs as before. That means if I were to setup all my games once.....I would never have to do it again for this (or an equally fast) machine. 😁 Talk about ease of use!

Reply 35 of 142, by HunterZ

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Maybe the DOSBox team should adopt one or more of the frontends and either package it/them with DOSBox or put URLs for it everywhere (like the readme and into screens, and on the web site).

Another option would be to build a frontend/launcher *inside* of DOSBox, which shouldn't be too hard now that QBix is implementing the ability to change most of DOSBox's configuration settings from within the emulator. One advantage of this might be the ability to sense how fast DOSBox is able to run and make an intelligent guess about the number of cycles to use with various games.

Reply 36 of 142, by priestlyboy

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

There is a patch on the sourceforge.net page Automatic 'cycles' adjusting patch which could? make it easier to work with games that start overloading yer CPU. The problem with it is that this patch is LINUX only so there's not too much use for it yet. Just thought to point out that somebody worked on a solution for it.

I mentioned to Qbix early on about the possibilities of making an internal loader now that much of the CONF is changable during Runtime excluding ?somethings? I believe. I still recommend D-Fend for the average Windows User.

Greets
~Priestlyboy~

Ieremiou
----------
Helping Debug DOSBox.

Reply 37 of 142, by MasterRyu

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie
avatar_58 wrote:

If I could just show them my D-Fend list and how pain-free it is to add additional games....they could not have such a stupid arguement.

Thanks for the post, I am relatively new to DOSBox and hadn't tried the program, and I can now say that it totally rocks - no more config changes + organization by genre, company etc, and custom icons. I highly recommend D-Fend to all DOSBox fans, it will simplify your DOSBox experience, and stave off Carpal Tunnel.

Reply 38 of 142, by Merchito

User metadata

I pretty much ignore people who rip on DOSBox for being too hard to use, since the root of their problems is usually simply a lack of DOS knowledge.

Well... I personnally have NO KNOWLEDGE of DOS, and run scores of games with DOSBox. Indeed, mounting is a little tricky... But using D-Fend, it's as easy as can be. I don't understant why people advising other people to use DOSBox doesn't tell them systemlatically to use it through D-Fend.

Reply 39 of 142, by MiniMax

User metadata
Rank Moderator
Rank
Moderator

> I don't understant why people advising other people to use DOSBox doesn't tell them systemlatically to use it through D-Fend.

Maybe because it is hard to advise people to use something which you have no personal experience with? I do not use D-Fend or any of the other front-ends, so I would not know what to say.

DOSBox 60 seconds guide | How to ask questions
_________________
Lenovo M58p | Core 2 Quad Q8400 @ 2.66 GHz | Radeon R7 240 | LG HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH40N | Fedora 32