Sure, how about the enhanced CD-ROM version of SYSTEM SHOCK. Try at VESA 640x480 (highest std) or VESA 1024x768 (new patched version) for frame-rates. Right now only 320x200 looks playable on Dosbox v0.65.

Please see this previous thread on the same topic.

Best of luck,

dvwjr

Cool, I have the CD game so I'll give it a whack.

Okay - oddly enough, the 640x480 resolution is only marginally slower than the 320x200 one. The 800x600 res crashes DOSBOX.

EDIT: Needs For Speed Special Edition runs at full detail 640x480 at around 40fps.

Try Terminator: Future Shock and Terminator:Skynet (latter supports vesa mode). There is demo (for skynet) floating around, but full games are a bit harder to find. Btw. engine is identical in both except for vesa mode in second game. Game works faster with normal than with dynamic core.

Hey, I own both games so no worries 😉 I already tried Skynet but that wasn't too fluent in Dynamic mode. I should try it in normal mode then? It's the only game so far thats not really playable in high detail.

EDIT: okay in normal mode it runs much better - I can play it on 320x200 on high detail very fluently and in 640x480 which is just playable.

EDIT: Fade To Black runs perfectly in hi-res too. As does Azraels Tear and LBA2.

Nice. So build engine games are 20fps? Currently get around 10-13fps @ 640x480 on this XP 2800+.

So SS is playable @ 640x480 now? Can you play for a little bit and make sure.?

Quake should run quite fast with a cvs build

wow nice. can you please test hi-octane and quarantine 2: road warrior in hires?

especially quarantine2, its unplayable on my system (athlon fx @ 2700 MHz). the framerate jumps all the time from high to low with dynamic core. maybe you have better luck. 😉

I played SS on that res for at least half an hour and it was well playable. As I said, the framerate barely dropped. Some parts give a little slowdown no matter what resolution though but the game never becomes unplayably slow.

Also, Redneck is the most demanding Build game next to Witchaven II. Duke 3D and Shadow Warrior run much better at 30-40fps.

About Quake: I get 40fps on average on low res. On hi-res it's only 15fps or so but I heard that's normal.

And let me try Quarantine II. I have a feeling Hi-Octane will run well in VESA too. Gonna do a few quick tests. Quarantine II is badly made though - it ran like crap on my 166 even though it was barely updated from the first Quarantine which ran fine on my 486.

Okay:

Hi-Octane runs brilliantly on hi-res with all details maxed out. No slowdown whatsoever, and very fluent. 25fps average which may seem low but it's very stable (even with lots of explosions) and the game feels very responsive and smooth.

Roadwarrior 2, as expected, performs less well - 15-20fps on high quality VESA (didn't try the low quality version) but it's also playable. I played through the first three missions without any problem. On low quality it probably will be better.

I still need to OC my CPU so I can probably squeeze more out of it.

Any other requests?

Nice. I would say that a Core 2 Duo will solve people's speed issues with DosBox but unfortunately most of people's speed problems with DosBox is the inability to RTFM.

Trying to think of more games but you've covered all of the most demanding games that I have....

Well there's still quite a lot of games which are unstable because of a lack of CPU power for people with weaker CPUs - I used to think this was just DOSBOX not being up to it, but seeing how Bioforge went from highly unstable to very playable (same with Need For Speed SE) and some games going from "won't even run" to "runs like a dream" (Time Commando) I think a certain level of CPU power (or cycles) is just needed to run certain games without crashing them.

Do note I use the "max" thing on cycles - the cycles now often go over 140.000, sometimes even 160.000.

I do say though that the Conroe line of CPUs will mean a lot of happy people in the next few years, as that level of power becomes standard. Seeing how my E6600 is slightly stronger as the flagship CPU from AMD - the FX52 - yet costs 3-4 times less I'd say it's a great sign.

EDIT: Wing Commander 3 runs really well too in SVGA. 30+fps.

you are just posting that to make us die with envy, right? 😀

I'll wait till Leopard gets released and then I'll try how that works out with a Mac Pro 😀

oh, and thanks for testing, IT IS interesting 😀

Haha, well in the first place I'm just showing that a powerful enough CPU is enough to run nearly every game well. Some are just badly programmed bu the majority runs extremely well. Consider it good news for the future 😉

First, thank you very much for the report. I have been wondering what the performance would be like on a Conroe system. The 3D Mark and other test results have been impressive, but I always wanted to know how DOSBox would perform.

You already listed several of my problem games such as Magic Carpet II, Redneck Rampage, and System Shock in 640x480. Off the top of my head, the others that I have had speed problems with in DOSBox are Wing Commander III & IV (DOS Version), and The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall. I really doubt if I would play Daggerfall again so it's no big deal, but the later Wing Commander games I might.

could you try duke3d v1.4d or newer? and blood? and settlers 2? (largest map size allowed in settlers 2 - see if you can get perfect scrolling speed meaning minimal jerkiness and no noise crackling in the audio.)

I can no longer find Wing Commander IV (damn) but Wing Commander III is smooth as butter in 3D with hi-res and all details on. There's some slight hiccups occasionally while the video is playing but I suspect that has to do with the "max" setting of the cycles which constantly change. It's a small thing though.

Daggerfall I yet have to try - but Battlespire still didn't run too well - it's playable in lower detail, but the FPS drops quite a bit in higher detail.

I'll test Settlers II Gold and Duke/Blood in a bit.

EDIT: Settlers II Gold on 1024x768 on the largest map possible is very very fluent. Scrolling around the map with your mouse is super smooth and not a single hitch.

EDIT2: Duke 3D Atomic 1.4 at 800x600 gives 15-25fps depending on how much is on screen.

EDIT3: Blood is definately the worst Build game it seems - no matter which resolution I pick, fps are 10-20 which is not truely playable. On 320x200 though it's 40-50fps.

New games tested:

FX Fighter -- 40-50fps
City of The Lost Children -- 25fps
Nascar Racing 2 - 640x480 everything turned on -- 20fps (well playable)
Destruction Derby - high detail -- 20fps (I expected more here)
Afterlife 1024x768 -- 30fps

Jesus nice tests. Is it odd that dosbox is one of the main reasons I'd buy an extremely fast CPU? 😁 I figure in the future I'm going to play powerful new games too + use vista, so its going to be a dream running everything on dosbox. 😀