VOGONS


What retro activity did you get up to today?

Topic actions

Reply 1140 of 28625, by HighTreason

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

4DOS? Never heard of it. This one runs on MS-DOS 6.22 without the need for any additional utilities. It would probably run on older versions but I haven't tested though the old versions (mostly lost to history aside from some minor segments) ran on very few systems and when they did run they didn't do so reliably. The only thing I have had problems with is that the life counter doesn't work in Windows XP, which is crap, because I wanted to make the game available through Telnet when it was done and the only machine I'd want to do that on uses XP, I could just VM something else on my main server I guess.

This is all the folder contains;

The attachment RF3.PNG is no longer available

I can send a copy via PM if you really want to see how it works, but there's nothing clever in it and it's not finished, so you'll inevitably run into a "BOOKMARK NOT FOUND" before the game decides to exit.

My Youtube - My Let's Plays - SoundCloud - My FTP (Drivers and more)

Reply 1141 of 28625, by elianda

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t
2fort5r wrote:

That looks fun. Did you have to drive far? I'd be nervous of taking old computers on long road trips due to the vibration.

It was about 1h trip. We had one system where the Multi-I/O controller got loose due to the transport, but I also brought tools and we could fix it before the players arrived.

Retronn.de - Vintage Hardware Gallery, Drivers, Guides, Videos. Now with file search
Youtube Channel
FTP Server - Driver Archive and more
DVI2PCIe alignment and 2D image quality measurement tool

Reply 1142 of 28625, by PhilsComputerLab

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++
elianda wrote:

I participated with 9 computers at the Long Night of Computer Games in Leipzig at 25th of April.
You can find pictures here ftp://78.46.141.148/pictures/LNdCS2015/

9 computers? Impressive effort. It's clear that you enjoyed observing others playing on these computers, must have been lots of fun.

Is there any chance you can put this into an album on imgur or something like that for easy viewing?

YouTube, Facebook, Website

Reply 1143 of 28625, by elianda

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t
philscomputerlab wrote:
elianda wrote:

I participated with 9 computers at the Long Night of Computer Games in Leipzig at 25th of April.
You can find pictures here ftp://78.46.141.148/pictures/LNdCS2015/

9 computers? Impressive effort. It's clear that you enjoyed observing others playing on these computers, must have been lots of fun.

Is there any chance you can put this into an album on imgur or something like that for easy viewing?

Ok this should work more convenient: https://plus.google.com/photos/11488235054942 … 116770539026497
(However you can as well browse ftp sources with e.g. Gwenview)

Retronn.de - Vintage Hardware Gallery, Drivers, Guides, Videos. Now with file search
Youtube Channel
FTP Server - Driver Archive and more
DVI2PCIe alignment and 2D image quality measurement tool

Reply 1144 of 28625, by alexanrs

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t
HighTreason wrote:

4DOS? Never heard of it. This one runs on MS-DOS 6.22 without the need for any additional utilities. It would probably run on older versions but I haven't tested though the old versions (mostly lost to history aside from some minor segments) ran on very few systems and when they did run they didn't do so reliably. The only thing I have had problems with is that the life counter doesn't work in Windows XP, which is crap, because I wanted to make the game available through Telnet when it was done and the only machine I'd want to do that on uses XP, I could just VM something else on my main server I guess.

4DOS is a nice shell that has a LOT of features. Box drawing, dialog boxes (with mice support), LFN support, faux-LFN through DESCRIPT.ION files, color-coded DIR listings (has to be configured before, though), "stack" based directory changing commands (so you can enter a script that changes the current directory and sends you back to where you were before exiting), uses XMS/EMS/UMBs automatically so it has a minimal conventional memory footprint, and more. It is my favourite shell and I use it in all my DOS-only installs, and even some Win9x ones. For more info, go here.

Btw if the life counter is having issues because of the shell (and not because one of those external utilities you are using), be sure to start it from COMMAND.COM instead of CMD.EXE.

HighTreason wrote:

I can send a copy via PM if you really want to see how it works, but there's nothing clever in it and it's not finished, so you'll inevitably run into a "BOOKMARK NOT FOUND" before the game decides to exit.

If you don't mind, I'd like that =)

Reply 1146 of 28625, by 2fort5r

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

I saw a screenshot of "Pong" there somewhere. What system was that on?

Account retired. Now posting as Errius.

Reply 1147 of 28625, by elianda

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

I actually don't remember. Everything was put up on about 3000 m2 with a lot of stuff (an people hehe).

Retronn.de - Vintage Hardware Gallery, Drivers, Guides, Videos. Now with file search
Youtube Channel
FTP Server - Driver Archive and more
DVI2PCIe alignment and 2D image quality measurement tool

Reply 1148 of 28625, by Indrid Cold

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

I finally completed to move into my new house, and I finished making sense of all my stuff in the garage, that I used immediately as my little laboratory and sanctuary:

P_20150428_202605.jpg

A dream I have always had is just that 😉

I used PowerLine adapters to bridge the apartment (with my main PC Debian/Win7) to the garage, where I installed a second Fonera (the first one is in the apartment), which has the task of bringing Internet connectivity and spread a second SSID. Operable remotely there is my fileserver with FreeNAS, a modest PC that I use as a Debian/WinXP mule, my retro PCs with Windows '98, Windows 2k and FreeDOS, a Belkin OmniView KVM, etc. I miss a workbench for all my disassembly and assembly of hardware rescued from the streets or found elsewhere.

Reply 1149 of 28625, by Caluser2000

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t
2fort5r wrote:

OS/2 apparently had similar features. I wonder why MS didn't implement them as well. Windows of the time were probably targeted at lower-spec computers than OS/2.

OS/2s Work Place Shell was object orientated interface so you could customise a lot more than Program Manager. IBM also hired Amiga staff to add more features.

There's a glitch in the matrix.
A founding member of the 286 appreciation society.
Apparently 32-bit is dead and nobody likes P4s.
Of course, as always, I'm open to correction...😉

Reply 1150 of 28625, by HighTreason

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

http://youtu.be/gFwfrTiVkSA

Animation happens very little in these games and previously was achieved by wiping the entire screen causing it to flicker horribly as the whole screen turned black, typically I would only animate a single color on a black background to compensate. I decided to attempt instead to move the cursor to the top left of the screen without clearing it, which simply writes the new characters over the old ones, eliminating the flicker. I am trying to figure out why this method is causing that bug at the top of the screen, I think it is either due to the cursor move happening on the line above the title bar or else is just a quirk of the way the system draws text to the screen, it changes depending on what was displayed prior to the sequence being started. As the player cannot interact with anything whilst this is happening, I may just make the animation full screen, I think having a single line at the top that doesn't work properly would be a minimal problem.

Keep in mind that this is simply a couple of batch files and I am using nothing that isn't part of MS-DOS 6.22 to achieve it, so there are inevitable limitations.

As a last note, with those limitations, I think I found a way to make a more traditional text-based adventure game in the same manner, but with actual text input! You know, the type with "GO WEST" or "GET BENT" as valid input, again using only a simple batch file, in this case it involves mapping RETURN to a different key(s) and extensive use of the FIND command. Perhaps that is a project for when this one is over, if I can make it work, perhaps I should try to make a more serious adventure game in the vein of that at a later time... OK, I don't do serious, so a game even more silly than this one.

My plan (as yet untested) for the input involves what might be percieved as a simple ANSI Bomb, I would be to use the commands
(escape code remaps RETURN to CTRL+Z) may not be possible
COPY CON INPUT.KEY makes the console output to a file until CTRL+Z is pressed
FIND "WALK" INPUT.KEY looks for the word WALK, a FIND would be required for each valid word at any given time. Some complete commands like WALK FORWARD could be FINDed.
IF ERRORLEVEL 0 SET WALK=YES if this word does something here, this is set then it is checked and operated on once the FIND commands finish running, then set back to 0 after executing whatever code it should, presumably bringing up more text about where you walked to.
Repeat FIND and IF until all known valid words are done.
IF the vars for valid words.
If a working combination is found (Nested IF with bookmarks) then clear screen/move cursor and add new text/artwork. Then clear the vars before doing another COPY CON and so on.

The main reason for separating to words searched for by FIND is simply that it is more versatile, and it means that you can repeat them back to the player a little easier when poking fun at them for issuing a stupid command.

Why? I like working with limitations, it gets the brain ticking over.

My Youtube - My Let's Plays - SoundCloud - My FTP (Drivers and more)

Reply 1151 of 28625, by brad1982_5

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Cache memory nightmare!

Cache memory arrived and fitted. Now shows 256KB and tried to boot but it shows the HDD is corrupted. Realized on leg was bent and missed the socket but sorted that out. But unfortunately still had the same issues. Disabled the cache. HDD access is fine.
WP_20150430_20_30_37_Pro.jpg
So now taken the 128KB cache from my old Diamond Flower mainboard and and put it in the PVI-486SP3
WP_20150430_20_51_57_Pro.jpg
WP_20150430_21_11_05_Pro.jpg
Now is good, so now to try the 256KB cache in the diamond flower motherboard
WP_20150430_21_06_57_Pro.jpg
All seems good and the system functions as normal.
WP_20150430_21_39_38_Pro.jpg
While I didn't expect any performance improvement over the 128KB cache the 256KB cache is functioning fine and the performance difference is noticed in TOPBENCH. (Same performance as having the 128KB cache)

It's strange why the PVI-486SP3 does not like the 256KB cache it but I have also had many other quirks with that motherboard being fuzzy with some CD-ROM drives including the CR-562 drive through the Sound Blaster 16 and Duke Nukem 3D never quits properly. With the right hardware fitted it's not a bad performer.

Reply 1152 of 28625, by badmojo

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

I spent some time messing around with one of my fave sound card setups, a SB16 + the stand alone creative AWE card, the CT1920 "Goldfinch".

It works well but I don't really feel that I understand how it all hangs together, i.e. what all the software does (AWEUTIL, AWEDIAG, etc), and how games use it. And the behavior of this hardware is different in DOS and Windows (95 in my case). I can't get general MIDI out of it in DOS for example, but in Windows I can load a sound font and get some very nice GM action.

Today I discovered that I can apply reverb and chorus to the AWE output in DOS with a CT2290 (an original Sound Blaster 16) but not with a Vibra16S (CT2800). I don't know why - I know that the Vibra16S has a less capable mixer, but why would that impact the CT1920, which is physically independent?

Anyway, I'll keep playing with it.

DSCN1513_zps6qqamcho.jpg

Life? Don't talk to me about life.

Reply 1153 of 28625, by kithylin

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t
badmojo wrote:
I spent some time messing around with one of my fave sound card setups, a SB16 + the stand alone creative AWE card, the CT1920 " […]
Show full quote

I spent some time messing around with one of my fave sound card setups, a SB16 + the stand alone creative AWE card, the CT1920 "Goldfinch".

It works well but I don't really feel that I understand how it all hangs together, i.e. what all the software does (AWEUTIL, AWEDIAG, etc), and how games use it. And the behavior of this hardware is different in DOS and Windows (95 in my case). I can't get general MIDI out of it in DOS for example, but in Windows I can load a sound font and get some very nice GM action.

Today I discovered that I can apply reverb and chorus to the AWE output in DOS with a CT2290 (an original Sound Blaster 16) but not with a Vibra16S (CT2800). I don't know why - I know that the Vibra16S has a less capable mixer, but why would that impact the CT1920, which is physically independent?

Anyway, I'll keep playing with it.

<snip image>

Have you found a way to load SoundFonts in to an awe64 in DOS? I've been wanting to do this for a while.

Reply 1154 of 28625, by badmojo

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t
kithylin wrote:

Have you found a way to load SoundFonts in to an awe64 in DOS? I've been wanting to do this for a while.

No I haven't tried, but according to DonutKing (on another forum):

You can load soundfonts on the AWE in pure DOS but you are limited to *.SBK files, of which there aren't that many soundfonts, let alone good ones.

It also takes over a minute load even a 2MB soundfont in DOS- at least, it did when I tried it.

Life? Don't talk to me about life.

Reply 1155 of 28625, by zstandig

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

At the recycle center I found a PC in an AT case. I promptly took it. At home I checked it out.

It's a socket 7 board with a Pentium MMX inside.
It has slots for SDRAM and EDO RAM.
Onboard PATA and Floppy controllers.
PCI
A GPU, Sound, Network, and Modem. (I took out the modem)

It has a 24x optical drive and a floppy drive. The front is badly yellowed.

I eventually plan to put in a higher capacity PATA drive, maybe see if one of my K6 CPUs work in it, then perhaps put my Soundblaster 16 inside.

Only caveats are that I have no PS/2 Keyboard nor a Serial Mouse...and my only monitor is a wide LCD. Though it can take VGA I doubt it will display properly. In any event I'm glad I found it.

Reply 1156 of 28625, by oerk

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

Nice find!

Reply 1157 of 28625, by leileilol

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

DEALING WITH A 3DFX CPU FILTER ARGH

Can't get no precision enough for filter subtlety

btw this is total cleanroom reverse engineering, no reference or sample of 3dfx code or docs were ever read and no email to Gary was done.

Last edited by leileilol on 2015-05-04, 20:11. Edited 1 time in total.

apsosig.png
long live PCem

Reply 1158 of 28625, by Blurredman

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member
zstandig wrote:

I have no PS/2 Keyboard nor a Serial Mouse...

Get out of this forum!!! 😊 😊

Nice find though!! I recently found an AT keyboard, serial mouse and an old 12" CRT monitor but no PC... I just took the KB..

http://blurredmanswebsite.ddns.net/ 😊

Reply 1159 of 28625, by brostenen

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Long time since I have been doing any real retro activity.

Anyway.
I have been rebuilding my fic pa-2013 machine.
This time it is an k6-2 500, paired with 128 Mb of ram.
An TNT2 M64 agp and my AWE32 CT-3900 with 2mb RAM.

It is yet again running MS-Dos 6.22. No windows.

My problem is, or I am thinking about replacing the AWE32 with an AWE64 Gold.
The problem is or should I say. My reasons for not, is that I will loose the OPL chip.
On the other hand. This machine is for high end DOS games. (late 90's stuff)
And they almost all support AWE sound.

What to do?

Don't eat stuff off a 15 year old never cleaned cpu cooler.
Those cakes make you sick....

My blog: http://to9xct.blogspot.dk
My YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/brostenen

001100 010010 011110 100001 101101 110011