alberthamik wrote on 2021-03-01, 11:55:
In Windows I tried using Boxedwine with Requiem: Avenging Angel (1999), and Gunmetal (1998). The former runs fine until I get into the game proper then the performance tanks, and Gunmetal is kind of infamous for running too fast on modern machines and strangely ran too fast in the menus, then the framerate ultra tanked and it went down to like 1-2 frames a second ingame. Actually, when I first tried using it, the games wouldn't run in Boxedwine's 64-bit executable, then suddenly after using the 32-bit executable once, they finally did open in the 64-bit one. I got the "better" results with the 64-bit executable, as they ended up both running too slow consistently in the 32-bit executable.
Yes, the 32-bit version of Boxedwine can be pretty slow. A lot of my time now is spent on the 64-bit version because it performs so much better. I tried the demo of Gunmetal on the 32-bit version of Boxedwine with my i7-6700 and it seemed somewhat playable, the sound had a lot of issues, but the controls, menus and just overall feel seemed pretty good. For the 64-bit version, it was a mess, completely unplayable. If I just tapped a key, it would bring me to the other side of the room. I didn't look into the running code, but I assume they are using the RDTSC (time stamp counter) for timing. This does not work on multi CPU systems because each CPU has its own RDTSC counter. For my x64 builds, I use the hosts RDTSC, so I don't emulate it at all. That might explain the crazy behavior. For my 32-bit build, I think I emulate it pretty well. This game might work well in Boxedwine using the 32-bit build, but on a faster computer than I have. What was the speed of your computer?
I will experiment with adding an emulated rdtsc instruction on x64 (kind of like a compatibility mode). It will slow it down, but that should be fine because it should only be necessary for older games.