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Step-by-step guide to QEMU and QEMU-3dfx for artards?

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First post, by WDStudios

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Okay so... I just learned that my retro computing needs might be best met by a combination of QEMU, qemu-3dfx, a WinXP or Win98 guest machine, and some WineD3D dlls installed on the guest. I'd like to give this a whirl, but the problem is that I've never touched QEMU and have no idea how it works or how to use it. I've also heard that I might have to compile qemu-3dfx myself? Anyway, I was hoping someone here would have some experience in these matters and could put together a step-by-step guide for artards like me.

The tests will be conducted on an Xubuntu Core 20.04 host (laptop, not the rig mentioned in my signature). I've already installed QEMU from the Synaptic package manager.

Since people like posting system specs:

LGA 2011
Core i7 Sandy Bridge @ 3.6 ghz
4 GB of RAM in quad-channel
Geforce GTX 780
1600 x 1200 monitor
Dual-booting WinXP Integral Edition and Win7 Pro 64-bit
-----
XP compatibility is the hill that I will die on.

Reply 1 of 7, by daerlnaxe

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For the while i'm against a wall.

- I compiled successfull on windows 10 Qemu and Qemu+3dfx patch but i got an headashe..
- I compiled successfull for ubuntu it not so difficult but i forsaken to cross compiled for windows, and didn't try for 3dfx patch

I think it's probably more simple for ubuntu debian, than for windows.

I got a bit of help by QEMU team, the guy that made the 3dfx patch want to be paid... i understand but currently i can't and in all cases i want to see before.
WHPX needs to have an amd processor from what i read...

I compiled wrappers too and since today i try to launch games on windows 98 guest with windows 10 host, it's impossible for
- P.O.D
- CROC
- Half LIFe
- 3D mark 99

No game successfull launched with a windows 10 host, he talk about kvm on wiki page but kvm is experimental for windows 10 host, i ask my self if it can really work with windows 10 host for 3dfx games. Perhaps i missed something, i placed the files to the right dir on guest. r

It seems to work well with linux according to his videos. For the while i don't know more, there is not a lot of people able to answer to you.

It's sad he never made a demo with time limit or something like that to allow people to see by theirselves.

The only thing i can say it's for 2d games, tested with baldur's gate >200mmx installation, QEMU works fine, without sound problem or whatever.. even on the the i5 2.3ghz (my old laptop)

i want to make a tutorial for my own language i doubt to be able to make one in english but if i can run games i can try and others people will help me to write it in a good english.

edit:
to activate ahxm it seems there is this manipulation to do.
https://www.qemu.org/2017/11/22/haxm-usage-windows/

OK in my case i understood why it was impossible to run games, i don't have system requirements, i discovered at the total end for requirements by understanding command line used...

Reply 2 of 7, by WDStudios

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wds@X-23:~$ sudo apt-get build-dep qemu
[sudo] password for wds:
Reading package lists... Done
E: You must put some 'deb-src' URIs in your sources.list
wds@X-23:~$

So ummm... what repos am I supposed to add?

Since people like posting system specs:

LGA 2011
Core i7 Sandy Bridge @ 3.6 ghz
4 GB of RAM in quad-channel
Geforce GTX 780
1600 x 1200 monitor
Dual-booting WinXP Integral Edition and Win7 Pro 64-bit
-----
XP compatibility is the hill that I will die on.

Reply 3 of 7, by daerlnaxe

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i don't know at all what you are doing. It doesn't look to have a common with instructions i saw before to compile.

I continued since and it's a dead end... it's true you could activate whpx, i did it and the result is a freeze right after the login. There is one or two people that successfull compiled it...
without a full package containing a windows 98 unactivated, with wrappers... a qemu 3dfx package to launch it, it's a lost of time. It's under the "GNU2" then i ask myself why there is no package about it and the only answer with the author is to make a "donation" that couldn't be refund if it can not work with your hardware. There is obscure reason to justify it, it's more like a trap for the while than to preserve games.

imagine you want to buy a car, you can't see the car, you have just screenshot on internet...
I don't know at all why there is NO tutorial efficient to compile it successfully. And strange when a people want to make a tutorial, there is NO help. Imagine you want to democratize your work, on a gnu2 licence, you are happy to make a community where the most experimented will help the beginners. Here, it seems to be a real block to let information spread.

Reply 4 of 7, by daerlnaxe

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Ok i don't edit to notify because perhaps people already read it. I'm surprized too but i successfull ran it with Unreal Tournament. I was disgusted to lost so much time to understand how it works and the lack of informations

I recompiled wrappers under Linux but i saw no difference
I ran UT in tim mode (open gl experimental) and it worked... but i couldn't use the 3dfx mode.
Late i used OpenGlide and i ran it in 3dfx mode, a bit slower than tim mode and no 1080P but more stable.
I removed Openglide and i don't know why but it still to works with compiled wrappers, i don't understand but i made so much modifications..

I will test other games, probably write a tutorial for my native language. I can't say i will make one for english people because as you can read i'm really bad in english.

I can't say to people "buy it !" for the while, but it's powerful on demos.. i need to verify compatibility. It doesn't change my opinion on author, he is not really nice at all, and it's sad because there is perhaps a good solution with his project.

Reply 5 of 7, by mr.cat

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The previous thread about qemu-3dfx may be worth a look if you haven't seen it.
There's talk about this compilation stuff and maybe you can get some explanation about why things are like they are 😁

As for tutorial, the one in the README should mostly "just work" but that's Linux.
I wouldn't think the compilation is that much different in Windows (but I'm a Linux guy so what do I know).

WDStudios, I think you can just duplicate the "deb" lines (and then just replace "deb" with "deb-src").
(The files for apt configuration are probably located in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ - but this depends on distro)

Reply 6 of 7, by daerlnaxe

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I finished to compile even if it was hard, i mixed a lot of things from here, from wiki page of the project, from QEMU wiki itself etc etc... I will have to clean everything to restart and reproduce everything.

There were a lot of missing packages, instruction to compile etc etc.. you have some packages already installed on linux that you will not have on windows with msys2. QEMU say to begin with MSYS2 then to pass under mingw but it's to old in reality, you must stay under msys 2 all time. At the end you will have dll missing on windows10 you will not have under linux because it's monolithic with nodes. Then it will ok if you run under msys2 but crash if you run from powershell..
There is a package to do...

Etc etc...

For the while i continue to test games, i must test 2 or 3 more.

After that i will begin to make a pdf for my language... It's not i doesn't want to make one in english but i don't have the level skill in english. If it's really required i can make one, but i will have to receive help in english for the correction. I add, i'm in total job changement after a long sickness.

If people want to see a sample:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHu-5S1pTcU&t=611s