r00tb33r wrote on 2024-08-12, 19:35:

Nemo1985 wrote on 2024-08-12, 15:27:

yes it's very verbose but in the end?
Are we all going to use 960kb of conventional ram? It doesn't seem so.

Yeah, but when you can get anything close to that you pretty much don't need to worry about the size of your TSRs... Just use whichever you like.

In the current condition is hardly usable, not compatible with latest dos version and if it was such genious idea why it hasn't be vastly adopted backin time?

I'm having great luck, in testing, with these "replacements/alternatives" in PC-DOS 7.1 Rev 0 BLD134:

CD-Drivers:
- SHSUCDX.COM (8k) / SHCDX86.COM (8kb) - (v3.09)
- CDROM.SYS (http://www.win3x.org/win3board/ext/win3x/down … oad.php?id=1266) (4K) - MS CDROM.SYS (unsure of version, claims to be MS-DOS 6.22 era)

Also using:
- CTM21B4.EXE (6kb) - Cute Mouse v2.1 beta 4 (using with CLOAKING.EXE, 64kb)
- HIMEM.SYS (15kb) - v3.15 .. I know newer versions exist, but am unsure on XT/AT system compatibility
- EMM386 (117kb) - v4.5 .. I know newer versions exist, but am unsure on XT/AT system compatibility

red_avatar wrote on 2021-12-31, 13:13:

I've done a LOT of testing on many different systems over the past two years using a mix of original & replacement drivers and I […]
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I've done a LOT of testing on many different systems over the past two years using a mix of original & replacement drivers and I found the following:

- CTMOUSE is not worth it - way too many games have issues with it:
* games not detecting the mouse
* game speed being wrong or X/Y axis having different speeds
* weird jittery movement in some games
* weird acceleration in some games
* some games straight out go bonkers where the mouse flies to the edge of the screen (Delphine games mostly - Cruise for a Corpse, Stealth Affair, etc.)
* games straight up crashing on start

If you have a specific game that demands a certain amount of conventional memory and doesn't conflict, it's a good option, otherwise, just use the Microsoft mouse driver for best compatibility

In the DOS era, I used the Mighty Cat mouse driver that came with my first mouse. This mouse driver also worked with my later Microsoft mice and required less RAM than the Microsoft mouse driver. The compatibility with games was very high. I had no problems with this mouse driver and the games I played.

elianda wrote on 2021-03-14, 12:13:

The more general question is, what features do the smaller drivers drop to have such a small memory footprint. This is not well documented mostly.
e.g. Kanji file structures, CD-ROM XA, CD-I...

That's a good question. Missing features can be a reason. But it is also possible to program more efficiently and thus require less memory for the same functionality. It is also possible that a more memory-efficient programming method leads to poorer performance. The latter is probably less relevant for input devices, but in other cases, e.g. a graphics driver, it can play a role. It may even happen that you need more memory to program around quirks of existing software.

Exploit wrote on 2024-09-20, 01:03:

elianda wrote on 2021-03-14, 12:13:

The more general question is, what features do the smaller drivers drop to have such a small memory footprint. This is not well documented mostly.
e.g. Kanji file structures, CD-ROM XA, CD-I...

That's a good question. Missing features can be a reason. But it is also possible to program more efficiently and thus require less memory for the same functionality. It is also possible that a more memory-efficient programming method leads to poorer performance. The latter is probably less relevant for input devices, but in other cases, e.g. a graphics driver, it can play a role. It may even happen that you need more memory to program around quirks of existing software.

VIDECDD definitely drops some functionality that games use since I've encountered quite a few games that fail to work properly. I mentioned Little Big Adventure before which will fail to work properly because it crashes loading speech files.

I personally have a menu option for full compatibility for DOS4GW games where conventional memory is not important because I've had too many instances of CT Mouse or VIDECDD causing issues. Even Unisound while great can cause certain games to crash (Innocent Until Caught for example). I even add a BATCH file to games that require specific setups to give the chance to cancel out and pick the right menu option.

red_avatar wrote on 2024-12-11, 10:40:

I personally have a menu option for full compatibility for DOS4GW games where conventional memory is not important because I've had too many instances of CT Mouse or VIDECDD causing issues. Even Unisound while great can cause certain games to crash (Innocent Until Caught for example). I even add a BATCH file to games that require specific setups to give the chance to cancel out and pick the right menu option.

Hi, may I request your config files please? Could be a nice addition to my collection...
Thanks