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3D Gamestudio ACKNEX 3

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First post, by iciz

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I'm trying to get the 3D Gamestudio (ACKNEX 3) World Editor running in DOSBox. You can download application from here: http://server.conitec.net/down/a3p.zip

At the moment I've only been able to get it running inside a Windows 98 VM by execution of the included batch files in the sample project folders. However, performance in the VM feels sub-optimal and I can't seem to use any of the world editor's advanced display options (SVGA mode). But every effort to run it straight from DOS (through DOSBox, Windows 98/ XP) has failed.

Here is what page 4 of the manual says (included with the application download above):

WED is a DOS application, but runs under Windows 95 as well. Start the world editor with the following DOS command: […]
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WED is a DOS application, but runs under Windows 95 as well. Start the world editor with the following DOS command:

WED [WED options] name[.WDL] [name.WMP] [ACKNEX options]

If you omit the WMP name, WED loads the WMP file which is declared in the WDL script. Should this file not exist, it will be created.

You can give the following WED command line options (the ACKNEX options are discussed in the next chapter):

-S SVGA resolution 800x600

-I SVGA resolution 1024x768

-VESA Use VESA BIOS for the graphic display (slower!). Start with this option if your video card has a nonsupported chipset and the SVGA display seems distorted (e.g. Matrox Mystique).

-VGA Start with this option if you don't have a SVGA card. Floor and wall textures, however, cannot be displayed in this mode.

Executing START.BAT inside the demo project folder on the Windows 98 VM will launch the editor, but it only works in VGA mode. The batch file code is this:

C:
if EXIST \GSTUDIO\WED.EXE \GSTUDIO\WED -VGA VRDEMO

Changing "-VGA" to "-S" or anything else here seems to crash the editor when trying to launch it from inside the VM.

I've tried just mounting the folder and loading the editor through DOSBox, but it always fails and usually returns an error message saying it can't load the file.

My custom dosbox.conf file is setup like this at the moment:

[autoexec] mount C "a3p" C:\ PROFI\WED.EXE -VGA \DEMO\VRDEMO exit […]
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[autoexec]
mount C "a3p"
C:\
PROFI\WED.EXE -VGA \DEMO\VRDEMO
exit

Maybe I just have the paths setup wrong?

Reply 1 of 4, by ripsaw8080

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iciz wrote:

Maybe I just have the paths setup wrong?

Yes, it can't find the files that way.

Use the same mount command as before, if that works for you, then:

C:
CD DEMO
\PROFI\WED -VGA VRDEMO

Then it complains about a syntax error in MOVE.WDL, but editing out the stray curly brace gets the thing running.

It seems that the SVGA modes only work with the machine=svga_et4000 setting in DOSBox, and then you also have to load the Tseng-specific VESA driver: TLIVESA.COM

Reply 2 of 4, by iciz

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Thank you kind stranger!

I'm a complete newbie when it comes to DOS commands, so I knew it had to be simple.

Works for me with just machine=svga_et4000, but how exactly do you load that driver? I'm still new to DOSBox and can't find any info on the subject yet.

Reply 3 of 4, by ripsaw8080

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You only need the TLIVESA driver if you plan to use the app's -VESA option with the machine=svga_et4000 setting as well as the -I and -S options. If you use the default machine=svga_s3 setting then the -VESA option works without extra drivers.

Reply 4 of 4, by iciz

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So is there any advantage to using the VESA mode? Manual seems to say it's only for when you can't run SVGA mode and/or compatibility with older hardware.