DOS/4GW and DOSBox XMS/EMS Settings \ VOGONS

DOS/4GW and DOSBox XMS/EMS Settings

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First post, by Red_88

Posted on 2019-11-20, 00:02

Red_88 Offline

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Hello,
Since I have some games which use DOS/4GW and reading the manuals of these games some question are coming up.
For example I have a game called Fast Attack, the manual states only that it needs at least 528kb of free conventional memory and at least 8mb of RAM. The manual does not mention XMS/EMS. I have read DOS Extenders actually can manage memory by themselves. The game runs with dosbox settings XMS=false, EMS=false. Question is if it is recommend doing it this way or should I change my settings.

In Silent Hunter the manual states it needs: 8mb of ram, minimum 500,000 bytes of free conventional and 6,900,000 bytes of free XMS.
Both games use DOS/4GW (Silent Hunter doesn't show the DOS/4GW banner. But I checked the .exe for it with the bind utility from DOS32A).

Another (but older example) I have is AEGIS:Guardian of the fleet, it uses DOS/4GW 1.8 and also requires XMS or EMS memory.

How come different games which all use DOS/4GW are different of the requirement of XMS memory?

Reply 1 of 3, by kjliew

Posted on 2019-11-20, 04:58

kjliew Offline

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Red_88 wrote:
The game runs with dosbox settings XMS=false, EMS=false. Question is if it is recommend doing it this way or should I change my settings.

If you are using DOSBox, then you do not have to tinker with the settings for XMS or EMS for DOS4G/W games. The defaults work very well.

Reply 2 of 3, by dr_st

Posted on 2019-11-20, 09:56

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kjliew wrote:
If you are using DOSBox, then you do not have to tinker with the settings for XMS or EMS for DOS4G/W games. The defaults work very well.

Exactly.

Red_88 wrote:
How come different games which all use DOS/4GW are different of the requirement of XMS memory?

My guess is that some of these manuals, when they say "XMS" they just mean "RAM", as these have been sometimes used interchangeably (even if it's technically incorrect). They shouldn't need an XMS manager like HIMEM.SYS, because DOS4G/W manages that by itself, but they still need whatever amount of physical RAM they need.

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Reply 3 of 3, by Red_88

Posted on 2019-11-20, 23:31

Red_88 Offline

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OK. Thanks.

So the Fast Attack Manual got it right about memory requirements.

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