| 03-08-2007 08:21 PM | ||
| jg007 |
it would be pretty easy to create a new installer that copied all dosbox files, created a default folder on the C drive and a desktop shortcut to start dosbox auto mounting that folder but as said by others I think that as dosgames do not auto install people would have to learn at least a little dos at some point anyway. I think a starter Abandonia installer / iso along with a collection of some popular games, the latest dosbox and a simple menu front end might be an easier option for those users that have problems. |
|
| 27-07-2007 12:12 PM | ||
| The Fifth Horseman |
Something like that. The installer could either be configured to reject paths that point just to a drive letter with no subdirectory or automatically create a subdirectory (DOSGAMES or sth like that) in there. |
|
| 26-07-2007 08:59 PM | ||
| Data |
i don't think 5th intends to "hard code" mount c c:\ in it more something like mount c c:\dosgamesfoldercreatedbyabandonianinstaller |
|
| 26-07-2007 05:52 PM | ||
| Eagle of Fire |
Would it not also be kind of dangerous? I always thought the whole point of starting in Z:\ was two folds: it give out a lot of possibilities and more importantly, make the neophyte realize that they can indeed mess their own HD up because they do hook up the HD as C:\ or whatever themselves. If the C:\ prompt was given by default, a strong warning should be given at the same time... |
|
| 26-07-2007 09:16 AM | ||
| The Fifth Horseman |
Personally, I see that the two most frequent issues newbies have with DOSBox are a. Mounting their games dir and b. changing to the C drive So by adding a simple additional step during the DOSBox installation - one that would add the appropriate two lines to DOSBox.conf - both of those would be greatly reduced in a single stroke. Of course, the users would have to learn both sooner or later (when they'd want to run a CD game, an ISO or anything else that requires a second drive mount), but it would greatly simplify things on the very beginning of their experience with DOSBox. |
|
| 26-07-2007 04:59 AM | ||
| Eagle of Fire |
I understand what you mean Sebastianos and I completely agree. But there is one thing which come into account, as far as I am concerned: I don't want to help such people if they have no intention of helping themselves in the first place. I'm all about helping people. I like doing that... But actually doing all the work for them? Excuse me, but I'd rather be paid to do that... Plus, my own moto for computers always been: play with it and understand how it works, or else just leave it to the knowledgeble persons. If the only thing you want to know about playing games is where you need to push the "on" button, consoles were created for you, friend. |
|
| 26-07-2007 12:38 AM | ||
| Sebatianos |
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eagle of Fire @ Jul 25 2007, 08:09 PM) [snapback]301354[/snapback]</div> Quote:
When the first house/personal computers hit the market, there were specialised stores to sell you the computer and give you a lot of technical support. They didn't spoonfeed you, but they helped you understand. Then C64 came to the market. Almost no tech support and you basically were spoonfed with what you wanted (you didn't need to understand the workings, you just got the info on how to run software - mostly games). It still holds the record for most units sold of the same model of the computer. Or another example, windows. Why have they become so wide spread? Because they're easy to use. And the easier they are, the less people learn. Do you really think that people know or even care what an icon, how it links to something, how the mouse works to move the pointer to the icon and what calculations the CPU does in order to run a programme when you click on the icon? No, the people just know it's easier to click on the icon then to get the programme to run in any other way. Move the mouse and double-click (easier, faster and less to remember then let's say using the command run, when you'd have to browse the programes on your computer and know the directory in which the executable programme is and then even know which file starts it all). So the big question here is - do we want to teach people how to use DOSBox, or do we want them to be satisfied with the programme? My opinon is simple (basing it on personal experiance). The vast majority of people (my guess would be over 70%) wouldn't care about learning, but would just want to use it. Those who want to lear will still go into detail and learn about it though. Just compare it with driving a car. How many drivers acctually care about how the gears on the car work, what they do and so on? They just want to know when to switch them and how - or if possible they prefer to get an automatic car instead of a stickshift. |
|
| 25-07-2007 06:19 PM | ||
| Mighty Midget |
It comes down to how many dozens of posts we want every day, in every topic, on how to set it up. Other than that, I agree: By spoonfeeding them, they will never learn much. |
|
| 25-07-2007 06:09 PM | ||
| Eagle of Fire |
I'll probably be shot down again for saying this, but I am against such initiative. If someone is too lazy to actually read the text file which come with DOSBox, why would we help him with DOSBox in the first place? DOS is very easy and intuitive once you know the very few commands you need to know, and those games are DOS games. I'm all about helping people understand how it works... But by spoonfeeding them all what they want at the same time, we're not helping them in the long run. |
|
| 25-07-2007 05:28 PM | ||
| Sebatianos | Having a DOSBox especially for abandonia might be very nice. This would bring us back to the old question of repacking some old archives though (Anubis complained and suggested about it a long time ago - but nothing happened). I guess most games added in last three years don't have that problem anymore. | |
| This thread has more than 10 replies. Click here to review the whole thread. | ||
