How to increase the resolution in DOSBox?
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I currently play Daggerfall and looked for a way to increase the resolution.
I found this: http://theelderscrolls.wiwiland.net/...erfallSetup_EN I have a 1920x1200 screen resolution, so I changed fullresolution=original to fullresolution=1920x1200. The resolution seems to have changed but in full screen the picture stays in windowed size, the rest of the screen remains black. I put a screenshot in the attachment. In addition, when I change to fullscreen now, DOSBox goes back to windowed mode after about a second, but only when the game runs. Any idea how I can have the 1920x1200 resolution in fullscreen? Thanks. |
No idea why DOSBox should fall back to windowed mode... O_O
You did right with fullresolution, but you also need to change "scaler": anything but the default "surface" value will fix your problem, pick "overlay". Also change "aspect" to "true". Quote:
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The image stays in the middle with the rest of the screen black, like in the screenshot I've attached to the original post in this thread. Furthermore when I set output=overlay the screen goes back to windowed mode again after ~one second. |
Changing output is a must, because surface is the only one that doesn't support scaling.
The problem about fullscreen going back to windowed is very strange, perhaps the drivers are responsible. Try every possible option for "output" in case one of them works for you. Are you sure 1920x1200 is supported by your hardware? Check the desktop display properties. Also, be aware that if and when this works, you don't really get higher resolution per se (but you do get better scaling). That is, you will see the image as pixelated as originally in an old monitor. This is unless you also change "scaler" to anything but normal2x or normal3x; but this only reduces the pixelation of the edges in exchange for blurring the image, and I can't really recommend it. Obviously, you can't make a high resolution image out of a low resolution one. Playing DOS games isn't about good graphics anyway. Now I gotta go to sleep... :) |
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Looks like the "going back to windowed mode" problem was caused by the xBox 360 controller I had plugged in an USB port. Still, the picture remains small in the middle of the black full screen. What do I have to do to make the picture expand across the full screen? |
Overlay output doesn't support scaling to anything else than multiples of the original resolution. Switch to ddraw.
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But, AnyKey, do experiment with any possible option for output. Also try changing scaler, even to and fro the 2x and 3x--although as far as I know there's a difference between those only when resolution=original... Bear in mind this may be a driver issue, in that land there are lots of particularities and bugs beyond DOSBox's control. There's a test can make: take a screenshot while fullscreen, but not with DOSBox, rather with Windows (PrnScr). Then paste the image somewhere (MS Paint) and measure the actual resolution of the image finally sent by the graphic card. In case this should not be what you expected (1920x1200), that would really explain this and may point to a cause. I'm intrigued by this, because graphic scaling is a part of DOSBox at the same time complicated and grossly undocumented and hugely important. |
That's how I remember it behaving on my machine. I might be wrong.
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Thanks, I use ddraw atm and the picture is stretched almost across the whole screen, but only almost. It remains a broad black stripe on each side. What can I do that the whole screen is used, without any black bars?
Edit: Screenshot direct link: http://i55.tinypic.com/mv17c4.jpg |
On widescreen monitors, this is as good as it gets. The game uses a 4:3 aspect ratio, like most DOS games, whereas your monitor's aspect ratio is 8:5.
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Everybody wants not to have those black stripes. :( Y U NO like unused area of your monitor?
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So does it work for you with "ddraw" and not with "overlay", or was it something else? It would be interesting to know. (Dunno, it may make sense. All this is undocumented, but I think those DOSBox options are probably enum values simply forwarded to SDL calls. Judging from the name, overlay might mean writing directly to the video memory. So maybe the result could vary depending on the particular hardware. DirectX on the other hand is an industry standard API and any driver is responsible to produce the same result out of the same call.) |
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I haven't tested anything besides overlay and ddraw yet. Maybe something else might produce an even better result. |
I see, in my machine the results are the same with overlay and ddraw. I'll recommend ddraw from now on, thanks for reporting back.
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hi this is a reply to all. ive recently installed an old DOS game called x-wing and had to then install DOSbox and make modifications to the options file as you have mentioned above. ok this is what i have done to have it work perfectly on my widescreen laptop - fullscreen=true (loads DOSbox in fullscreen aspect (alt+enter to revert)) fullresolution=0x0 (played with a number of settings inc 1024x768. however, opted for 0x0 to give best results) output=ddraw scaler=2xsai (this gives best smooth pixel results for xwing. google others) hope it helps. im new to DOSbox (though im from the era its a while since ive used DOS). |
The scaler is a matter of personal preference. I like to use normal so I get an image as close as possible to the original, even if it looks pixelated--of course these old games looked pixelated originally.
Using a smoothing scaler such as sai doesn't create an image with higher resolution, the image is what the game has and that's it. By using this scaler you fool the eye, reducing pixelation, in exchange of adding noise and "blurring" the image. Whatever looks better to you is best for you, of course, i.e. this is a subjective matter of aesthetics. It can also depend on the kind of image: photograph-like images may look nicer by reducing pixelation, and less ugly because of the blur; whereas "pixel art" may resent a lot from blurring and gain nothing from smoothing the edges. Here you can compare the alternative scalers: http://www.dosbox.com/wiki/Scaler Where did you hear about using "0x0" resolution? Thanks a lot, I didn't know about it, and it's not documented, but I've found this from the author of DOSBox: http://www.sierrahelp.com/forums/vie...p=19985#p19985 Quote:
1024x768 can't be right for you, because it's 4:3 and you said your monitor is wide. |
you know it
You gotta scale the windows in nvidia control panel then it works right. maeby you have been used some hdmi cabel to connect your computer to other screen. ant that's why it hasn't restore scaleing system.
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Thanks!
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I had the exact problem (black screen with little square for game in middle). Your tips did it... I think it was especially changing the display to "overlay", although I have no idea why it got changed or stopped working. All my games were fine before, then suddenly none of them work anymore until I make these small changes. Totally weird, but THANKS!!! |
Thank-you, Eumaeus!!!!!!
Eumaus, after days of frustration I have found your perfect instructions for anyone having problems making DOS programs play in full-screen mode via DosBox in Windows 7.
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After DOSBox has installed just stay inside Windows and go to the folder where you have installed DOSBox and find the file that is called "DOSBox 0.74 Options.bat". Double-click on "DOSBox 0.74 Options.bat" and it will open up and you will see that it is also called "dosbox-0.74.conf". For some mysterious reason, to do with the clever inner workings of DOSBox, you don't need to worry about this. Ignore all directions you have seen to edit the *.conf" file. By editing "DOSBox 0.74 Options.bat" you ARE editing the ".conf" file! Just move your cursor into this configuration file and make the changes that Eumaeus has listed. The terms "fullscreen", "fullresolution", and "output" are all in the first block of commands that are hard up against the left margin. Change the values as Eumaeus has suggested (above). Then move down the page to the section which is headed "[render]", and find the term "scaler". Change its value as Eumaeus has suggested. Then go up to "File" and click "Save". Then close the windows. For some reason you will notice in Explorer that the date associated with this file will not have changed although you will have just modified its contents. Don't worry about this mystery either. Just relaunch one of your DOS programs now and see how they load in a full screen AND that you can still use the mouse and/or keyboard. For anyone having trouble creating DOSBox shortcuts to their DOS programs, make sure that the Target in your shortcut reads: C:\DOSBox\DOSBox.exe -userconf -exit "C:\DOS-programs\[name of specific dos-game foler]\[name of the executable file].exe" In the above example c:\DOSBox is the directory in which I have chosen to install the DOSBox program, and c:\DOS-programs is the adjacent folder in which I have placed a number of different DOS programs, each one of them in a different sub-folder. Once again, many thanks to Eumaeus. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Keywords to help other frustrated DOS-users find this web-page: DOSBox, full-screen, mouse, keyboard, exit, 1920x1080, resolution, small, DOS programs http://www.davidcade.net |
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I guess that: Start menu -> all programs -> dosbox 0.74 -> options -> dosbox 0.74 options Is too complicated for you to open/edit the dosbox conf file ...... ??????? Ah well. |
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By double-clicking the batch script, you run the commands contained inside it, not edit its' contents. This is what the BAT contains: Code:
DOSBox.exe -editconf notepad.exe -editconf %SystemRoot%\system32\notepad.exe -editconf %WINDIR%\notepad.exe |
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