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I simply cannot play this game. It doesn't work in Windows at all (although I SWEAR I played it straight out of XP once upon a time), but even in DOSbox I'm having problems. When I attempt to run it, the game says "Requires Level 9 H.U.G.E".

Running ANALYSE.EXE appears to be a setup of sorts (the file called INSTALL is not an executable and cannot be 'run') and it produces several lines of scrolling text that says "Level 9", so I assume that I'm on the right track. After I ran that, the game actually boots when I run DESERT.BAT or HUGE.EXE, but it inevitably crashes when I look at the map, sometimes it still doesn't even run in the first place. I have also tried running the game with HUGE /W as the ANALYSE.EXE screen advises in the event that the first lot of scrolling "Level 9" text doesn't work, even though it actually does.

PLEASE HELP ME! If you could be so kind, please assume I have no knowledge of DOSbox apart from basic mounting drive / navigation commands and spell it out for me step by step. I don't want to overlook something that someone else might think obvious. I've never changed my DOSbox configuration and wouldn't even know how to... and preferably would like to avoid it if it means I'll likely have compatibility issues with my games that already run. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me play this game, I really want to get back into it.

PS. The Amiga version is NOT an option for me, although I would love to play it with those graphics. I looked into Amiga emulators and they are ALL ridiculously complicated and require some Kickstart ROM that costs money and I am not prepared to pay for considering I don't even understand the program that is used to run it and can't guarantee it will work.

PPS. The Turbografx version looks horrible, so that's not an option either.

I meant to say that the extension for HUGE.EXE is actually /V, not /W, so unfortunately that's not my issue either. I should also mention that I didn't try looking at the map with the /V extension but that is because the animation was absolutely terrible and choppy when I ran it using /V.

I mean /V, not /W.

I didn't play long enough using /V to see if it crashed because it made the animation terrible and greatly detracted from my enjoyment.

[zirkoni]

Originally Posted by dosbox.com

It will run fine with a standard DOSBox configuration, but with few modifications it will be even better:

• The SoundBlaster I/O address and IRQ's must be set to 220,3,1 for sound effects to work. See the README file for more info.
  [sblaster]
  sbbase=220
  irq=3
  dma=1
  When configured correctly, you should be able to hear the comet come crashing down during the intro.
• It is a real-mode game so it will run slowly in DOSBox unless you change the CPU-settings.
  [cpu]
  core=dynamic
  cycles=max

PS: Changing the game setup is done with the command "DESERT /I".

The game is running fine here. Start the game with DESERT.BAT.

You can edit the DOSBox configuration from Start Menu -> DOSBox-0.74 -> Options -> DOSBox 0.74 Options.

After you have edited the DOSBox options you could save the edited conf file e.g. in the game folder. Then create a new shortcut for dosbox.exe and in the target add
-conf "x:\path\dosbox-0.74.conf"
(x:\path\ is the path to the conf file you saved previously and dosbox-0.74.conf is the filename).
After that the target line should look something like:
"C:\Program Files\DOSBox-0.74\dosbox.exe" -conf "C:\path\dosbox-0.74.conf"
Now this game uses the edited conf file and other games are unaffected.

Originally Posted by zirkoni

The game is running fine here. Start the game with DESERT.BAT.

You can edit the DOSBox configuration from Start Menu -> DOSBox-0.74 -> Options -> DOSBox 0.74 Options.

After you have edited the DOSBox options you could save the edited conf file e.g. in the game folder. Then create a new shortcut for dosbox.exe and in the target add
-conf "x:\path\dosbox-0.74.conf"
(x:\path\ is the path to the conf file you saved previously and dosbox-0.74.conf is the filename).
After that the target line should look something like:
"C:\Program Files\DOSBox-0.74\dosbox.exe" -conf "C:\path\dosbox-0.74.conf"
Now this game uses the edited conf file and other games are unaffected.

I'm having a hard time getting this to work consistently. I'm using DBGL as a frontend, and have set the sound properly (IRQ 3). I've gone through the game configuration and selected sound blaster for the music and the sound effects, and then run the game. At best, I am able to get the sound effects to work once, and then no more. Once I restart the game they are gone, and the only way to get them back is to recopy the game files into the directory from the copy I got from Cinemaware's website. Using the "save configuration and run game" option doesn't make a difference either. I am storing the game in DBGL's dosroot directory, and running dosbox 0.74. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[zirkoni]

Originally Posted by kjps86

I'm using DBGL as a frontend

There's your problem, don't use frontends. They can cause compatibility issues.

Originally Posted by kjps86

I am storing the game in DBGL's dosroot directory

You mean you're running the game from the root of your virtual c-drive? That's not a good idea, it's better to put the game in a folder on your virtual c-drive, use the "cd" command to change directory and then run the game.

Originally Posted by zirkoni

There's your problem, don't use frontends. They can cause compatibility issues.


You mean you're running the game from the root of your virtual c-drive? That's not a good idea, it's better to put the game in a folder on your virtual c-drive, use the "cd" command to change directory and then run the game.

I will try running it without the frontend tonight or tomorrow. I definitely appreciate the convenience of DBGL but there are a few things it seems incapable of handling (or maybe I just can't hack it :P )

As for the drive I'm running it in, I placed the game files in c:\DBGL\dosroot\DESERT

I've got a number of other games in the dosroot folder, each in their own individual file. If you were worried that I was placing the files in my computer's c:\ directory then worry not. I may be a DOS n00b but I'm not quite that crazy. As for the reasoning behind placing the game in that folder, I like it because it makes DBGL and the games I play with it more portable, which it a bonus given my nascent dream of building a bada$$ home theater PC strictly meant for emulation, movie viewing, and DVR capabilities. Thus the value of setting my games up this way is high.

But I digress, thanks for the response, and I will inquire for more help if I need it.

[kjps86]

Originally Posted by kjps86

I will try running it without the frontend tonight or tomorrow. I definitely appreciate the convenience of DBGL but there are a few things it seems incapable of handling (or maybe I just can't hack it :P )

As for the drive I'm running it in, I placed the game files in c:\DBGL\dosroot\DESERT

I've got a number of other games in the dosroot folder, each in their own individual file. If you were worried that I was placing the files in my computer's c:\ directory then worry not. I may be a DOS n00b but I'm not quite that crazy. As for the reasoning behind placing the game in that folder, I like it because it makes DBGL and the games I play with it more portable, which it a bonus given my nascent dream of building a bada$$ home theater PC strictly meant for emulation, movie viewing, and DVR capabilities. Thus the value of setting my games up this way is high.

But I digress, thanks for the response, and I will inquire for more help if I need it.

Alright, so I tried it on another computer here at home thats running XP instead of Windows 7 (doubt that is a contributing factor, but just in case...)

I downloaded the game from Cinemaware and a fresh copy of dosbox. Put the game in the dosroot directory, edited the config file, mounted the drive (mount c c:\games\dbgl\dosroot\desert), typed "desert \i" to configure the game (VGA, keyboard control, soundblaster for music, soundblaster for effects, save configuration and run game).

It worked! I closed the window and retried, this time entering "desert" after mounting to skip the config and it still worked! Then I tried adding the profile and it still worked!

I am very happy to have this running, and just wanted to say thanks for your assistance. Preference for a frontend aside, it was your suggestion to configure without a frontend that made it work, and for that I am very greatful