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[t?eS??U??]

Hello all, I stumbled in here while trying to find forum for sharing old ansi graphic art. i also found https://16colo.rs although it doesn't seem to be geared toward discussion in the way i was looking for.

And I should say, I was more of a mac guy back in the day, although I do remember many of the DOS titles as well.

Either way, I'm very much interested in retro-computing. Also cross-platform computing: in recent years i have gotten into fixing up slightly older+broken computers and installing linux. It's not quite retro-vintage, although it's not to say the older systems & titles don't have a special appeal...

Anyway, here's a little unicode art thing i made(in case you don't know about #Right2Repair):

╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║` ▓▓▓▓▓ ▓ ` ▓ ▓ ` ▓ ▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓` ▓▓▓▓▓ ▓ ` ▓ ▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓ ║ 
║ `▓` `▓`▓`▓`▓`▓▓ `▓`▓` ` `▓` `▓`▓` ` `▓` `▓` `▓` `▓` `▓`║
║` ▓ ` ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓▓▓▓` ▓▓▓▓` ▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓ ` ▓ ` ▓▓▓▓▓ ║
║ `▓` `▓`▓`▓`▓`▓_.------------.▓_ ` `▓`▓` `▓` `▓` `▓` ` `║
║` ▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓---¯_.-¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯-._¯---▓ ▓ ` ▓ ▓▓▓▓▓ ▓ ` ` ║
║*` ` ` ` `//¯¯    -----^-----    ¯¯\\` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `║
║`\`░` ` `//  ( #FairMarketRepair )  \\`░` ` `░` ` `░` ` ║
║ `\` ` `//  /░\  \░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░/  /░\  \\` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `║
║`░`п`░`//  /░ ░\  \░ ░ ░ ░ ░/  /░ ░\  \\` `░` `░` `░` `░║
║¯¯¯¯¯¯//  /░ ░ ░\  \░_░_░_░/  /░ ░ ░\  ||` `░` `░` `░` `║
║_____⌠⌠  (░_░_░_░)  _______  (░_░_░_░) ||░` `░` `░` `░` ║
║▓▓▓▓▓⌡⌡     _________________  _____   ||`░`░`░`░`░`░`░`║
║░▓░▓⌠⌠   (░|ˌ-------○-------ˌ|░ ░ ░ ░) ||░`░`░`░`░`░`░`░║
║▓░▓░⌡⌡    \|| #Right2Repair ||\░_░_░/  ||\░`ʕ•Չ•ʔ░░`░░░`║
║░▓░⌠⌠  ____|| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ||______   ||\\/¯¯¯¯¯\░░░▓░░║ 
║▓▓▓|| /▓▓▓▓|| Documentation ||▓░▓░▓░\  ||/⌂|═════/░▓░░░▓║
║¯¯¯¯`=.,▓▓▓|| Tools & Parts ||▓▓▓▓▓▓▓\_.=´¯¯¯¯¯¯`=,.▓░▓░║
║¯`=.   \\▓▓||_______________||▓▓▓▓▓▓//______    .=´\\▓░▓║
║˚○░\\  ,~=/#/⌐⌐⌐⌐⌐⌐⌐⌐⌐⌐⌐⌐⌐⌐/#/)______/#####/)__//░○˚\\▓░║
║*░˚*\\ʃ //#/⌐⌐⌐⌐⌐⌐⌐⌐⌐⌐⌐⌐⌐⌐/#// ˍˬˏ˳˛/ (/) //˿ /\_*˚░*||▓║
║----,'-//  ¯¯¯/_______/¯¯¯ // ˎˌ˼˰˷(•_•_•_/˯ /∬//--,_⌡⌡▓║
║ˆ,~'_⌐/(_⌐===============¬_/ ,•≡ш════ʃ═⌠══>·/∬//˒´/|¯¯\▓║
║ʃ· ⌐\/________________ //___ʃ_______/__|___/∬//˲`/░/ _)▓║
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║«/¸.══════════════════___══ɭ══════ʃ══ʃ══════.>¨/░/|ˍˍˍ⌡▓║
║/·▬∙ | \ ·<═════════ш≡•~ˏ¸ `ʅ¸  ⌠´ ¸ʃ /»>_\-¯·/░/Ґ|≡≡≡Ш▓║
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...also, it looks like I got overoptimistic with my characters and my username got mangled: it should read 'theSleUth'. sorry for the confusion. i guess if it can be fixed that would be nice, although it doesn't really matter that much; just note, i tend to recycle names across forums.

[Smiling Spectre]

This forum is not very alive too in the last years, actually.

But check also two another DOS projects. Total DOS Collection oriented to acquiring all possible DOS games, and eXoDOS tries to make every DOS game playable in the current environment (i.e. it's Windows-centric mostly now, with DOSBox as base of operations).

P.S. Quite cool art, BTW.

[DrWho42]

hello and welcome! dig the art

[t?eS??U??]

Cool! Thanks! Sadly, I'm still having trouble finding the exact edition of the game I was looking for. Doesn't matter, do you know a forum for modding old games?

...and is DOSBox the best emulator? It seems pretty good i guess, although some games are kinda slow/glitchy. Is there any merit to setting up a VM with Win95 or MacOS8 and searching around for old dev-tools? ...It's been awhile since I set up a VM...

p.s. I think some of my trouble with finding my game could be to do with variations between old Mac and PC releases.

[Smiling Spectre]

Originally Posted by t?eS??U??

Cool! Thanks! Sadly, I'm still having trouble finding the exact edition of the game I was looking for.

Did you name the game? I can check, if you'll be precise enough.

Doesn't matter, do you know a forum for modding old games?

Sorry. There are several enthusiasts who mode old games at this forum (Civ2 recently was pushed up), but I don't know any specific forum for that.

...and is DOSBox the best emulator? It seems pretty good i guess, although some games are kinda slow/glitchy.

Actually, no. Even omissing the fact that it currently emulates pre-Win95 PC, it never was created as _accurate_ emulator. It's the tool for playing DOS games before all. But it have benefit of being actively developed and supported, so if you'll get _real_ bug of DOSBox (not caused by game itself), you can hope that it will be fixed eventually. Especially if you'll bring it to developers.

Speaking about "slow/glitchy" - it's not right in most cases. It's speed limited by speed of your PC, and if only you haven't something from 1999, chances is it's bad DOSBox setup, not game is slow.

Glitches is the different case. There are too many "DOSes" actually under cover of one. CGA behave different from VGA, Tandy works woth sound totally not like average PC, and PCJr usually very picky with memory requirements. And then old protection kicking in, messing the things...

But mentioned above TDC and eXoDOS proves that usually everything can be defeated. Nowadays TDC usually the great place to find unaltered game copies (and with hacks implemented professionally in most cases), and eXoDOS allows you to play every single game as it expected to play.

(Of course, sheer number of games guarantees that _some_ games can be glitchy/non-working anyway - just because no one tested it, some crucial files lost in 1993 or simply unnoticed bad hack sneaked to every surviving archive - but such cases must be bring to the light to defeat them).

Is there any merit to setting up a VM with Win95 or MacOS8 and searching around for old dev-tools? ...It's been awhile since I set up a VM...

I doubt any VM supports Win95 enough to play the games. Well, you'll definitely _will_ be able to play some of them - but mostly it will be the same games that can be played without VM even now. Stumbling stones, like exotic videomodes, 3D-acceleration, accurate clock emulation, etc. - they are usually the same poor on VMs as on real modern hardware. That's why late 90s is the least preserved gaming era for now.

[Scatty]

Originally Posted by Smiling Spectre

I doubt any VM supports Win95 enough to play the games. Well, you'll definitely _will_ be able to play some of them - but mostly it will be the same games that can be played without VM even now. Stumbling stones, like exotic videomodes, 3D-acceleration, accurate clock emulation, etc. - they are usually the same poor on VMs as on real modern hardware. That's why late 90s is the least preserved gaming era for now.

The only good working solution I've had with such games, like Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat for example, is to get an older desktop / tower / laptop like Pentium II-400 or maybe Pentium III-800 or similar, with at least 16MB RAM or 32MB RAM would be better, 128MB should be the absolute maximum for Windows 98SE.
And that computer can be set up with an old Soundblaster Live! soundcard, unless it's a laptop, you'd have to tinker with the Ms-Dos part of Windows 98SE though, properly set, that can run most all newer Ms-Dos and Win95 games without a hitch. Older, slower Ms-Dos games however will run at an abnormal light speed, but that's what DosBox on modern computers is for.
Some post Win95 games like Knights of the Old Republic I and II can't run on modern computers with Windows 10 either, I've tried a lot, or for example the original Baldur's Gate / Baldur's Gate II. That's where an older Windows XP computer or laptop can be way helpful, eBay often has people still selling those, and it'd be your best bet for awesome, but impossible to get to run on modern machines, games.

[t?eS??U??]

Hey, sorry to leave you hanging, life is busy, the specific game in this case is Warlords 2 or Warlords 2 Deluxe; I can't remember which because it seems almost everywhere I looked either the rom is screwed up somehow, or it's not how i remember it(perhaps this is because i'm remembering the Macintosh version). even funnier still the copy i found on warlorders.com was even more screwed up(no audio, and controls were altered). ...And i did check out your suggestions(I'm assuming you meant totaldoscollection.org and exodos.the-eye.eu). btw, how do you get access on TDC anyway? and I noticed the Warlords2Deluxe file on exodos was 571.4 MiB! something just seems wrong about that...

not really sure how much time i can spend trying to figure this out right now. Still, I'm definitely interested in retro-computing, and I agree, perhaps the best solution is just to buy some hardware from the right vintage. sadly, budget is a little tight atm, and I'm not sure how i will justify buying an old rig unless i can also use it for development or testing...

...wish DOSBox was smoother, but then, at least you've got me thinking about building an 8-bit system. I did a google search and found this interesting article:
https://spectrum.ieee.org/geek-life/...h-just-5-chips

...btw, do they make 16-bit AVR?

p.s. one small complaint about the site: clicking the link on the main page doesn't take me directly to http://www.abandonia.com/vbullet/index.php, but instead to http://www.abandonia.com/en/forum which loads very slowly for some reason; and once do make it to the vBulletin forum proper, there is no quick link back to the main page.

i just think making the site more navigable would help bring more traffic(if that is your objective).

[Smiling Spectre]

Originally Posted by t?eS??U??

btw, how do you get access on TDC anyway?

Directly? No way. Site supposed to be the place for the contributors, not for the games distribution. (Same about eXoDOS, btw, while official site is http://www.retro-exo.com/, there is no games there, only links).

But you must be able to get the torrent everywhere. I can name at least three or four places for that.

and I noticed the Warlords2Deluxe file on exodos was 571.4 MiB! something just seems wrong about that...

Nothing wrong there. Music in Deluxe made with soundtracks, so it's 40Mb of the game itself, and 690Mb of the music. 20 sound tracks, if you need the details.

TDC have "normal" (3Mb) and "Deluxe" (40Mb) versions of WL2, but not CD, BTW.

[zirkoni]

Originally Posted by Scatty

The only good working solution I've had with such games, like Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat for example, is to get an older desktop / tower / laptop ...

I don't really play Windows games much but I have tried some games in PCem. Windows 98 + PCem (or QEMU?) might work just fine for most old Windows games.

[Mystvan]

Wow! Good Old Stuff here! *cough* *cough*

Whoa! Eeek! The Time Tunnel...

Back to the Past!

Hello, Martyr

Back to the Past!