LaunchBox for MS-DOS Special Edition 2.0

Very cool! Will it be possible to transfer the data I have manually entered into 2.0 over to 3.0?

6 minutes ago, fandenivoldsk said:

Very cool! Will it be possible to transfer the data I have manually entered into 2.0 over to 3.0?

Yes, the data structure is not changing.

* I applaud you * congratulations jason, I realize how this forntend is growing and so powerful to be able to walk in MS-DOS without a doubt we thank you

Hi!

just recently discovered that there was an MS-DOS version of my favorite launcher and I was ecstatic!

Ive supported the full version of the regular Launchbox, and this side project for DOS is just the icing on the cake!

Been spending a lot of time to painstakingly add my collection to it, and have just learned of the limit in the number of games I’ll be able to add.

looking forward for the new version to come out to be able to keep adding more games.

thanks for being crazy enough to develop this.

cheers

hey im just checking in to see if anything has been added to the special ms-dos version of launchbox? i have 1 suggestion that i think would make a valid addition to the program, long filename support in the browser when adding games, most of my games are in directories with names much longer then 8 characters, i have some games with very similar names and its difficult to locate the games im wanting to add to my list, also i noticed when removing a few games, if you remove a game the white highlighted bar will be on another game you want to remove, if you press the delete option it will not delete the game you have highlighted but will delete the game at the top of the list, im not sure this is a bug or just the way the program is meant to be used ? anyways thanks again for this awesome program, i use it pretty much every day, funny i use this more then the main launchbox version lol 

3 hours ago, Ed Kazee said:

hey im just checking in to see if anything has been added to the special ms-dos version of launchbox? i have 1 suggestion that i think would make a valid addition to the program, long filename support in the browser when adding games, most of my games are in directories with names much longer then 8 characters, i have some games with very similar names and its difficult to locate the games im wanting to add to my list, also i noticed when removing a few games, if you remove a game the white highlighted bar will be on another game you want to remove, if you press the delete option it will not delete the game you have highlighted but will delete the game at the top of the list, im not sure this is a bug or just the way the program is meant to be used ? anyways thanks again for this awesome program, i use it pretty much every day, funny i use this more then the main launchbox version lol 

Long file name support in DOS would be rather difficult, I can imagine, so unfortunately that probably won't be happening. I haven't seen that delete bug, but I'll take a look.

Just signed up to say that I would also be very grateful for a source release. I'm finally getting around to digging out some old parts and machines to do some DOS stuff with. I have been trying out a bunch of menus and finally settled on yours seeming to make the most sense, especially for games. Wouldn't mind seeing if I could add a few things. I am installing VBDOS right now to see what it is about.  

I also just signed up to say this is freaking cool! I would love to see the ability to use GamePads in the menu, in-fact if the source is released I would love to work on this myself.

In any case though thank you so much for what you have done already, it really is excellent.

Thank you very much!

Thats exactly what i was looking for! I just build an old 286 PC with many free old games. Other launchers consume too much ram or have other issues.

This one is great. Simple and easy to use. Does exactly what it was build for. Great programm for all us (crazy??!!) hardcore retro fans

Thanks again and keep up that good work!

Hi,  i love this DOS launcher,  *but* I use in my Windows XP laptop, to launch  win32 ports of DOS games (prboom, etc)

I will love to do a native console windows port,  anyone knows if the source code is public?

 

Thanks Jason Carr for the great launcher

Edited October 26, 2020 by theelf

@liquidoblivion @Freddo @digital observer @theelf FYI guys, I'm currently working on version 3.0, which I'm writing entirely in 8086 assembly language instead of using VB for DOS 1.0 (which the previous versions were built with). Once I have the release ready, I do plan to release the source code for it in assembly language. The new version will work even on the original IBM 5150 PC (the very first PC), with CGA graphics.

Naturally, though, it is taking quite a while to develop, partially because I'm only developing it in my free time, and also because I'm writing it in assembly language, which is as low level and as close to the hardware as you can get. It's currently usable if you take your LAUNCHBX.TXT file from the previous version, but the editing features are not built yet. It'll probably be at least 6 months before it's ready for a release (or longer).

On 10/30/2020 at 6:16 PM, Jason Carr said:

FYI guys, I'm currently working on version 3.0, which I'm writing entirely in 8086 assembly language instead of using VB for DOS 1.0 (which the previous versions were built with). Once I have the release ready, I do plan to release the source code for it in assembly language. The new version will work even on the original IBM 5150 PC (the very first PC), with CGA graphics.

Naturally, though, it is taking quite a while to develop, partially because I'm only developing it in my free time, and also because I'm writing it in assembly language, which is as low level and as close to the hardware as you can get. It's currently usable if you take your LAUNCHBX.TXT file from the previous version, but the editing features are not built yet. It'll probably be at least 6 months before it's ready for a release (or longer).

Many thanks for this.  It will save me having to constantly edit my own multiple batch files (1 per page that lists the games with a number ref  eg 01 = doom, 02 = quake etc.), and 1 per game that is launched by a 'number'.bat file  as listed on the menu page.  Hopefully the new version comes along sometime 2021, and as far as easter eggs goes... no one seems to have mentioned them.  perhaps time to share?

On 11/26/2020 at 3:20 AM, arthur071169 said:

Many thanks for this.  It will save me having to constantly edit my own multiple batch files (1 per page that lists the games with a number ref  eg 01 = doom, 02 = quake etc.), and 1 per game that is launched by a 'number'.bat file  as listed on the menu page.  Hopefully the new version comes along sometime 2021, and as far as easter eggs goes... no one seems to have mentioned them.  perhaps time to share?

You should be able to find at least one of them by using cheat codes from old DOS shooters.

This is a nice little program that does what it promises.  Great job.

Anyone try to run this on MiSTer?

This is awesome! I always wished there was something like this and now it exists, thanks to your efforts!

I have about 322 different entries so far and haven't come across the memory limit yet, but I'm guessing that might be soon if I keep going.

Jason, will there be a Ver 3.0 option for pointing to .doc, .txt etc files ?  (handy for reading hints or password codes if provided), this would be an option similar to 'configure commands' which already exists.

you could Open & read / you can take a screenshot on your mobile phone for example if needed when the game is running.

Perhaps left click once on the game selected and be presented with a choice of 'Run' (pre selected, so a speedy double click would be useful there)', 'Configure', 'Info' ?

Configure / Info only appears if they are set up. 

7 hours ago, arthur071169 said:

Jason, will there be a Ver 3.0 option for pointing to .doc, .txt etc files ?  (handy for reading hints or password codes if provided), this would be an option similar to 'configure commands' which already exists.

you could Open & read / you can take a screenshot on your mobile phone for example if needed when the game is running.

Perhaps left click once on the game selected and be presented with a choice of 'Run' (pre selected, so a speedy double click would be useful there)', 'Configure', 'Info' ?

Configure / Info only appears if they are set up. 

Probably not, but I will be open sourcing the code here soon, so someone could certainly add that.

Also, FYI all, I have everything rewritten in 8088 x86 assembly and working fine, sans for the editing capabilities. That's quite a bit of work yet, but once it's all ready to go I'll release and open source it.

On 2/28/2021 at 6:21 AM, PopeyeMachine said:

Anyone try to run this on MiSTer?

Should work just fine on MiSTer, I would guess. Though I don't have one to test with.

On 2/28/2021 at 9:21 AM, PopeyeMachine said:

Anyone try to run this on MiSTer?

While I have not tried it on my MiSTer others in the MiSTer community have and it works perfectly.

1 hour ago, Jason Carr said:

I don't have one to test with.

You really need to rectify this

HI! i have a question,  how many entries is possible to add to launchbox?

I made a custom launchbx.txt  with 998 games, and when i tried to enter launchbox i get

 

• Out of string space in module MAIN     at address 1279:01F6
• Press any key to return to system

 

Sorry my english, and thanks

Edited July 3, 2021 by theelf

I just realized that this app had an update !. Thank you very much Jason, it is very useful for those of us who still use old PCs with true MSDOS.

 

Edited July 8, 2021 by Lmagnus87

Is 2.0 still the latest?

On 7/3/2021 at 5:45 AM, theelf said:

HI! i have a question,  how many entries is possible to add to launchbox?

I made a custom launchbx.txt  with 998 games, and when i tried to enter launchbox i get

 

• Out of string space in module MAIN     at address 1279:01F6
• Press any key to return to system

 

Sorry my english, and thanks

I'm honestly not sure at this point. I think it should be fairly high (close to that number), but I've never fully figured that out with the 2.0 version.

 

11 hours ago, breech said:

Is 2.0 still the latest?

Yes.

Can't wait for 3.0 to come out!