MS-DOS Game Installation Wizard - Game Troubleshooting

[flexzi]

 

6 minutes ago, Zombeaver said:

You do. That's what I did. Then you just import that shortcut into LB.

check and doublecheck.

[fat_pigeon]

hi imtrying to install cannon fodder 2 from a folder

i select install and it asks from where im installing, then to where i want it to install to. I set all this then when i click continue it asks for disk cannon2 1 to be inserted. I mounted the c:\cannon2 folder i also mounted the A:\ to the same folder. but it just wont let me install.......where am i going wrong?

sorry this was all done via dosbox itself as the wizard just went to the same outcome without mounting the a:

[EviLEd]

2 hours ago, fat_pigeon said:

hi imtrying to install cannon fodder 2 from a folder

i select install and it asks from where im installing, then to where i want it to install to. I set all this then when i click continue it asks for disk cannon2 1 to be inserted. I mounted the c:\cannon2 folder i also mounted the A:\ to the same folder. but it just wont let me install.......where am i going wrong?

sorry this was all done via dosbox itself as the wizard just went to the same outcome without mounting the a:

From a post i made 3yrs ago on page 1, i got it to work like this. Different game but same concept. Good luck and let us know.

This reply box will not allow me to use backslashes. So all backslashes will be replaced with forward slashes "/".

Installing a MS-DOS game with multiple floppies Mortal Kombat 2.

In this guide E:/LaunchBox is the location of LaunchBox and E:/Setup is the location of the floppy disk images.

1. Run e:/LaunchBox/DOSBox/dosbox.exe

2. At the command prompt type: mount e e:/

type: e: (here is where you mount all of the floppy disk images. I put them into a batch file and saved it at the root of E)

type: run.bat (runs the command below) or

type: imgmount a e:/setup/mk2_1/MK2_1.IMA e:/setup/mk2_2/MK2_2.IMA e:/setup/mk2_3/MK2_3.IMA e:/setup/mk2_4/MK2_4.IMA e:/setup/mk2_5/MK2_5.IMA e:/setup/mk2_6/MK2_6.IMA e:/setup/mk2_7/MK2_7.IMA e:/setup/mk2_8/MK2_8.IMA -t floppy (the DOSBox status window will show this)

Mounted FAT volume is FAT12 with 2847 clusters

Mounted FAT volume is FAT12 with 2847 clusters

Mounted FAT volume is FAT12 with 2847 clusters

Mounted FAT volume is FAT12 with 2847 clusters

Mounted FAT volume is FAT12 with 2847 clusters

Mounted FAT volume is FAT12 with 2847 clusters

Mounted FAT volume is FAT12 with 2847 clusters

Mounted FAT volume is FAT12 with 2847 clusters

Drive A: disk 2 of 8 now active

Drive A: disk 3 of 8 now active

Drive A: disk 4 of 8 now active

Drive A: disk 5 of 8 now active

Drive A: disk 6 of 8 now active

Drive A: disk 7 of 8 now active

Drive A: disk 8 of 8 now active

Drive A: disk 1 of 8 now active

Drive A: disk 2 of 8 now active

type: a:/install (Answer E as the drive and answer e:/emulat~1/launch~1/games/mk2 as the install path) When prompted for the next disk press Ctrl + F4, then enter. (repeat as needed). In the DOSBox status window you can see it switching to the next disk.

Drive A: disk 2 of 8 now active Diskcaching reset for normal mounted drives.

Drive A: disk 3 of 8 now active Diskcaching reset for normal mounted drives.

Drive A: disk 4 of 8 now active Diskcaching reset for normal mounted drives.

Drive A: disk 5 of 8 now active Diskcaching reset for normal mounted drives.

Drive A: disk 6 of 8 now active Diskcaching reset for normal mounted drives.

Drive A: disk 7 of 8 now active Diskcaching reset for normal mounted drives.

Drive A: disk 8 of 8 now active Diskcaching reset for normal mounted drives.

3. Open LaunchBox. From the menu bar click on Tools/Install Dos Game.

4. Type Mortal Kombat 2 and press Next.

5. Select Yes, my game is already installed into a folder.

6. Browse to E:/LaunchBox/Games/MK2/MK2.exe and press Next then Finish.

7.On the Edit Game screen press the search TheGameDB.net button to download all the meta data and box cover.

[VenoMpie]

Hi

I am having an issue with an installation of Heroes of Might and Magic II.

Is there a way to specify which install file it should use when mounting a disk? It keeps on picking the wrong setup file resulting in "This program cannot be run in MS-DOS mode" as it picks the main setup file which is Windows and not the one located in the Dos install directory. I tried manually installing the disk but then I don't have the capability to auto mount the ISO and to have it copied to the directory blah blah blah.

I also tried all different routes but can't see a place to pick the install exe.

If there is no such feature, can it possibly be included in a future update as there's probably a lot of games like that?

[Zombeaver]

You can choose the setup/install file in LB by editing the game in your library (right-click and edit, or pressing ctrl+e) and then in he launcher tab (the first tab) changing the .exe that the setup is directed to - it'll have one at the top for the game .exe and another one below it for the setup. You can also change it on the next-to-last page of the importer when you're importing the game. Once changed just right-click on the game and select "Configure".

[VenoMpie]

Cool thanks for the fast reply :P. Just did that and it works. Still crappy though and I think there needs a screen in between the install wizard to specify the install file other than what LB decides is the install file as now I have to manually fire up dosbox, mount the LB Games/MS-DOS/X folder as drive C, mount the CD as drive D, install the game, go back to LB and import rather than install the game and do all sorts of manual plumbing work to get the game into the LB sorted folder style.

[VenoMpie]

Sorry I may seem rude in my post

I recently bought the forever updates licence as LB is the beez kneez and I really like the fact that I can write C# plugins for it. Just suggesting Quality of Life improvements

 

[Zombeaver]

1 hour ago, VenoMpie said:

Cool thanks for the fast reply :P. Just did that and it works. Still crappy though and I think there needs a screen in between the install wizard to specify the install file other than what LB decides is the install file as now I have to manually fire up dosbox, mount the LB Games/MS-DOS/X folder as drive C, mount the CD as drive D, install the game, go back to LB and import rather than install the game and do all sorts of manual plumbing work to get the game into the LB sorted folder style.

You don't always have to do that, sometimes it can be a pretty much drag and drop affair, depending on what it is. Most abandonware sites out there will give you a bunch of pre-installed files which you can generally just dump right into LB as-is.

That said, personally I always install stuff beforehand and then drop the installed files into LB afterwards. That's primarily because typically I just start with a disc image, by itself, beforehand. I use some external stuff like Munt and VirtualMidiSynth so I always need to setup my stuff by hand anyway to use those, so I just use a lone disc image and start from scratch. If you don't care about such things, you could typically go to MyAbandonware or somesuch and just dump the files in and be set in most cases.

[VenoMpie]

Nah I don't like that

I like the original feel of installing a game from source inside LB instead of already installed stuff (as I can do that myself like I did now), setting up the sound, etc. Gives me a feeling that the game will run without fiddling. Thus why I am also a great fan of PCEM although PCEM always reminds me of how difficult it actually was before WinXP brought in the auto hardware identification and install etc. Having to setup NE2000 manually etc. Yecch ...

Anyway, much of a muchness. Got a work around for now. Would really appreciate if I can install it via the Install Wizard in future  

[Zombeaver]

7 minutes ago, VenoMpie said:

I like the original feel of installing a game from source inside LB instead of already installed stuff (as I can do that myself like I did now), setting up the sound, etc. Gives me a feeling that the game will run without fiddling.

Oh for sure! That's half the fun... for weird people like us

Most people don't want to do that though, honestly. Typically most people want to just dump stuff in and treat it like a "rom".

10 minutes ago, VenoMpie said:

Would really appreciate if I can install it via the Install Wizard in future  

You can put in a feature request on Bitbucket just don't expect something like that to be implemented anytime soon. There are literally thousands of requests and Jason's just one dude.

[VenoMpie]

No problem

Thanks will put in a feature request. I can do it myself but I don't know how far LB's plugin capability let's one go to modifying something that seems to be integral to LB (only started looking at the documentation yet not experimenting). Can't be too difficult to put in another screen with a combo box to select the install file, but if not I am happy to wait for an update at any point in time, doesn't stop me from playing my games now  

[Zombeaver]

The defaults that it selects are normally right, honestly. I know that Jason used a dat file from somewhere that listed the install/game .exes to be used for each game. It doesn't cover 100% of them, of course, but it covers a lot of ground. If you look in the Metadata.xml these are listed as "StartupFile" and "SetupFile".

I agree that a selection box for the installer probably should be in the import wizard though, just like the game .exe is currently.

[VenoMpie]

It's fine thanks

Checked the Metadata.xml, doesn't seem like everything in Metadata.xml has a StartupFile and SetupFile (thus why I probably manually had to select the game exe -> <Name>Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Price of Loyalty</Name> has no Startup File or SetupFile). I can play around with by adding it but it probably won't properly work as then it is going to expect the setup file in a place where the installed setup file is not blah blah blah. Doesn't matter, don't want to fiddle too much. Game is working and that's all I care about right now (it's not a blocker or anything like that ... just QOL) 

Will put in a feature request

Thanks

[dominikabra]

Hi there!

I wanted to point out a bug that's been present for some time (unless I'm doing something wrong). When I try to import DOS games by drag and dropping, I get to the window where I am offered to choose the "Startup File" to be used. Launchbox scans for executables inside the game's folder and lists them in a drop down menu. Thing is, no matter which one I choose, Launchbox always reverts to the one it had assumed was the correct one. In my case, I'm using a .BAT file for each DOS game with a simple startup menu, and I want that one to be used for launching the game. 

Please see screenshots:

By default, Launchbox goes for the first (usually) "launch.bat" which is present in each and every game I'm curating (my own simple startup menu). In this case "Ultima Underworld 2.bat" is the desired entry point which calls the specified DOSBOX version (Vanilla, ECE, Staging, etc.) and loads the default config file, adding the game's specific config file for potential overrides and fine tuning.

See the import result where the import wizard has ignored the input indicating the "startup file" and reverted to its initial finding, forcing me to manually change the "application path" to the desired .BAT.

Thanks for this wonderful piece of software!

Edited August 20, 2021 by dominikabra

[Belsnickel]

I have two questions/issues that hopefully folks have a work around.

I have a USB drive that plugs into a USB port. Is that an emulator drive. I keep get the suggestion that emulator drives are not supported.  Does that mean I am out of luck?

The second thing is that when I get to the install the Dos game, in this case Dark Forces, says there is not enough software. That is on a passport 4 Terrabyte drive. Can I fool the game into installation some how?

[dominikabra]

On 8/20/2021 at 5:39 PM, dominikabra said:

Hi there!

I wanted to point out a bug that's been present for some time (unless I'm doing something wrong). When I try to import DOS games by drag and dropping, I get to the window where I am offered to choose the "Startup File" to be used. Launchbox scans for executables inside the game's folder and lists them in a drop down menu. Thing is, no matter which one I choose, Launchbox always reverts to the one it had assumed was the correct one. In my case, I'm using a .BAT file for each DOS game with a simple startup menu, and I want that one to be used for launching the game. 

Please see screenshots:

By default, Launchbox goes for the first (usually) "launch.bat" which is present in each and every game I'm curating (my own simple startup menu). In this case "Ultima Underworld 2.bat" is the desired entry point which calls the specified DOSBOX version (Vanilla, ECE, Staging, etc.) and loads the default config file, adding the game's specific config file for potential overrides and fine tuning.

See the import result where the import wizard has ignored the input indicating the "startup file" and reverted to its initial finding, forcing me to manually change the "application path" to the desired .BAT.

Thanks for this wonderful piece of software!

@Zombeaver Sorry to bother you but is this thread still relevant? Should I report the bug elsewhere? Thanks!