DOSBox SVN Daum implementation in Launchbox

[alec100_94]

Yeh, The Daum build and latest SVN build work just fine, it's just the DosBox-X builds I can't get working. This is a little bit of an unrelated note, but I just want to point out I am not a noob, and have been using DosBox (and other emulators) for years, and I have a background in Games Development. So if you come back at me with some more technical jargon I will probably understand what you are talking about.

[Jason Carr]

Sure, thanks Alec. I think Brad and I discovered a while back that some modified/unofficial versions of DOSBox were using different command-line parameters for launching games, so that is probably the culprit. It's odd that they would change them and make the old ones incompatible, but that's what we observed. So I guess the first step would be to identify what is different with the command-line options between the official version of DOSBox and DOSBox-X. Depending on what the required changes are, it may or may not be an easy fix.

[SentaiBrad]

If they have command line documentation that would be the easiest way to find out.

[alec100_94]

Ok, a little testing shows that is the case, Dosbox-X doesn't seem to accept the name parameter, also agree with you that breaking a command line parameter seems incredibly stupid. However dosbox-x does have the functionality to perform the same action from the menu (Main->Quick Launch), so I'm guessing the parameter was just disabled for one reason or another during development (could simply be an oversight). Sadly all the dosbox-x documentation is unmodified from dosbox 0.74, so no hints to how the syntax may have been changed. I have also decided I am going to buy the premium version of launchbox (forever license), I have been using the free version for about 9 months now, and am blown away with how generally awesome it is. I have never found another emulator frontend so customizable and accommodating, it truly feels like steam for emulators and retro games.

[SentaiBrad]

Well thank you, we do appreciate the kind words. maybe we can get a hold of the -x developer and ask him or her if they have a list of the different commands?

[alec100_94]

I was initially thinking the same thing, but then (after a quick look at the dosbox documentation), was able to load a program from the command line without using the name parameter, and instead using a series of -c (command) parameters, so the name parameter is essentially just a shortcut not included in dosbox-x for some unknown reason. I was thinking I might attempt to develop a generic, script based, dosbox version selector solution, which would parse the command line from launchbox, and pass it through to a specified version of dosbox using just the -c parameter. This would also allow for multiple versions of dosbox to be used with launchbox at once. I'll upload a rough version once it's done.

[SentaiBrad]

That would be an easy solution, and very awesome for you to try and create.

[alec100_94]

Further Testing tells me launchbox does not rely on the name parameter anyway. I think I see what the problem with dosbox-x is, So I am just going to go ahead and develop this as an addon, to hopefully work with any version of Dosbox, and let you select between them (which was the whole point in this thread anyway). Should hopefully not take more than a few hours to get a functional version.

[alec100_94]

This should work reasonably well. Just put in your Launchbox\Dosbox directory then run it. It is written in AutoIt (My preferred scripting language), I have also included the source code. This lets you choose a default version of DosBox and override it on a per game basis, see the included readme for more information. If you have any problems with it, or suggestions let me know. The reasons for it not working with dosbox-x before, should be apparent from looking at the source code, If you need/want a further explanation let me know. *Edit - A minor problem with this is that it won't allow you to pass any parameters to the application on the dos command line. But I would personally use a batch script for such operations anyway. I might update it in the future with a fix. *Update - Fixed issue with not being able to use command line parameters on the dos command line through Launchbox. The version executable must now contain "dosbox", and the name should always be given as the last (or the only) parameter.

[Zombeaver]

alec100_94 I'm not having any luck getting this to work. I've got both 0.74 and Daum in the Launchbox Dosbox folder. I dropped your files in there and used Dosbox Version Selector.exe. It created version.ini. Now what? It shows 0.74 as the default in the ini. Am I supposed to be adding a line so that Daum can be used?

"The filename must contain "Dosbox" and have no spaces (e.g "Dosbox_SVN.exe"), and then it can be set in the ini file."

Set where? Am I replacing "DefaultVersion = DosBox_0.74.exe" with "DefaultVersion = dosbox_x64.exe" (the Daum Dosbox .exe)? I don't actually want to change the default, I just want to use Daum on certain occasions.

"To override this setting from within launchbox (on a per-game basis), simply add the version of DosBox you want to use (minus the .exe extension) as the last command line parameter, (e.g "Dosbox_SVN" without quotes)."

The last command line parameter in what? The "application command-line parameters" in the game entry itself? Putting dosbox_x64 doesn't seem to do anything there. Sorry, I just found the instructions to be incredibly vague. Thank you for making this! I hope I'm able to get it to work.

[alec100_94]

It probably was a little vague, you should rename "dosbox.exe" from the daum package to "dosbox_daum.exe" and "dosbox_x64.exe" to "dosbox_daum_x64.exe". If you have manually replaced "dosbox.exe" since running the version selector, I would advise a clean install of Dosbox. To then use Daum (x64) as the default you would replace the DefaultVersion in the ini file with "Dosbox_daum_x64.exe" (This is the version of Dosbox launched by default from launchbox). To launch a game with another version of Dosbox, from within launchbox; add the executable name without the extension (i.e to launch with 0.74 you would write "dosbox_0.74") to the end of the "Application Command-Line Parameters:", it is likely it will be the only parameter in most cases. It's nice to see someone else using this, let me know how it goes for you.

[Hypnotoad]

Hi alec100_94, your application is useful. Unfortunately it has a major flaw, you cannot use it with Launchbox's "Mounts" settings (for instance in case you want to mount a CD). I think this is because the mounting settings become the last command line arguments that Launchbox injects, so your tool doesn't know what version of dosbox I want.

[alec100_94]

I've never actually looked at the mount settings in launchbox. Most games will work without additional mounts if you have the right files in the directory. And a custom dosbox.conf, with just an [Autoexec] section could be used instead. However If you explain in more detail, the problem you are having, I can probably write an updated version to address the issue. Also what game are you using that requires a mount so I can use it in my testing?

[qwerty123]

Too bad this doesn't work with the 32 bits version of Windows :(

[alec100_94]

qwerty123 said Too bad this doesn't work with the 32 bits version of Windows :(

It should do. If it doesn't it is probably a simple oversight with an easy fix, however I'm pretty sure it was compiled with the x86 instruction set, and doesn't have any 64-bit dependencies.

[qwerty123]

When I execute the file, I get the message "The version of this file is not compatible with the version of Windows you're running. Check your computer's system information to see whether you need an x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit) version of the program, and then contact the software publisher." I'm using Windows 7 32-bit.

[alec100_94]

Ok, that must have just been an oversight. This release should work on 32-Bit systems, However I have not yet tested. There are no other changes to this version. Let me know how it works.

[qwerty123]

It works now, thank you! This is odd... I've tried to replace the scummvm executable with an updated version, but everytime I start LaunchBox, it is replaced by the original version. However, this new DosBox.exe isn't replaced by the original one when I start LaunchBox. I wonder why this happens...

[Hypnotoad]

alec100_94 said I've never actually looked at the mount settings in launchbox. Most games will work without additional mounts if you have the right files in the directory. And a custom dosbox.conf, with just an [Autoexec] section could be used instead. However If you explain in more detail, the problem you are having, I can probably write an updated version to address the issue. Also what game are you using that requires a mount so I can use it in my testing?

Some games require a CD however. The particular game I was having trouble with is Megarace. Autoexec also seems to not work with launchbox, perhaps because the command line launchbox injects gets executed first before autoexec? I eventually had to just link to a custom batfile which mounts the CD and applies a custom configuration, rather than the application itself, bypassing the launchbox settings. Would it be possible to have your utility check for the presence of 'dosbox_svn' in any of the command line parameters, rather than insist it be the last one?

[SentaiBrad]

ScummVM needs almost a complete overhaul, and DOSBox just needs to be opened up a bit more for flexibility. ScummVM is a bit higher on the list because it is still strict, where DOSBox has easy workarounds.