Troubleshooting the default configuration

[Exyloz]

I have a game that works perfectly when I run it directly from DOSBox (NOT using LaunchBox). When I launch it with LaunchBox, it has a serious bug.

The first thing I tried was setting a custom DOSBox EXE path so that I'm running it with the same version of DOSBox. Then I tried changing various settings relating to memory, machine type and CPU core.

I'll list the bug details below in case someone already knows the fix for this particular game. But I'd like to know how to go about debugging LaunchBox's default DOSBos config. How can I compare it to the config used for a native DOSBox launch?

---

Bug details::

Game: Ultima Underworld 2

Tested on a new game, both from a fresh save at the start of the game and also directly from character creation.

When launched by LaunchBox, editing the map breaks the game. Specifically, after adding text to the map and leaving the map, the following problems occur:

1) Saving stops working. ("Save Game Failed")

2) Upon reopening the map, all text entries have disappeared, including the ones it starts with on a new game.

3) Upon changing the map level to 2 and then back to 1, all mapping has disappeared, even the mapping it starts with on a new game.

Again, this only happens when launched by LaunchBox, so it has to be due to one of the settings LaunchBox is using in it's default DOSBox config.

[Exyloz]

Rather than delete my question, I'll answer it.

First, if you create a custom config file in LaunchBox, it will be populated with all the default settings. You can then navigate to that file wherever you created it and open it in a text editor. The order and comments will probably be very close to your native DOSBox default config file, making it easy to compare.

---

As for the bug, it has nothing to do with the config. It's apparently a DOSBox bug that makes no sense at all to me. If the files are on the C drive (in Windows) the error occurs.

C:\Users\xxxxxx\LaunchBox\Games\MS-DOS   (FAILS)

C:\MS-DOS   (FAILS)

C:\DOSBox   (FAILS)

D:\DOSBox   (WORKS)

E:\DOSBox   (WORKS)

I can't imagine how the location of the files in Windows could possibly affect a game running on an emulated file system. Maybe it's has something to do with the drive type rather than the drive letter. I really have no idea here.

[tycho]

I'd like to follow up on this, because I'm having issues with DOSBox launching from LaunchBox as well.

For example, launching Space Quest IV using DOSBox. When launched from LB:

• Game launches with proper MT-32 music

• Digitized sound is non-existant - no sound effects or speech

Running DOSBox manually, then starting SQ4 from inside the DOS environment:

• Game launches with proper MT-32 music

• Digitized sound works perfectly fine

I feel like the "default" LaunchBox .conf file is messing with something, but I don't know where that file is located.