Easy PC-9801 emulation with DOSBox-X

[MCF]

DOSBox-X is a fork of the original DOSBox with additional features, including support for PC-9801!

Below are the steps I used to get PC-9801 working effortlessly with Launchbox.

1. Go to https://github.com/joncampbell123/dosbox-x/releases to download the latest release of DOSBox-X. I use the mingw win64 sdl1 build, however you should experiment and see which suits you best.
2. In LaunchBox, create an emulator for DOSBox-X and set -set machine=pc98 force ibm keyboard -fs -conf as the Default Command-Line Parameters.
   
3. Add the following AHK to Running Script to allow quitting DOSBox-X by pressing Esc, and then click OK to save the emulator

   $Esc::
   {
   	Process, Close, dosbox-x.exe
   }

   
   
4. Create a conf file with the same name as the game HDI file and edit is as below. Please take care to change the location of the HDI file in the IMGMOUNT command, as this is just using my setup as an example. Explanation on the options at the bottom of this article.

   [sdl]
   output=openglpp
   [render]
   frameskip=0
   aspect=false
   scaler=none
   [autoexec]
   IMGMOUNT C "D:\Games\NEC PC-9801\Briganty.hdi"
   BOOT C:

   For FDI floppy files, please refer to the sample CONF file instead.

   [sdl]
   output=openglpp
   [render]
   frameskip=0
   aspect=false
   scaler=none
   [autoexec]
   IMGMOUNT A "D:\Games\NEC PC-9801\Rude Breaker.fdi"
   BOOT A:

5. In Launchbox, set the launching ROM file to the CONF file.
   

 

EXPLANATION ON OPTIONS IN THE CONF FILE

• To read up on what options are available when making your own CONF file, please refer to https://github.com/joncampbell123/dosbox-x/blob/master/dosbox-x.reference.conf
• By default, DOSBox-X will load the CONF file dosbox-x.conf in the directory where you have DOSBox-X installed.
• The alterations in the game specific CONF files as above will supersede whatever is configured in dosbox-x.conf, so there is no need to edit that file.
• I prefer output=openglpp because it provides pure sharp pixels without any filtering. If you want simple bilinear filtering, change it to output=opengl or output=surface, depending on which you personally prefer. Additional options are available if you read the dosbox-x reference conf in the link above.
• the [autoexec] section is an absolute must, otherwise the game will not boot and you're just greeted with the PC-9801 Z: prompt.

Do let me know how the instructions above work for you, and I hope this makes life easier for emulating PC-9801 games

Edited May 7, 2023 by MCF

[DerSchlachter]

[sdl]
output=openglpp
[render]
frameskip=0
aspect=false
scaler=none
[autoexec]
IMGMOUNT C "D:\Games\NEC PC-9801\Briganty.hdi"
BOOT C:

Use the Code Feature; Nice Tut for setup the emulator, thanks

[MCF]

4 minutes ago, DerSchlachter said:

Use the Code Feature; Nice Tut for setup the emulator, thanks

Thank you!