DosBox emulators: which one is the best?

[doragasu]

I have never used DosBox emulators on my 1st batch Pandora more than a few minutes. In the past I used DosBox with DboxFE (I'll call it DosBox FE for short from now on) to test how Prince of Persia ran, and that's all. Now I want to play Alone in the Dark, so I installed the newer DosBox EX v10, and added the good old Prince of Persia and Alone in the Dark (cd version with cd audio). Started playing, and some questions arised...

First of all, it bugs me that I have not been able to set the screen in DosBox EX to 4:3. It defaults to 16:9 and I have not found a way to change it, neither in the documentation nor in the config file. Is it possible to set it to 4:3?

IIRC, DosBox FE defaulted to 4:3, so maybe I could use it to solve my problem. But (I don't know why) I suspect DosBox FE is slower, is it really? Will Alone in the Dark run fullspeed on a First Batch Pandora in DosBox FE?

Another question: approximately, which PC can a 1st batch Pandora clocked at 800 MHz emulate using the fastest DosBox emulator available? 386? 486?

And of course, which DosBox emulator do you prefer, and why?

 

[TrashyMG]

I'd say it's around 486SX 25mhz speed.

I like DosBox W/ DBoxFE because even with it's little quirks I can change setting and profiles easily enough.. Also the 16:9 thing drove me up a wall as well.

 

[mcobit]

DosboxEx has a proprietary launcher and is not very configurable.


Aftet adding mht s dynarec to pickles dosbox version it is the fastest and best dosbox available.


Dosbox ex is easier to setup but you don't have much to play with.

 

[Pickle]

i havent added notaz scaling in the current release, thats one diff and the release for the fullscreen scaling in DosboxEx

 

[mcobit]

As you are already here pickle...


Is there a way to fix touchscreen and nub movement?

 

[mamemaniac]

@doragasu: I completed time ago both Alone in the Dark 2 and Alone in the Dark 3 using pickle Dosbox with my Pandora overclocked to 885 Mhz. Performance was pretty good, almost full speed with some slowdowns in certain areas. Alone in the Dark 1 should play flawless with lower overclock, maybe even with standard clockspeed 600 Mhz.

EDIT: I forgot to say maybe right now the best and fastest way to play MS-DOS multitrack CD on the Pandora is a Qemu Windows 95 image + Daemon Tools 3.47 combo. From my tests Qemu has been always faster than Dosbox , the latest one i made with Supercars International (great game) fullspeed @600 Mhz while on Dosbox is far from fullspeed even with 885 Mhz overclock, so my advice give always Qemu a try, most of the time the same game will run faster in Qemu rather than Dosbox.

 

[ekianjo]

Is there a way to fix touchscreen and nub movement?

It's been an ongoing request for a while but it seems it can't be fixed. Sadly this makes Dosbox unusable for 80% of PC games.

 

[TrashyMG]

Is there a way to fix touchscreen and nub movement?

It's been an ongoing request for a while but it seems it can't be fixed. Sadly this makes Dosbox unusable for 80% of PC games.

Touchscreen I know about, but I've seen zero issues with nub movement.. Dosbox is my most used emulator.

 

[crow_riot]

dosboxturbo on android has an experimental


code for touchscreen mouse: https://sites.google.com/site/dosboxturbo/


maybe it could be patched/used on the pandora, too... dunno, didnt look at the code.

 

[Pickle]

As you are already here pickle...


Is there a way to fix touchscreen and nub movement?

I dont have a good understanding of issue from a code side. I took some gp2x code to improve it there and it helped in some cases, but in others it doesnt work. I think this comes down to how dos programs use the mouse (relative motion) where the touchscreen is absolute and screen resolutions.

 

[mcobit]

Notaz added a switch to his sdl recently that lets you toggle between relative and absolute mouse.


Maybe it will be improved with this?


The issue with the nubmouse is that it can get trapped into a square in a screencorner.

 

[F_Slim]

I voted for DosBox with DboxFE, but I never use the DboxFE launcher. I directly start DosBox and do any mounting in the command-line. The default config works quite good for me (1 GHz).

 

[doragasu]

Thanks a lot for feedback and suggestions!

I installed DBoxFE and made a crappy test: Fired AitD and timed the game intro (from when Carnby drives to Dercetto to the moment he appears in the attic). The results:

- DosBoxEX: 2:21:05

- DosBoxFE: 2:22:64

1,5 s difference in favor of DosBoxEX. Might be because of measuring error. Also maybe it's subjective, but I think the game runs a bit smoother under DosBoxEX. I suppose I should test a game with a FPS counter. Any suggestions? I don't think firing Quake is a good idea. Does Wolfenstein 3D hava a FPS counter?

I have yet to test QEmu, looks interesting . Do I need to install Windows to run CDROM DOS games? Can I install QEmu+DOS+something like IMGMOUNT?

 

[mcobit]

DosboxEX also has frameskip on by default afaik. Not sure if you can change it without an edit of the configfiles.

 

[mamemaniac]

I have yet to test QEmu, looks interesting . Do I need to install Windows to run CDROM DOS games? Can I install QEmu+DOS+something like IMGMOUNT?

You need Windows 95 and Daemon Tools 3.47 only for multitrack (bin+cue) cd games. Mounting a single track cd game (iso) is way more simple, just select the option in Qemu UI. If you want to test Qemu make sure to read this very useful guide: http://pandorawiki.org/QEMU

 

[doragasu]

I'm a bit confused. The QEMU compatibility list here says Alone in the Dark runs slow... It runs perfect on DosBox.

I'm trying to instal W95 OSR2 rigth now, but I have lot to read...

 

[mamemaniac]

I'm a bit confused. The QEMU compatibility list here says Alone in the Dark runs slow... It runs perfect on DosBox.

I'm trying to instal W95 OSR2 rigth now, but I have lot to read...

I think that compatibility list is not up to date, i tried many games on Qemu and it never disappointed me except for 2 or 3 titles.

 

[ingoreis]

Oh i read Qemu? Have someone Questions about it?


Edit: You dont need Windows to run Dos CDs like Xentar or RebelAssault, just use one of my premade Images with CdRom Support and be shure that your Images are in ISO Format.


Other that Iso Format work only with DaemonTools in Emulated Windows.


But pure Dosgames dont need Windows

 

[ekianjo]

but I've seen zero issues with nub movement.

 really? I always get my mouse stuck into a small random square on screen. Which dosbox do you use?

 

[ingoreis]

In Dosbox had i ever that Square Mouse Problem,in Qemu not when emulating Windows95


That was the Reason in the Past for me to try it with Qemu