Beta Dosbox Ex - *beta*

[streak]

DosBox EX

A fork of DosBox:

Features:

DB EX v1.0a [Based on DB SVN 01/08/2011]

- Changed mapper
- Changed config
- Removed some stuff from source code to speed up autostart
- Adjusted config to maximum speed [and save maximum compatibility]
- Built without SDL GL
- all standard gaming controls from dos [ALT / CTRL / ENTER / SPACE ]
are mapped into pandora A/B/X/Y gaming buttons
- autostart is prepared to mount 2 virtual dos partitions "C" / "D".
C - contains additional applications like DosNavigator
D - contains all /media/ so it contains all pandora SD drives [SD slot 1 / SD slot 2]
- screen stretched to 800x480

Please test it and give some feedback.

Download: As usual on 4th Floor Development [PND on FB Wall]

BTW. New version of DB EX will replace DN with DosZip Commander [it works better with DB EX]

Games working fullspeed with sound and music:
- Body Blows
- Alone In The Dark

 

[streak]

New version [DN replaced by DZ]:

Download: As usual on 4th Floor Development [PND on FB Wall]

 

[ldaneels]

Thanks for the release. I really appreciate the fullscreen & DZ.
I am playing Might & Magic Worlds of Xeen & have a few questions:
- how do you modify the config (I need to lower the cycles for better results) ?
- the mouse pointer is not accurate (to say the least). Is there any way to fix that ?
Thanks again for dosbox ex & keep up the good work.

 

[Blue Protoman]

Is this faster than the old port?

 

[streak]

Yes, for example: starting DB DX is much faster than old port

 

[streak]

- how do you modify the config (I need to lower the cycles for better results) ?
- the mouse pointer is not accurate (to say the least). Is there any way to fix that ?
Thanks again for dosbox ex & keep up the good work.

ad.1
use normal DB keys to modify the cycles -> http://www.dosbox.com/wiki/Special_Keys
CTRL + F11 - cycles down
CTRL + F12 - cycles up

ad.2
Seems that , this "sdl hack" not work in overlay fullcreen mode. So no touchpad fix at the moment in fullscreen.

 

[mcobit]

Touchscreenevents won't be scaled with hardwarescaling.

 

[streak]

New release as usual on 4th Floor Development page

[No FaceBook account? ugh.. you can still trace Our ports progress via Twitter here -> 4thFloorDevelopment [Twitter]]

 

[Esn]

- all standard gaming controls from dos [ALT / CTRL / ENTER / SPACE ]
are mapped into pandora A/B/X/Y gaming buttons

Alt/Ctrl/Space/SHIFT are the standard DOS action keys; Enter is also widely used, but mostly for bringing up the menu, besides which it's already in a pretty comfortable spot on the Pandora's layout.

Any chance of having the assignments listed here instead? Well, I guess they can be changed manually in any case.

I'm definitely going to try this out once I get some things fixed up... I have to reflash my Pandora's firmware, and I've been kinda putting it off and then I had some other things come up... hence why I haven't really been around since July.

I wonder if this will make Netkeen run without slowdowns when playing multiplayer (the previous port tended to stutter a bit or a lot, depending on the level)... I will have to try it out.

 

[streak]

Sorry: Mapped keys are: ALT / CTRL / SHIFT / SPACE [for pandora ABXY buttons]

 

[Esn]

Ok, so I finally tried this out, even though it's not officially available any more since that incident a few weeks ago. It does seem to be faster than the old port, at least when I tested Keen 5 at 800Mhz on both (in Xfce with wifi on). The old one slows down very slightly every time the screen scrolls. The new one doesn't, though it still stutters every so often. So speed is a definite plus.

But there are a few things I don't like, mostly boiling down to the fact that I canot manually edit .conf files as I could in the previous port, so I can't change settings that I don't like (for example, to play it windowed so that I can play Netkeen while keeping IRC open, to not stretch the image to fullscreen so that it feels like my eyes can't see clearly, to turn off certain sound emulation to speed things up). Also, it should be possible to manually edit the drive it mounts... I have to click on the menu on the above-left to mount "D" every time I start it, then navigate to the folder where my games are (/media/pandora/appdata/dosbox/games). It is inconvenient to do this every single time. The file browser is nice, I admit, but it takes longer to open a game than before.

All in all, I like the improved speed, I like the action keys assigned to ABXY (though it was possible to assign them manually in the old release as well), and I dislike all of the other changes from the previous Dboxfe release.

 

[streak]

..manually edit .conf files..
..stretch the image to fullscreen..
..manually edit the drive it mounts...

Thats why i created DosBox EX -> to help newbies to go into dosbox gaming. Many of youngsters dont know how to "walk with oldie DOS". Everyone else // hardcore DOS'ers should use older DOSBOX instance if DosBox EX is to stiff [in configuration] for them [compiled by Pickle].

BTW. DosBox EX 2.0 uses completely other way to load files. It uses zenity to choose EXE COM BAT file

 

[Esn]

Okay, but I like the extra speed.

Is there a way to configure Pickle's version so that it's as fast as your port?

 

[streak]

nope, because i removed some lines of code from dosbox in dosbox dx , to speed up things slightly and my version is from this year's SVN [so some bugs are fixed comparing to Pickle's DBox ]

 

[Esn]

In that case... is it possible that you might do an "alternate" release that allows customization with .conf files and access to the command line (as DOSBox usually does), or share some ideas with Pickle so that he might release a more traditional version that incorporates your speed increases?

Making things simple for the end-user is a good thing, but in this case it also removes features. For example, online play with your version is impossible, but was possible with the old version (which I used to play Netkeen). And blurry scaling is not universally popular (see: the dissatisfaction with the Ginged GPSP).

 

[streak]

In that case... is it possible that you might do an "alternate" release that allows customization with .conf files and access to the command line (as DOSBox usually does), or share some ideas with Pickle so that he might release a more traditional version that incorporates your speed increases?

Making things simple for the end-user is a good thing, but in this case it also removes features. For example, online play with your version is impossible, but was possible with the old version (which I used to play Netkeen). And blurry scaling is not universally popular (see: the dissatisfaction with the Ginged GPSP).

in new version of DB EX you can use NET Play

Video how it works:

 

[Esn]

in new version of DB EX you can use NET Play

Won't be usable for me, though; Netkeen needs to be played windowed because the organizing/inter-match conversation happens in a separate IRC program. Also, because I can't change the frameskip settings in DosBox Ex, it'll be too slow to be playable.

It'll be quite usable other things, but allowing .conf files as DOSBox usually does would expand its potential uses. You could still have the same default settings, just allow the user to change them (unless something about the way you've built it makes that impossible?).