-
Wer sich zu den Spieleveteranen zählt, gerät bei Titeln wie "Monkey Island" oder "Ultima 7" ins Schwärmen. Das Problem: Unter modernen Betriebssystemen verweigern diese Klassiker den Dienst. Mit dem Spiele-Emulator DOSBox hält die Nostalgie wieder Einzug auf dem heimischen PC.
Die Achtziger und frühen Neunziger brachten zwar hoch motivierende und originelle Computerspiele hervor - diese aber auf dem PC ans Laufen zu bringen, war eine technische Herausforderung. Soundkarten wurden nicht automatisch erkannt, auch das Speicher-Management rund um XMS und EMS stellte Ansprüche an den Anwender. Rechner waren größtenteils mit Intels x86-Prozessoren ausgestattet, das Betriebssystem kam schon damals von Microsoft: MS-DOS.
Das "Disk Operating System" bot den Benutzern seit der ersten Version 1980 eine Datenverwaltung an. Schnell entwickelte sich DOS zu einer beliebten Plattform auch für Spiele - erst textbasiert wie auch das Betriebssystem, später dank spezieller Grafikkarten auch visuell ansprechend. Eine kreative und von hohem Spielspaß geprägte Ära begann: Für Kultserien, die teils heute noch in neuen Versionen aufgelegt werden, legten Entwicklerstudios in dieser Zeit den Grundstein.
Erinnerungen aus der DOSBox
Doch heutzutage ist es kaum mehr möglich, unter DOS zu arbeiten, geschweige denn zu spielen. Der Schuldige ist schnell gefunden: Windows. Werkelte MS-DOS bei Windows 95 noch als voll funktionsfähiger Unterbau, ließ sich das Betriebssystem ab Windows 98 nur noch über die Eingabeaufforderung starten. Auf eine sinnvolle Unterstützung speicherresidenter Programme und Funktionen in der "Config.sys" sowie "Autoexec.bat" musste von da an verzichtet werden. Den Gnadenstoß gab Microsoft den DOS-Spielen mit der Programmier-Schnittstelle DirectX, die nur unter Windows funktionierte und DOS-Games unattraktiv machte.
(http://www.derwesten.de/static/nachrichten/6456/12375511272030/53126933_22891522_inline.jpg)
Wer seine Erinnerungen an Spieleperlen aus der Vergangenheit auffrischen will, muss daher auf den Emulator DOSBox zurückgreifen. Diese Software bringt es fertig, Spielen einen alten und damit kompatiblen Computer vorzugaukeln - komplett mit Prozessor, Grafik- und Soundkarten sowie Laufwerken und Peripherie. Das Programm lässt sich bedienen wie MS-DOS auch: Der User gibt per Texteingabe Befehle ein und ruft Anwendungen auf. Will er unter DOSBox etwa seinen Spieleordner zuweisen, sieht es wie auf dem Bild links aus.
Damit bietet DOSBox zwar Zugriff auf emulierte Hardware, doch das Starten von Spielen ist immer noch eine anspruchsvolle Aufgabe. Hier helfen so genannte Frontends weiter - grafische Oberflächen, dank derer Spielfreudige ohne Wissen zu DOS-Befehlen schnell ihre Lieblingstitel aufrufen können. Für den PC gehört "D-Fend Reloaded" zu den beliebtesten und verständlichsten Frontends, Mac-User finden mit "Boxer" ein empfehlenswertes Äquivalent.
Ganze Spiele-Bibliotheken können in solchen Frontends aufgebaut werden, auch das Tastaturlayout in der DOSBox ist bei D-Fend und Co. praktischerweise auf Deutsch. Verwirrende Kombinationen wie "Strg-ö", um einen Doppelpunkt zu erzeugen, sind damit passé. DOSBox kommt technisch nicht nur erfreulich nah an das Look & Feel der Originaltitel heran, der Emulator erweitert die Funktionalität sogar noch. Mit der Tastenkombination "Alt+Pause" lässt sich ein Spiel zu jedem Zeitpunkt stoppen, auch Framerate und Geschwindigkeit des Prozessors kann der Spieler im laufenden Betrieb anpassen, falls es wider Erwarten ruckeln sollte.
Spiele: Woher nehmen, wenn nicht stehlen?
Die Spieleunterstützung der DOSBox ist zwar nicht perfekt, doch der Löwenanteil von DOS-Titeln funktioniert auch in der emulierten Umgebung. Im DOSBox-eigenen Wiki können Interessierte nachschlagen, welches Spiel eventuell Zicken macht und ob Lösungsvorschläge existieren. Die größere Hürde dürfte für Fans der Klassiker indes sein, überhaupt an die Spiele zu kommen. Viele Disketten in angestaubten Originalkartons sind mittlerweile defekt, doch auch die Entwickler selbst vertreiben die meisten Titel nicht mehr - ein Nachkaufen wird so nahezu unmöglich.
(http://www.derwesten.de/static/nachrichten/6456/12375511272510/53126934_22891523_inline.jpg)
Natürlich gibt es im Internet zuhauf Portale, welche alte DOS-Spiele zum kostenlosen Download anbieten. Doch rein rechtlich unterliegen auch Titel aus den Achtzigern weiterhin dem Urheberrecht, das Herunterladen wäre also illegal. "Abandonware" heißt diese spezielle Art von Software, die zwar grundsätzlich über ein gültiges Copyright verfügt, praktisch aber nicht mehr käuflich erworben werden kann. Glücklicherweise gibt es Websites wie "Abandonia" : Hier sammeln Liebhaber fast lückenlos DOS-Klassiker und bieten diese an. Ist aber - wie etwa im Fall von "Monkey Island" - nach wie vor der Kauf möglich, gibt es für die Besucher statt des Download-Knopfes eine "No Go"-Schaltfläche.
Anbieter und Spieler bewegen sich juristisch zwar in einer Grauzone, doch die wird seit Jahren von den Rechteinhabern ohne Konsequenzen geduldet. In einigen Fällen, wie beispielweise beim Adventure " Beneath a Steel Sky ", wurde das Spiel ganz offiziell zur Freeware erklärt und das Herunterladen damit vollkommen legal. Und egal ob als fast vergessenes Original oder aus dem Vorrat an Abandonware gefischt - der kostenlose Emulator DOSBox erweckt nostalgische Erinnerungen an die gute, alte Gaming-Ära auch auf modernen Rechnern wieder zum Leben.
Quelle und Links : http://www.derwesten.de/nachrichten/games/2009/3/22/news-114926516/detail.html
-
Wolfenstein 3D, Sam & Max, Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, Worms, Prince of Persia, Loom, Leisure Suit Larry, The Secret of Monkey Island und viele mehr. Welcher Retrofan möchte auf seinem brandaktuellen Rechner keine Spiele ausführen, mit denen er in seiner Jugend so viel Zeit verbrachte? Emulatoren sind das Zauberwort, von DOSBox ist kürzlich ein Update erschienen.
(http://www.gulli.com/fileadmin/news_teaser/dosbox.png)
Mit diesem Emulator kann man auf Microsoft Vista und vielen anderen Betriebssystemen uralte Spiele und Programme laufen lassen, die ursprünglich für MS-DOS konzipiert waren. Noch im Mai hatte das Webportal SourceForge DOSBox zum Projekt des Monats gekürt.
DOSBox ist ein freier und kostenloser x86-Emulator, der im Gegensatz zu seinen Konkurrenten nicht nur die Hardwareumgebung eines IBM-PC-kompatiblen Computers, sondern auch den Prozessor und oftmals auch das Betriebssystem emuliert.
Die neue Version soll stabiler, merklich schneller und zudem fehlerfreier laufen. Diverse zusätzliche CD-ROM Laufwerke und Grafikkarten werden ab sofort unterstützt. Auch bei den Umsetzungen für Mac OS X und Microsoft Vista wurden jeweils zahlreiche Bugs behoben. Dieser Emulator sollte vor allem für Fans von klassischen PC Games interessant sein. So bieten die Entwickler auf ihrer Webseite einen Bereich an, wo jeder Spielefreak auf einen Blick sehen kann, ob das Spiel seiner Wahl problemlos auf DOSBox läuft.
Auch die neue Version ist für Windows, Gentoo, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, Fedora, BeOS und Risc OS verfügbar.
Sie kann jeweils kostenlos von hier (http://www.dosbox.com/download.php?main=1) heruntergeladen werden.
Viele der alten Spiele stehen mittlerweile als kostenlose Downloads zur Verfügung. Nur eine der zahllosen Anbieter im Netz ist diese Seite hier (http://www.dosgamesarchive.com/list/).
Quelle : www.gulli.com
-
Grafische Oberfläche für DOSBox (im Programmpaket enthalten), die vor allem DOS-Anfängern bei den ersten Hürden der Konfiguration des DOS-Emulators über textbasierende Konfigurationsdateien helfen soll.
(http://www.heise.de/software/screenshots/35268.jpg)
http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/
-
Latest Changes
- Several small game specific fixes/hacks/support. (Offensive, Roadhog, GTA installer, Kingdom O' Magic soundcard detection, Pirate booter, Armored Fist installer)
- Add the S3-specific 640x480 256 color mode. (fixes regression in "Wooden Ships and Iron Men" and "I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream")
- Fix a stack overflow that could crash DOSBox
- Add fake microphone input. (fixes Talking Parrot)
- Modify adlib turn off code, so that it doesn't turn off in cases where the same sound is repeated over and over again
- Several small fixes to the CDROM audio code.(HOMM2, Redneck Rampage and others)
- Several improvements to the CDROM emulation code. (fixes Alpha Storm and GT Racing 97)
- Some small CPU fixes that might fix something
- Handle opcode 0xff subcode 7 as invalid instruction. (fixes dif-2 & others)
- Some hercules fixes. (Testdrive)
- Improve support for blanked parts that wrap around to the start of the screen. (fixes Magic Circle demo and Sid&Al)
- Remove old OPL cores as the new ones seem to work very nicely
- Modify movie recording code so that the movies aren't corrupt when you exit dosbox without stopping the movie
- Change RGB3x scaler to look more pretty
- Improve initial register values compatility of the GUS
- Added autodetection for Gameblaster. (games can find it now)
- Change render preferences a bit to be more compatible with Windows 7
- Add DOS fixes to terminate program. (fixes Fortune Teller)
- Add FFREEP. (fixes Trucks)
- Improve FPU ST80 in C mode when writing zero. (fixes Antigok)
- Add special int10 scanline function. (fixes mz700 and probably lots of games that mess with them)
- Fix scrolling in rarely used video modes. (fixes Orphee)
- Modify game specific hacks a bit so that Kick off 3 works again
- Lots of fixes to the INT10 video parameter table. (Seven spirits of ra and others)
- Add VGA blanking in machine=vgaonly. (used by Alien Carnage)
- CGA, PCJr, Tandy: Add video blanking, change display start latch timing, sync pulse width correction
- PCJr, Tandy: implement vertical retrace interrupt
- PCJr, CGA: line-by-line video emulation
- PCJr: support on-screen change of color modes 4medium to 16low. (used by Ghostbusters booter)
- Hercules: Add green and amber monochrome support
- All machines: only update the video timing when needed. (Jungle Hunt, others that synchronize to the video screen might profit)
- Several small DOS fixes
- Some UMB related fixes. (The Legacy without UMB)
- Fix version number of DSP for SB 1.5. (fixes a few games)
- Several VGA emulation improvements. (Allertone football manager)
- Some Tandy fixes. (Mech Warrior)
- Small improvements and fixes to the OPL emulation
- Add low level Tandy DAC emulation
- Some EMS fixes. (fixes Mortal Kombat and others)
- Change SoundBlaster DSP reset mechanism, add sb irq acknowledge logic. (fixes stmik-based applications)
- Some interrupt pointer location modifications. (fixes Tinker Tales)
- Some fixes to the BOOT code. (fixes Last Mission)
- Respect write-only file information. (fixes Champions of Zulala)
- Some RTC fix. (fixes Tully Bodine and others)
- Improve mouse emulation to work better with Water World
- Hopefully fix the translation of the configuration file
- Speed up and fixes for the recompiler core. (pitfall2 pcjr)
- Change memory start location. (fixes 7th Guest installer)
- Several fixes to the batch file handling. (Shift and use the typed first %0 instead of the parsed %0)
- Improve file redirection and redirected line ends. (fixes Phantasmagoria 2 DOS installer)
- Fix compilation with new MAC os X version
- Add 16C550A FIFO support to the serial port emulation
- Improve modem emulation to get higher speeds
- Change default samplerates to 44100, blocksize to 1024 and prebuffer to 20, so that hopefully certain soundcards produce more fluent sound playback
- Add some rarely used, but for some games critical flags to the internal commands
- Add -userconf flag, so that the userspecific configuration can easily be used together with -conf configfile
- Improve internal timing with repeating timers (especially with the dynamic core)
http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/
-
DOSShell is an x86 applications launcher that works in tandem with the outstanding DOSBox emulator. Plus, it is also a convenient Explorer-like entries manager, where you can store inks for all of your often-used DOS programs. Forget about typing-in boring commands at the DOS-Prompt: All that you need to do is to add a record into DOSShell's database, and then you can enjoy the simplicity and speed of running your favorite old-games and software!
(http://images.betanews.com/screenshots/1263851791-1.png)
Latest Changes
- Added an option for hiding the DOSBox status window (console). This setting is disabled by default
- Ensured compatibility with the latest DOSBox v0.74
- Improved database saving when no changes were made
- Added version information into the product installer
- Added the confirmation before deleting an entry
Freeware
http://www.loonies.narod.ru/dosshell.htm
-
Version 1.0.0 (07/02/2010)
* DOSBox 0.74 is supported and bundled with D-Fend Reloaded.
* Updated default values to offer all values available in DOSBox 0.74.
* The new game installation support will assist you when adding a game that needs to be installed before being able to be used.
* New function for making FreeDOS bootable images and profiles from normal profiles.
* Functions for changing saved games (cheating) using an internal, editable data base or by searching for values in saved game files.
* Updated DOSZip from 1.49 to 1.54.
* It can be configurated from the setup dialog now when to update the packages list, the data reader configuration etc.
* Via the Help|Search for updates function now you can also search for package list, data reader and cheats database updates.
* The zip file import function also can import DBGL packages now.
* New easier to use first run wizard.
* If DOSBox start fails D-Fend Reloaded will show some information and will offer some options to find and solve the problem.
* Now folders can be imported like archive files via the import menu and via drag&drop.
* DOSBox language file editor.
* New setup option when to configurate a new game completely automatically.
* Like the genre and language names the license in game profiles can now be translated on the fly so profiles created via auto setup templates etc. will always be shown with translated names for the license.
* Now multiple commands can be specified to be executed before/after DOSBox.
* The DOSBox console window can be turned on and off on per profile now.
* In the profile editor you can selected which physical output device to use when playing MIDI music inside DOSBox.
* In the game information data reader dialog you can specify to look for DOS based games only or to look for all games.
* The game information data reader dialog now also can change the profile name.
* Now the game information data reader will remember which fields have been activated and which have be unchecked.
* The paths to the text editor and the media viewers are stored relatively to the base folder if the programs are located in subfolders of the base folder.
* You can create capture folders and game data folders for all profiles at the same time via the service page of the setup dialog.
* You can disable the Windows exe file warnings for single profiles now.
* Additionally to "and", "or", "not" language specific values for this logical operator can be used in the filter field.
* The fields for DOSBox window resolution and fullscreen resolution can have individual default values lists now.
* When creating a harddisk image file from some folder content now you can specify how much free space you want to have on the image.
* Some additionally information texts in the profile editor for making it easier to understand the meanings of the DOSBox options.
* Smarter way of finding the default GUI theme for ScummVM.
* Some more auto setup templates.
* [Fix] The "use scan codes" option was not passed the right way to DOSBox.
* [Fix] Downloading multiple games packages via the package manager always failed.
* [Fix] "Not" operator in games list filter not working correctly.
* [Fix] Mounting folders as CD drives did not work on systems without a real CD drive.
* [Fix] Some smaller fixes to the multiple profile editor.
* [Fix] Hiding the ScummVM console did not work when starting ScummVM in fullscreen mode.
* [Fix] Error message when pressing F1 while menu is opened.
http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/
-
Version 1.0.1 (09/13/2010)
* Updated DOSZip from 1.54 to 2.01.
* A new start-up logging function can help you to find the problem if D-Fend Reloaded is not running.
* Now the DOSBox language file editor can use the DOSBox built-in Englisch language file as template.
* Updated the png file reader library.
* [Fix] In some cases the "DOSBox start failed" dialog could appear even if DOSBox is working correctly.
* [Fix] Access violation when unsing the "Create image" dialog.
* [Fix] Download of multiple games packages from Sourceforge always failed.
* [Fix] The pixel shader option on the graphics card page of the profile editor was partially out of the dialog.
* [Fix] When selecting a MIDI device to be used in a DOSBox profile the text "midiconfig=id" is added to the additional MIDI settings field instead of just the MIDI device id.
* [Fix] When running D-Fend Reloaded in portable operation mode and the base directory for relative path names was not set to the program directory the capture folder was not stored correctly.
* [Fix] If updated from a previous D-Fend Reloaded version the changelog tab in the program information dialog may displayed an outdated, incomplete DOSBox changelog.
* [Fix] The main window was not disabled while the check for missing files progress dialog was shown.
http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/
-
Der beliebte Emulator von kompletten DOS- und Windows-Umgebungen, DOSbox, kommt nun mit experimenteller Software auch mit Programmen für die 3D-Schnittstelle Glide zurecht. Dazu bilden die Programmierer die erste Voodoo-Grafikkarte nach, die 1996 für Staunen sorgte.
(http://www.golem.de/1010/78774-4840-3dfx-logo-new.png)
Dem im Jahr 2000 von Nvidia übernommenen Unternehmen 3dfx gebührt ein großer Anteil an der kurzen Geschichte von 3D-Spielen für PCs. Während Anfang der 1990er Jahre zahlreiche Unternehmen wie Matrox, S3 und Tseng um die ideale Lösung für 3D-Grafik für private Anwender stritten, konnte das Startup 3dfx schon mit seinem ersten Chip beeindrucken. Sein Name: SST-1 alias Voodoo Graphics.
Das war jedoch für Branchenkenner wenig überraschend: 3dfx wurde von ehemaligen Mitarbeitern von Silicon Graphics gegründet, und dieses Unternehmen stand schon ein Jahrzehnt lang für konkurrenzlose Grafikworkstations. So löste auch der SST-1 mit schneller Polygonberechnung und gefilterten Texturen viele der Versprechen ein, die andere Unternehmen in der ersten Welle des 3D-Hypes nur gegeben hatten.
Kleines OpenGL für Privatleute
Dazu hatte 3dfx mit seinem Knowhow aus dem professionellen Bereich Teile von OpenGL umgesetzt und diese Spiele-Schnittstelle dann Glide genannt - die ersten beiden Buchstaben erinnern an die Abstammung. Da die Qualität der Grafik sonst kein Chip erreichte, und Glide einfach zu benutzen war, setzten viele Spielehersteller ihre Titel für Voodoo-Karten um.
In der Folge entstanden viele Klassiker wie Ultima IX oder der erste Teil der Reihe Tomb Raider. Wer Mitte der 1990er-Jahre den direkten Vergleich hatte, empfand solche Highend-Spiele nur mit Voodoo-Karten als wirklich erträglich, denn sie erreichten fast unabhängig von der restlichen Hardware stets konstante Bildraten. Die Grafikchips mussten sich dabei auch nur um 3D kümmern, denn: eine 2D-Karte, durch deren Anschluss das Signal der Voodoos geschickt wurde, musste immer zusätzlich im Rechner sein. Das war mit Preisen von 300 bis 400 Mark pro 2D- oder 3D-Karte schon damals kein billiges Vergnügen.
Nutzbar sind solche Klassiker heute nur, wenn die Hard- und Software noch vollständig erhalten ist. Ein gut gepflegter PC mit einem Pentium- oder 486-Prozessor - den unter diesem Namen auch AMD anbot -, ISA- und PCI-Slots und natürlich Windows 95 oder 98 ist dafür nötig. Emulatoren wie DOSbox konnten bisher mit Glide-Spielen nichts anfangen.
Der Programmierer mit dem Pseudoynm "kekko" arbeitet jedoch schon seit Monaten an einer Unterstützung von Glide und dem SST-1 für DOSbox. Sein erstes Build stammt bereits vom August 2010, und im Forum des Projekts berichten einige Anwender von guten Erfahrungen: Viele Spiele lassen sich nutzen, zum Teil gibt es aber noch massive Grafikfehler. Neben DOS-Spielen laufen auch die Windows-95-Versionen der Titel mit Glide.
Wie dem Thread (http://www.vogons.zetafleet.com/viewtopic.php?t=25606&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=120), der die Entwicklung begleitet, zu entnehmen ist, muss kekko dafür zur Emulation der Chips den SST-1 neu entwickeln. Derzeit ist die Emulation noch recht langsam, was vor allem daran liegt, dass der Grafikprozessor die Bilder stets zeilenweise in "Scanlines" berechnet. Per "Scanline Interleaving", oder SLI, ließen sich schon vor 15 Jahren zwei Grafikkarten koppeln, Nvidia nennt seine entsprechende Technik immer noch ebenso.
Noch sehr langsame Emulation
Die zeilenweise Berechnung in einer Emulation ist aber sehr zeitraubend, da die gesamte Pixel-Pipeline mehrfach durchlaufen werden muss, um beispielsweise Filterfunktionen durchzuführen. Der im Vergleich zu einem Grafikprozessor langsame PC-Hauptspeicher und viele Lese- und Schreiboperationen darauf bremsen auch mit modernen CPUs - denn diese müssen ja die Emulation durchführen.
Laut kekko könnte eine Aufteilung in Threads, und die Durchführung der mehrfachen Operationen per OpenGL, die Emulation deutlich beschleunigen. Am liebsten wäre ihm aber, nur die Geometrie per OpenGL berechnen zu lassen. Da hier noch kein Königsweg gefunden ist, steht auch noch nicht fest, ob und wann die Voodoo-Emulation fester Bestandteil von DOSBox wird.
DOSbox ist mit einem stabilen Built inzwischen bei Version 0.74 angekommen. In diese lässt sich die Voodoo-Emulation (http://www.vogons.zetafleet.com/download.php?id=7980) einklinken. Frühere Versuche brauchten stets ein eigenes Build von DOSbox. Wie stets erfolgt die Benutzung solch experimenteller Software im Entwicklungsstadium auf eigene Gefahr.
Quelle : www.golem.de
-
Version 1.0.2 (10/25/2010)
* Updated DOSZip from 2.01 to 2.05.
* About 50 new auto setup templates.
* The French and the French (Canada) languages file have been updated.
* [Fix] When starting a new language based on "English" in the DOSBox language editor the chosen default DOSBox language was used, not always English.
* [Fix] When importing a game from a plain archive file by using an auto setup template which has an icon file defined now D-Fend Reloaded will check if the icon file exists and remove the icon record if not.
* [Fix] Some temporary files were not deleted when closing D-Fend Reloaded.
* [Fix] "Transfer profiles" dialog not large enough for Italian translation.
http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/
-
Version 1.0.3 (11/15/2010)
* When importing plain archive files or folders D-Fend Reloaded will look for a FILE_ID.DIZ file and use if existent its content to suggest a profile name.
* Files (like text files etc.) can be used as profile specific helper programs to be started before or after the main program now.
* The physical path names for drives mounts can contain semicolons now.
* If the user selects a custom MIDI device to be used in a profile the device will be stored by name and not by id anymore so the right device will be selected when using the profile on an other system, too.
* Now the DOSBox IPX network settings can be configurated in the mutli profile editor, too.
* Support for new glide=emu mode when using a ykhwong DOSBox build.
* [Fix] Running profiles via command line parameters or via desktop or start menu shortcuts was not working.
* [Fix] Error messages when trying to load icons larger than 256x256 pixels.
* [Fix] A cover image downloaded from mobygames via the profile editor was not shown in the image viewer area of the main window at once if the profile editor was closed by clicking on "Cancel".
http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/
-
DOSShell is an x86 applications launcher that works in tandem with the outstanding DOSBox emulator. Plus, it is also a convenient Explorer-like entries manager, where you can store inks for all of your often-used DOS programs. Forget about typing-in boring commands at the DOS-Prompt: All that you need to do is to add a record into DOSShell's database, and then you can enjoy the simplicity and speed of running your favorite old-games and software!
(http://images.betanews.com/screenshots/1263851791-1.png)
Latest Changes
- A new field for the application entry: User Manual
- The main font is changed to Tahoma
- The Preferences window is renamed to Settings
- Added links to the program website, and to the company's website into the Help menu
- A few grammar corrections
- Some internal enhancements
Freeware
http://www.loonies.narod.ru/dosshell.htm
-
Version 1.1.0 (02/25/2011)
* Updated DOSZip from 2.05 to 2.08.
* New option in the mobygames data reader to download all images available for some game.
* Setup option to configure if history information of started games shall be collected or not.
* Support for more special ykhwong DOSBox builds features.
* New optional games list column: Number of starts of the profile.
* When exporting the games list you can choose which fields to export.
* Now the package list creation and package download system can handle packages larger than 2 GB by splitting them.
* The names for the files to look for a profile name suggestion when importing plain archive files (default: FILE_ID.DIZ) is configurareable now.
* The history viewer dialog opens much faster now.
* The games list tooltips now also tells how often the selected profile has been started.
* New setup dialog option to configure whether D-Fend Reloaded should add a trailing backslash to path names when calling an external packer or not. (uha needs path names without trailing backslashs.)
* Default command line parameter values for the external packers uha and arj32 are included now.
* User defined emulators will be listed as sub entries below "Emulation type" in the games list filter tree.
* A new option to filter the games list by game license is offered in the filter tree.
* Setup option to rename all media files in all profiles.
* The "Starting DOSBox failed" dialog now also allows to change the selected SDL video driver.
* Option to reselect the last selected profile on program restart.
* The games list can be exported as a xml file now.
* New option in the icons library to rename all icon files to have upper or lower file extensions.
* The package manager will display the download size of the selected games now.
* Some more new auto setup templates.
* The package manager will open faster now.
* Lower memory consumption on downloading large files via the package manager.
* Tuned the game and setup file detection code.
* [Fix] The automatic translation of the license fields in the profiles failed.
* [Fix] Sorting the columns in the history dialog by clicking the column headers did not work for all columns correctly.
* [Fix] The second last games list column could not be moved down (to be the last column) on the games list columns editor in the setup dialog.
* [Fix] Template names and custom game information keys containing "&" can cause problems.
* [Fix] When running from a network share not connected to a drive letter starting DOSBox failed.
* [Fix] When clicking the zoom button in the video previewer while a damaged video file is selected or the needed codec is missing a division by zero error message appeared.
* [Fix] Access violation when using the "Start" dialog from the tray icon menu and opening a second dialog from the tray icon menu while the first dialog is still open.
http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/
-
Version 1.2.0 (09/29/2011)
Updated DOSZip from 2.08 to 2.17.
Added about 300 new auto setup templates.
New "Select by" option in the profiles export dialog: Games for which there is no auto setup template.
New option to create package list xml files for plain archive files.
In the extra program files dialog of the profile editor parameters for the additional program files can be entered now.
New function in the icons manager to add all icons from a selected folder and its subfolders.
Setup option to allow or block multiple instances of D-Fend Reloaded at the same time.
New option to setup the font style (bold, italic, underlined) for normal games list entries.
D-Fend Reloaded can store up to 9 internet addresses per profile now.
Setup option to use the image viewer as a non-modal window.
New option to change pixel shader settings in the multiple profiles editor.
More ScummVM settings in the multiple profiles editor.
The modes "hardware2x" and "hardware3x" will be added automatically to the scalers list when activating the pixel shader GUI.
New input fields on the MIDI page of the profile editor to setup MT32.
Now you can set up custom DOSBox settings per DOSBox installation, too.
Improved detection if the per profile keyboard mapper file is the same as the global keyboard mapper file on the keyboard page of the profile editor.
Additional user-defined command line parameters can be passed to ScummVM now.
Now the icon manager will show icons located in sub folders of the icons folder, too.
Some smaller improvements to the first run wizard.
[Fix] Incompatibility with ScummVM 1.3.x is fixed.
[Fix] Storing the order of user defined columns in the games list did not work correctly.
[Fix] The package manager can handle splitted packages larger than 2 GB from local sources now.
[Fix] The options "Video chipset" and "Video RAM" in the multiple profiles editor did not work correctly.
[Fix] Displaying multiple bmp files in the screenshots previewer did not work correctly.
[Fix] Opening the profile editor for an auto setup template could rise an expection under some conditions.
[Fix] The function "Convert absolute to relative paths" from the service page of the program options dialog could rise an expection under some conditions.
[Fix] Clicking the down button to reorder the list of user-defined emulators on the "Other emulators" setup dialog page cause some settings to be overwritten.
[Fix] The names of the user-defined emulators in the dropdown box on the "Other emulators" setup dialog page were not always correct.
[Fix] When filtering the games list by emulation type when selecting "Windows" also games using some user-defined emulators were listed.
[Fix] The download/copy progress dialog shows wrong percent values in the caption when copying large files from local sources.
[Fix] When changing the program language the language of the entries in the games list columns listbox did not change at once.
[Fix] The list available of licenses was not displayed correctly in the "Select by" menu.
[Fix] The preferences for opening text, image and video files were not respected when opening files from the data folder via the context or the profile menu.
http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/
-
Version 1.2.1 (10/23/2011)
Added a setup option to select which filter keys to be displayed in the filter tree view.
The Russian language file has been updated.
[Fix] Exception in the new game wizard when using the default template.
[Fix] Exception when using the "Reset all pages but this" function in the profile editor to reset a profile to a template.
[Fix] Wrong name for "Export archive file" popup menu item.
http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/
-
(http://images.six.betanews.com/screenshots/scaled/1263851791-1.jpg)
DOSShell is an x86 applications launcher that works in tandem with the outstanding DOSBox emulator. Plus, it is also a convenient Explorer-like entries manager, where you can store inks for all of your often-used DOS programs. Forget about typing-in boring commands at the DOS-Prompt: All that you need to do is to add a record into DOSShell's database, and then you can enjoy the simplicity and speed of running your favorite old-games and software!
Freeware
Latest Changes
- Ensured compatibility with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview
- Put a video tutorial onto the program home page
- A new option for keeping the original app's aspect ratio in the full screen mode
- Enhanced the setup script
http://www.loonies.narod.ru/dosshell.htm
-
Version 1.3.0 (04/17/2012)
Updated FreeDOS from 1.0 to 1.1 (full installer only).
Updated DOSZip from 2.17 to 2.27.
Menu item in profiles menu and profile context menu: Open file in program files folder.
Service section of setup dialog: Reset all profiles to template.
New "Open DOSBox prompt in program folder" context menu and profile menu item.
The floppy/harddisk image file creator can diretly create a profiles for booting the created image file in DOSBox.
Now the floppy/harddisk image file creator can add Doszip to image files.
New option not to repack the archive file when the game quits when using an archive file as a drive.
Improved detection whether a program is using DOS4GW or not.
Better disk image type auto detection when extracting files from an image file.
Improved checksum usage when searching for new game in the games folder.
[Fix] When entering numerical values in a spin input field in the profile editor via keyboard the value range is not always checked properly.
[Fix] Creation of bootable hard disk images was broken.
[Fix] Trying to get the list of available MIDI devices fails if there are no drive records in the default template.
[Fix] The edit button in the drives list context menu of the profile editor opened the add drive dialog and not the edit drive dialog.
[Fix] Removed useless information popup when editing the capture folder for a Windows game profile in the profile editor.
[Fix] Removed invalid ISO image warning when extracting a floppy or hard disk image.
[Fix] When downloading a cover image from Mobygames right after changing the capture folder (without closing the profile editor in between), the image will be stored in the old capture folder.
[Fix] Wrong position for the portable version info button on the DOSBox page of the configuration dialog when switching from basic to advanced configuration mode.
http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/
-
Version 1.3.1 (06/25/2012)
Korean language file (thanks to Decon).
Updated Italian language file.
Updated French and French Canada language files.
Updated DOSZip from 2.27 to 2.33.
When showing the DOSBox conf file / ScummVM ini file D-Fend Reloaded will add the command line parameters used when starting DOSBox / ScummVM as a comment in the file.
The file icon of the emulator program file will be used when displaying the user-defined emulators in the profile filter tree now.
Improved auto detection of ScummVM when installing ScummVM after installation of D-Fend Reloaded.
[Fix] User-defined command line parameters were ignored when running ScummVM.
[Fix] Hiding the ScummVM console did not work on newer ScummVM versions.
[Fix] Error message when adding a ScummVM based game via the wizard and not "Show all pages" was selected on the first page of the wizard.
[Fix] Changing settings on the DOSBox CVS features page of the program settings dialog could damage default values for render modes etc.
[Fix] Some labels in the profile editor were not large enough for the Italian translation.
http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/
-
Vielleicht für einige ganz interessant... und (zumindest bislang) auch regelmäßig aktuell gehalten...
Die DOSBox SVN-Daum-Builds von Taewoong:
http://ykhwong.x-y.net/
Dort fließen nicht nur offizielle, sondern auch inoffizielle Patches, Bugfixes, Mods und Funktionserweiterungen für DOSBox mit ein - zum Beispiel unter anderem:
- eine eigene GUI
- interne 3dfx Voodoo Chip Software- und (Wrapper-basierte) Glide-Emulation
- interne MT-32 Emulation
- Parallel-Port Dongle-Emulation
- Fluidsynth Soundfont- & Timidity++ Backend-Unterstützung für MIDI-Ausgabe
- IDE-Emulation (für virtuelle ATA- und ATAPI-Geräte)
- NE2000 Ethernet-Emulation
- ISA Plug&Play-Emulation
- Direct3D-Ausgabe mit zuschaltbaren Pixelshader-Effekten
- OpenGLHQ-Ausgabe
- uvm.
-
Whats new: >>
· Updated Korean language file
· Updated French and French Canada language files
· Updated DOSZip from 244 to 248
· Added options to set sound volulme for multiple profiles at once to the
· multiple profiles editor
· Setting the font properties for the preview area now will also apply to
· the notes text input field
· Extracting and creating archive files can be canceled now
· Now also data files for which there is an user-defined interpreter can be
· added by drag&drop
· The screenshot thumbnails in the preview area of the D-Fend Reloaded program
· window will be cached now so the screenshot images will not need to be
· scaled down each time the screenshot previews will be displayed
http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/
-
Version 1.3.5 (02/10/2013)
Updated Polish language file.
Updated DOSZip from 2.48 to 2.50.
Improved game information reader to receive data from the updated Mobygames homepage.
Updated search link for Squakenet.com.
Now the base folder used for making folder names relative can be mounted as a drive, too.
[Fix] The "Delete all" context menu item for screenshots, sounds and videos did not work if no item was selected.
[Fix] When using Windows-based emulators stored in a path relative to the D-Fend Reloaded program directory in portable mode, games using this emulator where not displayed correctly in the "Emulation type" filter of the games filter tree.
[Fix] Starting a game could fail if there were multiple drive mountings directing to the game files folder.
[Fix] When trying to install a game from a real floppy drive the installation support function could fail.
http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/
-
Version 1.3.6 (31/03/2014)
Updated Danisch, French, French Canada, German, Italian und Polish language files.
Updated Italian DOSBox language file.
Updated DOSZip from 2.50 to 3.21.
Better filtering of game notes text in game information reader.
[Fix] Changing to the game directory is not working on some newer DOSBox CVN version if using PhysFS or archive file based drive mounts.
[Fix] Line breaks created in the program notes field due to breaking the text on the right window side are not stored anymore as line breaks.
[Fix] Until now not the same saved games where visible when running a ScummVM based game via D-Fend Reloaded and via plain ScummVM.
http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/
-
What's new :>>
When downloading game information now The Games DB (thegamesdb.net) can be used as data source, too.
DOSBox, ScummVM and Windows games can be set up to be started with admin rights. (This option is turned off by default and has to be enabled on the security page of the program settings dialog.)
When choosing "max" for the CPU cycles in the profile editor additionally a limiting value can be defined now.
The lists in the data package manager can be sorted now by clicking on the column headers.
[Fix] When internet connection is cut during download of a package manager file the download dialog is not blcoking the whole program anymore.
[Fix] Sometimes a video file was still clickable in the meda tab after being deleted from disk.
[Fix] Viewing the DOSBox conf file fails when using a custom DOSBox installation.
http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/
-
What's new :>>
Updated Italian language file.
Improved sorting speed in the package manager.
Records can be manually deleted from the package manager via the context menu.
[Fix] Sorting the package manager games list by download size did not work.
http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/
-
What's new :>>
Updated Korean language file.
Better error handling when internet connection fails while trying to download game information from Mobygames.
[Fix] The "File path is relative to the DOSBox directory structure" checkbox below the program file input line in the profile editor was not visible anymore.
http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/
-
Vielleicht für einige ganz interessant... und (zumindest bislang) auch regelmäßig aktuell gehalten...
Die DOSBox SVN-Daum-Builds von Taewoong:
http://ykhwong.x-y.net/
Dort fließen nicht nur offizielle, sondern auch inoffizielle Patches, Bugfixes, Mods und Funktionserweiterungen für DOSBox mit ein - zum Beispiel unter anderem:
- eine eigene GUI
- interne 3dfx Voodoo Chip Software- und (Wrapper-basierte) Glide-Emulation
- interne MT-32 Emulation
- Parallel-Port Dongle-Emulation
- Fluidsynth Soundfont- & Timidity++ Backend-Unterstützung für MIDI-Ausgabe
- IDE-Emulation (für virtuelle ATA- und ATAPI-Geräte)
- NE2000 Ethernet-Emulation
- ISA Plug&Play-Emulation
- Direct3D-Ausgabe mit zuschaltbaren Pixelshader-Effekten
- OpenGLHQ-Ausgabe
- uvm.
Kleine Ergängzung:
Als Wrapper eignen sich nglide und dgvoodoo, alternativ kann eine echte Voodoo(2) Karte angesprochen werden.
Zudem ist auch die eingebaute Emulation sehr schnell geworden, wenn man in der Dosbox die entsprechenden Zeilen auf OpenGL umstellt.
Es wird inzwischen auch Windows 3.1 unterstützt.
(Windows 95 auf eigene Gefahr )
Ideal um alte Spieleperlen wie Carmageddon, Bleifuss 2 (beide DOS + 3DFX) oder ColinMcRae Rally 1 (Windows - 3D beschleunigt) mal wieder zu spielen.
-
What's new :>>
Updated Turkish language file.
Updated DOSZip from 3.21 to 3.38.
[Fix] The mobygames data read failed to download images specified as relative URLs.
http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/
-
What's new :>>
All path names in conf files stored in archive files are made relative.
http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/
-
(https://s26.postimg.cc/7aejpwi9l/screenshot_1179.png)
vDos is derived from the DOSBox project, it allows you to conveniently run DOS programs in Windows.
DOSBox is targeted at gaming and available for many operating systems.
vDos is for serious (mainly text mode) DOS applications, Windows 32/64 bits (XP and later) only.
It lacks many of the hardware emulations of DOSBox (no joysticks, basic VGA...). Instead it adds a live file system, file/record locking, Windows printing, a scalable screen font and more.
You should be able to run your DOS application quickly in a safe and convenient way.
License: Open Source
http://sourceforge.net/projects/vdos/
-
Changelog
• The emulated CPU is up to 40% faster, though less in protected mode operation.
• Record locking was validated every host OS granted request, while an one-time-only confirmation per drive is conclusive. It slowed down multi-user database programs, especially when accessing network hosted files.
• Text copy/paste is now [Ctrl+Win+]left/right mouse click; Ctrl+Win+C/V are used by Windows itself since the Fall Creators Update.
• Simplified configuration by dropping directives from config.txt: "FRAME=" (window is always bordered), "XMEM=" (10MB of both XMS and EMS memory is provided), "LINS=" and "COLS=" (replaced by TEXT=<lins>x<cols>, "WINKEY=", and "EURO=". Added "CTRL+V=" to en/disable this pasting option.
• Dropped global "TIMEOUT=" config.txt directive in favor of "TIO:<seconds>" per print device. Added default line character substitution for "---" and "===" sequences.
• F-Keys repeat, fixed pasting text in Clipper (now a bit slower in all apps).
• More accurate BIOS timer tick, servicing routines. Those were postponed and could even miss a tick. Added dedicated idle detection for protected mode operation.
• 'Only' 16,384 memory address relocations were supported with .EXE files, if smaller than 480 bytes, they were not loaded. If the SP was 0xfffe, a RETF instruction didn't cause the SP to wraparound. REP LODSx (silly to repeat of course) with the DF flag set, returned the value of an incorrect memory address.
• The SFN filter is removed from file listings.
• More comprehensive logging for troubleshooting ("...vDos.exe" /log).
• Switched development to Visual Studio 2017. Its "Favor Speed" optimizing option actually favors "Size" sometimes, resulting in smaller, but slower code.
• vDos now comes in a 100% open source Base version, basically the 2017.08.01 version, w/o printing and executing Windows programs. These are closed source, as are further developments. vDosSetup will install the Base version and patch it to version 2018.05.01 if selected.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/vdos/
-
Changelog
Rewrite auto/max cycles algorithm to work better with windows 7, other OSes might benefit as well.
Update 64bit recompiler to work on OSX and Linux.
Several improvements to make the recompilers work with newer compilers and add some workarounds about clang confusing itself.
Fix several variables being the wrong size in the recompiler.
Support absolute 64 bit addressing. (DRC:64 bit error messages)
Zero extend data in dynrec core for LLVM compilation/
Reduce overhead of the Mac version with a lot. Results in a speed increase.
Replace NV_PixelDataRange with the more common ARB_PixelBufferObject extension. Should help with output=opengl.
Reuse graphics window if possible instead of always creating a new one!
Add patches to work better when called by WINE:
support WINE style namemangling.
allow Z: to be moved to a different drive.
Try to fix stuttering audio with opengl output on Linux. (or at least improve it. Linux users might need to increase the prebuffer option a bit)
Fix automake and autoconf problems.
Fix problems related to packed struct layouts.
Fix compilation on gcc 4.4 and gcc 4.6.1.
Fix compilation with -DPIC.
Hopefully fix crash on shutdown, when unknown condition is encountered.
Fix -lto with gcc.
Fix clang compliation with asm fpu core.
Fix mapper crash on startup and when changing the mapper key.
Fix compilation in VS2015.
Fix compilation on mingw64.
Fix compilation on Frisbee and newer clang.
Fix compilation machines that have X11 libraries installed, but use a SDL without X11.
Fix a few problems relating to video capturing:
Writing out the index too often. (slowdown with longer captures)
Not being aware of when only the refresh rate changed.
Fix call order when bitshifting the return order (VS C /O2 builds).
Fix sign-extension error in S3 draw funcion, i.e. win3.1 analog clock.
Fix expanddot not caring about the size of the inputbuffer.
Some fixes for the debugger related to starting a program through debug.com.
Bring OS/2 port code up to date.
Reduce the amount of warning when compiling with quite a bit.
Allow 15/26/32 bits input to the opengl output.
Add cmd-q as exit key for macs.
Fix icon and titlebar on very old setups.
Fix off by one display size calculation errors with very large displays.
Fix out of bounds access the unused byte in the 32 bit colour value of the hardware mouse cursor pixel was affected.
Fix depreciated warnings on Mac, allow soundfont loading for coreaudio.
Keep repeating a pressed key if another key was unpressed.
Fix crash on OS X related to putting junk in the titlebar.
Extend fullresolution=0x0 to work on Linux and Mac.
Change gameblaster and tandy sound core to latest mame version.
Improve numlock and capslock support on Linux and Macs. Still not perfect on Windows.
Added even more code to workaround Windows behaving weirdly with alt-tab.
https://www.dosbox.com/news.php?show_news=1
-
(https://s26.postimg.cc/7aejpwi9l/screenshot_1179.png)
vDos is derived from the DOSBox project, it allows you to conveniently run DOS programs in Windows.
DOSBox is targeted at gaming and available for many operating systems.
vDos is for serious (mainly text mode) DOS applications, Windows 32/64 bits (XP and later) only.
It lacks many of the hardware emulations of DOSBox (no joysticks, basic VGA...). Instead it adds a live file system, file/record locking, Windows printing, a scalable screen font and more.
You should be able to run your DOS application quickly in a safe and convenient way.
Changelog
•Switched to 3 distinct CPU mode emulators with a speed gain of 5 to 30%. Special DataPerfect (DP2.6Y) support will let it run nearly as fast as in NTVDM (same hardware), and comes with network optimization.
•DOS compatibility fixes like a system wide uniform BIOS/DOS date/time. Line endings in text files. DIR command counting directories as files. Create temporary file API not creating an actually random file(name), and worse, overwriting it if present.
•Some improvements to FPU emulation and printing.
•Long awaited fix of the occasionally (and illusive) Page Fault errors with FoxProX.
•Copy/paste in full screen.
•vDos is further silenced, a beep.wav file has to be supplied in the vDos directory to define the system beep.
•Idle detection scheme overhauled. The previous one especially let vDos go idle premature with file operations. vDos still attends to the DOS program in idle mode, though at a far lower rate. But will go to hibernate after 5 minutes of continuous idle time. So vDos CPU usage should drop to zero, even on lesser hardware.
•If ASCII 0-31 characters were redefined in a codepage, the lower/original ones were still used.
•Support of key stuffers like AutoHotKey: Handling extended characters and BIOS keyboard buffer overflow.
•Some programs on exit set the VGA registries directly, this could mislead vDos the window was resized.
https://www.vdos.info/
-
Changelog
This is a security release for DOSBox 0.74:
Fixed that a very long line inside a bat file would overflow the parsing buffer (CVE-2019-7165 by Alexandre Bartel)
Added a basic permission system so that a program running inside DOSBox can't access the contents of /proc (e.g. /proc/self/mem) when / or /proc were (to be) mounted (CVE-2019-12594 by Alexandre Bartel)
Several other fixes for out of bounds access and buffer overflows.
Some fixes to the OpenGL rendering.
It's recommended to use config -securemode when dealing with untrusted files.
The game compatibility should be identical to 0.74 and 0.74-2.
https://www.dosbox.com/news.php?show_news=1
-
Changelog
Machine code routines converted to C/C++, vDos is potentially CPU type (not Windows) independent. Loss of performance of the emulated CPU is limited to a few percent by squeezing out the last possible optimizations.
There’s now also a 64-bit edition (vDos64), however not publicly available/advertised. That would mostly just be confusing: "I need that version since I have Windows 64-bit". vDos64 has a larger footprint and is slightly slower than its 32-bit counterpart, that runs in both Windows 32- and 64-bit.
Unused FreeType options/extensions removed, some common code of the 3 CPU emulators merged, rarely used code compiled for size. vDos.exe lost weight, despite added functionality.
Added KEYCODE= option, setting the reported scan and ASCII code of a specific key.
Alt+Space opens the vDos system menu, Win+Dn minimizes, Win+Up restores the window.
Ctrl+Mousewheel changes the font/window size. As with Windows CMD, the top left corner is fixed.
The Windows command line processor (CMD) needs the current work directory set to a drive letter. With network/mapped Windows drive letters, this gave a problem since vDos always used the UNC paths.
Removed stripping double quotes from the command line to better support calling Windows CMD.
vDos will refuse to run if started elevated. There should be no need for that.
The eventual nag couldn’t be clicked away if vDos was minimized.
As vDos went to 'Hibernate', it could become unresponsive.
FreeType library updated to version 2.10.1.
Internal TTF font character positions vertically raised so they center better within the cells. Some other refinements to individual characters.
Line drawing characters of the internal font set to single points (more discreet lines) at all resolutions.
Added EXTEND= option to mask/hide on-screen text, like a silly (or even annoying ticking) clock.
COLORS= dropped in favor of the more convenient THEME=<number> (0-9). System menu item added to cycle thru the themes (preview, if not explicitly set).
Default color of the DOS text cursor changed.
Internal printing is handled by a separate thread to facilitate some HP drivers and Microsoft virtual printing.
Added timeout options to optimize faster printer response. Added PRIVATE option to skip creating print files.
Some improvements to the PCL printer code parser.
'Turbo' text pasting reinstated. It was once disabled to overcome a Clipper bug. Now pasting in other programs should again be as fast as those can process input.
Added BTRIEVE= option to connect to a Windows Pervasive/BTR2SQL interface. Mind, this extension/functionality doubles the vDos license fee.
Fixed FPU rounding errors in specific situations. Added support of some obscure FPU instructions.
Some (built-in) ANSI.SYS refinements.
https://www.vdos.info/
-
Changelog
vDos.exe is once more smaller (for if you would question that). Some 15% CPU overall speed gain, though FoxProX code will run up to 50% faster. Priority of vDos.exe set to “High” to give it a slight advantage when competing with other programs for CPU attention.
Detection of extensive keyboard polling by a DOS program: vDos will then drop to idle mode sooner.
Print processor passes on eventually set copies option and the like to the print driver.
Text is transferred as strings instead of individual characters, resulting in smaller Windows print jobs and PDF's.
Added a bold variant of the internal font (can also be used for display).
Changed the DOS DTA based find file API to Windows search handles conversion strategy.
Switched from Windows GetBinaryType() API to examining the header bytes to determine a file type.
Screen DPI awareness: vDos renders text at the (higher) native resolution if Windows is set to scale content.
Added a simulated dark mode of the DOS screen (probably a gimmick?).
Changed WINDOW= to size%[,horz%:vert%] for more consistency and uniform positioning. “Set as default” system menu option added when the window is resized, saving the window size and position to config.txt.
Some refinements to command line parsing. Redirecting output was 'sticky', it stayed active.
Redirection of Windows CMD or START command are no longer trapped by vDos command line processor.
Forced pasting text in programs that bypass INT 16.
Extended functionality for select/copy text. See the last paragraph of Printing.pdf for details.
Faulty EXEPACKed DOS programs will load/start correctly w/o external help or sacrificing the first 64KB memory block.
https://www.vdos.info/
-
(https://i.postimg.cc/Xv4wBqzz/screenshot-3086.png)
DBGL serves as a frontend / Graphical User Interface to DOSBox. It tries to make creating DOSBox configuration files a little easier by offering a relatively simple interface, some shortcuts and a little bit of intelligence. Once your DOS games are configured in DBGL, its very easy to setup or start them, or alter their configuration or associated DOSBox version.
Freeware
Changelog
Implemented Native Custom Command multi-editing (overload86).
Implemented Template loading as opposed to reloading (overload86).
Added support for DOSBox version-specific dynamic options (psoma).
Implemented basic 'overlay' mount support.
Implemented Gallery 'jump-to', fixed last launched game image being blank (Doom).
Major speedup when importing (multiple, very large) gamepackarchives.
Fixed fetching MobyGames screenshots and obtaining Pouet images from https://content.pouet.net (psoma).
Fixed a problem opening links to files with spaces in its path; Also fixed a few 'Browse..' buttons, paths were incorrectly trimmed (Tomatko).
Prevent possible "null is an invalid node value" when exporting, and failure to export mapper files (overload86)
Fixed thumbnail height on MacOS (rfc).
No longer crash DBGL on DOSBox configuration mismatch, just log the problem and disable the controls (billy043).
Follow the XDG specification, using ~/.local/share/dbgl for data files on Linux systems, and ~/Library/dbgl on MacOS (_Rob, arobbo).
Added Slovakian translation by Tomas K., Polish and Spanish translation updates from ZeroX4 and Neville.
Updated included Mac DOSBox build to Dominus' latest (0.74-3-3).
Updated launch4j to 3.14 for improved JRE installation detection in launch.exe (Johnnydement and others).
Updated all libraries, most importantly HSQLDB (from 2.5.0 to 2.6.0). Please note that this new library does no longer support the old 1.8.x database format. If you're currently using DBGL version 0.90 or 0.91, first update to 0.92, and only then update to 0.93.
https://dbgl.org/