DOS Games

This file provides guidelines for running various games under OS/2. The info here has been gathered from postings to the net and from my own experiences. Special thanks go to Ron Dippold (hi Ron and David Charlap for their contributions on the net, and of course to the many, many people who have posted their personal experiences. I've taken the liberty to include direct statements from posts by various people throughout this file.

Kevin Lowey said something I agree with:

A lot of people say that OS/2 needs a killer-app. In my opinion, the first killer-app for OS/2 is going to be a game that takes FULL advantage of the OS/2 features.

GENERAL TIPS:

Read the README file in your OS/2 root directory. It has tips for running specific DOS and Windows apps under OS/2.

Read the comp.sys.ibm.pc.games FAQ. This is very important since it will tell you about possible problems when running the game even under plain DOS. If you can't find a copy of the FAQ in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games, email Chris Warren, the keeper of the FAQ, at warren@apple.com for a copy, or email me and I'll send you a copy.

In order to achieve maximum performance and speed, especially for graphics intensive games such as flight simulators, try the following settings:

DOS Fullscreen: check this option; best performance can always be achieved by running the game in a full screen DOS session. DOS_BACKGROUND_EXECUTION: OFF (so it won't take CPU time when you switch away from it) DOS_HIGH: ON (more memory for those that need it) DOS_RMSIZE: 640 DPMI_MEMORY_LIMIT: 0 (DOS games don't use DPMI memory) EMS_MEMORY_LIMIT: 1024 (this is EXPANDED memory. If a game uses more than 1024k, use a higher number; if the game uses no EMS, such as Ultimas 4-5 and most of the earlier EGA games [SSI games, Tunnels and Trolls, Might and Magic II, Dragon Wars, Magic Candle I, Knights of Legend, etc] set EMS to 0) HW_ROM_TO_RAM: ON (copies ROM BIOS to RAM--several people have said this boosts performance on their machines) HW_TIMER: ON (this is important, especially for those games that use soundboards. However, one user noted that when this setting is set to ON it causes many games that send sound directly to the SB to crash the entire system. I have not experienced this myself.) IDLE_SECONDS: 10 IDLE_SENSITIVITY: 100 (this is important) KBD_ALTHOME_BYPASS: ON (this prevents the DOS session from being shrunk to a window via ALT-HOME; keep it on OFF if you want to run your game in a window) VIDEO_FASTPASTE: ON (reported by some to boost performance) VIDEO_RETRACE_EMULATION: OFF (important for fast graphics, though you may have to experiment with this one) VIDEO_ROM_EMULATION: OFF XMS_MEMORY_LIMIT: 64 (this is EXTENDED memory; when you have DOS_HIGH=ON, DOS can use this 64k which will help give you more base memory)

For best performance close ALL windows and apps (especially DOS apps) before you run the game so that the game can get as much of the CPU as possible.

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SOUND CARDS:

Soundblaster: make sure that you don't have your Soundblaster set for IRQ7. OS/2 uses IRQ7 (which is LPT1) to print, even though DOS doesn't, so under OS/2 you need to change the default IRQ for your SB from 7 to 5 (or to some other available IRQ).

Roland LAPC-1: the default IRQ2 and 330 address work fine. IRQ2 is automatically mapped to IRQ9 on 386 and 486 boards.

SPECIFIC GAMES:

Use the settings detailed above for the following games, varying EMS as needed. Exceptions to the above settings are noted where applicable. I have decided to include all the games that were mentioned on the net by OS/2 users - even if there were no problems reported--to allow those who are thinking about buying a game to know how it runs. A complete list will also let people post or email additional hints when they see their game listed.

[NOTE: "runs fine" means I've tested the game myself. "Reported to run fine" means that the game was mentioned on the net as being compatible with OS/2.]


 * ACES OF THE PACIFIC:reported to run fine.
 * ATLANTIS:reported to run fine.
 * A-TRAIN:only one report about this game, and here it is:
 * Play it under Dos. I haven't found out how to get it to work under OS/2.
 * Anybody got it to run?

experimentation to make it run well. According to net reports, this game uses a special split-screen mode of the video card, and thus its behavior tends to rely on a person's hardware peculiarities more than OS/2 itself. I find that I can run this game fine, but if I switch away from the game and then switch back to it the bottom portion of the screen will no longer display the statistics for my character. Also, my soundblaster special effects (people talking, doors opening) gets lost after a brief period of time. To cure this I just bring up the help menu, then go back to the game to "reset" the sound. This loss of sound has been reported by many users who play the game under plain MS-DOS and DR DOS, so it appears to be a fault in the game's programming.
 * BATTLE CHESS:reported to run fine.
 * CASTLE WOLFENSTEIN (WOLF3D):this is one of the most finnicky games, and may require some
 * CIVILIZATION (Microprose):Make sure you have the updated version. It will have the "rename" button on the city screen. This version performs much better under OS/2. If you don't have this version, you can download an update.
 * Always use fullscreen mode, and when the program starts up, use vga resolution and ibm sound. (ega or no sound slows it down.) If you want to turn off sound, do it from the options menu.
 * one person reported that he could not start a new game in vga since he got a divide by zero error in the dos box. But it was possible to load a saved game into vga mode. Another person

reported that he cured this divide by zero error when he set COM_HOLD to ON.
 * another user made the following observation:
 * I had been having speed problems running the game in adlib/soundblaster mode (and believe it or not I never tried anything else). However: When I ran Civilization in PC SPEAKER mode, then quit, and ran it again in soundblaster/adlib mode (in the same DOS session), it ran at the correct speed! Since doing this on a regular basis would be a pain in the ass, I wanted to find another way to 'prep' the system for Civilization: and I found it. I ran SBFMDRV.COM (comes with the soundblaster) before running civilization. This way I can run Civ from a batch file called by a WPS icon.


 * COMMANDER KEEN 3:reported to run fine.
 * CURSE OF THE AZURE BONDS:runs fine.
 * DRAGON WARS:runs fine.
 * ELF:reported to run fine.
 * EYE OF THE BEHOLDER I:runs fine.
 * EYE OF THE BEHOLDER II:reported to run fine, though one user made the following note:
 * It appears that when running EOB2 under OS/2 2.0, the Ice Storm spell does not work. Instead, the session ends with no specific OS/2 message (it gets back to the DOS prompt of the DOS session if the video_switch notification is left off, but with the wrong video mode).


 * F17:reported to run fine.
 * FALCON 3.0:if I remember correctly, there is a patch available that will allow this game to run under an extended memory manager (such as QEMM). If you have problems running this under OS/2 you may need this patch. Any clarifications about this?
 * one user reported that he needed to have the HW_TIMER set to OFF or the game hung. But when he set it to OFF the screen updates were excruciatingly slow.
 * Any other tips for this game?


 * GLOBAL DILEMMA:one user made the following observation:
 * Well, here's one for the "better DOS than DOS" department: I just noticed that "Global Dilemma" (or Guns & Butter), which ran just fine on my Compaq 386, won't run on my new 486; the AMI Bios doesn't seem to like the way the game addresses the keyboard. That's under real DOS-5. In a DOS task under OS/2 it runs just fine.


 * GUNSHIP 2000:reported to run fine.
 * INDY 500:reported to run fine.
 * KING'S QUEST IV:reported to run fine.
 * KING'S QUEST V:runs fine.
 * KNIGHTS OF LEGEND:runs fine.
 * LEMMINGS:It is important to have this game configured with HW_TIMER=ON, VIDEO_RETRACE_EMULATION=OFF, and to have it configured to run in a full screen session.
 * You may also have to install the game under plain DOS if you get a protection violation under OS/2 during installation (even though it will run under OS/2 after installation).
 * One user reported that Lemmings wouldn't run except in a "Specific DOS" session, so if you have troubles try that. Also, if performance suffers, or if you have flickering problems, try NOT running the game in "High Performance PC" mode.


 * LINKS:one user posted this helpful notice:
 * I have adjusted my Links settings and think that I have the best solution for running LINKS under OS/2 2.0. First, Migrate it to the DOS File. Next, instead of executing the file LINKS.BAT, use the SETTINGS to have it run GOLF.EXE with NO optional parameters (the /t in LINKS.BAT appears to be for the title screen). As soon as the program starts, select SYSTEM and turn off ALL sounds. This last step will alleviate the slow down immediately after the swing as Links tries to create the sound even if HW_SOUND is turned off. I also have HW_NO_SOUND set to ON and MOUSE_EXCLUSIVE_ACCESS turned ON.
 * This seems to have the game working quite well for me in full screen mode. I hope that it helps others.

run just fine under MDOS (OS/2's DOS 5.0 emulation). played OK for them, the sound effects (such as guns and engine noise) were silent. The cure for this is simply to run Red Baron's install program (with RB already installed) and choose the appropriate options again to make them take effect.
 * MAGIC CANDLE I:runs fine.
 * MIGHT AND MAGIC II:runs fine.
 * MIGHT AND MAGIC III:runs fine with the exception that the digitized intro speech by Sheltem at the beginning of the game will not work with a Soundblaster under OS/2.
 * NOVA 9:reported to run fine.
 * POOL OF RADIANCE:runs fine. Ironically, this game does not run under MS-DOS 5.0, but DOES
 * RED BARON (Dynamix):this game runs fine, but two users observed that although RB's music
 * Although I have had no problems running RB with my Soundblaster and with my Roland LAPC-1, another user noted the following:
 * At least on my machine (486, 8 Megs and Soundblaster Pro) this program locks up if you set the sound option to Sound Blaster; however if you set the option to Adlib, you still get digitized sound and the program runs fine.


 * SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES:runs fine.
 * SIMEARTH:reported to run fine.
 * SPACE QUEST IV:runs fine, with the exception that some of the digitized sounds on the soundblaster may be cut short. For example, I noticed that the lightning sounded fine when I was far away from it, but when I drew near the sound of the thunder would be cut short (this is on a 386/33 with Roland music and SB speech).
 * SPELLCASTING 101 and 201:reported to run fine.
 * STELLAR 7:reported to run fine.
 * TUNNELS AND TROLLS:runs fine.
 * ULTIMA 4 and 5:if you have trouble with the keydisks for these games being recognized, boot a real copy of DOS in a vdm (see VMDISK in the Command Reference for details).
 * ULTIMA 6:runs fine.
 * ULTIMA 7:this game will NOT run under OS/2 since it uses its own memory manager. No amount of tweaking will make it run, so don't waste your time. Instead, spend the time to write Origin and tell them to patch it!
 * ULTIMA UNDERWORLD:there is a patch that fixes many inventory bugs in this game. Check comp.sys.ibm.pc.games for more details.
 * this game will not run in a window since it will be distorted.
 * the digitized intro speeches for this game will not work reliably under OS/2 with a Soundblaster; this is the only time in the game where there is digitized speech though. To READ the intro speeches, configure the game for no sound (or PC speaker) and then run the intro.
 * some people report no problems with this game, other people can't get it to run under OS/2 at all. Most people are able to run the game if they start the game in one of the following two ways:
 * Set the game to start minimized with background execution OFF. Start the game and WAIT until all disk activity stops (about 10-15 seconds on my 386/33). Then switch to the game. This works best for me, and allows me to switch back and forth from the game safely. I've never had the game crash on me doing it this way, and I've switched back and forth from my word processor hundreds and hundreds of times.
 * Set the game to start in a windowed DOS session. The game will look garbled, but wait until you see the blue title screen come up. Then switch the game to full screen mode with ALT-HOME. If the keyboard doesn't respond after doing this, tap the ALT key to unstick it.


 * WHERE IN THE WORLD IS CARMEN SAN DIEGO:reported to run fine.
 * WING COMMADER I-II (and SM1-2, SO1):these run fine, even with the speech pack.
 * I have found that in WCII my soundblaster's digitized voices in battle often hang causing me to have to hit ESC to "unstick" them. This happens only when there are lots of enemy ships

in the area. I have a 386/33; testing it on a 486/33 didn't exhibit this problem.
 * WOLF3D:[listed under "Castle Wolfenstein"]
 * WONDERLAND:runs fine.
 * WWF:reported to run fine.

Steve Smith

BTW, WYSInaWYG