BizHawk 2.11 introduced DOSBox-X core, which supports not only DOS and Windows 3.1, but also Windows 95 and 98. These two versions are going to be the subject of this topic. Some information might be useful for DOS games too as a measure of troubleshooting.
1. Glossary
Windows = Windows 95/98, also relating to “the software or games operated under Windows 95/98”
2. Custom Machine Presets
DOSBox-X works according to the provided configurations, where you declare hardware properties which regulate in which way DOSBox-X must emulate the OS, and hence the game you want to play/TAS. It has the base configuration, which contains all available properties, and a top configuration, which overrides the base configuration properties. As a top configuration, BizHawk provides Machine Presets.
Problem:
Why should you create custom configs? Unlike DOS games, which work good with Machine Presets, Windows games may require custom adjustments to achieve higher stability.
DOSBox-X emulation includes, but isn't limited to:
Audio emulation: it seems to have ancient bugs which nobody feels like investigating and fixing. Causes some games to crash.
Imperfect MMX and SSE instructions emulation: it makes some games slowly fall apart, which results in having graphical/audial glitches and, eventually, OS freeze or game crash in a matter of seconds/minutes.
It seems to be fixed in newer versions:
Fixed SSE MOVSS, MOVHPS, UNPCKLPS, UNPCKHPS, and PSADBW as well as MMX PMULLW, PSUBUSB, and PSUBUSW, instruction implementations (fuel-pcbox)
PCem and its forks, as well as QEMU, use different codebases, and such issues are absent there.
Solution:
Create a custom DOSBox-X configuration which hopefully will provide stability for your game.
3. Setting up of a custom DOSBox-X Configuration3.1. Creating a configuration
We will use the 1999 machine preset as a basis for creating our custom configuration.
Download it from here or copy its content and save it to a text file with .conf extension.
Apply changes according to config sections.
Save the .conf file.
Attach it to as a multi-part bundle file, like described in DOSBox-X Configuration Files tab.
3.2. Adjusting a configuration
In this section, I will go through config sections and provide suggestions on which ones you ought to use.
3.2.1. [cpu]
Three main CPU properties are described here. Keep in mind that sometimes you have to try different combinations of them to make a game work properly.
cputype=auto
It's not a real CPU, but with it, you have the lowest chances of having issues/glitches in games which suffer from audio emulation problem. In rare cases, a game may refuse to open because of wrong CPU identity, despite 'auto' being capable of performing MMX and SSE instructions.
cputype=ppro_slow
It was reported to be safe from game meltdown (glitches and crash in a few minutes) due to the lack of MMX instructions and _slow optimization.
cputype=pentium_iii_prefetch
Use it, if the game isn't happy with auto. prefetch isn't attached to pentium_iii: feel free to use it with any CPU model.
There is little difference between CPUs in terms of performance. If a game sends instructions your CPU doesn’t support, it will crash or throw a fatal error. In most cases, it happens on start-up. Follow the system requirements of a game.
- Why to use _prefetch with CPU types other than auto?
The head DOSBox-X developer told me that starting with the Pentium 1 processors, if a program changes memory near the location where the CPU is currently executing instructions, the processor will clear its instruction prefetch queue to ensure it fetches the latest instructions, meaning there is not much point in using this emulation.
However, in my practice, having _prefetch makes some games work stably. For example, other properties being equal, Feeding Frenzy causes graphical and audial glitches with cputype=pentium_iii, audial glitches with cputype=pentium_iii_slow, and no glitches with cputype=pentium_iii_prefetch. It somehow compensates for audio emulation issues mentioned above.
1) Cycles quantity
It’s up to you to decide which amount of cycles to set. Follow the game’s system requirements to have decent internal CPU-wise performance, or pick higher values to have stable framerate in hardware stressing moments.
Feel free to use the table of rough guidance on how cycles relates to various legacy CPUs in the source, as well as the table provided below.
cycles= value
Estimated Emulated CPU Clock
Notes
350 000
~650–700 MHz
380 000
~700–750 MHz
400 000
~770–820 MHz
450 000
~870–930 MHz
500 000
~960–1 000 MHz
550 000
~1 050–1 100 MHz
600 000
~1 150–1 200 MHz
Table 1 - LLM's extrapolation of cycles table from DOSBox-X wiki
I'm not sure if you should go higher because who knows how poor external performance you may get. The higher internal hardware emulation is, the lower external performance is.
2) Cycles mode
Suggested values:
cycles=max limit 450000
cycles=auto 100000 limit 450000
fixed 450000
, where “450000” is the maximum number of cycles while in Windows, “100000” is the maximum number of cycles in DOS prompt (and in DOS games).
auto and max formats result in DOSBox-X constantly setting random fixed cycles. Here is a sequences of set values for max limit 450000: fixed 257567, fixed 443965, fixed 375641 and so on.
fixed format keeps one value all the time.
It's not clear how DOSBox-X picks the range of cycles for max/auto, but it's certainly depends on your host CPU. DOSBox-X refuses to keep cycles around the limit value if your host CPU isn't "capable" of emulating it. This may result in a demanding game performing not good enough. In such situation, use fixed format.
Plain cycles=max behaves unpredictably. Sometimes it works alright, and sometimes the external performance is very poor.
Note: Setting high values in the max limit sequence makes the DOS prompt appear in ~50-60 frames, while auto limit sequence lets it appear right away by having a special limit for DOS real mode.
core=dynamic_x86
This recompiler gives a major boost to external performance! I’d suggest using it if your game works alright. Especially if it’s hardware-demanding and is long to finish.
core=normal
If dynamic_x86 makes the game unstable or buggy, use this one in exchange for weaker external performance.
3.2.2. [sblaster]
Properties related to Sound Blaster audio devices.
Which Sound Blaster model to use.
Suggested value:
sbtype=sb16vibra
SB 16 Vibra PnP is the only sound device which Windows is able to find and operate.
3.2.3. [dosbox]
This section describes generic properties of DOSBox-X.
machine
Video adapter type. Basically, S3 video adapters are the most performant among all available ones, so the choice is not big.
Suggested values:
machine=svga_s3trio64
machine=svga_s3vision964
machine=svga_s3vision968
Vision 964/968 are a little bit faster than Trio64. Both adapters effectively have 4 MB of VRAM. The community says there are no available drivers which would make Windows actually allocate 8 MB of VRAM for Vision 968.
Custom drivers can improve the performance by a tiny bit, but since both adapters came before Windows 98SE, it includes drivers on the installation disk which are OK.
Note: I wouldn’t suggest using svga_s3virge and svga_s3virgevx because they are not fully implemented (who knows when they will be). However, they are functional for regular games. As mentioned in the community, svga_s3virge doesn’t support S3D 3D acceleration (list of supported games) and svga_s3_virgevx doesn’t support 3D at all.
memsize
How much RAM to have. Again, you’d better follow the system requirements of your game.
Example: memsize=89
Unlike real DRAM sticks which provide memory as a power of 2 (64, 128, 256 MBs), it’s not necessary to follow it. You can set any value within the range of 16..256 and it will work fine.
It’s worth mentioning that read/write speed for Windows 95/98 swap file, responsible for virtual memory, is much higher than a real old-days HDD would provide, which seems to be a DOSBox-X performance hack.
3.2.4. [video]
Video misc properties.
vmemsize
Video memory in megabytes.
Example: vmemsize=16
You don’t need to change it. Even if you set more than your SVGA adapter supports, it won’t utilise more than it can. 16 MBs works only for Universal VESA/VBE Video Display Driver (VBEMP), but the internal performance becomes very poor even in 2D games. It isn't worth it.
3.2.5. [voodoo]
This section contains properties related to 3DFX Voodoo 1 accelerator. Default values already set Voodoo in maximum performance mode, except for Glide pass-through, which I doubt will work in BizHawk.
Example: voodoo_maxmem=true
“true” (default) sets memory capacity to those which Voodoo 2 would have (12 MBs). “false” sets original capacity (4 MBs).
3.2.6. [autoexec]
This section contains commands DOSBox-X must execute on start-up.
Suggested value:
[autoexec]
boot c:
Since you need to boot Windows, you may as well use this command, so you don’t have to spend time enabling letter columns in TAStudio to type the same command.
3.3. Full example
To summarise, here is an example of a custom .conf file one may use for testing and TASing:
[cpu]
cputype=auto
cycles=max limit 450000
core=dynamic_x86
[sblaster]
sbtype=sb16vibra
[dosbox]
machine=svga_s3
memsize=100
[video]
vmemsize=16
vesa modelist width limit=0
vesa modelist height limit=0
[dos]
ver=7.1
hard drive data rate limit=0
floppy drive data rate limit=0
[fdc, primary]
int13fakev86io=true
[ide, primary]
int13fakeio=true
int13fakev86io=true
[ide, secondary]
int13fakeio=true
int13fakev86io=true
cd-rom insertion delay=4000
4. Games tested4.1. Windows games
Here is a big spreadsheet of games tested by the community for workability in BizHawk: LINK
With a powerful CPU, but a DOS-oriented conjunction of a video adapter and a 3D accelerator, we can set preliminary boundaries for Windows game which can be played:
3D games with very low GPU demands or with software render.
2D games of 2000s with low GPU demands.
Games which don't use sound hardware buffering.
Games which require DirectX 7 or below. DX 8+ is not supported.
A couple of facts you'd better keep in mind:
BizHawk's performance depends on how powerful your PC is. In case of a weak PC, the only way to TAS a demanding game (for DOSBox-X hardware) is to weaken the hardware in .conf, which lowers in-game performance, which makes the TASer set a low resolution and graphics to have optimal performance for the game being TASed.
Voodoo hardware acceleration makes BizHawk run at a (very) low framerate, which may slow TAS production down.
Software render in 3D games may not provide high performance, unless you set a low resolution (like 400x300) or keep raising fixed cycles value until BizHawk's performance is barely tolerable.
RAM Search is not available for Windows game because of memory view limitations.
GOG releases may contain crunches and wrappers which may ruin performance on old machines. You need to launch those games using their original .exe files. Observed by pikko.
4.2. Emulators
Yeah, you can also run emulators in Windows 98 within DOSBox-X!
Steem SSE 3.4 is the final version compatible with Windows 98. With KernelEx, up to 3.8.2 DD can be used. Newer versions require VC2008.
Use DD releases!
Feedback. Versions 9 and 10.0 doesn't launch some ActionScript 3 games and features minor sound problems.
Versions 18 and 29 are recommended (require KernelEx). v18 is more lightweight.
A compatibility list. It's focused on software, but there is a short list of games.
4.3.2. D3D-to-Software wrappers
Here is my research on Pixomatic and SharpShader. In short, no luck with Windows 98. Maybe, Windows XP will reveal something interesting.
4.3.3. Fixing CD music for old games through Daemon Tools
Despite a proper game CD being inserted, some old games may still not locate it. Suggested Daemon Tools version is described below. BrunoRaji described the solution here:
You need to copy the ISO to the HDD and disable the IDE drivers so that DAEMON becomes drive D:
[ide]
primary=none
secondary=none
Then it loads normally
TASing is like making a film: only the best takes are shown in the final movie.
5. How to install games and prepare them for TASing5.1. Stage 1: Installation
After you’ve installed Windows 95/98 by the installation guide, you first need to install your game and all software it needs.
Use ISO maker tools to pack you game installer or its unpacked file, as well as any additional software needed.
Note: Save checksums (MD5 and SHA1) of all files and installers provided. This is needed for other people to be able to verify your TAS once it’s submitted. You can optionally save checksums of the made .iso files too, but Windows ISO maker and Linux ISO maker produce different checksums, which may cause confusion.
When you have collected all needed .iso files and your custom config, form a multi-disk bundler (.xml file) and open it as a ROM in BizHawk. A typical bundler may look like that:
Of course, you may not collect all the software at once. Sometimes it needs multiple tries.
Note: In most cases, you will need to lower Windows resolution and switch Colors to “High Color (16-bit)” to free up some VRAM space. Besides, most games override these parameters in fullscreen, so there’s no point in having loaded resources unused.
5.2. Stage 2: Testing
Ok, your game launches. Now it’s time to test it to see if it works properly. On this stage, most effort is put into adjusting game settings and changing your .conf to achieve optimal performance.
It makes sense to save your HDD so you don’t have to go through software installation and copy-pasting again. In your BizHawk Windows, select Start -> Shut Down… -> Restart in MS-DOS mode. In the DOS prompt, export your new HDD.
Form a new bundler and include your new .hdd in it:
While adjusting game settings and your .conf file, you have to close the ROM in BizHawk and launch it again for .hdd and .conf updates to catch up.
5.3. Stage 3: Forming a verification movie
After you’ve done with installations and testing, it’s time to make a verification movie to have your setup ready for TASing. Revisit your bundle from Stage 1 and include only necessary .iso files to prepare your setup.
Record a movie of you installing (copy-pasting) your game and additional software (if present), as well as adjusting Windows screen settings and in-game settings.
Once ready, export your new HDD and calculate its checksums. On Windows, in the folder with your .hdd, press Shift + Right mouse button, choose Open PowerShell window here and past this command:
Replay your verification movie, export the HDD, calculate its checksums and ensure they match the HDD you exported at the end of recording the verification movie.
5.4. Stage 4: TASing
Everything is ready, you can finally start recording a TAS movie. Your new multi-disk bundler may look like that:
As an extra measure of precaution, you may launch it for casual play first to double-check if everything works alright.
Note: When using TAStudio, and due to the higher use of memory in modern systems (especially when running Windows), it is recommended that the Save State History buffer sizes are increased beyond their default values. You can find these at Metadata > Savestate History Settings....
6. Additional software
Besides ideas on software installation given in DOSBox-X Windows 98 installation guide, here are some more notes to consider.
.NET Framework 2.0
Should fix problems related to the lack of MSCOREE.dll.
Audio ACM codecs
Some games need them to play music.
Microsoft Media Player 7.1 is recommended. It provides a big variety of ACM codecs.
lameACM-3.9.7 seems not to provide anything.
The MP3 codec “fraunhofercodec.reg” needs to be converted to ASCII with a header adjusted, because Windows 98 register cannot read it.
Daemon Tools 3.47
It requires InstMsiA (mentioned below). After installation, it offers to restart Windows. If you agree, BizHawk hangs on Windows shutdown. This bug was reported.
DirectX
I’ve heard a rumour that DirectX 9.0 breaks 3DFX Voodoo drivers. I can’t say if it’s true. It needs more testing.
DX 7 up to DX 9.0a installers don’t launch with cputype=auto or pentium_iii_prefetch. Use pentium_ii.
Installing DX 7 already makes dxdiag D3D test impassible, but people say not to pay attention to it. On the other hand, DX 6.1 which comes with Windows 98SE works alright.
S3 Drivers
As I said before, Windows 98SE already provides a variety of OK drivers due to video adapters being old by that point. Still, here are some drivers which… don’t break anything:
Windows Installer 2.0 (InstMsiA)
Some installers may refuse to work by default in Windows 98. You need to install this program first.
7. My 5 cents
Game workability comes first! Don't pick Windows version just by the time it takes to load.
Regarding DOSBox page, I wouldn’t say Windows 95 and 98 are “partially supported systems”. They work in BizHawk as good as in standalone DOSBox-X. For now, I don’t see any stability problems which happen solely in BizHawk. In Machine Presets, I would shift the accent to a recommendation to use a preset, rather than being obliged to use one. Presets may not provide proper conditions for your Windows game to work stably.
8. TODOs (contributions are welcomed)
Figure out how to fix dark screen on Glide render. Besides editing game configs and 3DFX Graphics settings in Screen properties, with the help of this generic guide, I tried editing grGammaCorrectionValue function and the underlying function the jump leads to in the authentic Voodoo 1 driver's glide2x.dll in x64dbg, but it didn't change anything. There is no grLoadGammaTable function in the driver.
Test the performance of video adapters with different drivers in 3D Mark 99. Does it make sense to install S3 drivers? This comment says VBE driver is faster.
Check if images with Windows 2000 and XP, installed in standalone DOSBox-X, are functional in BizHawk. They seem to be functional, but the process of installation doesn’t succeed, and the lack of a verification (setup) movie is a blocker for TAS submissions.
Install Windows XP using steps provided by BrunoRaji. Figure if it's possible to do without external tools (only in BizHawk).
Test Windows XP games in Windows 98 using KernelEx.
Test games which support Gravis UltraSound to describe [gus] section.
TASing is like making a film: only the best takes are shown in the final movie.
This movie shall be used to create a hard disk drive containing an installed instance of Windows 3.11 with proper video and audio drivers installed. This movie syncs with Bizhawk commit #13c3a83
How can I download that Bizhawk build? Am I required to use this version or can I use a different version?
Just use 2.11. If it works (it's meant to!) we'll update the guide.
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
Ok. I think I have all the files. How do I begin, to run the movie file that installs Windows 3.11?
Edit: Nvm, I needed to run the XML file.
Can confirm the installation movie syncs in the official Bizhawk 2.11.
Ran into what looks like a desync while playing back CoolKirby's verification movie that is supposed to set up the game.
What should I do? Should I make my own verification movie? Why did it desync?
Ok. I think I have all the files. How do I begin, to run the movie file that installs Windows 3.11?
Edit: Nvm, I needed to run the XML file.
Can confirm the installation movie syncs in the official Bizhawk 2.11.
Ran into what looks like a desync while playing back CoolKirby's verification movie that is supposed to set up the game.
What should I do? Should I make my own verification movie? Why did it desync?
Apparently the desync happens because the disc "fmsynth.iso" doesn't seem to load and it behaves as it if isn't there.
The XML reads:
If I remove "Pool Champion.iso", the fmsynth.iso loads correctly from what I can tell.
Why is Bizhawk not loading the 2nd disc?
That's odd. W95/W98 installation movies from the guide use 2-3 disks in bundles and they work. Do you see "next disk" and "swap disk" inputs in TAStudio?
TASing is like making a film: only the best takes are shown in the final movie.
This seems to make fmsynth load first and then it changes to the Pool Champion disc via "Next CDROM" input during the verification movie. Not sure why it previously worked for CoolKirby, but not for me though.
Some reports on game compatibility.
I tried to run Itch! (by JoWooD) in Windows 95 in DosBox-X, but when starting the game it just doesn't do anything.
It might require Direct-X 8 or 8.1 which I wasn't able to install in Windows 95.
And I tried to run Roller Ball, an obscure game not documented anywhere on the internet. It comes with a disc distributed in the german magazine Computer-Bild-Spiele, the same disc also showcases and contains Forsaken. When starting the game after installing, it presents this error:
Exception EDXInputError in module ROLLERBALL.EXE at 0006484A. DirectInput is necessary to use the mouse.
EDIT
I tried some other games and installed Direct-X 7 inbetween them, then tried Roller Ball again and now it works...
I tried to run Itch! (by JoWooD) in Windows 95 in DosBox-X, but when starting the game it just doesn't do anything.
It might require Direct-X 8 or 8.1 which I wasn't able to install in Windows 95.
EDIT
I tried some other games and installed Direct-X 7 inbetween them, then tried Roller Ball again and now it works...
The installation guide shares DX 8.0a, which covers DX 7.0a in it. I think it's an edge-case that a game requires specifically 7.0a, but who knows.
Did Itch! started working with DirectX 7?
MUGG wrote:
And I tried to run Roller Ball, an obscure game not documented anywhere on the internet. It comes with a disc distributed in the german magazine Computer-Bild-Spiele, the same disc also showcases and contains Forsaken.
How is it performance-wise? If it uses 3D acceleration, BizHawk works very slow, but the game itself may work alright internally, but you either need to install Fraps to measure FPS, or use BizHawk video recording to see if the game runs smooth
TASing is like making a film: only the best takes are shown in the final movie.
I'm pretty sure Itch! requires Direct-X 8, since the physical box says so. No changes after Direct-X 7 was installed, the game just doesn't do anything when starting it.
Why the question about Roller Ball's performance? It's performing well on standalone DosBox-X with Windows 95.
I'm pretty sure Itch! requires Direct-X 8, since the physical box says so. No changes after Direct-X 7 was installed, the game just doesn't do anything when starting it.
Why the question about Roller Ball's performance? It's performing well on standalone DosBox-X with Windows 95.
System requirements are sometimes exaggerated regarding DX compatibility. I tested a bunch of games requiring a DX 8 compatible GPU, but actually using DX 6 or 7. pcgamingwiki didn't lie once regarding render data.
Because the standalone DOSBox-X performs better than BizHawk DOSBox-X in 3D games. I don't know how Roller Ball looks like, so I wanted to question it first.
TASing is like making a film: only the best takes are shown in the final movie.
Is it possible to run Lemming's Revolution? Would be nice to do some individual level TASes.
I have not gotten the game to work in standalone DosBox-X with Win95.
It says it doesn't find a suitable 3d accelerator.
I'm now keeping track of Windows games I tested or did research for at MUGG/WindowsGames.
Please note, I'm using standalone DosBox-X, not the Bizhawk one, for now.
Is it possible to run Lemming's Revolution? Would be nice to do some individual level TASes.
I have not gotten the game to work in standalone DosBox-X with Win95.
It says it doesn't find a suitable 3d accelerator.
I'm now keeping track of Windows games I tested or did research for at MUGG/WindowsGames.
Please note, I'm using standalone DosBox-X, not the Bizhawk one, for now.
I installed the game. Launches under Win 98. Here is a gameplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCf99D39FjU
The performance is fine, although not perfect, judging by choppy cutscene and lagging when you spin the arena, or maybe it's my sharp mouse movements due to the following reason.
It's a 3D game, of course, and it makes BizHawk suffocate:
- Main menu: 1-2 fps. Fortunately, there is nothing needed, but level selection. Settings only offer Music and SFX bars to adjust.
- Main gameplay: 10 fps (on my Ryzen 7 3800X because it has to emulate Voodoo).
I don't see much sense in using Windows 95.
The only advantage I see is it takes less space and a little less RAM, which results in faster ROM loading and smaller savestates. It consumes a little less of CPU, but CPU emulation isn't a bottleneck for DOSBox-X, unless poor framerate of BizHawk is the case.
I haven't seen a single game yet where Win98 would malfunction.
TASing is like making a film: only the best takes are shown in the final movie.
Been testing games the last few days, here's my results so far.
-Thief: The Dark Project works perfectly in-engine but has poor external performance. Runs faster in software mode.
-Tomb Raider 1 works perfectly.
-Sourcenext port of Resident Evil 2 runs pretty poorly and doesn't properly render any 2D elements (so no backgrounds).
effort on the first draft means less effort on any draft thereafter
- some loser
While TASing Pool Champion on Windows 3.1, I tried using Num keys but it didn't do anything, even after pressing or holding the NumLock key. What am I missing?
On standalone DosBox-X with Windows 95, I'm able to press Num Enter which behaves like normal Enter. Tyler also recognizes Num4 (left), Num8 (up), Num6 (right), Num2 (down).
Having alternative keys might open up possibilities. Perhaps Tyler will allow Right, Num6, Right, Num6 to advance to the right without wasting frames...
I don't see much sense in using Windows 95.
It's just what I currently have to conveniently test games.
While TASing Pool Champion on Windows 3.1, I tried using Num keys but it didn't do anything, even after pressing or holding the NumLock key. What am I missing?
On standalone DosBox-X with Windows 95, I'm able to press Num Enter which behaves like normal Enter. Tyler also recognizes Num4 (left), Num8 (up), Num6 (right), Num2 (down).
I don't know. I set "Key NumLock" and "Key NumPad0-9" keys in Controller settings for Keyboard, created a text file, filled it with some letters, pressed Num Lock and the expected actions were performed on key presses.
TASing is like making a film: only the best takes are shown in the final movie.
I don't know. I set "Key NumLock" and "Key NumPad0-9" keys in Controller settings for Keyboard, created a text file, filled it with some letters, pressed Num Lock and the expected actions were performed on key presses.
I did a bit of more testing with other keys and Num4 and Num6 (KeyPad4 and KeyPad6 in the controller settings) actually do work, behaving like Left and Right. I had an icon selected on the Desktop in Win3.11 and the selection would move to the left and to the right. This may turn out useful for Tyler.
But NumEnter (KeyPadEnter) still doesn't do anything. I expected it to behave like normal Enter.
What do you mean by creating a text file and filling it with letters?
Are you able to press NumEnter? If yes, I would be happy if you could you make a demonstration movie (bk2 file) that runs on w311.hdd (created via the instructions in the "Windows 3.11" tab). This will help me find out why I'm not getting it to work.
What do you mean by creating a text file and filling it with letters?
Are you able to press NumEnter? If yes, I would be happy if you could you make a demonstration movie (bk2 file) that runs on w311.hdd (created via the instructions in the "Windows 3.11" tab). This will help me find out why I'm not getting it to work.
To test the numeric keypad, and it worked alright: up, down, left, right, page up, page down. I had to fill it with letters and new-lines to somehow see the reaction of the cursor. Previously, I tried setting up PassMark KeyboardTest v2.2 for a better key-press detection, but it doesn't start up. All this was done on Windows 98.
I questioned the possibility to press enters, like you proposed, and here is what a pre-emitent LLM responded:
Yes, Windows 3.11 generally supports the numpad Enter key. It is recognized as a standard Enter key (virtual key code VK_RETURN) by the system, allowing it to function for tasks like entering data, triggering buttons, or performing actions.
I checked it - yes, there is only one key code for both enters. So I wouldn't have much hope for it to save time, because the game may see the enter key as still being pressed, despite it being a different key on the next frame.
TASing is like making a film: only the best takes are shown in the final movie.
Thank you, but how can I fix the NumEnter key not working in Windows 3.11?
In other Windows systems I tried, NumEnter behaves like a new Enter press.
For example, in Editor or any text field, holding Enter will make a new line break and then do more line breaks after a while.
If you hold Enter and then NumEnter consecutively, it will do two line breaks quickly.
If it were the same key internally, the NumEnter press would not have made a 2nd line break, right?
Unless Windows 3.11 has only one Enter internally and upcoming Windows systems have two separate ones, I think we should look at fixing NumEnter in Windows 3.11. If it is working for you, I would be happy to see a demonstration movie.
To test the numeric keypad, and it worked alright: up, down, left, right, page up, page down. I had to fill it with letters and new-lines to somehow see the reaction of the cursor. Previously, I tried setting up PassMark KeyboardTest v2.2 for a better key-press detection, but it doesn't start up. All this was done on Windows 98.
Thank you, but how can I fix the NumEnter key not working in Windows 3.11?
In other Windows systems I tried, NumEnter behaves like a new Enter press.
For example, in Editor or any text field, holding Enter will make a new line break and then do more line breaks after a while.
If you hold Enter and then NumEnter consecutively, it will do two line breaks quickly.
If it were the same key internally, the NumEnter press would not have made a 2nd line break, right?
Unless Windows 3.11 has only one Enter internally and upcoming Windows systems have two separate ones, I think we should look at fixing NumEnter in Windows 3.11. If it is working for you, I would be happy to see a demonstration movie.
Well, I tried doing something in Win 3.11 Read Me and yes, all numpad keys work, except Enter. However, it doesn't work either on Win 95 or Win 98, so it's now a mystery for me how you managed to utilzie Numpad Enter
MUGG wrote:
To test the numeric keypad, and it worked alright: up, down, left, right, page up, page down. I had to fill it with letters and new-lines to somehow see the reaction of the cursor. Previously, I tried setting up PassMark KeyboardTest v2.2 for a better key-press detection, but it doesn't start up. All this was done on Windows 98.
Sorry, I don't understand this part. Fill what?
The text document. In Windows 95 onwards you can create one through RMB, New -> Text Document
TASing is like making a film: only the best takes are shown in the final movie.
What settings can I change or what commands can I enter into DOSBox-X to try to change the game's beginning RNG seed? (for both DOS and Windows games)
For DOS, you may try this command: time 14:30:00.
I don't know if it propagates to the installed Windows in DOSBox-X, but, if it doesn't, you can try either:
1. Opening a DOS prompt in Windows and entering the command above.
2. Clicking on Windows' time in the lower right corner and changing it in the opened window. I gotta mention this is a quite effortful approach because of fragile determinism of loadings you may come through to test if your RNG has become better.
TASing is like making a film: only the best takes are shown in the final movie.
