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Duke Nukem seriesPlease Help and Old Man(24 posts)(24 posts)
(24 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted May 15, 2010
i'm posting here because i know you guys will know the answer to this and it applies to a duke game. i bought manhatten project and no problems playing it on my netbook. so i thought i'd give 3D atomic edition a try. what is this DosBox &%$#? suffice it to say i don't know how to use DoxBox and i don't want to learn so essentially i'm out 6 bucks because the 3D atomic edition does not run (all i get is a dark screen).
that said, i DO NOT want to buy anymore games that "require" DosBox to run. GOG does not list it as being part of the download nor do they make any mention the game requires it. i'm a little upset by that and i've emailed them.
my question is, do you guys know if there is any way to tell if a game requires dosbox to run? i really don't want to read all the forums for the games i want but if that's the only way to find out, i guess i'll buy games somewhere else. basically, how do i avoid buying games that require DosBox? thanks for any advice you can give!
Posted May 15, 2010
Dosbox is a Dos emulation program that allows you to run dos based applications on a modern computer. It would be impossible to play dos based games on modern operating systems without this program as they just don't support dos anymore.
Its unfortunate the first dosbox based game you have had a problem with but the program is fantastic. Could you tell me what your netbooks system specs are and what operating system you are running? Maybe we can get the game running how it should and change your mind on dosbox.
Posted May 15, 2010
thanks Ralackk for getting back to me so quickly. i guess you misinterpreted my expletive :-) (what is this DosBox &%$#?) as i know what it is and why it is, i just don't want to deal with it.
and i appreciate very much your offer to help me get it working but frankly, i don't want to hassle with it.
so, it's back to my basic question: is there an easy way for me to know if a game is DOS based before i download it? i mean, why is 3D DOS based and manhatten project not? is 3D that much older? the specs GOG lists says it runs on XP/Vista, it DOES NOT say it requires DOS so how am i to know? my netbook is Win7 Starter and again, thanks for your offer to assist but i don't want to clutter up my system with applications like dosbox nor do i want to mess with going back 20 years to command line stuff.
take care
Posted May 16, 2010
Well Duke 3D game out in 1996 and manhattan project didn't come out until 2002 so quite a difference in time. All games on this site will have windows xp and vista compatibility stated because usually after gog configures them for you, you just click on the shortcut and they just work. As with everything on the computer though it can go wrong and in your case it appears to have done so.
No real easy way to tell if they will need dosbox or not on this site other then maybe release date. I imagine anything 2000 or later should be run under windows, might be earlier but don't want to say without checking through the games catalogue on this site, which would take a while.
I know you don't want to fiddle with getting the game to work but eduke32 is a port for duke 3d. It gets the game to work on modern systems without dosbox.
[url=]http://eduke32.com/[/url]
Post edited May 16, 2010 by Ralackk
Posted May 16, 2010
eDuke 32 is the way to go, and as for DosBox issue - just ask on forums of the said game, I think thats the only way to know for sure.
Post edited May 16, 2010 by Fenixp
Posted May 16, 2010
thanks Ralackk for your sage advice and thanks Fenixp. after i responded last night i looked and duke 3D was made quite a bit earlier than manhatten so it stands to reason. seems there isn't any easy way to tell if a game is dos based. from now on i'll look more closely at the date and do some additional research.
so your efforts aren't a total loss i'll have a look see at eDuke 32. thanks for the link and again, thanks for the help.
---- FOLLOW UP --
back again and although i appreciate you guys helping me, this is why i don't want to mess with this stuff. i downloaded Eduke32 and here is step #1 at the Wiki install site.
Copy the contents of the DN3DINST or ATOMINST directory off of your Duke Nukem 3D or Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition CD to a directory of your choosing on your hard disk.
ahem, i don't have a CD...i downloaded from this site and the game does not extract with any directory called DN3DINST or ATOMINST. BUT, what's even more confusing is their game download link points to GOG yet they tell you to copy directories off your CD...????
i'm old but i'm not stupid so what am i missing here since both of you seemed to suggest that eDuke32 would work no problems....arrgghhh
Post edited May 16, 2010 by devxx
Posted May 16, 2010
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devxx: ...

I hope this helps.
I myself dont remember even reading any kind of FAQ or install guide - I just threw the thing at my Duke3D and launched it just fine :D I really wonder why wouldn't the DosBox versions work, I've never had any trouble with GoG releases...
Posted May 16, 2010
thanks Fenixp - just logged back in to say i figured it out (well, searched the web). all i did was install the game from GOG and moved DUKE3D.GRP into the directory i created for eDuke32. then launched eDuke32.exe and it seems to be working!!!!
go figure, the eDuke32 wiki install instructions are wrong and/or are out of date. oh well, seems to be running and now i'll see if i like it!! thanks again for your help....i'll go have a look at the link you provided to see if it offers anything new....
<EDIT>
i take it all back....without getting into details eDuke32 is acting screwy. colors get weird, i lose the HUD, i looked at a walkthrough for the first level and it was telling me to do things that are not in this eDuke32 version, HUD looks different than in the walkthrough, yada yada yada. so screw it, i give up = uninstall :-)
i'm looking for a "fun" shooter. i don't want to shoot people or weirdo fantasy things. something like pigcops, not people not goblins either. was looking at redneck rampage but (damn!) it too is dosbox. anyway, if you guys know any shooters like this let me know and it was real nice talkin' with ya...
Post edited May 16, 2010 by devxx
Posted May 17, 2010
I am extremely confused how you are having any problems with dosbox especially since GoG sets up dosbox in a way that you don't have to do anything it just runs. Me thinks you did something wrong or your netbook lacks the specs to run dosbox properly.
Posted May 17, 2010
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devxx: i take it all back....without getting into details eDuke32 is acting screwy. colors get weird, i lose the HUD, i looked at a walkthrough for the first level and it was telling me to do things that are not in this eDuke32 version, HUD looks different than in the walkthrough, yada yada yada. so screw it, i give up = uninstall :-)
i'm looking for a "fun" shooter. i don't want to shoot people or weirdo fantasy things. something like pigcops, not people not goblins either. was looking at redneck rampage but (damn!) it too is dosbox. anyway, if you guys know any shooters like this let me know and it was real nice talkin' with ya...

Well eDuke has it's own HUD, it is configurable however and doesn't change anything. If you want shooter that is just purely made with fun in mind, take a peek at painkiller. You might want to find and try demo first if there is one thou.
If you'd wish a bit more help, write to david.orolin at gmail.com
Post edited May 17, 2010 by Fenixp
Posted May 17, 2010
you did something wrong

this is possible but unlikely as i didn't do anything...installed the game, clicked to launch
netbook lacks the specs to run dosbox

it's your garden variety netbook. new toshiba, 1 gig ram, atom N450. i can run duke manhatten just fine so you'd think running dosbox would be no problem. the game exhibits the same thing (blank, dark screen) on my VAIO which is WAY more powerful.
to quote sonny and cher "it ain't me babe"
and thanks david for suggesting painkiller...anything come to mind with more conventional weapons and less far out monsters? or, as it seems to be, are all shooters this way? extreme weapons killing weird monsters from hell...duke started out with a .45!!!
Post edited May 17, 2010 by devxx
Posted May 17, 2010
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devxx: and thanks david for suggesting painkiller...anything come to mind with more conventional weapons and less far out monsters? or, as it seems to be, are all shooters this way? extreme weapons killing weird monsters from hell...duke started out with a .45!!!

Well... Painkiller is unique in the fact that it is just purely about fun. No story, it changes all the time... But yeah, it is kinda far out. I dunno, I think Duke pretty much works for you. How about I download it for myself, get it under completely working condition, complete a few levels and then send it to you? You would first need to write me a mail so I know your address however.
Posted May 17, 2010
you guys will make a man out me yet!
your persistence has kept me curious so i looked around more on the forums and found this:
Try different settings of the "Graphics mode setup" application, found in the game's Start Menu group.
did so, changed to OpenGL and it works on my VAIO but on my netbook it freezes when i hit ENTER after i select the Piece of Cake skill level...what the hell?
the choices for the graphics are: Overlay, Surface, Direct3D, DDraw, OpenGL...i've tried all of them on the netbook and it still freezes when i choose the skill level...also, it is real choppy as though the framerate is way low. why? why can i run Duke Manhatten just fine on my netbook and this one (older,less demanding i would think) punks out???
Post edited May 17, 2010 by devxx
Posted May 17, 2010
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devxx: ...

Actually, DosBox can be an ass about CPU, and I have found out build engine games are even more demanding. And netbooks with their atom CPUs are ... Well let's say I never actually got anything working properly under dosbox with my netbook, save for master of orion.
I have heard new DosBox is better optimised, so replacing files of older version with Duke by those of newer version (get it somewhere around here). Then again, I got Duke working with no problems with eDuke 32, so messing with configuration might still be worth it - I know the new HUD just is a feature of eDuke32 and can be turned off.
Posted May 17, 2010
well, i've done more than i intended to do when it first didn't work so i think i'll leave it on the VAIO and forget the netbook. too bad as the netbook is the system i take with me when i need to kill time playing mindless games!! at $5.99 i'll just find another.
tell me though, if you don't mind, are you native to the czech republic as your english is better than most people i know!
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This is my favourite topic
Community
Duke Nukem seriesPlease Help and Old Man(24 posts)(24 posts)
(24 posts)