eando52: Dosbox games are amongst the games I'm considering because of my poor graphics. If possible, a sample command would be most helpful, presumably to be placed in the config file? Moto Racer is an example.
Windows 10 does have its downside for sure; mostly the awful features updates.
I'm happy with black areas either side of the game-this is unavoidable if I want 4:3.
Crimson_T: With DOSBox, there are multiple options.
Easiest (But not perfect 4:3): Download a DOSBox game off of GOG and learn to edit the .conf that's included.
Use an editor such as notepad. There will generally be a dosbox***.conf and a dosbox***_single.conf in a GOG DOSBox setup (Where *** is the name of the game). The dosbox***.conf will have all the DOSBox environmental settings and is generally the one you'll be editing. The dosbox***_single.conf is usually used to store the commands for actually launching the game, and can be beneficial to edit if you need access to a setup executable but otherwise won't generally be touched.
So in your situation, here's an example of a few settings to edit in a dosbox***.conf
[sdl]
fullscreen=true #While Alt-Enter toggles between the 2 modes, it's nice to start with the option you'll be using
fullresolution=desktop #"original" will likely be fastest, but "desktop" or your monitor's maximum (e.g 1920x1080) resolution is best for scaling purposes.
windowresolution=original #Same options, but for windowed mode
output=overlay #"surface" is most compatible, but no scaling. "overlay" is better. "opengl" is great assuming your system works with it.
[render]
aspect=true #Forces/enables 4:3 scaling
scaler=normal2x #determines the algorithm used for scaling. If used with pixel perfect patch should be set to "none"
Crimson_T: EDIT: So I temporarily disabled scaling on my system to do a few checks. For DOSBox to enable scaling, output must NOT be set to "surface". Set fullscreen to "desktop" or your monitor's maximum resolution, then scaler can be set to "none" if you wish for the original pixel goodness.
More difficult: Replace the GOG included DOSBox with a newer version that supports the pixel perfect patch (Integer scaling, so the image is perfectly crisp but will have black bars on sides as well as top and bottom)
There are multiple options for this so I'll link you to one guide I've done in the past for DOSBox Staging.
You can also use any newer DOSBox build that uses glshaders (e.g. DOSBox ECE, DOSBox X), but that requires a couple extra steps (May be better in some circumstances though)
DOSBox staging:
https://www.gog.com/forum/lands_of_lore_series/aspect_ratio_in_lands_of_lore_i_need_help/post2 Adding Pixel Perfect Patch glshader to DOSBox ECE (requires opengl):
https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=876489#p876489 (Note: aspect should be set to "false" and scaler to "none" when using this!)
Some GOG DOS games are pre configured to use ScummVM. In those cases, simply download the newest ScummVM off the main website and use it to configure/run those games. The "stretch" setting has all the options for scaling.
With older Windows games it may be worth looking at dgVoodoo2. If you copy the zipped MS\x86 .dll files into a game's main executable folder that uses DirectX, you can force "MAX ISF" (Integer Scaling Function) through the "resolution" option. (Works with glide games too, but with the zip's glide .dll files)
DxWnd is another program that focuses on compatibility fixes for older Windows games. There are many pre configured templates for older games (found in the zip's "export" folder). Aspect correction and scaling are available as well. This is generally a bit more of an advanced option, however.
Many thanks for such a comprehensive reply; all this will keep me busy. I'll try editing Dosbox with Notepad first.
