While I personally would like installers for the games' original systems, I don't think I've ever seen GOG's MS-DOS games have any form of DRM still active. You can look at a given game's .conf file(s) to see how GOG's pre-packaged DOSBox handles it, so you can have an idea of how to run it off your favorite fork/branch and version of DOSBox (or even try loading the .conf file in the emulator instead of a random EXE).

It's possible to use the game files from an installed GOG DOS game with another version of DOSBox. The main config file / settings you need is usually named something like dosbox_nameofgame_single.conf (usually always ends in single.conf). If you call that file or open it and copy the settings & commands (particularly at the autoexec section bottom that tells it to, eg, mount a file as a fake CD), that should work. I have all my DOS games (both GOG and disc) installed using just one 'central' install of DOSBox, it works fine and is very 'portable'. The trick is to have a .conf file per game and start that instead of the .exe, like:-

"C:\Program Files\DOSBox-X\dosbox-x.exe" -conf "pathtogame\gamename.conf"

Then the conf file includes all the necessary settings, custom keymaps, etc.

Dosbox-X is interesting but it still seems to be based on the trundle cart of old creaky code that Dosbox itself is based on. Personally, I prefer DosBox Staging, which aims to drag DosBox kicking & screaming into the modern age.

Also, you're not forced to anything, just replace the default shortcuts and symlink em' over to whatever fork of Dosbox you like.

no, i have tested it already. shadow warrior(gog dos version) only works when run through the included dosbox. my old disc version however does work, same setup of dosbox(even the same executable). i have not tested it with any other games however. running shadow warrior outside the gog dosbox makes it fail to start, though only the base game. it is the same when trying it with the steam version of shadow warrior, same result. shadow warrior does not even have a cd-check. if there is no cd when starting it, music just fails to run and the game runs without music.

If the old version works, is there a need to replace it?

And as long as the configuration is set up right, does it hurt to swap it out?

Though, having experimented with my emulation machine, i did find shaders did certainly change the look/feel of the emulation by a huge margin.

Well, consider that configuration file again. You'll find that it probably mounts a directory as both a working drive and a CD. It's a weird dumb trick, but it works.

You mean you want it in DOSBox-X like this?

Create a shortcut link to the dosbox-x.exe wherever you installed DOSBox-X and then edit it and replace it with the following (changing any path name as needed):-

"C:\Program Files\DOSBox-X\dosbox-x.exe" -conf "C:\GOG Games\Shadow Warrior Complete\dosbox_swarrior_single.conf"

Never figured out how to use DOSBox-X, but the game works through the APT version of DOSBox on Mint, instead of loading the packaged binary:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/636030269823909921/1135335651626201098/image.png

it is not a matter of the games i already purchased but, dos games i never found and only purchased through gog. those would really be useful to have separate installers for, so that i can use them through dosbox x. shadow warrior complete no longer have any DRM on gog or steam due to being free. though it is in shadow warrior classic redux, which is not free.
i have both versions however but, i never tested shadow warrior classic complete until today. for shadow warrior, the DRM present in the redux version is not a problem when i have the complete version but, it is an issue with other games being sold through gog.

La meg spørre direkte på morsmålet ditt: Hva er det egentlige problemet når vi har presentert løsninger her?

[Let me ask directly in your native tongue: What is the actual issue when we have presented solutions here?]

Jeg foreslo at du lager en symbolsk lenke for å overstyre standardoppførselen, noen andre viste at det fungerer nøyaktig på den måten du bruker...

[I suggested you make a symbolic link to override the default behavior, someone else showed it working exactly by the means you use...]

En annen sier at man bare skal la det være.

[Another person says to just leave it all alone.]

Så hvilket problem er det som gjenstår? Er det Galaxy? Du trenger ikke Galaxy.

[So what problem is that which remains? Is it Galaxy? You don't need Galaxy.]

Jeg kan spille det på et PS Vita. Ingen GOG-versjon av DOSBox kjører. Bare Retroarchs emulering:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/636030269823909921/1135351289954435142/image.png

"I can play it on a PS Vita. No GOG version of DOSBox running. Only Retroarch's emulation." (followed by an image showing that)
...And hopefully I didn't make too many grammar mistakes.

There is no DRM. Shadow Warrior Classic Redux is not a DOS game, it's a source port (and not a very good one). Whether you can use the game files in a better source port, I don't know, but it's not DRM in any form.

Shadow Warrior Classic Complete is a DOS game. You are not forced to use anything. It works fine with other versions of DOSBox. I've tested it too...for example, the 64-bit Mac version of Boxer: click "import a new game", drag the game folder onto the window, run the appropriate .exe. No problems. Although it's a lot better if you use a good source port rather than any version of DOSBox.

I go for DosBOX staging these days.
Works quite well, for Turrican 2 I had to deactivate aspect ratio however. The old DosBox version handled this correctly.

And I wished they would support system variables and functions likt %~dp0 or %CD:3 for scripts.
Also in the config file variables don't work at the begin of the line (in batch they do).


Btw, is there a way to change the render mode to something not GL or D3D based?
When I switch to full screen, Windows activates a different graphics mode causing the screen to go blank for a second or two, which for something running in an emulation is kinda annoying.

It might depend on the OS. I thought I read a while ago that some surface / overlay modes were deprecated by Windows 11 / newer graphics drivers?

Valid values for DOSBox 0.74-3 are : surface, overlay, opengl, openglnb, ddraw.

Valid values for DOSBox Staging are : surface, texture, texturenb, texturepp, opengl, openglnb, openglpp.

Valid values for DOSBox-X are : default, surface, overlay, ttf, opengl, openglnb, openglhq, openglpp, ddraw, direct3d

"nb" suffix is no-bilinear filtering, "pp" is pixel-perfect / integer scaling. Staging is missing the "ddraw" option that ordinary DOSBox has, whilst DOSBox-X has more render options.