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General discussion (archive)Makin' Ancient Games Run Good(8 posts)(8 posts)
(8 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted March 14, 2011
Alright, so here's the deal.

I was digging through some old boxes of mine and came across a stack of old computer games -- Dark Reign, Half-Life, and the like. One of the games in the stack was The Elder Scrolls Legends: Battlespire.

Now, I played this game a bit on my old 233 and enjoyed it even if I could never get the hang of the "move mouse to swing sword" controls, so I decided to try and install it on my current computer knowing full well that last time I tried to put it on a PC with XP it didn't work, so 7 is probably right out of the question.

I was right. Can't even install it. So here's my question -- anyone here capable of giving me a really simple walkthrough to get it to work? I've tried looking up how to use DOSbox for stuff like this before, but I could never figure it out, so a step-by-step walkthrough would be appreciated. Either that, or a trade of the physical copy of the game for a couple or three GoG titles. Either way I'm good.
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Posted March 14, 2011
avatar
rasufelle: Alright, so here's the deal.

I was digging through some old boxes of mine and came across a stack of old computer games -- Dark Reign, Half-Life, and the like. One of the games in the stack was The Elder Scrolls Legends: Battlespire.

Now, I played this game a bit on my old 233 and enjoyed it even if I could never get the hang of the "move mouse to swing sword" controls, so I decided to try and install it on my current computer knowing full well that last time I tried to put it on a PC with XP it didn't work, so 7 is probably right out of the question.

I was right. Can't even install it. So here's my question -- anyone here capable of giving me a really simple walkthrough to get it to work? I've tried looking up how to use DOSbox for stuff like this before, but I could never figure it out, so a step-by-step walkthrough would be appreciated. Either that, or a trade of the physical copy of the game for a couple or three GoG titles. Either way I'm good.
I think this has a chance of running it under XP. Still, one of the most problematic games for modern systems

1. Download patch 1.5 : http://dlh.net/cgi-bin/dlp.cgi?lang=eng&sys=pc&file=batpat15.zip&ref=ps
2. install dosbox 0.74
3. edit your dosbox configuration dosbox.conf

3a : under [dosbox] set memsize to 63
3b : under [sdl] fullresolution=640x480
3c : don't forget the autoexec section and mount there your CD ; f.i. adding

[autoexec]:

@echo off
mount c "C:\Documents\DOS" -freesize 1000
mount d D:\ -t cdrom -ioctl
c:

4 Start DOSBox, switch to drive D: and launch the install file

* Choose "Install Battlespire".
* set the installation directory
* Select "Bypass".
* Configure sound : Choose "Creative Labs SoundBlaster 16 or AWE32".
* make your choice concerning captions

5 Battlespire is now installed
6. Patch it
7 If you're lucky, it should run when you type "spire"
Post edited March 14, 2011 by Phc7006
Posted March 14, 2011
Installing the game:
1: make a folder where you want to keep the game (outside Program Files as you'll need write access to it, and PF is protected by UAC in Vista and 7).
I'll assume it's at C:\Battlespire, you substitute that for what suits your setup, going without spaces is a good idea.
I'll also assume the game is on a CD, and your optical drive is at D:

2: Launch DOSBox

3: Inside DOSBox, type:
mount c C:\Battlespire
mount d D:\ -t cdrom

Now this is pretty much a DOS machine with a hard drive called C: (empty because there is nothing in that folder you created, yet) and a CD-rom drive called D:

4: Continue typing in DOSBox:
D:
dir

5: You'll see a bunch of files being listed, among them is probably an install.exe or setup.exe, type that and press return, now follow whatever guide there may be to install the game.

There, the game is installed, now we'll make it easier to launch, instead of having to trudge through the above steps each time:
1: Create a text file called battlespire.cfg (make sure it's not battlespire.cfg.txt) inside the folder C:\Battlespire with the following content (edited to your preferences):
[autoexec]
mount c C:\Battlespire
mount d D:\ -t cdrom
C:
cd <whatever directory the game installed in>
bspire.exe (I'm just assuming that's the name of the game's primary executable)
exit

2: Make a shortcut to DOSBox somewhere you would want a shortcut to the game (say the desktop)

3: Edit the path of the shortcut to say:
<path to dosbox> -conf C:\Battlefall\battlespire.conf -noconsole

Now run that shortcut whenever you want to play.
I don't think I've missed anything, if something doesn't work, yell at me and I'll try to figure out what's wrong. Since I don't actually have the game, this is a pretty generic "install DOS games in DOSBox" run-though.
Post edited March 14, 2011 by Miaghstir
Posted March 14, 2011
I've installed DOSbox .74, installed the game (with ya'll's help) and so on and so forth. BUT, I still can't get the game to work.

--I've installed the patch
--I've edited the DOSbox configuration .bat with the new memsize and screen resolution
--I've TRIED making the .cfg file to run the game automatically.

Here's my edited line off of the DOSbox shortcut to get to the game:

"C:\Program Files\DOSBox-0.74\DOSBox.exe" --conf C:\GAMES\BATTLESPIRE\BATSPIRE\battlespire.conf -noconsole


And here's exactly what I put in the .cfg file to try and get the game to run:

[autoexec]
mount c C:\GAMES\BATTLESPIRE
mount d D:\ -t cdrom
C:
cd <GAMES\BATTLESPIRE>
spire.exe
exit

I have it located in the BATTLESPIRE directory I created, but not in the subdirectory BATSPIRE the game itself made.

What else do I need to do? Just using the shortcut doesn't work, and when I manually type in everything to start the game it still gives me the "not enough memory" error and if I try to start it anyhow crashes out.
Posted March 14, 2011
avatar
rasufelle: [autoexec]
mount c C:\GAMES\BATTLESPIRE
mount d D:\ -t cdrom
C:
cd <GAMES\BATTLESPIRE>
spire.exe
exit
As C:\GAMES\BATTLESPIRE becomes C: in DOSBox (that's what "mount c blah" does), you don't need the "cd" line at all. Also make sure the shortcut says -conf, not --conf (one dash, not two).

As for the memory, add another couple of lines BEFORE [autoexec] containing:

[dosbox]
memsize=64

I think the default is 16. 32 is probably enough, 64 should be much more than you actually need. The number says how many MB of RAM the virtual DOS machine has installed.
Post edited March 14, 2011 by Miaghstir
Posted March 14, 2011
avatar
rasufelle: What else do I need to do? Just using the shortcut doesn't work, and when I manually type in everything to start the game it still gives me the "not enough memory" error and if I try to start it anyhow crashes out.
You could try to install d-fend reloaded. dfend is an interface for dosbox.

Dfend works with individual profiles for each game. This will allow you an easier access to the memory settings ( activate or not XMS & EMS) use loadfix or set base memory.

Unfortunately, without the game itself, it's hard to tell you what the correct parameters are
Posted March 14, 2011
Just one question

what error message do you get exactly ?

something like this :

[i]Starting Battlespire...
Warning: 31M RAM+Swap detected.

Battlespire has detected less that the desired amount of memory available to the game. This is most likely due to the DPMI memory setting of your dosbox. Please read the `patch.txt` file and pay close attention to the `Random Crashes` section.

It is also likely that you may be low on disc space on your hard drive before running Battlespire.[/i] ?

does it say something else , when you press any key after this message, like :

Code: 0 not found in C:\>
if so there is something amiss with the install.


Found this on another forum.

[i] How to install and run Battlespire

First thing to do is to create a bin/cue image of the Battlespire CD. Several different CD/DVD burning programs can do that, but if you don't have any or not sure if it can, get MagicDisc, as it's a free program. InfraRecorder is also free and works very well.

If you download and install MagicDisc, then choose the "Make CD/DVD Image" option in the tray menu. From there, choose the drive the CD is in, the output file (Battlespire in the DOSBox folder) and BIN/CUE as the output format. Then press OK. You can uninstall MagicDisc after this if you want.

Be sure that the Battlespire.cue and Battlespire.bin files are located in the same folder you installed DOSBox. Since you have these files in the DOSBox folder, you won't need the CD any more.

Launch DOSBox, and write the following:
MOUNT C GAMES -freesize 300
IMGMOUNT D Battlespire.cue -t iso
D:
INSTALL /F C

The game will start to install and after it's done press CTRL+F12 to raise the cycles to 10000 and type INSTALL. Now it's time to configure the sound and video. For sound pick "Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 or AWE32" and autodetect it. After that it will ask if you want captions (subtitles) or not during the cutscenes, and choose whatever you prefer. After that go into the video configuration and select to bypass the internal driver. Then you can exit the install program, and exit DOSBox.

Download the patch and unpack it in the DOSBox folder\Games\BATSPIRE folder. It's a runnable zip file, so you can unpack it with any program that can handle zip compression.

Open up dosbox.conf with notepad and do the following changes:
memsize=16 should be 63
core=normal should be auto
cycles=3000 should be auto
ipx=false should be true (with this you can easily play Battlespire together with others without any additional programs) See the IPX commands in the DOSBox readme.

And the end should look like this:
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
MOUNT C GAMES
IMGMOUNT D Battlespire.cue -t iso
C:
CD BATSPIRE
SPIRE

Save the file as Battlespire.conf and you're done.

When launching the game, an error will occur, but just press any key (with the exception of q) and it will load and run just fine.

And note that you will need a very fast CPU in order to run this game nicely in DOSBox. Few home computers can run this game decently on high settings in DOSBox. [/i]
Post edited March 14, 2011 by Phc7006
Posted March 14, 2011
avatar
Phc7006: Just one question

what error message do you get exactly ?

something like this :

[i]Starting Battlespire...
Warning: 31M RAM+Swap detected.

Battlespire has detected less that the desired amount of memory available to the game. This is most likely due to the DPMI memory setting of your dosbox. Please read the `patch.txt` file and pay close attention to the `Random Crashes` section.

It is also likely that you may be low on disc space on your hard drive before running Battlespire.[/i] ?

does it say something else , when you press any key after this message, like :

Code: 0 not found in C:\>
if so there is something amiss with the install.


Found this on another forum.

[i] How to install and run Battlespire

First thing to do is to create a bin/cue image of the Battlespire CD. Several different CD/DVD burning programs can do that, but if you don't have any or not sure if it can, get MagicDisc, as it's a free program. InfraRecorder is also free and works very well.

If you download and install MagicDisc, then choose the "Make CD/DVD Image" option in the tray menu. From there, choose the drive the CD is in, the output file (Battlespire in the DOSBox folder) and BIN/CUE as the output format. Then press OK. You can uninstall MagicDisc after this if you want.

Be sure that the Battlespire.cue and Battlespire.bin files are located in the same folder you installed DOSBox. Since you have these files in the DOSBox folder, you won't need the CD any more.

Launch DOSBox, and write the following:
MOUNT C GAMES -freesize 300
IMGMOUNT D Battlespire.cue -t iso
D:
INSTALL /F C

The game will start to install and after it's done press CTRL+F12 to raise the cycles to 10000 and type INSTALL. Now it's time to configure the sound and video. For sound pick "Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 or AWE32" and autodetect it. After that it will ask if you want captions (subtitles) or not during the cutscenes, and choose whatever you prefer. After that go into the video configuration and select to bypass the internal driver. Then you can exit the install program, and exit DOSBox.

Download the patch and unpack it in the DOSBox folder\Games\BATSPIRE folder. It's a runnable zip file, so you can unpack it with any program that can handle zip compression.

Open up dosbox.conf with notepad and do the following changes:
memsize=16 should be 63
core=normal should be auto
cycles=3000 should be auto
ipx=false should be true (with this you can easily play Battlespire together with others without any additional programs) See the IPX commands in the DOSBox readme.

And the end should look like this:
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
MOUNT C GAMES
IMGMOUNT D Battlespire.cue -t iso
C:
CD BATSPIRE
SPIRE

Save the file as Battlespire.conf and you're done.

When launching the game, an error will occur, but just press any key (with the exception of q) and it will load and run just fine.

And note that you will need a very fast CPU in order to run this game nicely in DOSBox. Few home computers can run this game decently on high settings in DOSBox. [/i]
The first error message is the one it was giving me. *sigh* This is why I like GoG, not having to mess with this stuff :P

I just spent like an hour trying to work this out and, frankly, the game wasn't good enough to warrant this much work. I'll try again later to see what I can do.

Thanks everyone for the help so far!
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussion (archive)Makin' Ancient Games Run Good(8 posts)(8 posts)
(8 posts)