Posted August 01, 2015
It looks like the default configuration that ships with the GOG version of KQ 1--3 is sub-optimal, with three issues:
1. The music sounds awful and out of tune (the notes fluctuate up and down instead of being a pure tone).
2. The music and sound effects are monotonic PC speaker sounds (there is a high quality option).
3. If you set the game speed to Fast (in the menus), it goes hundreds of times faster than normal (and you will inevitably end up walking into a death trap).
You can fix all of these issues by going into the game folder and editing dosboxKQx.conf (where x is 1, 2 or 3 depending on the game). Before editing, MAKE A BACKUP of this file. Then, edit away in Notepad or your favourite text editor.
#1 and #3 are caused by using DOSBox's dynamic core which makes the game run as fast as possible. I'm not sure why, but I assume the minute variations in clock speed on a modern OS cause the music to slightly speed up and slow down, causing the out-of-tune effect. And apparently the "fast" setting in King's Quest just runs at the fastest possible speed, which is way too fast on a modern PC. To fix this, find the "[cpu]" section, and edit to this:
core=auto
cputype=auto
cycles=fixed 500
cycleup=100
cycledown=100
You can set cycles to any number you like (the higher the faster). It directly affects the game speed when set to Fast mode. I found that 500 was a good speed (approximately 2x as fast as Normal speed). You can also use Ctrl+F11 and Ctrl+F12 to slow and speed up the game.
#2 is because DOSBox is set to emulate an IBM PC. The PC (at the time) only had a harsh-sounding monophonic speaker, but King's Quest was actually designed for the IBM PCjr, which has polyphonic speakers. Therefore, while I assume most people don't ever hear it, the KQ 1--3 music actually has harmonies and this was the originally intended experience. To turn this on, find the "[machine]" section, and edit the "machine=" line to this:
machine=tandy
(pcjr also seems to work, but tandy is a better bet for this DOS version.)
This seems to also add a few additional sound effects here and there.
Another fun thing to try is "machine=cga"; this will emulate the experience on an IBM PC with CGA composite output --- notice the muted colours and artifacts at colour boundaries. (This also gives you the monophonic music.)
Update: I tested KQ2 and 3; they have a "Fast" and "Faster" speed setting; the Fast setting is not a problem, but the above fix will help with the Faster setting. In light of this, I'd set cycles to "fixed 1000" instead of 500.
[Edit: Fixed config syntax.]
1. The music sounds awful and out of tune (the notes fluctuate up and down instead of being a pure tone).
2. The music and sound effects are monotonic PC speaker sounds (there is a high quality option).
3. If you set the game speed to Fast (in the menus), it goes hundreds of times faster than normal (and you will inevitably end up walking into a death trap).
You can fix all of these issues by going into the game folder and editing dosboxKQx.conf (where x is 1, 2 or 3 depending on the game). Before editing, MAKE A BACKUP of this file. Then, edit away in Notepad or your favourite text editor.
#1 and #3 are caused by using DOSBox's dynamic core which makes the game run as fast as possible. I'm not sure why, but I assume the minute variations in clock speed on a modern OS cause the music to slightly speed up and slow down, causing the out-of-tune effect. And apparently the "fast" setting in King's Quest just runs at the fastest possible speed, which is way too fast on a modern PC. To fix this, find the "[cpu]" section, and edit to this:
core=auto
cputype=auto
cycles=fixed 500
cycleup=100
cycledown=100
You can set cycles to any number you like (the higher the faster). It directly affects the game speed when set to Fast mode. I found that 500 was a good speed (approximately 2x as fast as Normal speed). You can also use Ctrl+F11 and Ctrl+F12 to slow and speed up the game.
#2 is because DOSBox is set to emulate an IBM PC. The PC (at the time) only had a harsh-sounding monophonic speaker, but King's Quest was actually designed for the IBM PCjr, which has polyphonic speakers. Therefore, while I assume most people don't ever hear it, the KQ 1--3 music actually has harmonies and this was the originally intended experience. To turn this on, find the "[machine]" section, and edit the "machine=" line to this:
machine=tandy
(pcjr also seems to work, but tandy is a better bet for this DOS version.)
This seems to also add a few additional sound effects here and there.
Another fun thing to try is "machine=cga"; this will emulate the experience on an IBM PC with CGA composite output --- notice the muted colours and artifacts at colour boundaries. (This also gives you the monophonic music.)
Update: I tested KQ2 and 3; they have a "Fast" and "Faster" speed setting; the Fast setting is not a problem, but the above fix will help with the Faster setting. In light of this, I'd set cycles to "fixed 1000" instead of 500.
[Edit: Fixed config syntax.]
Post edited August 01, 2015 by mgiuca
