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PC DOS

Discuss any other databases that use the GameBase Frontend, whether in pre development, development or publically released.

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An
Anubis

PC DOS

Mon Jan 24, 2005 8:03 pm

I have idea of creating PC DOS gamebase and after I give it a try, I run in couple problems.

Here is what I have done:
Created new database.
Modified gemus.dat to recognize DOSBox v0.63
Installed emulator in my new pc dos gamebase
Zipped one of the games that is playable in dosbox (flasback)
Made change in database to select zip file
Start the game

After I try to run the game, i run in the problem that gamebase does not extract files in directories. All files are extracted in one directory. Is there a way to change this?

Thanks!
De
DeveloN son of TurricaN

Fri Jan 28, 2005 11:27 am

This is not possible! This will require pkunzip -d option, but GB64 doesn't handle it! This is lamerish think emulating PC on PC!!!
An
Anubis

Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:12 pm

Old dos games won't work on today's PCs without DOSBox or VDMSound.

I got it work uncompressed, but then it's better to use DFend, which is great DOSBox front-end. Zipped games would save a lot of room, but seems it's impossible with current GB.

Thanks for the answer!
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Pugsy
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Thu Feb 03, 2005 2:10 am

Yes it's possible, but you'd need to recompile the VB source (you can get the source from http://sourceforge.net/projects/gamebase/ ). GameBase makes use of Info-Zips unzip32.dll. Looking at the example source from Info_zips site it should hopefully just be a matter of setting 'ndflag' to 1. The only reference I can find to ndflag in the GameBase source are in 'modUnzip32.bas' and 'modExtract.bas' and following the flow if you replace the single occurence in each of

Code: Select all

    dirs = 0  ' 1=honour zip directories
with

Code: Select all

    dirs = 1  ' 1=honour zip directories
and then recompile, you should find that you can unzip with the full directory structure. Of course this is just guess work at my end...I've not even got VB installed at the moment, I have enough problems with C too mess about with anything else.

I'd imagine this would have uses for Atari ST games which have HD capabilities.. I can see no real reason why it can't be the default, unless we have zips in the GBC with a directory structure?


As for it be lamerish I'd have to disagree....old PC games have serious issues on modern day PCs. And of course there's the various memory manager issues and the 640K limit that would make a frontend with the ability to allow the user to play any game with a single click without having to worry about such things very nice indeed.
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Gu
Guest

Fri Feb 04, 2005 5:53 pm

I think a Gamebase using DosBox is an excellent idea, there are thousands of old games that simply refuse to work on modern PC's.

GamebaseST uses Zip files for some 40 hard disk games, for example Cruise for a Corpse and Monkey island both use this method to save on disk swapping. I suggest you look at the GamebaseST GEMUS script file to see how we achieved this using PKUnzip.
Paul Thompson
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Fri Feb 04, 2005 5:54 pm

Sorry, forgot to log on yet again :oops:
J2003C
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Fri Feb 11, 2005 9:37 pm

You can probably work around the GB limitations using some GEMUS trickery.

Use F2 to add a final destination path for unzipping, like:
path=c:\DOSGame\

In the DOS box emulator path, use a batch file to launch your DOS game, but also use it as your emulator script. That way you can modify the batch file to make it unzip to the Key_path directory and launch DOS and the game.

Once someone has a rough working script, post it, and I can help polish it up.
-J2010C-
joebucci
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Sure any "Preserving" of old software is cool!

Fri Jul 31, 2009 3:08 am

Hey,

I think all these various "Projects, GameBases" are a good idea. Preserving old software for ANY machine should be done! It reminds us how far we've come, what we were thrilled with, and we marvel at what can now be "Emulated"!

I myself am working on what I'll call the A.P.P.S. Project. (Aquiring and Preserving Productivity Software) For the C64 mainly, but I'd probably have some C128 stuff in there as well. I'd like to try to cover the "Computing" side of the C64/128 Computer.

Writers, Painters, Planners, Desktop Publishing, GEOS, all That kind of stuff. I think a lot of 'older' people (Like myself!) would get a kick out of it! All I know is, I wasn't the ONLY one using a Commodore at home back in the day!

These are ALL great ideas people! Let's just keep "saving" what we can. Because, when it's gone.... It's GONE!

Best of luck,

JB
Joe Bucci
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.mad.
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help

Wed Nov 04, 2009 1:41 pm

just been playing some old PC DOS games this week.
i was thinking of doing a DOS / ScummVM project.

Did anyone manage to make a working PC DOS script.? :wink:
sut
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Sun Nov 22, 2009 11:59 pm

This could be very cool :D
Jimbo
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Mon Nov 23, 2009 8:13 am

Aah this would be an excellent database! I spent hundreds of hours playing Sim City and the Scumm games on my first PC...

I'll look at the zip issue in GameBase too. Like you say Pugsy, hopefully it will be a quick fix to support zips with a directory structure (just have to recurse through directories to see which files changed before offering to rezip).

James
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.mad.
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Mon Nov 23, 2009 12:18 pm

Thanks Jimbo,
Your work on Gamebase is very much appreciated.

Been using a program called D-Fend Reloaded.
This has all the options anyone could ever need for
a DOS Gamebase.
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K.C.
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Mon Nov 23, 2009 12:48 pm

Yes, D-Fend Reloaded rocks! 8)
It is the only frontend I use besides of Gamebase.
Gamebase is the very only frontend I would not use to build a collection of DOS games, D-Fend is the best for this and cannot be beaten by any other program IMHO.
For all other platforms, Gamebase is my no 1.
Jimbo
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Mon Nov 23, 2009 4:03 pm

D-Fend sounds good. I'll check it out. Ideally I'd want to be able to play these old PC games on my cab (using the MaLa frontend).

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