Wolfenstein 3D & Windows XP

[zelda rocks]

Okay, so I aqquired the Activision version of the game, and all this time I have been using DOSbox under the impression that it wouldn't even boot on windows xp, well guess what, it indeed does work under XP without any problems whatsoever, and WITHOUT Dosbox!!!

IMPORTANT: I have only tested this with the Activision Re-release I don't think it will work with the original DOS version, but feel free to try...

[Scotty]

What kind of soundcard do you have? Where did you get the drivers for it?

Most WDM (Windows Driver Model?) drivers won't support Adlib/FM synth, which kills some of the sound and all of the music for a lot of DOS games, including Wolf3D.

WDM first showed up on Windows 98, and became increasingly common with each new Windows release. I was under the impression that these were the only drivers available for Windows 2000/XP/Vista.

At any rate, whenever I attempted to run Wolf3D on Windows XP, it was extremely slow, and only the digitized sound worked. The Adlib/FM synth sounds were all missing.

Assuming the Activision version you're talking about is the same one that was released on the PC Gamer CD a few years ago, it's still pretty much the same DOS version, but with a Windows-compatible installer, and all the Apogee and Aardwolf stuff stripped out.

[zelda rocks]

In regards to sound try this program out: http://www.3drealms.com/tech/vdmsound.html and tell me whether it works or not, it worked for me...

YAY I finally got thw Super Upgrades pack working 100% with no problems whatsoever!!! Only thing is, I can find and run wolfcreate, and Mapedit, but I cannot seem to find the pack with 815 levels on it, where is the exe supposed to be located?

[DOSGuy]

When in doubt, consult the DOS Games Compatibility Wiki. The Wolfenstein 3D entry shows that Wolf3d runs fine in Windows XP but has no sound, but VDMSound solves that problem. Wolf3d is one of 50 games that runs perfectly with only VDMSound, in addition to 72 games that run perfectly in Windows XP without VDMSound.

Contrary to popular belief, there are plenty of games that will run just fine in Windows XP. I sometimes play without DOSBox to save the couple of seconds it takes to start it up and mount the drive, but I often use DOSBox anyway because I like to take screenshots, which is pretty easy with Ctrl-F5.

[MusicallyInspired]

I'll always use DOSBox because old DOS games were never meant to be played on a Pentium 4+. I like things being authentic. Wolf3d, for example, is way too fast on a modern CPU. And I avoid VDMSound because it slows down MIDI soundtracks dramatically.

But to each their own.

[Shadow Master]

I used to use VDMSound in Windows until I realized that DOSBox provided a somewhat better Adlib emulation for Wolf3D's or Commander Keen music tracks. Though I never actually fiddled with VDMSound's configuration options as much as I have done with DOSBox (which on the other hand worked perfectly out of the box).

[Damien_Azreal]

Ya know, this isn't really that surprising of a thread. id Software rereleased a retail CD jewel case version of Wolf3D a few years ago.

Fully compatible with WinXP... and ten bucks in stores.

[Joe Siegler]

Originally Posted by Damien_Azreal

Ya know, this isn't really that surprising of a thread. id Software rereleased a retail CD jewel case version of Wolf3D a few years ago.

Fully compatible with WinXP... and ten bucks in stores.

I'm fairly sure the underlying game is still the old DOS one. I have an id/Activision retail Wolf3D package in my office, but if I remember right, it was a Windows install on top of the DOS program. Something I've done for some of our installs.

[zelda rocks]

Will it run in vista though, and will WolfMaster (and or the Super Upgrades pack as a whole) run in Vista?

[Qbix]

no, unless you use dosbox.

[avatar_58]

Originally Posted by zelda rocks

In regards to sound try this program out: http://www.3drealms.com/tech/vdmsound.html and tell me whether it works or not, it worked for me...

YAY I finally got thw Super Upgrades pack working 100% with no problems whatsoever!!! Only thing is, I can find and run wolfcreate, and Mapedit, but I cannot seem to find the pack with 815 levels on it, where is the exe supposed to be located?

That lessens the amazement. VDMsound is an emulation layer for the sound. VDMsound is no longer developed, and won't work in Vista. Therefore you are better off with DOSbox. Easier to tailor to your native screen resolution and control the speed.

[Crosma]

Originally Posted by MusicallyInspired

I'll always use DOSBox because old DOS games were never meant to be played on a Pentium 4+.

Most decent DOS games have good enough built-in speed throttling that they'll work fine on the newest of machines. Newer video and sound devices are typically fine too. It's the OS that's the issue.

DosBox is fast enough that any half-way modern machine is going to run pretty much any DOS program at full-speed. It's great. The only thing missing is Ethernet pass-through support, but I believe that's in the development trunk. At this point, the x86 emulator can even run Windows 95 at a stonking pace, should you want to (you'd be better off with virtualisation, really).

You can tell why no-one gives a crap about DosEmu any more, can't you?

[Qbix]

ethernet passthrough is a userpatch only. I see no reason to add it to the next version of DOSBox.

[zelda rocks]

I need one question answered, Will the Super Upgrades Pack run in Vista, and is it compatible with Dosbox?

[MusicallyInspired]

Originally Posted by Crosma

Most decent DOS games have good enough built-in speed throttling that they'll work fine on the newest of machines. Newer video and sound devices are typically fine too. It's the OS that's the issue.

I still wouldn't try an old DOS game on today's machines. There's no way to know how that much speed would affect a game. A hefty number of Sierra adventures, for instance, are unplayable because of speed issues. So much so that homemade script patches were created. Other games like FX Fighter are insanely fast (triple+ the regular speed) and there are plenty more like it. However, even if they seem to run fine there still might be some part of a game that uses the processor's real-time speed like the Sierra adventures that can hamper gameplay. Animations and things like that can run and look just fine but a game's clock might run on the CPU's speed itself thus making timed sequences impossible to solve. If things like that can happen anything can happen. I just like being on the safe side. Bottom line is I want to play my DOS games as closely to how they were meant to be played as possible. So much so that I have a separate 486 for the job.

[Crosma]

Originally Posted by Qbix

ethernet passthrough is a userpatch only. I see no reason to add it to the next version of DOSBox.

Why the fudge not? Why's Disney Sound Source support more important, for example? Bah!

[zelda rocks]

Can Somebody PLEASE answer me!? Will the Super Upgrades Pack run in Vista, and is it compatible with Dosbox?!!!!

[Qbix]

zelda try it yourself ?
if it works in dosbox in XP/linux/MAC os X
then it works in dosbox in Vista as wel

Crosma: why do you need it. webSurfing (in windows 3.11) is not a convincing argument.
Do you know of any game that doesn't work with the IPX, modem,directserial emulation and that needs the pure tcp/ip emulation ?

[Crosma]

Originally Posted by Qbix

Crosma: why do you need it. webSurfing (in windows 3.11) is not a convincing argument.
Do you know of any game that doesn't work with the IPX, modem,directserial emulation and that needs the pure tcp/ip emulation ?

Depends. Passthrough would allow you to network with DOS games that aren't being emulated too, of course.

[zelda rocks]

Thanks for the idea Qbix, I never thought of running Wolf 3d straight from dosbox along with the Super Upgrades pack, but since Dosbox is a Dos emulator, theoretically there shouldn't be any problem with either of them right?

[MusicallyInspired]

Nothing theoretical about it. That's what DOSBox is for.

[zelda rocks]

but for some reason, I can run wolfmenu, but any changes made to the game don't show up , as if no changes were made at all, any tips? Also I just tried Wolfmaster, and it works flawlessly, now what about the 815 extra levels?

I just ran the WolfM batch file, and then when I started up the game it wouldn't go past the memory screen...