Difference between revisions of "DOSBox"

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DOSBox has many forks over the years. This section attempts to list the most notable ones. [http://www.dosbox.com/wiki/SVN_Builds#Enhanced_SVN_builds DOSBox's official wiki] also has a partial list of DOSBox forks. Even more forks are listed in the [https://github.com/dosbox-staging/dosbox-staging/wiki/DOSBox-forks DOSBox forks page] of DOSBox Staging's GitHub wiki.
 
DOSBox has many forks over the years. This section attempts to list the most notable ones. [http://www.dosbox.com/wiki/SVN_Builds#Enhanced_SVN_builds DOSBox's official wiki] also has a partial list of DOSBox forks. Even more forks are listed in the [https://github.com/dosbox-staging/dosbox-staging/wiki/DOSBox-forks DOSBox forks page] of DOSBox Staging's GitHub wiki.
  
===Active forks===
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===Notable active forks===
 
{{Infobox emulator
 
{{Infobox emulator
 
|title = DOSBox-X
 
|title = DOSBox-X

Revision as of 03:24, 30 May 2023

DOSBox
DOSBox.png
Developer(s) DOSBox Crew
Latest version 0.74-3
Active No
Platform(s) Windows
Linux
FreeBSD and more
Emulates 286 and 386
Website DOSBox.com
Programmed in C++
License GNU GPLv2
Source code tgz

DOSBox is a free and open-source, high-level 286 and 386 emulator written in C++.

Downloads

Windows Linux macOS Latest Dev Builds
Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD RiscOS OS/2 Latest Stable Builds
Dragonbox Pyra Pyra build

Overview

DOSBox is capable of emulating many older computer games that are otherwise very difficult if not impossible to play on modern operating systems and hardware. It has very high compatibility, as it can be configured to emulate the environment of many machines, with support for various display modes, including CGA, EGA, Hercules, Tandy, and VGA. With some work, it is even possible to install and load old Windows operating systems, such as Windows 3.11 and Windows 95, thus potentially being able to play games made for those platforms.

Frontends

Because DOSBox doesn't have a GUI, projects were made to fulfill that role.

Main article: Frontends#DOSBox

Forks

DOSBox has many forks over the years. This section attempts to list the most notable ones. DOSBox's official wiki also has a partial list of DOSBox forks. Even more forks are listed in the DOSBox forks page of DOSBox Staging's GitHub wiki.

Notable active forks

DOSBox-X
DOSBox-X-screenshot-sdl2.png
The SDL2 UI on Windows 10. DOSBox-X also has versions for SDL1 and MinGW in the installer.
Developer(s) Jonathan Campbell
(Project maintainer)
Wengier, and others
Latest version 2024.03.01 [+]
Active Yes
Platform(s) Windows
macOS
Linux
DOS
Emulates Intel CPUs
NEC PC-98
Website dosbox-x.com
License GNU GPLv2
Source code GitHub
DOSBox Staging
DOSBox Staging intro.png
DOSBox staging intro screen
Developer(s) kcgen
(Project maintainer)
and others
Latest version 0.81.0 [+]
Active Yes
Platform(s) Windows
macOS
Linux
Emulates Intel CPUs
Website dosbox-staging.github.io
License GNU GPLv2
Source code GitHub
DOSBox ECE
DOSBox ECE game directory.png
DOSBox ECE game directory screenshot
Developer(s) YesterPlay
(Project maintainer)
and others
Latest version r4482 [+]
Active Yes
Platform(s) Windows
Linux
Emulates Intel CPUs
Website yesterplay.net/dosboxece
License GNU GPLv2
Source code yesterplay.net/dosboxece
Main article: POS_(Pong_Consoles)_CPUs_and_Other_Chips#Intel_CPU.27s

Some notable dead forks

DOSBox Mega Build
Was an enhanced build of DOSBox focused on serial/networking support. Contains the NE2000 patch, parallel port passthrough, virtual printer, OPL passthrough, and others. However, it hasn't been updated in years, and most of what it added was covered by the actively maintained DOSBox-X fork.
DOSBox SVN Daum
Was an enhanced build of DOSBox by ykhwong, with support for Direct3D and HLSL shaders, Glide, Ethernet, virtual printer, and a built-in UI. However, it hasn't been updated in years, and most of what it added was covered by the actively maintained DOSBox-X fork.
Win31DOSBox
Win31DOSBox aims to be an easy method of running Windows 3.x games through a customized version of DOSBox-X or DOSBox SVN. Among its many features, it adds an easy setup program and the ability to print from Windows 3.11. The maintainer of Win31DOSBox has since recommended using WineVDM instead.
To get started, you first need a copy of either Windows 3.11 or WfW (Windows for Workgroups) 3.11. Once you have that, you need to put in either the 6 (Windows 3.11) or 9 (WfW 3.11) floppy images, or the ISO file, or the MSDN self-extracting .exe. After that, running InstallWin31DOSBox.exe which will automatically install Windows 3.x for you. Once it's finished, check that everything works and then install Video for Windows and Quicktime which is located in the Video folder in Program Manager. It is also recommended to install WinG and Win32s as well.
There are multiple ways to get software onto the system. For folders and files, you can drag them into the C-DRIVE folder. If you have a physical CD you can just insert it into your CD drive. If it's a CD image you need to mount it using a software like Virtual CloneDrive. If it's a floppy disk image you need to drag the respective images over the Extract to A-Drive Folder.exe program which will extract them to the A-DRIVE folder.
9xbox
There was some interest in creating a version of DOSBox that would improve compatibility with Windows 95/98/ME. However, it never passed the theoretical stage.

References

See Also