OESF Portables Forum
Everything Else => General Support and Discussion => Zaurus General Forums => Archived Forums => Software => Topic started by: Jon_J on April 04, 2006, 01:43:54 am
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I used to have several sites like this, they all seem to be gone now except this one:
http://www.abandongames.com/ (http://www.abandongames.com/)
Are there any good RPG games that have been ported to Zaurus like the many games that can be found on abandongames.com ?
There is 148 in the Roleplaying section alone!
Like old Dungeon Master DOS games and many others that have slipped into oblivion..
or Betryal at Krondor, and many others like that?
(Betryal at Kronder was given away for free after so many years of being commercial)
Thank you,
Jon
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There are SNES RPG's.... but I know what you mean. Console RPG's are quite different than DOS RPG's. I would like to play Wasteland (the unofficial first Fallout) again.
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I decided to try DOSbox
It locked up the first time, and when I looked at my sysinfo, there were 4 copies of it running.
I have since rebooted. I'm going to try Betryal at Krondor
http://www.abandonia.com/games/en/208/BetrayalatKrondor.htm (http://www.abandonia.com/games/en/208/BetrayalatKrondor.htm)
I also found Wasteland here:
http://www.abandonia.com/games/en/436/Wasteland.htm (http://www.abandonia.com/games/en/436/Wasteland.htm)
I also ordered a CF modem from Staples, so I can play Wyvern for Zaurus
http://www.cabochon.com/index.html (http://www.cabochon.com/index.html)
I decided to forgo getting a router and WiFi for now.
I don't know if my 56k dialup will keep up in Wyvern, but Wyvern can only be played online.
I may look into WiFi next Fall, there's not many WiFi hotspots around here.
Summer's just around the corner, and I won't be home much after it starts getting warm outside.
I have 2 Harleys in the garage waiting for me.
Jon
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Betrayal at Krondor doesn't seem to work. It opens the "Loading Game" screen, then just sits there.
I tried using the PC speaker option, there isn't a selection in the setup to have no sound, although all sound selections are listed as compatable when setup checks my hardware. (setup within Krondor itself)
The manual has config.sys suggestions as below:
------------------------------------------------
DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE RAM 1024
DOS=HIGH,UMB
FILES=30
BUFFERS=20
------------------------------------------------
I don't know if Dosbox includes himem.sys and/or emm386.exe
So I cannot add those lines.
I also get illegal command for each of these entries:
DOS=HIGH,UMB
FILES=30
BUFFERS=20
Krondor would be a cool game to play on the Z, but I guess I'll just wait for my modem, so I can play Wyvern..
Jon
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I removed the game: Betrayal at Krondor, and any settings that I had for it in dosbox.conf.
Here's the output in terminal when I launch dosbox with it's default configuration.
I have "libstdc6_1.2.2_arm" installed, so it shouldn't be a problem, as it is recomended with dosbox.
$ rundosbox
Display size = 480x640
CONFIG:Loading settings from config file dosbox.conf
QT_GetMachine: /proc/deviceinfo/product is 'SL-C3100'
detected machine is 'Sharp SL-C3000'
QT_GetRotation: Read spec from '/tmp/qtembedded-zaurus/QtEmbedded-0.spec'
spec is 'Transformed:Rot270:Vga:0'
Rot=3, Qvga=0
QT_SetVideoMode: SL-C700 Style is Input style
QT_SetVideoMode: argSize=640x400
QT_SetVideoMode: qteSize=640x480
QT_SetVideoMode: fbSize=480x640
QT_SetVideoMode: qteRotation=3
QT_SetVideoMode: userRotation=-1
QT_SetVideoMode: sdlRotation=3
QT_SetVideoMode: qteKeyRotation=3
QT_SetVideoMode: sdlKeyRotation=3
MIDI:Opened device:none
QT_GetMachine: /proc/deviceinfo/product is 'SL-C3100'
detected machine is 'Sharp SL-C3000'
QT_GetRotation: Read spec from '/tmp/qtembedded-zaurus/QtEmbedded-0.spec'
spec is 'Transformed:Rot270:Vga:0'
Rot=3, Qvga=0
QT_SetVideoMode: SL-C700 Style is Input style
QT_SetVideoMode: argSize=640x480
QT_SetVideoMode: qteSize=640x480
QT_SetVideoMode: fbSize=480x640
QT_SetVideoMode: qteRotation=3
QT_SetVideoMode: userRotation=-1
QT_SetVideoMode: sdlRotation=3
QT_SetVideoMode: qteKeyRotation=3
QT_SetVideoMode: sdlKeyRotation=3
Display size = 480x640
khctrl: not found
$(khctrl: not found)
What is khctrl?
Jon
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keyhelper.
my zaurus snes zip file has it.
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I found these inside the snes package:
keyhelper_1.2.2-1_arm.ipk
keyhelper.xml
Do I need both the IPK and XML files?
Would these mess with Cacko's default keyboard settings?
Would these help me get Betrayal at Krondor running?
I also noticed,
MIDI:Opened device:none
Do I really need that 14MB "timidity-patch_1.0.1-sd_arm.ipk" installed?
Thats a large file to install onto my Zaurus, just to play MIDI files.
Thank you,
Jon
EDIT:
I was searching for info/instructions for all the settings in dosbox.conf, when I found this. (see below)
Anyone know of a site that has some instructions for the conf settings?
I just found a newer version of dosbox here: Ver 0.65
http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/news.php?show_news=1 (http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/news.php?show_news=1)
I think it needs to be compiled for Zaurus. I don't know how this is done.
Seems the new version addresses a lot of issues.
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yeah dont use keyhelper for cacko.
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I cannot seem to find any complete documentation on configuring dosbox in one place.
I'm saving dozens of linked/crosslinked webpages to read later offline.
Why can't the documation be all in one downloadable file? (Like the video re-encoding guides)?
On this site, Betrayal at Kronder works well according to the chart. (I think this is on a desktop), because the forum attached to this site only has 5 or 6 Zaurus related subjects.
http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/comp_list.php?letter=B (http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/comp_list.php?letter=B)
Where is the Zaurus config guide? Is there one? I didn't find one at:
https://www.oesf.org/index.php?search=dosbox&fulltext=Search (https://www.oesf.org/index.php?search=dosbox&fulltext=Search)
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Can dosbox play any RPG games??
I loaded Dungeon Master from here:
This game is from 1989 - It should play, but why doesn't it?
http://www.abandonia.com/games/en/585/DungeonMaster.htm (http://www.abandonia.com/games/en/585/DungeonMaster.htm)
No sound, VGA, Mouse selected, (but using stylus)
It loads the 2 splash screens, then I get to the "Enter" screen where you select your characters, attributes, hit points, ect.
But it wont get me past the first screen.
I also tried "Turbo mode" (624/208/104 MHz)
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Can dosbox play any RPG games??
I loaded Dungeon Master from here:
This game is from 1989 - It should play, but why doesn't it?
http://www.abandonia.com/games/en/585/DungeonMaster.htm (http://www.abandonia.com/games/en/585/DungeonMaster.htm)
No sound, VGA, Mouse selected, (but using stylus)
It loads the 2 splash screens, then I get to the "Enter" screen where you select your characters, attributes, hit points, ect.
But it wont get me past the first screen.
I also tried "Turbo mode" (624/208/104 MHz)
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=121945\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Mousing problems, I'm afraid.
The trouble is that the SDL mapping of touchscreen to mouse doesn't work
quite as well as it needs to be, for most PC games to work properly.
Rumors suggest that Sash of pdaXrom is working on some kind of fix for the problem;
I don't know what the current state of it is.
In general, PC games that are playable by keyboard alone- should run fine.
For RPGs, the SSI D&D goldbox games all run- a bit slow but not unbearable
(on a pxa255 @ 400mhz)
Wasteland is excellent; noticeably slower than it would run on a modern PC
but faster than it ran on a 1987 era PC.
Dragon Wars, and other Bard's Tale based games are also good,
but you may want to turn off sound.
MegaTraveller/MT2 run well enough, but without a working mouse,
can be a little frustrating.
Dungeon Master is unfortunate
If the mouse can be patched, it should be tolerable at 416 or 624mhz
I've verified that the native DM-CSB port for Linux does NOT work-
memory alignment problems in the code that possibly could be fixed,
but only by someone with more time on their hands.
I would probably advise against midi-based sound in DosBox games on Zaurus;
the CPU will already be working overtime to emulate the PC machine code,
and the added overhead of Timidity will grind things to a halt.
DosBox' native SoundBlaster emulation, though, might be good enough
for games that support it.
For non-RPG strategy, you might want to look at the native linux WarCraft clone
or FreeCiv- which with the newly resurrected SDL engine is VERY playable
and VERY fun.
Mind you, all the Zaurus packages I've seen of FreeCiv use the X11/GTK gui,
which is really to big to fit the screen- build your own from CVS if you can.
The SDL port so far still requires X, but that dependency is likely to be fixed
down the road, so it will run from console, or QT.
In Quasi-RPG strategy, UFO: Alien Invasion (X-Com clone) has an ongoing
desktop linux port, but should hopefully (when finished) run on Zaurus too.
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Thank you for the info raduga
There are some SSI D&D games here:
http://www.abandonia.com/genre.php?genre=rpg&page=1 (http://www.abandonia.com/genre.php?genre=rpg&page=1)
I'm going to start with "Eye of the Beholder 1"
I'll try them later tonight, just as soon as this week's episode of "Lost" has aired.
EDIT: these SSI games are still protected, not available to download.
Going to look for something else at the moment.
Wasteland is not available either, still protected.
Any other suggestions for RPG games?
I'm not into scroller shooters. I really would like to get Betrayal at Krondor running.
It's available for download at above site.
EDIT2
I guess I could try the SNES & TurbografX emulator.
I have "Order of the Griffon" for my TurbografX It's a D&D game and is available as a ROM here:
http://www.videogamearchive.com/emu/tg16_rom.htm (http://www.videogamearchive.com/emu/tg16_rom.htm)
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I actually found an RPG that looks good and seems to play good, so far!
Eye of the Beholder V2 - The Legend of Darkmoon
http://xtcabandonware.com/ (http://xtcabandonware.com/) (RPG - page 2)
I have in dosbox.conf
[render]
frameskip=7
[midi]
mpu401=false
I may try decreasing the frameskip to a lower value later.
The controls are all accessable from the keyboard, and the reaction time seems "normal"
I have sound turned off for now.
The "Settings" and "Prefrences" dialogs are completely accessable.
There seems to be enough settings and prefrences to enable this game to run smoothly.
Here is a screenshot on my C3100
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I have to add this, because late last night, I realized these games in this series
DON'T play correctly with the Zaurus keyboard.
In Eye of the Beholder 2, the game uses the numpad keys as directional keys.
These are not the same as the number keys above the "qwerty" section of the keyboard.
Also, F1 - F6 are needed to interact with the characters playing the game.
So I guess , role playing games, that take months to completely explore, and have 200 page manuals, are too complex for the Zaurus.
The Palm, has Redshift Legacy, which is a game that takes a really long time to completely explore.
Jon
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I have to add this, because late last night, I realized these games in this series
DON'T play correctly with the Zaurus keyboard.
In Eye of the Beholder 2, the game uses the numpad keys as directional keys.
These are not the same as the number keys above the "qwerty" section of the keyboard.
Also, F1 - F6 are needed to interact with the characters playing the game.
So I guess , role playing games, that take months to completely explore, and have 200 page manuals, are too complex for the Zaurus.
The Palm, has Redshift Legacy, which is a game that takes a really long time to completely explore.
Jon
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=122027\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Sounds like a keymapping problem.
I'm working on trying to crosscompile various SDL apps for the Zaurus. One of them is the hatari Atari ST emulator, which is capable of playing quite a few RPGs, most of which are mouse-driven (including Dungeon Master). If I can get it working, you might have better luck with that than dosbox.
Also there are several quality free Linux RPGs that can probably be ported
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uth, Thank you for your reply
Looking forward to more options to play RPG games on Zaurus.
I don't think keymapping will fix this.
These are keys on the numpad with numlock off. My C3100 doesn't have a numpad.
Mouse doesn't work in dosbox, it is 1/3 of the screen away from it's hotspot
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uth, Thank you for your reply
Looking forward to more options to play RPG games on Zaurus.
I don't think keymapping will fix this.
These are keys on the numpad with numlock off. My C3100 doesn't have a numpad.
Mouse doesn't work in dosbox, it is 1/3 of the screen away from it's hotspot
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=122043\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
The mouse will be a problem for DosBox unless and until some helpful programmer gets it fixed.
Keymaps can all pretty much be fixed- however due to the way DosBox handles
key mapping, it may be necessary to patch the DosBox code itself to get some keys
to work properly (not difficult. Someone could/should write a Zaurus-keyboard
specific patch for DosBox. If I have a little more time, I will take a stab at it)
re: SSI D&D games- Eye of the Beholder is a different engine than the goldbox
games. The DragonLance, and Pool of Radiance series (verifiably) run without much trouble. They use pseudo-3D for movement, top-down turn-based combat. A bit older than Eye of the Beholder, but if you *do* like old-school RPG, they're swell.
Roguelike RPGs (Nethack / Angband / ToME / Omega) are native Unix,
and have no need for mouses. They even have GUI, if ascii graphics dont quite do it for you.
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Wasteland is not available either, still protected.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=121967\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
I have it on retail CD. If I can find the time, I'll dig it up and try it this weekend and give it a try.
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would the first gear head work, maybe in x/qt? It seems to rely on a lot of keyboard commands, which might help or hurt us.
http://gearhead.roguelikedevelopment.org/ (http://gearhead.roguelikedevelopment.org/)
I'd be happy with just the ascii working
I got wasteland to work. I've noticed that some games that 'kinda work' actually work when you overclock a little
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UPDATE:
with some help from Qbix (thanks!) and his marvellously documented C++,
I've found where the mouse was getting misdetected, and fixed it.
I'm still testing, there are some remaining calibration issues when the pointer hits
the edge of the screen, but most mousy games should now be playable.
[/b]Dungeon Master:[/b] now runs fine- though sound is a little jerky
(its playable without sound, though nowhere near as much fun)
I suspect EotB should be playable too, though I never liked it to begin with.
I don't think keymapping will fix this.
Sure thing
Remap "keypad-8" to "up arrow"
Remap "keypad-2" to "down arrow"
So, pressing "up" will send a KP_8 to the DOS program. Then you can:
Remap "F1" to [Fn] 1
etc
The problem isn't that "games like this are too complex for the Zaurus"
its that the game UI designers built with a 101-key monstrosity in mind,
and the idea that that some keyboards could be smaller and have
fewer or more keys than the PC-101, was apparently too difficult
for designers back then.
Don't confuse their lack of imagination for a defective Zaurus.
Mouse doesn't work in dosbox, it is 1/3 of the screen away from it's hotspot
Qbix and I (well, Qbix has all the brain power, and I have all the motivation)
are trying to resolve this. About 80% there, for pdaXrom.
In the event the last remaining bits of the problem *are* from pdaXrom or its SDL libs, the mouse may be fine on other roms.
would the first gear head work, maybe in x/qt? It seems to rely on a lot of keyboard commands, which might help or hurt us.
Ew... YUCK
Its PASCAL (the horror!)
but apparently built for FreePascal, which apparently runs on Zaurus.
It uses SDL, no X11 that I can see, so it might just build and run fine on the Z.
You'll need a native build of FreePascal; and whatever SDL dev support it needs.
I can see no reason it wouldn't work, but probably some assembly required.
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Wasteland is not available either, still protected.
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I have it on retail CD. If I can find the time, I'll dig it up and try it this weekend and give it a try.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=122080\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
I found my Interplay 10 year Anthology CD but it looks like DOSBox doesn't work on OZ. Hmmm...
I'll have to try it on my PC.
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thanks for the info raduga. I'm going to try it out though it would have to be easy for me to get it running, so we'll see.
An old school game I got running under dosbox is Nahlakh
http://www.proudft.com/nah.html (http://www.proudft.com/nah.html)
Like most games there is a slow down, but once you run it (lkm.exe not nahlakh) and hit cancel and select no sound and change the combat speed to 0, it runs great. I haven't encountered any problems with the keys yet, but of course there's keyhelper.