[DOSBox] official thread

nemo93 · 4 Mar 2020, 13:49

I do confirm the SDL2 implementation is less stable and slower in some games. I'll revert back to SDL1 for now and cherry-pick the games which suffers from tearing to be assigned to SDL2. I'm also very interested in the other Dosbox implementations and I'll try to compile some to see how it goes. I'll report back here with any findings.

IceChes1 · 5 Mar 2020, 00:01

Just wondering: can I run Qbasic from Retropie DOSBox?

VictimRLSH · 5 Mar 2020, 03:53

@IceChes1 Qbasic should be able to run on ANYTHING with DOS compatibility. I've ran it on an Amiga 1200 with PC-Task, one of the slowest and featureless DOS emulators ever.

nemo93 · 5 Mar 2020, 10:09

I had time yesterday to play a bit further with Dosbox-staging. It's a fine version running very well and smooth with same compatibility as the current Dosbox "SDL1" (I need to push testing though to confirm that statement in full). I could go further with Tomb Raider! Now game main menu and demo work ok even if I still can't start a game (crash right after the level1 video). This "staging" version supports SDL2 hence no tearing and overall good performance - similar to "SDL1". I consider moving to this version instead of "SDL2".

@psyke83 apologize to reach out like this hope you'd don't mind as I found your name in this PR. I'd like to have second opinion about "staging" and other Dosbox versions if possible. My objective is to have the best possible version (stable/best compatibility/ease of use) for RPI and to share as much knowledge about it. Thanks!

quicksilver · 13 May 2020, 16:47

@nemo93 do you have a working build script for dosbox-staging? I was able to compile it on my pi4 but performance was absolutely terrible, which makes me think that I did something wrong.

nemo93 · 15 May 2020, 16:09

hey @quicksilver! I'm on a pi3B+ (still) and I do nothing magic to build "Staging". I tested with 2 methods both described in the doc:

the recommended way:

$ git clone https://github.com/dosbox-staging/dosbox-staging.git
$ cd dosbox-staging
$ ./scripts/build.sh -c gcc -t release -m lto

the "good old way":

$ git clone https://github.com/dosbox-staging/dosbox-staging.git
$ cd dosbox-staging
$ ./autogen.sh
$ ./configure (./configure --help for a list of available options)
$ make -j2

You can enable/disable some features if needed by passing a list of arguments at the ./configure step. Also I consider you have dependencies already installed. To be sure you have all necessary packages:

sudo apt install libsdl2-2.0-0 libsdl2-net-2.0-0 libopusfile0

or

sudo apt install -y $(./scripts/list-build-dependencies.sh -m apt -c clang)

On a PI3B+ (stock) I really have decent performance in most games. Even Tomb Raider (when it works) runs at 15-20fps at medium settings. Rayman is fullspeed with no tearing. Same thing with many other "2D" games.

You could give a try to the DOS/32A extender to see if it makes a difference. Everything you need is described here and a compatibility list can be found at this location.

Which steps have you been through to compile yours? Also what game(s) are you testing with?
Hope this helps!

quicksilver · 15 May 2020, 16:18

@nemo93 thanks for the reply, im trying this on my pi 4 to see if performance is better than dosbox-svn that is included with retropie. Because of the way the display drivers work on the pi 4, performance for dosbox has actually decreased compared to the pi 3. Haven't had any performance issues with dosbox-svn on my pi 3 (minus the tearing issues).

nemo93 · 7 Aug 2020, 10:38

hey @quicksilver! I was willing to give you a nudge provided there were some improvements lately on the pi4 front with "dosbox-staging". I've updated wiki to share some hints especially for pi4 etc. I'd appreciate if you could give another try please? In short, you need to compile against the latest master and ensure you fine-tune each game mostly by setting a fixed amount of cycles. Failing to do so will have the game(s) run in "slideshow" mode. Still not perfect but I do have at least the same perf level as on pi3.

quicksilver · 8 Jul 2020, 16:58

@nemo93 Im not sure I have as great a need for this as I once did. I have dosbox-svn running with great performance on my pi 4 now (much better than my pi 3). If there is a automated build script for this I would be happy to try it out but for now im pretty content with dosbox-svn.

VictimRLSH · 8 Jul 2020, 18:53

@quicksilver Box86 is giving great performance for x86 Linux, and I finally got Bochs going (not easy) as well. Bochs is still a bit slow with Win98 and XP, but you CAN install things into the virtual machines and then grab any assets you need from those installs.

shaun57 · 14 Jul 2020, 15:56

Hoping one of you DOSBox experts might be able to help..

I'm struggling to get any of my flight sims (F-117A, F19 etc) to recognise my Thrustmaster USB joystick when it's configured as JS1.
The problem is that I really need my arcade cabinet controller PCB to be JS0 for other systems, and when I plug in the Thrustmaster after the PI is booted it is assigned as JS1.

I've tried the joysticktype "axis4_2" option in the .conf file which is documented as "supports one joystick, second joystick used" and, according to runcommand.log, that does indeed pass the Thrustmaster (JS1) to DOSBox, but when the game is launched the joystick is still inaccessable.

I can get round this by using auto or axis4 and plugging in the Thrustmaster USB BEFORE I boot the PI, in which case it's assigned as JS0 and then works perfectly in the games.

Am I missing something ?

If I'm not then the ideal solution for me would be if I could temporarily swap the controller PCB and Thrustmaster JS values (JS0->JS1 and JS1->JS0) in the .sh or .conf file and then revert back when the game exits. I'm no Linux expert though so no idea if that's possible ?

quicksilver · 14 Jul 2020, 16:16

@shaun57 maybe this would help? https://github.com/meleu/RetroPie-joystick-selection

shaun57 · 14 Jul 2020, 17:07

@quicksilver thanks I'll have a look at that

quicksilver · 14 Jul 2020, 17:09

Though on closer look that may be only for retroarch emulators...

VictimRLSH · 14 Jul 2020, 21:54

@quicksilver said in [DOSbox] official thread:

Though on closer look that may be only for retroarch emulators...

Wasn't there an experimental libreto core for dosbox?

quicksilver · 14 Jul 2020, 22:36

@VictimRLSH performance is very poor last I tried it out, even on the pi 4.

VictimRLSH · 15 Jul 2020, 02:34

@quicksilver said in [DOSbox] official thread:

@VictimRLSH performance is very poor last I tried it out, even on the pi 4.

I've noticed that DOSbox on the Pi 4 is a let down in general and in many cases worse than a 3B+. Once I get more skilled in compiling and learn a few more tricks and I can try recompiling it to see if I get better performance than what has been packaged. I've noticed with Bochs it works a bit better if you compile it yourself instead of just install the package from the repository. Bochs is too slow to run games at all really, BUT is a great way to get a Windows game installed so you can mine the assets for ports.

quicksilver · 15 Jul 2020, 05:49

@VictimRLSH I have another thread around here somewhere with a method to improve dosbox performance on the pi 4. Once you make the proper changes, performance is better than on a pi 3. I'll try to find the thread and post the link when I have a sec.

nemo93 · 20 Aug 2020, 08:04

Quick update given dosbox-staging keeps on adding features amidst other improvements. The upcoming 0.76.0 release will bring major GUS (Gravis UltraSound) improvements as well as other audio refinements.

0.75.1 is only a small release squashing few bugs (see release note) as well as other small changes:

Add support for binding more controller axes
64-bit Windows builds
Log base memory address (for Cheat Engine)

Also on the pi3/pi4 front especially, there's a dedicated branch with a scheduler-like addition allowing to unleash the number of allowed cycles on a stock pi4 for instance. Games like Fade to Black runs at full speed at higher resolution. Many other games run at fullspeed (or close to that) now.

ecto · 20 Aug 2020, 09:17

@nemo93 Wow I've read through your contributions to the pi4 build, the wiki and the release notes. This really sounds like a big step! Thanks for your dedication!
I've been an avid DOS gamer in the 90s, so my Retropie was always equipped with a great library of DOS games and custom made startup scrips for MIDI output selection etc...

I was a little bummed with the performance of the pi4 in this regard until @quicksilver's workaround (btw. thanks for that, too)! Now it seems SDL1 and dispmanx should work again as they should (see How to keep 4/3 aspect ratio in Daphne games ?)

I haven't tried it yet due to time restrictions, but what would you all think: should I update to Staging or stay on SVN for the time being?
I think Staging sounds too good to be true, but I fear I have to rework quite a bit (although my startup script should work with Staging, as it just generates a conf on the fly which is passed over to dosbox). I fear that I have to edit all these conf files for the cycles count by hand...

Also, can Staging be installed though the retropie-setup script or do I have to do it by hand?

Thanks and happy gaming!