Can we expect an lr-package for dosbox some day?

BuZz

psyke83

@buzz said in Can we expect an lr-package for dosbox some day?:

@psyke83 Regarding performance - did you enable the dynamic recompilation ?

BTW see this branch for lr-dosbox - https://github.com/joolswills/RetroPie-Setup/tree/exp_modules

Your script doesn't enable dynarec for rpi3:

    isPlatform "armv6" && params+="WITH_DYNAREC=oldarm"
    isPlatform "armv7" && params+="WITH_DYNAREC=arm"

It will compile correctly when the following line is added:

    isPlatform "armv8" && params+="WITH_DYNAREC=arm"

Dynarec improves things. Before I could only manage 4 x 1000 cycles before audio dropouts, but now it can manage a bit under 2 x 10000 total cycles. Descent becomes playable - much much better, but probably still not at the level of the native port.

It's probably still inferior, but now I'd recommend adding this to experimental for those that want to tinker. It's definitely usable when dynarec is enabled and I haven't noticed any repeating key input issues.

I've experienced several hard crashes with the native dosbox port that I haven't seen with the libretro core, so that's one plus, at least.

KevinsHope

@buzz Being a new user to linux in general, I will eagerly wait for it to be added.

psyke83

@edmaul69 said in Can we expect an lr-package for dosbox some day?:

@psyke83 does it have a way of assigning a disk drive/cd drive? Both real and iso/img?

"imgmount" is a recognized command in lr-dosbox, so I'm assuming it will work for mounting ISOs or hard disk images.

https://www.dosbox.com/wiki/IMGMOUNT

edmaul69

@psyke83 ok. Thanks.

psyke83

Update on Doom:

It seems that Doom & Doom 2 were failing on lr-dosbox due to case sensitivity (!). Even though DOS is supposed to be limited to 8.3 filenames and case insensitive, when the wad files are named DOOM.WAD and DOOM2.WAD on the actual ext4 root filesystem (in roms/pc/doom/), the Doom executable can't find the files, but only if running via lr-dosbox (the native port is fine). Manually renaming the files to lowercase outside of the emulator fixed the issue.

Performance is acceptable in lr-dosbox with dynarec enabled, but it's definitely a bit choppier than the native dosbox version, and certainly not reaching the 35fps engine limit at all times (whereas I suspect the native dosbox version does).

edmaul69

@psyke83 is the 35fps the limit setting with pentium_slow with the cpu at "max" (95%) or setting it at "max 110%" (full speed)

psyke83

@edmaul69 said in Can we expect an lr-package for dosbox some day?:

@psyke83 is the 35fps the limit setting with pentium_slow with the cpu at "max" (95%) or setting it at "max 110%" (full speed)

The original Doom had an engine cap of 35fps - that's what I'm talking about. The speed difference I'm seeing may be due to lr-dosbox not supporting auto cycle rate detection, so whatever arbitrary CPU cycle speed you select will not be optimal compared to the native port automatically adjusting speed by default.

edmaul69

@psyke83 gotcha.

BuZz

@psyke83 thanks. re rpi3, it's an older wip branch. Not complete - just rebased it earlier to show. (Hence no pr yet) - but will go over code before doing the pr.

Brigane

Has anybody been trying the new lr-dosbox found in the experimental section yet?

hooperre

@brigane I attempted to use it, but it doesn't handle .sh files >> .conf files from what I've seen.

It'll just try to run the .sh file in Dosbox, not run the config file and run the [autoexec] section.

dudleydes

@brigane

@hooperre is correct in saying lr-dosbox will not launch games from .sh files but it will launch from .conf files. For example, to get Albion running in the lr-dosbox, I created a text file, Albion.conf, in the PC roms folder with the following contents:

[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
# You can put your MOUNT lines here.

MOUNT c /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/pc
C:
cd ALBION
LAUNCH.EXE
EXIT

On the plus side, lr-dosbox , by default, maps the mouse to my PS3 controller. Mouse movement is mapped to the right analog stick. The left mouse button is mapped to the right trigger (R2) and the right button to the left trigger (L2).

On the down side, the key mapper doesn't work so games such as Abuse require a keyboard.

hooperre

@dudleydes Is there any way to work around this issue with a .sh? It would be great if I didn't need multiple entries for each game. I would love to use lr-dosbox for my Windows 3.1x based games as the mouse mapping would be immense!

edmaul69

@dudleydes does a real mouse work too? I am interested in this if it can. But i dont want to change 200 .sh files if i cant mount an actual cd drive or use a mouse.

edmaul69

Deleted. I figured it out

edmaul69

@dudleydes how do you get it to recognize a controller? Retroarch recognizes it but the games dont? The joysticks mouse works.

edmaul69

@psyke83 how do you get it joysticks to work in lr-dosbox?

dudleydes

@edmaul69 My PS3 controller worked by default, I didn't have to make any changes to the default configuration. Have you checked in the RGUI? In the Controls option in the Quick Menu, you will see the mappings for User 1 emulated mouse. This is how I found that mouse movement is mapped to the right analog stick and not the left stick I would've expected.

I f you wish to use an actual mouse, then I would stick to the standalone version unless there are features in RetroArch you're interested in. I haven't tested lr-dosbox with a USB mouse but I had no issues with the touchpad of Rii mini keyboard.

(PS I live in the UK and have just woken in the last 30 minutes so the time difference of our locations will cause delays in our responses)

@hooperre I wouldn't worry about using .sh files to launch games in lr-dosbox. What I have done is made sure that the .conf and .CONF are in the list of permitted extensions in my custom es_systems.cfg. This way I use .conf files to launch games in lr-dosbox and .sh files in the standalone version.

psyke83

Do the .conf files also work in standalone dosbox? If so, I will send a PR to add it to the extensions list for both.