Scraping MS-DOS games

gordonfreemanjr

@mitu Thanks. I knew something was wrong with the folder name, just didn't quite remember what the DOS naming restrictions were. Thanks for the reminder.

Has DOSBox already generated some config files I should delete before?

mitu

@gordonfreemanjr said in Scraping MS-DOS games:

Has DOSBox already generated some config files I should delete before?

Most likely no. As an alternative to a .sh file, you can use .conf files with the commands added to the autoexec section.
For instance, assuming your game is in /home/pi/pcroms/007, you can create a 007 - License to Kill.conf file in your pc rom folder containing:

[autoexec]
mount c /home/pi/pcroms
c:
cd 007
bonde.exe
exit

They're easier to write and they're supported by lr-dosbox . Plus, you can just start dosbox without any games and enter the commands one by one to check if they're ok.

gordonfreemanjr

@mitu Amazing! I’ll do that.

If I use a .conf file this way, can I still save a game specific config via the RetroArch menu? Will it work? (I use it mostoy for the „cycles” option).

mitu

@gordonfreemanjr said in Scraping MS-DOS games:

If I use a .conf file this way, can I still save a game specific config via the RetroArch menu?

If you're referring to the core options part, then yes. But you can use the .conf file for that , by adding the cycles to the [cpu] section of the .conf.

gordonfreemanjr

@mitu No luck. Running the conf files from the Emulation Station just brings me to an empty DOSBox quick menu with no items available.

mitu

Can you post your .conf file ? Does it work with dosbox ?

gordonfreemanjr

This is the 007 - License to Kill.conf file:

[autoexec]
mount c /home/pi/roms/pcroms
c:
cd 007
bonde.exe
exit

It doesn't work with standard dosbox either.

mitu

What's the error you're receiving from doxbox ? Is the game path correct ?

gordonfreemanjr

@mitu Yes, the pcroms subfolder was placed in the pi/roms folder, and the .conf files are placed in the roms/pc folder. There’s no error to speak of, that’s just how it boots - empty Quick Menu. If I choose to boot the .conf with dosbox, it just doesn’t launch, bringing me back to Emulation Station.

mitu

Then a log file (/dev/shm/runcommand.log) may shed some light on the issue.

EDIT: as I said earlier, you can also start dosbox, then type each of the .conf file commands at the command line and see if you get any error (and where).

gordonfreemanjr

@mitu I just noticed a mistake regarding the file path. That’s probably what’s causing the failures. I’ll check it momentarily, but there’s something else:

while trying to configure best config for Action Supercross in lr-dosbox, I set CPU to 386_prefetch, which caused the emulator to crash. Now it won’t start, even after reboot. What do I do?

mitu

@gordonfreemanjr said in Scraping MS-DOS games:

while trying to configure best config for Action Supercross in lr-dosbox, I set CPU to 386_prefetch, which caused the emulator to crash. Now it won’t start, even after reboot. What do I do?

Revert the CPU option ?

gordonfreemanjr

@mitu Yes, but how do I do this if I’m not able to start lr-dosbox at all?

mitu

@gordonfreemanjr Reload, dr. Freeman.

EDIT: You can open the core options file (\\retropie\configs\all\retroarch-core-options.cfg) and modify or delete the faulty option.

gordonfreemanjr

@mitu I thoroughly enjoy working with you, Dr. Mitu. Your thesis is always precise and on point. Whatever doubts seem to cast shadow on my work, your spotless razor-sharp mind can cut through like a witcher’s sword.

I’m aware that my retropying is clumsy at best and my questions are often plain stupid, but I firmly believe it’s better to ask and know than not to ask and keep wondering.

The good news is: I’m almost done :) The bad news is: configuring Atari and Macintosh emulators is still to come.

gordonfreemanjr

@mitu Seriously, man, thanks. You’ve already provided me with ton of extremely valuable answers to my often entry/silly level problems. I greately appreciate your effort and your time. I’d buy you a drink if I could. Thank you.

gordonfreemanjr

@mitu Is that a common issue that I barely get any DOS scrapes? I got only 20/300 hits on all available sources (with an uncanny zero from Screenscraper), only games like Doom or Alone In The Dark got a match. The rest hasn’t been found for any reason. I’m using Skyscraper and my .conf names are pretty detailed (i.e. Batman Returns, Tom & Jerry, Mario Is Missing etc).

It’s not a deal breaker, I’m grateful to have bunch of working .conf files. It just feels weird. I got like 80% hits on mu ZX Spectrum library, and DOS? 20/300?

mitu

@gordonfreemanjr said in Scraping MS-DOS games:

@mitu Is that a common issue that I barely get any DOS scrapes?

I don't know - I don't have an large DOS library. Have you tried to use TheGamesDB as a source ? They might have more DOS games in their database - Batman Returns or Mario is Missing seem to scrape fine via Skyscraper.

gordonfreemanjr

@mitu I’ve tried all 4 of them. I have a membership on Screenscraper and it typically provides 90% of my scrapes. With DOS the result was zero.

Odd that a file named: Mario is Missing.conf doesn’t earn a scrape.

muldjord

@gordonfreemanjr Dos games can be hard to scrape with ScreenScraper. .sh and .conf files can vary a lot in content and filenames, so it will be hit n' miss and you will notice a lot less hits than with rom based platforms. That's just how ScreenScraper works.

But, if you name your script files like Precise Game Name.sh it should work pretty well with the thegamesdb source. Keep in mind that there's a limit of 3000 scrapes per IP on that source, so if you've run out of those, it won't give you any hits. If you prefer other filenames, you can also just use the aliasMap.csv file in /home/pi/.skyscraper. Adding aliases to this file will allow you to overwrite the search name used for filename based scraping modules such as TheGamesDb. Instructions are in the file.