DOSBox Question - Running DOS Games

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pbpb33
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DOSBox Question - Running DOS Games

#1 Post by pbpb33 » Wed Apr 28, 2010 12:08 pm

Does anyone know if it's possible, within DOSBox, to run games in windows bigger than the default size (while still retaining the correct proportions), but not quite at full screen? I know that we can edit the DOSBox config file and change the fullscreen line to equal "true" for full screen viewing; however, I have a rather large, widescreen display, and the games (Sierra SCI0 EGA games, especially) look a little too pixelated when magnified this much, and the wide screen dimensions stretch out the picture and somewhat distort the look of the game. What would be ideal, particularly for EGA games, is to be able to play the game in a correctly proportioned window about , say, 2-3 times the size of the default size DOSBox window, with nothing but black border around the game/DOSBox window. My Windows 7 display is 1920X1080, and at this resolution the default size DOSBox window takes up only approximately 1/9 of my display. When I change my display settings and lower the display resolution to 1280X720, the default-size DOSBox window is at a better, larger size in relation to the size of my screen area, and the pixelation is not a problem. However, the screen flickers a lot at this resolution setting. I would have no problem temporarily changing the display resolution when playing games, if only this flickery, vibratey blur (which is more of an issue in windows outside the DOSBox window) weren't there. I wonder if there is a better resolution that I should set my display to when playing SCI0 games?
P.S. - I am far from a technical expert on any of this stuff, obviously, so I apologize if this is a dumb question!

MusicallyInspired
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Re: DOSBox Question - Running DOS Games

#2 Post by MusicallyInspired » Wed Apr 28, 2010 2:40 pm

Scroll down to "scaler" and change it to "normal2x" or "normal3x" if it is already. Or another screen filter listed just above that. You can also set the window resolution near the beginning at "windowresolution". It should just be set to "original" but you can force it to always be a certain resolution no matter what. I also recommend changing output to "overlay" rather than "surface" and changing aspect (just above the scaler setting) to "true". This will correct the aspect ratio of 320x200 games and create rectangular pixels making them the proper 4:3 ratio as opposed to the squished versions.

You can also set the fullscreen resolution to the native resolution of your monitor and when you go full screen, as long as "aspect" is "true" it will have a proper 4:3 image on your screen as opposed to a stretched widescreen picture.

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Spikey
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Re: DOSBox Question - Running DOS Games

#3 Post by Spikey » Mon May 03, 2010 11:18 am

Following old post of mine can come in handy if you prefer graphic chip settings that stretch or force default:
Spikey wrote:If anyone is struggling with a monitor which only supports downscaling with stretching, or no classic resolutions at all, you can set the DosBox conf file to a classic ratio by adding this at the top of your conf file;

[sdl]
fullresolution=960*600
output=overlay

You'll have to compute which classic resolution is optimal for your height using the ratios, of course.

You'll have to hit ALT+ENTER to go to fullscreen of course, or add a line that you want to boot up in full screen.

Make sure you use the * if you want the screen to be centered, and an x if you want to line it out the left (this is probably a bug, though I'm not sure).

You can also enter
windowresolution=bla*bla
right in the sdl section, which determines the size of the small window, but you'll have to calculate things like the windows taskbar in (if you're even using windows and a constantly visible taskbar).

Make sure you have an output specified other than the default, else it won't work.

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Spikey
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Re: DOSBox Question - Running DOS Games

#4 Post by Spikey » Mon May 03, 2010 11:18 am

Spikey wrote:Following old post of mine can come in handy if you prefer graphic chip settings that stretch or force native resolution or default:
Spikey wrote:If anyone is struggling with a monitor which only supports downscaling with stretching, or no classic resolutions at all, you can set the DosBox conf file to a classic ratio by adding this at the top of your conf file;

[sdl]
fullresolution=960*600
output=overlay

You'll have to compute which classic resolution is optimal for your height using the ratios, of course.

You'll have to hit ALT+ENTER to go to fullscreen of course, or add a line that you want to boot up in full screen.

Make sure you use the * if you want the screen to be centered, and an x if you want to line it out the left (this is probably a bug, though I'm not sure).

You can also enter
windowresolution=bla*bla
right in the sdl section, which determines the size of the small window, but you'll have to calculate things like the windows taskbar in (if you're even using windows and a constantly visible taskbar).

Make sure you have an output specified other than the default, else it won't work.

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pbpb33
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Re: DOSBox Question - Running DOS Games

#5 Post by pbpb33 » Mon May 03, 2010 11:30 am

thanks, guys!! I still have to tinker with those config settings a bit more. I will definitely try these suggestions. Now that I have beautiful music (yay, MT-32!), I want to get the visuals to also be as good as possible.

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