DOS graphical apps generally do not run in a windowed DOS box. Full screen
mode will allow "most" games to run properly.
I for one would like to see Plex handle DOS properly. My main interest is in
DOS games primarily seeing as it is becoming increasingly difficult to get
these to run on modern hardware and setting up a separate machine or dual
booting is a hassle.
To get 99% of DOS games to run requires "only" six things:
1) CD support,
2) Sound Blaster support (ideally General Midi or Roland in addition),
3) Vesa support for graphics modes,
4) Gameport/Joystick support,
5) Extended and Expanded memory support,
6) A BIOS that doesn't use up a lot of upper memory so that DOS can load
high and free conventional memory for games.
Obviously this is not trivial and I don't pretend to know how to do most of
it. I'm just saying what I know I would like to see. I have used Vmware in
attempts to run games and I've found it lacks:
2(incomplete SB emulation fails to detect on many games, and no MIDI
support),
4(game port not implemented at all),
5(Expanded memory not fully supported and crashes a lot),
6(Phoenix BIOS provides no user configurable settings for shadowing, etc.
leaving virtually no Upper memory available for DOS).
Just my 2 cents. :)
>From: "Colin Davidson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>To: "Plex86" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: RE: [plex86] Performance enhancement: elminiating mode and context
>Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000 17:07:41 -0800
>
>Drew asked:
>
> > Colin, do you know what windows does when it redirects this (read/write
> > from/to b80000)in "DOS" sessions?
>
>
>'Fraid not. I wouldn't be completely surprised if they were intercepting
>BIOS calls and drawing a "correct" screen from that. Does anyone know if
>any DOS graphical VGA apps (games?) will run in a DOS box?
>
>I do wonder if this is an important issue in the big scheme of things,
>though. For 99.9...% of Windows uses, it will only occur during system
>startup (a long time for windows, admittedly, but the startup doesn't touch
>the screen much) and then we can implement a virtual SVGA device driver and
>optimize that for Plex86 activity. That doesn't handle DOS-type OSes, but
>are they important?
>
>Not that I'm trying to stop anyone if it appeals to them, I just am not
>that interested myself.
>
>Colin
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