Build games and XP

[Duncan 0]

I am having some trouble getting games using the Build engine (Duke Nukem, Shadow Warrior, Redneck Rampage) to run properly. I can configure the sound just fine but regardless of what I do to the config file the game will only run in 320x200 resolution. Setting screenmode = 2 has no effect. Is there something I am missing?

[Chromebender 0]

I guess a more specific question would be: does WinXP even support VESA SVGA graphics modes? Try searching for more info on that topic.

[DosFreak 2]

No not VESA (linear modes) just pre-vesa. Supports a couple more modes than 2k but not many. Only way to get VESA in build games in NT operating systems is to run the games in Connectix Virtual PC.

[Duncan 0]

As far as VESA support goes. I have another DOS game (Settlers 2) that I run at 1024 x 768 in XP. So I know that XP and my video card (GeForce 3 Ti200) can handle higher resolutions. As far as Connectix Virtual PC goes, it looks good but it's a bit pricey ($199). Any other suggestions?

[DosFreak 2]

For BUILD games? Either VPC or Real DOS. No other solution at this point in time. Sorry.

[Duncan 0]

Do you have a web link for Real DOS?

[JP- 0]

No he means DOS DOS, as in the real thing, as in what used to be the operating system of choice for pcs and what came with win 95/98 etc

[Duncan 0]

Oops! I thought he was talking about a product that emulated DOS under XP since he capitalized the word real.

[Chromebender 0]

For playing older games (e.g. Dark Forces, Duke Nukem 3D) the only real options at this point are win95/98 and moslo, or actually build a machine Pentium 133 or slower (I'd recommend 100 if you don't plan to use high-res modes) and put DOS/win95 osr2 on it. I'm guessing you'd spend less than $100 to build a machine from scratch that would play all the old games. Of course emulation is cheaper but YMMV. I found that even a K6 233 was much too fast to play those games, and even moslo doesn't always provide uniform, or stable performance.