From: kbw@po.CWRU.Edu (Kevin B. Williams)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games
Subject: Re: os/2 games list
Date: 7 Jan 1993 07:00:11 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: kbw@po.CWRU.Edu (Kevin B. Williams)
NNTP-Posting-Host: slc12.ins.cwru.edu


In a previous article, kbw@po.CWRU.Edu (Kevin B. Williams) says:

>
>In a previous article, drizzt@spock.uucp (Neela Jacques) says:
>
>>In article <1993Jan5.190420.24984@apgea.army.mil> rcmerrit@apgea.army.mil (Robert C. Merritt <rcmerrit>) writes:
>>>
>>>Does anyone have a list of what games work, and work well, under os/2 2.0?
>>>
>>>Rob Merritt
>>

------------------------------------------------------------
OS2.GAMES     VERSION 1.0a 
------------------------------------------------------------

This file provides guidelines for running various games under OS/2.
I've uploaded this file to ftp-os2.nmsu.edu as games10a.txt.  The
info here has been gathered from postings to the net and from my 
own experiences.  Thanks to all of you who posted or emailed your
DOS games experiences, and thanks for correcting any blunders you
see here. :-)

---------------------------------------

GENERAL TIPS:

Read the README file in your OS/2 root directory.  It has tips for 
running specific DOS and Windows apps under OS/2.

Read the comp.sys.ibm.pc.games FAQ.  This is very important since it 
will tell you about possible problems when running the game even under 
plain DOS.  If you can't find a copy of the FAQ in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games,
email Chris Warren, the keeper of the FAQ, at warren@apple.com for a 
copy, or email me (Steve Smith <smsmith@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>)
and I'll send you a copy.

If you have trouble installing the game under OS/2 and you are trying
to install the game on an FAT drive, boot up plain DOS (via dual boot
or the Boot Manager) and install it there.  Sometimes a game (or other
apps) won't install for some reason under OS/2, but once installed
they'll work fine under OS/2.

If you experience strange anomalies or incompatibilities of any kind
(especially with older games), try booting a real copy of DOS from
a floppy inside a VDM running under OS/2 and run the game in that
DOS session.  See VMDISK in the Command Reference online docs for
details.
 
In order to achieve maximum performance and speed, especially for graphics
intensive games such as flight simulators, try the following settings:

DOS Fullscreen:  check this option; best performance can always be 
	achieved by running the game in a full screen DOS session.
DOS_BACKGROUND_EXECUTION:  OFF
	(so it won't take CPU time when you switch away from it)
DOS_HIGH: ON (more memory for those that need it)
DOS_RMSIZE: 640
DPMI_MEMORY_LIMIT: 0  (DOS games don't use DPMI memory)
EMS_MEMORY_LIMIT: 1024  (this is EXPANDED memory.  If a game
	uses more than 1024k, use a higher number; if the game uses no
	EMS, such as Ultimas 4-5 and most of the earlier EGA games
	[SSI games, Tunnels and Trolls, Might and Magic II, Dragon
	Wars, Magic Candle I, Knights of Legend, etc] set EMS to 0)
HW_ROM_TO_RAM: ON  (copies ROM BIOS to RAM--several people
	have said this boosts performance on their machines)
HW_TIMER: ON  (this is important, especially for those games that
	use soundboards.  However, one user noted that when this setting
	is set to ON it causes many games that send sound directly to the
	SB to crash the entire system.  I have not experienced this myself.)
IDLE_SECONDS: 10
IDLE_SENSITIVITY: 100  (this is important)
KBD_ALTHOME_BYPASS: ON  (this prevents the DOS session from
	being shrunk to a window via ALT-HOME; keep it on OFF if you
	want to run your game in a window)
VIDEO_FASTPASTE:  ON  (reported by some to boost performance)
VIDEO_RETRACE_EMULATION:  OFF  (important for fast graphics,
	though you may have to experiment with this one)
VIDEO_ROM_EMULATION: OFF
XMS_MEMORY_LIMIT:  64  (this is EXTENDED memory; when you have
	DOS_HIGH=ON, DOS can use this 64k which will help give you more
	base memory)

For best performance close ALL windows and apps (especially DOS apps) before
you run the game so that the game can get as much of the CPU as
possible.

-----------------------------------------

SOUND CARDS:

Soundblaster: make sure that you don't have your Soundblaster set for IRQ7.
	OS/2 uses IRQ7 (which is LPT1) to print, even though DOS doesn't, so
	under OS/2 you need to change the default IRQ for your SB from 7 to
	5 (or to some other available IRQ).

Roland LAPC-1: the default IRQ2 and 330 address work fine.  IRQ2 is 
	automatically mapped to IRQ9 on 386 and 486 boards.

PRO AUDIO SPECTRUM-16: one user made the following note:

   The PAS-16 works under OS/2 but there aren't any OS/2 programs that
   use it yet.  Any DOS or Windows programs that use the PAS-16 should
   work fine under OS/2.  Media Vision has just begun the job of writing
   OS/2 drivers--they are sending a programmer to IBM Boca Raton next
   week [July 20th, 1992] to work on them.


------------------------------------------

SPECIFIC GAMES:

Use the settings detailed above for the following games, varying EMS 
as needed.  Exceptions to the above settings are noted where applicable.
I have decided to include all the games that were mentioned on the net 
by OS/2 users--even if there were no problems reported--to allow those 
who are thinking about buying a game to know how it runs.  A complete 
list will also let people post or email additional hints when they see
their game listed.

[NOTE: "runs fine" means I've tested the game myself.  "Reported to 
	run fine" means that the game was mentioned on the net as being
	compatible with OS/2.]


ACES OF THE PACIFIC:

--reported to run fine.


ATLANTIS:

--reported to run fine.


A-TRAIN:

--one user made the following report about this game:

   Play it under Dos.  I haven't found out how to get it 
   to work under OS/2.

--another user said he was able to get it to run after installing it
	in monochrome mode, and although the game was playable there
	was no sound.

Anybody got it to run in color?


BATTLE CHESS:

--reported to run fine.


BREACH 2:

--one user reported that he couldn't get the mouse to work, so
	he had to use the keyboard instead under OS/2.


CASTLE WOLFENSTEIN [WOLF3D]:

--this is one of the most finnicky games, and may require some 
	experimentation to make it run well.  According to net reports,
	this game uses a special split-screen mode of the video card, 
	and thus its behavior tends to rely on a person's hardware 
	peculiarities more than OS/2 itself.  I find that I can run this
	game fine, but if I switch away from the game and then switch back
	to it the bottom portion of the screen will no longer display 
	the statistics for my character.
--sometimes the special effects sounds for this game (shots, doors
	opening, people talking, etc.) will get lost after a brief
	period of time.  If this happens, create a batch file (wolf3d.bat)
	and have your program object point to the batch file.  In the
	batch file put the following two lines:
		SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1
		WOLF3D.EXE
	The first line tells the wolf3d.exe program which address you
	are using, which IRQ you are using (in this case it's IRQ5), 
	and which DMA you are using (in this case DMA1).  That should
	solve the loss of special effects sounds.  SB-Pro owners should
	add T2 or T3 to the end of the first line (check your docs for
	details).
 

CIVILIZATION (Microprose):

--Make sure you have the updated version.  It will have the "rename" button
	on the city screen.  This version performs much better under OS/2.
	If you don't have this version, you can download an update from the
	Microprose forum on CompuServe.
--Always use fullscreen mode, and when the program starts up, use vga
	resolution and ibm sound.  (ega or no sound slows it down.) If you
	want to turn off sound, do it from the options menu.
--one person reported that he could not start a new game in vga since 
	he got a divide by zero error in the dos box.  But it was 
	possible to load a saved game into vga mode.  Another person 
	reported that he cured this divide by zero error when he set 
	COM_HOLD to ON.
--another user made the following observation:
 
   I had been having speed problems running the game in adlib/soundblaster
   mode (and believe it or not I never tried anything else). However:
   When I ran Civilization in PC SPEAKER mode, then quit, and ran it 
   again in soundblaster/adlib mode (in the same DOS session), it ran 
   at the correct speed!  Since doing this on a regular basis would be 
   a pain in the ass, I wanted to find another way to 'prep' the system
   for Civilization: and I found it. I ran SBFMDRV.COM (comes with the 
   soundblaster) before running civilization. This way I can run Civ 
   from a batch file called by a WPS icon.


COMMANDER KEEN 3:

--reported to run fine.


CURSE OF THE AZURE BONDS:

--runs fine.


DRAGON WARS:

--runs fine.


ELF:

--according to one user there are problems with this game.


ETERNAM:

--reported to run fine.


EYE OF THE BEHOLDER I:

--runs fine.


EYE OF THE BEHOLDER II:

--reported to run fine.


F17:

--reported to run fine.


FALCON 3.0:

--several patches have been put out for this game.  I believe that there
	have been four, with patch 'd' being the latest and the one which
	lets the soundblaster work the best.  Check comp.sys.ibm.pc.games
	for details.
--one user reported that he needed to have the HW_TIMER set to OFF or
	the game hung.  But when he set it to OFF the screen updates were
	excruciatingly slow.

Any other tips for this game?


GLOBAL DILEMMA:

--one user made the following observation:

   Well, here's one for the "better DOS than DOS" department: I just
   noticed that "Global Dilemma" (or Guns & Butter), which ran just fine on
   my Compaq 386, won't run on my new 486; the AMI Bios doesn't seem to like
   the way the game addresses the keyboard.  That's under real DOS-5.
   In a DOS task under OS/2 it runs just fine.


GUNSHIP 2000:

--reported to run fine.
--one user reported that the game would not install onto an HPFS
	drive.  He was able to install it onto a FAT drive, though.
	He could run the game on an HPFS drive if he copied the
	installed files from his FAT drive to his HPFS drive.



INDIANA JONES (FATE OF ATLANTIS):

--reported to run fine.


INDY 500:

--reported to run fine.


JILL OF THE JUNGLE:

--runs fine.


KING'S QUEST IV:

--reported to run fine.


KING'S QUEST V:

--runs fine.


KNIGHTS OF LEGEND:

--runs fine.


LEMMINGS:

It is important to have this game configured with HW_TIMER=ON,
VIDEO_RETRACE_EMULATION=OFF, and to have it configured to run in
a full screen session.

You may also have to install the game under plain DOS if you get a protection
violation under OS/2 during installation (even though it will run under OS/2
after installation).

One user reported that Lemmings wouldn't run except in a "Specific DOS"
session, so if you have troubles try that.  Also, if performance suffers,
or if you have flickering problems, try NOT running the game in "High 
Performance PC" mode.


LINKS:

--one user posted this helpful notice:

   I have adjusted my Links settings and think that I have the best 
   solution for running LINKS under OS/2 2.0.  First, Migrate it to 
   the DOS File.  Next, instead of executing the file LINKS.BAT, use 
   the SETTINGS to have it run GOLF.EXE with NO optional parameters 
   (the /t in LINKS.BAT appears to be for the title screen).  As soon 
   as the program starts, select SYSTEM and turn off ALL sounds.  This 
   last step will alleviate the slow down immediately after the swing 
   as Links tries to create the sound even if HW_SOUND is turned off.
   I also have HW_NO_SOUND set to ON and MOUSE_EXCLUSIVE_ACCESS turned ON. 

   This seems to have the game working quite well for me in full screen
   mode.  I hope that it helps others.


MAGIC CANDLE I:

--runs fine.


MIGHT AND MAGIC II:

--runs fine.  If you have trouble with the keydisk being recognized,
	boot up real DOS in a vdm (see VMDISK in the Command Reference
	for directions on how to do this).


MIGHT AND MAGIC III:

--runs fine with the exception that the digitized intro speech by 
	Sheltem at the beginning of the game will not work with a 
	Soundblaster under OS/2.
--this game runs faster under OS/2 than under plain DOS due to OS/2's
	super-FAT and HPFS.


MONKEY ISLAND II:

--one user posted the following observation:

   After intensive study and exhaustive analysis ( :) ) I have 
   finally determined a solution to the problem I've been having.
   The problem was that The Secret of Monkey Island 2 would not play 
   music correctly on the sound blaster under OS/2.  I asked several
   people for help in reconfiguring my Sound Blaster, and I thank
   you all for your help, but that wasn't the problem.  The new wave 
   of LucasFilm games has implemented a new music system they call 
   iMUSE.  It turned out in my case that the iMUSE driver I had for 
   the sound blaster was out of date or something, I'm not sure.  But 
   I copied the SOUNBLAS.IMS file from my copy of Indy 4 into my 
   Monkey Island 2 directory.  Now, no problems.  It may be a hack
   solution, but it works now, and I'm waiting for LucasFilm to call 
   me back.

	This person then followed up:

   I got a call back from LucasFilm Games about my Monkey Island II 
   question about sound, and they'll be sending me a disk with new 
   *.IMS files.  I'm going to ask permission to post them onto the 
   net somewhere, but these should solve all sound problems with the 
   game.


NOVA 9:

--reported to run fine.


OUT OF THIS WORLD:

--one user reported the following:

   Out of this World will run under OS/2 iff HW_TIMER is set OFF, 
   not ON as many other games have required.  Also, it requests 
   that you do not use an expanded memory manager, so setting 
   EMS_MEM_LIMIT 0.  I have found that this combination is extremely 
   slow with any sound support, and so I have been playing it without
   sound.

POOL OF RADIANCE:

--runs fine.


PRINCE OF PERSIA:

--reported to run fine.


RED BARON (Dynamix):

--this game runs fine, but two users observed that although RB's music 
	played OK for them, the sound effects (such as guns and engine 
	noise) were silent.  The cure for this is simply to run Red 
	Baron's install program (with RB already installed) and choose 
	the appropriate options again to make them take effect.
--Although I have had no problems running RB with my Soundblaster and 
	with my Roland LAPC-1, another user noted the following:

   At least on my machine (486, 8 Megs and Soundblaster Pro) this program 
   locks up if you set the sound option to Sound Blaster; however if 
   you set the option to Adlib, you still get digitized sound and the 
   program runs fine.


SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES:

--runs fine.


SIMCITY:

--reported to run fine; if you want to run it in a window, be sure
	to turn MOUSE_EXCLUSIVE_ACCESS to ON.


SIMEARTH:

--reported to run fine by several users.


SPACE QUEST IV:

--runs fine, with the exception that some of the digitized sounds
	on the soundblaster may be cut short.  For example, I noticed
	that the lightning sounded fine when I was far away from it,
	but when I drew near the sound of the thunder would be cut
	short (this is on a 386/33 with Roland music and SB speech).


SPELLCASTING 101 and 201:

--reported to run fine.


STAR TREK: 25th ANNIVERSARY:

--reported to run fine.


STELLAR 7:

--reported to run fine.


TEST DRIVE 3:

--reported to run fine.


TUNNELS AND TROLLS:

--runs fine.


ULTIMAS 4 and 5:

--if you have trouble with the keydisks for these games being recognized,
	boot a real copy of DOS in a vdm (see VMDISK in the Command
	Reference for details).


ULTIMA 6:

--runs fine.


ULTIMA 7:

--this game will NOT run under OS/2 since it uses its own memory manager.
	No amount of tweaking will make it run, so don't waste your time.
	Instead, spend the time to write Origin and tell them to patch it!


ULTIMA UNDERWORLD:

--there is a patch that fixes many inventory bugs in this game.  Check
	comp.sys.ibm.pc.games for more details.
--this game will not run in a window since it will be distorted.
--the digitized intro speeches for this game will not work reliably 
	under OS/2 with a Soundblaster; this is the only time in the 
	game where there is digitized speech though.  To READ the 
	intro speeches, configure the game for no sound (or PC speaker)
	and then run the intro.
--some people report no problems with this game, other people can't get
	it to run under OS/2 at all.  Most people are able to run the game
	if they start the game in one of the following two ways:

   1)  Set the game to start minimized with background execution OFF.
	Start the game and WAIT until all disk activity stops (about 10-15
	seconds on my 386/33).  Then switch to the game.  This works best
	for me, and allows me to switch back and forth from the game safely.
	I've never had the game crash on me doing it this way, and I've 
	switched back and forth from my word processor hundreds and 
	hundreds of times.
   2)  Set the game to start in a windowed DOS session.  The game will look
	garbled, but wait until you see the blue title screen come up.  Then
	switch the game to full screen mode with ALT-HOME.  If the keyboard
	doesn't respond after doing this, tap the ALT key to unstick it.


WELLTRIS:

--reported to run fine in a full screen session.


WHEEL OF FORTUNE:

--reported to run fine.


WHERE IN THE WORLD IS CARMEN SAN DIEGO:

--reported to run fine.


WING COMMADER I-II (and SM1-2, SO1):

--these run fine, even with the speech pack.
--I have found that in WCII my soundblaster's digitized voices in 
	battle often hang causing me to have to hit ESC to "unstick" 
	them.  This happens only when there are lots of enemy ships 
	in the area.  I have a 386/33; testing it on a 486/33 didn't 
	exhibit this problem.


WINTREK (for Windows):

--one user reported that this game doesn't work under Win-OS2 because
	it requires Win 3.1.


WOLF3D:

[listed under "Castle Wolfenstein"]


WONDERLAND:

--runs fine.


WORLD WRESTLING FEDERATION:

--according to one user there were problems with this game.


------------------------------------------------

   Steve Smith       | __|__ |    " #*&<-[89s]*(k#$@-_=//a2$]'+=.(2_&*%>,,@
<smsmith@magnus.acs. |   |   |      {7%*@,..":27g)-=,#*:.#,/6&1*.4-,l@#9:-) "
  ohio-state.edu>    |   |   | 
  BTW, WYSInaWYG     |   |   |                           --witty.saying.ARC 
-- 
Name that quote!
"You shall have camels, desert vehicles, an armed escort, and tanks."
"You're welcome."
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games