Blood & Magic

Support and general discussion.
Post Reply
OSH
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed 11 May, 2016 11:09 pm

Blood & Magic

Post by OSH »

Well, I'm trying to launch a game as above. But regardless config (I've tested with dynamic recompiler and without, 486/Pentium variants different GFX cards, 8/16 MB memory) I've got still the same result as on screenshot.
https://imgur.com/a/4FiXi

PCEM V13.1
Guest OS is DOS 6.22
autoexec.bat:
@REM ===== Gravis initialization (4.11) =====
@SET ULTRASND=240,1,1,5,5
@SET ULTRADIR=C:\ULTRASND
@SET BLASTER=A240 I5 D1 T1
@C:\ULTRASND\ULTRINIT.EXE -ej
@REM ===== Gravis initialization ends =====
C:\QEMM\LOADHI /R:2 C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE /X
@ECHO OFF
PROMPT $p$g
SET PATH=C:\ULTRASND;C:\DOS
SET TEMP=C:\DOS
SET PROPATS=C:\PPL150
SET PROPATS=C:\PPL160
c:\qemm\loadhi /r:1 C:\DOS\mscdex.exe /D:banana /L:D
cd nc
nc.exe

config.sys
device=c:\qemm\dosdata.sys
device=c:\qemm\qemm386.sys r:2 ram
device=c:\qemm\dos-up.sys @c:\qemm\dos-up.dat
DEVICE=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.SYS /R:1 /SIZE=14032 C:\DOS\SETVER.EXE
DEVICE=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.SYS /R:2 /SIZE=33824 C:\DOS\CD1.SYS /D:BANANA
DOS=HIGH
FILES=30
SHELL=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.COM /R:2 C:\COMMAND.COM C:\ /P

Any help will be appreciated. Under DOSBOX - no problems...
Last edited by OSH on Thu 25 Jan, 2018 11:48 am, edited 3 times in total.
User avatar
omarsis81
Posts: 945
Joined: Thu 17 Dec, 2015 6:20 pm

Re: Blood & Magic

Post by omarsis81 »

You forgot the screenshot =)
OSH
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed 11 May, 2016 11:09 pm

Re: Blood & Magic

Post by OSH »

A yes, edited... I was too tired...
mervynhaynes
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue 23 Jan, 2018 12:05 pm

Re: Blood & Magic

Post by mervynhaynes »

I would start by taking out all that qemm stuff & stick with dos memmaker.
It could be a video driver problem, I get a very similar screen when I start win 10 in virtualbox ( host win7 ), but not with any other versions of windows!
How much base memory do you have?
What is nc.exe?
OSH
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed 11 May, 2016 11:09 pm

Re: Blood & Magic

Post by OSH »

mervynhaynes wrote: Thu 25 Jan, 2018 3:38 pmI would start by taking out all that qemm stuff & stick with dos memmaker.
Well, that was my first idea, I'll try!
mervynhaynes wrote: Thu 25 Jan, 2018 3:38 pmHow much base memory do you have?
634 KB
mervynhaynes wrote: Thu 25 Jan, 2018 3:38 pmWhat is nc.exe?
Well... how old are you? (just askin') :D
mervynhaynes
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue 23 Jan, 2018 12:05 pm

Re: Blood & Magic

Post by mervynhaynes »

634k eh. The best I ever managed was 639 with qemm!
I suppose 634 is ok? I know some games like Falcon 3 needed more.
Age huh? well I just had my 60th on the 17 jan
OSH
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed 11 May, 2016 11:09 pm

Re: Blood & Magic

Post by OSH »

Well, I'm 37. :D. Ok. nc.exe is executable file for Norton Commander. Maybe without NC I will have more than 634...
Any way, I have to try all options, especially without QEMM and NC...

EDIT
Nothing helps. Still the same garbled screen....
mervynhaynes
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue 23 Jan, 2018 12:05 pm

Re: Blood & Magic

Post by mervynhaynes »

Just playing around with the Amstrad 1640 on PCem and found very similar screens trying to run GEM. This is turning out to be the video display mode the machine sets it self to using error levels to set the "display" variable in autoexec.bat.

I would have a look down this route if I were you.
OSH
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed 11 May, 2016 11:09 pm

Re: Blood & Magic

Post by OSH »

Thanks! I'll check this! Of course, I can play this game without any problems under DOSBOX, but if something doesn't work under PCEM, I want to know the cause!
mervynhaynes
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue 23 Jan, 2018 12:05 pm

Re: Blood & Magic

Post by mervynhaynes »

Yes, I find the same thing, that virtualbox runs things better in some ways, but also throws up problems of its own. I think in VM environments, you do need more than one emulator to get all your old software working. I spent ages trying to get old DOS games running under VBox, but realised DOSBOX did it a lot better. This is why I like PCem as it emulates the actual hardware; this in its self throws up its own problems.

Also I know what you mean about trying to find out why things don't work. I spend far too long trying to sort these things out, according to my wife. (they just don't understand).

At the end of the day, if you can run your old software in some way or another, you should be pleased. ( WHY AM I THEN TRYING TO GET WINDOWS 2 TO RUN ON A 1640 !!!!!!) Arrrggggg.
OSH
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed 11 May, 2016 11:09 pm

Re: Blood & Magic

Post by OSH »

Well. I tested all GFX cards, but the result still the same. You said, „display variable” in autoxec.bat. But in autoexec.bat I found nothing like this variable... Can you explain this closer? :)
mervynhaynes
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue 23 Jan, 2018 12:05 pm

Re: Blood & Magic

Post by mervynhaynes »

I think this variable may just be specific my 1640, but variables are a very real thing in DOS.

At the dos prompt type "set" without the quotes. This will display all your variables.

I had one in my configuration that set the display variable to a value depending on the value of an error level returned by a programme that was run, ie 1 2 3 5 or 6. So say it returned a level of 1 it would set the display variable to say EGA. Later in the Autoexec.bat or call function that value would be used to set another option/call. So if this was wrong in the first place, all other branches of the file would be messed up.

You may not have this in your set up, but I still think is a graphic card/driver issue, (or emulation issue) Guess we need more people to test this out.
OSH
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed 11 May, 2016 11:09 pm

Re: Blood & Magic

Post by OSH »

Thanks again. I'll try this set function. But you have right: we need more people to test this game. I will test it under other forks of PCEM (like 86 BOX or PCEM-X)...
User avatar
SarahWalker
Site Admin
Posts: 2054
Joined: Thu 24 Apr, 2014 4:18 pm

Re: Blood & Magic

Post by SarahWalker »

Try loading a mouse driver? You don't seem to have one in AUTOEXEC.BAT, and Blood & Magic doesn't react well without one loaded.
OSH
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed 11 May, 2016 11:09 pm

Re: Blood & Magic

Post by OSH »

Ok, I'll try! The same effect was under Bochs 2.6.9
EDIT
Sarah, you was right! After loading mouse driver intro plays perfectly! Thanks!!!
Post Reply