Running Arena in 86Box with FreeDOS

[MrFlibble]

86Box is an x86 PC emulator focussed on accuracy, and I was hoping that perhaps running Arena in it would be somewhat less wonky compared to DOSBox.

Recently I installed FreeDOS in 86Box, which I configured as a 486DX2 @ 66 MHz (I posted detailed instructions here), however it turns out that Arena does not work under FreeDOS out of the box (no pun intended). The game requires Expanded Memory (EMS), and FreeDOS uses JEMM as the memory manager, but none of the default presets are suitable for running Arena. The floppy version hangs after character generation and Ria Silmane's cinematic or when trying to load a saved game, the CD version hangs when trying to fast travel.

Thankfully, the workaround is to load JEMMEX with a specific set of parameters suggested by its developer here:

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DEVICE=C:\DIV\JEMMEX.EXE MAX=32M MIN=48 I=B000-B7FF I=TEST

With this setup, both the floppy version and the CD version work as intended. I've added this as a new preset to my FDCONFIG.SYS file (in FreeDOS, just type cfg from anywhere to edit FDCONFIG.SYS), which is the sixth option on the menu:

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MENUDEFAULT=2,5
MENU 1 - Load FreeDOS with JEMMEX, no EMS (most UMBs), max RAM free
MENU 2 - Load FreeDOS with JEMMEX (more compatible)
MENU 3 - Load FreeDOS with JEMM386 (Expanded Memory)
MENU 4 - Load FreeDOS low with some drivers (Safe Mode)
MENU 5 - Load FreeDOS without drivers (Emergency Mode)
MENU 6 - Load FreeDOS with JEMMEX (EMS, max RAM free)

1236?DOS=HIGH
1236?DOS=UMB
1236?DOSDATA=UMB

1?DEVICE=C:\FreeDOS\BIN\JEMMEX.EXE NOEMS X=TEST I=TEST NOVME NOINVLPG
2?DEVICE=C:\FreeDOS\BIN\JEMMEX.EXE NOEMS X=TEST NOVME NOINVLPG
34?DEVICE=C:\FreeDOS\BIN\HIMEMX.EXE
3?DEVICE=C:\FreeDOS\BIN\JEMM386.EXE X=TEST NOVME NOINVLPG
6?DEVICE=C:\FreeDOS\BIN\JEMMEX.EXE MAX=32M MIN=48 I=B000-B7FF I=TEST

126?SHELLHIGH=C:\FreeDOS\BIN\COMMAND.COM C:\FreeDOS\BIN /E:1024 /P=C:\FDAUTO.BAT
345?SHELL=C:\FreeDOS\BIN\COMMAND.COM C:\FreeDOS\BIN /E:1024 /P=C:\FDAUTO.BAT

With this preset, I get around 628 Kb of free base memory, which should be more than enough for Arena and could help avoid those pesky out of base memory errors.

[SeaGtGruff]

Thank you for sharing this! I play Arena (diskette version) a lot, but I haven't gotten any errors or crashes in a long time. I'm not sure if that's because of my DOSBox settings or because my Arena sessions generally don't last as long as they used to now that I'm hooked on Daggerfall, but it's always good to have alternatives. I'd never heard of 86Box before, so I'll have to check it out.

[MrFlibble]

I'd never heard of 86Box before, so I'll have to check it out.

86Box is a fork of PCem, with an even greater focus on accuracy, as far as I know. Both are different from DOSBox in that they emulate specific hardware configurations, so running game in these should be as close to real hardware as possible.

I've got the floppy version of Arena in DOSBox ECE (latest build) configured to run at 23880 cycles (which should be more or less like a 486DX2 @66MHz, according to DOSBox-X presets) with dynamic core enabled, and the GOG build of the CD version without any modifications, which runs at 2000 cycles with auto/normal core.

I've installed both versions in 86Box (well, the CD version runs off the emulated CD anyway), which I set up with the following configuration:

• Machine type: i486 (Socket 3)
• Machine: [SiS 496] ASUS PVI-486SP3C
• CPU type: Intel 486DX2 @66 MHz
• Memory: 32 MB
• Video: [VLB] S3 Trio32 (Phoenix)
• Mouse: Standard PS/2 Mouse
• Sound card: [ISA16] Sound Blaster 16 (Port: 220, IRQ: 5, DMA: 1, HDMA: 5)
• MIDI Out Device: FluidSynth + SC55Soundfont

I played a bit in the CD version for testing and have some old saves for the floppy version, which I loaded while running the game in DOSBox and in 86Box with the above configuration. It seems to me that in 86Box the game is a bit faster and somewhat smoother, particularly in towns, although it still gets sluggish at nighttime. You can notice that in towns, particularly the turn rate gets a bit choppy (just stand on the same spot and turn around), which so far I think it less noticeable in 86Box.

One thing though, the CD version has issues with speech in cutscenes, as some lines are not played completely or are replaced with a nasty screeching noise. I have not figured out yet how to fix this, as changing the emulated sound card type orIRQ seems to have no effect. In-game sound effects play fine.

[MrFlibble]

One thing though, the CD version has issues with speech in cutscenes, as some lines are not played completely or are replaced with a nasty screeching noise. I have not figured out yet how to fix this, as changing the emulated sound card type or IRQ seems to have no effect. In-game sound effects play fine.

I have experimented further with this and it looks like the speech playback problem caused by JEMMEX, as I suspected.

I took a different manager, EMM386, from Caldera DR-DOS 7.03, and loaded it with the following parameters:

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DEVICE=C:\DRDOS\EMM386.EXE DPMI=OFF FRAME=AUTO NOVCPI

This seems to have done the trick, as Ria Silmane's opening monologue now plays fully without interruption now.

I guess I'll have to stick with this solution for now, but I've posted an issue at JEMM GitHub, and hopefully the author will be able to address it sometime.

[MrFlibble]

I noticed that the default FreeDOS mouse driver configuration is a bit too fast in 320x200 screen modes, so I player around a bit and for now have set it up with a horizontal and vertical resolution of 2.

To get this auto-loaded at FreeDOS startup, type auto from the command prompt to edit FDAUTO.BAT, then find the instance of CTMOUSE right after :NoLFN, like this:

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:NoLFN

CTMOUSE

Add the parameter /R2 after CTMOUSE:

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:NoLFN

CTMOUSE /R2

Then save FDAUTO.BAT and reboot.

[MrFlibble]

I noticed that the default FreeDOS mouse driver configuration is a bit too fast in 320x200 screen modes, so I played around a bit and for now have set it up with a horizontal and vertical resolution of 2.

I have figured out what was causing this issue. FreeDOS comes with the CuteMouse mouse driver, which allows the user to set what it calls mouse horizontal and vertical resolution. This option allows to increase the speed of longer mouse pointer movements, while keeping small movements at the default speed to preserve precision:

CTMOUSE supports 9 fixed resolution levels and auto resolution. Resolution
defines how the mouse movements are added to the cursor position. Small
mouse movements at any resolution produce the same cursor movement; this
allows precise cursor positioning on the screen. Larger mouse movements
are multiplied by resolution level to produce the cursor movement; this
allows rapid cursor movement across the screen without big efforts.

With auto resolution the faster the mouse is moved, the greater multiplier
is used, giving the cursor a nonlinear acceleration. Option /R, whose
syntax is described in the help screen, allows the preferred resolution
level to be specified for each direction.

However, starting with version 1.9 of the driver, the default resolution setting (auto mode) doubles the pointer movement speed at small movements as well, for some reason. This is what was causing the rapid movements in 320x200 games that I have reported before.

Setting the resolution manually reverts to the intended behaviour, i.e. small movements are not amplified. It is my understanding that CTMOUSE /R1 results in non-accelerated mouse movement at all times, while CTMOUSE /R2 gives minimal acceleration with large movements.

It seems to be a good idea to use /R1 as the starting setting. But if you intend to use FreeDOS to play games or use applications that utilise resolutions greater than 320x200, perhaps it would make sense set resolution to 2 or greater, depending on your preference.