您(Did)是否知道您全新的 2018 年计算机CPU仍然具有与1978 年发布的第一款Intel 8086 CPU相同的基本内部？这意味着，理论上，为在 1978 年的处理器上运行而编写的软件应该在现代CPU上运行而没有真正的问题。这些芯片都是“x86 ”系列处理器的一部分。
所以这也应该意味着80 年代和 90 年代为DOS编写的视频游戏将在今天的计算机上运行，对吧？(DOS)虽然您在技术上(technically )这样说是正确的，但它比这更复杂。
首先(First)，尽管拥有相同的核心(core set)指令集，现代CPU(CPUs)和四十年前的那些实际上是完全不同的。它们具有不同的架构，并且比 80386 CPU快得多(much )。
除此之外，操作系统也取得了长足的进步。即使是为Windows 7(Windows 7)开发的一些游戏（与Windows 10共享基本相同的内核）也可能存在破坏游戏的兼容性错误，需要修补或特殊的兼容性模式才能运行。
如果您要在现代计算机上尝试经典的DOS 游戏(DOS game)，它很可能根本无法运行。很遗憾，因为有一个庞大的经典游戏库，跨越了个人电脑的历史。那么复古游戏迷(gaming fan)该怎么办？
进入DOS框
DOSBox是一款免费软件，可以准确地模拟原始IBM PC DOS 环境(IBM PC DOS environment)。不仅如此，它还模拟了那个时代最流行的一些硬件，例如Creative Sound Blaster声卡。这意味着您可以使用它完美地玩经典的DOS游戏，就像您在四年前的 PC 上运行它们一样。
您也不仅限于Windows，还有适用于MacOS 和 Linux(MacOS and Linux)的软件版本！您唯一需要处理的就是开始玩游戏。这实际上可能有点复杂。
在哪里可以找到游戏
在本文中，我们使用的是经典射击游戏《DOOM 》的(DOOM)共享软件版本(Shareware version)。要获得自己的副本，只需谷歌“DOOM Shareware”(Google “DOOM Shareware”)，还有很多网站仍然托管该软件。这是完全合法的，因为共享软件游戏本质上是扩展的游戏演示(game demos)，您不会违反任何许可条款。
但是，DOS时代(DOS era)的完整零售游戏仍然是其发行商的财产。如果您在不付费的情况下下载副本，您将犯有盗版罪。
如果您仍然拥有CD 或软盘上的原始(CD or Diskette)DOS游戏，那么您应该可以使用DOSBox运行游戏（或它的备份）。这是再次访问您的旧游戏收藏的好方法。
感谢Good Old Games等网站，您甚至可以合法购买许多经典的DOS游戏。(DOS game)尤其是GOG ，实际上使用了(GOG)DOSBox的预配置副本来使其正常工作。如果您从GOG购买(GOG)DOS 游戏(DOS game)，您根本不需要手动设置DOSBox。除非您想调整设置，否则本指南仍然有用。
最后，还有废弃软件(abandonware)，这些游戏属于合法的灰色地带(grey area)。拥有这些游戏权利的公司早已不复存在。没有人积极捍卫他们对这些游戏的版权。它们很可能永远不会再次出售。您可以在废弃软件网站上找到这些游戏，但请注意，这并不完全合法。
使用 DOSBox 设置游戏
在你可以使用DOSBox之前，你必须安装它。只需(Just head)前往DOSBox 下载(DOSBox downloads)页面并为您的计算机获取正确的游戏版本。我们在这里使用的是带有安装向导的(installation wizard)Windows版本。只需(Just)在下载并安装应用程序后运行它。
在你运行 DOSBox 之前，在你的驱动器上为你的DOS游戏创建一个文件夹。(create a folder)该文件夹将充当DOSBox中的虚拟硬盘驱动器，您可以将所有游戏复制到那里。我们建议在驱动器的根目录上创建此文件夹，以便更容易从DOSBox访问。
在我们的 Windows 10 机器上，安装程序没有创建快捷方式，因此导航到安装目录(installation directory)并运行 DOSBox.exe(run DOSBox.exe)。显然，您可以从那里创建自己的快捷方式，以使以后的会话更加方便。启动程序后，DOSBox 窗口(DOSBox window)应该像这样打开。
不是“SET BLASTER”参数。这些是您将提供给任何想要使用Sound Blaster 卡(Sound Blaster card)的游戏的数字。我们之前在C 驱动器(C drive)的根目录上创建了一个名为“DOSAPPS”的文件夹。我们将DOOM 共享软件(DOOM shareware)文件复制到该文件夹中，但在我们可以在DOSBox中运行它们之前，我们需要将该文件夹“挂载”为我们的虚拟硬盘驱动器。
为此，我们type “MOUNT C C:\ DOSAPPS” ，然后您应该会看到此确认消息(confirmation message)。
现在我们将通过键入C(Drive C)在DOSBox中从驱动器 Z 切换到驱动器(DOSBox)C:\
此游戏仍需安装，安装文件位于名为“doom19s”的文件夹中。要切换到该文件夹，我们键入(type) CD\doom19s
安装程序名为Install.bat，因此我们只需键入 Install.bat 并按 Enter 键(type Install.bat and hit enter )，然后安装程序(installer program)就会启动。
现在只需按照说明让程序将游戏安装到您的虚拟C 盘(C drive)。
安装完成后，您将看到 DOOM 的设置实用程序。
我们将选择“仅键盘”作为我们的控制器类型(controller type)，然后选择“Sound Blaster”作为我们的声卡。如果你还记得，DOSBox显示在启动时使用默认的Sound Blaster 配置(Sound Blaster configuration)。所以我们选择 Port 220, IRQ 7 和 DMA channel 1(choose Port 220, IRQ 7 and DMA channel 1)。默认(default 3) 的3通道混音选项(channel mix choice)对我们也很有效。
完成所有这些后，我们选择“保存参数并启动 DOOM”。(choose “Save Parameters and Launch DOOM”.)
如果一切顺利，游戏应该会启动。
哦耶！现在你准备好玩游戏了！
附加提示
要获得全屏体验，只需按ALT+ENTER 即可切换窗口模式。您可以像往常一样玩游戏。下次启动游戏时，您可以简单地在挂载C(C drive)盘后导航到已安装的文件夹，然后像我们启动“Install.bat”一样直接运行游戏。
有些DOS 游戏(DOS game)不需要安装(t require installation)，您可以将它们的整个文件夹复制到您的DOS 游戏(DOS game)文件夹中并运行它们。
您可以在DOSBox中进行很多调整以使其按照您想要的方式运行。检查DOSBox 安装(DOSBox installation)文件夹以获取其出色的手动文本文件(text file)。它充满了技巧和窍门。
您还可以在DOSBox本身中(DOSBox)键入 HELP(type HELP )以重新了解那些好的旧DOS命令。但是，您现在需要知道的最重要的快捷方式是CPU 周期(CPU cycle)切换。
这会加快或减慢DOSBox的虚拟CPU速度。因此，如果游戏以错误的速度运行，只需按CTRL+F11 or CTRL+F12即可添加或删除速度。
要离开 DOSBox，请在命令提示符下(command prompt)键入 EXIT(type EXIT )或关闭应用程序窗口(application window)。这就是您开始使用一些经典DOS游戏所需要知道的全部内容。如果您整晚(night night)听着 90 年代的音乐和玩《毁灭战士》，请(music and playing DOOM)不要(Just don)怪我们！
Play Retro DOS Games Perfectly with DOSBox
Did yoυ know that your brand new 2018 сomputer CPU still has the same fundamental insides as the fіrѕt Intel 8086 CPU releasеd іn 1978? That means, in theory, that software written to run on thаt 1978 processor should execute with no real issue on a modern CPU. These chips arе all part of the “x86” family of processors.
So that should also mean that video games written for DOS back in the 80s and 90s will run on the computers of today, right? While you would be technically correct to say so, it’s more complicated than that.
First of all, despite having the same core set of instructions, modern CPUs and those from thirty of forty years ago are actually radically different. They have different architectures and are much, much, much faster than something like an 80386 CPU.
On top of this, operating systems have come a long way too. Even some games that were developed for Windows 7 (which shares essentially the same core as Windows 10) can have game-breaking compatibility bugs which require patching or special compatibility modes before they will work.
If you were to try a classic DOS game on your modern computer, chances are that it won’t work at all. That’s a pity, because there’s a vast library of classic games that span the history of the personal computer. So what is a retro gaming fan to do?
Enter DOSBox
DOSBox is a free piece of software that accurately emulates the original IBM PC DOS environment. Not only that, it also emulates some of the most popular hardware from that era, such as the Creative Sound Blaster sound card. Which means you can use it to play classic DOS games perfectly, just as if you were running them on a PC from four decades ago.
You aren’t limited to Windows either, there are also versions of the software for MacOS and Linux! The only thing you need to handle is getting your hands on games. Which can actually be a little complicated.
Where to Find Games
For this article we’re using the Shareware version of the classic shooter DOOM. To get your own copy, just Google “DOOM Shareware”, there are plenty of sites that still host the software. This is perfectly legal, since shareware games are essentially extended game demos and you wouldn’t be breaching any licence terms.
However, full retail games from the DOS era are still the property of their publishers. If you download a copy without paying for it, you would be committing piracy.
If you still own the original DOS games on CD or Diskette then you should be OK using DOSBox to run the game (or a backup of it). It’s a great way to access your old collection of games again.
Thanks to sites like Good Old Games, you can even buy many classic DOS games legally. GOG in particular actually uses a pre-configured copy of DOSBox to make it all work. If you buy a DOS game from GOG, you don’t have to manually set up DOSBox at all. Unless you want to tweak the settings, in which case this guide will still be useful.
Finally, there’s abandonware, these games fall in a legal grey area. The companies who own the rights to these games are long gone. No one is actively defending their copyright on these games. They will most likely never be offered for sale again. You can find these games on abandonware sites, but be warned that it’s not strictly legal.
Setting Up Your Game with DOSBox
Before you can use DOSBox, you have to install it. Just head over to the DOSBox downloads page and grab the right version of the game for your computer. We’re using the Windows versions here, which comes with an installation wizard. Just run it after downloading and install the application.
Before you run DOSBox, create a folder on your drive for your DOS games. This folder will act as a virtual hard drive in DOSBox and you can copy all your games there. We recommend creating this folder on the root of your drive to make it easier to access from DOSBox.
On our Windows 10 machine the installer did not create a shortcut, so navigate to the installation directory and run DOSBox.exe. Obviously, you can create your own shortcut from there to make future sessions more convenient. Once you’ve started the program the DOSBox window should open like this.
Not the “SET BLASTER” parameters. These are the numbers you’ll feed into any game that wants to use a Sound Blaster card. We created a folder earlier on the root of our C drive called “DOSAPPS”. We copied our DOOM shareware files into that folder, but before we can run them in DOSBox we need to “mount” that folder as our virtual hard drive.
To do so, we type “MOUNT C C:\ DOSAPPS” after which you should see this confirmation message.
Now we’ll switch from drive Z to Drive C in DOSBox by typing C:\
This game still needs to be installed and the installation files are in a folder called “doom19s”. To switch to that folder we type CD\doom19s
The installer is called Install.bat, so we just type Install.bat and hit enter after which the installer program starts.
Now just follow the instructions and let the program install the game to your virtual C drive.
After the installation is done, you will be presented with DOOM’s setup utility.
We’ll choose “keyboard only” as our controller type and then “Sound Blaster” as our soundcard. If you recall, DOSBox showed use the default Sound Blaster configuration at startup. So we choose Port 220, IRQ 7 and DMA channel 1. The default 3 channel mix choice worked just fine for us as well.
Once all of that’s done, we choose “Save Parameters and Launch DOOM”.
If all is well, the game should launch.
Oh yeah! Now you’re ready to play the game!
Additional Tips
To get a full-screen experience, just hit ALT+ENTER to toggle window modes. You can play the game just as usual. The next time you launch the game, you can simple navigate to the installed folder after mounting your C drive and run the game directly the same way we started “Install.bat”.
Some DOS games don’t require installation, you can just copy their entire folder into your DOS game folder and run them.
There’s a lot of tweaking you can do in DOSBox to get it running just the way you want. Check the DOSBox installation folder for their excellent manual text file. It’s full of tips and tricks.
You can also type HELP in DOSBox itself to get a refresher on those good old DOS commands. The most important shortcut you need to know right now however, is the CPU cycle toggle.
This speeds up or slows down the virtual CPU of DOSBox. So if a game is running at the wrong speed, just hit CTRL+F11 or CTRL+F12 to add or remove speed.
To leave DOSBox, either type EXIT at the command prompt or just close the application window. That’s all you need to know to get started with some classic DOS games. Just don’t blame us if you spend the entire night night listening to 90s music and playing DOOM!
