New 486 pc

[BigusSchmuck]

Still got a bunch of Pentium 3s and old Celerons at my work if anyone is interested. We are trying to figure out how we are going to get rid of them considering there is about 50 custom built pcs all together.

[SNKNostalgia]

I am confused here a little when it comes to DOS games. When I use to play some DOS games on my Pentium 2 400mhz (later upgraded to Pentium 3 1ghz), 128MB (later 256MB), ATI Rage Pro 8MB (later ATI Radeon 64MB), Turtle Beach Montego 64 (does full Soundblaster 16 emulation), 10GB HDD, all running on Win 98 SE... I would have compatibility problems or games like X-Com UFO Defense run too fast.

So having too fast of a computer or using Win98 instead of Win95 cause the problems. What gives?!?!

What is the most modern set-up for playing games perfectly ranging from Wolf 3D up to most 1996-97 games?

[SuperDeadite]

A lot of older games are timed by clock speed only.  Meaning it runs as fast as your CPU does, especially common with most 386 and older era games.  So yes a Pentium 3 is going to cause problems.  There are software programs that will slowdown a faster system to help such games.  A few odd-ball computers like FM Towns had a built in bios function to slow it down for compatibility, but this is quite rare in the "normal pc" world.

[SNKNostalgia]

I figured that would be the case with games like X-com running too fast. The collection version of X-com had a program called MoSlo.exe and you had to adjust the percentage in the command line. Still, the game would run choppy and just didn't feel right.

Funny how I went from a 386sx 16mhz to a Pentium II 400mhz from 1991 then 1998. I missed out big time with 486DX and Pentium 1, which was the golden age of 2D PC gaming. I especially remember some greats from '96 and up: Doom 1 and 2, Heretic, X-Wing + Tie Fighter, Dark Forces, Lucas Arts Games (Sam and Max, Full Throttle, The Dig, etc...), some newer Sierra Adventure games, Dark Seed, and most importantly Wing Commander 3.

Thank god I had a PlayStation 1 and was able to play Wing Commander 3+4, Dark Forces, Rebel Assault 2, X-Com UFO Defense, command and conquer games and a decent version of Doom 1+2 combined. Still, I missed out on a lot of good PC games overall.

DOSBox just doesn't work all too well for quite a few games. They can't seem to get the Cycle CPU timing right and there really isn't a smooth Direct X support for the VESA DOS type graphics (Is that right... VESA is the DOS video processing method?). FPS games run shotty as hell and the FMV in Wing Commander 3 skips if you don't constantly adjust the Cycle speed between it and the gameplay.

[kamiboy]

to me the golden age of PC games was the late 80's to early 90's. My Pentium II (or is it III?) setup runs all my favourites from that era without problem.

Lemmings, Dune, Dune 2, Another World, WolfenStein/DooM, etc.

[BlueBMW]

The most troublesome DOS game that I absolutely love is Wing Commander Privateer 2: The Darkening.... it needs a higher end DOS machine to run, so its tricky to get to work in DOSbox.  But once its going, its excellent!  I mean cmon, it has Clive Owen AND Walken in it!

[roflmao]

Most of the old PC games I really got into still play relatively well on relatively current computers (though I haven't played hardly any of them since I upgraded to Windows 7).  The Sierra Quest games, Civilization, Nethack, Dungeon Master, Baldur's Gate/Icewind Dale. 

One game I really miss was the original Mechwarrior.  I loved being able to haggle over jobs and thought the simulation was done really well (I was like 15 at the time).  That's one game I've had a hard time getting to run on newer hardware.  I also really miss BBS door games like TW2002 and Legend of the Red Dragon.  I know you can telnet to BBS's now and still play them, but the communities aren't the same. 

The oldest computer I currently own is a P4 with Windows XP on it, so it's hardly old-school. You guys are making me think about putting together an oldie again.  The first computer I built was a 386sx 33mhz.  I think it was about the time DOS 6 came out.  I remember thinking it was crazy having an operating system take up a whopping 6MB and considered switching to DrDOS.

[HercTNT]

Wing commander is excellent!!. currently i'm playing warcraft 2, halloween harry, blood (one of the best shooters ever), tryian 2000, simcity 2000, and with professors help hopefully i will get dungeon hack going well.

My kids love marios game gallery......you got any bob-ombs??

[ProfessorProfessorson]

So having too fast of a computer or using Win98 instead of Win95 cause the problems. What gives?!?!

What is the most modern set-up for playing games perfectly ranging from Wolf 3D up to most 1996-97 games?

If, and I say this in the strictest sense, if the goal is to play stuff released on up until 97 and not past that, then the ideal setup on the high end would be a Pentium II or K6-2 or 3 based platform, and on the low end a Pentium 166 MMX based cpu minimum. 64 megs minimum. 2gb hard drive minimum. Windows 98 dos mode is fine for exiting out into dos for games, but only if you configure your files well. Also, you have to ditch pci audio cards. Even the best of them as far as SB Pro capability goes will have issues on some games. You really need to go with a Awe32 or Awe64 if you want the best sound and support, or a SB Pro capable ISA card as a minimum (Creative, ESS, etc). A Gravis UltraSound is also a high end ISA card you can consider, but they are not as easy to get going as a Creative card. There is also the Ensoniq Soundscape line, the Pro AudioSpectrum 16, Aztech Sound Galaxy Pro 16 II, and some other ISA cards that while being below the Awe line are still pretty solid and a step up from a plain Sound Blaster.

If you can afford it, find a solid 2d pci card and invest in a Voodoo or Voodoo 2, or even Power VR. That would give you a workable solution for the early 3D hardware stuff that would have some umph. Be warned though, pairing a Voodoo 2 with a Pentium 1 cpu wont get you much further then if you went with a Voodoo 1, so if the Pentium 1 is the cpu of choice, and you can get a Voodoo 1 cheaper, just go for that instead of a Voodoo 2.

[spenoza]

I think I have a working Voodoo 3 around somewhere, PCI version, and I have an AWE32 in the basement. I don't know if the AWE32 works. Anyone wanna pick up some really old hardware?  : )

[HercTNT]

what he said and alittle extra. a voodoo is a better choice if you have a slower cpu. the powervr cards are good for old games, but need a faster cpu. The power vr does not really come into its own until you get to pentium 2 levels. Completely agree with the sound card choices as well. Anything other than a true sound blaster is a bitch to setup. The awe64 has the best sound, the awe32 is better for slower machines. either way you cant go wrong.

[ProfessorProfessorson]

Anyone wanna pick up some really old hardware?  : )

Id be interested depending on the cost. I'm always collecting parts.

[HercTNT]

anyone got a working inkjet printer for the parallel port 

[BigusSchmuck]

anyone got a working inkjet printer for the parallel port 

No but we got a ton of these old dot matrix printer like the okidata and a few others. I'm pretty sure we can run old school games pretty darn good on a slow enough Pentium 3 (450mhz) as I was able to run games like Heretic and the original Decent on said hardware. Trying to get rid of this stuff is going to be a pain though...

[HercTNT]

I'd be happy getting my hands on a working dot matrix.