Being a Mac gamer often means being disappointed. Triple-A titles don't usually come to OS X at the same time that they come to Windows (if they come at all), mainly because the OS X market is so much smaller. And while Valve's push to have all of its Source titles available via Steam for Mac is much appreciated, we're still a long way away from parity with the PC side of the house. Fortunately, when it comes to retro gaming, OS X is shoulder to shoulder with Windows: there are console emulators of every flavor if you want to get your Mario on, and the two best DOS emulators, DOSBox and ScummVM, have long been available on OS X (and Linux, too, for that matter).
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with 49 posters participating, including story authorBoth are fine applications if you want to fire up your favorite DOS-era games, though of the two, DOSBox has long been the more feature-complete and had the widest game support. However, unlocking DOSBox's full potential can require no small amount of configuration file tweaking—the default options generally work just fine, but sometimes you need to tune games to run faster or slower, or change rendering modes because of an incompatibility, or fiddle with some of the more advanced sound options. Some things in DOSBox, like full working Roland MT-32 or Gravis Ultrasound support, are broken or require you to scour the Internet for additional files to get them fully operational.
DOSBox's more esoteric options can be wrangled with one of many graphical front-ends on the PC, but for OS X, there is only one thing you need: Boxer.
Boxer is based on DOSBox's DOS emulation code, but has evolved past the point of being merely a front-end and into a wholly standalone application. Its functionality is slick and seamless, and it defines everything that is good about well-made OS X applications: the UI is beautiful and functional while staying completely out of your way, enabling you instead of confusing you. It handles old fiddly DOS games with shocking ease, hiding the sharp pointy bits of configuring old games beneath a soft cloak of 'it just works.' Finally, it's beautiful and functional even when it's not running, because of the way it lets you show off your retro gaming collection.
The library
Boxer's welcome screen is simple: you can browse through your games, import a new game into Boxer's library, or browse at a DOS prompt.
If you don't have any DOS games sitting around, fear not, as Boxer comes preloaded with four classic DOS titles to get you started—a full version of Commander Keen 4, and demo versions of Epic Pinball, Ultima Underworld, and X-COM: UFO Defense. Additionally, the Boxer site has a page where you can download four more demo titles: the original Star Wars: Dark Forces, System Shock, Tyrian 2000, and Ultima IV.
The first four titles should be immediately visible in your game library, which you can view right from the launch screen. Game management is one of the areas where Boxer shines, using a custom folder background to present an organized shelf-style view of your retro gaming library.
Adding a game
Getting a title into that library is ridiculously easy. Say, for example, that you have a burning desire to relive the glory days of beating the ever-loving crap out of your younger brother with your amazing skills in Electronic Arts's 1989 title Caveman Ugh-Lympics, a Flintstones-flavored take on Activision's Decathlon and other similar games. Assuming you have the original game still lying around (which, shockingly, I actually do!), you can copy the files from the floppies to a single directory, and then drag that directory into Boxer. Boxer will poke through the folder and determine if there's anything resembling an installer, and if it sees one, you'll be asked whether you want to launch it or skip it:
Since a lot of DOS games come with installers and setup programs, this is generally a good idea. Boxer will fire off the installer and you can step though the game's setup. At this point, the setup utility is running in an encapsulated DOS virtual machine, with Boxer providing the disk, sound, and CPU resources. Helpfully, the bottom of the installer window provides a few helpful hints on what to pick if the game's installer asks about a destination directory or sound card settings.
After the installer is done, Boxer will display the installer's results in a DOS window, and will ask if there are other setup tasks to be done or if the import process can be completed. Clicking 'Finish importing' takes you to a window where you can personalize the game's appearance and title. For finding box art, I recommend a Google image search for the name of your game and 'box,' which has gotten me correct box art for every title I've tried.
Once you've set the box art and named the game, you can click 'Launch game' to start it up. Some games, like this one, have multiple executable files in the game directory; if Boxer can't automatically figure out which one starts the game, it will ask you to pick one.
When you've picked something, you'll be asked whether or not you want the app to remember that choice, and from then on, simply double-clicking the game's icon in the Boxer library will launch it directly.
Tuning and tweaks
Boxer will make several guesses about how fast or slow the game should run and what video hardware it should emulate in order to provide the optimal gaming experience. However, personal preferences, coupled with the sheer amount of DOS games, means that you'll likely want to change some of its settings.
Speed and frame rate are the most obvious. Boxer's DOSBox underpinnings let you play everything from ancient early-'80s DOS arcade titles like Flightmare and Sopwith all the way up to flagship titles from the twilight-era of DOS gaming like Privateer 2, but ensuring that the games play at the optimal frame rate is tricky. Boxer includes a slider which you can use to adjust the effective power of the emulated CPU running the game, equivalent to DOSBox's CPU cycle adjustment hotkeys.
For video, Boxer will attempt to emulate whatever the current game tells it to emulate. Basic CGA, EGA, and VGA modes are supported, along with some VESA extended modes for super-VGA games. Boxer also supports several of the more popular graphical smoothing algorithms, to make your gaming a bit less pixelated. Games that were originally designed to be played at 320×200 on a 13' or 14' CRT do tend to look a bit blocky when run fullscreen on a modern 24' or 30' monitor, and so the option to smooth out the corners a bit is much appreciated. Purists can elect to disable smoothing entirely.
Io uso DOSBox per giocare ai vecchi giochi. Grazie mille per il progetto.
I use this to run Arcplus - a DOS database program. It works well under XP, and I print by redirecting lpt1 to a shared printer (HP 4250). ie: net use lpt1 tony-c5d0582f71HPLaserJet /persistent:yes <new para> DOSBox then sends lpt1 data direct to the printer. However I have to accept the printer default settings. - in particular font size 10. This cannot be changed on the printer. Is there any way to access the Windows (XP) printer driver? I have looked for a PCL command line string to change font without success (so far). Incidentally DOSBox is running under XP under VMware under my 2018 Macbook Pro. It is staggering that my DOS programs run very much faster than they ever did under a *real* Windows machine!
Looks promising but I cannot get very far yet. I have a number of DOS .exe files I wish to run. I have these files on my Android tablet but how do I get them onto the dosbox c: drive? I guess the answer is the mount command but I just don't getit. Help please! Many thanks, Peter Seaman
Didn't work on the first DOS game I tried 'Alien Legacy' produced Configuration error.
Dear Lifehacker,
I have a couple old PC games from the Windows 95 days that I'd like to keep playing. However, I use Windows 7, which creates an obvious problem. Is there a way to play it on my current machine? More importantly, will I just have to give it up some day?
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Sincerely,
Nostalgia Overwhelming
Dear Nostalgia,
Yesterday, Microsoft announced a new Xbox console and said that it's not possible to play Xbox 360 games on the new hardware. It's not the first time we'll get a reminder that we risk losing the future at the expense of the past and it won't be the last. Maintaining the ability to play old PC games, however, may be just as difficult.
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Hope isn't entirely lost, however. There are a number of ways to keep an old game playable without breaking out an old PC and loading up a copy of Windows 95 (though if you're a stickler for the most authentic experience, that would be the way to do it). Even better, you're not the only one who wants to keep those old games around and sometimes those other people are devoted developers.
Tie an Old Game to A Publisher Account
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Many games have been updated or patched to work on newer OSes. To get patches like this directly from the source, you can either repurchase a game from a store like Steam, or activate them on your personal library if you have the old activation codes. In some cases, publishers may have issued updates that make games compatible with newer versions of your operating system.
A couple of token examples are Doom and Starcraft. Old Doom games appear in Steam and can be installed on systems as modern as Windows 8 and run directly within the app. Meanwhile, Starcraft is tied to a Battle.net account. You can download and install it from the website as many times as you like.
If you've already purchased a game, it's relatively easy to tie it to an account. For example, Steam has an Add A Game button in the Library section where you can enter a license key to unlock a game. Keep in mind that you can add non-Steam titles, so you'll want to select 'Activate a Product on Steam' if you want to get access to the newest version of your title (where available). Blizzard and other publishers have a similar process. The biggest advantage of this method is that once it's tied to your account, you can download the newest, patched version of the software instead of whatever you received on a floppy disk in the early 90s.
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Run Apps in Compatibility Mode
Windows actually includes the ability to run apps designed for older versions of the OS. By right-clicking on an app's shortcut and selecting Properties, you can select which version of Windows your game was designed for under the Compatibility tab. this isn't a cure-all, of course. Video games in particular have a lot of complex code that can break.
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If you have old CDs lying around and you're able to install the game on newer machines, you can try running the game with the compatibility layer set to the OS it was built on. Note, that this feature is different from XP Compatibility Mode which was introduced in Windows 7 and removed from Windows 8.
Update: Reader twistedsymphony mentions in the comments that sometimes, running the installer in compatibility mode is the key to getting the game working, too. Many of you also mentioned that installing an older OS in a virtual machine (using something like VirtualBox) will also work really well.
Find (or Buy) a Patched Copy
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Sometimes, the original company won't patch their old game, but other folks will. This is a hit-or-miss approach, but sometimes avid gamers with a development background can release patches that make old games more compatible with new systems. Many development communities can be reliable, but keep in mind that downloading executable files is the quickest way to get malware on your system, so be extremely careful.
A much safer way to find patched versions of games is to buy them. Sites like Good Old Games sell copies of titles that you might not be able to find on more modern distribution systems. Not all titles here may work properly on all OS versions, so read the reviews before dropping a few bucks.
Find a Ported Version
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Doom, the classic first-person shooter that popularized the genre is one of the most ported games in history and a prime example of an older title you can find on new platforms. This is another situation where you may have to pay for something twice, but if summer movie blockbusters teach us anything, it's that nostalgia is worth a lot of money.
Mobile platforms in particular are experiencing a bit of a renaissance of older games. Phones and tablets are powerful enough to play complex games, but not quite capable of challenging hardcore PC gaming rigs or modern consoles. This has made them ripe for ports of old titles. Square Enix, for example, has a long list of RPG classics available for Android and iOS.
Use an Emulator
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Emulators aren't illegal in and of themselves, but downloading ROMs to use with them is often an ethical gray area, since it's technically illegal. The nice thing about emulating PC games, though, is that you can often do so without downloading anything—just use your old floppies or CDs, if you still have them lying around.
Dosbox Windows 3.1
Programs like DOSBox allow you to play pre-Windows games on both PC and Mac, which is really neat. Previously mentionedScummVM is perfect for those old point-and-click DOS adventures. In fact, turning your computer into a game-emulating monster is an article unto itself (fortunately, wehaveseveral). Nearly all emulators will require you to bring your own ROM (the game file for the title you want to play), which means you'll need to dig up those old floppies If you don't have them, you can often find the games online, but depending on the game, you might be running back into that legal risk (not to mention the aforementioned malware risk).
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Download a Fan or Publisher Remake
These aren't as common as we'd like, but when you can find one, they're fantastic. Black Mesa is the standout property for fan remakes. This is a complete remaster of the original Half-Life PC game with the new Source engine built for Half-Life 2. The entire game (which is mostly finished, but not completely) is available for free online.
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The primary reason fan remakes are so rare is because the intellectual property situation can get pretty nasty if you're dealing with large organizations, so many remakes may die before they're ever released, but there are quite a few fighting to survive. That being said, a fan remake is pretty obviously a violation of various trademark and copyright laws which means the survival of such titles is up to the mercy of the owner of the original works. Valve is particularly friendly to the modding scene (which has proved very profitable for them), but this is the exception rather than the rule.
Of course, fans aren't the only ones who can remake old games. For example, Dune II was a classic RTS that predated the wildly successful Command and Conquer series. Getting the old DOS-based version of the game may not go over so well, but Dune 2000, a remake made a few years later brought similar gameplay and storylines with updated graphics. That title is more readily available online.
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Contact the Publisher
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If you're at a loss and just can't find a way to modernize your games, you can always try contacting the publisher. Many companies from decades past have been acquired or changed names, however a quick Wikipedia search can usually tell you who owns them now. In some cases, they may even still run a site under the old branding. For example, id Software is now owned by ZeniMax Media, but you can still hit up their website to purchase old classics like Wolfenstein or Quake.
Of course if you don't want to pay for a game more than once, you could always email or call the publisher and ask if they might be willing to steer you toward a version of an old game you can play on your new system. You may get a boilerplate response directing you to their store, but you may also get a gratis copy for being a loyal customer for so many years. It never hurts to ask.
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Accept that Sometimes Games Go Extinct
This is the hardest part to accept but at some point in your life you're probably going to lose a game that you really love. In a way, old PC games are a lot like animal species. Without the ability to be reproduced in new versions for modern OSes, they run the risk of extinction. It requires effort on someone's part to keep games updated. Either by Microsoft in making sure Windows can retain support for old versions, publishers in issuing patches, or fans in picking up the slack. One way or another, though, old software won't run on newer hardware without someone doing something.
Many of the options on this list require paying for a game a second (or if you're like me, third, fifth, or tenth) time. It seems unfair to pay twice for the same stuff, but remember that all that effort doesn't happen for free. No matter who you're placing the burden on, expecting a game to be updated for decades because you paid some money back in the 90s is economically unfeasible.
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From that perspective, the best way to keep your old games alive is to love them. Dote on them now and then. Support communities that keep games working. Keep playing them. Spending five or ten bucks every decade or so is a small price to pay to ensure your childhood never really dies.
Sincerely,
Lifehacker
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