Homebrew Emulation [Release] DOSBox-SVN port for 3DS

[MrHuu]

W.I.P Port of DOSBox-SVN for Nintendo 3DS

- .cia build not supported
- Button mapping is not available
- Input options:

Keyboard, Mouse
*not all keyboard symbols are available yet

Download:
https://github.com/MrHuu/dosbox-3ds/releases

 

[MarioKartFan]

Wow. Cannot wait to try this out. Thanks MrHuu! Have you tested it with any games yet?

 

[MrHuu]

Wow. Cannot wait to try this out. Thanks MrHuu! Have you tested it with any games yet?

In my experience, performance is about on par with the DOSBox-SVN libretro core.

Older games like Wolfenstein3D or Stunts (4D driving?) run just about perfect, while newer games like TerminalVelocity run at a very low framerate.
Windows 3.11 / 95 both run slowly, and downscaling higher resolutions doesn't have a very nice result at the moment.

It's hard to say how various games perform, since some games benefit from enabling the dynamic core while others don't.
For some a fixed cycle rate or frameskip is required, while others benefit from adjusting automatically.

I haven't looked into fine-tuning settings for specific games as i'm currently working on the button remapping.

If you do get to running some games, please let me know which ones and how they perform.

 

[MrHuu]

A new release is available: https://github.com/MrHuu/dosbox-3ds/releases/tag/v0.0.2

This adds:
- Controller button remapping
- Save / load custom keymaps
- More keyboard functionality

 

[Wavy]

Saw this release a few days ago but I haven't had the time to try it. And I must say, great work! I've honestly been waiting for a standalone DOSBox port ever since I hacked my 3DS a little less than 2 years ago.

 

[Nemios]

Great! I'll try X-Wing in the next days on a O2DS, hopefully.

 

[Flame]

oh yes. this is relevant to my interest.

now to test Championship Manager 2

 

[Tebra]

Hi @MrHuu
I installed v0.0.2 on my N2DS. The app boot but don't generate dosbox-SVN.conf file.

 

[MrHuu]

Hi @MrHuu
I installed v0.0.2 on my N2DS. The app boot but don't generate dosbox-SVN.conf file.

I'm not really sure why this would fail. I'm unable to replicate on my end.
Case sensitivity isn't an issue. The location of the .3dsx doesn't affect this. Even the 'dosbox' folder is created automatically if not found.

When you save the controller button binds, does it create a 'mapper-SVN.map' file inside the 'dosbox' folder?

I could add some checks during file creation, but not being able to replicate doesn't really help figuring out what the issue would be or what to look for.

 

[gatoula]

Is there a guide how MS DOS works on 3ds?

 

[Tebra]

This is screenshot of bottom screen when starting dosbox.
I don't get any keyboard and dosbox-svn.conf isn't generated.
How to save the controller button binds with that bottom screen GUI ?

 

[MrHuu]

Is there a guide how MS DOS works on 3ds?

There should be plenty of guides available how dosbox works. 3DS isn't much different.

Just mount a folder on your SD, and run a executable:

MOUNT C sdmc:/DOS/*somegame*
C:
SOMEGAME.EXE

Also check out the DOSBox wiki: https://www.dosbox.com/wiki

This is screenshot of bottom screen when starting dosbox.
I don't get any keyboard and dosbox-svn.conf isn't generated.
How to save the controller button binds with that bottom screen GUI ?

The error message indicates no mapper file is found, it needs to be saved first to generate one. This message was mainly there during developing, and is subject to change to be less verbose.

The other is a button, try holding it for a sec. Again this is subject to change as my main focus has been on other functionality.

Otherwise, after trying out on multiple 3/2ds's, every time the 'dosbox-SVN.conf' file gets generated.
The only thing i can think of at this moment is to try and delete the '/3ds/dosbox' folder, and run the .3dsx from anywhere to have both the folder and configuration generate.

Did anyone else also encounter this by any chance? Every bit of feedback would be appreciated.

 

[Tebra]

There should be plenty of guides available how dosbox works. 3DS isn't much different.

Just mount a folder on your SD, and run a executable:

MOUNT C sdmc:/DOS/*somegame*
C:
SOMEGAME.EXE

Also check out the DOSBox wiki: https://www.dosbox.com/wiki



The error message indicates no mapper file is found, it needs to be saved first to generate one. This message was mainly there during developing, and is subject to change to be less verbose.

The other is a button, try holding it for a sec. Again this is subject to change as my main focus has been on other functionality.

Otherwise, after trying out on multiple 3/2ds's, every time the 'dosbox-SVN.conf' file gets generated.
The only thing i can think of at this moment is to try and delete the '/3ds/dosbox' folder, and run the .3dsx from anywhere to have both the folder and configuration generate.

Did anyone else also encounter this by any chance? Every bit of feedback would be appreciated.

OK, I don't know why but now the dosbox-SVN.conf' file gets generated. Sorry for lose your time

 

[MrHuu]

OK, I don't know why but now the dosbox-SVN.conf' file gets generated. Sorry for lose your time

No problem! Glad it's working. Feel free to ask any question when desired.

I do like to give a few hints on finding the right settings for various applications:

* By default 'cycles' is set to 'auto', which in most cases sets it to a fixed 3000 cycles
Older games generally like less cycles, later games require a higher amount.

When using a custom .conf file, you can set 'cycles = fixed 2100' for example.

* Try different CPU 'core' settings: auto, dynamic, normal, simple
In my experience so far, setting this to 'dynamic' usually runs the fastest.

Required setting may vary greatly between applications, make sure to try out various settings to have the most optimal experience.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Tebra]

Now I understand how to create mapping config. Nice GUI for that.
I try « alone in the dark ». Works good with default config. Just some slow during loading between screens.

 

[placebo_yue]

I didn't manage to make the retroarch core run before. Is this any easier? I do have experience setting it up on PC, but since now we have an extra layer of retroarch in the middle, and it's on 3DS so i can't just open console or create bat files and run those... i'm a bit lost.
Also, anyone tested on O3DS? how's the performance? i'd like to play games like commander keen 1, jazz jackrabbit.. nothing too fancy

 

[MarioKartFan]

@MrHuu You are a genius! Warcraft: Orcs & Humans works! Seems fullspeed, with fully working sound, music and digital effects. Wow.

It is sort of difficult to double click using your UI (which is awesome). An ability to adjust sensitivity would be helpful. A better alternative might be to map mouse controls to the C-stick and map the Left and Right Mouse click to buttons.

 

[EvilJagaGenius]

Cool stuff! I hope I can play around with this soon.

Also, anyone tested on O3DS? how's the performance? i'd like to play games like commander keen 1, jazz jackrabbit.. nothing too fancy

I am also curious about this, and curious if it'd be feasible to run Win95 on an O3DS. Would love to play Civilization 2 on mine. And there's also the eternal question of whether or not it can run Doom...

 

[gbadl]

Anyone have Elder Scrolls 1 and 2 running on this? and how about Fallout 1?

 

[Nemios]

I'm getting this error on launch: "Can't allocate main memory of 16MB".

The system is an O2DS. It DOES create a dosbox-SVN.conf file.

[Edit]
After that, I edited the .conf file, changing "memsize" value from 16 to 8 or 12. That error is gone, but dosbox closes without any error message nor any log.