How to run the DOS versions of Longbow, Longbow & Flash Point Korea, and Longbow Gold in DOSBox Staging.
As usual I'll be using cd images to save wear and tear on cds and drive. Your Longbow cds can be ripped to data only iso cd images, there is no cd audio on the Longbow cds.
Versions and patches
For a list the various releases of Longbow and the recommended patches for each version take a look at the Longbow primer.
Preferred versions are Longbow & Flash Point Korea expansion and Longbow Gold. Each contains the Ukraine and Korea campaigns. The Longbow Gold version doesn't add any game content or additional facilities to the DOS version.
Game folders
I use my DOSBox game folder scheme described in DOSBox game management. So in my case I have a D:\games\dos\Janes Longbow folder with the following sub folders:
hdd (hard disk drive, DOSBox C: drive), folder used as hard disk by DOSBox.
cd (cd drive, DOSBox D: drive), cd images go here.
conf (DOSBox configuration file).
docs (manuals, other docs, etc.)
DOSBox setup
The DOSBox configuration file will be living in the conf folder described above. The default DOSBox Staging settings are a very good start, but a few tweaks are needed.
Longbow is a memory hungry beast for a DOS game, so the memory allocated to the emulated machine needs to be increased (one of the few DOS games that requires this):
[dosbox]
memsize = 48The default glshader is 'crt-auto', this means the default integer_scaling option 'auto' will choose 'vertical' (which is what we want), so you don't need to change this, but I prefer to:
[render]
integer_scaling = verticalThe all important cpu cycles, for Longbow it's pretty large. I set the cycles up and down to 1000. You may need to tweak this up or down, depending on your machine.
[cpu]
cycles = fixed 110000
cycleup = 1000
cycledown = 1000Nothing like a bit of reverb and chorus in the DOSBox mixer to bring the sounds and music to life. These are my personal preferences so feel free to experiment. These are the only sound/music options you need to change. Longbow will use the Soundblaster for sound/music and the defaults are ideal. No need to tweak midi settings either.
[mixer]
reverb = large
chorus = normalAnd finally the all important autoexec section. The C: drive is using the hdd folder described earlier and all 3 cd images are mounted to drives D:, E:, and F:. The Longbow installer app should find each cd image as needed.
Original Longbow (without Flash point Korea) has 2 cds so you'll have 2 cd images, adjust these settings as needed. Original Longbow with Flash Point Korea and Longbow Gold have 3 cds.
[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
# You can put your MOUNT lines here.
mount c "D:\Games\Dos\Janes Longbow\hdd"
imgmount d "D:\Games\Dos\Janes Longbow\cd\JLBCD1.iso" -t iso
imgmount e "D:\Games\Dos\Janes Longbow\cd\JLBCD2.iso" -t iso
imgmount f "D:\Games\Dos\Janes Longbow\cd\JLBCD3.iso" -t iso
c:
cd janes\longbow
# remove comments once happy
# lb
# exitOnce you completed the following steps, you can comment out the last 2 lines to fire up Longbow straight-away and close DOSBox once you quit the game.
Controller setup
HOTAS controller setup should be pretty straight forward. Depending on your particular HOTAS setup you may need to experiment with timed and swap34 (swapping the 3rd & 4th joystick/HOTAS axes). Setting the deadzone to 0 is a personal preference, so test to find what works best for you.
[joystick]
joysticktype = 4axis
timed = false
swap34 = true
deadzone = 0
If you have more than 4 axes with your HOTAS controllers combined (and I do) then you'll have to use your HOTAS profile software to create a virtual controller and limit it to 4 axes (joystick x & y axes, throttle axis and rudder (pedal) axis). For a quick discussion on virtual controller, see my earlier article, Controllers and retro sims part 2: Virtual controllers.
The rudder will probably be the x rotation axis (it was for me) but it can also be the z rotation axis. Again with a little testing you should discover which. In the screenshot you can see my TARGET profile for Longbow under DOSBox.
High Frame Rate gaming
If you want to try High Frame Rate (HFR) gaming with Longbow, then this excellent article (thank you Omnicydle), gives some background. The HFR options for DOSBox Staging are:
[sdl]
vsync = false
presentation_mode = vfr
[dosbox]
dos_rate = 1000
[mouse]
dos_mouse_immediate = trueMy DOSBox Staging config
Putting it all together we get:
[sdl]
vsync = false
presentation_mode = vfr
[dosbox]
memsize = 48
dos_rate = 1000
[render]
integer_scaling = vertical
[cpu]
cycles = fixed 110000
cycleup = 1000
cycledown = 1000
[mouse]
dos_mouse_immediate = true
[mixer]
reverb = large
chorus = normal
[joystick]
joysticktype = 4axis
timed = false
swap34 = true
deadzone = 0
[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
# You can put your MOUNT lines here.
mount c "D:\Games\Dos\Janes Longbow\hdd"
imgmount d "D:\Games\Dos\Janes Longbow\cd\JLBCD1.iso" -t iso
imgmount e "D:\Games\Dos\Janes Longbow\cd\JLBCD2.iso" -t iso
imgmount f "D:\Games\Dos\Janes Longbow\cd\JLBCD3.iso" -t iso
c:
cd janes\longbow
# remove comments once happy
# lb
# exitInstallation and setup
Installation is straightforward, to install original Longbow, or Longbow Gold, go to the mounted D: drive in DOSBox and run the Installer app.
If you want to install the Flash Point Korea expansion, there's a further step. You need to mount the cd (or cd image) and run the Flash Point Korea installer. In my case I had already mounted Flash Point Korea as the F: drive, so I ran the installer from there.
Sound/music setup should be done, but if you do need to set/reset sound/music settings there is a setsound.exe utility found in the Longbow installation folder, to do so.
CD emulation
The developers of Longbow, left in a functional cd emulation facility. If you are using cd iso images the performance difference will be minor/negligible but if you are using physical cds there will be a performance boost (especially when loading terrain). To use it, copy the contents of each cd to a folder that DOSBox can access.
Then create a file CDEmu.ini in the Longbow installation folder (in my case C:\Janes\Longbow) and specify the folder for each cd, like so:
[CDEmulate]
CD001=C:\Janes\Longbow1
CD002=C:\Janes\Longbow2
CD003=C:\Janes\Longbow3Patching
Now it's time to install any patches, for a list of the recommended patches for each version take a look at the Longbow primer. Only original Longbow (without Flash Point Korea) and Longbow Gold should require patching.
Gameplay options
There are two sets of options, the on-base options and the in-flight options both accessible with alt-o.
An important base option is to allow automatic saving. If it's enabled and you crash or die, there's no second chances!
In-flight options include calibrating controllers (useful for controller testing) and realistic helicopter style collective (pull back to increase collective).
Manual and other documents
If you can obtain either of the OEM versions of Longbow (see the primer) then you'll have access to a pdf version of the Longbow manual. There's also a very useful pdf reference card.
The docs don't have any campaign information as the OEM versions had the campaigns removed, but useful manuals nonetheless. I'd suggest keeping a copy in the docs folder, described in 'Game folders' above.
In the words of the Longbow exit message... Good hunting!
Comments