New in This Version

1. Notable New Features

• Support for resizable OpenGL 3Dfx Voodoo window

  The 3Dfx Voodoo window is now resizable when running in OpenGL mode. Drag the Voodoo window borders or click the maximize window button to adjust the window size. With this you can now play 3Dfx Voodoo games in OpenGL mode with a much larger window than before, including maximized window, although you cannot switch to full-screen in this mode.

• Support for CuteMouse wheel mouse extension API

  The CuteMouse wheel mouse extension DOS API is now supported so that DOS programs that natively support this function (such as DOS Navigator 2) can make use of it. The function is enabled when the mouse wheel movement conversion is currently disabled (i.e. with “mouse_wheel_key = 0” in config file or “Do not convert to arrow keys” in “Main” menu => “Mouse wheel movements”).

• VMware mouse support for seamless mouse integration in Windows 3.1

  DOSBox-X now implements basic support for the VMware mouse protocol so that when used together with e.g. VMware mouse driver for Windows 3.1, the mouse will be seamlessly integrated with the host system and can enter/exit the DOSBox-X window without having to be captured or released. No VMware emulation software needed. Config option “vmware” is added (in [dos] section) which allows to disable VMware mouse guest integration in DOSBox-X.

• Improved support for S3 video handling including new chips

  Support for the S3 video handling has been improved in various ways in this version, including added S3 Vision964 and Vision968 based on existing support for the Vision864/868 chips, revised S3 Trio64 XGA line drawing code so that the Windows drivers can better draw polygon line segments, and new S3 ViRGE accelerated XGA line drawing function so that Windows 3.1/9x can now draw lines with hardware acceleration.

• Improved support for APM power management

  Support for APM BIOS has been notably improved in this version. An APM power button has been added, available from both “Main” menu and in the mapper. A suspended or standby mode will be emulated when the guest calls the APM BIOS to go into either mode, and Windows 98 no longer complains about the inability to suspend or go to standby.

• Improved support for keyboard layouts

  The built-in EGA?.CPX and KEYBOARD.SYS/KEYBRD?.SYS files have been upgraded to the latest version from FreeDOS, which has improved the keyboard layouts in several ways. The EGA?.CPX files now appear in CPI directory of Z drive, which can be also replaced by files provided by users. The supported country list has also been expanded.

2. Notable Usability Improvements

• Improved handling of TTF color schemes

  Handling of TTF color schemes has been improved in several ways. The “colors” config setting now accepts a leading “+” character to stay the specified color scheme when switching from another output, and SETCOLOR command allows a syntax like “SETCOLOR 1 +” to return the specified color number to the value as specified by “colors” setting. DOSBox-X will also dim the topmost line when the window is inactive in full-screen or menuless mode.

• Allow to mount multiple images files with wildcards

  IMGMOUNT command now accepts wildcards (* or ?) when mounting disk or CD images, allowing you to mount all images files matching the given pattern, such as IMGMOUNT A disk*.img.

• Allow to automatically map keyboard layouts to country code

  DOSBox-X will now try to map the keyboard layout to country number for different date/time/decimal formats when the country number is not specified and cannot be obtained from the host system.

• Allow to search for FONT.ROM in resources directory for PC-98 system

  For the PC-98 system, DOSBox-X will now search for FONT.ROM in resources directory in addition to the working directory, for more flexible support of font file locations.

• Allow to toggle more TTF/CJK options via keyboard shortcuts

  Menu options “CJK: Switch between DBCS/SBCS modes”, CJK: Auto-detect box-drawing characters”, and “Reset color scheme” (in “Video” -> “TTF options”) are now assignable in Mapper Editor, allowing you to toggle such options dynamically via keyboard shortcuts, including when the TTF output is not currently active.

• Allow to toggle logging output dynamically

  Menu option “Disable logging output” has been added to “Debug” menu, allowing you to disable or enable logging output at run-time. Command-line option “-nolog” is also added which allows to disable logging output at start.

3. Bugfixes and Other Improvements

There are also many bugfixes and other improvements, including fixes and improvements to some existing features (e.g. fixing lockup when printing in dBase IV, fixing crash/restart when running Wing Commander with EMS memory enabled, FPU enhancements, etc) and ported recent DOSBox SVN commits. Please see the full changelogs below for more information.

4. Full Changelog In This Version

• PC-98: Search for FONT.ROM in resources directory in addition to the working directory. (bsdf)
• Add S3 Vision964 and Vision968, based on existing support for the Vision864/868 chips (rderooy).
• APM BIOS: When the guest calls the APM BIOS to go into suspend or standby mode, emulate a suspended or standby mode. Spacebar resumes the guest machine. Blank the display (if VGA/SVGA machine type) upon suspend/standby and unblank upon leaving it. (joncampbell123)
• APM BIOS: Add dosbox-x.conf option to control whether the power button triggers a suspend or standby event. (joncampbell123)
• APM BIOS: Add power button mapper event, tie power button to APM BIOS, return power button as APM suspend event, add code to APM BIOS to handle suspend and resume events. Windows 98 no longer complains about the inability to suspend or go to standby. (joncampbell123)
• APM BIOS: Limit debug logging of APM BIOS function AH=05h (CPU IDLE) because Windows 98 likes to call that function way too often. Once a millisecond, in fact! The log spam makes it difficult to see anything important scroll by while debugging. (joncampbell123).
• Revise S3 Trio64 XGA line drawing code to add comments, and obey the “skip last pixel” bit so that the Windows drivers can better draw polygon line segments. This fixes broken XOR polylines in Windows 3.1 and Microsoft Word 2.0. (joncampbell123)
• Add S3 ViRGE accelerated XGA line drawing function. Windows 3.1 through Windows 98 can now draw lines with hardware acceleration. (joncampbell123)
• Merge code to help preserve long filename when older program writes/overwrites the 8.3 filename.
• Change “fpu” config setting to an enumeration that still accepts true and false, but now also accepts auto, 287, and 387. It is now possible to specify fpu=287 and cputype=386 to emulate a 386 paired with a 287 chip as is said to be how early 386 Compaq systems were wired, for example. (joncampbell123)
• 3Dfx Voodoo window is now resizable (inc. maximized window) when using OpenGL mode, in addition to the software mode. (MartyShepard, kekko, Wengier)
• Menu options “CJK: Switch between DBCS/SBCS modes”, CJK: Auto-detect box-drawing characters”, and “Reset color scheme” (in “Video” -> “TTF options”) are now assignable in Mapper Editor. (Wengier)
• The “colors” config setting now allows a leading “+” character to stay the specified color scheme when switching from another output. (Wengier)
• SETCOLOR command allows a syntax like “SETCOLOR 1 +” to return the specified color number to the preset value (as specified by “colors” setting). (Wengier)
• When using TTF output, DOSBox-X will dim the topmost line when the window is inactive in full-screen or menuless mode as in vDosPlus. (emendelson)
• IMGMOUNT command now accepts wildcards, such as “IMGMOUNT A disk*.img” to mount image files matching the given pattern. (Wengier)
• Added CuteMouse wheel mouse extension so that DOS programs such as DOS Navigator 2 can make use of it. It is enabled when mouse wheel movement conversion is currently disabled. (FeralChild & Wengier)
• Implemented basic support for VMware mouse protocol so that when used together with e.g. the VMware mouse driver for Windows 3.x, the mouse will be seamlessly integrated with the host system, and can enter/exit the DOSBox-X window without having to capture/release the mouse. Config option “vmware” is added (in [dos] section) which allows to disable VMware mouse guest integration. (FeralChild, Wengier, joncampbell123)
• When country number is not specified and cannot be obtained from system, DOSBox-X will try to map the keyboard layout to country number. The country list is also extended. (Wengier & FeralChild)
• Added “-nolog” command-line option to disable logging output completely, and “Disable logging output” menu option in “Debug” menu to toggle this. (Wengier)
• Updated EGA?.CPX and KEYBOARD.SYS/KEYBRD?.SYS to the latest version from FreeDOS. The CPX files now appear in CPI directory of Z drive, which can be replaced by files provided by the user. (FeralChild & Wengier)
• Fix lockup when printing in dBase IV. (Wengier)
• Fix crash/restart when running Wing Commander with EMS memory enabled. (grapeli)
• Fix possible buffer overflow issue that may happen in certain conditions. (maron2000)
• Fix NewWadTool 1.3 unable to play music by ensuring that periodic timer interrupt is triggered on every cmos_timerevent. (cimarronm)
• Fix handling of some DOS file I/O device drivers that expect a pre-filled input-buffer on READ function and also do not like to be called for every single byte in that buffer may not work correctly. (leecher1337)
• Fix FPU emulation to use 8087 FENI/FDISI behavior when cputype=8086 or cputype=80186. (joncampbell123)
• Fix FPU emulation to correctly emulate 80287 -/+inf compare behavior even if compiled for x86 targets where C_FPU_X86 uses the host FPU. (joncampbell123)
• Fix audio speech stuttering issue in SpaceQuest 4 v1.3 using Sound Blaster. (grapeli & rderooy)
• Fix issue with Lemmings palette swapping not working properly. (maron20000 & grapeli)
• Updated MT32emu to version 2.6.1. (maron20000)
• Updated DOSMID to version 0.9.6. (Wengier)
• Integrated commits from mainline (Allofich)
  • Indicate in BIOS memory when keyboard ACK received. Fixes Soko-ban Revenge.
  • Fix execution of small COM programs on PCjr machine type.