Ok let's get to the good bit. In Windows XP, I've managed to get Dune 2 working completely and without hitches. No strange behaviour, and no stupid out-of-memories either. The sound works perfectly, and so does the music. So if you'd like to play that old classic again for that warm feeling of nostalgia, then here's how.
1. Of course you need Dune 2 first. If you don't already have it, you can get the original fully-patched version here (4 MB). Since it was released in 1992 and is no longer supported, sold or updated, it is considered 'abandonware' and therefore free for download. So there's nothing illegal about getting it. I really doubt EA still cares about it, anyway.
2. Now you need the sound patch. This patch lets you choose 3 different devices for sound output, rather than one device for all 3. You can get the sound patch here. When you run that file, it creates several files in the folder it is in. Move and overwrite all those files into the folder where you extracted Dune 2.
3. Run the setup program. Dune 2 being an old DOS game, there were no standards for sound or anything else. Programmers would write their own sound and mouse support, then let you pick your device out of a list of supported devices. So go to your Dune 2 folder, and run setup.exe. Choose 1. for Setup Questions, and answer the questions as follows:
Play sound from: Sound Canvas (also known as MPU-401 or General Midi)
Play sound effects from: Sound Blaster Pro (these are algorithmically generated sounds, no games use this anymore)
Play digitized samples from: Sound Blaster Pro (the 'wav' type sounds you're more familiar with)
Then answer 'yes' to the question about extended memory, and of course 'yes' to the mouse question. When the summary comes up, type Y to save the configuration.
4. We're not there yet. Although you can run the game now, it will be buggy and it will quite frequently lock up (with me in WinXP at least). Windows XP's DOS emulation is far from perfect, but there's a much better program called DOSbox: http://prdownloads.s...rge.net/dosbox/ Grab the latest version (currently 0.63) and install it.
5. Nearly done. Now we need to set DOSbox up so we can run Dune 2 in it. Go to Start -> Programs -> DOSbox -> DOSbox.conf. Find the [cpu] section, and change 'cycles' (the clock speed of the emulated processor, in kHz) from the default 3000 to about 10000-20000, depending on what you like. I noticed that 10000 made it lag a bit on the last few missions, so you might want to try higher. Don't set it too high though or Windows will start to lag.
Now, create a new shortcut (or copy the existing DOSbox one from the start menu) and enter this as the target:
"<path and filename to dosbox.exe, this is C:\Program Files\DOSBox\dosbox.exe by default>" <dune2.exe path and filename, e.g. C:\dune2\dune2.exe> -conf "<path and filename to dosbox.conf, this is C:\Program Files\DOSBox\dosbox.conf by default>" -fullscreen -exitDon't forget to replace the things inside < > with the actual values.
6. Looks like you're set! Now run that shortcut, and enjoy the game! If you run into any trouble, post here and someone might be able to solve it.
Have fun!
Edited by ImmoMan, 02 May 2005 - 08:42 PM.
