There's a trilogy of DOS games I used to enjoy as a child, and they aren't on this site. I was thinking of starting off some runs for each of them, but I'm not sure 100% what would be recommended for playing them. They're all available on GOG to purchase, but I still have to original DOS versions that can be run through DOSBOX. Which would be best to use to run these games for legitimacy?
Never used GOG before, and I don't know what game you refer to, so pretty limited what I could say. Is there any reason to believe the GOG release is in anyway different from the original DOS version of the game? Are the two versions clearly marked as being different versions? It seems like both things can be accommodated for if they are in any way different by their release details. Generally, I'd imagine, the resolution of the game has probably been approved, which can affect game play.
Red Alert is a game that was released for DOS, and also released for PC (where it can play faster). Additionally, it's been updated by fans up to 3.03 and released for free, with various things fixed. There aren't enough runs to separate that all into subcategories, though the details are still kept track of with a variable and by platform, and people tend to play the most, free, fan updated version. When you keep track of certain details about versions, they can be converted into subcategories later if it becomes more applicable.
If it's not even on the site, it's a bit early for version to really matter yet; the original games through DOSBOX or GOG should be equally acceptable. It's also possible that you can also find them here: https://classicreload.com
If you purchase the GOG version of the game, chances are 99% of the time it will be the same DOS version of the game with a "DosBox Launcher". However you could easily take this download, put it in any folder and mount that folder in regular DosBox and run it the same way. A nice way to easily and legitimately obtain many of these older classics.
The only thing you have to be aware of for speedrunning is that whatever incarnation of DosBox you are running (either from the GOG Launcher or from your own DosBox) that it adheres to the rules of whatever game you are running. It is very possible and likely that the speedrun rules for the game will require specific Cycles/CPU emulation settings be set within DosBox to ensure that you are running the game at the same speed as everyone else. This can be done by editing the Launcher config files with the GOG launcher, or set from within DosBox itself if you are running it from a DosBox prompt.
Just make sure to double check the rules for the game, if in doubt ask one of the games moderators.
[quote="Tenka"]Just make sure to double check the rules for the game, if in doubt ask one of the games moderators.[/quote] The games don't have rules yet. I'd advise testing various cycle settings (3000, 6000, 40000, max), and see what the differences are. If there are any (there probably will be), choose what you think would be best and specify that in the rules.
Thank you all for the suggestions. I've had a look over the version from GOG, and it appears to be slightly different to the original DOS version. I'll be giving both versions multiple tests to see how they work with various options.
As for Classic Reload, it does have the game there.
