DOS Games Discussion

Let's keep all game suggestions in a single thread for the ease of managing and finding them.

I'll start by throwing in some games, grouped by genre. MobyGames and GOG.com links provided where applicable.

With the new play-in-the-browser functionality it seems reasonable to focus on games that are not resource-heavy and will run in DOSBox more or less smoothly.

Platform games
This is what the site currently calls "Sidescrolling", but I'd like to point out that this definition is too broad for good game groupings: for example both Alien Carnage and Stargunner are side-scrolling games but they're vastly different when it comes to gameplay and shouldn't really be in one group.

Alien Rampage GOG
License: Shareware
Latest version: 1.13
Download: RGB Classic Games

Cold Dreams
License: Shareware
Latest version: 1.06sh
Download: coldream.zip
Comment: This is a pretty rare game.

Guimo
License: Shareware
Latest version: 2.2
Download: guimo.zip

Rayman GOG
License: Demo
Latest version: 1.00
Download: raydemo.zip
Comment: the original download is the EXE file inside the ZIP above.

Rayman Gold/Designer GOG
License: Shareware
Latest version: 1.01
Download: FilePlanet
Comment: This demo comes as a Windows installer that might not work (properly) on modern systems, so I made a pre-installed pack with accurate date stamps, available here (the file is RayKit.zip). The shareware version has four levels.

Amazing Learning Games with Rayman
License: Demo
Download: RGB Classic Games
Comment: Same gameplay as in regular Rayman titles but the player occasionally solves math or vocabulary problems.

Turn-Based Strategy games
I verily recommend to split the current Sport/Sim/Strategy group into separate categories. Turn-based strategy games theoretically should run fine in the browser implementation of DOSBox.

Warlords
License: Demo
Download: WARLRD.ZIP
Comment: Play as the Elvallie for 40 turns in the demo, no save/load. Requires low cycles (the default 3000 will do).

Warlords II Deluxe
License: Demo
Download: w2demo.zip
Comment: Play as any side for 40 turns on the default map, no save/load. Tutorial and a dungeon map also included with the same limitations.

Fantasy General GOG
License: Demo
Download: fantasy.zip
Comment: Fantasy wargame, two demo scenarios w/o save or load. The original download was the EXE inside the ZIP above.

Panzer General
License: Demo
Download: pgendemo.exe
Comment: Two playable scenarios, no save/load, no sound.

Kingdom at War
License: Demo/Shareware
Download: net_kaw.exe
Comment: One fully playable scenario (out of 8 in the full game), no save/load or turn restrictions as far as I can tell.

Jagged Alliance GOG
License: Demo
Download: jademo.zip
Optional speech pack: jaspeech.zip
Comment: The demo contains a unique level not found in the full game. No save/load.
NOTE: The main demo file (jademo.zip) that you might find from other sources likely contains a broken installer file and thus cannot be installed. The link above is to a repaired, functional version of the demo installer files.

Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games GOG
License: Demo
Download: dgdemo.zip
Optional speech pack: dgspeech.zip
Optional briefing speech pack: gtspeech.zip

X-COM: UFO Defense GOG
License: Demo
Download (English demo): xcomdemo.zip
Download (German demo): ufoger.zip
Comment: One Battlescape scenario with no save/load, some preview screenshots. The German demo contains a different, much easier mission.

X-COM: Terror from the Deep GOG
License: Demo
Download: terror.zip
Comment: One Battlescape scenario, no save/load, some preview screenshots.

Here's a few more:

Platform games
Clif Danger
License: Shareware
Latest version: 1.3
Download (English version): CLIFE_SW.ZIP
Download (German version): clifshw.exe
Comment: Neat platform game with a digitised soundtrack and art by Carsten Wieland.

Cyril Cyberpunk (a.k.a. Cyberboard Kid)
License: Shareware
Latest version: 0.51
Download: CYBERKID.EXE
Comment: This side-scrolling platform game was at some point considered for publication by Apogee Sotware but this never materialised.

Dig It!
License: Shareware
Latest version: 1.1
Download (v1.0, CDV Software): digit.zip
Download (V1.1, Springsoft): digit.zip
Comment: A game by Pixel Painters with very nice art. Version 1.1 found at the site of UK distributor Springsoft comes with a Windows 3.x installer, the contents may be extracted using Universal Extractor.

Ball & Paddle
Stone Breaker
License: Shareware
Latest version: 1.0
Download: stone.zip
Comment: Yet another Breakout game, has various powerups and power-downs.

Tronic
License: Shareware
Latest version: 1.3
Download: trinstal.zip

Adventure
Igor: Objective Uikokahonia
License: Shareware
Latest version: 1.1
Download: igor110.zip
Comment: The shareware version of this game is a bit rare.

Role-Playing Games
Yendorian Tales: Book I
License: Shareware
Latest version:
Download: yendor1.exe
Comment: Isometric party-based RPG.

Yendorian Tales: Book I - Chapter 2
License: Shareware
Latest version: 2.10
Download: yendor2.exe
Comment: First-person party-based RPG like Might & Magic, grid movement.

Yendorian Tales: The Tyrants of Thaine
License: Shareware
Latest version: 2.01
Download: yendor3.exe
Comment: First-person party-based RPG like Might & Magic, grid movement.

I used to love this ball and paddle game called Paddlers, if I may make this suggestion?

Ball & Paddle
Paddlers
License: Freeware
Download: (see Paddlers.zip in attachments below)
Latest version: 1.1 (afaik)
Comment: Four player ball and paddle game. Anyone from zero up to four human players can play. By James J.Saito Copyright (C) 1996 JJsoft and free to redistribute all files together as long as they are unmodified.

Thanks for the suggestion! Here's the author's original site:
https://web.archive.org/web/20010503090 ... sgames.htm

I noticed my other DOS game UrthWurm is missing on dosgames, if you want you can add it. My old homepage has been taken offline, but yo can still grab a copy of the game+source via the Wayback Machine:
http://members.home.nl/bas.de.reuver/files.html

Classic/Arcade? (or Action?)
UrthWurm
License: Freeware
Latest version: 1.0
Download: URTHWURM.ZIP
Comment: Guide the urthwurm though a long cave. It's a one-button game, press SPACE to go up and release spacebar and the wurm will drop. It's a remake of the Win3.x game SFCave.

I recently made an (unofficial) English translation of a short promotional adventure game for DOS called Croustibat. The game was originally created by Coktel Vision using the Gobliins 2 engine, so it has a lot of similarity with that game. Would there be any interest in adding it here?

denzquix wrote: ↑ I recently made an (unofficial) English translation of a short promotional adventure game for DOS called Croustibat. The game was originally created by Coktel Vision using the Gobliins 2 engine, so it has a lot of similarity with that game. Would there be any interest in adding it here?

Hi! The title sounds vaguely familiar, as I have a certain knowledge of various advergames (I can look it up). Does the game have explicit permission to be distributed? Or, does it have an explicit permission not to be distributed? (I"m a bit pedantic when it comes to these things, you know)

Welcome to the forums!

BTW, tell us what tools you used to make your translation, please.

MrFlibble wrote: ↑ Does the game have explicit permission to be distributed? Or, does it have an explicit permission not to be distributed? (I"m a bit pedantic when it comes to these things, you know)

To be honest, I have no idea -- I assumed advergames were a bit like demos, implied distributability. I don't know Croustibat's explicit legal status. So... never mind!

MrFlibble wrote: ↑ BTW, tell us what tools you used to make your translation, please.

I found an old PASCAL tool I had to run in DOSBox called GOBCRACK. but that only helped unpack and repack the .STK container file.

Beyond that, I pretty much just wrote my own scripts to unpack and repack the actual data files, using scummvm-tools, a hex editor and ScummVM source code as a reference.

denzquix wrote: ↑ I assumed advergames were a bit like demos, implied distributability.

There are very certainly at least a few that were sold commercially, some have demos. These are mostly German-made though:

• Tom Long
• Cleanman
• Sampson's Golden Mane

These are just a few examples off the top of my head, IIRC there are more. But, of course, most advergames were intended to be freely distributable.

denzquix wrote: ↑ I found an old PASCAL tool I had to run in DOSBox called GOBCRACK. but that only helped unpack and repack the .STK container file.

Beyond that, I pretty much just wrote my own scripts to unpack and repack the actual data files, using scummvm-tools, a hex editor and ScummVM source code as a reference.

Nice, sounds like a great job you did there!

Is there a place where one can download your translation?

MrFlibble wrote: ↑ Is there a place where one can download your translation?

Sure, but it seems that as a new user I don't have the right to post links here (yet?)

denzquix wrote: ↑ Sure, but it seems that as a new user I don't have the right to post links here (yet?)

Yes, that's a spambot countermeasure. You'll be able to post links after your post count reaches five posts.

For now, you can break down your URL so that it gets through, like this:

http:// www(dot)dosgames(dot)com

OK then, it's available here:

https://archive.org/details/croustibat_en_v1

Thanks! I fixed the link on your post.

May I ask, since the original game is in Portuguese as it seems, are you a Portuguese speaker or do you just know the language?

I'm not much of a Portuguese speaker or polyglot in general. I did what I could on my own, but had to look some things up. (For that reason I'd be happy to accept feedback from anyone who has a more nuanced understanding of the wording in the original -- there could always be a version 2 of the translation...)

Also I'm also not entirely sure if the original really was Portuguese or, as I suspect, there was a French original and the Portuguese version is itself a translation (but the French version never got put online, or maybe was never released at all). That's just speculation though, I have no hard evidence.

denzquix wrote: ↑ Also I'm also not entirely sure if the original really was Portuguese or, as I suspect, there was a French original and the Portuguese version is itself a translation (but the French version never got put online, or maybe was never released at all). That's just speculation though, I have no hard evidence.

Interesting! What exactly pointed you at this conclusion then? I'm not really familiar with this game save for the general knowledge of its existence as an advergame in the first place, and I very certainly have no knowledge of the products that it advertises, or the producer of said products.

(Apologies for the infrequent replies, I get busy at work quite often and don't have the time to check this forum regularly.)