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Old Star Wars Games on New Computer Systems (was: Tie Fighter Collectors' CD-ROM Works in DOSBox)

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If you still have the DOS version of Tie Fighter Collectors' CD-ROM you can play it in Windows 2000/XP!!! [and vista if you must, though I have not tried it]

The best way is to get DOSBox a program that emulates the DOS environment from http://www.dosbox.com/
Then make an ISO of your Tie Fighter Collectors' CD-ROM using something like ImgBurn at http://www.imgburn.com/
You can play it using the CD live but I find it runs a lot smoother using the ISO, and you don't need the CD in the drive anymore.
In my example I named the ISO tiecd.iso

Here are the steps:
A. Install DOSBox and ImgBurn
1. Make new folder in C: called 'tiedos' [no quotes]
2. Make new folder in C:\tiedos\ called 'c' [no quotes]
3. Copy or make ISO of Tie Fighter Collectors' CD-ROM in C:\tiedos\ called 'tiecd.iso' [use ImgBurn to build it. will be about 530MB]
Your file structure should be like this now:

c:\tiedos\c\
c:\tiedos\tiecd.iso

4. Add the following lines to the [autoexec] section at the end of the dosbox.conf file [will be available in the DOSBox start menu after install] :

mount c c:\tiedos\c
imgmount d c:\tiedos\tiecd.iso -t iso

5. Run DOSBox
6. Switch to the virtual CD d: by typing 'd:' [no quotes]
7. Type 'install' to install Tie Fighter into your virtual C: [which is actually C:\tiedos\c\ on your actual hard drive]
8. I did a Maximum Install [only 90MB]
9. Select 'C' for the custom Sound Card setup
10. Select Sound Blaster 16, select 220 for the port, and then select 'detect'
11. If you want to use the Windows MIDI or your real Sound card's MIDI select the advanced menu and change the Music to 'General MIDI' [this make a big difference]
12. You may now Quit, Save, & Play the game
13. The next time you start DOSBox
a. Swtich to c: using 'c:'
b. Swithch to tiecd folder using 'cd tiecd'
c. You should now be at the c:\tiecd prompt, type 'tie' to play the game or 'imuse' to set the sound up again
or add the following lines to the [autoexec] section at the end of the dosbox.conf file [below the lines added in step 4 above]

c:
cd tiecd




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EDIT: Changed the title so we can talk about how to get the other games to work also.
Microsoft Virtual PC as mentioned below can be used to run many Windows 95/98 games in XP.
You don't know the power . . .
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Thanks a lot for this. I'll give this a try.

Here is a sort of related question ..... for some of these older video games, when you try to install, some want to install an older version of direct X, but will not accept the new version. And I dont know how to bypass that or get it to recognize the new version. I definitely dont want to install an archaic version of direct x. Anybody know any way around this. I would love to play some of my older Star Wars games on my PC.

Thanks.

ThrowgnCpr’s edits on Fanedit.org

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Lucasfiles.com has a fix for some of the post-DOS x-wing/tie fighter games:

"This compatibility fix when installed will provide Windows 2000/XP with the compatibility settings required for these operating systems to run the X-Wing Collector Series and X-Wing Trilogy versions of X-Wing & TIE Fighter (Also known as X-Wing 95 & TIE Fighter 95) with Hardware 3D Graphics acceleration turned on. The fix also stops the TIE Fighter Launcher from asking you to install DirectX 5.2."

http://www.lucasfiles.com/index.php?s=&action=file&id=653

I have many of those titles also but the DOS Tie Fighter Collectors' CD-ROM is the best for me. The difference with those Windows games is that none of them use the nifty iMUSE system that gave the originals the dynamic MIDI soundtrack.
You don't know the power . . .
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Man, LucasGames/LucasArts use to suck away a ton of my money, and I always felt every single penny spent was worth it. Those old games were great. I could never get as much fun out of a modern space/flight simulator as I did from the X-Wing and Tie Fighter games. I wish they would quite making crappy games like The Force Unleashed and prequel tie in games, and make a modern sequel to their old SW flight sims. In this day and age they could make the thing span from prequel era to post-ROTJ, load it up with tons of ships and missions. If they could pull it off and keep the feel of the old ones, it could really be something. But then they would have to break their impressive current record of consecutive crappy Star Wars games, and that just wouldn't do.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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DOXBox is truly amazing. I've been using it for some time now, and it's caused miracles to happen, particularly after the 0.72 release came out. It runs almost any DOS game now, and in most cases runs it very well (better than the original DOS setup did in some cases). I've been able to play tons of old DOS-era Star Wars games with it, which brings a smile to my face.

Now that most DOS games can be run successfully under XP with DOSBox, the hardest games to get working at this point are certain ones that were actually written for Windows (95/98)... some of them just won't even install under XP without bombing out. And I'm at a loss for how to fix that.

--SKot

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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Originally posted by: SKot

Now that most DOS games can be run successfully under XP with DOSBox, the hardest games to get working at this point are certain ones that were actually written for Windows (95/98)... some of them just won't even install under XP without bombing out. And I'm at a loss for how to fix that


SKot, do you have any old versions of Windows lying around? There is this program called Virtual PC that was once made by a company called Connectix and was quite an expensive program. It was a PC emulator for the PC. You can use it to creat and run emulated PC of various specs. For example, a while back I wanted to play a Windows 95 game that absolutely could not work under WinXP, I searched all over for cracks and patches but came up with nothing. With Virtual PC I was able to emulate a computer running under the perfect specs for this game to run, then I popped in my old Windows 95 CD and installed it onto the emulated computer I had made, and a short while later was playing my game under the exact conditions it was intended to be played under. Wouldn't ya know it, good ol' Microsoft bought the rights to Virtual PC from the company that had originally made it, now it is called, Microsoft Virtual PC and is a free addon for WindowsXP. For once MS did something right, wish they had done it before I spent full price on the original version. As long as you have a legit copy of WindowsXP you can get it for free from Microsoft.com. Just go to their site and type Virtual PC in the search box, or you can google "Microsoft Virtual PC" and probably find a direct link to Microsoft's Virtual PC page.

Between DOSBox and Virtual PC, there should not be an old game that you can't play.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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I'm very glad to see another fan of the classic SW spacesims! I've wasted endless hours (days? months? LOL) playing them... in fact it was "X-Wing" what reminded me of Star Wars back in 1993... looks like you truly deserve to use my avatar

Originally posted by: tiefighter
The difference with those Windows games is that none of them use the nifty iMUSE system that gave the originals the dynamic MIDI soundtrack.

Yeah, that was a huge step back and they couldn't fix it until the mp3 format started to be used in the games. Did anyone else noted that it always took about a second for the CD drive to switch to victory/defeat track? I always dreaded that "jump" while in flight...

Another thing I miss was the grayness of the starships etc. That black/white feeling from Empire Strikes Back. Later on with the introduction of textures and colored light sources everything became too colorful to be "starwarsy".

PS: maybe you could change the title of the thread to something more generic, so that we can also talk about other old games? I managed to launch TIE Fighter 95 (I'm even converting old MIDI tracks to replace poorly recorded .wav files that came on CD - shame on you, LEC!), but I have major problems getting "Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine" to work stable (even after the patch and compatibility settings).
I saw the original theatrical release of the Old Trilogy on the big screen and I'm proud of it...
How did I accomplish that (considering my age) is my secret...
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Originally posted by: RRS-1980
I have major problems getting "Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine" to work stable (even after the patch and compatibility settings).


Seriously, Virtual PC is great. And now that it is free there isn't a better solution around for running old games. Infernal Machine and anything else you throw at it'll work just as well as on the machine it was designed for... as long as you have access to an old copy of windows.


"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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Originally posted by: RRS-1980
I'm very glad to see another fan of the classic SW spacesims! I've wasted endless hours (days? months? LOL) playing them... in fact it was "X-Wing" what reminded me of Star Wars back in 1993... looks like you truly deserve to use my avatar

Thanks, the board won't let me upload mine so I will try to change it again later.

Originally posted by: tiefighter
The difference with those Windows games is that none of them use the nifty iMUSE system that gave the originals the dynamic MIDI soundtrack.

Yeah, that was a huge step back and they couldn't fix it until the mp3 format started to be used in the games. Did anyone else noted that it always took about a second for the CD drive to switch to victory/defeat track? I always dreaded that "jump" while in flight...

Another thing I miss was the grayness of the starships etc. That black/white feeling from Empire Strikes Back. Later on with the introduction of textures and colored light sources everything became too colorful to be "starwarsy".


I agree that the old games even look better because of the lack of overblown graphics like in todays games. I have been collecting vintage joysticks and such from eBay and even scored a copy of the Macintosh versions of Tie and X-Wing Collector's CD-ROMs. So naturally I had to buy a Macintosh to play them on. Picked up a Blue and White G3 for like $55.00 shipped. I think this is the last Mac with ADB, so I can use the Flightstick Pro, or Thrustmaster FCS/WCS. The Macintosh versions seem to have slightly better graphics detail in the concourse area. One day I may have time to actually play the games . . .
You don't know the power . . .
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C3PX, thanks for the tip, I'm going to try it, albeit I'm not very optimistic about it (sorry, it's just my newly acquired fatalism). You see, operating system environment is one thing, but let's not forget about hardware...

For example, I did experience few times a problem related to texel alignment. I have a GeForceFX 5600 Ultra right now (don't laugh), the current drivers won't allow me to adjust texel (in the center or in the corner) just like I used to do it on my old RivaTNT-based card (even the fan-made tweaking proggy didn't help). Without this fix there may be problems with textures on some older titles and often game text will be "garbled"(e.g.: Darkstone). This is true in the case of Star Wars Rogue Squadron 3D and X-Wing Alliance. Luckily for me, there is some fan-made fix for X-Wing Alliance, just as some people try to patch Populous 3 (which also gives me blinking and warped interface textures).

tiefighter, are you by chance a flight sim fan? I'm infering this from the joystick types you've collected: Thrustmaster FCS/WCS surely isn't built for arcade shooters I know because I used to have this combo Too bad we live so far from each other, I'd send you my old gear if you had any need for spare parts - but I guess this thing isn't worth its dead weight now, LOL (I was saving them for my old buddy, who used to make custom modifications to flight sticks).


* * *


While we're speaking about running old games on new systems, I thought it would be nice to remind people reading this thread about a useful website - this forum often saved me a lot of trouble finding myself the way to launch a given old game.

VOGONS - Very Old Games On New Systems



Right now I'm finishing last touches to revive my old Warhammer - Shadow of the Horned Rat. This was the game that forced me to switch to that new Windows 95 thingie, imagine that!
I saw the original theatrical release of the Old Trilogy on the big screen and I'm proud of it...
How did I accomplish that (considering my age) is my secret...
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RRS-1980,

I am a fan of flight sims I was into the Hornet series and Wing Commander. The thing is I never had the cool Thrustmaster stuff back then, mainly generic or low-end sticks like those old Advance Gravis or Quickshots.

It was Tie Fighter that got me to seriously get into better joysticks. My first major joystick purchase was the Wingman Extreme, I liked that one a lot but the triggers would notoriously fail. So I then got a CH Flighstick Pro which I still have today. It works with those USB gameport adaptor things. The Flighstick Pro blew me away with how precise it is. Still my favorite stick.

I recently got the old Thrustmaster stuff but haven’t played with it yet. I also picked up the new Thrustmaster T.Flight Stick X recently and haven’t tried that either, it seems a little small for my hands. My classes end this week so I should get to test them out soon.

If you want to get rid of old hardware let me know, we can work something out.


-tiefighter
You don't know the power . . .
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Wow, I almost forgot how good was the ol' IMUSE. It never ceases to surprise me how they managed to make the rebel fanfare sound menacing (when a big bad cruiser hypers in)! So far I was only using VDMS for old games but you gave me the incentive to install DosBox
Did the floppy version also have the 640x480 res? I don't recall that!

When I find enough time I'm going to test that Virtual PC as well, because I can't get sound in "Battle for Naboo" on XP no matter how hard I try (compatibility modes, limiting to one CPU only, lowering sound acceleration...)
I saw the original theatrical release of the Old Trilogy on the big screen and I'm proud of it...
How did I accomplish that (considering my age) is my secret...
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Lucasarts used to make great games. Tie Fighter/X-Wing was great. Another one that was good was "Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe" I still enjoy that game.
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Does anyone know why there's no music in TIE Fighter Collector's Edition when you apply the fix for XP?

And in the time of greatest despair, there shall come a savior, and he shall be known as the Son of the Suns.

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I have the DOS versions of the Collector's editions I used DOSBOX and I now have proper graphics/sound. Problem is now I cannot get my USB gamepad to properly calibrate. I am using an old Gravis GamePad Pro. I go through the calibration at the start of the game but I cannot move the stick anywhere but down right. Any ideas what DOSBOX settings I need to change?

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I don't play any of my pc games anymore but I know I have these lying around in a box....Shadows of the Empire is one I'd probably consider going back to with this DOSBox thingy.....

 

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Jetrell Fo said:

I don't play any of my pc games anymore but I know I have these lying around in a box....Shadows of the Empire is one I'd probably consider going back to with this DOSBox thingy.....

 

If you have the X-Wing Trilogy collection (X-wing/Tie Fighter/X-Wing Alliance for Windows) on CD let me know. I'll buy it from you.

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Stryker412 said:

I am using an old Gravis GamePad Pro. I go through the calibration at the start of the game but I cannot move the stick anywhere but down right.


Does it work properly in the system and only fails in DOSBOX? Is it the only game where it's giving you problems? What are your DOSBOX version and joystick settings?

 

I saw the original theatrical release of the Old Trilogy on the big screen and I'm proud of it...
How did I accomplish that (considering my age) is my secret...
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RRS-1980 said:

 

Stryker412 said:

I am using an old Gravis GamePad Pro. I go through the calibration at the start of the game but I cannot move the stick anywhere but down right.


Does it work properly in the system and only fails in DOSBOX? Is it the only game where it's giving you problems? What are your DOSBOX version and joystick settings?

 

I got it to work finally after using the LA patch for joysticks. I also gave up on the Windows 2000 box I was trying to run it on and am just running everything on my Win7 x64 box. It all works flawlessly now.

 

 

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I got it to work finally after using the LA patch for joysticks. I also gave up on the Windows 2000 box I was trying to run it on and am just running everything on my Win7 x64 box. It all works flawlessly now.

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Glad to hear that.

 

* * *

Not that long time ago I had the pleasure to play "Attack on the Death Star" on an emulator. It's a very old game released on Japanese computers, not even Wikipedia has an entry, so I added one here:

http://www.mobygames.com/game/star-wars-attack-on-the-death-star

The early vector graphics look exactly like the special effects from the movie! Just compare the pre-Death Star run briefing.

BTW, this website lists over a hundred of Star Wars games, dating back to 1982: http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/star-wars-universe

I saw the original theatrical release of the Old Trilogy on the big screen and I'm proud of it...
How did I accomplish that (considering my age) is my secret...
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RRS-1980 said:

Not that long time ago I had the pleasure to play "Attack on the Death Star" on an emulator. It's a very old game released on Japanese computers, not even Wikipedia has an entry, so I added one here:

http://www.mobygames.com/game/star-wars-attack-on-the-death-star

The early vector graphics look exactly like the special effects from the movie! Just compare the pre-Death Star run briefing.

BTW, this website lists over a hundred of Star Wars games, dating back to 1982: http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/star-wars-universe

I remember finding that game about 10 years ago when I was heavily involved with the now defunct "The Emulator Strikes Back" website but the emulator for it back then was nearly impossible to get working. It sounds like it may be worth re-visit...

 

Does anyone have any tips on getting Rogue Squadron to work on Windows 7? I have found fixes for V1.3 but my copies are V1.0 and V1.01.

Alternatively, can anyone offer what to look for in buying the V1.3 version?

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Last time I played Rogue Squadron 3D I suffered from the video problems caused by the latest nVidia drivers. Older ones allowed for texel origin adjustment, sometimes you need this to fix e.g: garbled text in certain games.

I saw the original theatrical release of the Old Trilogy on the big screen and I'm proud of it...
How did I accomplish that (considering my age) is my secret...
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Mine is OK with XP but will not even install in Windows 7!!!!

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