Longbow Gold (DOS version) Installation and Playing Guide - In Windows XP, using DOSBox and the NoCD install method By Flyboy What you need * A PC with Windows XP and a dual or quad core processor (2.8-3.0GHz have been tested with superb results; slower speeds should be OK too) * Original copy of Longbow Gold (all 3 x CDs) * ISO Recorder (or you can use Nero, WinISO or any program that will burn CD images) * DOSBox (latest version, 0.72 at time of writing) * A modified dosbox.conf file. * A custom batch file. * Optional: Comfort and a bit of knowledge with text file command line editing. <> Creating images of your CDs First make an ISO-image of each of your original CDs. I'm using ISO Recorder to do this (be sure to download the right one for your Operating System). Right-click on an CD drive icon in My Computer and select "Copy CD to Image File". The wizard will open up. Select the target file. Press the "Next" button. The wizard will copy the CD into an ISO file. When copy is completed, the wizard will display the "Finish" page. Note: If you are using another CD-burner/ISO creator then read the documentation that comes with the program to see how to create an ISO file. No need to name the label of the CD. Make one image (ISO-file) for each CD. Note: All good CD-burning/ISO creator software like Nero and WinISO respectively, can create images, you don't have to use the ones used here. Place the images in the folder 'C:\LBGold\...' Rename the images to 'lbgcd1' for CD1, 'lbgcd2' for CD2 and 'lbgcd3' for CD3. Now you need to have the latest version of DOSBox (0.72) In the modified 'lbg.conf' file (found in the DOSBox directory, add the following section to the end of the file: [autoexec] imgmount D C:\images\lbgcd1.iso -t iso imgmount E C:\images\lbgcd2.iso -t iso imgmount F C:\images\lbgcd3.iso -t iso Or grab a pre-done one here, then copy it to your DOSBox directory. The added lines look like this. Once executed by DOSBox they look like this (note, drive letters and directory paths changed to suit my needs). These image mount commands mean that it's more convienient, as you don't have to swap your CD's. It's important that name of the image doesn't contain any spaces or the image will not mount. Remember to change the folder paths to match yours. By loading images of your LB Gold discs into a virtual CD-drive you no longer need to keep swapping CDs when a terrain change is required or touch your precious discs again. You can safely tuck them away. <> Installing 1) After completing all of the above... 2) Open DOSBox, and type in (without quote marks): 3) 'mount C C:\Games\' (Enter) 4) 'D:' (Enter) 5) 'INSTALL' (Enter) 6) Ignore when it gives the results of the system test, it will come up as 'Poor' - proceed anyhow! 7) When it asks what hard drive to use, select C [or what yours is] 8) When it asks what directory to install to, use C:\LBGold [as C: is mounted as C:\Games\ it will install to C:\Games\LBGold... again, use your drive letters to reflect your system] 9) It should install OK. <> Playing 1) Open DOSBox, and type in (without quote marks): 2) 'mount C C:\Games\LBGold' (Enter) 3) 'C:' (Enter) 4) 'LB' (Enter) * To make life a lot easier, create a .BAT file in the DOSBox directory and place the following line in it (without first and last quote marks): "dosbox.exe C:\Games\LBGold\LB.exe -conf lbg.conf -fullscreen" Note: Change the paths to reflect your settings. Now create a shortcut to the batch file on your desktop or somewhere convenient for you. When you run the BAT file, it will automatically mount all required drives, run with No CD and will launch in fullscreen! Grab a pre-done copy of the batch file here, and place it in your DOSBox directory. <> Game settings Select screen resolution of 640x480 and max out all graphics settings. Alt-O at Main Menu: Terrain Detail Level - High Flight Screen Resolution - 640x480 [Like this] Alt-O in-game: Graphics -> Detail Level -> High Detail [Go here, then like this] <> Tweaking You may want/need to tweak a few aspects of DOSBox to make the game fully comfortable and compatible. Open the 'lbg.conf' file in the DOSBox directory, using Notepad, and change and of the following lines. [sdl] fullresolution=original (an entry such as 'fullresolution=1024x768' will force a higher screen res of 1024 x 768) output=ddraw (this forces the game to use the Direct3D, graphics are NOT converted to D3D however) sensitivity=400 (it speeds up mouse movement in menus if it is too slow) [joystick] timed=false (when you're having erratic movements, can't calibrate or similar) swap34=true (when your rudder input influences collective and vice-versa) <> Important ** DO NOT USE A FRONT END FOR DOSBOX WITH THIS GUIDE ** ** Here, I've used 'D', 'E' and 'F' as the letters of the virtual CD drive mounts - if any of your drives are already these letters, use different ones. ** Here, I've used 'C', and 'C:\Games\' as the directory of the hard drive and games directory, respectively - if yours is different, enter the correct letter/path. ** With the NoCD install/play method - I thought I would just try it as it was logical to do so, the good thing with DOSBox is that you can mount any folder, drive or image as a CD drive - in this case an image! ** Nothing changes your system config, all the mounting process is just for DOSBox! When you exit DOSBox, all is defaulted and nothing on your system is overwrite or changed in any way. ** You can use everything with the NoCD install process. All missions, all movies, and the Jane's book. ** This method can also be used for LB1 and FPK, just change the names of the relevant files and folders to relating ones, and be sure that everything matches, e.g. the files and folder names with DOSBox .conf and .bat entries. ** You can now put your treasured LB Gold CDs away for safe keeps! ** I highly advise that if you enjoy this game, or any game, that you buy it. Any NoCD instructions or similar are there purely for the purpose of your convenience and so that you can keep your precious CDs safe. I, as the author of this guide, do not support piracy in any way, shape or form. By using this guide, you should be aware that piracy is a crime and that it is illegal to copy media, especially when you do not own the source disc(s) as a result of purchasing from a reputable vendor. Buy the games you love to support the developers and publishers, so that they can continue to produce high-quality software for the enjoyment of us all. <> Credits A big thank you to the following people... AV8R, DKM, polaris, PositiveG, Skanks (for forum posting, researching and testing) damson (for DOSBox command line variables and image mounting process) Eugene (for testing, forum posting) Shadow=ASP= (for image creation process) SimHQ Forums (without which this subject may now be closed) speck01 (for testing, forum posting and eureka moments) VOGONS Forums (for DOSBox tweaks and work-arounds)