Tips? I'm having trouble playing Retro CD Rom Games

[Victor Vector]

Well, this has been one heck of a journey to say the least. What got me motivated to start playing old computer games was Victor Vector and Yando: The Vampire's Coffin. I did eventually end up buying a Dell Laptop with Windows 98 SE. The good news is the game works, but it doesn't work 100 percent. There are certain items that do not show up. My friend has an Acter Laptop with Windows Vista and it does work 100 percent on his at 256 color. When I try to set it at 256 color as recommended, all of the colors become distorted..

The one good news is SIM CITY original works on both of our laptops.

So I bought some more CD roms, was so excited to see which ones would play. We bought Quake 1, Where in the World is Carmen's San Diego, a demo disk for MDK/Tomb Raider, and LINKS 386 PRO. Not ONE of them worked on either of our laptops, not ONE. And it looked like the files were there, but nothing we tried could get these games to work.

So I am feeling a bit stumped. I just wish I could have a laptop that would play all of the CD Roms before 2000. But it doesn't seem that easy. We try to play these games and they just DON'T play.

This is a PC gamers forum. I am NOT an avid PC guy. But any practical advice to help cheer me up would be welcomed. I really really have been wanting to relive the good old computer game days. I am a gamer and have been trying to get back into old computer games. I really wish I could play some of these old school CD Roms. I don't understand why they don't run. What could be the reason why this tech is so complicated?

 

[Colif]

We bought Quake 1, Where in the World is Carmen's San Diego, a demo disk for MDK/Tomb Raider, and LINKS 386 PRO. Not ONE of them worked on either of our laptops, not ONE.

What stage did they not work at?
Were you able to install them?
Did they just crash when you tried to start them?

Victor Vector is from 1993. Its 32 years old... (will people stop reminding me how old I am). I can't find much about it besides people trying to get the Macintosh version to help, which isn't much use. The site linked below doesn't know it.

System Requirements
CPU Required: 386
Ram: 4mb
Mouse required: yes
Audio required: yes
Supported video: SVGA

https://elisoftware.org/w/index.php/Victor_Vector_%26_Yondo_Cyberplasm_Formula_(PC,_CD-ROM)_Sanctuary_Woods_-_1995_USA,_Canada_Release

I did eventually end up buying a Dell Laptop with Windows 98 SE.

Do you know what Graphics card is in the Dell?

There can be problems trying to get old games to run on new hardware, mainly due to the games not knowing the hardware at all and in some cases running worse. Used to happen with graphics a lot.

So in many cases the only way to do it now is via emulation or websites hosting games:

Many of the games are playable online:
Links 386: https://playclassic.games/games/sport-dos-games-online/play-links-386-pro-online/
I used to play Links 386 at lunch at work almost 30 years ago.
Quake1: https://playclassic.games/games/first-person-shooter-dos-games-online/play-quake-online/
Carmen: https://playclassic.games/games/edu...n-the-world-is-carmen-sandiego-deluxe-online/
MDK: https://playclassic.games/games/action-dos-games-online/play-mdk-online/
Tomb raider: https://playclassic.games/games/action-adventure-dos-games-online/play-tomb-raider-online/

I didn't try any of them, I assume they are okay. they run in the browser.
Might not be the same but its much cheaper than buying old hardware to try to get right combo.

 

[mjs warlord]

look for the game launcher and put it into compatibility mode

 

[Colif]

look for the game launcher and put it into compatibility mode

does win 98 have a compatibility mode?

 

[Victor Vector]

What stage did they not work at?
Were you able to install them?
Did they just crash when you tried to start them?

Victor Vector is from 1993. Its 32 years old... (will people stop reminding me how old I am). I can't find much about it besides people trying to get the Macintosh version to help, which isn't much use. The site linked below doesn't know it.

System Requirements
CPU Required: 386
Ram: 4mb
Mouse required: yes
Audio required: yes
Supported video: SVGA

https://elisoftware.org/w/index.php/Victor_Vector_%26_Yondo_Cyberplasm_Formula_(PC,_CD-ROM)_Sanctuary_Woods_-_1995_USA,_Canada_Release

Do you know what Graphics card is in the Dell?

There can be problems trying to get old games to run on new hardware, mainly due to the games not knowing the hardware at all and in some cases running worse. Used to happen with graphics a lot.

So in many cases the only way to do it now is via emulation or websites hosting games:

Many of the games are playable online:
Links 386: https://playclassic.games/games/sport-dos-games-online/play-links-386-pro-online/
I used to play Links 386 at lunch at work almost 30 years ago.
Quake1: https://playclassic.games/games/first-person-shooter-dos-games-online/play-quake-online/
Carmen: https://playclassic.games/games/edu...n-the-world-is-carmen-sandiego-deluxe-online/
MDK: https://playclassic.games/games/action-dos-games-online/play-mdk-online/
Tomb raider: https://playclassic.games/games/action-adventure-dos-games-online/play-tomb-raider-online/

I didn't try any of them, I assume they are okay. they run in the browser.
Might not be the same but its much cheaper than buying old hardware to try to get right combo.

Thanks. Yea playing Victor Vector the Vampires Coffin is important to me, it does work on my friends Acter Laptop 2008. My Del has 256 color which is what the game needs. I set it to that but it distorts all of the color, to the point you can't see it. I'm not really sure where you find what your graphic cards are.

Thanks for sending me the links. I tried them all. Do you think that the graphics and frame rates are different on these emulators? I wonder how much of a difference is Quake with the disc?

Links Pro is a good golf game. I cannot open that with that site. It wants me to type in a certain command and doesn't let me advance. Let me know if you know how to run that one. I got it to play on another site but the issue is that there were so many ads getting in the way and also it feels like the timing is off. I can't time my swing accurately due to timing glitches.

 

[Colif]

It wants me to type in a certain command and doesn't let me advance.

that is odd, I can get to the menu where you start game, where did it ask for the command and what does it want?

Thanks for sending me the links. I tried them all. Do you think that the graphics and frame rates are different on these emulators? I wonder how much of a difference is Quake with the disc?

It might depend on your connection speed, the reaction speed on a disc might be faster than on a browser. I doubt the games are hosted on high speed servers. Demand wouldn't be there to justify cost.
That would explain the lag in reacting to

Shame you don't have windows 7 or newer:

Links 386 Pro

An essential game for all sport simulator fans. LINKS 386 Pro was a groundbreaking instal

www.gog.com

Finding a working version of Victor Vector is an entirely different task. Its either 30 or 33 years old, I seen both.

just as well we only looking for one of them:

1. Victor Vector & Yondo: The Cyberplasm Formula
2. Victor Vector & Yondo: The Hypnotic Harp
3. Victor Vector & Yondo: The Vampire's Coffin
4. Victor Vector & Yondo: The Last Dinosaur Egg

i can't find anyone talking about running this. I have seen videos of people running it in windows 3.1, but we know it works in Vista, just not on your PC.

Next time you are in windows 98, can you open Device manager by right clicking my computer and clicking properties. Then go to Device manager tab and expand the Display Adapters option.
Can you tell me the name of your graphics card? Might help figure out why you not seeing it right.

 

[mjs warlord]

Sorry for late reply @ Colif said .... does windows 98 have a compatibility mode ....

Unless somebody tells me i am wrong you activate it from a games launcher ... nothing to do with windows.
To do this look in the games files for the launcher it will say gamename.exe and it usually has a thumbnail picture of the game on it as well. Right click on it and choose compatibility mode. Dont forget to do apply and ok.

For games as old as 98 you need the oldest windows op system in the list.

If you have a more recent game that wont work in the op system your running its usually because the pc you have now is too good for the game and you might do something like jump on a mountain ( in myst ) and go straight through it into green screen. Go to the compatibility tab and cjhoose the op system that was around when the game was made.

I dont know if its just a coincidence but if i ever need to do this i always end up using vista with no service pack

 

[neogunhero]

This is going to be a pretty ham-fisted suggestion, but why don't you just buy a cheap modern laptop that is capable of playing all of those games in compatibility mode? Modern computers can support things like DOSBox and other emulation/translation methods to play old PC games. You can also buy cheap USB CD and floppy disk readers and be able to use your old physical copies. There is also sites like GOG where you can officially buy old games, or websites like MyAbandonware which may be morally grey, but they give downloads to old games that are typically not officially sold anywhere anymore.

I believe a modern laptop could fix all of your issues, and it doesn't have to be an expensive one if the most graphically demanding game you'll be playing is Quake 1.

 

[Colif]

I generally don't try to play ancient games so I didn't know about the game launcher thing.

 

[Victor Vector]

This is going to be a pretty ham-fisted suggestion, but why don't you just buy a cheap modern laptop that is capable of playing all of those games in compatibility mode? Modern computers can support things like DOSBox and other emulation/translation methods to play old PC games. You can also buy cheap USB CD and floppy disk readers and be able to use your old physical copies. There is also sites like GOG where you can officially buy old games, or websites like MyAbandonware which may be morally grey, but they give downloads to old games that are typically not officially sold anywhere anymore.

I believe a modern laptop could fix all of your issues, and it doesn't have to be an expensive one if the most graphically demanding game you'll be playing is Quake 1.

I would love to buy a cheap modern laptop if it works. My friend has a 2008 Acter Labtop but even in compatibility mode it's having trouble playing a lot of games.

I did buy a USB CD reader and hooked it up to my MacBook Air, but the problem is it says it is not supported. I think those might just work for DVDS I'm guessing.

Yes GOG does seem to have some good options, but I realized most games don't work on my Mac.

 

[Johnway]

I've mentioned it before, but what the hell, i would recommend perhaps using EXodos. The problem with Dos games is that its just gives you access to loads of dos games. it also comes with Dosbox as it allows you the control to emulate any hardware it might need.

eXoDOS

failing that perhaps try the collection chamber. The stuff the guy has packaged is all there and is an easy one click to get it done.

scummvm is pretty good for all your point and click dreams.

but you have my sympathies. I love retro gaming but even DOS gaming gives me pause. its the technical nature and how each game has its own requirements and behaviors that make it thankful we have autorun and settings are more consistent these days.

 

[Victor Vector]

I'm looking into ExoDOS but does it run on MacBook Air? Also, how do you feel the quality of the DosBox games are? Do you play them offline once you download the program or are you just playing the game online? Is the quality similar to the original games?

 

[Johnway]

I'm looking into ExoDOS but does it run on MacBook Air? Also, how do you feel the quality of the DosBox games are? Do you play them offline once you download the program or are you just playing the game online? Is the quality similar to the original games?

Can't say for macbook air (windows pc gamer), the games you download from the catalogue will be playable offline. i downloaded the lite edition and when you first start it, it will pull the resources down and install it. So you don't have to download the 300gb of data needed.

Quality wise i would say its on par or at least acceptable. But that said, don't expect anything spectacular or brilliant as there were massive limitations. Some games were very finnicky when it came to settings (software mode, direct3d, 3dfx voodoo for graphics for example). give it more power then is needed and they run too quickly. Some cases you had to throttle the games for them to be playable. its a balancing act.


Looking at Victor Vector and Yando apparently it will run via https://infinitemac.org/ using version 8.0 and above?


EDIT: Just looked at https://infinitemac.org/ and i think this might be the answer to most, if not ALL your Mac game desires. it runs all in the web browser. Exciting stuff. VERY exciting stuff. i believe you download from the mac garden and it runs within the virtual OS.

see https://blog.adafruit.com/2024/11/0...des-20000-titles-seamlessly-to-emulated-macs/

Will play more.


EDIT2: Well got to the point where i can download the game from mac garden but its kinda slow to get things working. isort of stopped after it was so slow unstuffing the stuff. Who knows? maybe if i up the specs a bit, it might just unzip really quickly and be playable.

 

[Victor Vector]

Can't say for macbook air (windows pc gamer), the games you download from the catalogue will be playable offline. i downloaded the lite edition and when you first start it, it will pull the resources down and install it. So you don't have to download the 300gb of data needed.

Quality wise i would say its on par or at least acceptable. But that said, don't expect anything spectacular or brilliant as there were massive limitations. Some games were very finnicky when it came to settings (software mode, direct3d, 3dfx voodoo for graphics for example). give it more power then is needed and they run too quickly. Some cases you had to throttle the games for them to be playable. its a balancing act.


Looking at Victor Vector and Yando apparently it will run via https://infinitemac.org/ using version 8.0 and above?


EDIT: Just looked at https://infinitemac.org/ and i think this might be the answer to most, if not ALL your Mac game desires. it runs all in the web browser. Exciting stuff. VERY exciting stuff. i believe you download from the mac garden and it runs within the virtual OS.

see https://blog.adafruit.com/2024/11/0...des-20000-titles-seamlessly-to-emulated-macs/

Will play more.


EDIT2: Well got to the point where i can download the game from mac garden but its kinda slow to get things working. isort of stopped after it was so slow unstuffing the stuff. Who knows? maybe if i up the specs a bit, it might just unzip really quickly and be playable.

Thanks for the info. I tried the Infinite Mac 8.0 and 9.1 and they didn't work for Victor Vector and Yando. It says application can not be found because there is no translation extension with appropriate translators.

Victor Vector must be the hardest game of all time to get running properly. I don't understand why this is so challenging. If you can get it to work, please let me know. Also let me know if ExoDOS plays Victor Vector and Yando, The Vampires Coffin.

 

[Johnway]

The good news is that the Exowin3x has the games you seek. See https://wiki.retro-exo.com/index.php/EXOWin3x for full list.

The bad news is that there isn't a lite version. So its 300+ GB of data to download....

eXoWin3x

Might have to investigate own methods.

 

[Victor Vector]

The good news is that the Exowin3x has the games you seek. See https://wiki.retro-exo.com/index.php/EXOWin3x for full list.

The bad news is that there isn't a lite version. So its 300+ GB of data to download....

eXoWin3x

Might have to investigate own methods.

Thanks. Do you recommend I try that first before getting a new PC for ExoDOS?

 

[Johnway]

Thanks. Do you recommend I try that first before getting a new PC for ExoDOS?

I had an epiphany this morning - Although the entire collection is 300gb what if i were to be selective what games i downloaded? i'm going to download just the Awesome adventures of victor vector games + exowin3.1 and thats just a manageable 4 GB. Will let you know how it pans out.

Dos games aren't exactly the most resource intensive. if you have a laptop in the 10 years it will easily emulate the games.



EDIT: SUCCESS! i've got the games running and with no problems. Currently running it in windowed mode but success!

 

[neogunhero]

I would love to buy a cheap modern laptop if it works. My friend has a 2008 Acter Labtop but even in compatibility mode it's having trouble playing a lot of games.

I did buy a USB CD reader and hooked it up to my MacBook Air, but the problem is it says it is not supported. I think those might just work for DVDS I'm guessing.

Yes GOG does seem to have some good options, but I realized most games don't work on my Mac.

Sorry for the late reply. If you go on EBay, search "laptop", change some filters like Buy It Now, Free Shipping, and change condition to "Open Box", "New", and "Certified Refurbished", you can find tons of laptops able to play all of those older games for under $300 USD. You may be able to find some even cheaper in the sub-$200 range for a Chromebook that could be capable enough.

If all you are going to do is play older retro games, occasionally browse the internet, then a laptop this cheap will be more than capable. After looking up system requirements for DOSBox and ExoDOS, it seems you want to aim for minimum 4GB RAM and a decent CPU, but again most of those laptops in that price range should be sufficient enough. Feel free to paste any links to laptops you may be considering if you want a second opinion if you can't get it to work on your Mac.

 

[Johnway]

To everyone whos interested, here is how i set up Exowin3x.

1. Download torret file from https://www.retro-exo.com/win3x.html

2. Fire up your fav torrent downloader (i recommend WinSCP for security reasons see https://www.privacytools.io/open-source-torrent-clients ) to download the files. The entire content is 300GB but if you go Exowin3x > Exo > eXowin3x folder you can select and deselect the files you want to download. in the example below I've deselected everything but 3 of the files:

TIP: if you want to download some more at a later date, just repeat step 2 selecting only the new games you want to add.


3. once the files have been downloaded, open up the Exowin3x folder and run the setup.bat file. follow the steps to set up the folders and files. NOTE you may need to download some .net framework files, for it to work so install those files if needed.


4. once its all done, in the Exowin3x folder run the launchbox.exe and star up the program. Search for your game and dbl click on it.

5. Dblclick on the game and a cmd prompt will appear and ask if you want to install the game. Press y to proceed. it will ask if you want to set all aspect, whether to be in full screen or windowed, graphic filter. Decide the settings and once done the box will disappear.

6. Dblclick on the game again and it should just start up this time as opposed to asking to install. In this case i'm running The awesome adventures of Victor Vector & yondo: the cyberplasm forumula:

Thats it. its quick, simple and painless. Hopefully.

 

[neogunhero]

Thats it. its quick, simple and painless. Hopefully.

Wow, thanks for that. Super useful information formatted in an easy to follow guide. I hope that OP can get this working in their Mac.

 

[Johnway]

Wow, thanks for that. Super useful information formatted in an easy to follow guide. I hope that OP can get this working in their Mac.

not entirely sure it will work on Macs tbh (my mac knowledge is zero). i mean its all windows based. But i've offered a solution that is proven to work.

 

[neogunhero]

not entirely sure it will work on Macs tbh (my mac knowledge is zero). i mean its all windows based. But i've offered a solution that is proven to work.

Same here. We are after all on the PC Gamer forums lol. I’m vaguely aware of some emulation/translation layers for using Win programs on Mac, maybe OP has more knowledge about that than I do and can get that to work. These days I’d assume most well known apps and programs work on both, there isn’t as big of a rift between the two OS’s as there was just a decade or two ago. No one is making Mac vs Windows commercials anymore bashing consumers on their choice of operating system

 

[Victor Vector]

Wow, thanks for that. Super useful information formatted in an easy to follow guide. I hope that OP can get this working in their Mac.

not entirely sure it will work on Macs tbh (my mac knowledge is zero). i mean its all windows based. But i've offered a solution that is proven to work.

Thank you so much @Johnway for all this information. It's a lot to take in...

I might get a Windows laptop soon because on my Mac I downloaded the Parrellel to try to get ExoDOS on the Windows 11 emulator and is sure seems really slow. Tried downloading ExoDOS lite and nothing is happening... Got a torrent to try to open it with and nothing happens, even after I extract stuff.

I can also try to other Exo site on this Windows 11 emulator. I'm not sure if it's just the emulator not capable or if it's just the compatibiity of my computer.

That's crazy that you got Victor Vector to run.

 

[Victor Vector]

Sorry for the late reply. If you go on EBay, search "laptop", change some filters like Buy It Now, Free Shipping, and change condition to "Open Box", "New", and "Certified Refurbished", you can find tons of laptops able to play all of those older games for under $300 USD. You may be able to find some even cheaper in the sub-$200 range for a Chromebook that could be capable enough.

If all you are going to do is play older retro games, occasionally browse the internet, then a laptop this cheap will be more than capable. After looking up system requirements for DOSBox and ExoDOS, it seems you want to aim for minimum 4GB RAM and a decent CPU, but again most of those laptops in that price range should be sufficient enough. Feel free to paste any links to laptops you may be considering if you want a second opinion if you can't get it to work on your Mac.

What do you think of a labtop like this? (Link below) Would it be enough to download ExoDOS? Right now I have a MacBook Air and I downloaded the Windows 11 Emulator and Parallels Desktop and it's way too slow, nothing I click on loads in the downloads.

Also, I bought a Chromebook 5 years ago at Best Buy but it can hardly do anything. It can't even handle Zoom. I tried downloading the ExoDOS on it and a bunch of text came up.

Lastly, would a laptop like this be able to handle any modern games on GOG? Thank you.


https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo...4F1Gozi3ZTkOJKfMC_DMcJ-kPRq4xr6caAnloEALw_wcB

 

[Victor Vector]

Same here. We are after all on the PC Gamer forums lol. I’m vaguely aware of some emulation/translation layers for using Win programs on Mac, maybe OP has more knowledge about that than I do and can get that to work. These days I’d assume most well known apps and programs work on both, there isn’t as big of a rift between the two OS’s as there was just a decade or two ago. No one is making Mac vs Windows commercials anymore bashing consumers on their choice of operating system

What do you think of this laptop? (link below) Will it run ExoDOS? Although it's less than 600 GB, which is what ExoDOS is. Or do you think the Lite is sufficient?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3356408189...8OhE9INIaMIuK19KlompbIqw==|tkp:Bk9SR_7tmNfRZQ