Portable DOSBox machine

Portable DOSBox machine - Robot made with 3d printer with cables and wires against white background

Is there a feasible way to make a portable DOSBox machine? I’d love to play some old Sierra games and such using a portable machine. Maybe with a controller with per-game keys and such.



Best Answer

There are many ways to achieve what you're asking but let's look at the quickest (& cheapest) to set up:

  • A laptop/notebook
  • An X-input controller (Xbox 360/One, or ones based on the same standard)
  • Multiple copies of DOSBox
  • Use Shortcuts to DOSBox to control which game to launch.

Initial Setup

Start by installing DOSBox, and put your games in an accessible location (let's say C:\Games). Now we need to configure the shortcuts to DOSBox. The DOSBoxShortcuts page on the Wiki explains this in detail:

  • Create a new shortcut to the DOSBox.exe file, or copy the one created when you installed DOSBox.
  • Edit the properties of the shortcut.
  • At the end of the "Target" line, add, in quotes, the full path of the main game executable that you wish to launch.
  • For example, if "The Settlers 2" was installed into the folder C:\Games\Settlers 2\, and DosBox is installed at it's default location, the target box would contain:
    "C:\Program Files\DOSBox-0.72\dosbox.exe" -conf "C:\Program Files\DOSBox-0.72\dosbox.conf" "C:\Games\Settlers 2\S2.exe"

Controller Configuration

If you want multiple games to have different keybinds & configurations, it's probably easiest to set up multiple copies of DOSBox, then use the inbuilt Mapper tool to map certain keys to the controller's buttons & sticks. Doing it this way, each copy of DOSBox will be precisely configured for the particular game that you wish to play.

Hardware

A laptop, notebook or tablet running Windows or a Linux distro, and a controller (wired or wireless) is probably the cheapest & simplest option. Personally I use a laptop with a wired Xbox 360 controller (cheap and reliable, lots of support for the controller).

A 'custom' hardware solution built to look like a handheld gaming portable Nintendo Switch or other portable console is a little out of scope for this site, but certainly not out of the realm of possibility if you have the tools & know-how. Modifying an existing semi-modern device like a Nintendo 3DS with a bootloader would also be an option, but I can't speak to how easy this would be as I've never done it personally.




Pictures about "Portable DOSBox machine"

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Is DOSBox a virtual machine?

DOSBox is a free and open-source emulator which runs software for MS-DOS compatible disk operating systems\u2014primarily video games. It was first released in 2002....DOSBox.DOSBox iconDOSBox 0.74-3 opening screenTypeVirtual machine, emulatorLicenseGPL-2.0-or-laterWebsitewww.dosbox.com10 more rows

What can DOSBox emulate?

Welcome to the Wiki page of the DOSBox project DOSBox emulates an Intel x86 PC, complete with sound, graphics, mouse, joystick, modem, etc., necessary for running many old MS-DOS games that simply cannot be run on modern PCs and operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista, Linux and FreeBSD.

Is there anything better than DOSBox?

There are more than 10 alternatives to DOSBox for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, Online / Web-based and Android. The best alternative is DOSBox SVN Daum, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like DOSBox are Boxer, AmpShell, DOSBox-X and D-Fend Reloaded.

Does DOSBox run on Windows 10?

Launch DOSBoxDouble click on the DOSBox shortcut on the Windows 10 desktop. Feel free to substitute 'GAMES' for the name of the folder you created earlier.



Don't scrap that Laptop. Turn it into a native DOS Gaming machine with FreeDOS!




Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Vanessa Loring, Ono Kosuki, Yan Krukov, Dominika Roseclay