4 ms·

Show HN: Play old DOS games on your Chromebook

41 points by gbin 12y ago

benologist 12y ago
This is another good guide for playing them on Android, although the GOG games I checked were pretty bad without a bluetooth mouse - http://www.tomdupont.net/2013/01/how-to-play-gog-games-on-android-with.html http://www.tomdupont.net/2013/01/how-to-play-gog-games-on-an...
tdicola 12y ago
Another good option is installing Linux side-by-side ChromeOS with chrubuntu. I have DOSbox and quite a few other games installed on my Acer chromebook and they run great. No need to worry about someone making a chrome extension or app, just install/compile and run the Linux versions of stuff natively.
- eru 12y ago
  The Chrome Extension actually does run dosbox sort-of natively. (Installing linux side by side is good for learning, too.)
  - pygy_ 12y ago
    DOSBox has a dynamic recompiler that cannot be used in PNaCl.
Zhenya 12y ago
You just brought my childhood back - Testdrive by accolade. Thank you.
- tonylemesmer 12y ago
  and Sopwith. YES!
someperson 12y ago
DOSBox is very useful on PC. Configuration tends to be a pain - it's a bit easier if you use a GUI front end. Occasionally a program needs VDMSound to work Unfortunately Samsung Series 3 (ARM) Chromebook maps F1-F12 buttons to brightness/volume/etc. On the program I tried, the top 10% of screen cut off which without the function keys makes it impossible to use. There's a lot of improvement that could be added to the interface of this particular extension - hopefully in future it won't be necessary to restart DOSBox after adding a local directory, and it would be nice if the configuration menu makes it clear if a save has occurred
lotharbot 12y ago
Also be aware that some old DOS games have been ported to run natively on modern systems. DOSBOX will give you Descent in its original 320x200 resolution, but Descent-Retro-1.3 [0] will let you play in 1080p with native multiplayer support and stable framerate. It's worth checking, before going way out of your way to set up an older game, to see if there's a modern port. [0] http://descentchampions.org/new_player.php http://descentchampions.org/new_player.php

41 points by gbin 12y ago

This is another good guide for playing them on Android, although the GOG games I checked were pretty bad without a bluetooth mouse - http://www.tomdupont.net/2013/01/how-to-play-gog-games-on-android-with.html http://www.tomdupont.net/2013/01/how-to-play-gog-games-on-an...

tdicola 12y ago

Another good option is installing Linux side-by-side ChromeOS with chrubuntu. I have DOSbox and quite a few other games installed on my Acer chromebook and they run great. No need to worry about someone making a chrome extension or app, just install/compile and run the Linux versions of stuff natively.

eru 12y ago
The Chrome Extension actually does run dosbox sort-of natively. (Installing linux side by side is good for learning, too.)
- pygy_ 12y ago
  DOSBox has a dynamic recompiler that cannot be used in PNaCl.

Zhenya 12y ago

You just brought my childhood back - Testdrive by accolade. Thank you.

tonylemesmer 12y ago
and Sopwith. YES!

someperson 12y ago

DOSBox is very useful on PC. Configuration tends to be a pain - it's a bit easier if you use a GUI front end. Occasionally a program needs VDMSound to work Unfortunately Samsung Series 3 (ARM) Chromebook maps F1-F12 buttons to brightness/volume/etc. On the program I tried, the top 10% of screen cut off which without the function keys makes it impossible to use. There's a lot of improvement that could be added to the interface of this particular extension - hopefully in future it won't be necessary to restart DOSBox after adding a local directory, and it would be nice if the configuration menu makes it clear if a save has occurred

lotharbot 12y ago

Also be aware that some old DOS games have been ported to run natively on modern systems. DOSBOX will give you Descent in its original 320x200 resolution, but Descent-Retro-1.3 [0] will let you play in 1080p with native multiplayer support and stable framerate. It's worth checking, before going way out of your way to set up an older game, to see if there's a modern port. [0] http://descentchampions.org/new_player.php http://descentchampions.org/new_player.php