VOGONS


First post, by ElrondHubbard

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Having issues with Mapper. I've been trying to configure several DOS games (e.g. Descent 1/2 from GOG, as well as MechWarrior 2) to work with my modern-day gamepad under Windows 11 24H2. The games themselves run fine.

Simply put, when I press Ctrl+F1, the Mapper interface doesn't appear. Instead, the game window shrinks and turns black (or if it was in full-screen mode, it shifts to window view). The window size suggests it's 1:1 with the original DOS resolution. Game music and sound may continue playing, but there's nothing else there: just the black window. It seems as if Mapper might actually be running, but there's nothing on my screen to interact with.

Feeling stuck, I clicked the Close button on the window, expecting DOSBox to close. Instead it returned me to the game, right where I left off. Again, to me this suggests Mapper was actually running, but not displaying correctly or interactable. Another thing that's annoying is that sometimes, Mapper does work -- I just don't know why. (Intermittent problems like this really bug me.) I somehow managed to get Descent 2 set up the way I wanted, anyway, but still not Descent 1. I have no idea what made the difference. And since I'm now aware there are source ports, I'll probably go do that instead for those two.

But I'm also having this issue with Mechwarrior 2 launched from Launchbox (REMOVED), and there is no source port available. Other than the Mapper issue, MW2 runs just fine, and I could play with mouse and keyboard if I wanted. I'd also rather run the original game, which works, than mess around with things like MEK Engine or MechVM, but I want to use my gamepad as well.

DOSBox version is ECE r4230. I tried passing the -startmapper command line instead of using the hotkey, but exactly the same thing happened. Any other ideas or suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Last edited by DosFreak on 2025-01-10, 23:30. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 2 of 6, by torpedo

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

I had the same problem, the mapper window opens up, but there are no drawn buttons. Using SDL_VIDEODRIVER=directx, the mapper was always not drawn. Using SDL_VIDEODRIVER=windib for some reason makes the mapper work correctly (for "some" reason, since I used the windib driver before and I could have sworn that it didn't work, but now when I try it, it does work. Maybe I just goofed up). Recompiling and using SDL12compat makes the mapper always render correctly. But that requires recompilation.

So if anyone has this problem try setting SDL_VIDEODRIVER=windib as an environment variable.
Win11 23h2

Reply 3 of 6, by ElrondHubbard

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie
torpedo wrote on 2025-01-25, 21:55:

I had the same problem, the mapper window opens up, but there are no drawn buttons. Using SDL_VIDEODRIVER=directx, the mapper was always not drawn. Using SDL_VIDEODRIVER=windib for some reason makes the mapper work correctly (for "some" reason, since I used the windib driver before and I could have sworn that it didn't work, but now when I try it, it does work. Maybe I just goofed up). Recompiling and using SDL12compat makes the mapper always render correctly. But that requires recompilation.

So if anyone has this problem try setting SDL_VIDEODRIVER=windib as an environment variable.
Win11 23h2

Thanks for the suggestion! I'm quite sure it's relevant, but unfortunately it isn't making a difference on my PC.

I tried setting the environment variable to all three of the options given at this link: https://wiki.libsdl.org/SDL2/FAQUsingSDL . None worked, whether I set it at the user level or system level.

I do notice a change in behaviour, however, depending on the setting:

  • If SDL_VIDEODRIVER=directx, when I press Ctrl+F1, the game reduces to a window, freezing the image and turning off sound - it's paused, and presumably Mapper is running but not displaying. When I click the close widget, the game resumes in full motion, inside a window.
  • If SDL_VIDEODRIVER=windib, I get the same behaviour on pressing Ctrl+F1. On clicking close, I hear the game resume but the window doesn't change. I see the game again if I press Alt+Enter to return to full screen.
  • If SDL_VIDEODRIVER=windows, the game exits immediately on launch.

It's clear enough at any rate that the environment variable is having an effect - just not the one I want, so far.

Reply 4 of 6, by ElrondHubbard

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Oh, and I might as well add I'm on Windows 11 24H2, RTX 4070 Super with the latest Nvidia drivers.

Reply 5 of 6, by ElrondHubbard

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Huh, okay -- found something I think I can make work. I'm launching through Launchbox, and went digging through more settings. dosbox.conf had output=openglnb set. It turns out, just about any setting other than openglnb works, in that I can at least see the mapper now! Unfortunately, it shows up in a tiny low-res window on my 4K screen, but I can dial my resolution down temporarily while I figure it out, then back up. Persistence pays! Thanks again for the assist -- with your help I broke the logjam.

Reply 6 of 6, by torpedo

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie
ElrondHubbard wrote on 2025-01-26, 03:30:

Huh, okay -- found something I think I can make work. I'm launching through Launchbox, and went digging through more settings. dosbox.conf had output=openglnb set. It turns out, just about any setting other than openglnb works, in that I can at least see the mapper now! Unfortunately, it shows up in a tiny low-res window on my 4K screen, but I can dial my resolution down temporarily while I figure it out, then back up. Persistence pays! Thanks again for the assist -- with your help I broke the logjam.

Well it was similar for me. I'm pretty sure at one point windib didn't work, but then it started to work and I'm not sure what specifically changed inbetween. While on my end openglnb works fine, it's still a good practice to cycle through the different output modes. As for the smallness of the mapper screen - yeah, it's just a 640x480 window and DPI scaling doesn't seem to work with SDL1.