The Wing Commander 1 floppy version I have is on three 1.2MB disks. There are no batch files and no external programs needed, only have to run INSTALL.EXE on the first disk. A floppy-mounted folder as the A: drive and copying in the files from each disk as prompted works fine for installing to the C: drive.

I guess there may be other versions, like a floppy version packaged on a multi-game CD or something, but what you have sure doesn't sound original...

skitters wrote:

Concatenating the privater.zip files on all 6 floppies

Are you using original, official disks? This kind of doesn't sound like it. To be sure, illegal copies used all kinds of bad (and often buggy) means of packing files.

If you need to switch floppies halfway through an installation and don't have an actual floppy drive, then you can either use Virtual Floppy Drive in Windows or do a simultaneous mount of multiple floppy images using IMGMOUNT (though this requires an SVN version of DOSBox).

Wing Commander 1 is on three 3.5" floppies.
It has no box, but came with the paper manual, pictures and descriptions of the ships, etc.
I have no reason to believe the floppies are not original.
At least they "look" official and have official-looking files on them.

The files on WC1 disk 1 are
arrow.vga
camp.000
cockpit.vga
convert.pal
disk.001
fonts.fnt
game.pal
install.dat
install.exe
module.000
music.mid
objects.vga
pcship.v00
planets.vga
ship.v06
ship.v07
ship.v08
ship.v15
ship.v17
shiptype.v29
wc.exe

The files on WC2 disk 2 are
communic.dat
disk.002
midgame.v02
pcship.v01
pcship.v02
pcship.v03
pcship.v04
pilotanm.vga
scramble.vga
ship.v18
ship.v21
shiptype.v00
shiptype.v01
shiptype.v02
shiptype.v03
shiptype.v09
shiptype.v10
shiptype.v11
shiptype.v12
shiptype.v13
strax.drv
wingldr.tim
wingmen.vga

files on WC1 disk 3 are
briefing.000
briefing.vga
disk.003
intro.dat
midgame.v00
midgame.v01
midgame.v03
recroom.vga
savegame.wld
supertm.drv
talking.vga
title.vga
tm.drv

I also have the CD with Wing Commander 1 and Ultima VI, which I bought after getting fed up with the floppy version. The WC1/U6 disc is the one piictured at Mobygames (the silver one)
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/wing-comman … ophet/cover-art

Unfortunately the CD version had the same problem installing in DOSBox as the floppy version -- and wouldn't install on my 486 with DOS 6.22 either. It also created useless subfolders without files in them, so I went back to working on installing the floppy version, and as I said in my first post I eventually found out I could install it by installing from A: to a B: drive on DOSBox after copying over files from the DOS 6.22 supplemental disk. Installing to B: gave error messages that were a clue to what files the installer wanted (I think it was join.exe and maybe another file but I don't remember anymore since I did all this some months ago).

=====================================================================

The contents of the Wing Commander: Privateer box look like this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/171488535944
The floppies are those purple-labelled black ones, just like the ones in the picture.
Moby has a picture of disk 1
http://www.mobygames.com/game/wing-commander- … ateer/cover-art
Unlike the auction, I do have the box.
Privateer has six 3.5" floppies.

Contents of disk1 are:
install.exe
pkunzip.exe
privater.zip

disks 2 through 6 each have one file called privater.zip -- though obviously not the same privater.zip on the different discs.

On DOSBox 0.74, Privateer hangs after switching back to the 1st floppy. It has a bizarro install that apparently relies on pkzip.

Great Hierophant had the same problem installing Privateer as I did, though he was using floppy images
Privateer Floppy Install

Apparently his floppy images had the same privater.zip files as my floppies do.

You run the installer, and it makes a configuration file and then starts pkzip. Pkzip chews on disk one, then asks for the "last" disk, which is disk 6. It chews on disk 6 for a bit, then asks for disk 1. Only it doesn't recognize disk 1. Nor does it recognize any of the other disks as disk 1. On a "real" DOS or Windows 95/98 computer, pkzip will recognize disk 1 at this point and go through the process of asking for disks 1 through 6 until the install is completed. On DOSBox it is stuck asking for disk 1 forever. Running pkzip by itself has the same effect. Apparently it needs something in real DOS (or Win95/98) that is not in DOSBox 0.74.

Did Privateer install properly in some previous version of DOSBox?
Does it install properly in one of the SVN versions?
I have no clue.

Of course one of the extracted files is over 8 MB, which makes it inconvenient to copy the game to the computer with DOSBox via floppies -- which is why the best solution was to install on a computer with Windows 98SE and USB capability.

===============================================================================

If the above games were not legitimate versions I could understand better why they wouldn't install properly.
But they sure look legitimate -- and come with the paper manuals and other documentation that look legitimate.

The Privateer floppies have weird zip files, but unless someone who owns the same purple-labelled black disks says they have different files on their disks, I have no reason to believe Origin didn't use pkzip to cut down on the number of floppies needed.

I was hoping there were DOSBox installers for ALL Origin's floppy games somewhere -- not just these two, which I only managed to get installed after hours of experimenting.

Is this the kind of shenannigans I have to look forward to when installing any of the original floppy versions of Origin games?

I have a USB floppy drive that has worked well for installing other games on floppy.
I am not using images, so switching disk images is not the problem.

Are SVN builds less problematic? (at least with Origin games)

A few of the WC1 files are on different disks, but probably explained by 3.5" vs 5.25". It seems unlikely the installer would be significantly different, so maybe there's something about your process of installing that is giving you trouble. Try copying all of the files on disk 1 into a folder, then mount that folder as the A: drive in DOSBox.

mount a c:\floppy -t floppy
mount c c:\dos
a:
install

Of course you can mount a real floppy drive if you have one: mount a a:\ -t floppy

The installer defaults to C:\WING as the install location, there should be no mention of B: at all. Choose the option to save time (unpack data files) or save space (don't unpack data files), either works. When the installer prompts for the next disk, delete all the files in the floppy folder and copy in the files from that disk, then press a key to continue the installation. It's really a very simple game to install compared to some others, so I'm perplexed why you're finding it problematic.

About the problems you have with the cdrom version, maybe you need to put XCOPY.EXE in the path before starting the installation.

skitters wrote:

Contents of disk1 are: install.exe pkunzip.exe privater.zip […]
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Contents of disk1 are:
install.exe
pkunzip.exe
privater.zip

disks 2 through 6 each have one file called privater.zip -- though obviously not the same privater.zip on the different discs.

Well, I think you can manually unzip spanned zip archives using IZArc or other relatively recent unzipping programs. The trick is to rename the disk 2 version of privater.zip to privater.z01, then rename the disk 3 version to privater.z02, and so on, then put all the files in the same directory and open privater.zip. (Ancient zip archives are getting to be a dicey proposition, though, as PKZip used several different algorithms and some unzipping programs are dropping support for the oldest ones.)

To be clear, if you are using actual floppies with DOSBox, I think you have to hit CTRL-F4 each time you insert a new disk to ensure that DOSBox will recognize the new floppy.

Are SVN builds less problematic? (at least with Origin games)

Like I said, SVN versions support multiple floppy images - you can type "imgmount a disk01.img disk02.img" and then toggle between the different images by pressing CTRL-F4.

Jorpho wrote:

To be clear, if you are using actual floppies with DOSBox, I think you have to hit CTRL-F4 each time you insert a new disk to ensure that DOSBox will recognize the new floppy.

To be more clear, you do not have to use Ctrl-F4 for drives mounted with the "-t floppy" switch, because it disables the directory cache.

Maybe the floppy type switch was missing in the first place?

Jorpho wrote:

Well, I think you can manually unzip spanned zip archives using IZArc or other relatively recent unzipping programs. The trick is to rename the disk 2 version of privater.zip to privater.z01, then rename the disk 3 version to privater.z02, and so on, then put all the files in the same directory and open privater.zip. (Ancient zip archives are getting to be a dicey proposition, though, as PKZip used several different algorithms and some unzipping programs are dropping support for the oldest ones.)

Thanks for the tip, Jorpho. Maybe it will work for other games.
Unfortunately it didn't work for Privateer using either 7-zip in Windows, Ark in Linux, or the command line utility "unzip" in Linux. Unlike 7-zip and Ark, "unzip" produced error messages to tell what was wrong.
Renaming the disk 2 privater.zip to privater.z01, the disk 3 privater.zip to privater.z02, etc., produced this error:

Archive: PRIVATER.zip End-of-central-directory signature not found. Either this file is not a zipfile, or it constitutes o […]
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Archive: PRIVATER.zip
End-of-central-directory signature not found. Either this file is not
a zipfile, or it constitutes one disk of a multi-part archive. In the
latter case the central directory and zipfile comment will be found on
the last disk(s) of this archive.
unzip: cannot find zipfile directory in one of PRIVATER.zip or
PRIVATER.zip.zip, and cannot find PRIVATER.zip.ZIP, period.

Since it mentioned "the last disk of the archive," I tried using the PRIVATER.zip on disk 6 as the zip and renaming the PRIVATER.zip on disk 1 to PRIVATER.z01, the PRIVATER.zip on disk 2 to PRIVATER.z02, etc., and got this error

Archive: PRIVATER.zip warning [PRIVATER.zip]: zipfile claims to be last disk of a multi-part archive; attempting to process […]
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Archive: PRIVATER.zip
warning [PRIVATER.zip]: zipfile claims to be last disk of a multi-part archive;
attempting to process anyway, assuming all parts have been concatenated
together in order. Expect "errors" and warnings...true multi-part support
doesn't exist yet (coming soon).
file #1: bad zipfile offset (local header sig): 4
file #2: bad zipfile offset (local header sig): 365379
file #3: bad zipfile offset (lseek): 1269760
file #4: bad zipfile offset (local header sig): 384526
file #5: bad zipfile offset (local header sig): 384878
file #6: bad zipfile offset (local header sig): 389859
file #7: bad zipfile offset (local header sig): 934834
file #8: bad zipfile offset (local header sig): 1015684
file #9: bad zipfile offset (lseek): 1286144
inflating: TABTNE.VDA
inflating: PRIV.CFG
inflating: JEMM.OVL

I think the version of pkzip Origin used for this game (at least on the version I have) did something proprietary and weird.
The manual installs at
http://exult.sourceforge.net/docs.php#bg_manual
tell you to concatenate to more than one file instead of a single file before extracting. But without specific instructions for Privateer, it would be a process of elimination which sets of 2 or 3 files to combine -- and no assurance it even works the same way. We tried a binary search for an "end of file" on the PRIVATER.ZIP files on the different disks, but only found one in disk 6.

==============================================================

At least Privateer installed on a computer with "real" MS-DOS and Windows 95/98. Copying the installation was possible once I found a Windows 98 computer with a working USB drive.

WC1 would ONLY install to a second floppy drive, which in my case was only possible by mounting a second floppy drive as B: DOSBox because I don't have a computer with two floppy drives that I have floppies for. I have a computer with two floppy drives, but one is a 5.25" and I have no 5.25" floppies to install on.

===============================================================

ripsaw8080 wrote:

The installer defaults to C:\WING as the install location, there should be no mention of B: at all.

Yes it defaults to C:\WING and creates the folder, then sits there doing nothing at all.... Forever.... Or until I quit DOSBox.

Apparently it's not able to create the configuration file in C:\WING, though it can create the C:\WING folder.
I checked permissions and read-only-ness of the files and folders and that didn't seem to be the problem.

I had the same problem trying to install on the 486 with DOS 6.22, which as far as I know has no permissions restrictions.
Tried different IRQ's for sound, tried no sound, etc. Made no difference. Wouldn't create the config file in either DOSBox or on my 486.
Wouldn't install from the floppies, wouldn't install from files in a folder mounted as a floppy.

I bought the CD version thinking it would have a more modern installer, but no.... it was the same one -- had the same problem hanging when trying to create the config file -- only difference was it nested the WC folder inside an Origin folder.

I don't remember why I thought to try installing to B:\
Probably desperation and because I'd tried everything else.
But mounting two folders as floppy drives in DOSBox isn't difficult so I gave it a shot.
And instead of sitting there forever it gave an error message.
"The DOS utilities (APPEND.exe, SUBST.exe, JOIN.exe) could not be found..."

However I saw it had created the config file in B:\ this time.
So I copied the Append.exe, Subst.exe and Join.exe files to DOSBox, ran the installer again, and the game successfully installed to the folder I'd mounted as B: without hesitating, and after it had finished, I copied the contents of B: to C:\WING manually.

However it wouldn't install directly to C:\WING whether append.exe, subst.exe, and join.exe were present or not -- only to B:
It made no difference whether I installed from a floppy drive or copied the files to a folder and mounted it as a floppy. It couldn't create the config file in C:\WING.

With installer files copied to a folder mounted as A:, I could install from A: to a folder mounted as B:
With installer files copied to a folder mounted as B:, I could install from B: to a folder mounted as A:
But I could not install directly to C:\WING from any source.

For whatever reason, I have a game that will only install to a floppy drive -- or to a folder mounted as a floppy drive. And it needs files copied from the DOS 6.22 supplemental disk.

It worked, but it's a stupid way to have to install a game. I never heard of such a bizarre workaround before. It's not like hard drives didn't exist in 1990 (the date on my disks). They may have been the size of a peanut but they existed and the game itself suggests C:\WING. Also I shouldn't need files off the DOS 6.22 supplementary disk. Not everyone has a DOS 6.22 supplemental disk lying around. Or maybe those files are included by default in earlier versions of DOS. From Wikipedia, it looks like DOS 3.31 was current in 1990. Maybe the game would install properly if I had DOS 3.31 installed on my 486. But I don't have that version.

And then I had a different problem installing Wing Commander: Privateer.
At this point I'm fed up with Origin installers.
Which is why I asked if there are any DOSBox installers for Origin games.
I've already found ways to get these specific two games installed in DOSBox. In neither case was it as easy as typing A:\install
With my luck, the next time I want to install a game from Origin it will require a completely different, and equally bizarre method of installation. Which is why I asked about installers.

When I wrote the Exult instructions it was pretty clear which files needed to be combined.
The filename0* files to a zip, the filename1* files to a zip, the filename2* to a zip...
It's not something proprietary of the pkzip version, it's just something Origin did, instead of relying on the archive program to split the files, they did it themselves.

Dominus wrote:

When I wrote the Exult instructions it was pretty clear which files needed to be combined.
The filename0* files to a zip, the filename1* files to a zip, the filename2* to a zip...
It's not something proprietary of the pkzip version, it's just something Origin did, instead of relying on the archive program to split the files, they did it themselves.

In the case of Privateer, the files on the 6 disks were all named privater.zip
I had to rename them if I wanted to copy them all to the same folder and unzip them.
But it doesn't really surprise me at all that Origin used a different strategy for U7 and Privateer, and that what worked for U7 won't work for Privateer.

skitters wrote:

Since it mentioned "the last disk of the archive," I tried using the PRIVATER.zip on disk 6 as the zip and renaming the PRIVATER.zip on disk 1 to PRIVATER.z01, the PRIVATER.zip on disk 2 to PRIVATER.z02, etc.

Oops. Yes, that would have been the way to do it. Does it only inflate the three files, then?

http://exult.sourceforge.net/docs.php#bg_manual
tell you to concatenate to more than one file instead of a single file before extracting. But without specific instructions for Privateer, it would be a process of elimination which sets of 2 or 3 files to combine -- and no assurance it even works the same way. We tried a binary search for an "end of file" on the PRIVATER.ZIP files on the different disks, but only found one in disk 6.

Yes, copy /b ought to work here as well – just combine all six zip files one by one, starting with the first disk.

Apparently it's not able to create the configuration file in C:\WING, though it can create the C:\WING folder.
I checked permissions and read-only-ness of the files and folders and that didn't seem to be the problem.

Sometimes the debug-enabled version of DOSBox will tell you where a program is trying (and failing) to create a file.

Jorpho wrote:

Does it only inflate the three files, then?

Yes. Just those three.
Concatenating the privater.zip files into a single zip file (and then attempting to extract) produced much the same result, with simllar offset errors, but managed to extract 5 files instead of 3.

Sometimes the debug-enabled version of DOSBox will tell you where a program is trying (and failing) to create a file.

I've never used a DOSBox debugger.
I found this thread, which has downloads:
DOSBox debugger
and this thread, which has debugger commands at #4 :
Guide to the DOSBox debugger
but I'd need advice on how best to use it.

The Privateer floppy installation is pretty lazy to use a PKZIP backup, but it works in SVN with floppy images.

If you use COPY /B to merge the backup .zip files into one .zip file, you'll need to run PKZIPFIX on the merged file.

skitters wrote:

I've never used a DOSBox debugger. I found this thread, which has downloads: DOSBox debugger and this thread, which has debugge […]
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I've never used a DOSBox debugger.
I found this thread, which has downloads:
DOSBox debugger
and this thread, which has debugger commands at #4 :
Guide to the DOSBox debugger
but I'd need advice on how best to use it.

It's included with the SVN Daum build. There's no need to go poking in the advanced features; file accesses (what we're interested in here) simply appear at the bottom of the debug window.

I'd been thinking of trying SVN Daum anyway, since it has many nice features.
I'm a little confused about the instruction at http://ykhwong.x-y.net/ though:

I recommend you to use clean SVN build first before using my build.

Does that mean you should install SVN Daum "over" a folder where clean SVN build has already been installed?
Or that you should familiarize yourself with running a SVN build before trying Daum?

Also, should I use the latest SVN at http://www.emucr.com/search/label/DOSBox (currently r3914)?
or one that is closer in date to Jan 2015, when the latest Daum was released, like r3894?

Is it correct that I can keep my current DOSBox 0.74 by simply installing Daum in different folder?

I can't recall seeing that instruction before. I suppose if you don't need any fancy features, then you can do without the Daum build, but I don't see why you wouldn't want them. Certainly, nothing at all unusual is involved in running an SVN build. And yes, you can just install it in a separate folder.

But it's probably a better idea to try using PKZIPFIX on the concatenated file first. I forgot about that; it's included with the original DOS PKZIP. (I've only seen equivalent functionality in a couple of modern Zip utilities. I guess in this post-floppy, post-dialup age, corrupted zips just aren't worth worrying about anymore.)

Jorpho wrote:

I can't recall seeing that instruction before. I suppose if you don't need any fancy features, then you can do without the Daum build, but I don't see why you wouldn't want them. Certainly, nothing at all unusual is involved in running an SVN build. And yes, you can just install it in a separate folder.

But it's probably a better idea to try using PKZIPFIX on the concatenated file first. I forgot about that; it's included with the original DOS PKZIP. (I've only seen equivalent functionality in a couple of modern Zip utilities. I guess in this post-floppy, post-dialup age, corrupted zips just aren't worth worrying about anymore.)

I found a copy of pkzipfix in an ibiblio.org download, and it worked great with the concatenated file.
The md5's of the extracted files are the same as the ones produced by installing on the Windows 98 computer.

It was convenient that pkzipfix worked in DOSBox.
But I'm curious about which modern zip utilities include the "equivalent functionality."

EDIT....

Thanks for the suggestion of pkzipfix, Jorpho.
It may be useful for other games that have the problem that Privateer had with bad offsets.
And thank you, ripsaw8080 for testing my install file. It's still a mystery to me why it won't work on my configuration when it works on yours, Maybe it's due to something in my dosbox configuration file that I have (or you don't have) in yours.
And thanks Dominus for clarifying the Exult instructions.

Apparently no one has made modern installers for the different Origin games, though.
Oh well...