I've tried to download this game from the site, but it always turns out kinda-----weird. Could anyone tell me how to do this in their own words? I'm not the best with computers, so yeah...

Sometimes the download gets corrupted. Clear your temporary internet files and redownload it. Or download it from a different site.

Ok, i got it working, now just a simple question, how do you fight lol. I know how to sheath/unsheath your weapon, but how do you acctually fight with it?

There are stickies in the forum.
There is documentation that came with your download.
There is a manual http://www.svatopluk.com/arena/manual/.

Has anyone had luck running the download Arena on REAL Dos?

Obviously DOS can't do anything with Arena106.exe. I can break it down on CD and transfer to the hard drive, but Install.exe does not work since it "Can only install from floppy disk". I've read that the installer just copies the files over, configures the sound, and adds a save game directory. Sure enough with the files manually copied I can now run the game without sound.

The "configure game" part of the setup doesn't seem to do anything unless the installation is properly completed. Can I manually achieve sound configuration by editing sound.cfg, arena.bat, and/or some other files, and how?

System:
486 33MHz
DOS 6.21 & Windows 3.11
16MB RAM (2048 configured as EMS for TES1)
AOpen AW37 Sound (SBPro: 220, IRQ 5, DMA 1)

I have never managed to get Arena running under *win98* DOS mode because I couldn't free up enough base memory, I think it required 605KB or something, I could only manage 590KB. I haven't tried Arena on DOS 6.22 because I prefer to run it under DosBox now, because my old DOS computer isnt on the net and I like to jump in and out of games and go on the net when I get bored of them.

To configure the sound run "Install.exe" and configure from there. Arena doesn't need installing, just extract the Arena106.exe file with winrar or equivelent and you'll be left with the "Arena" folder to copy to your C: drive.

My question exactly! I'm running Win98 so I don't need a DOS-Emulator ...



Ditto. So where do I go from here?

Yes.


Arena is already installed from the beginning. The install program is to install the game from the game floppy discs, which you don't have. So the install program is now only used to configure the sound.

ok, so bear with me while I'm being a bit thick. That means type in "arena" at he prompt. So far so good, then it tells me I don't have enough EMS. How much do I need, and where do I find it? Then, assuming I get that bit straightened out, give me a tip about the sound. I've had problems getting the sound to work with other older DOS games....

The Not enough EMS (expanded memory) message that you're getting means you will have to remove the "NOEMS" parameter from emm386.exe in your your config.sys file to enable Arena to use expanded memory. If you're not familiar with getting DOS games running on Win98 you will have a hard time figuring out what to put in the config.sys and Autoexec.bat files. I would try the Arena win95/98 guide on UESP, thats one of the easiest guides to follow for getting Arena running on win98.

http://www.uesp.net/arena/arena95.shtml#win9598

BTW

What sound card are you using for Arena?

Wish I'd found that earlier, thanks for the link, it helped ... well partly. One question (for the moment, I'm sure there will be more). I got the config.sys changed ok, but I'm not quite sure what to do with the autoexec.bat. The link says to enter the following:

AUTOEXEC.BAT
PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND
SET TEMP=C:\TEMP
LOADHIGH MOUSE

My question is about the path. I've got arena on my F partition, does that matter for the path? Windows is of course on C. The link also says I'll need some kind of DOS mouse driver. I've found one - is it going to screw my system up if I go on and install it?




I've got a Hercules Muse LT, dxdiag calls it "C-Media Wave Device (emulated)", dunno why. It's supposed to be soundblaster compatible, but it hasn't always been cooperative. I tried to load up Blood, for example, the other day, and it refused to play any sounds (it also refused to jump, but that's obviously another problem for another day)

I wouldn't have thought having arena on your F: partition would make any difference, it should still run ok on whatever partition its on, but I'm not 100% sure on that because I've never tried it. Adding a DOS mouse driver won't affect your system one bit because it will only be used when you run a DOS session, when you're not in DOS Windows will just use its own mouse driver unless you tell it otherwise.
I've no idea if you're C-Media card can be made to work with DOS games, because DOS games usually have trouble finding PCI cards and most don't have DOS drivers written for them. There is only two PCI cards I know of that will work with DOS games(and I'm nowhere near an expert) 1. is the Aureal vortex2 MX-300, the other is the Sound Blaster live, both of them have good DOS drivers. I'll give ya a link to a site where you'll be able to find out more about your sound cardhttp://vogons.zetafleet.com/index.php those guys should be able to tell you if your sound card can run DOS games or not.

My question is about the path. I've got arena on my F partition, does that matter for the path? Windows is of course on C.

Arena doesn't need to be in the path, so being on F is fine. The only caveat to the path as written is that some common systems have Windows in C:\WINNT, not C:\WINDOWS.

The link also says I'll need some kind of DOS mouse driver. I've found one - is it going to screw my system up if I go on and install it?

It is extremely unlikely a DOS mouse driver will do anything bad to your system if you install it in its own folder.

Note that such drivers are not conveniently imbedded in your system by virtue of installation (like Windows drivers); you must explicitly run them, e.g., from the autoexec.bat.