THIS GUIDE DOES NOT USE CURRENT VERSIONS OF CVS DOSBOX, TO OBTAIN THE LATEST VERSION FOLLOW THE LINKS CONTAINED IN THIS POST FROM THE OFFICIAL DOSBOX WEBSITE http://vogons.zetafleet.com/viewtopic.php?t=9306


Note: These settings are only compatible with the version of DosBox linked in this guide, if you do download a newer version of the CVS builds I cannot guarentee compatability, and you may need to adjust somethings. This guide is only compatible with CVS builds, if you would prefer to use the normal DosBox builds then I suggest you follow Mechaexailious' Guide http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=95645&hl=.

I figured I would make my guide in a seperate topic because it deals with a much different version of DosBox and can generate many different problems in comparison to other versions of DosBox used in other guides.

THIS GUIDE ASSUMES YOU HAVE DAGGERFALL INSTALLED!
FURTHER DOWN THE PAGE I HAVE ADDED A SMALLER GUIDE FOR ARENA

If you need help installing Daggerfall under WindowsXP please use the Daggerfall Windows XP installer found
here (41mb)

http://files.filefront.com/dagnt5x/;900719;;/fileinfo.html
WARNING: I only use Dosbox for Daggerfall and these settings make it so it will only run Daggerfall. So if you plan on playing Arena, I wouldn't copy my entire dosbox.config file, rather, pick out the parts you need.

Dosbox requires massive CPU use for proper emulation, I cannot recommend any of the below settings if you run anything less than about a 2.0ghz processor. This also eliminates the invisible quest and climbing bugs normally experienced while running Daggerfall in Windows XP.
FIRST!

If you want to copy my DosBox.conf file directly your gonna need to "crack" Daggerfall so it no longer requires the CD, I do this, and suggest you do this as a Daggerfall CD is not something you come across often. You can skip steps 1, and 3-5 if you use the previously mentioned DaggerfallXP installer.

1. Install daggerfall with the largest install size (about 450Mb).
2. Copy all the files from the arena2 directory on the cd into arena2 on your hard disk. There should only be a few that aren't already on there, mainly the sky##.dat files and the movies. The latter are optional.
3. Install the CompUSA patch.
4. Install patch 213.
5. Install the latest version of Fixsave (v1.75).
6. Change the setting in z.cfg that shows where the cd path is to the arena2 directory on hard disk, e.g. pathcd=c:daggerarena2
7. Make a batch file that reads as follows:-

@echo off
set dos4gvm=@dagger.vmc
fall.exe z.cfg

Name this something other than dagger.bat if you are running DF from DOS. If you just key in dagger, it will run dagger.exe instead.

NOTE: If you use this "No Cd" .bat file, make sure you change the last line of your DosBox.conf file to the name of your .bat file and not fall.exe z.cfg.

Example: If it's currently
mount c c:
C:
chdir Dagger
fall.exe z.cfg

You'll want to change the last line too

Yourbatfilename

You usually don't need to add the ".bat" at the end.

Z.cfg file

Some optional things to add at the end of z.cfg are:

CHEATMODE 1

To allow cheating, all cheats can be found here: http://www.cheatscodesguides.com/pc-cheats/daggerfall/
and

MAGICREPAIR 1

This will allow you to repair your magic items.

Save the changes, now onto DosBox!

CVS DosBox

I said I was going to give people an idea of how to make Daggerfall look better or run faster on their PC, well, here is the easiest way I've found.This is a link to a precompiled version of DosBox with Directx, Opengl,PixelShader and TimeSynched Cycle support, also known as the CVS version.

http://www.si-gamer.net/gulikoza/dosbox/dosboxcvs-051009.zip

If this link gives you a corrupt download, you can try my own version off megaupload from here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=I7E6YSM0

This is my DosBox folder zipped, just extract it to C:ProgramfilesDosBox, or anywhere else and it should work, note that this contains my dosbox.conf file complete with my current settings, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK! (hehe I have to say that so I don't get sued)

Once it's installed go it's directory and open up DosBox.conf with notepad, you can change it yourself or paste my version on top of it. Before you do so, however, I suggest you skip over the code and finish reading the bottom to get a better understanding of DosBox.

Here is my Dosbox.conf file(You may wish to back up your old DosBox.conf file just incase):

[sdl]# fullscreen -- Start dosbox directly in fullscreen.# fulldouble -- Use double buffering in fullscreen.# fullfixed -- Don't resize the screen when in fullscreen.# fullresolution -- What resolution to use for fullscreen, use together with fullfixed.# output -- What to use for output: surface,overlay,opengl,openglnb,openglhq,ddraw,direct3d.# hwscale -- Extra scaling of window if the output device supports hardware scaling.# autolock -- Mouse will automatically lock, if you click on the screen.# sensitiviy -- Mouse sensitivity.# waitonerror -- Wait before closing the console if dosbox has an error.# priority -- Priority levels for dosbox: lower,normal,higher,highest.#			 Second entry behind the comma is for when dosbox is not focused/minimized.# mapperfile -- File used to load/save the key/event mappings from.# pixelshader -- Pixelshader program to use for resizing: none,point.fx,bilinear.fx,scale2x.fx,2xsai.fx.fullscreen=truefulldouble=falsefullfixed=falsefullresolution=320x200output=direct3dhwscale=1.00autolock=truesensitivity=100waitonerror=truepriority=highest,normalmapperfile=mapper.txtpixelshader=none[dosbox]# language -- Select another language file.# memsize -- Amount of memory dosbox has in megabytes.# machine -- The type of machine tries to emulate:hercules,cga,tandy,vga.# captures -- Directory where things like wave,midi,screenshot get captured.language=machine=vgacaptures=capturememsize=63[render]# frameskip -- How many frames dosbox skips before drawing one.# aspect -- Do aspect correction.# scaler -- Scaler used to enlarge/enhance low resolution modes.#		   Supported are none,normal2x,advmame2x,advmame3x,advinterp2x,interp2x,tv2x,hq2x.frameskip=2aspect=truescaler=hq2x[cpu]# core -- CPU Core used in emulation: simple,normal,full,dynamic.# cycles -- Amount of instructions dosbox tries to emulate each millisecond.#		   Setting this higher than your machine can handle is bad! (unless timesynched is set)# cycleup   -- Amount of cycles to increase/decrease with keycombo.# cycledown	Setting it lower than 100 will be a percentage.# timesynched -- Do not emulate more cycles than possible.# showcycles -- Display the number of emulated cycles in the titlebar (uses some CPU).core=normalcycles=50000cycleup=500cycledown=20timesynched=trueshowcycles=true[mixer]# nosound -- Enable silent mode, sound is still emulated though.# rate -- Mixer sample rate, setting any devices higher than this will#		 probably lower their sound quality.# blocksize -- Mixer block size, larger blocks might help sound stuttering#			  but sound will also be more lagged.# prebuffer -- How many milliseconds of data to keep on top of the blocksize.nosound=falserate=11025blocksize=2048prebuffer=10[midi]# mpu401	  -- Enable MPU-401 Emulation.# intelligent -- Operate in Intelligent mode.# device	  -- Device that will receive the MIDI data from MPU-401.#				This can be default,alsa,oss,win32,coreaudio,mt32,none.# mt32rate	-- Sample rate of MT32 emulation# config	  -- Special configuration options for the device. In Windows put#				the id of the device you want to use. See README for details.mpu401=trueintelligent=truedevice=defaultmt32rate=11025config=[sblaster]# type -- Type of sblaster to emulate:none,sb1,sb2,sbpro1,sbpro2,sb16.# base,irq,dma,hdma -- The IO/IRQ/DMA/High DMA address of the soundblaster.# mixer -- Allow the soundblaster mixer to modify the dosbox mixer.# oplmode -- Type of OPL emulation: auto,cms,opl2,dualopl2,opl3.#			On auto the mode is determined by sblaster type.# oplrate -- Sample rate of OPL music emulation.type=sb16base=220irq=7dma=1hdma=5mixer=trueoplmode=autooplrate=11025[gus]# gus -- Enable the Gravis Ultrasound emulation.# base,irq1,irq2,dma1,dma2 -- The IO/IRQ/DMA addresses of the #			Gravis Ultrasound. (Same IRQ's and DMA's are OK.)# rate -- Sample rate of Ultrasound emulation.# ultradir -- Path to Ultrasound directory.  In this directory#			 there should be a MIDI directory that contains#			 the patch files for GUS playback.  Patch sets used#			 with Timidity should work fine.gus=falserate=11025base=240irq1=5irq2=5dma1=3dma2=3ultradir=C:ULTRASND[speaker]# pcspeaker -- Enable PC-Speaker emulation.# pcrate -- Sample rate of the PC-Speaker sound generation.# tandyrate -- Sample rate of the Tandy 3-Voice generation.#			  Tandysound emulation is present if machine is set to tandy.# disney -- Enable Disney Sound Source emulation.pcspeaker=truepcrate=11025tandyrate=11025disney=false[bios]# joysticktype -- Type of joystick to emulate: none, 2axis, 4axis,#				 fcs (Thrustmaster) ,ch (CH Flightstick).#				 none disables joystick emulation.#				 2axis is the default and supports two joysticks.joysticktype=2axis[serial]# serial1-4 -- set type of device connected to com port.#			  Can be disabled, dummy, modem, directserial.#			  Additional parameters must be in the same line in the form of#			  parameter:value. Parameters for all types are irq, startbps, bytesize,#			  stopbits, parity (all optional).#			  for directserial: realport (required).#			  for modem: listenport (optional).serial1=dummyserial2=dummyserial3=disabledserial4=disabled[dos]# xms -- Enable XMS support.# ems -- Enable EMS support.# umb -- Enable UMB support (false,true,max).xms=trueems=trueumb=true[autoexec]# Lines in this section will be run at startup.# NOTE: This area may be different for your Daggerfall installation!mount c c:C:chdir Daggerfall.exe z.cfg

The key things to note are:

CPU:

I have cycles set to 50000 but with Timesynched set to true, this is a great feature as you do not have to worry about adjusting the number of cycles yourself, as DosBox automatically determines the amount of cycles required at any specific time and sets them accordingly.

TROUBLE SHOOTING

If you only get a black screen, or some other weird graphical error, try adjusting the following:

Set fullresolution to 0x0, this will force DosBox to use your Desktop's resolution, as your monitor may not be compatible with 320x200 (Daggerfall's native resolution).

If this still doesn't fix your problem, try changing the fullfixed setting to true or false to see if that makes any difference.

If all else fails attempt to run it in a window, if it runs in the window there is a 90% chance it's something to do with the resolution, this leaves you with three choices:

1.Search for an updated or different version of DosBox.

2. Run it in a window and adjust the hwscale value to increaes the size of the window (if you increase it enough it will look practically the same as fullscreen however the graphics may be slightly blurry).

3. Continue to mess around with the above settings, I don't know DosBox in and out. The best thing to do in these situations is to first ensure you can run daggerfall before you overwrite your default settings with mine, if you can, then start adjusting the default settings to fit mine one by one, testing it every so often, if you suddenly can't run it, it's probably being caused by the setting you changed last. Easy peasy lemon squeezy, but a bit time consuming. Of course you can also post in this forum and we will do our best to help you out.

Speed Problems

It has come to my attention that you may experience troubles such as "key sticking", movement, or other related problems, due to some of the settings in DosBox. If you are experiencing such problems, try lowering your cycles to 30000 and lowering the priority levels to high or normal.

Here are the things you should fool with based on your own PC's performance:

Output:

I have chosen Direct3d, as this gives me the best performance, and also let's me use hardware pixelshaders if I choose too. Surface and Overlay are the two most popular used settings in basic dosbox. All opengl*** increase graphics quality, but may also slow down your performance and all opengl***'s cause a loss in image sharpness.

Pixelshader:

In the example code I have it set to none, I suggest you try Daggerfall first to ensure it runs at a reasonable rate before adding extra features like pixelshading, pixelshading is designed to allow your graphics card
assist in the increasment of image quality. If you have Directx chosen as your output you will get hardware pixelshaders, otherwise you may or may not get software pixelshaders. They are placed in order of quality.

Memsize:

I have mine set at 63 which is the highest possible setting, I'm not sure if that really makes a difference in Daggerfall.

Frameskip:

Never underestimate the power of frameskip, many dosgames run great at up to 10 or more frames skipped, I have mine set a 2, I get an average of 25-30 FPS, and it has allowed me to have a nicer looking game with no "lag".

Aspect:

This seems to be more of a players preference. If you run the game at weird resolutions, on widescreens, or the like, you may notice the game screen is kinda squished. Aspect Correction with resize the game to it's default size, although some people may not like the amount of unused screen.

Scaler:

The most important part of DosBox quality controls. I have mine set at hq2x, which comes with this version of DosBox, and is the highest quality filter available. Your best choice of actions when finding the best scalar
for you is to mix and match the scalars and frameskips. I'd suggest adding pixelshaders after you've chosen a scalar, as you'll get a far greater increase in image quality with a scalar then you will with pixelshaders.

Advmame3x is the highest for basic DosBox, while Hq2x is the highest quality for this version.

None
Nothing, worse quality, best performance.

Normal2x
nearest neighbor upscaling, factor 2
uses minimum resources

Advmame2x
advanced upscaling, factor 2
uses enormous resources but seems to result in better image quality

Advmame3x
advanced upscaling, factor 3
uses enormous resources but seems to result in best image quality (does not consider hq2x), image is enhanced

in 3 ways(Only difference I seen between this and hq2x was an increase in the actual size of the image).

interp2x
advanced upscaling, factor 2
uses many resources but results in very good image quality
preferred choice of many.

Tv2x
advanced upscaling, factor 2
uses many resources, results in strong sharpened image with an interlaced-look (missing scanlines) but overall

good quality

Hq2x
advanced upscaling, factor 2
uses many many system resources, results in best image quality. Does not require opengl output.

Conclusion:

Fool around, here are some screenshots of my game:

Note the smoothness of the words:

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/9009/screen16kt.gif

Note my superiorly powerful character:

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/8123/screen21en.gif

Note the low amount of pixelation:

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/3483/screen30nh.gif

*none of these screenshots were enhanced in anyway, they are taken directly by DosBox.

My current system is:

AMD 64 3700
ATI x800XT PE
SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS

I run Daggerfall using the previously mentioned dosbox configurations and have also since turned on 2xsai_srgb.fx pixel shading. I have also increased my sound quality from 11025 to 22050 under all soundcards.

As Mechaexailious stated, you can now create a shortcut to DosBox, replace it's icon with the Daggerfall icon, and place it on your desktop! You now have a Daggerfall emulator!

Good Luck!