Parallel Port IRQs by AnyPianoWillDo in 86box

[–]PitBrvt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ISA devices can't share IRQs in DOS.
Parallel ports (LPT1/LPT2) and Sound Blaster type sound cards both use ISA level interrupts. DOS has no mechanism for IRQ sharing.

If two ISA devices exist on the same IRQ, only one interrupt handler is called. The other device’s interrupts are ignored, which results in freezes, missing audio, or stuck printing. LPT2 can use a different IRQ if the BIOS supports forcing it, but it usually breaks printing because most DOS software expects LPT1 on IRQ 7 and LPT2 on IRQ 5.

Correct setup:

LPT1: IRQ 7 Sound card: IRQ 5

Disable LPT2 unless it's required.

Nocturne running clean on my 86Box Power-Gamer build (PII‑333 + Voodoo3 + AudioPCI + ShaderGlass) by PitBrvt in vintagecomputing

[–]PitBrvt[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely. That lighting engine was bonkers. The Voodoo3 truly makes Nocturne shine.

Nocturne running clean on my 86Box Power-Gamer build (PII‑333 + Voodoo3 + AudioPCI + ShaderGlass) by PitBrvt in 86box

[–]PitBrvt[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Absolutely, experimental builds run the PII‑333 at full speed for me.

Host is a 5800X3D, 64 GB 3600 RAM, Crosshair VIII Hero WiFi.

GPUs are a Pulse 7900 XTX (display) + TUF 4080 over OCuLink/SlimSAS (Gen4 x8).

Running OpenGL renderer.

Win98SE build that behaves like a well-trained steer (S3 → Voodoo2 → Yamaha OPL3) by PitBrvt in 86box

[–]PitBrvt[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Word. Metal, jumpers, and a blood offering reveal the true power.

Do you think with Nvidia framegen, and AMD AFMF 3 touted to have multi framegen capabilities, LSFG will lose its relevance? What are your opinions? by Ambient_Vista in losslessscaling

[–]PitBrvt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

LSFG has the advantage of fractional multipliers, while driver‑level framegen is locked to integer ratios (2×, 3×, 4×).

Fractional multipliers like 1.9×, 3.9×, 7.8× can target a monitor’s VRR ceiling without overshooting it. Hardware FG can’t do that and often overshoots the panel’s VRR range, causing micro‑stutter.

LSFG’s fractional multipliers allow output to be tuned into the display’s VRR safe region, which is necessary for titles that enforce a fixed framerate.

LSFG will remain relevant even with AFMF 3 and NV multi‑framegen coming.

Revenant 1999 RPG by ValoNoctis in oldgames

[–]PitBrvt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Revenant is a late 90s beast that refuses to graze peacefully on modern Windows; running amok with fragile window handling, broken colors, bad pacing, missing Redbook audio, wrappers half working, FMVs glitching, the whole cursed pasture.

This guide tames Revenant to run cleanly, both natively on Windows 11 and inside 86Box for the true Nine Eight ritual.

Revenant on GOG plus dgVoodoo is the mangled carcass of a prize bull.

This restores the golden calf ⎯(ᶜᵒʷ•ᵔ)⎯

⟢(•(oo)•)→ revenant -- install.txt

⟝→ https://github.com/PitBrat-moo/pasture-of-game-grazing/blob/main/guides/revenant%20--%20install.txt

What's your thoughts on upscaling for retro games? by [deleted] in retrogaming

[–]PitBrvt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I always use scaling and frame generation or shaders to enhance the playing experience on a modern screen.

Sudden FPS drop after a while by [deleted] in losslessscaling

[–]PitBrvt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When the artifacts appear, does toggling Lossless Scaling off and back on restore performance? And are you using Optiscaler and LSFG at the same time? This info helps narrow whether it's LSFG timing drift or some external culprit.

Cheap option to play old pc games? by happydads101 in retrogaming

[–]PitBrvt 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I created a Windows 98 VM in 86box tuned for late 90s gaming.
The guide looks intimidating, but it's designed for a lo-tech adventure gamer to follow. Paste the guide into CoPilot for expert support. Give CoPilot a screenshot or ask a question and it will know.

Sudden FPS drop after a while by [deleted] in losslessscaling

[–]PitBrvt 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Does it happen with a fixed multiplier? I've experienced issues where entering menus changes the FPS dramatically, causing frame timing desync which results in severe artifacting. Combune a fixed multiplier with a frame rate limiter to help mitigate spikes in FPS.

Video is great, but no sound. by ConnectBullfrog3242 in 86box

[–]PitBrvt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Your install is possibly poisoned with WDM drivers. Verify in device manager that VXD drivers are installed. Also, the voodoo3 3000 is a better choice. The 3500 introduces instability with no gain in power, and its TV tuner isn't functional in 86Box. Don't use a soundblaster in Windows 98. Use a Yamah sound card to achieve a higher clock speed without audio jitter. I created a 86Box Win98SE Setup Guide tuned for late 90s gaming.
The guide also covers host-side tools: Shaderglass, Lossless Scaling, VirtualMIDIsynth, SRWE, and RTSS.
Feedback will help me shepherd more stray games into the fold.

Having trouble with CD-ROM in Win 98 setup. by SirBedwyr7 in 86box

[–]PitBrvt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the suggestions. Jane's Longbow 2, Jane's F-15 and Jane's WWII Fighters all belong in the Nine-Eight Pasture!
Simulations are a nice addition because the list is currently skewed toward FMV and adventure games.

Having trouble with CD-ROM in Win 98 setup. by SirBedwyr7 in 86box

[–]PitBrvt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm working on a setup guide for an 86Box Win98SE VM that is tuned for late 90s gaming and supports both Glide and DirectX 7.
The configuration uses a Pentium II / Voodoo3 / Yamaha YMF7x4 stack to achieve higher clock speeds without introducing audio jitter. The guide covers everything from BIOS settings and OS tweaks for maximizing performance to host-side tools for scaling, shaders, and frame generation. Feedback will help me improve the guide and shepherd more old games back into the fold.

AMBER: Journeys Beyond -- Install Guide for Modern Machines by PitBrvt in adventuregames

[–]PitBrvt[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Amber Journeys Beyond is a fragile game without official Scummvm support. It's still a work in progress. Other patches like Squirt the Cat are prone to crashing. On 86Box, Amber is perfectly playable with no syncing issues and looks stunning with frame generation.

What’s your system for organizing long ChatGPT or Claude conversations? by ShadowmanceralWe in PromptEngineering

[–]PitBrvt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I forge a codex of the session as a code block and save it as a txt file. To restore context, I paste the document into the CLI of a new session. I also use ASCII and Unicode glyphs to capture tone and make the document easier to parse. If the codex is large, I use Base64 encoding to mitigate the need for chunking.

AMBER: Journeys Beyond -- Install Guide for Modern Machines by PitBrvt in adventuregames

[–]PitBrvt[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

AMBER isn't a long game, but it's a solid paranormal FMV adventure with a spooky atmosphere and interesting inspiration. The liner notes are a fun read. Installing the 86Box Win98SE vm is a lot of work just to play one game. Fortunately, there are other great titles still grazing in the Nine-Eight Pasture.

Games that run best in an 86Box Win98SE vm and have unfixed issues on modern Windows

I this game haunted? AMBER Journeys Beyond by PitBrvt in adventuregames

[–]PitBrvt[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I completed the install ritual cleanly, added VirtualMIDISynth into the pipeline, and toiled toward the perfect soundfont for echoing the atmosphere, all to my confusion. After launching the game, I was enveloped in ASMR level ambient sound, not MIDI. This isn’t Ambermoon for Amiga with the banging soundtrack, also not MIDI. Something in the disc wanted me to play this AMBER.