It has come to my attention that it is becoming harder and harder to get swos working on modern pc's using windows nt, 2000 or windows XP, thus i shall try to solve some of the common problems associated with getting the old classic to run. Look under the relevant section for problem pertaining to the use of swos on said OS, then see my answers in order to solve all your problems!
DOS
You should have no problems at all running SWOS under DOS, as it was designed for it, all you need is the relevant amount of RAM (4mb should do, 8mb helps) a meaty enough processor (486dx2/66) and the required DOS version (5.0 or above).
If you cannot get swos to run then must not have the line "device=himem.sys" in your config.sys file (situated in the root directory of your hard drive, probably c:\).
If you know you have enough memory, then just use the utility 'memmaker' which comes with version 6 and above of DOS, this should help you.
Windows 95/98
This is very similar to DOS, you should always make sure you play SWOS in pure-dos mode for the greatest compatability (just do start, shutdown, reboot into ms-dos). Only soundcards listed in the 'install' utility of SWOS (go to your swos directory, probably c:\swos, and type 'install' (no quotes) to run it).
Make sure your soundcard drivers are loaded (see instructions on your specific soundcard for how to do this).
SWOS does not support USB joysticks/pads when run in DOS mode, for these to work on a windows 98/95 machine you must run the game from within the OS (ie open up a dos-prompt and run from there).
NOTE: SWOS DOES NOT SUPPORT MICROSOFT SIDEWINDER GAMEPADS / JOYSTICKS USB OR OTHERWISE, THEY SEEM TO USE A DIFFERENT INTERFACE TO EVERY OTHER JOYSTICK AND PAD AROUND
Windows ME
Windows ME has no DOS mode as such, so you need to run the game from the dos-prompt.
Soundcards under windows ME usually have a compatability set of drivers for use with DOS based games, these usually emulate a SOUNDBLASTER 16 or SOUNDBLASTER PRO based card, so select these from the install utility (go to your swos directory, probably c:\swos, and type 'install' (no quotes) to run it)
If you have a fairly modern soundcard or pc, for music use 'General MIDI MPU-401' option from the music menu in the install utility, this will sound best and is most likely to work.
USB Joysticks and pads are supported by SWOS EXCEPT ANY MICROSOFT SIDEWINDER products, only one can be used by the game though, unless you have 2 gameport joysticks or pads you will have to use the '1 joystick, 1 keyboard' option in the install utility.
IF THE GAME CRASHES OR FAILS TO LOAD, DISABLE DIGITAL SOUND IN THE INSTALL UTILITY.
Windows 2000/XP
If you use 2000/XP then there are two options for you:
Option 1: Dosbox
In my opinion this produces the best results, Dosbox is an emulator for DOS computers.
I recommend first copying the whole swos cd to your hard drive first, removing the need for the cd, and then using the cd crack.
Get it from http://dosbox.sourceforge.net, just download the .exe and run it, it will install to a location on your harddrive, and put some items in the start menu. You can then edit the config file to give you a better settings layout.
To edit the config file, simply go to the Dosbox menu in your programs list and click the "Dosbox.conf" entry. This will open up the file in notepad. To help you, I have listed some options to change and some good values to use:
| Value | What It Does | What to change it to |
|---|---|---|
| fullscreen=false | allows you to run full screen | fullscreen=true (if you want full screen) |
| output=surface | changes how the program outputs graphics | output=opengl (gives you smoothed graphics, faster but only if you have a modern video card i.e. last 4 years or so) | cycles=2500 | how fast the emulation should run | cycles=10000 (gives you a smoother and faster game, should be ok for anyone with a 1.4ghz or more PC. You can turn this up and down if you find the emulation is too fast or slow) |
Once you've edited the config file, just run dosbox from the menu, an ms-dos screen should appear.
Simply type in it:
mount c SWOSDIRECTORY
Where SWOSDIRECTORY is wherever you have put swos, i.e. c:\swos . Now type:
c:
And then either 'install' to setup the game (NOTE: do not select where to install the game to, it is unnecessary) you can select control and sound options here though. Sound is not fully working on dosbox, so try it and see, if it doesnt work then disable it. You can then type 'sws' to run the game.
Option 2: VDMSound
It is more difficult to get SWOS to run under these operating systems, so be prepared for it not to work first time.
NOTE: Under WINDOWS NT SERIES OPERATING SYSTEMS (THIS INCLUDES 2000 and XP) DIGITAL SOUND SUPPORT FOR DOS GAMES IS FLAKY AT BEST, DO NOT EXPECT IT TO WORK
You can play the game with keyboard only and no digital sound by just running the game as you would any other, however to get joysticks/pads working with the game you need to run a utility called VDMSound 2.1.0, download it here:
Double click the file after it has downloaded, it should bring up the familiar install interface, and lead you thorugh any options.
Once you have the program installed all you have to do is open up your swos directory in Windows Explorer and right click on the install.exe file, then select 'Run using VDMSound' from the pop-up menu.
NOTE DO NOT RUN THE 2.1.0 version of VDMSound under Windows NT, it may crash your system. Windows 2000 & XP are fine though.
The Install program should run and you should select 'Configure', then 'Sound' and wait until the sound config program loads, from there select the 'General MIDI MPU-401' as the music device and the 'Soundblaster 16 or compatible' as the digital sound device.
Now if you would like joysticks, choose 'Controls' from the configure menu and select '1 Joystick and 1 Keyboard' (i'm not sure if 2 joysticks works, please let me know if you get it working). Calibrate your joystick by following the onscreen instructions, then choose the key controls.
Go back to the main menu and choose 'Save Settings', then 'Exit'. The program should exit to the Windows Desktop.
Now run the main game by right-clicking on the sws.exe file in your swos directory, and selecting 'Run with VDMSound'. If the game works and loads ok and your controller works, then cheer and start playing the game you love so much. :)
If not, then re-run the Install program as described before and select 'no digital' sound from the sound utility. Save the settings again and re-run the game, it should all work now!
Still having problems?Make sure you removed any versions of VDMSound you had previously BEFORE running the install of the new 2.1.0 version.
If this version does not work for you then feel free to go to the VDMSound Homepage and download version 2.0.4, you may fair better with that.
