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COLLECTION CHAMBER FAQ


It can be quite confusing to navigate the dark corridors of the Collection Chamber. The cobwebs are so dense that a helping hand may be needed to brush away the more tricky parts. Here is that hand, and the help too.

It's also worth noting that I am but one man of limited time and resources. I can only go by what I see on my current setup and have no way of testing on others even if I had the hours spare. Each of the newer installs will have a ChamberNotes file in the install folder detailing how I got the game working. I will attempt to be as thorough as I can, but I'm sure to overlook some information or get things wrong from time to time.

Please remain respectful in the comments, and refrain from posting spam and unsolicited links.

   What are your PC specs?
   How do I download from Mega.nz?
   Help! My game's not saving!
   What are the keyboard shortcuts/hotkeys for the varying programs you use?
   I have issues with Game X using DOSBox or one of its variants. Can you help me?
   But what about Windows 3.1 games?
   How about Windows '95 games using DOSBox Daum or DOSBox-X?
   But this Windows '95 / Windows '98 game uses PCEm...
   What if it uses DxWind? Is there anything I should know?
   This game is a multi-disk game. How do I change the CDs?
   Game X isn't installing! Please help!
   Game X uses dgVoodoo or runs natively on modern Windows but it's still not working.
   This game needs IMGDrive Portable but it's not working. What's goin on?
   I get an antivirus alert from some of your games!
   Can you release this and that game from the Chamber?
   What games won't you free from the Chamber?
   Will you review any more movies?
   My question is not answered here. Contact me.


Common Questions:

What are your PC Specs?

I play and test all games on my own setup, so performance may vary depending on your own computer's specs, especially when emulating the more demanding games. I only test the games featured on the site on my setup (I am one man, not a corporation with a multi-rig testing team), so can only go by what works for me. If you run into a problem I cannot replicate, I will be limited in how I can help.
  • OS: Windows 10 Home
  • Processor:  Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700K CPU @ 4.00GHz  4.00 GHz
  • Installed Memory (RAM):  16.0 GB 
  • System Type: 64-bit Operating System, x64-based processor
  • Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
  • Mouse: Logitech MX Master with Darkfield Laser tracking



How do I download from Mega.nz?

All of my installers are hosted on Mega.nz. This third-party site offers decent speeds and a clutter-free interface. The image below is roughly what you'll see when clicking on the Download link.



To download the game, click on each file in the list (1). Alternatively, you can download them all in a single zip file by clicking Download as Zip (2). I do not recommend this option as it is prone to fail.. It will time out for free users if the game is particularly large causing the download to fail, and even if it appears not to, the file has a chance of being corrupted anyway. This is because 
Mega has a maximum size limit you can download for free users - 500Mb if I recall correctly - which is why I split the files to be no larger than that. It's best to download each file individually anyway.

Rather than download through a download manager (external or otherwise), it will download within the browser itself. You can see your list of downloads by clicking on the bottom left icon (4). To return to the list of files, click on the top left icon (3). Do not close the browser or the tab the page is on as it will cancel the download.

Because of the nature of Mega, older browsers are not supported. Firefox, Chrome and Opera have the most support. You may also need to delete your cookies and cache files if the page isn't working as expected.

For more, check out the Mega FAQ

https://mega.nz/#help/client/webclient



Help! My game's not saving!

There could be a couple of reasons reason for this and one of them is most likely my fault. The most common one is that you don't have the admin privileges to write or overwrite the save file within Program Files (the default folder for most of my early installers). The fix: run the game as admin or install outside of Program Files. All new installers will now use "C:\Games\Collection Chamber" as the default.

The other possibility is that the installer didn't create the empty save folder causing confusion within the game itself. The programs I use to create installers don't recognise empty folders, so the SAVEGAME folder isn't created (and I often forget that this is the case). This mainly affects titles using SCUMMVM, DOS, Windows 3.1 and native Windows games (including DxWnd & dgVoodoo).

To fix it, simply create a new folder in the install directory called one of the following. One of them should work.
  • SAVE
  • SAVES
  • SAVEGAME
Other possible locations are "(INSTALL DIR)\HDD" or "(INSTALL DIR)\DXWND\(GAME CODE)" though most using the latter are newer and are most likely already working correctly. Over time, I will be fixing those known to me but until then, here's the solution.


What are the keyboard shortcuts/hotkeys for the varying programs you use?

Here are some useful hotkeys when using playing PC games using various programs. Emulated console or micro-computer games have their shortcuts detailed in their respective menus. Visit each program's homepage for more detailed information.

  • Alt-Enter - Toggle fullscreen
  • Alt-Pause - Pause emulation
  • Ctrl-F1 - Keymapper. Use this if you want to rebind keys
  • Ctrl-F5 - Saves screenshot in the 'capture' folder
  • Ctrl-Alt-F5 - Start/stop recording video in .avi format. Saves in the 'capture' folder
  • Ctrl-F6 - Start/stop recording sound in wave format. Saves in the 'capture' folder
  • Ctrl-F7/Ctrl-F8 - Decrease/increase frameskip
  • Ctrl-F9 - Kill (close) DOSBox (beware when using on Windows '95 games using DAUM)
  • Ctrl-F10 - Capture/release mouse. Useful if you are playing in a window
  • Ctrl-F11/Ctrl-F12 - Decrease/increase DOSBox cycles. Slows down or speeds up the emulation respectively. Useful if your game is running too fast or too slow.
  • Alt-F12 - Turbo
  • Replacing Ctrl with F12 is the default when using DOSBox-X
  • Ctrl-Alt-PgDown - Toggle fullscreen
  • Crt-Alt-PgUp - Saves screenshot in the 'screenshots' folder
  • All other options are found in the menu bar when in windowed mode
  • Depending on the game, the hotkeys may have been remapped. See the custom menu for more information about the more widely used/altered ones.
  • F1 - Toggle Retroarch menu 
  • F - Toggle fullscreen
  • F2/F4 - Save/load state
  • F6/F7 - Decrease/increase current state slot
  • F8 - Saves screenshot in 'screenshots' folder
  • F9 - Toggle mute
  • F11 - Grab mouse (useful when playing in windowed mode)
  • F12 - On-screen keyboard
  • -/+ - Volume control
  • Space - Turbo mode (toggle)
  • L - Turbo mode (hold)
  • E - Slow motion
  • O - Record movie (as a set of inputs rather than a video file)
  • R - Rewind
  • P - Pause
  • H - Reset
  • M/N - Next/previous shader (if available)
  • ESC - Close Retroarch
  • F12 - Toggle FS-UAE menu
  • F12-Q - Quit FS-UAE
  • F12-F - Toggle fullscreen
  • F12-G - Capture mouse (useful when playing in windowed mode)
  • F12-Z or F11 - Cycle zoom modes
  • F12-B - Toggle border display
  • F12-S or PrintScreen - Saves screenshot to desktop
  • F12-R - Soft reset
  • F12-T - Hard reset
  • F12-A - Freeze button for use with Action Replay
  • F12-D - Debugger
  • F12-M - Mute
  • F12-W - Toggle Warp mode (don't use on some games when the game is initially loading)
  • F12-< / F12-> - Volume control
  • F12-P or Pause/Break - Pause emulation
  • Depending on the game, the hotkeys may have been remapped. See the custom menu for more information about the more widely used/altered ones.
  • F1 - Save state
  • F2 / Shift-F2 - Increase / decrease save state slot
  • F3 - Load state
  • F4 - Toggles frame limiter mode
  • Shift-F4 - Toggles frame skipping mode
  • F5 - Cycles plugins
  • F6 - Cycles through aspect ratio (stretch, 4:3 fullscreen & 16:9 widescreen)
  • F8 - Saves screenshot in 'snaps' folder
  • F9 - Toggles hardware/software renderer
  • F10 - Toggles logging
  • F12 - Stars/stops video capture
  • TAB - Toggles turbo mode
  • Shift-TAB - Toggles slow-motion mode
  • Alt-Enter - Toggle fullscreen
  • ESC - Pauses emulation
  • Ctrl-numpad+ / Ctrl-numpad- - Zoom in / out
  • Ctrl-numpad* - Resets zoom

I have issues with Game X using DOSBox or one of its variants. Can you help me?

I can try! Most of the games here do use DOSBox to get them working on modern installers. I've set each game up to what works on my machine, but the settings may not be the best for all users. Here are some options that could help.
  •  If you're stumped on how to change CDs for multi-disc games, press Ctrl-F4 to cycle through them when the game prompts you to do so.
  • Play around with the dosbox.conf file located in the install directory. Open it with notepad to see all of the options. Be aware that some installers (mainly compilations) may have renamed the configuration file to something else.
  • Change the cycles. If your game is running too fast or slow, play around with the cycles option in the dosbox.conf. Search for "cycles=" in the file and change the number to around 100000 for late 90s games or 10000 for those from the early 90s to start with. Go up or down by 10000 or 1000 to tweak it to your liking.
  • Change the output. Again from the .conf file, search for "output=". Change it to either overlay, ddraw, direct3d or opengl to see if any of them gives you better results. This will also help if the image doesn't scale when going fullscreen (I suggest ddraw or direct3d).
  • If you find the resolution to be a bit zoomed in or just off, change the "fullresolution=" to desktop or original.
  • Games should be in their original fullscreen 4:3 (or thereabouts) aspect ratio, but if you'd prefer a stretched widescreen image, change the "fullresolution=" to original and "aspect=" to false.
  • If you find the image is zoomed in when in fullscreen, this is due to your systems' DPI settings. Right-click on Run.exe (or the equivalent) and go to the Compatibility tab.  Select 'Change high DPI settings' and tick the boxes for 'Program DPI' and 'High DPI scaling override'.
  • Back up the .conf file before making any changes (just in case)

But what about Windows 3.1 games?

DOSBox also emulates Windows 3.1 rather well. It's by no means perfect and needs a decent machine to run smoothly, but there are a few options if you're having trouble.
  • The dosbox.conf file can be used in the same way as above, although I doubt cycles will make much of a difference in most cases. Some of you may find output=ddraw better than output=overlay. 
  • Try installing as administrator and to a folder outside of Program Files. Because these games contain an entire operating system, some emulated operating files may conflict with your computer's admin status. If you find the saves aren't writing, this could be the reason.
  • Try running the game as administrator. This is especially useful if you've installed to Program Files. Because an entire operating system is included with the game, the current operating system may block needed functions in the emulated one. If you're getting the 'unable to copy driver' error, this is the reason.
  • Failing that, try running the game from the emulated Windows 3.1 desktop. Open dosbox.conf and scroll to the very end of the file. Put a hashtag (#) before the last two lines (eg "#win c:\runexit..." and "#exit"). Run the game normally, then type 'win' to get to the Windows 3.1 desktop.
  • If you find the image is zoomed in when in fullscreen, this is due to your systems' DPI settings. Right-click on Run.exe (or the equivalent) and go to the Compatibility tab.  Select 'Change high DPI settings' and tick the boxes for 'Program DPI' and 'High DPI scaling override'.
  • Back up the .conf file before making any changes (just in case)

How about Windows '95 games using DOSBox Daum or DOSBox-X?

While DOSBox cannot emulate Windows '95, modified versions such as DOSBox Daum or DOSBox-X can. It can still be very buggy, but many games do work quite nicely, especially in the adventure game genre. You'll need a beast of a machine to run games smoothly though, and is often limited to systems with 64-bit processors (x64) and not 32-bit (x86).

Most of the suggestions for regular DOS or Windows 3.1 games mentioned above will not work here, but there are still a few things you can try if you run into issues.
  • Changing the output in the dosbox.conf could help, though only a few of the options will work. Use ddraw, direct3d, opengl, openglnb or openglhq. Not all will work for everyone but in my experience ddraw or direct3d offers the most stable performance.
  • Try installing the game as administrator and somewhere other than Program Files.
  • The game may start in windowed mode. This is because starting in Windows '95 in fullscreen can cause some issues in earlier versions of DOSBox DAUM. In these cases, go fullscreen by pressing Alt+Enter only when the Windows '95 splash screen appears. More recent titles using DOSBox & Windows '95 don't require this and if it doesn't start in fullscreen its likely because I forget to set it as such.
  • If your image is cut off when in fullscreen, open dosbox.conf and change fullresolution to original.
  • Only exit DOSBox Daum or DOSBox-X by shutting down the emulated Windows '95. You may get away with an emulated hard drive check when you next run the game but there's no guarantee. What will be certain is that any games saved during that session will be lost.
  • Twice a year, a daylight savings reminder may pop up. Just like most things in life, accept it and everything will be fine. 
  • I did notice when I bought a cheap mouse that the cursor can stutter in some Windows '95 games. Since upgrading again to the Logitech MX Master, this issue disappeared.
  • If you find the image is zoomed in when in fullscreen, this is due to your systems' DPI settings. Right-click on Run.exe (or the equivalent) and go to the Compatibility tab.  Select 'Change high DPI settings' and tick the boxes for 'Program DPI' and 'High DPI scaling override'.Newer installers implement this automatically through a batch file (Run.bat).
  • Back up the .conf file before making any changes (just in case)

But this Windows '95 / Windows '98 game uses PCEm...

I've been using PCEm for the newer Windows '95 installers. It has a greater compatibility than DOSBox Daum, though it doesn't have as many features. It will also require a beefier machine for smooth emulation and is often limited to systems with 64-bit processors (x64) and not 32-bit (x86). A few games will use an emulated version of Windows '98 and I suspect the requirements for these are even higher. Here are a few points of note...
  • Ctrl-Alt-PgDown toggles fullscreen.
  • Ctrl-Alt-PgUp takes a screenshot. If you are in fullscreen mode, it will capture the entire screen at your desktop resolution - including black bars. In windowed mode it will capture the contents of the window only at the resolution the game is running in.
  • If you find the sound stutters, this is because your PC isn't fast enough. Exit fullscreen and the menu bar will display the % speed. Under Sound, set Buffer Length to 50ms, then under Misc select Machine then Configure Machine and set CPU as a 'Pentium 90' from the dropdown menu. Note: this may not work for games that require higher than a Pentium 90.
  • Another possible solution is to install this fix (download here). It replaces OpanAL32.dll with a newer version. I saw no difference in gameplay due to my PC's specs being pretty decent but those with lower-end PCs may see an improvement.
  • Turning off Vsync from the Video drop-down in the menu bar (exit fullscreen to view it) may also help with speed, though you may get varying degrees of screen tearing as a result.
  • The PCEm developers suggest a 3GHz CPU to emulate a Pentium 166 Windows 95 environment and I would suggest more for a P200 all the way up to MMX P300. These are for the more graphically intense games so the above may not work on lower-end machines. 
  • Quitting any intensive programs that are currently running (such as a leaded browser or video capture program) may also help with speed.
  • Update PCEm to a newer version (if available).  Everything can be overwritten, but back up the .cfg file just in case (see below). Changing the Buffer Length and Processor are the two biggest components that will help with speed.
  • Back up the .cfg file in the 'configs' folder before making any changes (just in case)


What if it uses DxWind? Is there anything I should know?

DxWind is not an emulator per se but uses wraparounds and hooks to get around any incompatibilities with modern systems. It was originally designed to run games in a window even if the original program doesn't allow for it but it grew to include a variety of other very useful features. With this in mind, I'm not entirely confident each user will get the same result and therefore I've included some ChamberNotes with each release detailing the options I've used, any problems I encountered (if any) and how I fixed them. With this info, I hope users can pinpoint any errors and play with the settings themselves. I can only test the game on my rig, so will be limited in my ability to help if you run into a problem I cannot replicate.
  • Have you turned your PC off an on again? Sometimes a restart will give your computer a nice kick up the bum to get it working again. Choosing Restart as opposed to Shut Down will clean up the RAM and processor cache which could be causing some of the issues.
  • If you find you cannot control the game, you might need to select the game window. Either click on the window from the desktop or Alt-TAB into it. If you're finding video or image captures are coming out blank, this is the same cause and solution.
  • Some games require data to be imported into the system registry. If the installer does not do this automatically, you must import it manually by double-clicking the .reg file found in the install directory. You can see the contents of the keys by opening this file in Notepad or equivalent. Read the games' ChamberNotes of each game that uses it for more information.
  • Try running as admin or install outside of Program Files before changing the DxWnd settings. It could be as simple as that.
  • Some games require your PC to have a CD drive present, regardless if any disc is in there. If your desktop has none, a Virtual CD program such as Daemon Tools or Power ISO will work.
  • It is possible that older games may require older video codecs to run the movies, most commonly Quicktime. Apple has since had it discontinued, so I recommend installing QuickTime Lite 4.10, which has none of the problematic fluff you don't need (I try to include it with most installers that need it). Alternatively, the K-Lite Codec pack will have every codec you'll ever need as well as many you probably don't.
  • If you get an error stating "MSVCP50.dll was not found" or something similar, the game will likely require one or more of the Microsoft Visual C++ packages to be installed. These are Microsoft C and C++ (MSVC) runtime libraries needed by programs coded in the varying versions of Visual C++. The older versions no longer come with Windows as standard and will need to be manuall installed. The link takes you to MicroSoft's official download centre and I recommend installing all of them (2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 & 2022) if you are an enthusiastic retro PC gamer. You might find you already have some of the newer ones installed.
  • Never apply compatibility settings to DxWnd.exe, the original game .exe / shortcut or Run.bat in the DxWnd folder. This will conflict with DxWnd and may crash the game.
  • To access the advanced options detailed in the games' Chamber Notes, run dxwind.exe and right-click on the game icon. Select 'Modify' to modify any settings.
  • You can test any modifications without saving them by clicking 'Try' in the Modify menu. If it hangs or crashes, click 'Kill' to end it.
  • To finalise settings, right-click the game icon in DxWnd and select 'eXport'. Overwrite the .dxw file so that the shortcuts that link to it will make use of the changes.
  • Back up 'dxwind.ini' and the .dxw file before making any changes (just in case)

This game is a multi-disk game. How do I change the CDs?

Only large Multi-CD games using DOSBox and its variants will perhaps ask to change disks. Press Ctrl+F4 to cycle through them. Disk changes in Windows '95 games are for the most part eliminated, automatic or you just need to click 'OK' when the message pops up. Read the included ChamberNotes.txt for more detailed game specific information.

For CD or floppy disk-based emulated console games (eg PlayStation or Amiga), details on how to swap disks are also included in the game's custom menu.


Game X isn't installing! Please help!

There are a few reasons why any given game installer isn't working. Here are the most common.
  • Make sure you download all of the files listed and have them all in the same folder before running the .exe file. If not, the install program I use will say they can't find a file or thinks it is corrupt.
  • Larger games may appear to hang when unpacking larger files such as ISOs. Be patient and the game will install.I can take several minutes depending on the size.
  • Your install may fail if you are not running as admin and are using the default Program Files install folder. Change the destination folder (eg. C:\Games), accept all admin privileges and continue.
  • Your download didn't complete or download properly and the download may have timed out. This is less common when downloading from MEGA, but redownloading the file may help nevertheless. Please note that selecting "Download as Zip" may sometimes cause errors too. In these cases download the files individually.
  • I ballsed up my installer. I test each installer before I upload but I'm not immune to mistakes. Comment on the game's review page and if the issue lies with me I'll fix it asap.


Game X uses dgVoodoo or runs natively on modern Windows but it's still not working.

My knowledge is rather limited for native Windows games. These will often use a crack or patch from a third party to get them working on Windows 10. I have recently been updating many of my previous Windows native games to use DxWnd and/or dgVoodoo. This helps with compatibility on a number of native Windows games. Read the DxWnd section of the FAQ for info on that program, or read on for notes about dgVoodoo.

dgVoodoo 2 is a graphics wrapper that converts old graphics APIs to Direct3D 11 or Direct3D 12 which greatly improves compatibility for modern Windows.

  • Have you turned your PC off an on again? Sometimes a restart will give your computer a nice kick up the bum to get it working again. Choosing Restart as opposed to Shut Down will clean up the RAM and processor cache which could be causing some of the issues.
  • If you find you cannot control the game, you might need to select the game window. Either click on the window from the desktop or Alt-TAB into it. If you're finding video or image captures are coming out blank, this is likely the same cause and solution.
  • Try running as admin or install outside of Program Files before changing any settings. It could be as simple as that.
  • Some games require data to be imported into the system registry. If the installer does not do this automatically, you must import it manually by double-clicking the .reg file found in the install directory. Read the games' ChamberNotes of each game that uses it for more information. 
  • Never apply compatibility settings to dgVoodooCpl.exe, the original game .exe / shortcut or Run.bat if there is one. This will conflict with dgVoodoo and may crash the game.
  • To access the advanced options detailed in the games' Chamber Notes, run dgVoodooCpl.exe. More information about each option can be found on the dgVoodoo website.
  • Some games require your PC to have a CD drive present, regardless if any disc is in there. If your system has none, a Virtual CD program such as Daemon Tools or Power ISO will work.
  • It is possible that older games may require older video codecs to run the movies, most commonly Quicktime. Apple has since had it discontinued, so I recommend installing QuickTime Lite 4.10, which has none of the problematic fluff you don't need (I try to include it with most installers that need it). Alternatively, the K-Lite Codec pack will have every codec you'll ever need as well as many more you probably don't.
  • If you get an error stating "MSVCP50.dll was not found" or something similar, the game will likely require one or more of the Microsoft Visual C++ packages to be installed. These are Microsoft C and C++ (MSVC) runtime libraries needed by programs coded in the varying versions of Visual C++. The older versions no longer come with Windows as standard and will need to be manuall installed. The link takes you to MicroSoft's official download centre and I recommend installing all of them (2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 & 2022) if you are an enthusiastic retro PC gamer. You might find you already have some of the newer ones installed.
  • Back up dgvoodoo.conf before making any changes in dgVoodoo (just in case).

This game needs IMGDrive Portable but it's not working. What's goin on?
.

IMGDrive Portable allows you to mount a CD ISO from a command line without installing a fully featured Virtual CD drive. This is useful for Windows based games that demand the CD to be present. By default, it will use the 64-bit version of the application. Read below  if your computer is 32-bit (x86). If you're having problems, take a look at these possible solutions below.

  • IMGDrive Portable may not require a bloated application, but it down need to install some drivers. If the Collection Chamber installer doesn't do it automatically, run Update.bat from the install directory.
  • If you find the CDs aren't mounting or the drivers aren't installing using Update.bat, it might be because your running the game on a 32-bit computer. I will be including 32-bit patches going forward, but in the meanting open up "Run.bat", "Mount.bat", Unmount.bat" and "Update.bat" and replace and instance of x64 with x86.
    For example, "imgdrivecmd_x64.exe -m0 5EL.iso" will become "imgdrivecmd_x86.exe -m0 5EL.iso". Both versions of IMGDrive Portable should be present in the game's install folder.
  • If you're still having issues, you can manually mount the ISO yourself using any virtual drive software.

I get an antivirus alert from some of your games!

It is relatively common for antivirus programs to come back with false positives. Some programs look for whether a program is from a registered company and anything else is deemed 'unsafe'.

Here's a little info about that phenomenon
https://www.howtogeek.com/180162/how-to-tell-if-a-virus-is-actually-a-false-positive/

I assure you, my computer is clean and every file is created in pretty much the same way so it's random what gets flagged up. If you're unsure, I understand if you don't want to risk using it.



Can you release this and that game from the Chamber?

Possibly. I've recently stopped replying to most request comments due to the large number of them, but keep requesting them anyway (there's only so many ways to say 'maybe'). I do read them and do my best to keep a log, whether or not you get a reply.

I can't guarantee I'll do any work on any of them though, let alone spend the time to get it working. If I find the game interesting enough I'll likely give it a go at some point but can give no timeframe. Basically, no guarantees but keep 'em coming anyway!

For a general and poorly upkept list of what's already been requested, check out the following link...



What games won't you free from the Chamber?

My focus is mostly for games that have been out of print for at least 10 years (with very few exceptions) and no longer sold new or digitally as well as fan-made freeware titles (active freeware projects will link to their site). I mostly focus on games from the 90s and early 2000s as that was the golden era of gaming for me.

The copyright holders of the games hosted here seem to not care enough about their back catalogue to release them on Steam, GOG or to update them for the current consoles. Basically, any game classed as "abandonware" or "freeware" will be considered.

If a game I host is subsequently sold or the copyright holder requests it, I will remove the download and link to the store page if available instead. I will do this regardless of how well they sell or support it. Remakes, remasters and re-releases of ports that are generally the same will also trigger its removal. If you are the copyright holder, you can contact me at collectionchamber101@outlook.com


Will you review any more movies?

Maybe. I started this site to be about the hidden gems of everything I love which includes movies, TV shows and nerd culture in general. As time went on, I got a better response from my game reviews and their uploads. I also enjoy writing about them more as they have nothing to do with my professional life. I wouldn't rule it out if something interesting comes along that I want to share but at the moment it's restricted to the year-end Top 10 retrospectives.


My question is not answered here.

Ask and I'll do my best to respond :)

You can email me at

collectionchamber101@outlook.com






There are a lot of comments on this page! As such, I'll be periodically be deleting them. You can find an archive of those now gone in the link below.

119 comments:

  1. Could you get some of the sonic the hedgehog games that were released for pc and other consoles to work on windows 10 like sonic heroes if you can?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think it'd be really cool if you could get Jan Pienkowski Haunted House on here. It's a game based on the pop up book of the same name.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yes. I 2nd vote this one.

      Delete
    2. https://archive.org/details/haunted-house
      Try this one. Worked for me on Windows 7. Use Daemon Tools to mount the .iso. Go to My Computer and open the iso and select setup. This will install the game. Fun!

      Delete
    3. Hello! It's on my request list, but I haven't looked into it yet.

      Delete
  3. Hi this webpage is amazing! Would you consider to upload Scooby-Doo Phanton of the knight?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's likely I will get to all of the Scooby-Doo kids adventures but I'll spread them out. Show Down in Ghost Town is already here and plays similarly. The only one I haven't been able to get working as well as I'd like is Mystery of the Funpark Phantom

      Delete
  4. Hey I just thought of another suggestion (and this one should be an easy one) why not do a Gargoyle's Quest/Ghost N Goblins collection? (or at least the Gargoyle's Quest trilogy on its own)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi, I was just reminiscing about the I H̶A̶T̶E̶ LOVE Maths, Science and Spelling games and I am so thankful to have come across your site.

    If it is possible, could you please get the Learning Ladder games? They are also by DK. I specifically remember playing the Science section of the Year 6 one, where you can "walk" around an isolated-looking place/town and click on things to read about the science behind them. Seemed so cool back in the day.

    I truly appreciate all the great work you're doing here!

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  6. Check out the Eagle Eye Mysteries games if you haven't already. The first is Eagle Eye Mysteries and the second is Eagle Eye Mysteries in London. They are both DOS games and are entertaining for all ages. It would be great to see those two added to this site.

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  7. whats up with trying to record videos using the way these games are run? I'm tryign to record Ancient Stone Tablets and the recording records all the sound but only snippets of the video, its almost like just a picture show that changes the pictures every 15 mins or so.. Its clearly not my recording program cos I can record anything else normally with it, just not the way the games run with this emulator or whatever it is you are using to make the games work.

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  8. Could you get The Land Before Time Activity Center full version not the demo. It runs on mac/windows it will work on window xp. Also I would like to learn how to used PCEm, I kind of not close it right. I did not get a error all it gave me was window 95 did not shut down right how do I fix that to get the game to run again.

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  9. Can you get tanktics running? Its a really unique RTS game from Gremlin/DMA design where you have to assemble cartoon tanks in different time periods starting with stone age. It plays fine on windows 7 but you have to ctrl alt delete and close explorer to get the colors to work (remembered that trick from AOE1) none of the FMVs work though. Its hard as nails and I would like a chance to beat it.

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  10. hello i have a suggestion for a game could you get donald duck quack attack/goin quackers on here the pc/windows version please its a game from the year 2000 and its from disney interactive and ubisoft montreal

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  11. hello i have another suggestion could you also get disney's tarzan action game the pc/windows version on here please its a game from the year 1999 and its from eurocom and disney interactive

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  12. with all the music from the whole game please

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  13. oh yeah i also have another suggestion could you also get heart of darkness on here please its a game from the year 1998 and its from amazing studio and infogrames multimedia and interplay productions and tantrum entertainment

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  14. the pc/windows version please

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  15. with all the cutscenes from the whole game please

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  16. Could you make the old LEGO Friends game work on windows 10?

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  17. hello i have a question can you please get all the disney magic artist games on here please i cant get them to run on windows 10

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  18. oh yeah can you also get road rash the pc version on here please i cant get it to run on windows 10 its a game from 1995

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  19. from the above question i meant disney's magic artist

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  20. oh yeah can you also get all the bas de beer games on here please bas de beer is a game series from the netherlands/belgium its from the 90s i think i think this link explains it better i think https://www.mobygames.com/game/bas-de-beer-collectie its from Easy Interactive B.V.

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  21. Please get Star Trek Klingon Academy, Star Trek New Worlds, Star Trek Away Team and Star Trek Dominion Wars going! I would love to play these games again if you can get the going! Thank you!

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  22. Please consider Wing Commander 3 and 4. I loved those games back in the day.

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  23. The Sacred Amulet (Aztec in Europe) would be a good addition. It's an interesting historical adventure game by Cryo and definitely worth a look.

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  24. Hello, I was wondering if you could take a look at Pax Corpus? It's kinda like Tomb Raider but sci-fi, is also on PS1 but IMO the PC version is best. Tried dgvoodoo but the game crashes after a few minutes of play.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have it on the PC and have made minor inroads. Not played or tested it properly but I'm sure to get to it as some point.

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  25. Hi, congratulation for your fantastic site. But when trying to install DS9 Fallen I got the following message:
    DS9 has not been totally installed because of the following reason: File corrupt or unreadable: sounds\DS9_Dialogue.uax. Can you help?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello! Read the points in the FAQ. This is likely because the installer cannot find the second file (Install-STFA.D01)

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  26. Man I love your site and your work! I am so curious though, how do you get PCem to run games from shortcuts? (I understand if this is a trade secret and are unable to share, I'm just genuinely curious)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can edit the Run.bat file in notepad to see what arguments I use. As for the game autostarting, that's doen to Windows 95 rather than PCEm. I edit the win.ini within the emulated OS to launch the game at startup. It doesn't work for all games, and I don't do it for those with multiple executables (like Clue) but it's still a useful function.

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  27. Hello I'm trying to run a game, specifically Goosebumps Escape From Horrorland but the dosbox keeps immediately closing as soon as I launch it on my windows 10. Any suggestions for what to do?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's likely because it didn't install properly. Open dosbox.conf in notepad, go right to the end and put a # before the word 'exit'. This will keep dosbox open and let you know what it cannot find. Read the points above to see the common reasons why it didn't install correctly.

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  28. Thank you so much for making it possible for me to enjoy my favorite childhood games! Can you consider maybe uploading the Wishbone games like The Amazing Odyssey or Wishbone Activity Zone?

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  29. Hi this webpage is amazing! Would you consider to upload any pool,billiars related games for PC?

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  30. hello youre website/webpage is awesome but i have a question would you also please upload natural fawn killers please its a pc game from 1999 from small rockets/fiendish games/criterion games/criteron software

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  31. oh yeah i have a another question can you also please upload natural fawn killers santa's gone postal please its a spinoff from natural fawn killers from 1999 the pc game

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  32. oh yeah would you please upload the full version of natural fawn killers and natural fawn killers santa's gone postal please

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  33. I know you like to make old games work on Windows 10 but could you make them work on apple computers as well if you want to?

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    Replies
    1. Hello, I'm a lifelong PC, so I don't have an apple computer. I don't have the time or the means to support the platform, but I have heard some games may work using Wine - no guarantees though.

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  34. Will the old music making game LEGO Friends and The Lion King II Simba's Pride Gamebreak!ever be on this site for download?

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  35. can you fix alien trilgoy? its not working.

    thanks.

    can you add quake trilgoy an alien resurrection an alien vendetta as well? independence day? rise of the triad? duke 3d? Blood one whole unit? thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can confirm that Alien Trilogy is indeed working, as is Alien Resurrection and Independence Day which are already on the Chamber. Read some of the points above as to why it may not work (such as Admin or install issues). The others are available to buy on places like GOG or Steam, so they won't appear here.

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    2. independence dya is on here? had no idea. how do i configure the controls for resurrection?

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  36. can you add the indiana jones series, since there is a new one coming? plus add the third person ones as well?

    can you add castlevania symphony of the night an rest of the castlevania games?

    can you add gauntlet series?

    thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. While some Indy games are applicable, the ones you are probably referring to are not. The adventure games and Tomb Raider style action adventures are all available on GOG. The same goes for Castlevania on consoles. I also believe Gauntlet may be on a couple of collections that are still sold, but I'd have to check. Good choices regardless!

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  37. I'm a preservation nut, and it reaffirms my passion for gaming culture that you're giving all these older games their due. I was introduced to many gems not covered anywhere thanks to this blog and the Abandonware Ring, and I was wondering if you know about the existence of some of the following games. As they were educational games geared to kids, there is not much information about them online:
    -Junkland Jam
    -Ubisoft's Playmobil games: Laura's Happy Adventures, Hype's Time Quest, Alex Builds His Farm
    -MindMagic's Let's Pretend CD-ROMs (5 volumes)Our World's A Playground, Backyard's A Playground, Past's a Playground etc.
    -Kids Theatre series published by Ocean: Gumball Shop, Plates are People too, Play Ball Zachary
    -Headbone Interactive's Gigglebone Gang games: Alphabonk Farm, Pantsylvania, Infinity City
    -Lexis Numerique's Uncle Albert's Series

    The developer of the Kids Theatre games was Brilliant Digital who later made the "Multipath Movies" CD-ROMs of Popeye, Choose Your Own Nightmare, Xena etc.

    I own some of these and will try to add more info online regarding them, but wanted to tell you as well. I'm not necessarily requesting you add these to the chamber or anything, but just for future reference. Sorry for the long comment and thanks again for your dedication to abandonware.

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    Replies
    1. Hello! There's a lot here I've never heard of. I have tried to get some of the Multipath Movies working, such as Ace Ventura, but it looks like they use a specific video codec which isn't compatible on Windows 10 or some of the emulators I use. It's been a while since I attempted them so I might go back for another look.

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  38. Hey I still recommend the Super Solver games (Midnight Rescue, Treasure Mountain, etc etc) and maybe even Blue Force (the other Jim Walls (Police Quest) made game not re-released for Sale)

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  39. Oh how's this...you should do the original Blair Witch trilogy of games

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    Replies
    1. Especially since Terminal Reality's game ties into Nocturne

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    2. They're playing a little glitchy for me so I haven't quite cracked them yet.

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  40. i dont now if you can find them but i would be really grateful/thankfull if you could find some of my favorite childhood games. i would love to play them again but cannot seem to find them anywhere. Pink Panter (point and click adventure), a storybook game from Peter Pan thats not Disney,Lego games. Lannoo game Petson en Findus, speurtocht in Heksenstad, Oscar vliegende ballonvaart, Barbie movie studio. i have no idea if you can find them some of them i found but not for sale. but would love to try and play them again for old time sake. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello! There are a lot of games on my radar - too many tbh - so I can't say when I'll get to them. I do know that ScummVM is working on adding the two Pink Panther games to their lineup but I'm not sure how far off that will be. The EA Kids Peter Pan game and the LEGO games are also on my to do list. Not heard about the others, but if there are English versions or if they're friendly to English speakers I might look into it.

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  41. hello i have a question can you also please put pitfall the mayan adventure on here the windows 95 version please

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  42. I'm having trouble trying to install the game called hades challenge. Can you help me?

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  43. Can I use the Windows 95 PCem prepackaged with some of the games I download here to install other games? It would save space if I didn't have to setup a whole new Windows 95/98 PCem setup for other games that I already have.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, though you'd likely need to create and format another virtual hard drive to fit the new installs. Bear in mind, you'll likely have to manuall loady each game's ISO each time. You might also want to stop the pre-installed game from automatically loading too. You can do this by editing win.ini in the Windows folder of the emulated Windows 95. Delete the path to the executable after "run=" on the third line.

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  44. This may have been asked before, but is there any way that you could provide us with two Cryo games: Odyssey The Search for Ulysses and the New Adventures of the Time Machine? Dege (dgvoodoo) has provided patches for both of them, just as he did with Arthur's Knights. I would really appreciate being able to play these games.

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    Replies
    1. They're on my radar, but I've not tried them yet. I know a lot of them are heading over to Zoom Platform (a newish GOG-like store) like the two Arthur's Knights.
      https://www.zoom-platform.com/product/arthurs-knights-tales-of-chivalry

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  45. I would like to recommend Hodj N Podj, released in 1995 and designed by Steve Meretzky from Boffo Games (also did Space Bar as well as some Infocom text adventures). It's a great little puzzle/board game that was a lot of fun. It was for Windows 3.1 as I recall. It would be a nice addition to the site. Thanks so much for all that you do. It is much appreciated.

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  46. Hey ever thought of doing a James Bond Collection? Do some of the games from Stealth Affair to From Russia With Love?

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  47. Just throwing out some game names that meant a lot to me! All The Magic School Bus games from 1994-1999, Reader Rabbit 1st grade, jumpstart 1st and 3rd grade, tons of Barbie games but Rapunzel from 2003 was the best! Arthur's Reading Race and lots of living book cd games, Adiboo Magical Playland, Candy Land Adventure, Cluefinders games, Orly's Draw-A-Story, sesame street elmo's preschool: search & learn adventures, schoolhouse rock grammar rock, blue's clues 123 time activites (I know its by humongous so I hope to see it on steam some day! Furby, chutes and ladders from hasbro, Rugrats activity center, and reading blaster ages 5-7. I know there is more in my head but I wanted to get these out there because I am still heartbroken over having to throw out all my old cd rom games during a homelessness scare. So whatever you release I am so grateful to you for these easy to play downloads (especially the Disney Animated Story Books I missed them the most) to reminisce a simpler time. Keep up the great work and thank you so much! Also, if anyone else has played these let me know!

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  48. This game is not working DISNEY'S THE LION KING 2: SIMBA'S PRIDE - GAME BREAK i installed it and when i tried to play it it would not let me it said there was a problem with it so i uninstalled it then installed it again and the same problem happened fix it please.

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  49. Hello , does anyone know how the author of this page is doing ? Thank you for everything and we hope everything will be good again...

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  50. Hello , does anyone know how the author of this page is doing ? Thank you for everything and we hope everything will be good again

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  51. I am the same person who wrote on the lion king game break, it worked but when I click on the icon and the screen appears black and then few second return to my regular screen.

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  52. Hey just to let you know, so far I've seen Rebel Moon and WWF: EUROPEAN RAMPAGE TOUR have had their Mega folders empty. I don't know what others are in the same predicament but maybe you should check on things to see if others are disappearing

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for letting me know. I reorganised my Mega folders not long ago and I'm sure I made mistakes. Working on it now.

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  53. It would be great if you would consider adding Redjack to the Collection Chamber. From the same developers as Titanic and Dust: A Tale of the Wired West, Redjack has a pirates theme. I had a lot of fun with the game when I played it but it is rather difficult to get it running now.

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    Replies
    1. It's very much on my radar. I have the CDs though I haven't done much with it yet.

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    2. That is great news! Thank you for all of your efforts.

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  54. Could U add game on your site - The Secrets of Da Vinci: The Forbidden Manuscript? THX!

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  55. can you help me? I forgot how to make the lion king active play to be fast and sound to be not jagged. what to do?

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  56. I still need help on make the game fast and sound better, I don't understand so much... I did the tips you did but its still a bit slow and sound stuttred

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  57. I am the anonymous user about the lion king game break.please help me run it.installing it is easy but better put it on pcem like the active play one
    (I sent a mail too about it)

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  58. Please help me. Waiting for reply

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  59. Hi Biffman

    Any chance for some more Disney classics in the future?

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  60. Amazing installers you're putting together! So good being able to play Space Hulk again in Windows!
    I see others are already putting down requests but i'd love to see one for "MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries"!

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  61. Any way to get The Blair Witch Trilogy games and Theme Park on here?

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  62. Do these games work on windows 11?

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    Replies
    1. I can't guarantee it (I'm only on Windows 10), but I suspect most would.

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  63. Would love to see Allie's Playhouse, Creative Writer or Fine Artist on here. The creator of Allie's Playhouse left a comment saying he can't even play it.

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  64. Hello and I sent you an email..

    Hi.. I was watching you on the internet..Very nice that you did for everyone because of the "retro" game....

    I have a request and can you do for everyone? I need to play on speedy blupi and it's a nice game...Windows 10 doesn't work sometimes...

    https://blupi.org/
    ( Is it really free? Seriously?
    Yes, all games can be downloaded freely. It's official and legal. )

    - Speddy blupi
    - Speedy Blupi 2

    Thank you Houfino

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  65. Hi Biffman,

    I just sent you an email regarding a gamebreaking issue that keeps persisting in Sanity: Aiken's Artifact. Could you please take a look at it?

    Thanks.

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  66. Hi! Can you upload Ominous Horizons: A Paladin's Calling from 2001?

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  67. Hi! Would you consider to upload My First Math Adventure 1: Counting & Sorting and My First Math Adventure 2: Adding & Subtracting?

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  68. Hi there Biffman 101....could you upload these 3 Batman doom games:
    1. Batman doom reborn,
    2. Batman Doom 2 Cold Heart
    3. nd Batman rogue city?
    These games are very old and fitting for this page.
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  69. How does one extract game files from your installers, without, you know, actually installing them?! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alas, there is no way. I use Install Creator or Inno Setup to create the installers which are meant to be in keeping with the way GOG does things. The aim is to make them as easy as possible for the folks who don't know much about computers, emulators or other programs used to get them running. Most of the games are portable, so you can install them, copy and paste them out of the install directory then uninstall again after if that's how you prefer to have them.

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    2. Perfect, thanks! There's always a way, and that li'l titbit of info. was all that I needed. :) I'd already tried https://innounp.sourceforge.net/ and https://constexpr.org/innoextract/, but as soon as you mentioned Install Creator, https://github.com/Bioruebe/cicdec gave me exactly what I needed. Cheers, this is truly a wonderful resource for those of us who love and appreciate 'retro' games.

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    3. Good stuff, Jason! I imagine it's a very useful program for many people and I might actually add it to the FAQ when I have the time. The existence of a third-party app didn't even occur to me.

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  70. Can you add "Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure" Win 95 version running from PCem or 86BOX?

    It’s the definitive version of this classic platformer. i wished acitivsion cared for their old IPs. since Pitfall series has been abandoned since 2004. getting it to run on post 98/Me windows is almost impossible, i tried few times with little to no luck at all, i got the game to work just barely, but i had to replace the outdated dll file and changing the compatibility to win 95, but it's locked in window mode, the frame rate dropped constantly and i can't get the music to work. but it worked almost perfectly on PCem running windows 98 SE but for some reason it has a Vsync issue, top screen you can see mild screen tearing, i read somewhere its clearly made for windows 95 in-mind, with resolution 320x224 "smooth" full-screen mode, CPU running as a i486DX2 SL @50MH.

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  71. Hi, adventure Beyond Time (1997)?

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  72. Hi! I am looking for the game The fifth element from 1998!

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  73. Ok I actually have a really problem with executing the game. The Clue.exe _ System error says : "The Code execution cannot proceed because MSVCP50.dll was not found . Reinstalling the program may fix this problem." Do I resolve this by watching some sort of YouTube video? Or do I uninstall the game and reinstall the game ? Or do I get something online? I'm try to play Clue or Cluedo. What can I do?


    I am afraid I can't find the link to Microsoft Visual C++ package. Where is it the FAQ? But I did see some other links.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Though I had them here. Adding them now...

      https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist?view=msvc-170

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  74. Traitors Gate

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  75. Disney's Atlantis Activity Centre request

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  76. ZPC (Zero Population Count) from 1996

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  77. Can you do the N64 game Rocket Robot on Wheels?

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  78. I cannot get The Thing to work, I've tried installing it in various places, try to play and then...nothing. Sometimes it launches briefly to a black-screen and then exits. I have no idea why, I also tried the MagiPack version and same issue with that one so I assume it's my hardware but I wouldn't know where to start fixing it.

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  79. Hello! Thank you for all your efforts! If I may make a couple of requests, RECOIL (by Zipper Interactive) and EAT THIS (by Image Line Software) and SUB CULTURE (by Criterion Games)

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  80. Hello, thanks for your efforts!
    If I may request, can you please add RoadRash (by Electronic Arts)

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  81. Im having issues with PCem stuttering and lagging while playing Nightmare ned. are there any fixes for this?

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  82. Atlantis Evolution

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  83. Hello! Wow! This is an AMAZING page! THANK YOU SO MUCH for uploading these gems we can't get anywhere else. We deeply appreciate your kind work.
    I'd like to know if you could upload the following game that isn't available to buy: MICROSOFT PANDORA'S BOX. Would this one be possible? Thanks so much!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's on my list, but I've not made much progress on it... yet.

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    2. Oh, that's excellent!!! Well, I'll be waiting for it, then! Thanks so much for replying!

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  84. I would be stoked to see both of the Roly-Polys games here (Roly-Polys no Nanakorobi Yaoki, Roly Polys no Sekai Ryokou). By the way, they have been made by the same guy who brought us the Eastern Mind series.

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  85. I downloaded AMOK and installed it, but it won't run! It brings up dos box, and then just closes.

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  86. Why do simple games like Baily's Book House are a resource hog on PCEM making them have to be very much dumbed down yet Need For Speed III I can run at much higher CPU settings? Hell the XP Learning Company remake of Baily's Book House doesn't have this issue on PCEM after injecting XP onto it.

    and I was able to emulate the very same game up to a Celeron 300A before I got the 'lag' happen yet the original Windows 98 Version (Edmark) I had dumb it quite down to Pentium II 233 where it just barely hovered at 100 percent.

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  87. The New Adventures of the Time Machine 2000 Cryo?

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  88. Hey just to let you know looks like they added ScummVM supposrt to Muppets Treasure Island

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