Step-by-step instructions how to run the game in DOSBox:

01. Install DOSBox and start it.
02. Type mount d X:\ -t cdrom (where X is your CD drive letter with the Daggerfall disc)
03. Type mount c C:\ -freesize 500
04. Type D:
05. Type INSTALL
06. Select the HUGE installation, and the default install path (C:\DAGGER). Afterwards you should be in the sound setup.
07. Go into "Select Digital", and pick Soundblaster 16/AWE32, Port 220, DMA 1 and IRQ 7.
08. Then into "Select MIDI", and pick MPU-401 and Port 330, and we are done with the sound setup.
09. Now the installer should be finished and DOSBox should show the command promt. Lets leave that for now, but do not close the program.
10. Download the extra quests and unpack them into C:\DAGGER\ARENA2
11. Download the patch and place it in C:\DAGGER
12. Copy all the *.VID files from X:\DAGGER\ARENA2 to C:\DAGGER\ARENA2
13. Go back to DOSBox and type DAG213.EXE to start the patching. You can close DOSBox when it's done.
14. Open Z.CFG in C:\DAGGER with notepad and make sure that both PATH and PATHCD say c:\dagger\arena2\ and then save the file. (you won't need the CD anymore)
15. Open dosbox.conf (which is where you installed DOSBox) with notepad.
15a memsize=16 should be changed to 40.
15b frameskip=0 should be changed to 1.
15c cycles=3000 should be a bit higher like 8000. (you may want to raise this one more later, depending on how powerful your computer is. Daggerfall will be jerky depending on this value being too low or your computer being too slow)
15d Go down to the bottom of the file, after "# Lines in this section will be run at startup."
15e Add the line MOUNT C C:\
15f Add the line C:
15g Add the line CD DAGGER
15h Add the line FALL.EXE Z.CFG
15i Save the file as daggerfall.conf and not overwrite the original dosbox.conf!
16. Pick the file dosbox.exe and drag it with the right mousebutton to the desktop (your Morrowind background) and pick "create shortcut here". You should see a new shortcut named "Shortcut to dosbox.exe"
17. Rename the new "shortcut to dosbox.exe" to "Daggerfall".
18. Rightclick on your new shortcut and click on properties.
18a Change the Path_where_you_installed_Dosbox\dosbox.exe to Path_where_you_installed_Dosbox\dosbox.exe -conf daggerfall.conf -noconsole
18b Change the icon it uses to C:\DAGGER\DAGGER.ICO
18c Save the changes.
19. Done! Doubleclick on the Daggerfall shortcut to play the game! Although it will run sluggish because of the mere amount of 8000 cycles. 20000 will run the game pretty well, if your CPU is good enough for it.

You can raise the amount of cycles while running DOSBox by pressing CTRL+F12. And decrease them by using CTRL+F11. The more cycles, the more calculations has to be made so the more powerful the computer need to be.

If you have problems to get the mouse to work, then press CTRL+F10.

And you can switch between playing the game in a window or fullscreen by pressing ALT+RETUR.

Enjoy the game! 😀

you can also try the Daggerfall Windows 2000/XP patch and run it with VDMS if you have an older CPU.

just follow the readme instructions in the .zip file.
you can also copy the CD stuff in the dagger folder like freddo mention it above and edit the z.cfg to match your settings.

but dont use the old VDMS installer in that archive. the "newest" version can be found in this forum here.

maybe the official patch and the extra quests works also with that procedure.

The Windows XP patch is bugged - when I tried it out, I couldn't walk backwards or strafe properly, and the game had a few other bugs. Luckily it worked like a charm on my retro PC (P166) - otherwise, DOSBOX gave some weird graphical errors with the CVS I tried. Never tried it on 0.65 though. Great game by the way, although the quests are a bit bugged and get boring quite quickly.

It's not a buggy patch that caused the backwards/strafing issues, it's a timing problem with Daggerfall 2.13 in general. Back in the days of Win9x, I upgraded from a 120MHz 486 to a 450MHz Pentium II and was no longer able to play Daggerfall because of that exact issue (except with the use of some slowdown utilities, which had other side effects).

DOSBox 0.65 gave me some weird graphical artifacts as well, but someone suggested changing from core=dynamic to core=normal and that not only fixed the graphics but actually improves the speed as well (weird, eh?).

Incidentally, I think the "Win2K/XP" patch is something thrown together by Bethesda because the install program wouldn't run under NTVDM (Win2K/XP's DOS command prompt) even with VDMSound. The patch basically gets you around having to install the game using the installer I think.

HunterZ wrote:

DOSBox 0.65 gave me some weird graphical artifacts as well, but someone suggested changing from core=dynamic to core=normal and that not only fixed the graphics but actually improves the speed as well (weird, eh?).

Oh good, its not just me then. 😅

I mean, I can't count how many times I had to walk backwards while facing a monster, shooting arrows. This kills the game. Thank god for my P166 then 😀

heh....and we still do the same thing in Oblivion. Some things never change....

I run it 25000 on normal and it works great.

I just tried using DOSbox for DFall and came across two problems. The first was in getting the game to recognize the CD (for using the dag213 patch). I got the same error someone else posted about where no matter what I did, it kept asking me to insert the CD.

Win98SE, DOSBox 0.65

I tried these tricks:
mount d F:\ -t cdrom -label Daggerfall -usecd 1 -aspi
mount d C:\games\dagfall - t cdrom -label Daggerfall
and variations of the first (without usecd or aspi)

Mount -cd shows 3 drives:
0: E:\ My DVD burner
1: F:\ My Daggerfall CD is in this one
2: H: A virtual drive I keep on the system for other games.

I finally ended up just closing DBox and running the patch from within 98SE and it worked.

The other problem I had involves this section:

18a Change the Path_where_you_installed_Dosbox\dosbox.exe to Path_where_you_installed_Dosbox\dosbox.exe -conf daggerfall.conf -noconsole
For me that would be this mess:
"C:\Program Files\DOSBox-0.65\DOSBox.exe -conf daggerfall.conf -noconsole"

When I clicked Apply or Okay, I kept getting an error saying that C:\Program Files\DOSBox-0.65\DOSBox.exe -conf daggerfall.conf -noconsole specificed in the target box is not valid, please verify the path and filename are correct. Everything is correct, so any clue what to do?

Thanks in advance, sorry it's so longwinded.

Put quotes around the location only, not the whole command-

""C:\Program Files\DOSBox-0.65\DOSBox.exe" -conf daggerfall.conf -noconsole

So far so good with this excellent set of instructions! However, when I try to run the game from the icon I get told:-

"Unable to locate the Daggerfall CD. Make sure the CD is in the drive before starting the game. If the CD is in the drive, make sure that the drive letter assignment (D:, E:, etc.) is the same as when Daggerfall was installed."

I have fiddled with the changes to z.config to see if they make any difference, but they don't.

Also, the 'daggerfall.conf' settings as shown leave me being told:-

"ERR: path not specified
ERR: map file not specified
There are configuration error(s)"

If I leave out the 'z.config' part I don't get this, but I get the problem shown at the beginning of this post.

I'm using Windows XP.

I haven't yet managed to make the game run.

Any ideas?

Hey there. I have the game working, my only problem is that your daggerfall shortcut isn't working for me. DX I probably wrote the config file wrong or something... but I checked it three times. Any ideas? And do you have to put anything special when you put in the words, or just type them and push enter between them?

Which words? What did you write, and where?

Hi. I have a problem. I do like freddo written, and game is almost work. I can create character, and i see movies, but when moviest ends game stop, and i can't do anything. What i have to do?
BTW
Sorry for my english

i am also having issues with the short cut. The short cut initiates dosbox and but does not make all the changes made in daggerfall.conf.

i have excecuted all comands as freddo and avatar_58 have suggested.

I will continue to double check for errors.

By the way guys you rock. you have helped me get so far. not to mention i have learned a alot about this entire process. i have it almost working in windows vista and ubuntu. so thanks so much for your time and expert thoughts.

I am in your debt.

mrfrodo

Another issue i am having is that daggerfall starts up normally and goes to the map screen, upon choosing a location on the map it exits the program and dosbox reports a 206 error or a 203 error. does anyone have any thoughts or solutions about this issue. i can live without the shortcut working. the shortcut gets dos box running and preps it with its changes from there i can mount drives and execute daggerfall.

After trying this a few times, now it does not start at all.

curiouser and curiouser

thanks again....

mrfrodo wrote:

i have excecuted all comands as freddo and avatar_58 have suggested.

I don't believe you. Please write the commands here so I can see them.

I have installed Daggerfall onto my laptop with DOS .72 and it works fine, except I cannot save. I can try to save over any of the old saves I have from years ago, but it does not overwrite it. The CD I am using is a copy of our original one, which is lost 😖
Can anyone help?

Today Daggerfall was released for free, and they recommend DOSBox to play the game.

cool