The Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS) is an operating system originally belonging to Seattle Computer Systems, who called it Quick and Dirty Operating System (QDOS), but that was later bought and rebranded by Microsoft. It was developed between the years of 1981 and 2000.
List of ROMs[]
| Name | Type | Where to get | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ultima™ Underworld 1+2 | Commercial title | GOG (bundle) | |
| Syndicate™ (1993) | Commercial title | Origin | |
| Syndicate Plus™ | Commercial title | GOG | |
| Syndicate Wars™ | Commercial title | GOG | |
| SlipSpeed | Commercial title, Shareware | Itchio | Shareware included as a demo. |
| Powerslave | Commercial title | GOG | |
| Jagged Alliance 1: Gold Edition | Commercial title | Steam store page | |
| Jagged Alliance | Commercial title | GOG store page | |
| The Lost Vikings | Freeware | Blizzard's site | |
| Blackthorne | Freeware | Blizzard's site | Needs custom dosbox.conf |
| Tunnel B1 | Commercial title | Steam store page | Linux build is borked and doesn't download anything. Install the Windows version instead. Can launch from .bat file |
| Jim Power -The Lost Dimension | Commercial title | Steam store page | |
| ADOM (Ancient Domains of Mystery) | Freeware (ASCII version & older updates) | Game's site | Look for the "MS DOS" download option |
| The Elder Scrolls: Arena | Freeware (Bethesda), Commercial title (GOG) | Through Bethesda's launcher
|
|
| The Elder Scrolls Chapter II: Daggerfall | Freeware (Bethesda), Commercial title (GOG) | Through Bethesda's launcher
|
Can launch from .bat file |
| Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders | Commercial title | GOG store page | Can launch from .bat file |
| Wolfenstein 3D: Spear of Destiny | Commercial title | GOG store page | Can launch from .bat file |
| HeXen: Beyond Heretic | Commercial title | GOG store page | |
| HeXen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel | Commercial title | GOG store page | |
| Quake: The Offering | Commercial title | GOG store page | Can launch from .bat file |
| Descent | Commercial title | GOG store page | |
| Descent 2 | Commercial title | GOG store page | |
| Super 3-D Noah's Ark | Commercial title | GOG store page | |
| aSMtris | Free and Open Source Software | Developer's page | |
| Lizard | Commercial title | Itch store page | Itch version also includes a demo. |
| Commander Keen Complete Pack (anthology) | Commercial title | GOG store page |
BAT launchers & other useful commands[]
Some times, a game needs a special command, and some times it's easier to launch a game from a .bat file instead of the .EXE file. Below are some of those cases.
Blackthorne[]
When you install the game, it comes with the folder with the game files (\Blackthorne\BTHORNE\), a custom DOSBox configuration file (\Blackthorne\dosbox.conf) and some files related to the wrapped DOSBox.
For the game to start, the easiest method is to use the custom dosbox.conf file that comes with the game. For that, on Windows, use this command:
<path\to\dosbox.exe> -conf <path\to\custom\dosbox.conf> <path\to\BTHORNE.EXE>
On Linux, the command is similar:
dosbox -conf </path/to/custom/dosbox.conf> </path/to/BTHORNE.EXE>
Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders[]
In the GOG version, the files dosbox_heretic_client.conf and dosbox_heretic_server.conf are multiplayer-related launchers. The file dosbox_heretic_single.conf boots the single player campaign. Rename their extensions to .bat and change their names to something short, then launch these .bat files from DOSBox to open their respective modes. No need to move files around.
Steam version still not checked.
Quake: The Offering[]
Rename dosbox_quake_single.conf as something short and with the .bat extension, e.g. quake.bat or launcher.bat, then launch this .bat file from DOSBox to open the game. No need to move files around.
The Elder Scrolls Chapter II: Daggerfall[]
In the GOG version, rename dosbox_daggerfall_single.conf as something short and not directly related to the game, and rename the extension to .bat, e.g. dagger.bat or launcher.bat, then launch this .bat file from DOSBox to open the game. No need to move files around. Renaming it daggerfall.bat gives an "illegal command" error in DOSBox.
In the Bethesda version, open the game's folder and look for the folder DF, that's where the MS-DOS files are. To launch the game from a .bat file, first create a .txt file inside the DF folder and write the following commands in it:
mount d DFCD -t cdrom -label Daggerfall C: cd DAGGER DAGGER.EXE
Then rename the .txt file's extension to .bat, and rename the file to something short and not directly related to the game, e.g. dagger.bat or launcher.bat, and not daggerfall.bat. After that, your launcher script is ready. You can also keep only the DF folder and its contents from the original download.
Tunnel B1[]
Go to the folder [Steam install folder]\dos\game, create a .txt file, paste the code below in it, save the file, rename its extension to .bat, name it something short, e.g. tunnel.bat, then launch the game from this .bat file from DOSBox:
cd cd imgmount e tb1.cue -t cdrom e: b1
Wolfenstein 3D: Spear of Destiny[]
In the GOG version, rename dosbox_sod_single.conf as something short and with the .bat extension, e.g. spear.bat, javelin.bat or launcher.bat, then launch this .bat file from DOSBox to open the game. No need to move files around.
Steam version still not checked.