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Boxer is a Mac-friendly version of the DOSBox 0.72 MS-DOS emulator.
It aims to make DOS emulation easy and configuration-free.
Be sure to check the Boxer Release Notes for tips on running your DOS games and using keyboard shortcuts. A copy of the Release Notes is also included in the Boxer download.
Boxer is an alpha version, and has been tested on Intel Macs running OS X 10.5 and PowerPC Macs running OS X 10.4. Earlier versions of OS X are unsupported and will probably not work correctly.
.exe, .com and .bat programs straight from FinderHowever, Boxer is still in an early state and does not yet offer a graphical interface for modifying game settings. Most DOS games should work straight away, but for games that don’t you will need to be familiar with editing DOSBox configuration files.
Boxer was created because one day, while clicking on a Nintendo ROM in Finder to instantly play a game, I wondered why MS-DOS game emulation has to be so hard.
Historically, this has been because MS-DOS itself is hard: a long way from plugging in a cartridge and pressing the power button. However, now that the tools are available to make MS-DOS emulation possible, it’s time for tools to make it easy. Easier than it ever was back in the old days.
Boxer aims to make it easy to run your favourite DOS games: without editing configuration files, without typing commandline parameters, without mounting folders, without learning a confusing frontend; without doing any more than clicking on a game in Finder.
DOS game emulation lacks an equivalent to console ROM files, which contain a game’s data in a single file that’s easy to store, distribute and launch.
Boxer attempts to address this with DOS Game Packages: these bundle a game’s files and configuration settings into a single container, which can be easily created from an existing game folder. You (or anyone with Boxer) can then run the game just by clicking on the package.
In future, I hope to let game packages store metadata about their games too: name, publisher, release date and even box art, ideally retrieved automatically.
(Unfortunately for now this package format is Mac-only, specific to Boxer, and requires zipping for redistribution.)
To get you started, here are some legal (to my knowledge) Boxer-ready games to download: (These games are packaged in OS X disk images, so only download them if you have a Mac!)
Commander Keen 4: The Secret of the Oracle
(1991, id Software)
Star Wars: Dark Forces Demo
(1995, LucasArts)
Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar
(1985, Origin Systems)
If you’re looking for out-of-print commercial DOS games, the right thing to do is to search Ebay and other internet auction sites for used copies. It’s possible to find CD rereleases or even mint-condition boxes of most popular games. (Let’s maintain the convenient fiction that you won’t just do a google search for “abandonware” and avail yourself of the many websites for pirated DOS games instead.)
If you need documentation for any of your (legitimately acquired!) games, Replacementdocs carries good-quality PDF scans of game manuals, maps and other box material.
Your games collection will look even snazzier if you give your games custom icons. I recommend finding high-resolution cover art from Mobygames or a google image search, and turning the covers into OS X icns files using img2icns.
You can give a game folder or game package a new icon by opening its Get Info window and dragging the icns file onto the thumbnail in the top left corner. After you've done this you can delete the icns file.
Most DOS games should work in Boxer immediately with no configuration required. However, some games require special DOSBox configuration settings to work best — or at all.
| Flashback | Enable Dynamic CPU core and maximum emulation cycles |
| Sierra AGI games (e.g. King’s Quest I–III) |
Enable Tandy 3-voice audio |
| Ultima IV, V & VI | Reduce CPU cycles to 1500 |
| Ultima VII & Serpent Isle | Disable extended and expanded memory, enable Dynamic CPU core and maximum emulation cycles |
| Ultima Underworld I & II | Enable Dynamic CPU core and maximum emulation cycles |
This list will grow as I find more games that don’t work with the defaults. If you encounter other games that need special DOSBox settings, please contact me and I will add in auto-detection for them. Boxer’s goal is zero configuration!
MOUNT d "./folder_in_game_package/".)buttonwrap setting to false..cue CD-ROM images. These have been given the imported UTI com.goldenhawk.cdrwin-cuesheet..img images. Currently these are always treated as floppy disk images; future versions will try to distinguish floppy, hard-disk and CD-ROM .imgs..cdrom extension as CDROMs, with the .floppy extension as floppy disks, and with the .harddisk extension as hard disks. These new folder types carry the exported UTIs net.washboardabs.boxer-cdrom-folder, net.washboardabs.boxer-floppy-folder and net.washboardabs.boxer-harddisk-folder respectively..iso, .cue and .cdrom files), floppy images (.img and .floppy files) and hard disk images (.harddisk files) found inside a game’s folder/package. This allows configuration-free mounting: just drop your images into your game's folder and Boxer will mount them..boxer..conf and .lang files so that OS X knows they are plaintext.Please send feedback, suggestions, bug reports and large cash donations for Boxer to Alun Bestor.
If you’re having problems running Boxer, remember to mention what version of OS X you are using, what game(s) you have trouble with, and what error messages you get (if any).
If you can help out with Boxer in any way, please let me know! I’m particularly interested in configuration settings needed for your favourite games, so that Boxer can auto-detect them in future. I’m also looking for help translating Boxer to other languages!
For problems or feedback to do with DOSBox itself, it would be best to contact the DOSBox team directly.