Well, you can try contacting Slitherine, I don't know if it'll have any result... but definitely it would be nice if there was a version that's just a ZIP file without an installer.
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Caster of Magic Release thread : latest version 6.06!
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I just found their support email, wrote a message, got the automatic response that a ticket was opened. I guess, a zip file is not very probable, but a platform independent installer or an installer, that works with proton would do it.
If - by any chance - MoM and CoM are ported to Linux ... that could basically enable the game to run it on android on the long term. Already by the resolution it fits for phones :D. I hope I got it right: but you have access to the source code now, Caster of Magic II, isn't it? My guess would be, that a Linux port is possible for an old game like this. However, what's your opinion about this topic - would that be an achievable task with some support?
November 23rd, 2020, 19:57
(This post was last modified: November 23rd, 2020, 20:00 by Tleilaxu Ghola.)
Slitherine has it set up so you can't even just copy over the directory structure after the install. you HAVE to use their launcher to access 6.05, and the way it seems to be set up is super confusing, there are like 5 different dosbox config files, and I can't play it on a 1920x1080 monitor and use the full screen scaled like I can with 5.26. I thought I might be able to simply copy over my linux doxbox config file and settings and that would be that. (I can only get it to play in the old school 'square" monitor aspect right now. Hopefully copying over my linux dosbox config file will fix the issue, once I figure out which dosbox config is the one that is actually being used)
I hate to say this Seravy, but I would rather pay you directly for a version of 6.05 that that runs properly in linux dosbox like all your previous 'free' versions do. Slitherine seems to have gone out of it's way to make sure that linux users can't use any of their old solutions to play 6.05, at all..  All I need is a zipfile and a decent README and I can put it with the rest of my MoM and CoM versions..... (November 23rd, 2020, 18:38)Arbosh Wrote: I just found their support email, wrote a message, got the automatic response that a ticket was opened. I guess, a zip file is not very probable, but a platform independent installer or an installer, that works with proton would do it. Caster of Magic II is basically a new game and all the source code is my work. Unfortunately I don't have any Linux installed so I can't even try to see if it works. And of course all of that doesn't matter if Slitherine puts their incompatible installers on it. Quote:Slitherine has it set up so you can't even just copy over the directory structure after the install.You most certainly can move the files. I do that when I test the new release, I copy the files over from where they get installed into my test folder and start there. No idea how it works in linux but in windows that of course means you have to create a new desktop/start menu icon that points to the correct folder and dosbox conf file. However if you already have a working 5.26 version and its conf file then it's probably the best to create a backup of that then replace any files in it that were changed in 6.05 with the new version, that way it can use your original conf files without even having to find which one you were using.
Here the answer I got from Slitherine (I find it slightly cynic)
"Sorry, but this is what it is. This is how the industry works: if a game is not compatible with an OS then users who are using a different OS may have issues but the developer cannot support the use of different OSs, and users who are trying to run games in a non-supported OS have to be able to fix said issues themselves. We also cannot provide Zip files of the game's install files. The Launcher isn't just for advertising purposes, but we cannot bypass this regardless. The Launcher needs Visual C++ and .Net to run, which is supported by default in Windows, but we cannot advise on Linux. I'm sorry this isn't the reply you wanted, but there is nothing we can do as we do not support Linux and users running non-default OSs." With Caster II I might check again if I can contribute to Steam Proton, so that the launcher shows up. (November 23rd, 2020, 22:23)Seravy Wrote: Caster of Magic II is basically a new game and all the source code is my work. Unfortunately I don't have any Linux installed so I can't even try to see if it works. And of course all of that doesn't matter if Slitherine puts their incompatible installers on it. cool, so Caster of Magic II will bundle everything together without DLC? Does it still run with DOSBOX (no new libraries added)? Then the installer might not be an issue at first. I would love to try if the source code works with Linux, or to estimate the effort for a port. If a port from DOSBOX to Linux/platform independent is possible, the performance might increase hell a lot. However, I would rather book a month of my time next year for it. If there is a chance, that I can contribute to this topic, just tell, and I plan my time. Visual C++ and .Net is not an issue anymore on Linux with Steam Proton, usually. So, my guess is, that there is just a small issue with Slitherine installer that can be fixed.
No, it doesn't use Dosbox. It's a normal windows application.
It doesn't use any external libraries, just what's included in the compiler by default. It wasn't made in C though. I assume there should be no reason why it wouldn't work on emulated windows but it probably won't work on Linux outside of windows emulation. If you want, I can send you and download link to the alpha version for testing. I can't give the source code to anyone though. (November 23rd, 2020, 18:38)Arbosh Wrote: ... that could basically enable the game to run it on android ...In fact, I tried that with Magic DosBox Free a few years ago and was incredibly surprised at how amazingly easy and well the old game worked on a touchscreen phone. The setting "tap once = right mouse button, tap twice = left mouse button" helped. And of course this game is particularly suitable because it has no time pressure and it can be interrupted or continued at any time. But a phone isn't exactly ergonomic, so it ends up being unsuitable for gaming. Some people like using android tablets or even laptops. Why should it matter whether it is a Dos emulator or a Windows emulator running a game?
Yeah, so once you use the slitherine launcher to install the game and unlock the files... then you realize their launcher is butts to use... you can just run dosbox yourself out of the correct directory and make it work.
It'll work just like 5.26. that's what i'm doing now... this is a thread in which I forgot how to do it slightly and explained it to myself after i figured it out (The directory structure WAS confusing... but well it's not obscure, I just had to change the path in my dosbox). https://www.realmsbeyond.net/forums/show...#pid761720 edit: I suppose if you really really wanted to you could probably run a windows livecd to install the game and legally obtain the files and then emulate dos however you want. dos games themselves don't have any DRM (outside of memorizing manual text, which I actually did for stronghold by ssi in 1994, I lost the manual but I'd played the game so much I'd memorized the dozens of words you had to lookup in the manual to play, great game btw, sorta like simcity meets DnD fantasy combat).
November 28th, 2020, 14:00
(This post was last modified: November 28th, 2020, 14:38 by Tleilaxu Ghola.)
A couple of questions re: CoM 6.05 and upcoming CoM 2, for the sake of clarity for me;
1) Am I to understand that namad got 6.05 to work independent of slitherine's launcher? This is really what i am looking to do. At their core, MoM and CoM are DOS applications, so regardless of whether you are a Windows or Linux user, that really should not matter. What you really need is DOSBOX and it's glorified CONFIG.SYS tweaked to run the program. What happens to me ATM is that when I copy over 6.05 and Slithers setup I keep having the original MoM come up whenever I type in 'magic', regardless of which directory I am in. 6.05 seems to require Slitherine's windows based launcher and it's not-so-apparent dosbox configuration (which I know cannot really be true), and that (6.05) version does not run fullscreen in my Win7 boot like all my current versions do running from my Linux dosbox. 2) Is CoM 2 going to be a DOSBOX based application like all the current and previous versions are, or is it going to be a windows application that shuts out us linux dosbox users, thus forcing a Windows 10 install? Will CoM 2 work in Windows 7? As long as I do not have to run Windows 10 or something then I would be good. I really do not want to pay for a new Windows version, on principle, especially if I can avoid it.... |