ThreeSon: Has GOG altered the executable somehow to always run at max regardless of the conf setting?

Gydion: How are you launching the game?

Gydion: Unfortunately, I don't own this one. Check the start menu shortcut to see what the actual launch command is. Galaxy may be using different .conf files.

ThreeSon: So I've definitely got the right conf file.

Gydion: I forget which game it is now, but IIRC, Galaxy wasn't using the .conf files in the game directory. Instead it was using ones, with the same name, under some Galaxy directory.

krashd: I came, I saw, I tinkered with files and found a fix! Sort of... -Julius Caesar

They didn't make an .exe they just created a batch file. In the Syndicate Wars folder should be an \SWARS folder with PLAY.BAT containing the following code...

cycles = max limit 20000
@SMACKPLY.EXE c:\SWARS\QDATA\INTRO.SMK
cycles = max limit 120000
@main /w /g

Gog have placed two cycle adjustments before the intro and the main game, the first one is unnecessary and the second one is interfering with the DOSBox config file so let's delete them both leaving just the lines that start with '@'. You can edit .bat files with notepad or wordpad. Remember to save the changes and not to change the .bat file extension.

BTW! Do not edit the path to the intro video in the .bat file if you think it looks wrong. That is the path DOSBox pretends the game is at for the emulator, it is not wrong.

Now we can go back up to the folder above and tamper with another file. dosboxSWARS.conf

Syndicate Wars still has a major problem, it's main executable can't regulate framerate so whichever cycle count you choose you are going to have either fast and horrible menus or slow and horrible gameplay. Unless of course you don't mind using a key combo like one of those 'turbo buttons' old computers had to let them switch cycles on the fly...

Open dosboxSWARS.conf and find the following three lines...

cycles=100000
cycleup=10000
cycledown=10000

Change them to read...

cycles=25000
cycleup=100000
cycledown=100000

All three lines are different, not just the first. If you miss a zero then that makes you someone who misses zeroes.

Save these changes also. Now what this means is that the game will run at 25,000 cycles giving the menus a decent compromise between not looking to speedy, but not having noticeable mouse trails. This low cycle count is crap for the actual gameplay though, but by pressing CTRL+F11 you will cycle-up by 100,000 to 125,000 cycles which I think makes the game look great and play great (you can tinker with your own numbers.)

When you complete a mission simply press CTRL+F12 to drop back down to 25,000. See? Just like that turbo button that really old shitty computers had when Amigas were faster.

I hope zis helps und is understandable. I hate typing instructions. I might try to tidy this up or make a new sticky thread or some mischief like that.

krashd

krashd: I came, I saw, I tinkered with files and found a fix! Sort of... -Julius Caesar

They didn't make an .exe they just created a batch file. In the Syndicate Wars folder should be an \SWARS folder with PLAY.BAT containing the following code...

cycles = max limit 20000
@SMACKPLY.EXE c:\SWARS\QDATA\INTRO.SMK
cycles = max limit 120000
@main /w /g

Gog have placed two cycle adjustments before the intro and the main game, the first one is unnecessary and the second one is interfering with the DOSBox config file so let's delete them both leaving just the lines that start with '@'. You can edit .bat files with notepad or wordpad. Remember to save the changes and not to change the .bat file extension.

BTW! Do not edit the path to the intro video in the .bat file if you think it looks wrong. That is the path DOSBox pretends the game is at for the emulator, it is not wrong.

Now we can go back up to the folder above and tamper with another file. dosboxSWARS.conf

Syndicate Wars still has a major problem, it's main executable can't regulate framerate so whichever cycle count you choose you are going to have either fast and horrible menus or slow and horrible gameplay. Unless of course you don't mind using a key combo like one of those 'turbo buttons' old computers had to let them switch cycles on the fly...

Open dosboxSWARS.conf and find the following three lines...

cycles=100000
cycleup=10000
cycledown=10000

Change them to read...

cycles=25000
cycleup=100000
cycledown=100000

All three lines are different, not just the first. If you miss a zero then that makes you someone who misses zeroes.

Save these changes also. Now what this means is that the game will run at 25,000 cycles giving the menus a decent compromise between not looking to speedy, but not having noticeable mouse trails. This low cycle count is crap for the actual gameplay though, but by pressing CTRL+F11 you will cycle-up by 100,000 to 125,000 cycles which I think makes the game look great and play great (you can tinker with your own numbers.)

When you complete a mission simply press CTRL+F12 to drop back down to 25,000. See? Just like that turbo button that really old shitty computers had when Amigas were faster.

I hope zis helps und is understandable. I hate typing instructions. I might try to tidy this up or make a new sticky thread or some mischief like that.

krashd