I just wanted to pass on the info for those who are having trouble with the catapult sequence in the PC version.

You'll need to slow down cycles in DOSBOX to around 300 to get the game down to a reasonable speed otherwise it's going to go by way too fast and you won't be able to knock down the castle walls. (Slow down cycles with Control + F11 combination on your keyboard and speed them back up with Control + F12 combination)

There are actually two versions of DOTC for DOS - the original CGA only release which has no timer issues so the game runs at the correct speed for all the arcade sequences and then there's the EGA version of the game (which is the version that's on GOG) which adds EGA support but also adds timer issues.

Hello there!

BOTH the CGA and EGA versions are included in the GOG release! You should have to press the corresponding F key during bootup!

Team Cinemaware

OK, let my clarify my original post - there were two separate releases of DOTC for dos - the original and more common version of the game and the later (and rarer) version of the game.

The original DOS release of DOTC was CGA only and was the most common release of the game. It only runs in CGA and does not have the timer issues (I just tested it again in DOSBOX to verify my statement - arcade sequences such as the catapult siege run at the correct speed without any need to adjust cycles).

The later release of the game (which is the one now available on GOG - but from what I've read online was rare when it was originally released back in the 1980's) has options for EGA and CGA but has timer issues when run in either EGA or CGA.

I've tried the above solution to fix keyboard problems with catapults and jousting.
It seems to have worked with jousting.
However, for some reason, I still have trouble with the catapult sequence even when I slow down cycles to 300 or below. Anything at or above 400 and the catapult automatically launches the boulder too far. Anything below 400 and no matter how long I hold down the ENTER key the catapult launches too early and the boulder doesn't go high enough.
Is there another way to ensure I have the control I need over catapult timing?

You have to press (just press; don't hold) ENTER once to start pulling the catapult arm back and press ENTER a second time to release the boulder, etc.

The catapult sequences become very manageable for the PC/EGA version at 30-40 cycles. At that speed, you can just count the pixels for consistent boulder strikes (15 from pressing enter for the first, 13 for the second, 11 for the third, etc.). I never figured out the fire/disease stuff. Hope that helps!