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Support for DOSBox-Staging as a DOS Emulator

LaunchBox for Windows

šŸ“‹ Summary

DOSBox-Staging (DBS) is a modern fork of DOSBox with active development, improved audio/video emulation, and user-focused features. This request is to add native support for DBS as a replacementā€”or optional alternativeā€”to the currently bundled DOSBox version in LaunchBox.

ā— Problem

The standard DOSBox bundled with LaunchBox is no longer actively maintained and lacks newer enhancements found in DOSBox-Staging. Users currently need to manually replace files or configure DBS separately, which adds unnecessary friction.

šŸ’” Proposal

  • Bundle DOSBox-Staging with LaunchBox or make it available as a selectable default emulator for DOS titles.

  • Update the DOSBox Configuration Tool to support new DBS settings.

  • Optional: Support loading config presets (if available) from the LaunchBox Games Database to streamline setup.

āœ… Benefits

  • Better default visuals (e.g. CRT shaders, scaling).

  • Improved audio and timing accuracy.

  • Active development ensures future compatibility.

  • Minimal integration workā€”DBS works as a drop-in replacement.

šŸ“Œ Notes

User testing already shows that replacing the \ThirdParty\DOSBox folder with DBS works well, suggesting that integration could be smooth. LaunchBox could enhance this further by exposing DBS-specific settings in its UI.

Posted by Kuvenant Ā·
Status: Open To Community3 comments

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Comments3

  • AstroBob changed status to Open To Community
    Teamā€¢

    Jul 1, 2025

    Pinned

    Hi there!

    Thanks so much for submitting this request and for taking the time to explain your use case ā€” that context is always super helpful.

    Iā€™ve gone ahead and fleshed out the main idea using the info you provided, and Iā€™m opening it up to the community for further discussion and feedback. Please let me know if this fleshed-out version doesnā€™t match your original intended request.

    Feel free to let me know if you have any extra thoughts, examples, or edge cases you think might be relevant!

    Cheers,
    The LaunchBox team

    • Kuvenant

      ā€¢

      Jul 2, 2025

      Thanks for cleaning up my concept. I like the formatting. I am certain that those interested can navigate to the DBS website and have a look at the getting started guide they provide there. It does a good job of showcasing different graphics options, audio manipulation including how it can be possible to combine music and speech (normally only supported via SCUMMVM), as well as some of the basics of hardware emulation and integer scaling.

      And to muck things up (because options are likely to be put forth regardless), there is also DOSBox-X. Either option would be better than the original DB (though I do prefer DBS over DBX).

  • Kuvenant

    ā€¢

    Jul 1, 2025

    DOSBox-Staging

    DOSBox (DB) itself is functionally old news, nothing has been updated in years. DOSBox Staging (DBS) on the other hand is still receiving updates and has the primary goal of running games (software is secondary). Switching the included DOS emulation over to DBS would enhance gamers experience with minimal difficulty.

    DBS automatically adjusts for CRT emulation and display resolution and has some great audio emulation features. With some tweaking to the DOSBox Configuration tool, that already exists in Launchbox, users could update their games config in moments, maybe even from a preset config for the game from the LB games database (admittedly problematic as preferences vary).

    For indication of ease of switching (subjective) I simply replaced the files in \ThirdParty\DOSBox with those found in the portable DBS zip and my games have all worked the same, and most looked better immediately.