eXoDOS/eXoWin3x - Retro PC archives
Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2022 11:18 pm
Some of you may have looked at a lot of the old DOS and PC games I stream and wondered...
"Where does he get those god-awful games?"
Well the truth is I found the eXoDOS and eXoWin3x preservation projects a year or so ago and I realised I'd never shared it with anyone here.
https://www.retro-exo.com/
So what exactly is eXoDOS/eXoWin3x?
Well it's a collection of thousands of games from those platforms, presented through the Launchbox interface. Every game is pre-configured to run with little or no tinkering, through DOSBox.
I've lost hours just scrolling through it, downloading old games that I remember playing as a kid as well as plenty that I missed out on first time around.
The website describes it better than I can.
eXoWin3x is the same idea, but for Windows 3.1 games and applications. It's particularly interesting if you want to see a lot of early multimedia CD-ROM titles (Stuff like Encarta for example).
The main issue with these is the size of them.
eXoDOS has a "Lite" version which only contains metadata, images etc, for the games, and it downloads them as and when you want to play them. But even the Lite version was 50+ GB when I last checked.
eXoWin3x has no Lite version at this time, which means you have to download it all. A quick check of my folder puts it at 371 GB.
https://www.retro-exo.com/exodos.html
https://www.retro-exo.com/win3x.html
There is also a SCUMMVM specific build, which I've not looked at myself, but a lot of the games there will also be found in the eXoDOS collection.
https://www.retro-exo.com/scummvm.html
RetroRGB interviewed eXo earlier this month. Well worth a read.
https://www.retrorgb.com/interview-with ... onist.html
"Where does he get those god-awful games?"
Well the truth is I found the eXoDOS and eXoWin3x preservation projects a year or so ago and I realised I'd never shared it with anyone here.
https://www.retro-exo.com/
So what exactly is eXoDOS/eXoWin3x?
Well it's a collection of thousands of games from those platforms, presented through the Launchbox interface. Every game is pre-configured to run with little or no tinkering, through DOSBox.
I've lost hours just scrolling through it, downloading old games that I remember playing as a kid as well as plenty that I missed out on first time around.
The website describes it better than I can.
eXoDOS is an attempt to catalog, obtain, and make playable every game developed for the DOS and PC Booter platform. We strive to find original media rather than using scene rips or hacks. This collection uses DOSBox to allow these older games to play on modern systems. Games supported by ScummVM give the user a choice between emulators. All required emulators are included and have been setup to run all included titles with no prior knowledge or experience required on the users part.
This pack includes 7,200 DOS games. The focus is on games that were either released in English or are fairly easy to play without a knowledge of the native language. This is not every DOS game ever made, however it is a very high percentage of all commercial releases. There are thousands of freeware, homebrew, and shareware games that will continue to be added in future packs.
The games have already been configured to run in DOSBox. Games which are supported by ScummVM will give you the option at launch as to which emulator you would like to use.
Version 5 adds:
• Download on Demand: A 'lite' version of the project that just contains metadata. Games are downloaded the first time you try to run them.
• IPX\Serial Newtworking: Easy host and join multiplayer games. Scripts auto start\open your virtual ports and describe exactly what steps each game requires to lay in multiplayer. Play over 300 games with your friends!
• eXoDOS Updater: Download and auto-apply updates to your eXoDOS collection without having to wait until the next release.
• Magazine Preservation: Browse print & digital magazines from the DOS era
• Filter by Installed Games: A custom plugin that dynamically updates a playlist in LaunchBox each time a game gets installed or uninstalled
• Massive Manual Upgrades: Hundreds of missing manuals have been added or improved and we've added countless missing extra files.
• Gold Box Companion Support: D&D Goldbox games can now be launched with the GB Companion app, which features automapping and other great tools.
• New Folder Structure: All project files now reside under an "eXo" folder, with individual folders for each project under that. This will allow Win3eXo, and other future projects, to easy plug in with eXoDOS.
• Modified Launch & Install Files: Files are no longer individually coded to launch a specific game. They now figure out what game will be launched to seeing what folder they were run from. While this doesn't directly affect users much, it makes maintaining the collection much easier.
• Alternate Names: Games now have regional names added to their LaunchBox entry. This allows you to search whatever name you are familiar with, and still find it listed in the database. eg: Searching Broken Sword will now bring up Circle of Blood.
• Bug Squash-a-rama!: A new GitHub now tracks all bugs, which has increased productivity on that front.
• Over 200 new games
• New Shaders: Enjoy shaders which emulate the look and feel of an original monitor with curvature and scanlines.
eXoWin3x is the same idea, but for Windows 3.1 games and applications. It's particularly interesting if you want to see a lot of early multimedia CD-ROM titles (Stuff like Encarta for example).
The main issue with these is the size of them.
eXoDOS has a "Lite" version which only contains metadata, images etc, for the games, and it downloads them as and when you want to play them. But even the Lite version was 50+ GB when I last checked.
eXoWin3x has no Lite version at this time, which means you have to download it all. A quick check of my folder puts it at 371 GB.
https://www.retro-exo.com/exodos.html
https://www.retro-exo.com/win3x.html
There is also a SCUMMVM specific build, which I've not looked at myself, but a lot of the games there will also be found in the eXoDOS collection.
https://www.retro-exo.com/scummvm.html
RetroRGB interviewed eXo earlier this month. Well worth a read.
https://www.retrorgb.com/interview-with ... onist.html
