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8088 256K RAM - What can I play?

Raven

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I've found copies of Tetris, Dosmine, Beast, DND1 and 2, but have yet to find anything else worth playing on here. Any suggestions?
 
I've found copies of Tetris, Dosmine, Beast, DND1 and 2, but have yet to find anything else worth playing on here. Any suggestions?

If your computer can take a memory upgrade card such as the AST sixpak plus you can try more games, they are about $20 on ebay.
 
I've found copies of Tetris, Dosmine, Beast, DND1 and 2, but have yet to find anything else worth playing on here. Any suggestions?

(Assuming you have CGA)

For starters, you can play every single one of these: http://www.mobygames.com/browse/games/pc-booter/ (Might have to use Retrograde Station to find images)

And also these: http://www.mobygames.com/browse/games/dos/tic,15/ti,97/
And these: http://www.mobygames.com/browse/games/dos/tic,15/ti,98/

These will also work if you boot with DOS 2.1 (DOS 3.3 might work too, but DOS 2.1 is smaller):

http://www.mobygames.com/browse/games/dos/tic,15/ti,99/

That's over 500 games, and I'm sure there are more that aren't in those lists... I agree, though, that finding a RAM expansion board is a small investment for access to thousands more games.
 
If your computer can take a memory upgrade card such as the AST sixpak plus you can try more games, they are about $20 on ebay.

Generally, games made up to 1987 did not use more than 384k, with 512k being the norm afterwards. Most booters don't use more than 128k, although there were some 256k ones like Pirates!, and at least one, Karnov, needed 512k.
 
Comp can be upgraded to 512K but I havent investigated what sort of card I need/where it goes/if its affordable. (Panasonic Sr. Partner)

Thanks v. much for the links, I'd found lots of DOS games but not too many my 8088 was capable of. I'm going to start messing with the games on the pages you provided now. *excited*
 
Generally, games made up to 1987 did not use more than 384k, with 512k being the norm afterwards. Most booters don't use more than 128k, although there were some 256k ones like Pirates!, and at least one, Karnov, needed 512k.

You have an excellent memory! I thought I was the only one who knew Karnov was a 512K booter. (It is, in fact, the only 512K booter I've ever run across.) There were only a handful of other booters that required more than 256K. A few (Sidewinder, Defender of the Crown) only required 384K when Tandy graphics modes were used, due to the memory layout of the machine.
 
Comp can be upgraded to 512K but I havent investigated what sort of card I need/where it goes/if its affordable. (Panasonic Sr. Partner)

Oh, this is the Partner? Then your best bet is to populate the motherboard fully all the way up to 512KB. The Partner is extremely cramped inside; I'm not sure if full-length boards can even go into it (it's been ages since I opened up mine).
 
Oh, this is the Partner? Then your best bet is to populate the motherboard fully all the way up to 512KB. The Partner is extremely cramped inside; I'm not sure if full-length boards can even go into it (it's been ages since I opened up mine).

The case is very cramped, except for the area with the expansion slots. There's enough space for two full-length (old model, dunno the proper name/term) Soundblaster 16s in there. Of course they wouldn't work due to the 8-bit slots, just using them as size reference.

I'm getting a 16-bit MFM controller card today that I'm going to try, hopefully that'll let me hook up my ST-225 and get some more fun going. :D
 
You have an excellent memory! I thought I was the only one who knew Karnov was a 512K booter.

Well, ok, as Great Hierophant pointed out, Guerilla War was 512k.

Kind of odd that the PC port of Bad Dudes was a DOS game, even though it was also developed by Quicksilver.

(It is, in fact, the only 512K booter I've ever run across.) There were only a handful of other booters that required more than 256K. A few (Sidewinder, Defender of the Crown) only required 384K when Tandy graphics modes were used, due to the memory layout of the machine.

There were also a few booters that supported Hercules, such as John Elway's Quarterback.
 
I'll just make a list of what I've run on my XT when it was 256K for some ideas....

Burger Blaster
Ultima I
Ultima II
Ultima III
Ultima IV
Leisure Suit Larry
King's Quest
Stargate
Alley Cat
ZZT
PC-Man
Funnels & Buckets
Police Quest
Microlink Yahtzee
Depthcharge
Hangman
Microsoft Adventure
Ms. Pac-Man
Zork I, II, and III

And I could list more, but I have to go through my endless list of DOS titles I've acquired over the years. There's quite a bit out there that will work under 255K
 
In my experience, most games that require more than 256K/384K tend to run too slow on a stock 4.77MHz PC/XT. Games that require 640K should have something faster driving them.
 
In my experience, most games that require more than 256K/384K tend to run too slow on a stock 4.77MHz PC/XT. Games that require 640K should have something faster driving them.

Karnov is one game that doesn't fit that mold. It has a very fast engine that is completely playable at 4.77Mhz, and requires 512K. Another one is Interphase (amazing 3D engine for such a slow machine) and Vaxine, and those require 512k too.
 
Karnov is one game that doesn't fit that mold. It has a very fast engine that is completely playable at 4.77Mhz, and requires 512K. Another one is Interphase (amazing 3D engine for such a slow machine) and Vaxine, and those require 512k too.

Double Dragon is 512k and runs fine on an 8088. Bubble Bobble is 512k, and also runs fine on an 8088 (but stay away from it unless you have a sound card or a Tandy 1000, since the PC speaker music is ear-splitting).
 
Sorry to stir up an old thread but I am stuck with 256K until i learn the jumper settings on my Sr Partner..

Anyways I was hoping to play ZZT and the version i have does not start. I get a "program to big to fit in memory" or some such error.

What version do you guys have that started in 256K?
 
Hey, ironic, I started this thread ABOUT a Sr. Partner, hehe..

I never ran ZZT on mine. When you refer to jumper settings, do you mean you found a RAM card for it? :O

I put a 10MB MFM disk in mine, btw - that was an actual configuration for the machines that was more expensive. :)
 
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