Win3xO Collection Release 1.0 retroexo@gmail.com ======================================================= ------------------------------------------------------- Contents ------------------------------------------------------- Description.......................................Sec01 Front-End.........................................Sec02 Setup.............................................Sec03 Emulators.........................................Sec04 Playing the Games.................................Sec05 Directory Structure & Usage.......................Sec06 Missing Games?....................................Sec07 Volumes...........................................Sec08 Troubleshooting...................................Sec09 ------------------------------------------------------- Description Sec01 ------------------------------------------------------- This pack includes 1,089 Windows 3.x games. This covers all genres and includes both commercial and shareware/ freeware release games. The games included were identified by scanning Mobygames, Legends World, Eli's Software, my own collection, and many many searches on eBay. Unfortunately the Win 3.x era is highly undocumented. The primary hurdle in adding games to this collection is simply identifying them. Many games are simply listed as "Windows" games, which does not specify whether they are Win 3.x compatible. Sites such as Mobygames are notriously wrong when it comes to listing platform. Many contributors have added Win 3.x as a platform to all Windows games before 1998 simply to get extra contribution points. If a game is listed for Win 3.x at Mobygames and is not in this package, then either the entry is wrong or it is one of a handful of games that are currently missing. A constantly updated list of all missing titles can be find below. All games have been pre-setup and are immediately playable, no configuration required. A one time setup is required by the front end. ------------------------------------------------------- Front-End Sec02 ------------------------------------------------------- The front end used is MEAGRE, created by Donarumo. The front ends website can be found at: https://sites.google.com/site/meagrefrontend/home Donarumo has graciously made several improvements to the frontend for the benefit of this collection. Current version in this collection is: 2.5.2.3, March 8th, 2015 ------------------------------------------------------- Setup Sec03 ------------------------------------------------------- The Win3xO collection can be run from any directory, as all launch files are designed to use relative paths to eachother. The front-end however does require knowledge of what directory it is sitting in. Simply running the "Setup Win3xO.bat" file will automatically setup MEAGRE to run from your current directory. If you have previously released eXoDOS volumes, you may combine them and then run the "Setup Win3xO" file. This will detect the eXoDOS packs and add them as well. This file also decompresses the GamesWin.zip file, which contains all of the manuals, art, and game information for each title. This will take some time to decompress. ------------------------------------------------------- Emulators Sec04 ------------------------------------------------------- This collection only uses DosBOX, which is located in the following directory: \MEAGRE\Dosbox Dosbox 0.74 is included in this collection as well as several SVN versions to enable advanced Windows emulation features. ------------------------------------------------------- Playing the Games Sec05 ------------------------------------------------------- Upon downloading the collection and running the setup file, simply run the MEAGRE.EXE file. You will be presented with a list of all included games. To play a game for the first time, click the "Install.bat" link under the Setup heading on the games detail page. The install process also allows you to set whether you like fullscreen or windowed and any scalers. To change these options, run the install a second time, but choose to not uninstall. This will decompress the game, which may take some time depending on the size (some of these games are upwards of 8 cds!). If you run the install file a second time, it will ask if you would like to uninstall the game. Choosing "yes" will erase the installed files from your disk, but keep the original ZIP file. You will loose any saved games, high scores, or other settings you have defined since the game was installed. ------------------------------------------------------- Directory Structure & Usage Sec06 ------------------------------------------------------- dosbox - Place your copy of DosBox here. Games - All the games, compressed and t-zipped. util - files called by the launch batch files. \Games\!win3x - Within the games folder is another folder called !win3x in which all the art, manuals, and game information for each title reside. The ini file within the inifile directory points to all artwork, game info, manuals, extras, launch files, and install files. To add an art asset, simply drop it in the proper folder, and add the name of the file to the ini file. It is quite easy to figure out. Much credit to Donarumo for such a versatile front-end. ------------------------------------------------------- Missing Games? Sec07 ------------------------------------------------------- Unfortunately Win3.x games have not been preserved very well, leading to many games that are currently missing. A list of known missing titles can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/ns6tyy9 ------------------------------------------------------- Volumes Sec08 ------------------------------------------------------- Current: eXoDOS Volume 1: The Adventure Collection eXoDOS Volume 2: The RPG Collection eXoDOS Volume 3: The Strategy Collection eXoDOS Volume 4: The Simulation\Sports\Educational Collection eXoDOS Volume 5: The Action Collection Win3xO: The Windows 3.x Collection ------------------------------------------------------- Trouble Shooting Sec09 ------------------------------------------------------- Q: When I run MEAGRE.EXE it gives an error and no games show up. A: Make sure you have run the "Setup Win3xO.bat" file. If you still have issues, open the MEAGRE.INI file and check to see that the fourth line down (UFEPath=), is set to the directory you are running the collection from. If it is not, then change it and rerun MEAGRE.EXE. Also verify that there is a folder called "!win3x" under the Games folder: ex. c:\exodos\games\!win3x\ This folder contains all the front end game information. If it is missing then the GamesWin.zip file has not been decompressed by the "Setup Win3xO.bat" file yet. Q: You're missing a game! A: See the section on missing games. Q: You're missing a manual/cover/extra/etc.... A: Yes, I am missing many. If you know of a place to obtain any missing assets you can contact me at retroexo@gmail.com.