• Home
• News
• Civ 4 Colonization
• Sid Meier's Colonization
• Forums
• Buy Colonization

Using Dosbox to play Colonization

When you have installed Dosbox on you computer, there will be a DOSBox.conf file in the Dosbox folder. This file lets you configure the program the way you want it. Open the file with a text editor, for example Notepad (or something similar).

Go directly to one of the issues discussed in this article:

Configuring DOSBox to always start in fullscreen mode. (default is windowed mode)
I plan to use DOSBox for Colonization only
I have several old games I want to play using DOSBox
How to change game speed
DOSBox Video Tutorial

..or quickly run through all of them:

Fullscreen Mode

To get Dosbox to start in fullscreen mode by default, and not in the windowed mode, open the DOSBox.conf file located in the DOSBox folder with a text editor and scroll down to the place where you find:

Change to:

Save the DOSBox.conf file. DOSBox will now start in fullscreen mode by default.

Should the fullscreen mode go back into windowed mode during gameplay, fullscreen mode is toggled on and off by pressing ALT+Enter.

Setting up DOSBox for Colonization

Open the DOSBox.conf file located in the DOSBox folder with a text editor (for example Notepad) and scroll down to the end of the textfile:

In the very end, after this part:

add this:

Save the DOSBox.conf file.

Now, all you have to do is start Dosbox, and Colonization will start automatically.

NOTE! The above destination folder is the default installation folder for Colonization. If the game is located somewhere else, change the red text to the correct destination folder, for example:

or something like that. The point is that you tell Dosbox what folder to mount when it starts. Save the file and open DOSBox.

If you have several old games

Of course, you might have other old games you want to play using DOSBox. If that’s the case, you don't want Colonization to start immediately when you enter DOSBox. In this instance, you might want to create a folder containing all your old DOS games and install them there:

C:\Program Files\Oldgames

Say you would have, for example:

C:\Program Files\Oldgames\colonize
C:\Program Files\Oldgames\civ1
C:\Program Files\Oldgames\game3
Etc.

Now, open the DOSBox.conf file located in the DOSBox folder with a text editor (for example Notepad) and scroll down to the very end.

After this part:

write the following:

Remember to save the file after making any changes.

This way, Dosbox mounts your old games folder when it starts, and you then only have to mount the game folder and then write the correct exe command after starting Dosbox, for example:

or

(civ1 being the folder where the game is)
(civ being the name of the *.exe file)

How to change game speed

If you feel that your game is running too slow with the default options, this part of the DOSBox.conf file lets you change that. Again, open the DOSBox.conf file located in the DOSBox folder with a text editor (for example Notepad) and look for this part:

Try changing the cycles value (marked red) to a set number, for example 7500. It should then look like this:

Save the DOSBox.conf file and try running DOSBox.

Try adding 500, reducing 500 cycles until you find a mode that you're satisfied with.

It's also possible to increase/decrease cycles during gameplay:

CNTRL+F11 (Decrease cycles - slows the game down) and CNTRL+F12 (Increase cycles - speeds the game up).

That's it, nothing more to it!

DOSBox Video Tutorial

Go to DOSBox Download or Return to top