DOSBox & Emulation Introduction
So now you want to play MegaRace, either because you're curious and you want to try it out or you remember playing it on your old computer when you were little and you want to bring those memories back. But, unfortunately, you can't play it on any new computer today because the program wasn't made to play on new computers, right? So, is this the end of the road for you? Nope; it just beginning! Welcome to the world of Emulation; reality's worst nightmare! What is emulation? Well, emulation is the act of simulating an old computer program. Now when I say simulating the program, that doesn't mean it's not the same program. It's running the exact same program except it's running/working through another program, the emulator.
Now, what is DOSBox? It's an emulator designed just to emulate MS-DOS games including MegaRace 1 & 2! This is a VERY stable emulator and works on Windows and many other platforms including Mac and Linux. This is the emulator that we will use to emulate MegaRace. You can download it here:
http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/news.php?show_news=1
Just highlight the URL above and right-click. A box should pop up and through there click 'Copy'. Then right-click on the address bar and click 'Paste'. Hit enter on your keyboard, or click go on the address bar and DOSBox's website should pop up.
Getting DOSBox to work
In order for MegaRace to work on DOSBox, we need several things:
(1) DOSBox
(2) MegaRace CD-ROM
(3) Optional: MegaRace Patch only found here on RACEPRG.
Now let me go over the stuff I have just listed. If you want MegaRace to work, you gotta have an emulator, so get your free copy of DOSBox via the URL above.
The most important thing next to an emulator is the ROM. The Read-Only-Memeory is where all of the files that are needed to run the game are located. MegaRace's ROM is located in the MegaRace CD-ROM; you can get one on eBay. Even though DOSBox supports CD Images (*.ISO files), this DOES NOT MEAN YOU DOWNLOAD A ISO FILE OF MEGARACE OFF OF THE INTERNET. It is agianst the law to do so, because the files/ROM are copyrighted. Does this mean it is agianst the law to play MegaRace on an emulator? No; the only thing that is unlawful is getting a ISO, or a ROM, or the files without permission from the author. However, you do not need to get permission when you want to buy a CD-ROM of MegaRace on eBay; that is perfectly fine.
Finally, the last thing we need is my MegaRace Emulator Patch. We will get to that later.
Now this is the hard part; getting your copy of MegaRace to work on DOSBox. Carefully, follow the steps. By the way, if DOSBox crashes and it does not close by itself, just hit "CTRL" and "F9" at the same time on the keyboard and that should kill DOSBox.
Note these instuctions are for Windows users. Also note, that these instuctions are just for emulating MegaRace, not how to run DOSBox. If you are looking for instuctions on how to run DOSBox, please check out DOSBox's FAQ on their webiste.
Step 1: Open up the DOSBox.
This is what it should look like when you open up DOSBox. Notice that there are two windows that opened up when you clicked on DOSBox.exe; don't worry, the other window is like a history window, showing your previous commands and stuff like that.
Step 2: Install MSCDEX.
First insert the MegaRace CD-ROM into your CD Drive. Now type in the following:
mount d d:\ -t cdrom
Note that I just used the letter D as an example, so your CD Drive letter can and probably will vary from D. My CD Drive letter is E and so, I type in:
mount e e:\ -t cdrom
Just replace D with your correct drive letter and hit enter. KABLAM!
MSCDEX have now been installed. This makes DOSBox able to read CD-ROMs. Now read the picture above. Notice the first command I had typed in had failed, while the second command was accepted. Why is this? For some reason, you HAVE TO type in the mount command in lower-case. Be sure that your keyboard is set to lower-case before you start DOSBox. Hmmm...maybe I should have mention that earier? Oh, well. :)
Step 3: Mounting C:\MEGARACE
Now you want to save your game, right? Well, you have to do two things. First, create in C: a folder called "MEGARACE". Then, in DOSBox just type in the following:
mount c c:\megarace
Hit enter and volia!
Step 4: Running INSTDOS.EXE and installing the MegaRace Emulation Patch.
Now, type in this:
e:
Hit Enter and that's it! You switched from Z:\ to E:\! Now type in this:
instdos
This is the program that MegaRace uses when you first install the game. This is what it should look like when you are all done typing in all of that stuff:
Now hit enter and prepare to emulate the MegaRace Installation Program! After a moment or two, the screen will switch to this:
Click on "I want to start a new installation".
Then, it will take you to a new window which looks like this:
Click on "Manual Installation".
This should pop up. Click "OK".
UH OH! This is an error that happens to most users when installing MegaRace. Fortunately, I have made a patch that fixes this error. Click on the image below to download the patch:
When you unzip the Megarace_Emulator_Patch.zip file, take the contents and place them INSIDE the C:\MEGARACE folder that we had created earlier. Now open up DOSBox again and type in the commands we had typed in earlier. This should pop up:
Yay! INSTDOS recognized the patch files! Now you can play MegaRace! You can click "Start Game" to start the game, or you can click on "Alter Setup" to change the settings. If you want to change the settings, click on "Alter Setup", then "Manual Installation", then click "OK", and then this will show up:
These are the settings I have selected. You can alter them if you wish. I kinda recommend having the subtitles on because Lance Boyle tends to mumble out his lines sometimes. The editors also cut off a bit of Lance's lines in some of the FMVs. Listen to Lance's voice when he says his first lines, "Hello and welcome to MegaRace, the action show where violence happens once every few seconds!". They cut off a giant section on the word "seconds".
Note that you HAVE to start MegaRace through INSTDOS, because INSTDOS recognizes the saved settings not RACEPRG.exe which is MegaRace. If you replace INSTDOS with RACEPRG in the command line, the game will run but without sound or any saved settings.
Enjoy playing MegaRace!!
