Anyone know a good netbook subsim?

Michael.Phillips · 06-28-09, 10:10 PM

I have just purchased an HP Mini 1000 Netbook from Verizon. It runs Windows XP, has no video card, and no CD nor floppy drive (though I can access my desktop's CD drive via wireless LAN)

I'd like to find a subsim that I can load completely onto the hard drive so I can play it while mobile.

Does anyone know of one I can try? I've looked at lots of games, but they all seem to require a video card and/or CD.

Thanks,
-Mike
Phillips

Task Force · 06-28-09, 10:52 PM

well welcome to the forums. and yes, almost, if not all games require a vedio card, so what are you planing on doing with this laptop first...

Raptor1 · 06-29-09, 01:32 AM

How about some of the old ones? Aces of the Deep, Silent Hunter 1 (Maybe 2), Silent Service... might work

Shearwater · 06-29-09, 06:08 AM

Jane's 688(i) Hunter/Killer !
It doesn't require 3D acceleration, and since it came out in 1997 or so, hardware requirements are very modest. You still require the CD to play though

Best solution would be to install a program which enables you to use virtual drives.

Captain Nemo · 06-29-09, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raptor1

How about some of the old ones? Aces of the Deep, Silent Hunter 1 (Maybe 2), Silent Service... might work

I agree with Raptor1, why not try an oldie such as Silent Service II. I have SSII running on an Amiga emulator. You don't need a CD drive, you can download WinUAE from here http://www.winuae.net/ and disk images of old Amiga games are widely available on the net. The only drawback is you need to have the ROMS for the Amiga you want to emulate, which were only available for download commercially but check Google to be sure of their current status. I have an old Amiga so this wasn't an issue for me. I'm currently playing a career in SSII for old times sake and it runs superbly with WinUAE.

The other alternative is to run the PC version with DOS box.

Nemo

Pisces · 06-29-09, 04:18 PM

Another option is to make an image file of the CD (usually a .iso format) and copy it over through the network onto your harddrive. Use software like Deamon Tools to mount that file making into a virtual cdrom drive.

For the old games you could also try to run them in a Virtual Machine. Which is similar to dosbox, but it simulates a complete pc, not just dos. I never liked dosbox. It just doesn't fit with me. Or me with it. For dos games you need Microsoft Virtual PC 2004, since support for it has been removed in more current versions of it. Though I did have trouble with it's native dos-memory manager. It didn't like me using the MSDOS 6.22 emm386.exe and himem.sys memory manager, but Silent Hunter 1 didn't like the native memory manager either. Perhaps your games are less of a problem. But there are also other brands of virtual machine software (like Vmware). Microsoft is just free for download and use. Also, a cd-image is easily mounted in a virtual machine as if it is a real cdrom. I ran 2 Windows Server2008 and one Vista virtual machines today on a 3Ghz (hyperthreading) machine with 2 GB. It wasn't quick, but didn't choke either. Just laggy as hell with that load on it's back. So I'm sure it has no problem with an old game that needs below GHz specs.

Shearwater · 06-29-09, 04:30 PM

Yup, that's also what I had in mind. Just remeber that DOSBox requires a lot of ressources, even more so a wholly virtual PC. - For older games that actually require slowing down, that's a good thing, but for some of the later Dos games (mostly those running in protected mode), it can actually get a bit laggy, depending on your hardware.
Something I warmly recommend: VDM Sound. It emulates only your soundcard and offers support for a game port (i.e. joystick/gamepad support) - you can thus play your older games in Windows without the need to emulate a whole O/S. It isn't nearly as compatible as DOSBox with most games, but those that run are much faster. I recommend the version 2.0.4 (not the newer 2.10), but that's a personal choice. I'd definetly give it a try

Shearwater · 06-29-09, 05:51 PM

Oh, just remembered two other classic sims:
- Three Sixty Pacific's "Das Boot". It was fun at the time (played it way more often than SSII, but I was still young and inexperienced back then

),
- Microproses' "Red Storm Rising". Never got to play it, but apparently it is still played today - in any case a well-known classic.
Both of these work very well with DOSBox.
Have Fun!

06-28-09, 10:10 PM	#1
Michael.Phillips Nub Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 4 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Anyone know a good netbook subsim? I have just purchased an HP Mini 1000 Netbook from Verizon. It runs Windows XP, has no video card, and no CD nor floppy drive (though I can access my desktop's CD drive via wireless LAN) I'd like to find a subsim that I can load completely onto the hard drive so I can play it while mobile. Does anyone know of one I can try? I've looked at lots of games, but they all seem to require a video card and/or CD. Thanks, -Mike Phillips

06-28-09, 10:52 PM	#2
Task Force Rear Admiral Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: SPACE!!!! Posts: 10,142 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	well welcome to the forums. and yes, almost, if not all games require a vedio card, so what are you planing on doing with this laptop first... __________________ Task Force industries "Taking control of the world, one mind at a time"

06-29-09, 01:32 AM	#3
Raptor1 Navy Seal Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Stavka Posts: 8,211 Downloads: 13 Uploads: 0	How about some of the old ones? Aces of the Deep, Silent Hunter 1 (Maybe 2), Silent Service... might work __________________ Current Eastern Front status: Probable Victory

06-29-09, 04:18 PM	#6
Pisces Silent Hunter Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: AN9771 Posts: 4,892 Downloads: 303 Uploads: 0	Another option is to make an image file of the CD (usually a .iso format) and copy it over through the network onto your harddrive. Use software like Deamon Tools to mount that file making into a virtual cdrom drive. For the old games you could also try to run them in a Virtual Machine. Which is similar to dosbox, but it simulates a complete pc, not just dos. I never liked dosbox. It just doesn't fit with me. Or me with it. For dos games you need Microsoft Virtual PC 2004, since support for it has been removed in more current versions of it. Though I did have trouble with it's native dos-memory manager. It didn't like me using the MSDOS 6.22 emm386.exe and himem.sys memory manager, but Silent Hunter 1 didn't like the native memory manager either. Perhaps your games are less of a problem. But there are also other brands of virtual machine software (like Vmware). Microsoft is just free for download and use. Also, a cd-image is easily mounted in a virtual machine as if it is a real cdrom. I ran 2 Windows Server2008 and one Vista virtual machines today on a 3Ghz (hyperthreading) machine with 2 GB. It wasn't quick, but didn't choke either. Just laggy as hell with that load on it's back. So I'm sure it has no problem with an old game that needs below GHz specs. __________________ My site downloads: https://ricojansen.nl/downloads Last edited by Pisces; 06-29-09 at 04:31 PM.

06-29-09, 06:08 AM	#4
Shearwater Captain Join Date: May 2009 Location: SUBSIM Radio Room (kinda obvious, isn't it) Posts: 522 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 0	Jane's 688(i) Hunter/Killer ! It doesn't require 3D acceleration, and since it came out in 1997 or so, hardware requirements are very modest. You still require the CD to play though Best solution would be to install a program which enables you to use virtual drives.

06-29-09, 04:30 PM	#7
Shearwater Captain Join Date: May 2009 Location: SUBSIM Radio Room (kinda obvious, isn't it) Posts: 522 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 0	Yup, that's also what I had in mind. Just remeber that DOSBox requires a lot of ressources, even more so a wholly virtual PC. - For older games that actually require slowing down, that's a good thing, but for some of the later Dos games (mostly those running in protected mode), it can actually get a bit laggy, depending on your hardware. Something I warmly recommend: VDM Sound. It emulates only your soundcard and offers support for a game port (i.e. joystick/gamepad support) - you can thus play your older games in Windows without the need to emulate a whole O/S. It isn't nearly as compatible as DOSBox with most games, but those that run are much faster. I recommend the version 2.0.4 (not the newer 2.10), but that's a personal choice. I'd definetly give it a try

06-29-09, 05:51 PM	#8
Shearwater Captain Join Date: May 2009 Location: SUBSIM Radio Room (kinda obvious, isn't it) Posts: 522 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 0	Oh, just remembered two other classic sims: - Three Sixty Pacific's "Das Boot". It was fun at the time (played it way more often than SSII, but I was still young and inexperienced back then ), - Microproses' "Red Storm Rising". Never got to play it, but apparently it is still played today - in any case a well-known classic. Both of these work very well with DOSBox. Have Fun!