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https://github.com/parkertomatoes/ds4qb-web
Audio emulation layer for DOS programs running in v86 and using the DS4QB2 sound library
https://github.com/parkertomatoes/ds4qb-web
Last synced: 19 days ago
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Audio emulation layer for DOS programs running in v86 and using the DS4QB2 sound library
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/parkertomatoes/ds4qb-web
- Owner: parkertomatoes
- Created: 2024-12-03T19:13:40.000Z (about 1 month ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2024-12-14T18:41:26.000Z (28 days ago)
- Last Synced: 2024-12-14T19:33:33.637Z (28 days ago)
- Language: TypeScript
- Size: 30.3 KB
- Stars: 0
- Watchers: 1
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
# ds4qb-web
Audio driver for DOS programs using DS4QB2 under the V86 emulator.
## What is it?
[DS4QB2](https://web.archive.org/web/20010723163158/http://www.aethersoft.com:80/) and its family (DS4QB and DS4QB++) were sound libraries for QBASIC games, that used IPC to play audio from a Win9x server application. Unable to run in NTVDM or DosBox, the only way to make audio work is to emulate an entire Windows 95 or 98 computer.
ds4qb-web is a browser-based server for the DS4QB2 protocol, allowing these games to be easily played in a browser with a DOS guest OS. It leverages [v86](https://copy.sh/v86/), [Howler.js](https://howlerjs.com/), and [chiptune3.js](https://github.com/DrSnuggles/chiptune).
## Try it out
A live demo playing [Squealer TNT](http://piptol.qbasicnews.com/) with sound:
[Link](https://parkertomatoes.github.io/ds4qb-web-demo/?game=squealer)
A sample project using Vite and TypeScript:
[
](https://github.com/parkertomatoes/ds4qb-web-example-vite) [](https://stackblitz.com/github/parkertomatoes/ds4qb-web-example-vite)
## Features
* Enables audio for DS4QB2 games in the browser
* .MOD, .WAV, .MP3 support with volume, fading and panning
* Bundler-friendly distribution with TypeScript and ESM support
* Automatically installs and runs .zip packed games
* Options to configure mouse, EMS
## Getting Started
ds4qb-web needs a few files for the emulator to use
* An X86 BIOS image - [seabios]() is a free open source one
* An X86 VGA BIOS image - I recommend [Bochs](https://www.nongnu.org/vgabios/) since seabios has some bugs that affect QBasic
* A floppy disk image containing a DOS BOOT disk. You can find FreeDOS boot disks [here](https://github.com/codercowboy/freedosbootdisks).
* For mouse support, needs to contain MOUSE\.COM.
* For EMS support, needs to contain [EMSMAGIC.EXE](https://www.emsmagic.com/).
Since V86 isn't distributed via npm, it must be available in the global object:
```html
```
After that, add an HTML element to use as the screen:
```html
```
And start the emulator with the `attachDs4qb` function:
```js
import { attachDs4qb } from 'ds4qb-web';
attachDs4qb(V86, {
// ds4qb-web options:
content: { url: "url_to_game.zip" },
autoExe: "MYGAME.EXE",
// v86 options
screenContainer: document.getElementById('screen_container'),
bios: { url: "url_to_bios.img" },
vgaBios: { url: "url_to_vgabios.img" },
fdaImageFile: { url: "url_to_dos_disk.img" }
v86WasmUrl: { url: "url_to_v86.wasm" }
})
```
## API Documentation
### attachDs4qb Function
ds4qb-web is a single function to initialize and start an emulator
```ts
attachDs4qb(V86: function, options: DS4QBOptions): Promise
```
| Parameter | Type | Description |
| --------- | ------------ | ----------------------------------------------- |
| V86 | function | The constructor for V86 (it is not distributed via npm, so it must be imported by user and passed manually) |
| options | DS4QBOptions | Configuration options. See below for details |
The function returns the generated FAT disk image containing the .zip contents, as a byte array.
### DS4QBOptions Type:
The `attachDs4qb` options parameter is an object with a mix of V86 options and ds4qb-web options
ds4qb-web options:
| Property Name | Type | Description |
| --------------- | ------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| content | FileReference | .zip file containing the DOS app to run |
| autoExe? | string | Shell command to start the app (optional) |
| ds4qbDatPath? | string | Path to DS4QB2.dat (optional) |
| workingDir? | string | "Root" path to use for audio file paths |
| addMouse? | boolean | Runs MOUSE.COM at start if true (optional) |
| addEms? | boolean | Runs EMSMAGIC at start if true (optional) |
v86 options:
| Property Name | Type | Description |
| --------------- | ------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| screenContainer | HTMLElement | HTML container with a canvas for screen |
| biosFile | V86FileSource | x86 BIOS image |
| vgaBiosFile | V86FileSource | x86 VGA BIOS image |
| fdaImageFile | V86FileSource | DOS boot disk image |
| v86WasmUrl | string | URL to V86 WASM file |
### FileReference Type
Refers to a file by URL, an ArrayBuffer with the file, or a UInt8Array to the file.
```js
{ url: string } // Pass a URL to the file
```
```js
{ array: Uint8Array } // Pass a typed array to the file
```
```js
{ array: ArrayBuffer } // Pass an array buffer to the file
```
### V86FileSource Type
V86 accepts files as either a URL or an ArrayBuffer with the file
```js
{ url: string } // Pass a URL to the file
```
```js
{ array: ArrayBuffer } // Pass an array buffer to the file
```
## Contributing
If you want to contribute, please contact me because that means you're one of the dozen people who remember this library and we probably knew each other.