DFendX 2.6.0 - "Sound Up"
This week's release of DFendX turned out to be quite the grab-bag of until-now unimplemented options across all the DOSBox variants. The main focus initially was going to be a big uplift of the Sound options, starting with the SoundBlaster tab; however, it ended up delving into PS/2 mouse support and even new video options. This release rounds out the last of the big uplifts, with all major option categories implemented, and future releases of DFendX are expected to focus on smaller additions and fixes.
Let's go over the new features in this release.
Sound Options
There has been a big uplift of all the sound options. Staging has new combo boxes for selected LPT (parallel port) sound devices like COVOX or Disney Sound Source, as well as new Mixer options:
While X has new options for PS/1 audio and additional Mixer options:
The SoundBlaster tab for Staging has additional codecs to select from, including ESS, and options for CMS and filter type.
While X also has new ESS codec variants, as well as new OPL options, and an option for Goldplay:
X received new type/memory size/gain options for GUS, while Staging has a new filter option:
Finally both Staging and X received a new FluidSynth settings options box for reverb/chorus effects:
PS/2 Mouse Support
DOSBox traditionally uses INT33H to drive mouse events in the guest, however both X and Staging allow for the emulation of PS/2 mice. These options are now exposed along with new options for the plain DOS (INT33H) driver (for Staging only):
Video Tab and ReelMagic
DOSBox Staging has support for a hardware accelerated video codec called ReelMagic, supported by a handful of DOS games from the 90s. That is now exposed in a new Video tab in the profile editor:
Wrapping up
Beyond the new features, there was a smattering of bug fixes and small improvements. One of those was enabling program update checks for portable/zip builds of DFendX, so those users can also be notified of new DFendX versions.
As this release brought a large number of options, only a subset of combinations could be properly tested, so it would be great to hear experiences from users who are trying the range of new options available. So download the latest release on GitHub, give it a try, and raise any issues you may find!