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The long-awaited new MS-DOS retro game wrappers for macOS are here

By: GN Team
Published: 19 April 2024, 8:37 pm

MS-DOS retro gaming on your new Macbook should no longer be a problem, thanks to GamesNostalgia!

After the release of macOS Ventura and the arrival of Mac computers using Apple Silicon CPUs, we received feedback about the incompatibility of the MS-DOS GamesNostalgia wrappers for Mac. In some cases, the package crashed immediately; in others, there was a virus alert. Other users reported problems with the permissions; it was impossible to open the game, or there was a strange request to record keystrokes from the application.

Battle Isle 2 running in the macOS wrapper
Battle Isle 2 running in the macOS wrapper

After weeks of testing, we finally solved the crashes and the virus alert problems, and we regenerated all the MS-DOS game wrappers for macOS. The emulator didn't change; it's the usual DOSBox, but we added some fixes in terms of configuration. All the games are now playable on our Macbook Air with an M2 Silicon CPU and the old Macbook with an Intel CPU. Most games have been tested on the new macOS Sonoma 14.4.1. All the MS-DOS wrappers have been updated to version 1.31. What's better than updating 380 game wrappers all at once?

A few changes you will see:

  • All the games are now open in windowed mode and are no longer fullscreen by default. We noticed that opening the game in fullscreen might generate a crash. You can still switch to full screen with Option+Enter
  • The instructions are now updated to mention "option+Enter" to toggle fullscreen and Cmd+Q to quit the game.
  • The false positive regarding a virus alert that sometimes appeared (a malware called Eleanor) should not happen anymore with the new wrapper. If you still see it, let us know.
  • You might receive a request from the game saying that it would like to receive keystrokes from any applications. We haven't been able to solve this, but please DENY the permission. The game will work normally
  • For X-COM Apocalypse the number of cycles has been increased
    For X-COM Apocalypse the number of cycles has been increased

    Regarding the permissions, macOS is always a pain. Remember to:

    • Drag & drop the game icon to another folder (e.g., Applications). Don't run the game from the original folder; always move the icon elsewhere.
    • Double-clicking the icon to open the game won't work. Ctrl+click (or right-click) and select "Open". If the first time doesn't work, do it again.

    If you follow these instructions, you won't have problems.

    GamesNostalgia will soon manage a soccer team
    GamesNostalgia will soon manage a soccer team
    One more thing

    Retro gaming has become an increasing trend in recent years, and many games previously considered abandonware are now for sale on Steam or GOG. Whenever we discover a game sold on GOG, we add a link to the purchase page where you can get the full version. We keep the download on our site only if it is a different version (for example, a demo/reduced version or an Amiga version while the GOG version is the PC one, or if we have a localized version and on GOG you can only find the English version). We hope you will agree with this choice.

    Happy MS-DOS retro-gaming on your Mac!


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