BERTHIER CAMPAIGN MANAGER

How to run Berthier under Mac OS X, Linux, BEOS and other operating systems using DOSBox freeware.

What is DOSBox?

DOSBox is a MSDOS emulator that runs on various operating systems. It is specifically designed to run old MSDOS games. Quote -

DOSBox emulates CPU:286/386 realmode/protected mode, Directory FileSystem/XMS/EMS, Tandy/Hercules/CGA/EGA/VGA/VESA graphics, a SoundBlaster/Gravis Ultra Sound card for excellent sound compatibility with older games.

DOSBox has been ported to many different platforms including -

• Mac OS X
• Linux
• BEOS
• Windows

DOSBox is easy to set up but installation is not for absolute beginners. You may wish to look at some of the links and the FAQ on the DOSBox web page to gain further insight. You will require a small amount understanding of the MSDOS operating system to run Berthier under DOSBox.

See the DOSBox web page here.

DOSBox is totally free of charge and Open Source. DOSBox is released under the GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE.

How to set-up Berthier to run under DOSBox.

1. Download the DOSBox compilation for your operating system. See here for the download.
2. Read the instructions and install DOSBox on your machine.
3. Test DOSBox and verify you can mount a C: drive.
4. Download the Berthier package here. You want the MSDOS version (not the Windows version).
5. Place the Berthier package (Berthier.zip) in what will be the C: drive under DOSBox.
6. The Berthier Package (Berthier.zip) contains all the Berthier files packaged into a single compressed file in ZIP compressed format. You will need to de-compress the Berthier package and extract all the files. If your native de-compressing software cannot work with ZIP files I suggest you download Info-Zip's free program UNZIP. Download the binary for your native operating system here. The command line to unzip Berthier preserving the directory structure is: unzip berthier.zip
   This should extract all the Berthier files you need.
7. Run Berthier under DOSBox.
   • Start DOSBox.
   • Mount the C: drive. (Pointing to where the Berthier executable Berthier.exe is to be found.)
   • At the Z:\> prompt type C:
   • At the C:\> prompt type berthier
   • Berthier should now start and you should be able to run Berthier as described in the Berthier Manual and the Berthier Readme.txt file.
8. Berthier should work under the default DOSBox configuration. Once you have had some experience you may wish to modify the configuration file. I suggest, for instance, turning off all sound options except the PC speaker option. You may also want to run Berthier faster. You can use CTRL-F12 to do this (and CTRL-F11 to slow down). Once you have a suitable speed you can set this permanently in the configuration file.
9. Berthier requires a MSDOS text editor and optionally an MSDOS image viewer. These programs must reside in the same place as the Berthier executable (Berthier.exe). These programs will also need to be referenced within Berthier on the Campaign Options screen.
   • Text Editor.
     • You can find a number of MSDOS text editors to choose from here.
     • You may need to extract the files from a compressed ZIP file.
   • Image Viewer - I recommend LXPIC.
     • Download LXPIC here.
     • You will need to extract the files from the downloaded compressed ZIP file.
     • You can find a number of MSDOS image viewers to choose from here.

Other People's Experiences

You can see how one person has set up Berthier to run on a Macintosh here.

Disclaimer

I have only tested Berthier with DOSBox version 0.63 and version 0.65 under Windows XP.

I cannot comment on or give advice on how it will work under other operating systems or DOSBox versions.

If anyone has success with Berthier with DOSBox and would like to publish their experience on these pages to help others then please contact me.

Links

Berthier Home Page

DOSBox Wiki - For information and help about DOSBox

VOGONS - The official DOSBox forum

Tony De Lyall

Last Updated: April 2014.