Running Games Under OS/2 Warp
I no longer develop this legacy resource.
Running Games Under OS/2
OS/2 is known as an excellent platform for games development and for some of the best games written, including Galactic Civilizations, use OS/2 multi-threading to make games run faster and better.
However, it should come as no surprise that the sheer number of Windows users makes that platform the number one arena for games, quickly surpassing DOS for that honour.
Getting DOS and Windows 3x games to run under OS/2 can be tricky but the ability to adjust individual settings for each object on the desktop can make it possible to tune your games settings for the best performance.
Windows 9x games are a different matter. You might wish to check the OS/2 Netlabs Project Odin (formerly the Win32-OS/2 Project).
This is an ongoing work to enable Win9x programs to run under OS/2 and is your best chance to get Windows 9x games to run under OS/2.
You might also wish to learn more about running multiple operating systems with OS/2 to see how you can retain OS/2 and still make Windows 9x available on the same computer to run your games.
- OS2World Gaming Site — Your Source for OS/2 Warp and eComstation Games.
- OS/2 Games Setting Archive covers OS/2 version 2.1, 2.11, and Warp.
- DOS Game Archive.
- Stardock's Software Support has all the fixes, etc. for their software. Free OS/2 support ended January 31, 2001.
- Clear & Simple's Performance Plus Tuning Utility (no longer commercially available, but you might find copies on E-bay or elsewhere) has a DOS Blackbox and DOS/Windows 3.x optimizer that will help you get DOS and Win3.x games running under OS/2.
- Since soundcard issues seem to be a problem with many games, particularly those in a Win-OS/2 session, try my soundcard fixes page for help with problems getting the sound to work properly. Those of you with a Creative AWE64 PnP card may wish to try the drivers and instructions on the Sound Blaster AWE64 Installation Under OS/2 Warp page for help.
Thanks to Sander Nyman for providing some much needed updated links for OS/2 gamers.