I reinstalled this the other day right before Jeffs recent stream where he said he was having issues getting it to work. So i figured id make a guide because it certainly isnt clean-cut how to do it on a modern system. Ive used this method across several computers (even win10 64 bit) as i often go back to it. Omf 2097 was the first game i ever bought when i was 6 or 7 and i actually sent in a mail order for it!
Downloading
I highly recommend X-Bot's site for obtaining OMF. It is freeware so totally legal to obtain this way. They have lots of good extra files like changing scrap and destruction moves to punch or kick (careful, ive used this on electra and it changed neutral punch and kick to one of its specials. You cannot change it back without reinstalling), extra character portraits for tournament mode and custom tournaments (some with custom made bots), and character editors for your tournament mode character (money, bots, etc. You can even break the game this way by upgrading a bot above what the game normally allows). This is the site to peruse for what you need (the exe programs may require mounting to dosbox and running from dos, as they are quite old). Download the top download which i believe is the updated version of omf.
Installing
Once youve downloaded it and put the install files in a folder of choice, run DosBox. You actually must install it in dosbox and will only need to do so once.
Type mount c c:\<folder the install exe is in>. (If it is in another drive, replace c:\ with whatever letter it is in)
Type 'C:' and hit enter
Type 'install' or 'install.exe' hit enter
Install should guide you through, i recommend the default location for the sake of ease. NOTE: it may install inside of the folder you put your install exe in. You can move it wherever but i recommend for the sake of ease with dosbox to not have it be a subdirectory, for instance C:\OMF)
When it is installed, mount the folder (in this case C:\omf) in dosbox by typing 'mount c c:\omf'
If the dos prompt does not say c:\ (for instance, the default z:\) type c: and hit enter.
Type 'Setup' (or setup.exe) and hit enter.
The setup program should start and have the option 'select sound card' highlighted. Press enter.
select sound blaster pro (others may work. if sb pro does not, try some of the others). Choose the highest quality.
To play
(This is the process to play if youve just opened dosbox. if youve just gone through the installation, simply type 'omf' and hit enter)
type into DosBox 'mount c c:\omf' and hit enter
Type 'omf' or 'omf.exe' and hit enter
Then play this incredible game!
When in game the speed will almost certainly be too fast. From the main menu go to gameplay (you can tweak this in round as well by hitting escape) and select about 1/4 full for normal speed. You only need to do this once. I also HIGHLY recommend turning on hyper mode (in the gameplay menu) which allows more move cancels and hits in the air, controlling of projectiles with arrow keys/gamepad stick, and certain specials to be used in the air.
Controller Support
Dosbox supports xpad controllers. Ive never gotten the hang of playing this game with a gamepad but pick your poison. It should be all configured by dosbox but i highly recommend going into the configuration menu and going to Player 1 and player 2 input then joypad 1 or joypad 2 to calibrate (ive not tried this with two controllers so i dont know if this works. Back in the day you needed a special splitter to do this but hopefully dosbox has this covered). If you dont calibrate you may experience issues with the precision of your controller's left stick. You should see an array of 9 dots. To get the best level of calibration, move your left stick clockwise and counter clockwise 5 to 10 times (if i recall you may need to do this every time you restart the game). After rotating it, let the left stick snap dead center. If done correctly it should hold steady at that center dot.
If i missed anything feel free to let me know.
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