Shortcuts
[Spacebar] speeds up the text in the Tribestone and mission briefing screens!
Game Menu – [ESC], [F10]
Help – [F1]
Save – [F2]
Load – [F3]
Options – [F4]
Pause – [P]
Open/Close Information Window – [Tab], [W]
Adjust map – [`] ([½] on some weird keyboards) [right clicking the green „W” does the same thing]
Right click + hold – another way of scrolling around the map
Save screen position – CTRL + [F5] through [F8]
Move screen position – [F5] through [F8]
(These two don’t work for me, perhaps because they are overridden by Dosbox commands)
Designate group – CTRL + [0] through [9]
Select group – [0]Â through [9]
view and center on groups – ALT + [0] through [9]
add/remove from group – SHIFT + Grouping
center character on screen – [SPACE]
show / hide stats – [NUMPAD +]
next unit / building – [N]
Attack / Attack move – [A]
Rest – [Z]
Stop (Guard) – [G]
Screen capture – [Ctrl] + [F5], it’s a Dosbox hotkey. Make sure to designate a folder in dosbox config to store the screenshots.
You could use [Print Screen], or even [Alt+ Print Screen] but it’s suboptimal.
Fast forward – hold [Alt] + [f12]
Dosbox shenanigans
To enjoy your game without problems, edit your dosbox configuration or create a txt file and write in it:
cycles max
core dynamic
loadhigh pwar.exe
rename it to PWAR.BAT
run
easy life!
In versions with a CDEMU (cd emulator) there should be a .bat file already. You can edit it and choose a letter for the emulation.
In versions without it, you need to mount the game folder as a cd-rom:
mount (letter) (game folder path)
mount (another letter) (game folder path) -t cdrom
Change output=surface to output=openglnb (uses graphics hardware and maintains crisp image with scaling).
You might try output=ddraw, which in some cases has a lower CPU load. Scroll down to the [render] section
Change aspect=false to aspect=true (maintains 4:3 aspect ratio, otherwise keep on false if you like the aspect ratio of your screen, mostly 16:9 or 16:10 nowadays)
I heard loadfix helps some people, and I used to use it, but my handcrafted BAT file just hits the spot.
Multiplayer setup
I have never been able to set it up! All I can share is how to check it out in a „hot-seat” mode on one computer.
Open up two instances of DosBox. Write:
host: serial1=nullmodem txdelay:0
client: serial1=nullmodem server:YOUR IP txdelay:0
(127.0.0.1 is localhost, try this or your IP and see which works better for you.)
Open Jurassic War in each, change multiplayer options to COM1 (for fastest performance check baud rate 57600 in com settings) and call yourself via NullModem. VoilĂ ! You have access to 20 more maps with many options like number of opposing tribes, starting food, starting units and item spawning events! There is even an option for two players to have control over one tribe, if you get it to work! Good luck!
Watch out for the lags and disconnects, especially on larger maps!
The tribes are represented by ambiguous numbers. Here’s a quick list.
1 – Tyrano
2 – Canus
3 – Romek
4 – Masai
5 – Muspel
6 – Kumba
7 – Radumba
8 – Koaka
This guy has a way of setting it up properly.
Multiplayer units
Starting units are pre-determined. Choosing more favors tribes with strong fresh units, mostly dinosaur tribes: Tyrano and Koaka. Muspel and Canus also benefit a lot from this.
All tribes’ 5 starting units are 4 Commoners + Sanctuary builder.
Even if you choose „0” as starting units number, you still get a Commoner. 20 is max.
Kumba getting Warriors and Masai getting Muscle-Men while Koaka (and maybe Canus) don’t get any Warriors is kind of off-putting, but well, it adds some diversity to the crafting clans and sets a stronger division between magic and might.
1 – Tyrano:
Sanctuary builder
4 Commoners
5 Velocis
5 Dilophos
5 Trices
2 – Canus:
Sanctuary builder
4 Commoners
5 Elves
5 Muscle-Men
5 Elves
3 – Romek:
Sanctuary builder
4 Commoners
5 Rangers
5 Warriors
5 Rangers
4 – Masai:
Sanctuary builder
4 Commoners
5 Warriors
5 Muscle-Men
5 Warriors
5 – Muspel:
Sanctuary builder
4 Commoners
5 Warlocks
5 Wizards
5 Warlocks
6 – Kumba:
Sanctuary builder
4 Commoners
5 Muscle-Men
5 Warriors
5 Muscle-Men
7 – Radumba:
Sanctuary builder
4 Commoners
5 Warriors
5 Muscle-Men
5 Warriors
8 – Koaka:
Sanctuary builder
4 Commoners
5 Rhamphos
5 Carnos
5 Rhamphos
Multiplayer shenanigans
Some maps are special. Some have different items for crafting in armories, some spawn only a single Commoner for the AIs, some have the „all units and items” cheat active.
Stay tuned for a multiplayer section.