Optimizing Graphics and Music Settings

[ZeddicPrime]

Hi, back when I bought this on GOG I found some really good guides that helped get better quality video and audio. Original Posters from the GOG forums are: OlSheep and Leonardmccoy. I'd like to share how I achieved the same settings in the Steam version. There's tons of personal preference involved but this post is designed to be an easy "set and forget" thing - see the comments or original posts for more options.

You'll have to apply these settings to each version (original, community patch, DLC, etc). Instructions below are for the original game.

First, find dosboxMOM_single.conf. For me the full path is E:\Steam\steamapps\common\Master of Magic\Master of Magic Official Release\dosboxMOM_single.conf
Line 12 of that file says magic.exe - change that to install.exe and launch the game. Configure the sound settings so that the first card is General Midi and the second is SoundBlaster Pro (later). Click OK and exit program. Edit the file again and change install back to magic.
After making this change, you can copy the file config.mom to other versions of the game instead of running install.exe each time.

Next, find dosboxMOM.conf in the same folder as the sound settings. Edit this file and make the following changes per section by deleting the original settings and replacing them with these:

[sdl]
fullscreen=false
fulldouble=false
fullresolution=original
windowresolution=1280x960
output=ddraw
autolock=true
sensitivity=100
waitonerror=true
priority=higher,normal
mapperfile=mapper-0.74-2.map
usescancodes=true
[renderer]
frameskip=0
aspect=false
scaler=hq3x
[cpu]
core=dynamic
cputype=auto
cycles=100000
cycleup=1000
cycledown=1000

Copy dosboxMOM.conf to the other game version folders as needed.

The game will take a little longer to start up (you'll hear some audio clicks and then be sitting at a blank screen just long enough to feel like there's something wrong) but it should look and sound better.

Edit: Based on advice from Seravy, I changed the cpu settings to be more modern. I tested it and it seems to work great

[Clive Hawkins]

Just tried these settings on the Caster of Magic DLC mod and it worked great. Though I do prefer fullscreen:true and using ALT+Enter to force it back to full screen when needing to ALT+TAB. Thanks for the improvements ♪

[Seravy]

I'd like to add that your sound settings created by install.exe are stored in config.mom so once you have a working version, you can copy that into the other two game folders instead of running install again.
The above CPU settings will make the game slower and aren't recommended, also they have nothing to do with sound and graphics. Unless you have a 15 year old computer, you should not lower them to these numbers. The default 100000 cycles should work fine, and newer computers should be able to handle up to 200-225k.
However I agree changing the type of music driver is a good idea, various versions are quite different and while it's a personal preference, most will consider MIDI or Roland better than the default option.
Anyway, the recommended CPU setting is :
core=dynamic
cycles=100000
or higher.

[Gnome]

Great settings. Thank you!

The only thing I would change is the Scaler. I'm using "advinterp2x'.

For those browsing the forum, check the DosBox Scaler options here:

https://www.dosbox.com/wiki/Scaler

[Saturdays]

Thank you, was searching for this!

[talkslow4me]

The music/sound sounds WAYYY better. Thank you.

Tried the CPU options. And it runs better with original settings. As stated above, no reason to change them.

Tried a bunch of the scalers, and most kind of turn the pixels into a smeared water colored painting. Supereagle kind of came out the best. Or maybe they all look the same and I couldnt tell.

The scaler doesnt add much value to this game since its as primitive as can be in the graphics department.

[Gandalf]

Why isn't this pinned?

[Saturdays]

Originally posted by Gandalf:

Why isn't this pinned?

I second this.

[Ichthyic]

Can confirm the music changes sound far better.

makes the music actually use instruments instead of just electro-organ.

[ummthingy]

pin this

[CarryMeSenpai]

gonna pin this as well....

[Earnest]

If you're into that sort of thing, there's also the Anime patch by the author of Caster of Magic.

It's in this folder, in a zip called AnimeAddon.zip.

http://seravy.x10.mx/CasterofMagic/

[OlSheep]

Unnecessary necromancy but, I have to say, this thread sure brought back memories. IIRC, the original GOG thread kinda devolved into a debate about the look of filters and how General Midi doesn't sound authentic. I think I like you guys better :D .

[Tanaka]

Will this work for COM Windows? I only get music no sound effects on main screen?