Key points
- Re-released as a free download in 2009 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of The Elder Scrolls series.[2]
- It's recommended to use Daggerfall Unity in order to play this game on modern machines.
- DaggerfallSetup is a ready-to-play installer for modern Windows systems (based on DOSBox).
- DOS/32A fixes most crashes and save corruption issues.[3]
General information
- GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
- GOG.com Support Page
- UESP Wiki
Availability
- The GOG.com version is available by purchasing any other game on GOG.com published by Bethesda Softworks.
- A demo is available.
DLC and expansion packs
Essential improvements
Patches
Copy into the Daggerfall folder and run using DOSBox. This patch contains all previously released patches.
This patch adds 16 new quests and additional artifacts to the game.
Addition unofficial patches (and mods) can be downloaded here.
- Daggerfall Unity is a project to remake the entire game in the Unity Engine to bring it to modern standards, without breaking vanilla feeling.
- Requires original game files in order to run.
- Compatibility with modern systems (Windows/MacOS/Linux) and resolutions.
- Fixes tons of bugs and adds many quality of life improvements.
- Adds (optional) modern graphical enhancements and modding support.
Run in DOSBox
- To play Daggerfall properly under DOSBox, make the following changes to the DOSBox configuration file):
- Change
core=auto
to core=dynamic
- Change
aspect=false
to aspect=true
- (OPTIONAL) Change
scaler=normal2x
to scaler=normal3x
- Change
fullresolution=original
to fullresolution=desktop
- Change
cycles=auto
to cycles=fixed 50000
- Change
memsize=16
to memsize=32
- (OPTIONAL) Change
fulldouble=false
to fulldouble=true
- Change
output=surface
to output=opengl
(or output=openglnb
for no blurry screen smoothing) or output=ddraw
(Windows)
- Changing the "core=" command to "dynamic" will allow the game to run at a much higher framerate when using high detail settings, as opposed to "auto."
- Changing
scaler=
to "normal3x" will emulate the game in windowed mode at twice the resolution, staying faithful to the original's size. Paired well with aspect=true
.
- Unlike The Elder Scrolls: Arena, turning the aspect command to true doesn't affect gameplay speed.
- Changing the "
cycles=
" command to max will force DOSBox to emulate the game at a higher framerate.
- Using "
cycles=max
" will cause heavy movement and turning issues. "cycles=fixed 50000
" is recommended.
DOS/32A
- DOS/32A fixes most crashes and save corruption issues.[3]
Run without the CD
- Daggerfall can be run without the CD to improve performance and convenience.
Run without the CD[citation needed]
|
- Install the game with the largest install size.
- Go to the CD and copy the contents of
DAGGER\ARENA2 into the ARENA2 folder where the game is installed.
- Edit
Z.CFG in the installation folder. Change PATHCD to match PATH .
- Run the game with
FALL.EXE Z.CFG (this can be made into a batch file for easier launching).
|
Skip intro videos
Delete/rename ANIM0001.VID[citation needed]
|
- Configure the game to Run without the CD.
- Go into
arena2 in the installation folder.
- Delete or rename
ANIM0001.VID .
|
Enhanced Music
When installing the game under DOSBox, the guide provided by Bethesda recommends SoundBlaster 16 for the music and sound emulation. This provides faithful, but worse musical-quality, as the soundtrack was composed for a General Midi compatible Roland Sound Canvas.[4] For increased musical quality, the sound card settings must match these:
SOUND: Sound Blaster or SB16 (or compatible) - I0:220 IRQ:7 DMA:1
MUSIC: General Midi or MPU-401 - I0:330 IRQ:2 DMA:1
- Unlike the previous game, Daggerfall's music seems to have been somewhat remixed to fix SoundBlaster compatibility, some tracks even being named "FM" (FM-Synthesis) as separate versions.
- While improving musical fidelity, GeneralMIDI will make various dungeon tracks sound "awkward" due to the new instrument sounds, but isn't as distracting as Arena.
- Some dungeon music won't play if GeneralMIDI or SoundBlaster is used, as both modes have special music. GeneralMIDI seems to have the most variation in music.
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
-
BETAPLYR.DAT
contains control configuration settings (other in-game settings are stored in each save rather than shared).
-
DAGGER.GRD
contains the ChildGard password. This file is only present when ChildGard is enabled.
Save game data location
- Saves are stored in folders
SAVE0
to SAVE5
Video
Input
Audio
List of supported MIDI devices
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
|
Sound and Music. |
Surround sound |
|
|
Subtitles |
|
Dialogue is text-only after the opening cutscene. |
Closed captions |
|
|
Mute on focus lost |
|
For DOSBox change the priority background value in the DOSBox configuration file. |
General MIDI audio |
|
|
Localizations
Issues unresolved
GUS emulation does not work
- Despite best efforts, Daggerfall will not properly play music through gravis cards, despite being listed in the setup program. More info here and here.
Issues fixed
Broken movement
If you are running Daggerfall via DOSBox there can be a problem with movement: you can't run backwards and jump. In this case you need to set your cycles amount to fixed 50000, or 50%. You can do this in DOSBox config or pressing Ctrl+F11 / Ctrl+F12
Corrupted saves
Save corruption is caused by memory issues. Use DOS/32A to prevent save corruption. DaggerfallSetup already has this fix. To fix saves that are already corrupted see UESP Wiki's Daggerfall Corrupted Savegames page.
"You do not have enough disk space for your chosen installation type" error during installation
- This error occurs when there is insufficient space or the DOSBox
-freesize
parameter has not been used.
Use -freesize parameter[5]
|
When mounting the destination folder, include the command line arguments -freesize 1024 (specifies free space in megabytes).
|
Roland MT-32 crash (Error 117 or CauseWay error 09)
- Daggerfall lists the Roland MT-32 as a sound option but it doesn't actually work and will crash the game.[6] Use MPU-401 instead.
Set MIDI Device to MPU-401[citation needed]
|
- Run
setup from within DOSBox.
- Choose Select MIDI.
- Choose MPU-401.
- Choose Port 330.
- Choose OK, OK and OK to save your changes and exit setup.
- MPU-401 MIDI will now pass to the MT-32 (or compatible model) if it is configured correctly (see Roland MT-32).
|
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
DOS video modes |
VGA |
|
Middleware
|
Middleware |
Notes |
Audio |
Human Machine Interface (HMI) audio drivers |
|
- Daggerfall Unity is a project to remake the entire game in the Unity Engine complete with modern graphical enhancements, a modding community, and detailed tutorials on how to mod it yourself.
System requirements
DOS |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
MS-DOS 5.0+ | |
Processor (CPU) |
486 33Mhz | |
System memory (RAM) |
8 MB |
32 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
50 MB |
200 MB |
Video card (GPU) |
256-color VGA | |
Sound (audio device) |
General MIDI, Roland (SC, MT-32, RAP-10), SoundBlaster (Pro, 16, AWE32), Ensoniq SoundScape, Microsoft SS, Pro Audio Spectrum 16, Gravis UltraSound (Max, Ace), ESS AudioDrive |
General MIDI |
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 File/folder structure within the installation folder reflects the path(s) listed for DOS game data. For the GOG.com release, file changes in DOSBox are redirected to
<path-to-game>/cloud_saves/
even if GOG Galaxy is not used (this folder contains all redirected files, so some files in the cloud_saves
folder might be temporary files or other files that do not contain saves or settings).
References