DaggerfallSetup vs. GOG - advantages?

Post here if you need help getting started with Daggerfall Unity or just want to clarify a potential bug. Questions about playing or modding classic Daggerfall should be posted to Community.
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mikeprichard
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DaggerfallSetup vs. GOG - advantages?

Post by mikeprichard »

I noticed in the recent installation topic (viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2360) and elsewhere previously that installing classic base using DaggerfallSetup-2.15.0.exe is "recommended"/"preferred" over e.g. GOG. Putting aside how the GOG install process itself seems at least as simple as DaggerfallSetup (assuming of course you have the GOG version to begin with), are there any specific game fixes or differences you'll benefit from by using DaggerfallSetup as the base for DFU as opposed to other base install packages like GOG? Or is DaggerfallSetup only "recommended" because anyone can download it (i.e. without the need for a GOG account)? Thanks!

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Interkarma
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Re: DaggerfallSetup vs. GOG - advantages?

Post by Interkarma »

Not everyone owns the GOG version or will want to use a store. DaggerfallSetup is just the easiest and most available way to get the game.

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mikeprichard
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Re: DaggerfallSetup vs. GOG - advantages?

Post by mikeprichard »

OK, thanks for clearing that up!

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pango
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Re: DaggerfallSetup vs. GOG - advantages?

Post by pango »

From what I understand, official releases (Bethesda, GOG) can only contain official patches for legal reasons, while unofficial releases like Wiwiland/UESP DaggerfallSetup can use just about all community efforts to make classic Daggerfall close to stable.
I've seen streams using official releases derailed because all the sudden an overused magic item would crash the game when used one more time. Or corrupted saves. It seems GOG spends more time stabilizing Daggerfall than Bethesda (it doesn't seem too difficult really), but they have the same constraint that they have to use official patches or their own efforts.
I can't recommend DaggerfallSetup enough to play classic Daggerfall under DOSBox.

I'm not sure it's an as strong requirement for playing Daggerfall Unity though. Many resources DaggerfallSetup patches are not used by DFU: FALL.EXE executable, quest files,... What remains may be some character's correct elfic skin tone fixes in Wayrest court, stuff like that. I'd just say that for DFU play, DaggerfallSetup installation is a safe bet.
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mikeprichard
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Re: DaggerfallSetup vs. GOG - advantages?

Post by mikeprichard »

Yes, I guess that was my question - whether DaggerfallSetup bundles any fixes that aren't available from other base installs like GOG, and that DFU itself also wouldn't compensate for.

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Interkarma
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Re: DaggerfallSetup vs. GOG - advantages?

Post by Interkarma »

That's a good point. DaggerfallSetup includes a few other niceties missing from the CD or GOG versions. It's definitely the best allround way to get Daggerfall.

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mikeprichard
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Re: DaggerfallSetup vs. GOG - advantages?

Post by mikeprichard »

Well, guess I'd better switch to DaggerfallSetup just to be sure! Thanks, all.

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mikeprichard
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Re: DaggerfallSetup vs. GOG - advantages?

Post by mikeprichard »

So I found one slight advantage of the GOG version over the DaggerfallSetup2.15 version on my machine - it actually runs... :lol: Too tired now to mess around with DOSBox settings (I've spent an hour testing settings from the DaggerfallSetup2.15 site at https://wiwiki.wiwiland.net/index.php?t ... llSetup_EN, the PCGaming wiki at https://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/The_Elder ... Daggerfall, and finally from various Youtube videos). I may just have to resign myself to not being able to play classic for testing purposes (unless I want to reinstall the working GOG version just for that reason).

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Deepfighter
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Re: DaggerfallSetup vs. GOG - advantages?

Post by Deepfighter »

I can't really follow you here Mike as DFSetup is kind of plug-and-play. You don't have to do anything with the settings, just go through the installer and you are fine. It even creates a shortcut for you on the desktop. Never heard that you can't get Daggerfall to work with that.

The advantage of DFSetup is kind of obvious - everything in one installer/place (which is what somehow a lot of people wish for DFUnity, too - so it meets actually the needs of the people). :)
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mikeprichard
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Re: DaggerfallSetup vs. GOG - advantages?

Post by mikeprichard »

Afraid I can't follow myself either - I had absolutely no issues with the default DosBox settings for the GOG version, but when I use the default shortcut created at the end of the DaggerfallSetup2.15 process, it just opens through DosBox a black full screen for a couple seconds, then kicks me back to desktop. No error messages. No idea what's going on or what exactly (if anything) I can do in the DosBox configs to fix this, but it's low priority for me right now, so no worries. But if anyone's interested, the shortcut is the default created at installation ("C:\1 Games\Daggerfall\DosBox.exe" -conf dosbox.conf -conf DosBoxDaggerfall.conf -noconsole -c -exit), as are all the installed configs in the DF folder (DosBox.conf, DosBoxDaggerfall.conf, Z.CFG), and I'm on Win7 x64.

As for my original question, it doesn't seem obvious how DFSetup is superior to the GOG install for GOG users specifically (especially for me, since the GOG version actually works!), but as nobody seems to know whether DFU already includes/covers the additional unofficial fixes applied by DFSetup, I've switched to using it as my DFU base just in case.

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