Released: 1991
Published by: Mindscape / Electronic Arts
Developed by: Distinctive Software, Inc.
Author(s): Don Mattrick, Stanley Chow, Jay MacDonald, Chris Taylor, Rick Friesen, Brian Eheler, Gerard DeSouza, David Adams, Michael J. Sokyrka, Krisjan Hatlelid, Brian Plank.
MCGA/VGA Graphics
CGA Graphics
System Requirements
System Requirements
8088/8086 CPU. 640K RAM required. Recommend CPUs above 10 MHz as a minimum to ensure maximum frame rate.
Graphics support for CGA, EGA, MCGA, Tandy/PCjr and VGA graphics.
Audio support for PC speaker, Ad Lib, Sound Blaster, Tandy DAC, Tandy/PCjr or Roland MT-32.
Joystick optional.
Original Media
Version 1.0 comes on one 3.5" 720 KB (DD) floppy disk.
Version 2.0 comes on either four 5.25" 360 KB (DD) floppy disks, or two 3.5" 720 KB (DD) floppy disks.
Installed Size (MB)
669 KB
From where can it be run?
The game can run from floppy disk but is better to install it to your hard disk, especially if you have the 5.25" disks, since there are two of them. If you do so, only a single disk swap is needed (from Program disk to Data disk). Unfortunately, whilst the setup program does include an option to install to a hard disk, when selecting where to copy from, only actual floppy drives that are detected are allowed, not directories. This is only a problem if you're trying to install from, say, a temporary directory on your hard disk to a final "installed" directory.
Game Audio/Video
Intro
Roland MT-32 "Old"
Roland MT-32 "New"
Sound Blaster (emulated)
Sound Blaster (CT2770)
Ad Lib (emulated)
Tandy/PCjr Hall of Fame
Roland MT-32 "Old"
Roland MT-32 "New"
Sound Blaster (emulated)
Ad Lib (emulated) Tandy/PCjr
Game Introduction (video) SB audio
Andy's Recommendation
"This is one of the rare games where the original OPL2/3 Ad Lib/Sound Blaster audio in the Intro are, in my opinion, better - it's warmer and unfussy. The MT-32 intro uses harsh instruments that detract from the tune. In the Hall of Fame, the Ad Lib/SB track still resonates with me, as its the first version I heard it on, and it remains [again] warm and fluffy. By contrast, the MT-32 version is definitely sonically superior, but does it need it? For a game like this, I would recommend just going with the Ad Lib/Sound Blaster setup."
Copy Protection
The game has manual copy protection - when you go into "Exhibition" or "Main Event" and you've chosen your boxers (red and blue), it asks you for a specific word in the manual, given a page number, column, line number and word number.
Cracks do exist that bypass this check.
How to Setup
To configure the game for your hardware, run the provided setup.exe utility. When you run it, the program automatically detects the video display and sound card in your PC and selects those by default. You have the following options:
1) Main menu:
2) Video display options:
3) Select sound driver:
4) Install from and to which drives and directories:
There are two versions of this game, which as far as I can tell only change the music. To determine which version you have, run the game. If you see the Mindscape logo followed by "4D Sports(TM) Boxing", you have the Mindscape version. If, however, you see "Electronic Arts Sports Network Presents..." and then it reads "4D Boxing", then you have the Electronic Arts version.
Mindscape Version In this version, the setup utility's choices are stored, and you can then start the game simply by running 'FIGHT.COM'.
Electronic Arts Sports Network (EASN) Version
In version 2.0 of the game (the Electronic Arts version), I noticed that the above setup, after saving, didn't make any changes. The only way to select different graphics and music settings was to use direct command-line arguments when you run one of the main graphics executable files, as follows:
4DBCGA.EXE - play the game with CGA graphics
4DBEGA.EXE - play the game with EGA graphics
4DBMCGA.EXE - play the game with MCGA/VGA graphics
4DBTDY.EXE - play the game with Tandy/PCjr graphics
Then, for your chosen file, run it with these arguments:
4dbmcga.exe n mt15.drv d
I'm not sure what the "n" and "d" options do - it's not obvious. To choose the music type, change the driver that gets loaded above by replacing the 'mt15.drv' text in my example above with one of these:-
AD15.DRV - Ad Lib music
MT15.DRV - MT-32 music
PC15.DRV - PC speaker
SB15.DRV - Sound Blaster music
TD15.DRV - Tandy/PCJr music
To abort the setup/game startup and return to the command prompt, press ESC.
Choosing the Roland Sound option works with a game port MIDI cable connected between your Roland MT-32 and sound card's Game/MIDI port, so it does *not* require an "Intelligent" mode interface such as the MFC-IPC or equivalent. SoftMPU is also not required.
The game doesn't require any extended memory (XMS) or expanded memory (EMS) drivers to be loaded, and runs quite happily in DOS with just 532 KB of free conventional memory.
Problems
Symptom: The frame rate during the fight itself is very slow. Cause: You're probably running the game on an XT or 286 that has a low clock speed (10 MHz or lower). Resolution: Run the game on a faster computer, e.g. a 386 with 16 MHz clock speed or higher. Alternatively, you can decrease the rendering level which reduces the number of polygons that make up each character, and hence gives the CPU less to work on. Before the fight starts, go into "Controls" and where you see the icon with the 2 men, select it. Then choose either the leftmost icon to increase rendering, or the second icon to decrease it. You will see the image at the top of the screen change to show you what the boxers will look like at that rendering level.
Symptom: Roland MT-32 sound has some bad glitches. Cause: The game's music was composed using a Roland MT-32 "new" (one with a headphone jack on the rear) - you're trying to play the game using an MT-32 "old" (without the headphone jack). The differences between these versions is outlined here. Resolution: If you're using real hardware, you're pretty much out of luck. If emulating, you might be able to tweak your emulator to act like an MT-32 "new".
To Quit the Game
Press Ctrl-Q followed by "Y" to confirm at the "Exit to DOS?" prompt.
Supporting Documents
Here are the original documents that came with the game:
Save game files can be created in this game. These store your boxer's profile and achievements. To do so, go to the Gym from the main menu and choose "Export Boxer". You will be given a choice of either A: or B: (sorry, no hard disk option!). You can then later import a boxer using the "Import Boxer" option.
The actual save game files are rather obscure - save game data is written to files CONFIG1.DAT, CONFIG2.DAT, etc. These are not text-readable or editable.
4D Boxing Character Editor. A DOS utility you can use to edit all the boxers statistics.
Versions of the game known to exist
The game version can be seen by running Setup.exe. In the top bar the version of the game is shown. This is accurate. Loading the game and choosing "Options" from the main menu and then choosing "Ver #" is inaccurate - both versions below report their version as "1.0" despite being distinctively (mind the pun) different.
Version
Date
Comments
Box Art
1.0 (Mindscape version)
Jun 1991
First release. Intro shows the Mindscape logo followed by "4D Sports(TM) Boxing". Main menu music and Hall of Fame are completely different (and better IMHO). NumLock should be on and use the keypad to navigate. The separate arrow keys don't appear to work well for navigation.
2.0 (EASN version)
Feb 1992
Intro shows EASN logo followed by "4D Boxing". Different music and pupils added to boxers' eyes. Logo in middle of ring reads "New York" instead of the Mindscape logo. Separate arrow keys work well for navigation in this version.
Original Floppy Disk Contents
Disk 1 of 4 (5.25" 360 KB DS/DD)
"Program Disk"
(446602):
Directory of A:\
Disk 2 of 4 (5.25" 360 KB DS/DD)
"Data Disk"
(446606):
Directory of A:\
Disk 3 of 4 (5.25" 360 KB DS/DD)
"Data Disk"
(446612):
Directory of A:\
Disk 4 of 4 (5.25" 360 KB DS/DD)
"Data Disk"
(446616):
Directory of A:\
Version 1.0 of the game.
Disk 1 of 1 (3.5" 720 KB DS/DD):
4D Sports Boxing
MCGA/VGA Graphics
