Key points
- Floppy disk version re-released as a free download in 2004 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Elder Scrolls series.
- ArenaSetup is a pre-packaged installer for Windows, including the CD version of the game.
General information
- Official site
- Official forum
- The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages
- UESP forum
- GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
- GOG.com Support Page
Availability
Source |
DRM |
Notes |
Keys |
OS |
Retail |
|
Floppy version: requires manual to answer Shift Gate copy protection questions.[2] Use DOSBox. |
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Retail |
|
CD version: disc check. Use DOSBox. |
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Official website |
|
This is the CD version pre-packaged with DOSBox. |
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Official website |
|
The floppy disk version from the official site (without DOSBox). |
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- The GOG.com version is available by purchasing any other game on GOG.com published by Bethesda Softworks.
Version differences
- The CD version has voice acting during cutscenes, removes the Shift Gate copy protection questions,[2] and has a remastered ending. The two versions are otherwise identical.
- The Elder Scrolls Anthology includes the floppy version.[3]
Essential improvements
Patches
Patch 1.06 is the latest patch for the retail floppy version. The CD version and the freeware floppy version are already fully patched.
Run in DOSBox
- To play Arena properly under DOSBox, make the following changes to the DOSBox configuration file[4]):
- Change
core=auto
to core=dynamic
- Change
cycles=auto
to cycles=max
- Change
aspect=true
to aspect=false
- 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 the "cycles=" command to max will force the game to a framerate above 5 FPS (making the game playable), but animations will be heavily sped up, making some essential NPCs very hard to talk to, as they move too fast.
- The "aspect=" command, when set to true, will make the game unplayable by forcing the game's disintegration effect in menus to stop working. This is noticeable on lower end PCs.
Enhanced Music
When installing the game under DOSBox, the guide provided by Bethesda recommends Sound Blaster 16 (or 16 Pro) for the music and sound emulation. This will provide terrible sounding musical-quality. For increased musical quality, one must go through the installer and set the settings to equal:
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
- While improving musical fidelity, General Midi will make some parts of the ambient dungeon music sound awkward, as it changes few crucial instruments. The game will run indifferent, however.
Game data
Configuration file and save game data location
- Each save is comprised of multiple
*.0*
files, with the extension's number matching the slot it was saved to.[5]
-
NAMES.DAT
stores the save file names (saves can still be loaded without it).
- In-game settings are stored in each save rather than shared.
- No save game cloud syncing information; you can edit this page to add it.
Video settings
Template:Video settings
Input settings
Template:Input settings
Audio settings
Template:Audio settings
Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
|
|
|
Only cutscenes are voiced. |
French |
|
|
|
|
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
DOS video modes |
VGA |
|
Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
|
|
|
System requirements
DOS |
|
Minimum |
Operating system (OS) |
DOS 5.0 |
Processor (CPU) |
386/25 MHZ |
System memory (RAM) |
4 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
25 MB |
Video card (GPU) |
VGA graphics card |
References