688 Attack Sub

688 Attack Sub

Developers
	Electronic Arts
Release dates
DOS	1989
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Genres	Simulation, Vehicle combat
Vehicles	Naval/watercraft
Art styles	Realistic

688 Attack Sub is a singleplayer and multiplayer simulation and vehicle combat game.

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

The game does not provide a means to save its configuration. The game will present the video and audio options each time the game is started.

However, there is a way to start the game directly with preferred options. For instance, to start the game with VGA (option 4) and Adlib (option 1), the game can be started with those numbers used as command line arguments like so: 688.BAT 41

Save game data location

System	Location
DOS

Video

Video and Audio selection

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed		For DOSBox toggle with Alt+↵ Enter (see the glossary page for other workarounds).
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS		Depends on video mode
120+ FPS

Input

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping		For DOSBox use the DOSBox Mapper (see the glossary page for other workarounds).
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity		For DOSBox set in the DOSBox configuration file.
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		For DOSBox use the DOSBox Mapper (see the glossary page for other workarounds).

Controller types

Audio

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost		For DOSBox change the priority background value in the DOSBox configuration file.
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
Local play
LAN play		2	Using serial modem or null-modem
Online play		For DOSBox use DOSBox IPX/modem emulation.

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Peer-to-peer		Using serial modem or null-modem
Self-hosting		Using serial modem or null-modem

Setting up multiplayer

The game has options for two-player gaming using either a serial null-modem, or a regular serial modem. To use the null-modem option, a non-standard null-modem cable is required, that is documented in the games manual.

The modem option does not appear to work in every version of the game. Additional clarity is needed, but some versions will disconnect immediately once a connection has been established.

Use DOSBox-X[citation needed]

Select game to play For Server, select AUTO-ANSWER For Client, select ORIGINATE Waiting for client to connect When run in DOSBox-X, it is possible to use the serial modem emulation to setup a two-player game. While DOSBox-X also supports null-modem emulation, it is incompatible with the cable type required by the game. The below emulation option, emulates a modem over a Ethernet connection. It is essential that both machines can reach each other and that there is no firewall blocking communications. For instance the port (12345 in the example below), must not be blocked by the local firewall installed on the computer running the server config. It is necessary to setup and start one game in "server" mode and the other in "client" mode. On the "Mission Selection" screen, both players must select the same mission to play, and one player needs to select blue and the other red. Only missions with a lightning symbol next to them are supported for multi-player. On the "Configuration Panel" screen, both players must ensure that "MODEM ON COM1:" is selected. Then the player with the Server config must select "AUTO-ANSWER" and wait for the client to connect. The player with the client config must ensure that the "SET TELEPHONE NUMBER" is set to "1", and click "ORIGINATE" Server Setup - DOSBox-X config The person who will run in server mode needs to configure their DOSBox-X with the following settings: [dosbox] title=688 Attack Sub - Server [cpu] core=normal [serial] serial1 = modem listenport:12345 rxdelay:50 [autoexec] mount c . c: loadfix /a 688.bat Client Setup - DOSBox-X config The person who will run in client mode needs to configure their DOSBox-X with the following settings: [dosbox] title=688 Attack Sub - Client [cpu] core=normal [serial] serial1 = modem rxdelay:50 phonebookfile = phonebook.txt [autoexec] mount c . c: loadfix /a 688.bat Client Setup - phonebook file Create a file named phonebook.txt with the following content: 1 localhost:12345 Replace "localhost" in the above phonebook file example with the IP address or hostname of the player running the server config.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
DOS video modes	Hercules, CGA, Tandy, EGA, MCGA, VGA

Middleware

No middleware information; you can edit this page to add it.

Issues fixed

Packed file is corrupt

Run LOADFIX before running the game again (included with DOS 5.0 and later, and is also included with DOSBox)[citation needed]

System requirements

DOS
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	2.0	5.0
Processor (CPU)	8086/8088
System memory (RAM)	384	640
Hard disk drive (HDD)
Video card (GPU)	CGA / Hercules	Tandy, EGA, MCGA, VGA

Needs DOS 5.0 for CD-ROM release