Shattered Steel

Shattered Steel is a singleplayer and multiplayer first-person action, shooter and TPS game.

General information

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		Use DOSBox for DOS version.
Epic Games Store
GOG.com		Pre-packaged with DOSBox.^[3]
Steam

A free demo version is available from Archive.org.

Monetization

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Expansion Pack	Freeware, available here. Included in GOG.com version.

Essential improvements

Run in DOSBox

To improve DOSBox performance make the following changes to the DOSBox configuration file:

Change core=dynamic to core=normal (if not already)
Change cputype=auto to cputype=486_slow
Change memsize=16 to memsize=31
Change mpu401=intelligent to mpu401=none

DOS/32A

DOS/32A is a more advanced extender and open source replacement to DOS4GW. It can improve both performance and stability of Shattered Steel greatly.

To make SS8MEG.BAT compatible with DOS32A, replace the line set DOS4GVM=MAXMEM#16000000 with SET DOS32A=/EXTMEM:16000000.

Skip intro videos

Delete/rename video files^{[citation needed]}

Go to MOVIES in the installation folder.
Delete or rename FILM7.MVE and INTRO.MVE.

Notes

The Interplay, BioWare and Shattered Steel screens will still be shown.

Patches

Patch 1.12 updates the retail version to the latest version. The GOG.com version already has this patch.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
DOS	<path-to-game>\OPTIONS.CFG
Windows	<path-to-game> (mounted in DOSBox)^{[Note 1]}
Mac OS (Classic)
macOS (OS X)	<path-to-game> (mounted in DOSBox)^{[Note 1]}
Linux	<path-to-game> (mounted in DOSBox)^{[Note 1]}

It's unknown whether this game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux. Please fill in this information.

Save game data location

System	Location
DOS	<path-to-game>\PLAYER.CFG
Windows	<path-to-game> (mounted in DOSBox)^{[Note 1]}
Mac OS (Classic)
macOS (OS X)	<path-to-game> (mounted in DOSBox)^{[Note 1]}
Linux	<path-to-game> (mounted in DOSBox)^{[Note 1]}

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Epic Games Launcher
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video

General settings.

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution		640x480 max.
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)		For DOSBox use an unofficial build (see the glossary page for other workarounds).
60 FPS
120+ FPS

Can be forced to run in 320x200 mode with the parameter -no640. Movies can also be forced to run in "windowed mode" with the parameter -window.

Input

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping		Select a different controller type then switch back to your original to reset it's bindings to their default values.
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity		For DOSBox set in the DOSBox configuration file.
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
Controller remapping
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Audio

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Sound FX and Music.
Surround sound
Subtitles		Cockpit/mission voice commands are not subtitled.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost		For DOSBox change the `priority` background value in the DOSBox configuration file.
Royalty free audio
Red Book CD audio		Redbook audio initialization can be skipped with `-nocd` parameter. Note does not disable CD check.

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Brazilian Portuguese				Retail only - MagnaHome.

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play		16	Versus, Co-op
Online play		For DOSBox use DOSBox IPX/modem emulation.

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

Issues fixed

Mech won't stop turning

Change joystick timing setting^{[citation needed]}
Edit the DOSBox configuration file; for the GOG.com version this is `dosboxShatteredSteel.conf`. Change `timed=true` to `timed=false` (if it is already set to this, try `timed=true` instead). Save your changes and run the game again. If problems persist ensure the in-game axis handling (Incremental or Absolute) matches the real axis.

SOUNDSET.EXE says it can't find the setup file (GOG.com)

Create a setup.ini^[4]

Create a setup.ini file in the game installation folder and paste this text into it and save it:

[PROGRAM] 
Title = HMI Sound Operating System Setup Utility 
Copyright = (C) Copyright 1995 - Human Machine Interfaces Inc. - All Rights Reserved 
ConfigFile = hmiset.cfg 
DigitalTest = test.wav 
MIDITest = test.hmi 
MIDIMelodic = melo-ss.bnk 
MIDIDrum = drum-ss.bnk 
Stereo = Yes 
16Bit = Yes 
EnableSCSI = Yes 

[SYSTEM] 
Devices = 1 
DigitalPFX = DIGITAL 
MIDIPFX = MIDI 

# < ID String > = < name >, < ID >, < Port >, < IRQ >, < DMA >, < MIDI Index > 
[DIGITAL] 
Device000 = No Digital Device , -1 , 0 , 0, 0, 0, No, No 
Device001 = Sound Blaster , 0xe000, 0x220, 5, 1, 1, No, No 
Device002 = Sound Blaster Pro , 0xe001, 0x220, 5, 1, 1, No, No 
Device003 = Sound Blaster 16/AWE32 , 0xe015, 0x220, 5, 1, 1, Yes, Yes 
Device004 = Ensoniq SoundScape , 0xe01d, 0x330, -1, 1, 1, Yes, Yes 
Device005 = Microsoft Sound System , 0xe00b, 0x530, -1, 1, 1, Yes, Yes 
Device006 = Pro Audio Spectrum 16 , 0xe003, 0x388, 7, 1, 1, Yes, Yes 
Device007 = Gravis UltraSound , 0xe023, 0x220, 11, 1, 1, Yes, Yes 
Device008 = Gravis UltraSound Max , 0xe027, 0x220, 11, 1, 1, Yes, Yes 
Device009 = ESS AudioDrive , 0xe019, 0x220, 7, 1, 1, No, No 
Device010 = Roland RAP-10 , 0xe021, 0x330, 9, 5, 1, No, No 
Device011 = Toptek Golden 16 , 0xe00b, 0x220, 7, 1, 1, Yes, Yes 
Device012 = Thunderboard , 0xe000, 0x220, 7, 1, 1, No, No 
Device013 = Adlib Gold , 0xe009, 0x388, -1, 1, 1, Yes, Yes 
Device014 = NewMedia .WAVJammer , 0xe02b, -1, -1, -1, 1, Yes, Yes 
Device015 = I/O Magic Tempo , 0xe02f, 0x38c, 11, -1, 1, Yes, Yes 
Device016 = ARIA Chipset , 0xe000, 0x220, 7, 1, 1, No, No 
Device017 = Sound Galaxy NX Pro 16 , 0xe000, 0x220, 7, 1, 1, Yes, Yes 
Device018 = Reveal FX/32 , 0xe01d, 0x330, -1, 1, 1, Yes, Yes 

[DETECTION] 
DeviceOrder = 6, 7, 4, 5, 3, 2, 1, 7, 9, 10, 14, 15 

# < name >, < ID >, < MIDI Type > 
[MIDI] 
Device000 = No MIDI Device , -1 , 0 
Device001 = MPU-401 , 0xa001, 0 
Device002 = Roland Sound Canvas , 0xa001, 0 
Device003 = General MIDI , 0xa001, 0 
Device004 = Sound Blaster , 0xa002, 1 
Device005 = Sound Blaster Pro , 0xa002, 1 
Device006 = Sound Blaster 16 , 0xa009, 0 
Device007 = Sound Blaster AWE32 , 0xa008, 0 
Device008 = Ensoniq SoundScape , 0xa001, 0 
Device009 = Microsoft Sound System , 0xa009, 0 
Device010 = Pro Audio Spectrum 16 , 0xa009, 0 
Device011 = Gravis UltraSound , 0xa00a, 0 
Device012 = Gravis UltraSound Max , 0xa00a, 0 
Device013 = ESS AudioDrive , 0xa002, 0 
Device014 = Roland RAP-10 , 0xa001, 0 

# < Default >, < Port >, .... 
[MIDISETTINGS] 
Device000 = 1, -1 
Device001 = 4, 0x300, 0x310, 0x320, 0x330, 0x340, 0x350 
Device002 = 4, 0x300, 0x310, 0x320, 0x330, 0x340, 0x350 
Device003 = 4, 0x300, 0x310, 0x320, 0x330, 0x340, 0x350 
Device004 = 1, 0x388 
Device005 = 1, 0x388 
Device006 = 1, 0x388 
Device007 = 1, 0x620, 0x640, 0x660, 0x680 
Device008 = 4, 0x300, 0x310, 0x320, 0x330, 0x340 
Device009 = 1, 0x388 
Device010 = 1, 0x388 
Device011 = 1, 0x220 
Device012 = 1, 0x220 
Device013 = 1, 0x388 
Device014 = 4, 0x300, 0x310, 0x320, 0x330, 0x340

"World1.pol not found" error

This issues commonly occurs if you installed the game on an older version of Windows without restarting in MS-DOS mode then attempt to run the game from DOS there after.^[5]

Edit file DIR.FLT^[citation needed]
Change the various paths and drive letters to Shattered Steel's install location ensuring they're 8.3 name compatible. You could also replace them with `.\` though this requires having the game's directory be the current active one.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
DOS video modes	VGA, SVGA

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	Human Machine Interface (HMI) audio drivers

System requirements

DOS
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	5.0
Processor (CPU)	486 @ 66 MHz	Intel Pentium
System memory (RAM)	8 MB	16 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	25 MB
Video card (GPU)	VGA	SVGA

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10
Processor (CPU)	1.0 GHz	1.4 GHz
System memory (RAM)	512 MB	1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	1 GB
Video card (GPU)	DirectX 7 compatible	DirectX 9 compatible

Mac OS
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	7.5.3	9.2.2
Processor (CPU)	PowerPC 601
System memory (RAM)	16 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)
Other	2x CD-ROM drive

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	10.6.8	10.13
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core Duo 2.0 GHz	Intel Core i3
System memory (RAM)	1 GB	4 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	1 GB
Video card (GPU)	Intel UHD Graphics 630 64 MB of VRAM	AMD Radeon Pro 555X

Linux
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	Ubuntu 16.04
Processor (CPU)	2.0 GHz
System memory (RAM)	1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	1 GB
Video card (GPU)	OpenGL compatible 256 MB of VRAM

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 File/folder structure within the installation folder reflects the path(s) listed for DOS game data.

References

↑ Big robots with big guns at GOG.com ● GOG.com
↑ GOG.com adds Interplay games for Mac OS X ● GOG.com
↑ List of GOG games using DOSBox, page 1 - Forum - GOG.com - last accessed on May 2023
↑ gog.com - last accessed on May 2023
↑ http://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=24730

[DOSBox_mounted-4] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 File/folder structure within the installation folder reflects the path(s) listed for DOS game data.

[1] Big robots with big guns at GOG.com ● GOG.com

[2] GOG.com adds Interplay games for Mac OS X ● GOG.com

[3] List of GOG games using DOSBox, page 1 - Forum - GOG.com - last accessed on May 2023

[5] .com - last accessed on May 2023

[6] ttp://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=24730

[1]

[2]

[3]

[Note 1]

[4]

[5]

Developers

	BioWare
Additional Development	Pyrotek Game Studios
Mac OS (Classic)	Logicware
Publishers
	Interplay Entertainment
Release dates
DOS	September 27, 1996
Mac OS (Classic)	December 1997
Windows (DOSBox)	July 29, 2008^[1]
macOS (OS X) (DOSBox)	October 26, 2012^[2]
Linux (DOSBox)	September 26, 2021
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Action, Shooter, TPS
Vehicles	Robot
Themes	Sci-fi