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Stargunner

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Stargunner
Stargunner cover
Developers
Apogee Software
Release dates
DOS November 19, 1996[1]
Windows (DOSBox) September 13, 2013[2]
macOS (OS X) (DOSBox) September 13, 2013[2]
Linux (DOSBox) July 24, 2014[3]
Taxonomy
Monetization Freeware
Modes Singleplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives Side view, Scrolling
Controls Direct control
Genres Shooter
Vehicles Space flight
Themes Sci-fi, Space
Stargunner on HowLongToBeat
Stargunner on MobyGames
Stargunner on Wikipedia

Stargunner is a singleplayer side view and scrolling shooter game.

Re-released as freeware on June 22, 2005.[4]

General information

3D Realms Site: Stargunner
GOG.com Community Discussions
GOG.com Support Page
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
DRM details are not known
DOS
GOG.com
DRM-free
Pre-packaged with DOSBox.[5]
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Steam
Icon overlay.png
Pre-packaged with DOSBox.[6]
Windows
macOS (OS X)
ZOOM Platform
DRM-free
Pre-packaged with DOSBox.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Official website (unavailable)
DRM-free
Pre-packaged with DOSBox.
Windows

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Disable in Game Options[7]
  1. Go to Configuration.
  2. Go to Game Options.
  3. Set Cinematics to In-Game Only.

Notes

The Apogee logo will still be shown.

Run in DOSBox

Change DOSBox configuration settings[8]

To run correctly in DOSBox, change cycles=auto to cycles=30000. Leave all other DOSBox settings at their defaults.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
DOS <path-to-game>\STARGUN.CFG
Windows <path-to-game> (mounted in DOSBox)[Note 1]
macOS (OS X) <path-to-game> (mounted in DOSBox)[Note 1]
Linux <path-to-game> (mounted in DOSBox)[Note 1]
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/358390/pfx/[Note 2]
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>\STARGUN.SAV
<path-to-game>\STARGUN.HI
Windows <path-to-game> (mounted in DOSBox)[Note 1]
macOS (OS X) <path-to-game> (mounted in DOSBox)[Note 1]
Linux <path-to-game> (mounted in DOSBox)[Note 1]
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/358390/pfx/[Note 2]
STARGUN.HI stores high scores.

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video

General settings.
General settings.

Graphics feature State Notes
Widescreen resolution
320x240 only.
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
Set in-game Refresh Rate option to Fast or Disabled.
120+ FPS
Capped at 70 FPS.

Input

Audio

Audio settings.
Audio settings.

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Music and Sound FX.
Surround sound
Subtitles
Voices have no subtitles (cutscenes use text).
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
Although the disc contains CD audio tracks, the game itself uses a tracker format.

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English

Issues fixed

Can't use menu items/cursor moves on its own

This is caused by saving your settings after choosing the Sega or SNES control option or choosing the Joystick control option and then restarting the game without it connected.[8]
Delete STARGUN.CFG[8]
  1. Go to the installation folder.
  2. Delete STARGUN.CFG.
  3. Start the game again. If you are using any type of controller, choose the Joystick option.

Cutscenes run too slow (DOSBox)

Change DOSBox settings[8]

Ensure you are using cycles=30000 (see Run in DOSBox) and Refresh Rate is set to Fast in-game.[8]

Game speed problems (runs too fast, randomly slows down or speeds up) (DOSBox)

Change DOSBox settings[8]

Ensure you are using cycles=30000 (see Run in DOSBox).[8]

Aquatic Combat Stage 6 boss issues

The v1.1 Patch fixes some issues but introduces a game-breaking issue with the Aquatic Combat Stage 6 boss.
Play unpatched version[9]

Play an earlier version of the game (version 1.0b or earlier) to avoid this issue.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
DOS video modes SVGA (VESA)

System requirements

DOS
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) MS-DOS 5.0
Processor (CPU) 486/66 MHz
System memory (RAM) 8 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 1.4 MB
Video card (GPU) Local Bus Video display card
256 KB of VRAM
Sound (audio device) Sound Blaster
Gravis Ultrasound
Pro Audio Spectrum
Other
Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) XP, Vista, 7, 8
Processor (CPU) 1 GHz
System memory (RAM) 512 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 60 MB
Video card (GPU) DirectX 7 compatible
macOS (OS X)
Minimum
Operating system (OS) 10.6.8
Processor (CPU) Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GHz+
System memory (RAM) 1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 80 MB
Video card (GPU) 64 MB of VRAM


Notes

  1. 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. For the GOG.com release, file changes in DOSBox are redirected to <path-to-game>/cloud_saves/ even if GOG Galaxy is not used (this folder contains all redirected files, so some files in the cloud_saves folder might be temporary files or other files that do not contain saves or settings).
  2. 2.0 2.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/358390/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (358390) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References

  1. Stargunner - 3D Realms - Firepower Matters - last accessed on May 2023
  2. 2.0 2.1 Free Release: Stargunner ● GOG.com
  3. GOG.com Now Supports Linux! ● GOG.com
  4. 3D Realms Site: Stargunner - last accessed on May 2023
  5. List of GOG games using DOSBox, page 1 - Forum - GOG.com - last accessed on May 2023
  6. Stargunner · AppID: 358390 · Steam Database - last accessed on 9 June 2023
  7. Verified by User:Garrett on March 28, 2013
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 Verified by User:Garrett on 31 August 2021
  9. Free Release: Stargunner, page 7 - Forum - GOG.com - last accessed on 31 August 2021
    "We usually do [use the latest patch] but this one breaks the game at the aquatic combat mission 6 boss"