Overview
How to install and play ADOM on the go. It will be using the DOS port of ADOM, which has a couple limitations but ultimately has the same content. Keep in mind this is using the free version of ADOM, which means there are no deluxe features like exploration mode or challenges/achievements, just purely ‘g’enerating a character and playing from the start.The controls are much better than I expected, and ADOM is very playable on mobile, surprisingly.
Downloads
- Magic DOSbox Free:
[link]Magic DOSbox is a DOS emulator that is tuned specifically for gaming. You do not need to path to ADOM.exe’s location as it does this for you whenever you lauch it following this guide.
- Perfect keyboard:
[link]Perfect Keyboard gives players the ability to use the keypad and keyboard at the same time, as well as the arrow keys. This is customizable as well. With the pro version you can put certain symbols on the first keyboard to make it easier to play ADOM like you would on a computer.
and finally…
- ADOM:
[link](Download the MS DOS version to your Android device) The game itself, in its DOS port.
How to get ADOM and run it
- First thing to do, go to “My Files” and locate the file called adom_msdos_r60_pub.zip in your download history. (or if you’re reading this in the future when the game gets updated, the version might be a little different)
- Tap it to extract, and the “My Files” app should automatically bring you to the location of where you extracted it. If you go to the parent directory, (for me it’s the Downloads folder, as shown in the second picture) you should see a folder called adom_msdos_r60_pub.
Ignore the Zootopia crap, I already know how much of a ♥♥♥♥♥ I am - Open up Magic DOSBox Free and tap the plus on the left hand side, then hit “New game”.
- A window will pop up like the one pictured below.
Under title, write ADOM. To change the picture just tap on the default picture next to the title. If you want the image I’m using specifically, you can save this one: - Scroll to the bottom where you see the words “Main Program”. Under it hit the Choose button and select ADOM.EXE from whatever folder you have it in (mine is called adomDOS, but yours will be adom_msdos_r60_pub)
You can tweak some settings here before you hit the check mark, but I’m not fluent enough with DOS to be able to tell you what they do. I tried a couple things, but it didn’t ultimately change much from what I could observe.
- Hit the check mark and it should appear under “Games” in DOSBox. If you tap and hold on the icon, you will get a pop up window where you can edit it, delete it, export it, or more helpfully add to your home screen.
There you have it! The game should work fine. BE AWARE THIS IS THE FREE VERSION OF THE GAME. The only downside of playing regular permadeath mode on the free version is that you are randomly assigned a star sign rather than getting to choose. The next section will tell you how to change the keyboard so that playing ADOM on your phone isn’t a massive pain.
How to optimize keyboard for playing ADOM
Ok, so you’ve got the game working and all, but there’s a couple problems, you…
- Do not have access to the keypad or arrow keys.
- Do not have access to a mouse.
- Find the keyboard is overlapping the game in landscape mode.
This is where Perfect Keyboard Free comes into play. Perfect Keyboard gives you access to custom keybinds, arrow keys, and keypad. This section will cover how to fix those problems.
- Open up Perfect Keyboard Free (I have the Pro version in the picture) and you should find yourself on their (horribly) designed menu. It might look better on tablets, I wouldn’t know.
- Tap the top button that says “Enable Perfect Keyboard”. It will bring you to the “Language and input” settings. And then tap on Default keyboard.
- Tapping on Default keyboard will bring up a window, on that window, tap “Set up input methods” if Perfect Keyboard is not displayed under “Select Keyboard”. On the next screen it brings you to, enable Perfect Keyboard Free as shown in the picture below. (Again, I have the Pro version in the image)
- Press the back arrow in the top left, and then tap on Default keyboard again. The same window should pop up, but with the option to select Perfect Keyboard. Select it and the window should close.
- You’re almost done with the keyboard part, you just need to go into Perfect Keyboard’s settings and edit a few things. Tap on Perfect Keyboard in the “Language and input” settings.
- First thing to do is tap on “Word suggestion settings” and uncheck every box. DOSBOX WILL NOT RECOGNIZE YOUR INPUTS IF YOU DO NOT DO THIS.
- Next, go back and then tap on “Layout”. I reccommend turning “Show settings key” to “Always show” so you don’t have to go back to your settings app if you want to tweak some things about the keyboard.
Tap on “Landscape layout” and set it to Split. This will put the number pad in the middle of the keyboard when you are holding your phone/tablet sideways.
NOTE: If you prefer to play it in vertical/portait mode for some reason, (It’s harder imo) you can set “Portrait layout” to split and stop reading this guide.
You’ve got the basic keyboard set up now! If you like using the arrow keys as opposed to the keypad for some reason, you can tap and hold on the spacebar and drag up. This will display arrow keys. The last section of this guide will fix the screen resolution so the keyboard doesn’t overlap the game as shown in the picture below.
Fixing resolution to fit keyboard
So when you run ADOM, you should get to a title screen that looks like this:
Seems good, right? Well try putting a keyboard over that:
And now it looks like garbage. This part will tell you how to fix that.
- First things first, to enable the keyboard in DOSBox, press your Android device’s Back button once you’re running ADOM. A menu should pop up like the picture show below. (Hold your phone horizontally obviously) Tap on the left keyboard button to bring up the keyboard. It will most likely look like the picture above.
- Tap the back button to hide the keyboard and again to open up the DOSBox menu a second time.
Tap on the “Adjust screen” button, and you will be brought to the screen resolution editor. By default, the resolution settings should be as pictured below.
- Tap the arrow to the right of “Aspect mode” twice until you’re in “custom” resolution. Here, adjust the width and height to fit Perfect Keyboard as you see fit to your phone. (To navigate between width and height tap the tiny green arrow next to the %) For my Galaxy S6 Edge+, I set the width to 111% and height to 57%. This is pictured below.
- When you’re satisfied, tap the check mark. Activate the keyboard to see if you’re happy with the resolution and adjust it until you are. Tap the Save icon in the bottom left to save your settings.
You’re done! ADOM should be operational and playable in landscape mode. Post your resolution for your particular device to help others! Here are some pictures of the game from my phone:
