Running the original, non-enhanced version

Overview

A quick guide on how to run the non-“enhanced” version of Wasteland, circumventing inXile’s custom Dosbox launcher.

TL;DR version

Copy all files from “romdata” into “rom”, then run wl.exe. The end.

Lengthy introduction

As outlined in the summary, the mini-guide explains how to run the game without any modifications that inXile has put into it, in its original form in which it was shipped.
You are expected to know why you’re doing this (because it’s quite meaningless in most cases), and how to run DOS games on your computer.
Some somewhat meaningful reasons why you need this might include:

• You’re experiencing some problems with the custom Dosbox version that inXile has shipped.
• You’re running Steam on an old 80286 machine that doesn’t work very well with the “enhanced” edition.
• You want to use your own Dosbox build with it.
• You like rummaging through a printed copy of the paragraph book.
• Because you like the vanilla flavor everywhere, and not only in your ice cream. Dunno.

If you just want to disable the enhanced visuals, voiceovers and music, just disable them in the game’s configuration menu for that. Even if you have no interest in them, it will still likely be a better idea to use the supported way to run the game. To summon the menu, press “S” after the intro splash screens and follow the on-screen directions.

Lengthy step-by-step instructions

1. Right click the game in your Steam library, choose “Properties”, then “Local files”, then “Browse local files”. A file navigator will open with the contents of the game files.
2. Make a copy of the “rom” directory. For instance, call it “wl_orig”.
3. Enter the copied directory and move all the files from the subdirectory called “data” into it. That will empty “data”. (You can remove it afterwards.)
4. At this point, “wl_orig” has become a separate copy of the game that can be launched directly on a DOS computer, or with your own external installation of Dosbox.
   • For more information on how to run the game in Dosbox, refer to the official Dosbox[www.dosbox.com] website, as well as its wiki[www.dosbox.com] pages.
   • Just as an example, when you install Dosbox, you should do something similar to the following to run the game:
     Z:> MOUNT C <path_to_the_game_directory> Z:> C: C:> WL.EXE