ao486_MiSTer VS dosbox-x

How about a 486 instead? :)

https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/ao486_MiSTer

Have you checked all the details in https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/ao486_MiSTer ?

You mention "Pentium MMX CPU" a few times in your post, but fail to mention any FPGA solution that can emulate a machine of that class. MiSTer can't do that, the best it can do is a 486 (not just missing MMX, doesn't even have an FPU).

It has already happened: https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/ao486_MiSTer

The last processor generation it worked on is the 486, but on a Pentium or newer it always fails with a “Debugging is not allowed” message.

I guessed the reason for that correctly - prefetch queue. Mentions of CUP386 in the comments also brought back more memories of the cracking scene in the late 80s/early 90s. There's some very interesting discussion on SMC vs CPU behaviour here --- in the context of an open-source 486-level SoC core:

https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/ao486_MiSTer/issues/33

https://github.com/joncampbell123/dosbox-x

em-dosbox: https://github.com/dreamlayers/em-dosbox

Does dosbox [in WASM] support SBEMU?

There's a note about fpemu= and 80 bit precision for dosbox emulation.

docker-dosbox: https://github.com/schneidexe/docker-dosbox/blob/main/Docker...

Windows 98 apparently runs fine in dosbox (dosbox-x?). My dosbox install is locked on Win 3.11, since that's a better compatibility sweet spot for me.

Anyway, that should provide much higher-fidelity emulation than Wine, and is also easier to keep off the network, etc. Also, I guess it runs on Arm processors these days (since it's an emulator, and not a hypervisor):

https://github.com/joncampbell123/dosbox-x

Wine is generally more convenient if it works though.

I quoted from the README: https://github.com/joncampbell123/dosbox-x/

2: Download and run DOSBox-X (Github Link). The version I use is 0.84.3. Unzip the file, enter the dosbox-x folder (not sdl2), and drag and drop the program to applications. When you first attempt to run the application, an error will say "dosbox-x can't be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software". To bypass this, go to the apple logo on the top left of the screen> System Preferences> Security and Privacy> General> Open Anyway> Open. It will prompt you to select a folder where it will run the emulation. Select the folder that you created in step 1. Once you are done, close the app.

take into account that's a PC98 game and not MSDOS one, is not the same, try to look some tutorials about it (I don't really know much about it), but you need to start in pc98 mode first some links: https://github.com/joncampbell123/dosbox-x/issues/1504 https://dosbox-x.com/wiki/Guide%3APC%E2%80%9098-emulation-in-DOSBox%E2%80%90X

DOSBox-X from GitHub or dosbox-x.com