Stargunner

Stargunner is a singleplayer side view and scrolling shooter game.

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

General information

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail
GOG.com		Pre-packaged with DOSBox.^[5]
Steam		Pre-packaged with DOSBox.^[6]
ZOOM Platform		Pre-packaged with DOSBox-staging.
Official website (unavailable)		Pre-packaged with DOSBox.

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Disable in Game Options^[7]

Go to Configuration.
Go to Game Options.
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)	<SteamLibrary-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)	<SteamLibrary-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.

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.
High dynamic range display (HDR)
Ray tracing (RT)

Input

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse sensitivity		Choice of Low, Medium, High, or Instant.
Mouse acceleration
Mouse input in menus
Keyboard and mouse prompts
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		Only choose the Joystick option (choosing Sega or SNES causes input problems).^[8]
Full controller support
Controller remapping		For DOSBox use the DOSBox Mapper (see the glossary page for other workarounds).
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers

DirectInput-compatible controllers

PlayStation controllers

Nintendo controllers

Other controller(s)

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

Audio

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]
Go to the installation folder. Delete `STARGUN.CFG`. 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	Intel Pentium 90 MHz
System memory (RAM)	8 MB	16 MB
Storage drive (HDD/SSD)	1.4 MB	44 MB
Video card (GPU)	Local Bus Video display card 256 KB of VRAM	PCI with fast DOS access 1 MB of VRAM
Sound (audio device)	Sound Blaster Gravis Ultrasound Pro Audio Spectrum
Other		4X CD-ROM

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP, Vista, 7, 8
Processor (CPU)	1 GHz	1.4 GHz
System memory (RAM)	512 MB	1 GB
Storage drive (HDD/SSD)	60 MB
Video card (GPU)	DirectX 7 compatible	DirectX 9 compatible

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	10.6.8
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GHz+
System memory (RAM)	1 GB
Storage drive (HDD/SSD)	80 MB
Video card (GPU)	64 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. 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).
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1
Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
- File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
- Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
- The app ID (358390) may differ in some cases.
- Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
- See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

References

↑ Stargunner - 3D Realms - Firepower Matters - last accessed on May 2023
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Free Release: Stargunner ● GOG.com
↑ GOG.com Now Supports Linux! ● GOG.com - last accessed on 2025-09-11
↑ 3D Realms Site: Stargunner - last accessed on May 2023
↑ List of GOG games using DOSBox, page 1 - Forum - GOG.com - last accessed on May 2023
↑ Stargunner · AppID: 358390 · Steam Database - last accessed on 9 June 2023
↑ Verified by User:Garrett on March 28, 2013
↑ ^8.0 ^8.1 ^8.2 ^8.3 ^8.4 ^8.5 ^8.6 ^8.7 Verified by User:Garrett on 31 August 2021
↑ 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"

[DOSBox_mounted-9] 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).

[Proton_path_note-10] 2.0 ^2.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
The app ID (358390) may differ in some cases.
Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

[3] File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.

[4] Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.

[5] The app ID (358390) may differ in some cases.

[6] Treat backslashes as forward slashes.

[7] See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

[1] Stargunner - 3D Realms - Firepower Matters - last accessed on May 2023

[GOG.com-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Free Release: Stargunner ● GOG.com

[3] GOG.com Now Supports Linux! ● GOG.com - last accessed on 2025-09-11

[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

[refcheck_Garrett-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

[11] 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"

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[Note 1]

[Note 2]

[9]

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