Using Windows 10 and DOSBox isn't as flexible as running under Wine on Linux, where each window was a X window of appropriate size, but I think I can get most of what I need now as opposed to later when I get a new Linux workstation up and running. And below I add in a step-by-step procedure to get Stars! running under Windows 10.

I don't think I can improve on the resolution, as that's tied up inside DOSBox machine emulation. (And who knows what Windows 3.11 would do?) But I do have command line arguments working.

As for tools, I checked a couple. Stars Calculator 3.06 just works in Windows 10 directly, although its help file is only accessable under earlier Windows with the appropriate Winhlp32.exe (same as the Stars! help file). Stars Notebook needs to run under Windows 3.11.

Here's how I did it. Adjust the locations as you need to.

0. I install most manual installs and special games under C:\Prog\. I also have C:\Prog\bin\ in the PATH environmental variable.

1. Download DOSBox 0.74 for Windows from https://www.dosbox.com/ . I installed it in C:\Prog\DB\.

2. Goto the wiki article here http://wiki.starsautohost.org/wiki/Stars_vs_OS and download DOSBoxStars.rar. I installed it in C:\Prog\Stars.DB\

The .rar's only contents is DOSBoxC, the directory containing the Windows 3.11 Windows directory and a Stars directory, with just a Stars.exe. It also contains the dosbox.conf, DOSBox's configuration file.

4. Move dosbox.conf from C:\Prog\Stars.DB\DOSBoxC\ to C:\Prog\Stars.DB\ and edit its [autoexec] section to contain:

[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
mount C C:\Prog\Stars.DB\DOSBoxC\
set PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\STARS;C:\NOTEBOOK
mount D .
D:

The trick I use to have Stars! and other Win311 programs access files outside of its mapped C drive is to map a D drive on the current working directory from the Windows 10 file system and use a Windows 10 command window running the batch files I list below.

5. Replace the contents of C:\Prog\Stars.DB\DOSBoxC\Stars with a complete set of Stars program files. Here's what I have (Stars.exe is 2.6JRC4 with the player colours changed back in 2013):

C:\Users\mark\Prog\Stars\Stars>dir
 Volume in drive C is OS
 Volume Serial Number is EC87-0D61

 Directory of C:\Users\mark\Prog\Stars\Stars

2016-08-26  12:26    <DIR>          .
2016-08-26  12:26    <DIR>          ..
2004-08-03  23:00           256,192 help.exe
1998-04-27  22:12             1,104 helpread.txt
1995-04-17  03:19            99,856 hyprfind.dll
1998-04-04  23:37         1,631,550 Stars!.hlp
2009-05-27  00:00         3,344,384 stars.exe
1998-04-04  23:37         1,631,550 stars.hlp
2000-04-26  14:25         4,218,116 stars26jrc3.exe
2009-03-16  11:48         3,344,384 stars26jrc4.altcolour.exe
2000-12-19  16:06         3,344,384 stars26jrc4.exe
2009-05-27  00:00         3,344,384 stars26jrc4.mycolour.exe
2000-04-26  14:09         3,153,152 stars27jrc3.exe
2003-09-23  13:08           209,608 tabctl32.ocx
              12 File(s)     24,578,664 bytes
               2 Dir(s)   9,832,062,976 bytes free

6. I add in two tools. Starcal v3.06 and Stars Notebook v2.xf, in two directories under C:\Prog\Stars.DB\DOSBoxC\, Starcal and Notebook. Starcal I can run in Windows 10. Notebook I use Windows 3.11 to run.

7. Create 2 batch files to run programs in the Windows 3.11 environment and put them in C:\Prog\bin\ (as they will be run from a Windows 10 command window):

stars.bat

@echo off
start /b C:\Prog\DB\DOSBox.exe -noconsole -conf "C:\Prog\Stars.DB\dosbox.conf" -c "win /n stars %* -x" -c "exit"

starsnb.bat

@echo off
start /b C:\Prog\DB\DOSBox.exe -noconsole -conf "C:\Prog\Stars.DB\dosbox.conf" -c &q