RPGs on Vista?

[Slylandro]

I'm going to buy a new computer in a month or two and it's probably going to have Vista on it. Are there any games, especially RPGs that don't work on Vista that I should be aware of? I'm not too worried about recent games (2000+), but mainly old games (90s-era) since they're less likely to have a fan community willing to patch them or recommend workarounds.

So, in short, any good 1990s-era games that work under Windows XP but not under Vista? How is everyone else coping with this problem? Presumably it'll only get worse once Microsoft releases Blackcomb. I don't suppose you just keep your Windows XP PC around?

For those with VMWare Workstation and have Windows XP as a guest, how successful is virtualization in overcoming game incompatibility? It seems some games have special needs that aren't addressed by the imperfect emulation.

Also, is there a way to get 32-bit applications to run perfectly fine on 64-bit Vista? I don't suppose Microsoft has an emulation layer for them?

 

[racofer]

32bit applications work just fine under 64bit windows, the microsoft emulation is (surprisingly) very good. What does not work are 16bit applications, so if a 32bit game uses a 16bit installer, it will not work (true for many pre 2000 games).

If the games are not 3D they should work without issues since the games use directdraw or their own renderer. The problem comes when running D3D and older OpenGL games. These might show problems or full incompatibility, but there's no way to know and some titles have workarounds.

About VMWare, it works great unless it uses hardware acceleration.

My suggestion is to get your new computer and dump vista, I truly hate it and see no benefits, only headaches. If you can find all drivers for your hardware (99,9% chance there is), install XP and live on.

 

[inwoker]

Let ubunta be your god. I heard wine has better compatibility with old windoze apps.

 

[Slylandro]

Thanks a lot racofer, that was helpful.

Edit:
@inwoker, yeah, I was considering that but they only got out of beta like a month ago and there are still issues, some of which may never be resolved. It'll always remain an option though, since I already have Ubuntu 8.04 running as a guest on my VMWare workstation.

 

[jaylittle]

Turn off UAC (User Account Control) in Vista. It doesn't play well with older games. Of course UAC is annoying as shit anyway, so turning it off it more a matter of keeping your sanity than anything else.

I disagree that Wine has better compatibility with older Windows software than Vista does. There are a lot of older games that won't work worth a damn under Wine (i.e. Gothic I and II). In addition copy protection schemes on these games tend to break Wine compatibility as well. I have Crossover Games installed in OS X (a commercial wine port/fork) and it's compatibility is much lower than simply booting back into Vista on my MBP laptop and running games there.

If it was up to me solely, I would spend all day every day in OS X. But here at home, due to my love for gaming, that simply isn't possible. Windows is a necessary evil for any serious PC Gamer.

 

[Binary]

Serious PC gamer here, using Ubuntu for more than a year now. If a game wasn't properly developed to work on Wine, then it wasn't worth playing in the first time.

Sylandro, in the very least get XP not Vista. I don't know where you live but at least in the UK it isn't that hard to find a pc being sold without OS.

 

[FrancoTAU]

To make matter worse, Microsoft will stop supporting XP soon to try to force all of us to switch to the shitty Vista.

 

[Mareus]

To make matter worse, Microsoft will stop supporting XP soon to try to force all of us to switch to the shitty Vista.

Damn capitalists!

 

[Jasede]

Why are you getting Vista when it has like no advantages? Not going to rant or trying to change your mind, but very curious.

 

[Elwro]

I read something completely opposite: XP will be supported longer than Vista, which will be dumped for some sort of a sequel.

 

[inwoker]

jaylittle
Copy protection schemes isn't the problem. Nothing is physically removed from backpack.

 

[Slylandro]

Why are you getting Vista when it has like no advantages? Not going to rant or trying to change your mind, but very curious.

I'm going to get a new computer, and if it's anything new it'll have Vista, not XP on it. It's not really an intentional change. Keep in mind that Blackcomb/Windows OS 7 will be built off the same kernel as Vista so eventually we'll all have to switch in some way or another.

One practical reason to switch is that Vista (normally 64-bit) can exploit more RAM than Windows XP (normally 32-bit). There was a 64-bit version of XP but it's been discontinued and I don't know if it really took advantage of everything it should have been able to.

Aside: I've never tried dual-boots before, does anyone here think it's worth the effort?

Also, while we're on the topic of gaming hardware, any recommendations for a monitor and other accessories? This one looks pretty good:

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-AL2216Wbd-22 ... 036&sr=1-1

I was one of the early adopters of LCD monitors, back when they blurred if anything changed really quick. Hopefully they've improved since.

 

[MetalCraze]

Why are you getting Vista when it has like no advantages? Not going to rant or trying to change your mind, but very curious.

Vista has an advantage of supporting up to 8 gigs of RAM which is also a small and retarded limit.
XP is limited to 2. It does not matter now that much, but in a year or two it will.

Other than that Vista has nothing new to offer over XP. All DX10 effects are possible with DX9.

 

[Elwro]

You can install Ubuntu on a Windows computer without making a second partition or anything using an application called WUBI. Then, when booting, you have the Windows / Ubuntu choice. Uninstalling Ubuntu is just like uninstalling a Windows app.

I'm using Ubuntu installed by WUBI right now. Also, I played both Max Payne games on Ubuntu 8.04.1 with no problems whatsoever.

edit: XP supports more than 2 GBs of RAM, you have to add a switch to boot.ini

edit2: what Jasede said

 

[Jasede]

Why are you getting Vista when it has like no advantages? Not going to rant or trying to change your mind, but very curious.

Vista has an advantage of supporting up to 8 gigs of RAM which is also a small and retarded limit.
XP is limited to 2. It does not matter now that much, but in a year or two it will.

Other than that Vista has nothing new to offer over XP. All DX10 effects are possible with DX9.

I thought XP is limited to 3.6 Gig RAM, more than enough for everything these days, and in two years, unless you are one of these guys who always want to play the newest games on max?

 

[MetalCraze]

It seems yes.
That only proves that there is absolutely no point in Vista.

 

[Barghest]

Build your own PC, and use XP. Stay way from Vista. It is an abomination of an operating system.

I would recommend Kubuntu over Ubuntu, but you do need a faster machine to enjoy the shiny special effects.

 

[Elwro]

Afaik you can always configure the system to have any configuration of bits from Kubuntu and Ubuntu you like. E.g. I'm using Ubuntu, but decided I'd like to have KPDF, KDVI and KILE which iirc are in Kubuntu. This was just a few clicks.

 

[Ammar]

Why are you getting Vista when it has like no advantages? Not going to rant or trying to change your mind, but very curious.

Vista has an advantage of supporting up to 8 gigs of RAM which is also a small and retarded limit.
XP is limited to 2. It does not matter now that much, but in a year or two it will.

Other than that Vista has nothing new to offer over XP. All DX10 effects are possible with DX9.

I thought XP is limited to 3.6 Gig RAM, more than enough for everything these days, and in two years, unless you are one of these guys who always want to play the newest games on max?

Depends on your graphic cards. XP can adress 4GB of memory, but that includes not only RAM but also graphics memory and some other smaller chunks. So if you get one of those new 1GB Graphics cards you will be down to under 3GB Ram with XP.

I'd also disagree that Vista has nothing else useful. The interface is slightly better, with enough Ram applications tend to start fast due to better caching and it is more stable (mainly due to the new way graphics drivers are handled). So far it also seems to be somewhat more secure than XP.

@Topic: I was able to get pretty much all RPGs to run in Vista. DosBox for the old ones. I had some slight trouble with the Gothic I and II but there's a workaround.

 

[DraQ]

Stay way from Vista. It is an abomination of an operating system.

 

[Jasede]

You say the interface is slightly better.

I do hope there's an option to make it look like Windows 95/98? I can't use XP with its silly plastic-Aqua whatnot; I am not gay enough.

 

[jaylittle]

You say the interface is slightly better.

I do hope there's an option to make it look like Windows 95/98? I can't use XP with its silly plastic-Aqua whatnot; I am not gay enough.

You can turn on the Windows Classic look within Vista.

 

[Jasede]

Great, so now all that remains are the bugs, performance issues and the incompatibility! Awesome, I'm buying it now.

 

[Elwro]

Vista is more stable than XP? I haven't had XP crash on me in I think 2 years.

 

[jaylittle]

Serious PC gamer here, using Ubuntu for more than a year now. If a game wasn't properly developed to work on Wine, then it wasn't worth playing in the first time.

So what your days are spent playing games in Steam and bzflag? There are a ton of RPGs that simply don't work using wine. Believe me, I've tried.