VOGONS

Common searches


PC Game Compatibility List

Topic actions

Reply 60 of 116, by DosFreak

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Been on an excercise all week last week so haven't had time to work on the list. NBC gear in 85+ temperature.......is not that bad actually. Could have been ALOT worse. Going to work on the list a little bit this weekend.....

I've had some people ask why I have so many games not working on Vista 64bit while they work fine on their systems. Well there are a couple of reasons:

1. I'm doing most of my testing on laptops with Intel video cards. As you know these cards and drivers are horrible. If a new game works it's usually a stroke of luck. (This is why I ROFLMFAO every time I hear mention of Intel competing with ATI/NVIDIA in the GPU market...good luck INTEL you'll need it.)

2. I do not use my physical CD's anymore for testing. I use Daemon Tools and point to my cd images. As you know some copy protection do not like Daemon Tools. If the game doesn't work then I'll mark it down as "Not working" and move on to the next game. I'll then come back later and load the latest patch and try again, if it still doesn't work then I'll use the NOCD patch. If it still doesn't work it'll still be marked as "Not Working" and I'll come back to it in a couple of months.

3. I only mark games as green if I have no problems with it. Installation, graphics issues, addon requirements (.NET, latest DX redist, C++, etc etc etc etc to infininty) All get in the way. If I don't feel like hunting down the addon (especially if the game doesn't mention it), then I'll mark it down as RED until I get around to figureing out why it doesn't work.

4. I'm testing ALOT of OS's here. Windows 2000, Windows XP 32 and 64bit, Windows 2003 32 and 64bit, Windows Vista 32 and 64bit, and Windows 2008 32bit and 64bit. I also do some dabbling with Linux, 9x and NT4 images so that when I get around to testing I'll already have the OS's built and I don't have to worry about hunting down software and utilities. Obviously this takes alot of time and is one of the main reasons why one OS may have more "Not working" games than other OS's.

The games I mark as GREEN on my list you can be assured that I spent ALOT of time making sure these games work. The games I mark as RED I WILL mark as RED at the drop of a hat. It could be as simple as a CRC error on a physical CD (If I do use a physical CD) or as complicated as an MS update that causes the game to be nonfunctional. It could be alot of things.

So don't bash my list because I marked your precious little game as non-functional. My list is to serve gamers not to satisfy egos or fanboy obsessions.

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Make your games work offline

Reply 61 of 116, by DosFreak

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Was looking for the earliest version of my list and I found this:

1/4/2001
http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/forums?a= … 98216#147098216

heh

Looks like this one's older:

10/26/2000

http://www.compatdb.org/support/topics/44236_ … _microsoft.html

Last edited by DosFreak on 2008-08-28, 10:29. Edited 1 time in total.

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Make your games work offline

Reply 63 of 116, by DosFreak

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Updated 9-23-2008

Worked on the following columns: 2000,XP,2003,Vista
Added some more games.

Still plugging away with Windows 2008. Haven't added the info to the list yet and won't for some time. I'll also finally be adding publisher/developer info as well so eventually we'll be able to compare compatibility between publisher/developer! OH NO!!!

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Make your games work offline

Reply 64 of 116, by DosFreak

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Latest stats from my list:

JUST WORK

XP Pro = 1175
2000 Pro = 1145
2003 32bit=1095
2003 64bit=894
Vista 32bit=717
Vista 64bit=618

It's interesting how 2000 and XP are flipped in the above. This is due mainly to needing to use the 2000 to XP wrapper in Windows 2000 and the some games requiring compatibility mode because they aren't in 2000's database but are in XP's.

It's interesting to see the decline of compatibility as the Windows versions get newer.

DO NOT WORK

XP Pro = 46
2000 Pro = 49
2003 32bit =56
2003 64bit = 171
Vista 32bit = 119
Vista 64bit = 162

Again compatibility decreases as Windows versions gets newer (except for where 2000 and XP are flipped) As always 32bit versions of Windows are better versions for games due mainly to copy protection drivers and installers.

WITH PROBLEMS

XP Pro = 34
2000 Pro = 59
2003 32bit =76
2003 64bit= 97
Vista 32bit=397
Vista 64bit=401

The number of games with problems is reduced in XP versus 2000 due mainly to the fact that Windows 2000 needs to use the 2000 to XP wrapper to get some games to work. Also the fact XP has a bigger compatibility database than 2000's.

The reason Vista has a higher amount is due to hardware sound not being support in Vista (except for OpenAL), alot of games that have installer issues and issues with WDDM (Windows Vista) video drivers.

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Make your games work offline

Reply 65 of 116, by DosFreak

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Almost done with my XP 64bit image so you can expect the XP 64bit column on my list to be fleshed out over the coming months.

This should help out 2003 64bit compatibility as well.

Looks like XP 64bit does include DirectMusic (whereas 2003 64bit does not). Sometime in the future I'll look into what .dll's need to be copied from XP 64bit to 200364bit to get DirectMusic to work. This should eliminate the usage of Vmware in 2003 64bit for the games that need DirectMusic support.

Last edited by DosFreak on 2008-10-21, 12:40. Edited 3 times in total.

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Make your games work offline

Reply 67 of 116, by DosFreak

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Updated 11-12-08

Added some games to the list.
Updated XP 64bit list.
Tested some more games in Vmware 6.5 using 3D Acceleration.

Still have alot more XP 64bit testing to do. Also plan to test all of my DOS games with the latest DOSBox CVS.
and of course Windows 2008 testing.

I already did some 2008 testing but I'm going to scrub all of that data and start from scratch. The plan is to go through each and every one of my games and verify that I can use them without the original media. (All of my CD's are imaged). If so then I'm going to look into getting rid of my CD's or stuff them in a box somewhere. I'll also probably need to hit up replacementdocs as well so I can get rid of the huge plastic bin of computer manuals I have.

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Make your games work offline

Reply 69 of 116, by DosFreak

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Going through every single one of the images of the physical CD's I have right now and verifying that the images are not corrupt and that I have NOCD patches when needed.

I have two caselogic cases that hold 300CD's each that are both full minus a dozen slots or so. I use to spend alot of time alphabetizing them before I had my home server, now that I have my server and I don't use my CD's there's no since organizing the cases. I'll just image the CD/DVD when I get it, copy it to my server and external drive and shove the CD/DVD in the case. Makes things a whole lot easier.....

Noticed today that Daemon Tools no longer opens up some of the Blindwrite images of my games......I guess at some later date I'll either looking into not using CD images for my games (just extracing the contents) or going for only .ISO images when the game is DATA only and CUE/BIN images for mixed mode CD's (instead of CloneCD\Alcohol\Blindwrite). This means the copy protection for some games won't work anymore but since newer OS's break copy protection compatibility anyway it's not really a loss. (and I'm not interested in preserving copy protection).

Last edited by DosFreak on 2009-03-04, 13:38. Edited 1 time in total.

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Make your games work offline

Reply 71 of 116, by DosFreak

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Updated 3-25-2009

Updated NT4, XP 64bit, and 2008 32bit lists.

Added Dead Space and Warhammer Dawn of War 2.

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Make your games work offline

Reply 72 of 116, by DosFreak

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Updated 4-27-2009

Updated XP 64bit list.
Mostly worked on organizing filesystem for the games on my server.
Reimaged some game CD's.
Fixed a couple of games that didn't work.
Found ports for some games that I had to used DOSBox for before (Betrayal in Antara)

Was going to do some testing of D3D support in Vmware 6.5 using Ubuntu as a host but the Intel 4 graphics chipset isn't support for Vmware for Linux D3D Support (D3D support using Vmware with host Windows works fine on the same laptop though).

I could probably test D3D support in Vmware using Windows as the host OS and paste the results into the Linux list but I want the list to be as accurate as possible and doing that would be cheating. Guess I'll just have to wait 5-10 years......which is fine since I have plenty of Windows testing to do.

Need to finish:

XP 64bit testing
2008 32/64bit testing
2008 R2
Windows 7

I'll probably be doing Windows 98SE testing with KernelEX while doing Windows 7 testing. Windows 7 testing is going to take me a loooooong time since I'll be categorizing alot more about the games.

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Make your games work offline

Reply 73 of 116, by DosFreak

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Looks like the Windows 7 RC doesn't support XP Video drivers (at least not on the laptop I'm testing with). The beta of Windows 7 worked with XP drivers though.

This will break Heroes of Might & Magic 4 on 64bit and I think mabye half a dozen other games. I'll have to check my list. Now that Vmware supports D3D I think these games will work fine in a VM. Will have to check.

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Make your games work offline

Reply 74 of 116, by DosFreak

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthr … t=789583&page=2

Gametech, […]
Show full quote

Gametech,

Deleting the ClientRegistry.blob file forces Steam to perform a client update. Right before you deleted yours, the Steam client update was released. So yes, in your case, deleting the ClientRegistry.blob "fixed" the issue for you, but only because Steam had no other choice. Alternatively, you could have clicked on File>Check for Steam client updates... The benefit of updating using that method is that now you, along with everyone who followed your advice, won't have to go through every single game on their game list to make sure they are all still set to automatically download updates. That's one of the many side-effects of deleting your .blob. You might also find some of your other client settings in a different state than what you set them to previously.

Another alternative is to delete the steam.dll file, which also will force Steam to redownload itself, minus the nasty side-effects of deleting the .blob. Or just use the Steam Installer.

If you run into any other issues, make sure to use the Help & Tips forum to have them addressed. Let those other people you know that we're here to help them as well if they should experience any other side-effects caused by the method you recommended to them.

These guys don't work for Valve because they don't know about their own product. It didn't seem like Mike was treating you like a child, either. He is working in your best interest and gains nothing by leading you in the wrong direction.

EDIT: I was also once misguided but have since changed my ways.

http://forums.steampowered.com/forum...&postcount=107

I find I run into far less problems now that I follow the advice of the people that created and continue to

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Make your games work offline

Reply 75 of 116, by MiniMax

User metadata
Rank Moderator
Rank
Moderator

With nothing better to do, I read that thread. Oh boy - that GameTech character would never get any help from me if I had any business doing in that forum. Makes one wonder if he treats advice from his doctor the same way?

DOSBox 60 seconds guide | How to ask questions
_________________
Lenovo M58p | Core 2 Quad Q8400 @ 2.66 GHz | Radeon R7 240 | LG HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH40N | Fedora 32

Reply 77 of 116, by DosFreak

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Looks like Windows 7 is compatible with XP drivers. In fact it looks like the only driver model change for Windows 7 is the switch from WDDM 1.0 to WDDM 1.1 for video drivers. All 2000+ drivers for all hardware should work fine. (theoretically)

So far tested Compaq N600C, Dell D505,D510,D520,D630,D820,E5400,M1330 laptops.

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Make your games work offline

Reply 79 of 116, by DosFreak

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Updated 7-8-2009

Updated 2000/XP lists.
Still plugging away on XP 64bit and 2008 32/64bit lists.
Windows 7 RTM should be out soon!

With the release of VirtualBox 3 and the upcoming next release of Vmware it looks like 3D Acceleration in VM's is getting better. Hopefully by mid next year 3D Acceleration support will finally be good enough for me to begin testing in Linux.

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Make your games work offline