Warning against Windows 8.1 for old school gamers

Dunno about it's OS, but I love Steam's buy one sci-fi machine and a few crap ones then play a resources hungry game on any. As the game runs on the expensive one but is streamed to the ancient pathetic another machine.

It's not a new idea really, you can for example payperuse online mac if you need one for a brief time (macincloud.com). So you don't need to buy mac unless you'll use it frequently.
Steam allows you not to buy 2 or even more superexpensive machines because, for example, all your three kids want to have their own PC that can run anything.

Just think a bit what it could do in the future. You'd still have a phone or a tablet. With crappy SoC inside uncapable of running Drakensang on it's own. Yet it'll run Watch Dogs! Well, okay, not run but stream… The only question is how it'll look on the small screen, but they'll probably think of something.

zakhal said:

There is only one game I havent managed to get to work. It was redguard adventure game from bethsoft.

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You can play Redguard even on win8.1 with nglide wrapper and some additional modifications.

http://www.zeus-software.com/downloads/nglide

Here is the topic on their forum

http://www.zeus-software.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=279

I would change the thread title to "Warning against Windows 8.1 for anyone" and call it a day.

Couchpotato said:

Well I'm not liking the way Win 9 is heading either. I found this link today.

Link- http://www.dailytech.com/Microsoft+...C+Xbox+Phone+and+Tablet+OSes/article34992.htmIt seems Microsoft is trying to be Apple, and will unify the OS on all platforms. Looks like I might have to get used to Win 8.1 now. I hate progress sometimes.

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Well, don't worry, a lot of the leaks have indicated that if you are using a PC, the desktop will be front and center. We'll see if they stick with that of course.

The bigger deal is unifying the app side of things and that is what this really seams to be talking about. And if makes sense in terms of attracting developers. Right now if you make an app, it has to be heavily modified, if not completely rewritten to run on Xbox, Windows Phone and Windows 8. That's just not going to attract many developers and cause those that do to either focus on one, or not keep them all updated. A one and done approach means that as a developer, you have access immediately to as many, if not more, users than Apple or Android.

The big benefit for MSFT is it will almost immediately make Windows Phone more viable. I have a Windows Phone (Nokia 521) and I love it. There are a lot of things that it does either better than iOS/Android or that they don't do at all. However, while I generally have found most of the apps I want, they aren't always fleshed out and some big ones are missing (American Express and Jet Blue come to mind).

With the Windows 8 store, again, there are some great apps, but also some ones missing (particularly the banking apps).

If they can pull it off, they could very quickly become a dominant player in both tablets and phones, while still maintaining their beachhead in PC's.

That said, even with that idiot Balmer gone, I still don't have 100% faith they can pull this off.

I have an old laptop with xp and dosbox. ( got tired of dual booting) I just plug it into my projector and play if I run into any real stubborn games.

Can't remember the last time I used it though, admittedly I haven't tried any of the game mentioned here.

My son did play ultima 1-5 and elder scrolls arena and many other old games on his copy of 8.1 though.

I can't really blame Microsoft they can't really worry about supporting every game ever made when making there latest OS.

The fact that my son played the games he has and you can still play a vast amount of very old game is actually pretty impressive IMO.

I love old games as much as anyone but we do have to make progress at some point and inevitably old games will have to fall by the wayside.

Old games will get remakes or ports. Just not all.
I bet there will be no NWN remake, but BG will appear again.

Forgot to say in my previous post that I don't trust "leaked" pics of win9.
They're all too different to be the real thing.
But the flood of those means everyone wants win8/win8.1 to die be replaced with anything.

I wish NWN would get a remake... still the best cooperative online RPG experience.

sakichop said:

I love old games as much as anyone but we do have to make progress at some point and inevitably old games will have to fall by the wayside.

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Or an emulator written that can run them. Given that we already have one written for Linux, I'd say it's not only a possibility, but a probability, a Windows emulator for newer editions is already out there or at least being developed. With Windows being more and more a closed system (much like Apple's iOS), I don't know if MS would allow one to be installed on a Win9+ system.

As for me, with GoG now supporting Linux, and many of the non-supported games working in Wine now anyway, my next rig with lack any Windows operating system of any kind.

DD works just fine and dandy here

Windows 8 is okay for the most part with old games but I'm not going to bother trying 8.1 especially with all the problems Windows 8 has. It sounds as if 8.1 just adds to them.