Matrix Games and Next Windows OS?

[pad152]

Matrix Games and Next Windows OS?

I'm getting ready to buy a couple of the older games being released by Matrix, AOW III, Harpoon III. Does Matrix have any idea if these games will work or can even be patched to support MS's next operating system?

My understanding is Windows Vista (comming early next year) will only support true 32bit & 64bit applications and won't support 16 bit or any DOS based applications.

[Erik Rutins]

All our games are compatible with Windows XP and should work fine on Vista. They are native Windows applications rather than DOS. The only problem I could see would be with the old free War in Russia and Pacific War projects.

Once we have a copy of Vista here, we'll confirm.

Regards,

- Erik

[Terminus]

Good thing, too... Once the Evil Empire mind-tricks us all into "upgrading" our OS, it'd be nice to continue playing Matrix games...

[sterckxe]

ORIGINAL: pad152
My understanding is Windows Vista (comming early next year) will only support true 32bit & 64bit applications and won't support 16 bit or any DOS based applications.

Not quite true.

DosBox is reported to run fine in Vista (beta) and 16-bit programs are equally reported to run fine in the 32-bit version of Vista so the effects for wargamers should be minimal.

Google the 'Net and thou shall find [;)]

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[Zap]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

Good thing, too... Once the Evil Empire mind-tricks us all into "upgrading" our OS, it'd be nice to continue playing Matrix games...

[:D]Yes, the Evil Empire! who makes small changes so they can sell another OS and drive us all mad.

[sabre100]

Erik -

You can download Windows Vista Beta 2 direct form Microsoft. It is open to the general public and will expire in Jan 2007. Especially in the line of work you guys do I would install it to test your current and upcoming games.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/g ... fault.mspx

Thanks

[Les_the_Sarge_9_1]

Vista Beta 2

Key word B E T A

If I was interested in knowing if Vista liked any of my wargames, I could possibly check it out.

But, if I was a game maker, odds are the last thing I would be doing, was arriving at conclusions based on the stability of anything, especially an OS, with the word B E T A attached to it.

They make it plain on the page offering it, that you might want to reconsider using it on a business computer.
Considering when MS finally gets around to selling the full deal sans word B E T A, we will likely still hear for a full year about patches needed to fix some glaring error that was missed.

I would be inclined to think, 2008 would be a reasonable time to ponder whether Vista is important in determining its impact on current and past software.

And if in 2 years time, I was to find MS couldn't make an OS that could run software that has been around for several years, I would be inclined to tell MS they could shove their Vista someplace unpleasant.

It's not like this will be the first OS they have sold eh, the idea they can't make an OS capable of running anything current or past, is either disgusting magnitudes of incompetence, or a callous indifference to consumers needs.

[sabre100]

As a home user I agree no reason to bother with it unless you want to see what is coming out and play with it. Since I am in IT Business I need to be on top of it.

However as a company that makes games or applications for the Windows Platform, Beta is the keyword you need to test your applications and games to be ready to run when Vista is released if you want to stay in business. Since your business of selling games relies on Windows.

Yes you can ignore it and not run it since it is BETA and then wait for the final realease and work non stop to patch your games to be able to run on vista as some of your customers will be using it.

One of the main reasons of releasing a Beta that so many applications and games run on is for developers or companies to start testing their applications on the new OS. This is common and very benefecial.

We are not talking about you and your wargames, as far as an end user like myself of those games I could care less if it runs on Vista. However when I do buy Vista then yes I would care if it runs on Vista since that would be my OS. If no companies ran the Beta to test their apps because they are scared of the word Beta then there would be minimial to none drivers or apps that would work with the new OS. Since Microsoft OS is installed on majority of PCs and also all most every new PC sold when Vista is released will have Vista preloaded as a company you would need to prepare to support those users.

Now if you dont make a living by selling games or applications that run on Windows then you have no reason to use it unless you are just courious.


Just my 2 cents.

[Les_the_Sarge_9_1]

I wonder, if no one downloaded it, and no one tested it, and no one used it, would MS be forced to scrap it, and make the previous OS work properly instead hehe.

My biggest beef with Vista, is I never asked for it to be made at all. Yet, everyone is going to be forced to use it defacto, because it will be dumped on every new system made. And it will be unavoidable.

So it really doesn't matter if you like Vista or not, you have all basically been told "shut up you're getting it anyway".

[Terminus]

So what version of Windows hasn't been that way?