What games can Windows 8 play?

Jamesgz

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[h=5]Can windows 8 play fallout 3, assissen creed 3, left 4 dead 2, Shogun 2: Totalwar, borderland 2 and skyrim?
Can windows 8 play any games that windows 7 can play?
[/h]
If NO, should I Downgrade it to windows 7 ?
 

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Out of the games you listed I can only speak for two of them and I can run Fallout 3 and Assassin's Creed III perfectly fine on Windows 8 Pro x64.

Having said that most games that run on Windows 7 will run fine on Windows 8 even though they may not officially be supported.
 

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Can windows 8 play fallout 3, assissen creed 3, left 4 dead 2, Shogun 2: Totalwar, borderland 2 and skyrim?
Can windows 8 play any games that windows 7 can play?

I own all the games you listed (Steam) except for AC3. They all play fine for me. I cant vouch as to the efficacy of 8 as a good gaming OS, but i would say that 7 still has the edge in that regard, at least for now anyways, since it has alot of time, support, etc behind it.

On a side note, I have never, ever found ANY game that I could not get to work on Windows in some way or another, although sometimes there were minor bugs and annoyances that irratated me but didnt make the games unplayable. sometimes i had to use workarounds, unofficial patches, no-cd cracks etc, but eventually all games have worked for me on all versions of Windows that i have used throughout the yrs.
 

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    Windows 8.1 Pro x64, Windows Server 2012 R2 x64
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    I will add more information here later
Can windows 8 play fallout 3, assissen creed 3, left 4 dead 2, Shogun 2: Totalwar, borderland 2 and skyrim?
Can windows 8 play any games that windows 7 can play?

I own all the games you listed (Steam) except for AC3. They all play fine for me. I cant vouch as to the efficacy of 8 as a good gaming OS, but i would say that 7 still has the edge in that regard, at least for now anyways, since it has alot of time, support, etc behind it.

On a side note, I have never, ever found ANY game that I could not get to work on Windows in some way or another, although sometimes there were minor bugs and annoyances that irratated me but didnt make the games unplayable. sometimes i had to use workarounds, unofficial patches, no-cd cracks etc, but eventually all games have worked for me on all versions of Windows that i have used throughout the yrs.
Can you play fallout 3 with mods with windows 8?
And did you test
Battlefield 3, killing floor, planetside 2, dead island, crysis 2, darksider s 2, witches 2 , XCOM: enermy unknown, torchlight2, witches 2, crossfire, team fortress 2, prototype 2 and fallout NV?​

Thanks :)
 

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Can you play fallout 3 with mods with windows 8?

I havent tested Fallout 3 with mods, but generally speaking, if the base game works, then mods should too. I have tested FO3 without mods and it works fine.

And did you test
Battlefield 3, killing floor, planetside 2, dead island, crysis 2, darksider s 2, witches 2 , XCOM: enermy unknown, torchlight2, witches 2, crossfire, team fortress 2, prototype 2 and fallout NV?

I tested all those games too, except Planetside 2, Crysis 2, Darksiders 2, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Torchlight 2 (dont own but plan to buy it), and Prototype 2 (am buying it as well before the Steam holiday sales end on 1-5), since i dont own them. The rest work perfectly. By Witches 2 i assume you mean The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings, it works too. And Crossfire, i think you mean the Xfire gaming app, didnt test it but i dont see a reason why it wouldnt work. I'm an Xfire member but havent logged in for awhile or installed it on 8 yet.

I would say most if not all of the games in your list that i didnt test, will mostly likely work as well. you'll have to test them and see. or just search Google to see if anyone else has any issues with them on 8. EightForums isnt necessarily the best place to post gaming questions since this subforum doesnt appear to get alot of traffic. you'd want to post on a dedicated forums, or a place that is specifically for a certain game.

Hope that helped!

EDIT: forgot to say, but Borderlands 2 didnt work on 8 at first, i read about it on the Steam forums, it had an issue where the game wouldnt launch. But i think the publisher released a patchfix for it, it works now. I found out about it when i downloaded the pirate version (to try before buying).
 

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    I will add more information here later
Left 4 Dead 2, Skyrim and Assassin's Creed 3 all work fine, as well as any Shogun games, I've tested all of them :)
 

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    Windows 8.1 64 Bit
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    Intel i7 6700K
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    ASRock Z170 Extreme4
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    Corsair Vengeance 3200MHz 64GB
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I play tons of games and have only ran into two games that I couldn't play on windows 8 which are bother old: Crystallize and Organ Trail.
 

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    Windows 10 Pro (x64)
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Games that I have tested to work with no noticeable issues:
  • Deus Ex: Human Revolution (+ Missing Link)
  • Doom 3 (both original and BFG edition
  • Fallout: New Vegas
  • Rage
  • Hydrophobia: Prophecy
  • Magicka
  • Payday: The Heist
  • Portal 2
  • Team Fortress 2
  • Metro 2033
  • Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition
  • Bioshock
  • Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition


Not working at all for me

  • Borderlands (Stack overflow crash)
  • Crysis (stack overflow crash)

Rumor has it that EA has a patch in the works that will fix the Crysis issue.
 
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    Cougar Solution
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    Antec Kühler 620 liquid CPU cooler (push and pull)
Can windows 8 play fallout 3, assissen creed 3, left 4 dead 2, Shogun 2: Totalwar, borderland 2 and skyrim?
Can windows 8 play any games that windows 7 can play?



If NO, should I Downgrade it to windows 7 ?

I'm having no trouble with Minecraft and Sim City 4.

-Max
 

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    Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
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    Memory
    8GB / 8GB
I said in another post that every game I've tried so far works - and I play a lot of games! I even managed to get dungeon keeper running, and that was designed for win 95!!!
 

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    Windows 8 Pro
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    Custom Build
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    Intel Core i7 860 @ 3.6GHz
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    Asus P7P55-M
    Memory
    Crucial 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1866Mhz
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    Logitech G9
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I have Borderlands (and Borderlands 2) and Crysis (and Crysis Warhead, Crysis Wars and Crysis 2 Maximum Edition) through Steam. All work without any problems. I have not had success getting the original Diablo to work.

The only real problem I have is with Steam itself. It keeps sucking my bank account dry.
 

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    12 GB
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    150Gb / 20Gb
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As an update, I recently bought Assassins Creed 3, Dead Island, Torchlight 1 and 2, Prototype 1 and 2, Doom 3 BFG, Rage, and BioShock, and they all work fine on Windows 8.
 

My Computer

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  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64, Windows Server 2012 R2 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo G700
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3632QM, 2.20 GHz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    6 GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA 720M, Intel HD 4000
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 (max)
    Hard Drives
    1 TB HDD (5400 RPM), 1.5 TB HDD (5400 RPM) installed in a 12.7mm disc drive caddy
    Case
    Lenovo
    Keyboard
    Lenovo
    Mouse
    Laptop/notebook keyboard/touchpad
    Internet Speed
    It varies, since I'm mobile most of the time
    Browser
    Chromium (the open-source browser which Google Chrome is derived from)
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky, Malwarebytes, Spybot, Privatefirewall
    Other Info
    I will add more information here later
[h=5]Can windows 8 play fallout 3, assissen creed 3, left 4 dead 2, Shogun 2: Totalwar, borderland 2 and skyrim?
Can windows 8 play any games that windows 7 can play?
[/h]
If NO, should I Downgrade it to windows 7 ?

Yes it can run most if not all games that work on Windows 7. In fact in most games I've seen an increase in FPS and overall performance compared to Windows 7.
 

My Computer

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    Windows 8 64-bit and Windows 7 64-bit and Ubuntu 12.04 64-bit
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    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    AMD Athlon II x4 2.92 Ghz
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    Gigabyte 77OTA-UD3
    Memory
    6GB Kingston HyperX DDR3
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    Samsung SyncMaster 920NW
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    1440x900
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    WD Caviar Black 1TB
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    Razer Lycosa
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    Razer Abyssus
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    12Mbps
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    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Avast! Internet Security
Can windows 8 play fallout 3, assissen creed 3, left 4 dead 2, Shogun 2: Totalwar, borderland 2 and skyrim?
Can windows 8 play any games that windows 7 can play?



If NO, should I Downgrade it to windows 7 ?


The initial problem with many older titles that require Direct X 9c be present and running in to the "not compatible with Windows 8" type message when trying to install DX9 on 8 does have a solution. Often older titles could run into an OpenGL issue as well when 9c elements are not present or seen while 8 was still in Customer or Release Preview form. The DX developers wen installer for DX9c does seem to work well however for finally getting 9c on 8. Download DirectX Redist (June 2010) from Official Microsoft Download Center

jr4t4m.jpg

This was one item here since I was able to get the 2001 game Return to CastleWolfenstein to go right on and run on 8 but another title from the same year ran into OpenGL errors. being Soldier of Fortune II. I didn't bother trying to get SoF I to go on however.

Most of the more recent titles wouldn't be running into any of this since they came out after Vista's release. DX10, 11, and what is now seen with 8 is bit different from the older DX9c and older versions almost being a different platform entirely which has been allowing DX9 or older to go onto Vista, 7, and for one DX page onto 8 as well. This will likely see many older titles run on 8 as well as on 7.
 

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    1st W10 Professional x64/W7 Ultimate x64 - 2nd Remote system: W10 Insider Builds/W7 Professional
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
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    Custom Builds
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 975 Deneb 3.6ghz -2nd case AMD Atholon II 3.2ghz
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    Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4
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    Kingston Hyper-X DDR3 1600mhz 16gb - 2nd case Kingston Hyper-X "Fury" DDR3 1600mhz 8gb
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    MSI Radeon HD 5750 1gb - 2nd AMD Radeon 6450
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    Creative Xtreme Gamer - 2nd case Realtek Onboard audio
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    Acer 19" dual monitor setup - 2nd case HP 20" lcd
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 same on both builds
    Hard Drives
    1st build
    WD Caviar Black Edition Sata II 1tb two OS drives
    WD RE "Heavy Duty Sata II 2tb two Storage/Backup
    2nd build
    WD Blue Sata II 500gb
    WD Black Edition Sata III 1tb
    WD Green Power Sata II 1tb in external usb enclosure
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    Corsair TX750H 750w -Corsair 500w
    Case
    Antec 900-2 -NXZT Vulcan Mini tower/carrying handle
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    120mm front pair, 120 rear 200cm top - 120mm Front intake 200mm side cover
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    Azio Blue led back lit both builds.
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    MSI DS200 11 button programmable Gaming optical mouse - Odessa 3 button dual scroll trackball
    Internet Speed
    30mbps
    Other Info
    two MSI 22x ide dvd burners, 25 usb flash drives used for Linux Live, live data recovery 128gb, and Windows 7, 10 usb installation keys
All games work here, even the very old ones. :)
 

My Computer

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  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
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    120W adapter
    Case
    small
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    laptop cooling pad
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    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
I hate to say it, but I just thought about it, and the title of this thread sounds utterly retarded. It almost sounds like you want people to give a blow-by-blow description of what games they have that play on 8, with no rational justification for why you need this info. It also seems that you might be making the assumption that 8 is worse for gaming than 7 based on what's happened since its' release, and am now making the assumption that it wont play games in general very well, if at all, until people confirm otherwise. Don't mean to sound antagonistic, especially with this being my 4th post in this topic, but you could have tested many titles out yourself or at least Googled for each individual game to see whether alot of people are having issues. The topic's title should have been phrased as "Can Windows 8 Play X Game?" or "Need Help With X Game" along with a description of the issue.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

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  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64, Windows Server 2012 R2 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo G700
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3632QM, 2.20 GHz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    6 GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA 720M, Intel HD 4000
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 (max)
    Hard Drives
    1 TB HDD (5400 RPM), 1.5 TB HDD (5400 RPM) installed in a 12.7mm disc drive caddy
    Case
    Lenovo
    Keyboard
    Lenovo
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    Internet Speed
    It varies, since I'm mobile most of the time
    Browser
    Chromium (the open-source browser which Google Chrome is derived from)
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky, Malwarebytes, Spybot, Privatefirewall
    Other Info
    I will add more information here later
All games work here, even the very old ones. :)

That all depends on which old games and not all old games you are running. Some will while some won't unless DX9 is present while some others will simply run into OpenGL issues. With each new version you have to plan on losing some titles right off the bat.

With 7 something a little more unique was seen there that lacked in Vista namely the 32bit 7 would run a title like Metal of Honor:Allied Assault that wouldn't even install on the 32bit Vista having been written for XP. I have to wonder if that would also go on and run on the 32bit 8? The 32bit 7 could also a number of old XP device drivers for old 128mb AGP cards, Realtek onboard sound on some boards, etc.

With pc games it depends a great deal on the coding since generally more games are cross version platform type. Some old games will or won't run on the 64bit Windows regardless of which version it is. Note that is trying them while using the compatibility mode as well as right clicking on the installer's executable to run as admin and still not seeing them install. Others you would think would never go on the latest go right on without any problem.

Generally with each new version it will be a trial and error process overall when you are looking at several titles. The initial problem encountered here was with games that mandate DX9 with some having their own DX9 installer included in the game's own installer since it is required. The 2007 full stand alone installer for DX9c for example ran into the "not compatible with this version of Windows" error on the CP and RP builds while the 2010 SDK went right onto the RP VM still running for the time that has left.

The next try to resolve that one will be on the 90day Enterprise trial obviously being much closer to the retail 8 as well as a direct install to a physical hard drive. As a rule however pc games always seem to fare better with each new version to come out then seen with desktop apps where you need a newer version of same if not a replacement app. Games are written to be run on multiple versions in order to see them sell with companies knowing not everyone is running the exact same version all at once.
 

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    1st W10 Professional x64/W7 Ultimate x64 - 2nd Remote system: W10 Insider Builds/W7 Professional
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    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Builds
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 975 Deneb 3.6ghz -2nd case AMD Atholon II 3.2ghz
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    Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4
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    Kingston Hyper-X DDR3 1600mhz 16gb - 2nd case Kingston Hyper-X "Fury" DDR3 1600mhz 8gb
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    MSI Radeon HD 5750 1gb - 2nd AMD Radeon 6450
    Sound Card
    Creative Xtreme Gamer - 2nd case Realtek Onboard audio
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    Acer 19" dual monitor setup - 2nd case HP 20" lcd
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    1440x900 same on both builds
    Hard Drives
    1st build
    WD Caviar Black Edition Sata II 1tb two OS drives
    WD RE "Heavy Duty Sata II 2tb two Storage/Backup
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    WD Blue Sata II 500gb
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    WD Green Power Sata II 1tb in external usb enclosure
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    MSI DS200 11 button programmable Gaming optical mouse - Odessa 3 button dual scroll trackball
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    30mbps
    Other Info
    two MSI 22x ide dvd burners, 25 usb flash drives used for Linux Live, live data recovery 128gb, and Windows 7, 10 usb installation keys
A I read in previous post, we don't need to say that Win8 handles less games than Win7.
It's a matter of knowing the OS and what tweaks we can apply to get something going, if possible or not.

All games work here, even the very old ones. :)

That all depends on which old games and not all old games you are running. Some will while some won't unless DX9 is present while some others will simply run into OpenGL issues. With each new version you have to plan on losing some titles right off the bat.

As I said, very old ones and they don't need dx9 and opengl: DOS-things run in DosBox but aside from those, something like Dune 2000 for example runs excellent on Win8. You don't need any directx because it runs on built in modules in compatibility mode (game needs dx5 or up to 8) and it runs with only stock dx10 and dx11.

If you try Command and Conquer (sorry I'm a fan of these here) Generals, it need s dx8.
So for this one and the rest you can install the well-known dx9 (I need it for MPC Homecinema Player as well).
Opengl issues? Must be rare, depends what we consider old: older titles use older opengl and that can be understandable with newer cards where version 4.3 rules... are there any titles yet that make usage of Opengl 4.3...

With 7 something a little more unique was seen there that lacked in Vista namely the 32bit 7 would run a title like Metal of Honor:Allied Assault that wouldn't even install on the 32bit Vista having been written for XP. I have to wonder if that would also go on and run on the 32bit 8? The 32bit 7 could also a number of old XP device drivers for old 128mb AGP cards, Realtek onboard sound on some boards, etc.

Yes that's something 32bit 7 handles pretty well... I didn't tried the 32bit 8 to see. A big challenge is to get that on 64bit going.
We need full support for the installers on syswow64 (32bit part on 64bit OS).

The important thing is that I never mentioned installs here in my posts: all games RUN, PLAY but they probably DON'T install.
The installers will be the first ones to have issues during OS changes. The good advice I have here is:
Install the game somewhere it was meant for (XP, even older OS) in a virtual machine for example to ease things out.
You then zip all the game's folder, extract the whole game's registry entries when needed and get all files out of the VM in your Win8 test/gaming machine. If all is placed where needed, the game will run even if the installer didn't liked the OS in the first place! I installed it alright, but in XP. :)

What I also experienced in general is older (in particular 32bit) software confusing Program Files with Program Files (x86) so in that case you need to manually specify the right folder yourself before going through the next->next routine. The second issue is more severe, be it the installer confusing system32: this one has 64bit files on x64 so: what you need to do is get all added dlls, exes and what it added (very advanced stuff but it works when needed) out to syswow64 folder and your problem is solved.

With pc games it depends a great deal on the coding since generally more games are cross version platform type. Some old games will or won't run on the 64bit Windows regardless of which version it is. Note that is trying them while using the compatibility mode as well as right clicking on the installer's executable to run as admin and still not seeing them install. Others you would think would never go on the latest go right on without any problem.

Look just above about the syswow64 stuff I said, sometimes it applies here. The cross-platform types run mostly fine. From what I see, C++ is very solid, Dune 2000 was made in C++ back in 97/98 and it still runs like in the old days: I know it needs compatibility mode to... 16 bit color resolution but that's all: it runs on Win8 compatibility. Again, forget the installers and Admin mode use the install in XP move to 8 thing I mentioned in this case. There are titles like Red Alert 2 and YURI... that need one time elevation: run as admin one to initiate string manager... but I've installed it in XP and I don't even know it it installs on Win8. Go thing I got my backups packed.

The compatibility mode confuses most users: they don't really know how to use it, honestly. You can try and switch the OS type but some programs, in this case games, will not run. I demonstrated a while back that the programs able to detect OS version are the BEST candidates to running in compatibility mode on their designed OS: example is Moto Racer 1997, runs in Win98/ME compatibility, 16 bit color mode only. That game has an option menu where the OS gets detected, that's why it will feel good when Win98 is shown instead of an unknown NT 6.2.

See this compatibility mode test: http://www.eightforums.com/gaming/1...rrectly-after-being-minimized.html#post170677
If you got one of those older games that detects OS, feel free to try the compatibility mode.

Generally with each new version it will be a trial and error process overall when you are looking at several titles. The initial problem encountered here was with games that mandate DX9 with some having their own DX9 installer included in the game's own installer since it is required. The 2007 full stand alone installer for DX9c for example ran into the "not compatible with this version of Windows" error on the CP and RP builds while the 2010 SDK went right onto the RP VM still running for the time that has left.

I agree with the trial and error. The dx9 from june 2010 runs fine on the RTM here and you should replace the one from 2007 because all needed files are included. The own installer from game... cancel those steps because you got the full dx package just mentioned.
Your VM test was correct.

The next try to resolve that one will be on the 90day Enterprise trial obviously being much closer to the retail 8 as well as a direct install to a physical hard drive. As a rule however pc games always seem to fare better with each new version to come out then seen with desktop apps where you need a newer version of same if not a replacement app. Games are written to be run on multiple versions in order to see them sell with companies knowing not everyone is running the exact same version all at once.

True. But unfortunately older releases don't detect the newer OSes and here again the compatibility mode war needs to be fought.
The installers... so in cases they don't work, I run them in XP VM. Think of the installer as an extractor of files, it copies files to needed locations. If you imitate what it does, correctly, you can get your game running on Win8. I've made backups of my working titles and some need registry entries as well to work, since I respect the copyright rules I don't share copies online, I use them on my PC and if something doesn't run on the OS due to installer/compatibility problems, I try to make it run with what I know.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
    PSU
    120W adapter
    Case
    small
    Cooling
    laptop cooling pad
    Keyboard
    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
I can confirm 2 games that DON'T work, at least not for me. They are rather old (Shogun Total War: Warlord Edition, and Medieval Total War Gold). I just recently tested them and it looks like I'm going to have to retract my statement about being able to get any game to work. I previously had them working on 7 on the exact same hardware i'm using now (see my specs below, but I dont think it makes a difference). There were minor issues, like the ingame menus flickering, but both were still very much playable overall. I really cant think of anything about my PC that might have changed, except the OS and drivers, which can make a big difference for some games. But I've tried them on 8, they both install, but crash shortly after launch where the publisher/dev logos appear. I can never make it into the games themselves or even the main menu. Anyone got any ideas?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64, Windows Server 2012 R2 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo G700
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3632QM, 2.20 GHz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    6 GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA 720M, Intel HD 4000
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 (max)
    Hard Drives
    1 TB HDD (5400 RPM), 1.5 TB HDD (5400 RPM) installed in a 12.7mm disc drive caddy
    Case
    Lenovo
    Keyboard
    Lenovo
    Mouse
    Laptop/notebook keyboard/touchpad
    Internet Speed
    It varies, since I'm mobile most of the time
    Browser
    Chromium (the open-source browser which Google Chrome is derived from)
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky, Malwarebytes, Spybot, Privatefirewall
    Other Info
    I will add more information here later
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