Windows 10 and Games

[draclvr]

Has it really been three years again? Microsoft released Windows 10 on July 29th and it's time to see how our games are going to fare. I'm up to my ears in tomatoes right now, but will begin testing games as time allows. RebKean at Gameboomers is also testing out a lot of games, so I will edit this post whenever I can.

Windows 10 was released as an update, so unless people downloaded the OS as an image and did a clean installation, it updated your previous system with files and programs intact. I've noticed that all the games I already had on the system are playing. But that doesn't mean there won't be issues with installing them. So I will try to differentiate and test them both ways.

As before, unless otherwise noted, these are all original CD or DVD versions of the games and I installed to the default location of C:\Program Files (x86). I have played each of the games to where I interact with inventory items by picking them up and using them, saving a game, exiting the game and loading a saved game. I’ve made sure dialogue trees work and the sound and video behave as they are intended.

We will also assume that if Big Fish Games, GOG and STEAM indicate a game works on Windows 10, that will be the case.

YOU WILL NOTICE THAT I'VE RUN INTO SEVERAL GAMES WHICH INSTALL, BUT WILL NOT LAUNCH. I FOUND THIS FROM A MODERATOR AT ONE OF THE MICROSOFT FORUMS:

Hi, We are currently working on this issue. Thank you.

So, without further ado, these are the computer specs. I am running Windows 10 Pro.

Drac's Desktop
Processor - Ivy Bridge Core i5 @ 3.6 GHtz
Disk drive - 1 TB WD Velociraptor
Video Card - Nvidia Geforce GTX Overclocked 660Ti
Ram - 8 GB
Sound Card - Creative SB X-Fi

RebKean has two computers.

RebKean's Laptop
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
CPU: Intel core i5 3317U @ 1.70 GHz Ivy Bridge 22nm Technology
RAM: 4.00 GB
Graphics: Generic PnP Monitor, Intel HD Graphics 4000
HardDrives: 456 GB Seagate ST500LT012-9WS142 (SATA)/ 22 GB SanDisk SSD U100 24 GB (SSD)
Sound: VIA HD Audio

RebKean's Desktop
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
CPU: AMD FX(tm)-4100 Quad-Core Processor 3.60 GHz
RAM: 8,00 GB
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6700 Series
HardDrives: OCZ VERT EX PLUS SCSI Disk Device / SAMSUNG HD154UI SCSI Disk Device
Sound: AMD high Definition Audio Device

RebKean had these games already installed on the laptop and all played with no problems.

The Sims 4
All of the Carol Reed games
Zumas revenge (Origin)
Theme hospital (Origin)
Sim City 2000 special edition (Origin)
Ultima 8 gold edition (Origin)
Syndicate (Origin)
Crime line
Criminal minds
CSI NY
Cute Knight Deluxe
Cute Knight Kingdom
Escape, special bundle edition
Fairway solitaire collectors edition
Fashion solitaire
Jewel Quest mysteries bundle
Jewel Quest solitaire
Jojo's fashion show wolrd tour
Mytery P.I series
Odium (aka Gorky 17)
Papers please
Puzzler World 2013
The Stanley Parable
Plague Inc evolved (Steam)

I'm just going to start with a few games and then organize them later.

Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchman's Mine, 2006 - Installed and played.

American McGee's Alice, 2000 - Despite trying installing to another folder, installing from the setup file on the disk in compatibility mode, using compatibility mode on the desktop shortcut and Run as administrator, the game will not launch. I get as far as the User Account Control to say "yes," and then nothing happens. The game is installed on my drive just fine... it just won't launch and there are no error messages.

A Vampyre Story, 2010 - Well, it's not looking good for this one either. It installs perfectly, but the game will not launch. Uninstalled, ran CCleaner and then installed in C:\... Still won't launch and again, no error messages. Tried Run as Administrator and various compatibility modes.

Darkfall The Journal, 2002 - Installed and played

Dracula Resurrection, 2000 - Installed and played. However, an initial error message said the game wasn't compatible. So I went to the disk, right clicked on the Install file and ran the compatibility trouble shooter. It selected XP SP3 and when I clicked on Test, the game ran perfectly. After I saved and exited, I then clicked on Next and indicated the compatibility mode worked and it should be saved. The last screen said the game had been fixed.

Dracula, The Last Sanctuary, 2001 - Installed and played... same as above. Rejoice for these two games!

Gabriel Knight 3, 1999 - Stella had the disks. With these instructions from RCB, she was able to play the game in - as she put it - all it's pixelated glory!

First thing you'll need is an installer patch that allows all the discs to be loaded on your hard drive. The one I'm using can be found HERE under the G's. Use this instead of the GK3.exe that comes on the first cd. You will be prompted to load the discs as the game is installed at default location: C:/Sierra/Gabriel Knight 3. At the end you may be asked to set up game configuration. Chose no because it's a good idea to know where that option is located.

Game Configuration:
Go to the Gabriel Knight 3 folder and look for Configure GK3.exe. Highlight the full screen rectangle and select 1024x768. Save.

First Time Running:
This installation didn't create a desktop short cut but the new launch file in the main folder is named Gabriel Knight 3.exe. The date of the file should be something like 9/1/2014. I'd recommend sending this to the desktop for convenience since it is necessary to apply compatibility options. Note that the original GK3.exe (1999) is still present but don't touch it. Game Compatibility Mode Settings: I know it's tempting but DO NOT change to a different (older) operating system, leave it alone. What you do need to do though is check the box for reduced color mode - 16 bit (65536) color.
Apply.
Next step is start the game. After the intro and you get control of the game right click to get the 'in game' option menu. Select Configuration Options - Advanced Options - Graphics Options. Turn off (unselect) Incremental Rendering and set the game resolution to 1024x768. Note that if each time you start the game and get a notice like frame buffer overload you will need to reset the resolution from 640x480 back to 1024x768.

Keepsake, 2006 - Installed and played.

Oblivion, 2005 - Installed and played.

Scratches, 2006 - This one made me nervous. It was already installed, but would not launch or recognize that the CD was in the drive. I uninstalled and then reinstalled. The first time I clicked on Play, the taskbar stayed on the screen and the game was all jittery. Maybe Jenny100 or Inland will know if the fact that I got a popup to update my Adobe Air right on top of the jittery game had anything to do with the game. I updated Adobe Air and was able to quit the game. When I relaunched the game, it played just fine. Spent about 1/2 hour in it. Whew! I love this game.

Sybera I, 2003 - Installs, but will not launch. Tried the usual.

Syberia II, 2004 - Installs, but will not launch. See above.

The Hobbit, 2003 - Interesting. This one is already installed and played just fine. But I am unable to uninstall through any of the normal methods to check and see if it will install. The uninstaller is not compatible. I even tried Revo...

Vampire The Masquerade, Bloodlines, 2004 - Installs, but will not launch. What a disappointment.

[mbday630]

drac, I was trying to put solitaire on Larry's laptop (windows 10) and I can't find it in the games folder.... nor can I find any games folder. I want to drag it to a new folder on his desktop along with a few other games that he plays if I can ever find them. I already made the folder called games on the desktop so where do I find the solitaire game? thanks.

[draclvr]

I've had this issue too... a gameplay icon is not always created. Try clicking on the Cortana icon in the taskbar and typing in the name of the game as a search. I assume you've already installed the solitaire game?

[mbday630]

No, I didn't install the solitaire game as he always had that as a bonus from microsoft. I would just click on games and he had minesweeper, solitaire and stuff. do I have to download them from microsoft to get these games now?

[draclvr]

They haven't included those games since the old Windows 7. They are now available as downloads from the Store. You should have a Store icon in your taskbar at the bottom of the screen. You can search from thousands of games and use the Free filter.

[Jude]

Impressive work, Drac! Doesn't apply to me since I use a Mac, but still...

[draclvr]

Thanks, Jude. I've done one of these posts since Window 7. I do have some things and some comments to add to this one - hopefully this week.

[skeeter]

This is just what I was looking for. I finally got my computer up and running - ended up doing a clean install of Windows 7 and lost all my data :( But anyway, now windows update is carrying on because my new hardware is designed for a newer windows. Dad wants me to upgrade to 10, but I am worried about running games. I only upgraded to 7 years after everyone else because I got a new computer and I had to, so I am not keen. Any updates on how the games are running with win10? I will google when I have a chance, but am a bit busy ;)

[draclvr]

Can't imagine why you'd be busy!!

Keep in mind that Windows 7 will only be supported by Microsoft until January, 2020 which is only about 14 months away. Then you will be have to use Windows 10 as Windows 7 will go the way of XP and Vista.

I've been using Windows 10 since it was released and I love it for gaming. The only problem is when you try to play older games from disk which have certain forms of DRM... Actually, the most recent updates for Windows 7 also incorporated this denial of installation with DRM. Luckily GOG.com now offers many games which will now play on modern operating systems. I'm currently playing Shivers which you couldn't play on any computer since XP!

[skeeter]

Haha, I used XP for at least a year after support ended, I am so bad... Dad is on at me to upgrade, and I have a recurring pop up from windows update which is pretty annoying, so that might be enough to push me over. At least I've had the chance to get used to it, as the slate I was using while my computer was broken had win10 on it. I figure I could always get a virtual set up for old games if I need to. I just hate change - but then this computer is blank and I can't remember how I had everything set up anyway...

[draclvr]

Just make sure this computer has the hardware needed for Windows 10. If it's an older one, there may by a lot of new adventure games that won't play if it has an integrated video card.

Lots of people use a virtual setup for older games.

It's not that you CAN'T use the old operating systems, it's just that it's VERY unwise to use them on the internet as they no longer receive security patches. The bad guys were out in force looking for these computers to invade!

I can show you how to get rid of the Windows 10 nag if you want. It's located in an update, but I'd have to look up which one it is.

[skeeter]

Thanks for the offer Drac, but I gave in and updated. You could've helped me with the windows update nag, but not the one that lives in my house! Yes, Dad really thought I should upgrade ;) I hope that it has the hardware, but when the motherboard broke, I also bought a new graphics card, ram and cpu, because a lot of the new games wouldn't play for me so I'd been wanting to upgrade anyway. So hopefully all of that is okay for Windows 10. Now I just need to remember the different software that I had and set it all up again. I've lost a lost of stuff, but it's the photos that hurt the most.

[draclvr]

Oh, no! You didn't have the photos backed up somewhere?

I think you will be glad you updated - you didn't have that much longer on Windows 7 anyway! It was a good operating system, but it's time to move on! I love Windows 10 and everything about it... When I boot into my Windows 7 drive - I have a dual boot system - it feels so old and clunky!

[skeeter]

No, I stupidly hadn't backed them up... So far everything is running okay, but I haven't really tested it. Can't wait to try a game at some point!

[draclvr]

Let me know what games you might try. The only issue with Windows 10 is that it blocks certain forms of DRM. But as I mentioned before, one of the Windows 7 updates also made it block those forms of DRM too.