Run Vista-only titles on XP

[SeijiSensei]

I expected to see someone else post this, but since it hasn't shown up, I'll post it:
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?op...=6146&Itemid=2

"Hacking group warez has released a patch allowing gamers to run Halo 2 and Shadowrun, both released by Microsoft as Windows Vista-only titles, on the firm’s older Windows XP operating system."

There's also a Slashdot discussion of this article.

We don't play PC games, so it doesn't matter here. Thought some of the rest of you would like to see this, though.

[Dhomochevsky]

So, are these hacks applied to the game or to the OS (so that xp apears as vista)?

[SeijiSensei]

In the case of Falling Leaf Systems, they appear to be releasing compatibilty libraries. DK about the "warez" versions, though I think the actual reference should be to Razor1911.

That's all I know about this; from here on, you're on your own

[Sanjuronord]

Both of these games feature online right? Wouldn't it be funny if Microsoft pulls another stunt like banning all those mod'd 360's on these people? I'd certainly get a chuckle out of that.

[arcadeplayer987]

Microsoft seems to enjoy this hack
http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?op...=1643&Itemid=1

[Benoit]

The article doesn't say anything about what Microsoft thinks of this, actually. It only says

Microsoft should be happy with this, since a lot of people will probably buy the game to run it on their XP systems.

The only new piece of information that I can see in this article is that Shadowrun doesn't require DirectX 10 at all.

[Cruzz]

Originally Posted by Benoit

The only new piece of information that I can see in this article is that Shadowrun doesn't require DirectX 10 at all.

There aren't any games out or coming out any time soon which would *require* DX10 (a few have some kind of optional support for it though.). And when they do come out we won't be seeing them running on XP.

Microsoft probably isn't particularly enjoying this hack. The only reason they're making games Vista only right now is to sell Vista, not because they'd have any great difficulty getting the games to work in XP as well.

[arcadeplayer987]

I agree but vista is selling well anyway

[Tiberium Wolf]

I have tested this hack and it works on halo 2. . I think I can forget vista.

[Joe88]

Originally Posted by Tiberium Wolf

I have tested this hack and it works on halo 2. . I think I can forget vista.

that is until ms starts releasing patches that will probably ban from running on xp
which means your gonna be limited to single player only

[Tiberium Wolf]

Originally Posted by Joe88

that is until ms starts releasing patches that will probably ban from running on xp
which means your gonna be limited to single player only

It is limited to single player already. I think. Anyway I don't even have money to play for online gaming. Unemployed again.

[Lexander]

I run Vista ... but god I hate MS sometimes ... this is ridiculous.

When a company says vista only I'd like that to mean that it CANNOT run on XP. F U mircrosoft.

[arcadeplayer987]

Originally Posted by Lexander

I run Vista ... but god I hate MS sometimes ... this is ridiculous.

When a company says vista only I'd like that to mean that it CANNOT run on XP. F U mircrosoft.

But you cannot run games vista only on Xp.
The fact that someone hack the game and you can run it on Xp now is another story.

[Ledgem]

I didn't read the link so I don't know exactly what this hack involves, but I think you're missing the point, arcadeplayer987, which is that there's an artificial restriction going on. The games are being used in a carrot-and-stick approach to get people to switch over to Vista. The games run perfectly fine in XP - there are no glitches or anything.

There was a similar act put up when Windows XP came out. I believe someone mentioned that Age of Empires did this. The person was using Windows 2000, and the game popped up a message saying that it needed Windows XP. However, when they installed the game using "network mode" the installer skipped the OS check, the game installed just fine, and it played just fine.

Artificial restrictions like that are a pretty dirty tactic, in my opinion.

[WanderingKnight]

I run Vista ... but god I hate MS sometimes ... this is ridiculous.

When a company says vista only I'd like that to mean that it CANNOT run on XP. F U mircrosoft.

The best way to show your hate for MS is to stop using it altogether. Even piracy has a positive effect in the MS dominance of the market, so even if you use a bootleg copy of Windows, you're aiding the monopoly.

I got sick of MS a couple of months ago and switched to Linux. Ever since then, I've never looked back.

[Jo-Roll]

Originally Posted by WanderingKnight

The best way to show your hate for MS is to stop using it altogether. Even piracy has a positive effect in the MS dominance of the market, so even if you use a bootleg copy of Windows, you're aiding the monopoly.

I got sick of MS a couple of months ago and switched to Linux. Ever since then, I've never looked back.

I'm trying to go this route with my machines at home. I got a few of 'em with some windows only hardware (modems mostly) and they can't be converted over until a driver is written or I can replace the hardware (not likely any time soon...).

[Joe88]

Originally Posted by Jo-Roll

I'm trying to go this route with my machines at home. I got a few of 'em with some windows only hardware (modems mostly) and they can't be converted over until a driver is written or I can replace the hardware (not likely any time soon...).

the only problem is gaming ...

[WanderingKnight]

the only problem is gaming ...

That's what consoles are there for

Naw, seriously speaking, I've lost almost all interest of using the PC for gaming, mainly because putting up with today's gaming standards is too much of a hassle (and a pocket-burner). Besides, there aren't PC games out there that really grab my attention. With consoles, on the other hand, I am guaranteed that the game I want to play will work no matter what. And there are a lot of more interesting games that please my tastes more (mostly Japanese RPGs, which are almost nonexistent in the PC). The only gaming on the PC that may interest me is for the purpose of emulating old games, but every console has an emulator under Linux.

And besides, there's also the Wine project. It's not 100% effective for all games, but many of them run, and do it better on Windows.

Gaming under Linux is just a small decision on the part of the gaming industry... that is, to opt for open source software such as OpenGL instead of feeding the MS monopoly by investing in the proprietary DirectX.

[Benoit]

The only gaming on the PC that may interest me is for the purpose of emulating old games, but every console has an emulator under Linux.

I remember someone saying a couple months ago that there's no decent Genesis/Mega Drive emulator for Linux.

[WanderingKnight]

I remember someone saying a couple months ago that there's no decent Genesis/Mega Drive emulator for Linux.

Then he lied miserably. Gens is a perfectly working open source Sega Genesis emulator, and it's multiplatform.