Are Oldtimers Getting Shut Out?

[Joe Meyer]

I'm still using Windows XP as my Operating System simply because I like it and I've taken all of the precautions to keep it safe. Yet, the game developers are claiming that it is much too tedious to support XP in all of their new offerings. So for those of us like me who've not breathlessly run out to purchase a new computer we've now become the shunned. We are now the stupid people who can't keep up with modern technology. It's fashionable to regards XP users as losers, too old and dumb to realize what they are missing, too dense to understand that the world won't standstill for just them, too obnoxious to believe that there is such a thing as obsolete!

I used to be able to dial up Steam and play a nice little solitaire game of Atlantic Fleet. Can't do that anymore! Can't do a lot of things like that anymore!

[t001001001]

A lot of software developers no longer support my Commodore64

[Zorch]

ORIGINAL: t001001001

A lot of software developers no longer support my Commodore64

Same for my Atari 800. Oh the Shame of it!

[Kuokkanen]

ORIGINAL: t001001001

A lot of software developers no longer support my Commodore64

Do you have this game yet?

Otherwise feel free to keep all your old computers & consoles and use them to play those games that you have on floppy disks, optical discs, or memory cards (a.k.a. modules). And as you can see from YouTube video above, new games are still made for outdated hardware & operating systems. There are also tons of older games on floppies and discs going around eBay and the likes for your old hardware.

For newer games and Steam you can buy a little used laptop for few hundred $$/€/£, which should be enough to run great majority of Matrix/Slitherine games and anything made with RPG Maker.

[edit]
If you want to download games for your old computers, it's doable. Many Steam games run just fine without Steam client software (NOT Aggressors: Ancient Rome), so just copy from new computer to your old one (USB memory devices are handy for that). Good Old Games is safer bet for that though. I downloaded Ultima IV from GOG (it's free over there), copied it to 3½" floppy disk, and ran it on my father's old computer with AMD 386SX 40 MHz processor. I had presumed HDD had died on that one, so I made a boot disk with my WinXP computer and used it to start the machine. Turned out BIOS battery had corroded & died, and after replacing that I Googled HDD model, set it up on BIOS, and HDD & whole computer works again like it did ... 25 years ago [8|]

[PipFromSlitherine]

ORIGINAL: Joe Meyer

I'm still using Windows XP as my Operating System simply because I like it and I've taken all of the precautions to keep it safe. Yet, the game developers are claiming that it is much too tedious to support XP in all of their new offerings. So for those of us like me who've not breathlessly run out to purchase a new computer we've now become the shunned. We are now the stupid people who can't keep up with modern technology. It's fashionable to regards XP users as losers, too old and dumb to realize what they are missing, too dense to understand that the world won't standstill for just them, too obnoxious to believe that there is such a thing as obsolete!

I used to be able to dial up Steam and play a nice little solitaire game of Atlantic Fleet. Can't do that anymore! Can't do a lot of things like that anymore!

XP was released more than 18 years ago. It's no longer even partly secure and hasn't been supported at all in more than 5 years. Approx 1.32% of users worldwide run it.

I am not sure how old your machine running it is, but I feel confident in saying that upgrading to a machine with a modern CPU and SSD will be like taking a trip to the future [:)]

Cheers

Pip

[sullafelix]

I was like you, but finally took the plunge over the summer. I had too. I was upgrading and the CPU would not run on W7.

I have yet to find any old game that will not run on it. As far as games that would run on W7 without a work around like DOSBox etc.

[t001001001]

Also, Pip, I'd like to complain that it takes 117yrs w/ my 600 baud modem to download any of the games you guys currently develop. What's up w/ that? [;)]

[Zorch]

ORIGINAL: t001001001

Also, Pip, I'd like to complain that it takes 117yrs w/ my 600 baud modem to download any of the games you guys currently develop. What's up w/ that? [;)]

600 baud? My acoustic coupler only gets 120 baud. I just love the sound of it connecting...

[Curtis Lemay]

ORIGINAL: Zorch

ORIGINAL: t001001001

Also, Pip, I'd like to complain that it takes 117yrs w/ my 600 baud modem to download any of the games you guys currently develop. What's up w/ that? [;)]

600 baud? My acoustic coupler only gets 120 baud. I just love the sound of it connecting...

Anyone still using smoke signals?

[Lobster]

ORIGINAL: t001001001

A lot of software developers no longer support my Commodore64

I still have my 486 mother board, cpu and memory. I could likely slap it all together. But why?

[Kuokkanen]

ORIGINAL: Lobster

ORIGINAL: t001001001

A lot of software developers no longer support my Commodore64

I still have my 486 mother board, cpu and memory. I could likely slap it all together. But why?

To play old games without emulation? Emulation may bring some issues from glitches with sound and gfx to latency (major complaint with NES Classic Mini & the likes)

[Crossroads]

ORIGINAL: t001001001

A lot of software developers no longer support my Commodore64

I was going to give my strong objection to this sentence, but fair enough, there are lot of software developers who no longer support C64.

But with C64 Mini out last year, and a full size C64 replica in the making, these are grand times. Grand times, I tell ya!

https://retrogames.biz/

[AndySfromVA]

The poster raises a serious point. I have a PC with built-in graphics that's incapable of running many newer 3d programs. I'm very reluctant to invest in newer games (like the upcoming PZ Corps 2) that might not run well. And some of the older games don't run well on Windows 10.

[Karri]

ORIGINAL: AndySfromVA

The poster raises a serious point. I have a PC with built-in graphics that's incapable of running many newer 3d programs. I'm very reluctant to invest in newer games (like the upcoming PZ Corps 2) that might not run well. And some of the older games don't run well on Windows 10.

The only serious point he raises is:

too obnoxious to believe that there is such a thing as obsolete!

Now spending 800 dollars on a new computer (which doesn't get you the best possible computer, but will keep you up to date) every three years or so might be a bit expensive from some perspective, but if I count it as per hour cost it's pennies(and that's only calculating time spent gaming).

[Montbrun]

I'm definitely an "old timer," but use CAD products for a living. I've found that Windows-7 Pro, which is loaded on my personal computer, is an excellent alternative to the newer Windows versions, and I think, is still available and supported.

[stuart3]

I've found that Windows-7 Pro, which is loaded on my personal computer, is an excellent alternative to the newer Windows versions, and I think, is still available and supported.

Available? Only by back door methods.
Supported? Yes, and it will be for all of the next three months. Microsoft will cease supporting it on 14th January 2020.

We Win 7 users will have to change operating systems after that. My mind isn't fully made up yet, but I am seriously thinking of learning to use Linux.

[Zovs]

Linux is a very good way to go. I have been using it since 1996. You'll want to learn something easy like either Ubuntu and Mate (Ubuntu is the O/S version and Mate is the Desktop to use with it), both are very easy to use and get used to Linux with.

Windows 10 is really not all that bad once you get used to it. In fact in my opinion its much better then Windows 7. Windows XP is just dead.

I am also learning MacOS which is kind of neat, but I don't think a lot of games are designed for it, if any?

[Kuokkanen]

ORIGINAL: Zovs

Linux is a very good way to go. I have been using it since 1996. You'll want to learn something easy like either Ubuntu and Mate (Ubuntu is the O/S version and Mate is the Desktop to use with it), both are very easy to use and get used to Linux with.

I thought Ubuntu comes with Gnome by default? In any case, I don't recommend Ubuntu nor most of the derivatives (Kubuntu with KDE) for outdated hardware. I've got Gentoo on one outdated laptop, and it really doesn't meet definition of "user friendly". And I have read Slackware (from 1990's if not before) is even worse.

[edit]
What comes to Win7 support, I just tried Windows Update and I get an error that says the service isn't running.

[stuart3]

You'll want to learn something easy like either Ubuntu

I don't recommend Ubuntu

That's one of the problems I have been coming up against. Every 10 Linux users seem to generate 15 opinions. Some of them mutually contradictory. [:D]

[Kuokkanen]

ORIGINAL: stuart3

You'll want to learn something easy like either Ubuntu

I don't recommend Ubuntu

That's one of the problems I have been coming up against. Every 10 Linux users seem to generate 15 opinions. Some of them mutually contradictory. [:D]

Look here, you need to consider the reasons why something is recommended or not. As I understand it, Ubuntu is Linux equivalent of Windows 10 that requires several gigabytes worth of RAM. Gentoo on other hand can make do with only 1 gigabyte worth of RAM, and even less, but requires Hell of reading, experimentation, and frustration. There are some distros that fall between. Some of the Arch Linux could be worthy consideration for outdated hardware. Look up some computer magazines (in print) with articles about Linux and proceed from there. Or Google Arch Linux.