Hi folks, just wondering here if anyone else has the same issues as me when it comes to windows 7 compatibility. Most of the incompatibilities that I have encountered are solely down to Windows 7 (64-bit) on my main gaming rig. Having since tested this theory on a second windows 7 rig with 32-bit OS I've discovered that these most of games do actually function on Win 7

So does anyone know if GOG posts a list of 32/64 compatibility anywhere. I've looked but can't quite find it. If GOG doesn't have a list anywhere is anyone else with me that they should make that clearer on the system requirements?

Regards,

Martin

Well, I guess if a game is officially supported by Windows 7 according to the gamecard that includes the 64 bit version. It's unlikely that GOG knowingly omit such compatibility information, it's more likely that their QA team didn't find the issues you're talking about. I must also say that I can't think of a single GOG game that doesn't work on my current Windows 7 system, I think you're exaggerating a bit here and are actually facing issues that not everyone is having on 64 bit OSes and don't constitute an actual lack of 64 bit support by a game. Would be great if you could say what games you're talking about. As I said, I'm quite sure that the issues you're talking about are ones that can at least be worked around somehow.

Well what prompted this post was the Witcher. A friend of mine wanted to try out Witcher 1 & 2 before paying out for the latest game. After he ran into bugs and issues I also tried out the games (as they'd sat in my library unplayed since I bought them). Suffice to say, there are well documented bugs with the game on Win 7 (64). What really annoys me is that the particular issue I run into is that despite having a top notch gaming rig the solution provided basically reduces the quality of the graphics, and can still give the user a buggy experience.

There are other games I've run into issues with like Worms (United & 2). Fallout 1 & 2 sometimes is a bugger to get working as well, or will crash out during FMVs. Off the top of my head I couldn't name all of them because generally, I just move on if a game doesn't work. Generally speaking though it's the older games that get a bit janky with the OS (I'd hazard a guess at other x64 systems too). I would add though that most DOSBOX based games work fine. Sure, compatibility mode does solve some issues, but not everything.

I'm not saying categorically that the games don't work but there is an issue, especially with older games and 64-bit OS. Sometimes the work around can be just stupid, especially for those with less experience. Even just an asterisk denoting that there COULD be issues with 64-bit OS would be nice. At the moment there doesn't seem to be any acknowledgement.

In general, though, of course GOG's stuff works. It's one of the reasons I love this site. I am interested to know how many other people do run into problems that require either stupid levels of workarounds or workarounds that lower the quality of the game experience (having to skip FMVs or risk crashing out for example).

F4LLOUT, it's great that you've had no issues, but when something goes wrong and it's a known bug or issue on both GOG's support pages or elsewhere, it's clear that other people DO have these issues. Yeah, they can be worked around, but that's not something everyone is comfortable doing. My friend certainly isn't one of these people. He's as much as told me that, despite my recommendations he wouldn't touch GOG again...which is a great shame. Maybe games or systems are just buggy, but it doesn't mean that issues don't exist.

So I repeat, should there be some acknowledgement or reduced, or non-compatibility (even if workarounds exist) for the more basic users?

If it's a known and popular problem GOG should of course either try to fix it or mention possible compatibility issues on the gamecard, yes, I'm not arguing with you there. But if it's a small minority experiencing these problems they also can't say that a certain operating system or hardware configuration isn't supported - that would be just as irresponsible. Another thing is that even if an issue has been mentioned on the forums several times it does not mean that GOG staff are aware of it, there's only so much stuff happening on the forums they can grasp (and when they find threads about compatibility issues their first course of action is usually to ask a user to report the issue - probably only a minority of people actually do).

Another thing is that you started this thread with a very specific claim, that certain games categorically don't work/have problems on 64 bit versions of Windows and demanded a specific course of action on that matter - which turned out to be wrong. I see that it's frustrating for you when my reply is "but it works for me" but you need to understand that if it does work for me and presumably many others using the same operating system it means that your conclusion was wrong and the issue is probably related to another factor you are not aware of. And that's exactly why people should contact support more often, GOG support is more likely to find the actual cause of the problem and solve it and can possibly update the game accordingly.