Windows Vista Compatability

[robertk2]

Hey Folks,

Any word on how the final verson of TSL will work on Windows Vista?  (If this has been posted somewhere else, please direct me!)  I know Vista has a Compatability Mode similiar to XP, but trust me, after using both I know that there are still many issues that some programs can simply not overcome. I'll be installing the demo on my Vista maching shortly to try it out.  I'll let you know how it goes.   Thanks a bunch!  If you need some Vista beta testers, let me know! 

[robertk2]

Well I've got some preliminary results already.  TSL and the patch installed without a hitch in Vista.  Once I attempted to run the game, however, I got an error that said "You video card failed to initialize."  It also then changed my desktop theme from Aero (that comes with Windows Ultimate) to basic.  From what I've read this is a common problem for incompatible programs trying to run on Vista.  I'll look for a work around later tonight (such as compatability modes, driver updates, etc).  I do know that my video card is compatible, as I ran TSL on this very same computer before I installed Windows Vista, and it worked without any problems.  Its nothing special: NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GS 256 mb (up to 512 shared). More Later...

[Shades2585]

Since it's not done the final version hasn't been tested. I believe one person tested the demo in Vista and didn't have a problem with it but we would be great full for you input after you try it.

Your video car is definitely good enough.

[robertk2]

Alright, the results are in. After multiple installations, driver updates, and compatability mode tests, here are the results.  In order to get the demo to work the best on my NVIDIA Geforce video card on Windwos Vista this is what I did:

First: Update your video card drivers FROM THE MANUFACTURER'S website.  The versions that shipped with Vista don't work.  NOTE: Updating your driver through the device manager doesn't work either (if you don't know what that means, don't bother with it).  I tested this initially.  You must manually download from the internet.  In my case http://www.nvidia.com/

Second: Install drivers.  Should be a .exe file.  Just install, you should have to restart your computer.

Third:  Install the demo and the patch

Lastly:  I found that the game ran much smoother and took less time to load initially when run in compatability mode with Windows XP (Service Pack 2).  There is a nice article on how to do this here.

In my opinion this got the game working the best.  It still seemed a little choppier than on an XP machine, but its been a while since I booted it on my other computer.  Might make for an interesting comparison. 

I was using the retail version of Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit.  My computer isn't a souped up machine.  It's an AMD Athlon 64 3500+ with 1GB of RAM. 

I didn't play through the whole demo, only the first minute or so to verify the graphics loaded.  If there is interest I could play through the whole demo on Vista and give my impressions.  Otherwise, I hope this helps some poor bloke who installed Vista before much software supports it like I did!

It turns out this topic was actually talked about back in October when the Beta version of Vista was released (http://www.postudios.com/blog/forum/index.php?topic=5330.0), so these results basically verify the same thing on the final retail version.

[Shades2585]

Thank you RobertK2 It's nice to hear of more people testing it on Vista and I'm glad to hear it worked. If you would like to run through it and give us your impressions I'm sure the designers would be happy to hear it.

Congratz and thank you very much.

[Yonkey]

Thanks for the info, Robertk2.