Widescreenfixespack: Support for Windows XP 32-bit (REQUEST)

[gransabr]

First of all, huge thank you for this project!

I would like to talk about Windows XP 32-bit support because people still use these machines for various good reasons for playing older games. Here is a link to one of the largest communities revolving around gaming on (mostly) period-correct hardware/software:

https://www.vogons.org/viewforum.php?f=46 (as you can see all threads on the first page have been active in 2019, suggesting a relatively healthy demand for this niche)

At least one example of a valid reason for WinXP is the EAX sound support which does not work on Vista and newer (Win7, which is the current target of this repository). Here is some list of EAX games:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_with_EAX_support

You can see a lot of popular games on that list, such as GTA, Mafia, Max Payne,....

I totally understand this is not a priority for the majority of folks (who dont have dedicated state-of-the-art retro PCs), but what would it take to include WinXP support, realistically speaking?

Thanks!

[ThirteenAG]

There will be no xp support. It's 2019.
Besides, I started using some APIs that's not on xp, so it's not just a matter of adding some flags in the build options.

[d4rkne55]

Also, why not also using an old CRT monitor or an LCD with 4:3 resolution? Then you wouldn't need the WidescreenFix and it's more true to that period of time.

[gransabr]

@ThirteenAG Thanks for your reply! Yeah, it is a bummer about the newer APIs not being backwards compatible, makes sense. So one would need to re-write the full code using some very specific old APIs in a separate project right? Assuming some changes are even possible with the older APIs under WinXP... Btw, was there ever compatibility with WinXP in this project or was it Win7+ from the start?

Also, judging by your emphasis on the 2019 bit, I think you may have slightly missed my point. I do not have WinXP PC as my main computer of course, but I do have it to play games released for it. I would like _games released specifically for WinXP to retain their original compatibility_ because WinXP is the most compatible system for them (EAX, etc). Being in 2019 does not have much to do with it, its more about about preservation and enhancements of the original in the best possible way. Those WinXP games are still often crippled on Win7 and later in some ways, even with the fixes from this project.

But I understand that majority of users here is totally okay with it and the primary use case is to be able to at least play some of the older games on newest systems (that would otherwise not run well or at all). I hope I have explained it a little more now.

@d4rkne55 Yes and no. I do have CRTs and still have use for these fixes. Some of the CRTs are even widescreen (16:10) and can run at around 3/4th of 4K resolution (=6Mpix@60Hz). Some games, you would want to run at widescreen even on 4:3 CRTs (which btw support upto around 21:9, with black bars of course). For me, its mainly about EAX sound support (which is WinXP exclusive) and then some special fixes such as being able to unlock framerate limits, fix game-specific issues (shadows in Mafia, ...), run widescreen or higher resolutions, etc.

[Polymega]

At least one example of a valid reason for WinXP is the EAX sound support which does not work on Vista and newer

Have you looked into http://indirectsound.com/ ?

[gransabr]

At least one example of a valid reason for WinXP is the EAX sound support which does not work on Vista and newer

Have you looked into http://indirectsound.com/ ?

Thanks for the link but these things are not what I am looking for.

[ghost]

Derp