So installing games to their default install location means they don’t work with the security framework? That is a strangely awful situation. I take it there’s some MS standard that says saved games go in the user docs folder or somewhere.
A lot of these games were written long before there were any standards over the permissions and usage of \Program Files, so they do things like save configs and save games to directories under their install location, which is a big no-no now (where they should go is a completely separate mess). Using a separate C:\Games directory that’s user-writable has worked well for me.
Panda
4064
Disabling UAC is really not the same thing as disabling virus protection because they don’t work the same way. UAC will only save you from yourself in that if you run certain viruses on a machine with UAC enabled, all or part of that virus’ functionality will be blocked. If the virus doesn’t depend on doing things in the areas UAC protects, it won’t help you at all. And it doesn’t do a single thing to prevent you from downloading an executing the virus in the first place.
I guess I shouldn’t say everyone should disable UAC as a blanket statement but as an experienced computer professional, I personally have no use for it whatsoever and I think there are much better ways to handle your PC"s security. Problems with installers and save file directories are only the beginning of the madness.
EDIT: I thought the installers that guy was talking about was GoG’s, which was obviously written very recently.
Ease of use, basically. UAC isn’t great about informing non-savvy users when and why it stops some function or other. So while it’s really good at making people click through dialogue boxes, it is not so good at explaining why certain things sometimes won’t run right. Making it - in my absolutely inexpert opinion - user-hostile, time-sucking overkill on private computers.
Ninyu
4066
Mystery ad on the front page today. “What game made you dream of the stars?”. Reveal Thursday at 1pm EST.
Wing Commander? X-Wing? Freelancer?
Elite? Starflight? Star Control? I’m TERRIBLY excited. :) And that font looks really familiar. Hhmmm, maybe Reach for the Stars?
Alpha Centauri? Homeworld?
StarControl or Homeworld are my two guesses.
If it’s Homeworld I will be so happy and also $10 poorer.
My guess is Homeworld, since GoG has already established it will release Sierra/Dynamix games. It won’t be Star Control because, well, nobody will buy it with The Ur-Quan Masters out there. It won’t be an EA or a Microsoft game, so no Wing Commander or Freelancer.
Then again it could be some meh shovelware title.
Thirded, but for 20$; my father loves Homeworld, but then the dog ate his disk.
Kurina
4074
New clue is “What game made you ride with the outlaws?”
Combined with the previous comment related to stars, looks like it could be Lucasarts titles!
Ninyu
4075
Ohhhhh man. Please be right!!
Urgh, it’s EA I wanted. Not interested in the LucasArts stuff at all. Figuring out obscure puzzles faced by characters with corny humor is no fun to me, and Star Wars lost all its appeal.
Otagan
4077
Give me the X-Wing series in original DOS format and I will buy them all on the spot, no questions asked.
Hell, I’d rebuy so many old Lucasarts games if they go up that I don’t even know where to begin.
Quitch
4078
Attempts by apps to write there are redirected to “virtualised folders” so as to allow badly written software to continue doing its thing. I have yet to find a GoG game that won’t work there, and as they’re all supposed to work with Windows up to Windows 7 they should work under %programfiles%.
Disabling UAC is stupid, you’re removing a number of protections, for example integrity levels (known in Internet Explorer as Protected Mode) not just the UAC prompt.
Man, if it was Tie Fighter – one of my favorite games ever – in the original DOS format with the iMuse music system, I would totally plotz.
I know it’s heresy, but the thought of getting Outlaws makes me ten times more excited than Tie Fighter.
