SC4 Devotion Forum Archives

SC4D Off Topic Section => Computer Hardware and Software - Technical Discussion and Support => Topic started by: Tarkus on August 24, 2012, 08:26:14 PM

Title: SimCity 4 and Windows 8
Post by: Tarkus on August 24, 2012, 08:26:14 PM
After having a boot sector fail on my laptop's hard drive at the beginning of the week, I've taken the plunge and installed the "release preview" edition of Windows 8 on my hard drive.  There's been a lot of fear and uncertainty surrounding SC4's continued compatibility with newer operating systems and hardware, but, so far, in my tests running it with the new OS, I've found that the two get along fairly well on my dual-core system, using similar settings to what I used to get it to work with Windows 7.  That includes setting the compatibility on the program to "Windows XP SP3", and using command line switches to change the resolution, run windowed, and setting core affinity.

My tests thus far seem promising, though I'll be giving it a more thorough shakedown in the coming days.

-Alex

Title: Re: SimCity 4 and Windows 8
Post by: Wiimeiser on August 24, 2012, 08:57:55 PM
So I assume, then, it will take major architectural changes the likes of which haven't been seen since Windows 3.1 AFAIK, or the minimum standard screen resolution exceeding SC4's hardcoded absolute maximum resolution for the game to die. That should be at least four to six years.
Title: Re: SimCity 4 and Windows 8
Post by: Tarkus on August 25, 2012, 04:12:45 PM
To my knowledge, SC4 doesn't have a hardcoded maximum resolution.  I know of people who have been running on 1920x1024 with 64-bit color, and I'm running on (once-unusual) 1366x768 resolution myself. 

I've begun getting all the tools to work out with the new OS as well.  Thus far, I've been able to run null45's BatchPNGToFSH, ilive Reader 0.93, PIM-X, SC4 Terraformer, and SC4 Mapper.

-Alex
Title: Re: SimCity 4 and Windows 8
Post by: ScottFTL on August 26, 2012, 10:39:12 AM
Thanks for the info, Tarkus.  It's good to know that SC4 will survive the next version of Windows.

As for the maximum resolution question, there have been some recent discussions (http://community.simtropolis.com/topic/50712-2560x1440/) about this at Simtropolis.  It seems like the game cannot launch at a resolution greater than 2048x1536 or thereabouts.  There are 2560x1440 monitors on the market now, so this will be an issue for some folks with newer hardware.  Of course, the game still works fine set to a lower resolution or in windowed mode - so it's not going to die any time soon.   :thumbsup:
Title: Re: SimCity 4 and Windows 8
Post by: eth3l on September 23, 2012, 06:37:26 PM
I installed SimCity on my Windows 8 machine and its deceiving. While the game ran flawlessly in Win7 it runs horribly in Win8. the CPUCount: 1 doe snot appear to work and the game frequently freezes or runs very very slowly. I have yet to determine why and would love a deeper assessment.
Title: Re: SimCity 4 and Windows 8
Post by: SC4BOY on September 24, 2012, 09:32:18 AM
I installed it on my Win 8 PR and have no problems whatsoever. I use no switches (on a quad-core i7) using the intel HD4000 video built on the i7 chip. (well I do use the -nointro) It has not so much as a hiccup over fairly lengthy sessions nor has there been a CTD nor a save glitch.