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General discussion (archive)Boilerplate system requirements on game pages(14 posts)(14 posts)
(14 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted March 09, 2010
I have noticed that many of the new releases, especially games that were released in 2004 and later, have system requirements that are higher than the boilerplate requirements given on their game pages.
For example, Bloodrayne 2 needs DirectX 8.1 support with hardware vertex processing. The GOG page indicates that only DirectX 7 support is needed. Advent Rising and Vampire the Masquerade also have higher requirements than stated.
For those of us with modern computers, this may be a moot point. But for many non-techies that I know that don't upgrade often, having accurate system requirements for the games here would be a good thing.
Posted March 09, 2010
Considering that these games will only install on Windows XP or higher and the minimum DX version on Windows XP is 8.1 (though most everyone who actually uses their PC for gaming was already force upgraded to at least 9.0a a long time ago), the DX version error is really a non issue. They should correct it, just for accuracy's sake, but I really don't think it going to cause any issues for anyone trying to run these games.
Posted March 09, 2010
GOG make sure the games work on modern systems. That often means rewriting some of the code. But also it takes into account the fact that XP and especially Vista have higher requirements themselves than earlier versions of WIndows/DOS.
Posted March 09, 2010
dude, gog games are always like that
for example, duke nukem atomic edition requirements say 512mb ram and 1.8 ghz processor, neither of which even existed in the retail market when the game came out.
Posted March 09, 2010
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captfitz: dude, gog games are always like that
for example, duke nukem atomic edition requirements say 512mb ram and 1.8 ghz processor, neither of which even existed in the retail market when the game came out.

But the game wasn't running through DOSBox then.
Posted March 09, 2010
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captfitz: dude, gog games are always like that
for example, duke nukem atomic edition requirements say 512mb ram and 1.8 ghz processor, neither of which even existed in the retail market when the game came out.

I realized that. I was mainly talking about games that have higher requirements than the boilerplate, not lower.
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cogadh: Considering that these games will only install on Windows XP or higher and the minimum DX version on Windows XP is 8.1 (though most everyone who actually uses their PC for gaming was already force upgraded to at least 9.0a a long time ago), the DX version error is really a non issue. They should correct it, just for accuracy's sake, but I really don't think it going to cause any issues for anyone trying to run these games.

The issue is video cards that don't support the features of DirectX 8.1. You can install XP on a computer that has a DirectX 7 class card, like a GeForce MX for example. But if you try to install a game that uses the vertex parts of DirectX 8.1, it will fail to run or crash.
I do realize that for most people the system requirements of older games aren't an issue. I was thinking of people who might have GeForce 5500FX cards or Radeon 7500's. Some people don't upgrade quite as often as regulars here do.
Posted March 09, 2010
Considering that anything from the Geforce 5 (FX) era or later will run any and all games on GOG (they are all DX 9 and pixel/vertex shader 2.x cards), I still see that as a non-issue. The only people who would really have to worry are those running certain 8+ year old GeForce 4-era and earlier cards (the MX quality cards and earlier). Besides, the kind of gamers who come here are exactly those same kind of gamers who do upgrade their rigs at least somewhat regularly, and that's not just the forum "regulars". I do agree that for accuracy sake, the requirements shown on the individual game pages should be correct and not just a cut-and-paste of all the other games, I just don't think it is going to be the kind of issue you seem to think it will be.
Posted March 09, 2010
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cogadh: Considering that anything from the Geforce 5 (FX) era or later will run any and all games on GOG (they are all DX 9 and pixel/vertex shader 2.x cards), I still see that as a non-issue. The only people who would really have to worry are those running certain 8+ year old GeForce 4-era and earlier cards (the MX quality cards and earlier). Besides, the kind of gamers who come here are exactly those same kind of gamers who do upgrade their rigs at least somewhat regularly, and that's not just the forum "regulars". I do agree that for accuracy sake, the requirements shown on the individual game pages should be correct and not just a cut-and-paste of all the other games, I just don't think it is going to be the kind of issue you seem to think it will be.

I agree that it's not a huge issue. But it could create isolated instances where someone buys a game thinking it will run, and then it doesn't. For example, my brother's computer has a Radeon 9100 card, which is decently fast by the standards of the time it was made (8 pipelines), but only supports DirectX 8.1 features. AFAIK there are no DirectX 9 games here yet, but if there were, it would be nice to have accurate system requirements instead of having to do research elsewhere to find out what they are.
Post edited March 09, 2010 by barleyguy
Posted March 09, 2010
There are some varied system regs for the games - This is Divine Divinity for instance -
Minimum system requirements: Windows XP or Windows Vista, 1 GHz Processor (1.4 GHz recommended), 256MB RAM (512 recommended), 3D graphics card compatible with DirectX 7 (compatible with DirectX 9 recommended), Mouse, Keyboard.
Posted March 09, 2010
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Stuff: There are some varied system regs for the games - This is Divine Divinity for instance -
Minimum system requirements: Windows XP or Windows Vista, 1 GHz Processor (1.4 GHz recommended), 256MB RAM (512 recommended), 3D graphics card compatible with DirectX 7 (compatible with DirectX 9 recommended), Mouse, Keyboard.

And here are the system requirements posted for Bloodrayne 2:
Minimum system requirements: Windows XP or Windows Vista, 1 GHz Processor (1.4 GHz recommended), 256MB RAM (512 recommended), 3D graphics card compatible with DirectX 7 (compatible with DirectX 9 recommended), Mouse, Keyboard.
Posted March 09, 2010
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barleyguy: it would be nice to have accurate system requirements instead of having to do research elsewhere to find out what they are.

As stated before, you're not taking the OS into account. Especially VIsta.
Posted March 09, 2010
I'm not discounting your observation. I believe it may be worthwhile for you to contact GOG support and discuss the Sys Reqs issue with them since they are the only ones who can really change the policy. They may be able to clarify the reasons for using the format / reqs that are used . . .=)
Posted March 09, 2010
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barleyguy: it would be nice to have accurate system requirements instead of having to do research elsewhere to find out what they are.
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Navagon: As stated before, you're not taking the OS into account. Especially VIsta.

No, he actually is. The examples he has provided are games that have GOG listed minimum requirements that are less than the actual requirements for the game as originally released. GOG did not optimize these games to run on less hardware than they originally did, especially since they are now running on an OS with potentially higher hardware demands.
Posted March 09, 2010
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cogadh: No, he actually is. The examples he has provided are games that have GOG listed minimum requirements that are less than the actual requirements for the game as originally released. GOG did not optimize these games to run on less hardware than they originally did, especially since they are now running on an OS with potentially higher hardware demands.

Well, true you can't have DX7 installed on either OS GOG supports, so they should definitely fix that. But in that instance, I'd be more inclined to think it was a typo. Because, as stated, neither the original game or GOG support DX7. That aside, they normally take into account the increased requirements. At least from what I've seen.
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General discussion (archive)Boilerplate system requirements on game pages(14 posts)(14 posts)
(14 posts)