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Shadow WatchNo more Java?(8 posts)(8 posts)
(8 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted September 10, 2015
(Ooh, first post!)

I saw this appeared on GOG today and I was trying to remember why it sounded so familiar – then I remembered it was because this game is by all accounts particularly stubborn about running on modern systems.

Didn't this require Java originally? Does it still require Java? (And doesn't having Java around bring in the alarming prospect of security vulnerabilities? Granted, a lot of those are squashed just by disabling the Java browser plug-in and just having the run-time around might not be so bad.)
Posted September 10, 2015
Well I don't know about all that, but it does work on Windows 8.1. Then again i do also have java SE installed.
Posted September 10, 2015
yup, JRE folder is present

see attachment screenshot

some info is blank when you ask the properties :D

there's a file that says 1.18
its txt file with no extension, just open with note or wordpad or rename extension to txt

README

The Java(tm) Runtime Environment
JRE 1.1.8

bla bla .........

more talk ....

it seems to run sofar, so the question is more likely: how about safety ? (regarding java) :D
my java is always up2date

funny thing is the small double exe that runs

sw.exe disappears when the game is closed (when i ran it says jr)
, gazillions of games seem to do that, i dont see the reason why devs would do that but theres no doubt it has some reason.

anyways i made it in the game and spotted a guard i can waste him but then the alarm will go off and i blow my cover
i have lilly ( martial arts) so i guess i will have here waste that mother for me :D

check screenshot

now i will wait, then lily has 3 turns again, so she can go and take care of the guard (silencer on pistol)
60 and 30 so i had to shot him twice :D

so the game is 'different' compared to all nowadays invisible inc and shadowrun, which are fast paced games and lightning fast actions and kills, for me 'oldfolks' games are okay, it takes 30 minutes or 1 hour to complete the mission cause the game controls are slowing you down.
but i like that :D

i spent 70 minutes before i could finish the fight outside telepath tactics i escaped the castle from fera , and was suprised by 20 enemies or so, (i had 5 members) so that was painfully slow before i whacked all the badguys, goodthing the savegames can be edited so my team had like 900 life instead of the poor 90 they would normally have.
So slow paced games can be fun, you will see the animations better and enjoy the whole game more.
Attachments:
sw_jre.jpg (140 Kb)
archer_sees_guar.jpg (125 Kb)
lilyshotguard.jpg (125 Kb)
Post edited September 10, 2015 by gamesfreak64
Posted September 12, 2015
Shadow Watch requires Java?

Bummer if it does - I don't have Java installed; and won't install it if I can avoid it (too many security holes) - so installing it 'just' for a game is out.
Posted September 13, 2015
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Martek: Shadow Watch requires Java?

Bummer if it does - I don't have Java installed; and won't install it if I can avoid it (too many security holes) - so installing it 'just' for a game is out.
I would imagine it works by having its own JRE folder within the game folder, rather than installing a system global JRE. That way the files are removed on uninstalling the game and they don't get referenced via system path parameters so it applies just to the game itself. Could do with confirmation on this, though.

EDIT: Yes, just looked at gamesfreak64's sw_jre.jpg image and it shows JRE within the game folder, so not a system global installation.
Post edited September 13, 2015 by korell
Posted September 14, 2015
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Martek: Shadow Watch requires Java?
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korell: I would imagine it works by having its own JRE folder within the game folder, rather than installing a system global JRE. That way the files are removed on uninstalling the game and they don't get referenced via system path parameters so it applies just to the game itself. Could do with confirmation on this, though.

EDIT: Yes, just looked at gamesfreak64's sw_jre.jpg image and it shows JRE within the game folder, so not a system global installation.
Yeah, I saw that folder in gamesfreak64's post attachment. But that doesn't preclude that it also installs or requires that you have Java installed individually (especially since the 'official' Java site lists older versions of the individual install as JRE's; and presumably this older game uses an older version of a JRE).

So knowing that the install creates a 'jre' subdirectory under the game doesn't rule out that the game also requires a separate Java install. That's the thing I'm wanting to find out.
Posted September 20, 2015
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korell: I would imagine it works by having its own JRE folder within the game folder, rather than installing a system global JRE. That way the files are removed on uninstalling the game and they don't get referenced via system path parameters so it applies just to the game itself. Could do with confirmation on this, though.

EDIT: Yes, just looked at gamesfreak64's sw_jre.jpg image and it shows JRE within the game folder, so not a system global installation.
avatar
Martek: Yeah, I saw that folder in gamesfreak64's post attachment. But that doesn't preclude that it also installs or requires that you have Java installed individually (especially since the 'official' Java site lists older versions of the individual install as JRE's; and presumably this older game uses an older version of a JRE).

So knowing that the install creates a 'jre' subdirectory under the game doesn't rule out that the game also requires a separate Java install. That's the thing I'm wanting to find out.
I've had this game since god knows when, and it only uses its own (local) version of the JRE. Which it installs in its own directory only, and does not install in any system area whatsoever.

So no, it doesn't require an additional Java installation, nor does it use any other Java installation on your machine. It only uses the JRE it comes with to run the game.

It's not much different to how many games these days use Unity, and each game runs its own local version of the Unity engine as opposed to one system-wide one. (Although Unity in turn uses .NET (technically mono) and that does require system-wide installation of some libraries if I'm not mistaken).

Since the JRE this game uses is pretty ancient, I reckon it would have some issues if it attempted to run on any of the recent versions of the JRE (Java has changed since then - it's broken backwards compatibility a few times since that JRE).

As for security holes - since Java programs require the "Java Virtual Machine" (JVM), it's pretty obvious when a Java program is running since the JVM will be running - and it's easy enough to ensure you only run that when you need to (not letting any browsers/networks access it should do it). It's a hell of a lot easier to control and lock down than something that runs on the OS directly.
Post edited September 20, 2015 by squid830
Posted September 20, 2015
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Martek: Yeah, I saw that folder in gamesfreak64's post attachment. But that doesn't preclude that it also installs or requires that you have Java installed individually (especially since the 'official' Java site lists older versions of the individual install as JRE's; and presumably this older game uses an older version of a JRE).

So knowing that the install creates a 'jre' subdirectory under the game doesn't rule out that the game also requires a separate Java install. That's the thing I'm wanting to find out.
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squid830: I've had this game since god knows when, and it only uses its own (local) version of the JRE. Which it installs in its own directory only, and does not install in any system area whatsoever.

So no, it doesn't require an additional Java installation, nor does it use any other Java installation on your machine. It only uses the JRE it comes with to run the game.
Thank you for clarifying that :)
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Shadow WatchNo more Java?(8 posts)(8 posts)
(8 posts)