Windows 8 CP and Gaming (Or, Why Won't My Games Work?!)


Recommended Posts

All the games you , mentioned run fine on my system even GTA 4 runs great as i have it running right this moment every game i own runs on windows 8 CP just fine steam or regular DVD based installs Edit: to the above poster LA Noire works fine on my system

system:

core i7 2600k stock

GTX 470 stock

I haven't been able to get LA Noire working. I've tried: validated the install with Steam; manually installing the redists; changing all the graphics settings; adding compatibility extensions like "-str -npd". Nothing seems to work. The launcher appears but when I launch the game it goes fullscreen and then immediately crashes.

Your first post clearly has the tone of someone being disappointed with a final release they paid for rather than a beta and this stems from the fact that you have wrongly assumed it is built for general consumption

No, I was not disappointed. Nor do I assume that it is built for general consumption, though it kinda is, being that it's the product that Microsoft wants the general public to download to get a taste of Windows 8. I am concerned, especially with game compatibility (because I've not had any issues with any non-game, so generally productivity and media apps are probably going to have no issues, but they aren't habitually packed with DRM, either), because generally (and Win 8 is no exception) when they are working on a new version of Windows, what you're getting, especially in early betas, is the same version of Windows you've been running with some improvements. The changes throughout the beta stages are incremental, so I've found that there are actually less bugs sometimes in the early betas as opposed to the later ones, since there are less changes to the OS it's being built off of. When we get to this point, with the RC around the corner, you start to get the feeling that maybe something has been overlooked and they might not get around to fixing it, and I'm actually ok with that, too, because these issues are mostly due to all the crap game developers add in to otherwise fantastic games in order to stop pirates from playing them. I don't want to get too much into the DRM vs piracy debate, but it's clear which side of the fence I'm on, I think. So, if a game doesn't work, I'm more often than not going to blame the game developer and chances are it's an older game that isn't running correctly and I won't expect them to ever update it, which will in turn upset me and cause me to resort to cracking said game if necessary. After all, I didn't buy my games so I could just play them a few times and then shelve them for eternity because I can't run them anymore. I'm sure at some point there will come a major re-write of Windows that no longer supports legacy apps, and then I will have to build a PC that runs the last version of Windows that works solely for legacy gaming, but that day is not here yet.

What was really bugging me was first, that it was a GFWL issue, and nobody was reporting problems. That means it was a Microsoft issue, and you'd think they'd test their own software. That doesn't mean I expect it to work. It does mean that they might take 5 seconds and post in their forums that it's a known issue and that they are (or are not) working on it. But hey, they're busy guys, and apparently really concerned about smoking Windows Phones right now, so that's cool, I get it. Secondly, I still don't think I'm the only one who has run into this problem. With both the Dev Preview and the Consumer Preview I have installed the OS fresh and Steam is the next thing I install after I'm done making sure my drivers and directx are up to date, get any Windows Updates and get Office installed. So I'm not using some upgraded install that is even more prone to bugs, and the installs are practically fresh. It's not like I have only checked Neowin, either. I have scoured the net for any information on this issue and it's not so much troubling that nobody had any solutions as it was that nobody was asking for solutions. I'm getting the impression from Windows 8's web presence that everybody is so concerned with freaking out about "metro" and the new start screen that they're not actually testing anything and just reverting to Windows 7 or not installing it at all, without even trying it, which very well may be the case.

So maybe that's the impression I gave with my OP, but hopefully this will clarify further my motivation for having written it.

I've never found GFWL a particularly compelling platform at the best of times - in fact I've always found it pretty intrusive and unnecessary. And just because GFWL is from Microsoft doesn't mean you should expect it to be trouble free, as Skype is owned by Microsoft but performed terribly on the Developer Preview. As for betas have "less bugs" than the later ones, I just don't think that's accurate. Obviously if you have new functionality then there is the risk of bugs but I've not come across existing functionality becoming less stable the further they get into development.

I came across exactly the same issues with gaming with the pre-release versions of Vista and Windows 7. In both cases the compatibility issues were addressed before release. If you look at the huge improvement that Microsoft made between the Developer Preview and Consumer Preview then I have complete confidence that everything will be resolved by release. Is it annoying that there are issues? Sure, but that goes with the territory. However, I find the improvements more than outweigh the issues and that's why I've stuck with the Consumer Preview since it was released. The Metro Start screen is a huge improvement on high resolution displays.

I had this problem with the Dev Preview, as well, but I knew it wasn't meant for general consumption so I didn't make a big fuss over it. Now, however, it's just starting to get annoying. One of the big selling points of Windows 8 is that it can run all the same programs that Windows 7 can with no problems. However, this is clearly untrue if you're a gamer.

You need to download the most up to date version. GfWL has a DLL failure in Windows 8 if you have an old version installed, and you will only get a direct error about it if you attempt to launch it manually rather than allowing a game to launch it on your behalf.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=201134

I encountered this issue with Bulletstorm and Grand Theft Auto 4, and installing the most current version directly available from Microsoft resolved the issue for me.

By the way, this is also not limited to Windows 8 really. If I allow the Steam version of GTA4 The Lost and Damned to be the GfWL installer on Windows 7, I get a similar problem where it just crashes the game 95% of the time within 15 seconds of launching it, and only by directly launching GfWL within Windows told me what needed to be fixed (and in that case, it told me it was completely out of date, well beyond what its in-game auto-updater could patch to).

I've never found GFWL a particularly compelling platform at the best of times - in fact I've always found it pretty intrusive and unnecessary. And just because GFWL is from Microsoft doesn't mean you should expect it to be trouble free, as Skype is owned by Microsoft but performed terribly on the Developer Preview.

There's a huge difference there. GFWL is developed by Microsoft, whereas Skype was recently purchased by Microsoft and I'm not certain there has yet been a single release that was Microsoft-developed. Skype didn't just start working in the CP, either; there was an update for Skype that worked in the Dev Preview shortly after the Dev Preview was released. My daughter still Skypes regularly on the Dev Preview without issue as I haven't updated her laptop yet. Also, I never expected it to be trouble-free. I did expect there to be a large number of people complaining to Microsoft that it wasn't working, and there was nobody in any public forum that I could find. Whether it's a good platform or not it doesn't change the dependency a large number of games have on it.

You need to download the Windows 8 version. GfWL has a DLL failure in Windows 8 if you have an old version installed, and you will only get a direct error about it if you attempt to launch it manually rather than allowing a game to launch it on your behalf. If you attempt to launch the actual GfWL executable rather than only having a game run the embedded version, it will give you an error message telling you to install what I am linking to you now:

I have always had the latest version installed, and never got any errors except that the marketplace fails to load (but things you have previously purchased in the marketplace still download and install fine). That's what was aiding to my confusion: it was obviously installed correctly and the client would launch manually, but it still wouldn't load when a game was launched. Even though I have gotten it working now I may try this patch anyway and see if that resolves the marketplace issue (and hope that it doesn't mess it up again). I didn't know about the patch, so thank you for posting this!

Edit: Maybe I jumped the gun there. That's not a patch you linked me to, that's a zip file with an audio file and a powerpoint presentation.

I have always had the latest version installed, and never got any errors except that the marketplace fails to load (but things you have previously purchased in the marketplace still download and install fine). That's what was aiding to my confusion: it was obviously installed correctly and the client would launch manually, but it still wouldn't load when a game was launched. Even though I have gotten it working now I may try this patch anyway and see if that resolves the marketplace issue (and hope that it doesn't mess it up again). I didn't know about the patch, so thank you for posting this!

The Marketplace has been deprecated. You have to purchase games via the website now and the install option will launch the GFWL Marketplace to install it now. I'm hoping it will be integrated into the Xbox LIVE Games app in the future. It's a bit irritating to have the app show you stats about the games you own but be unable to launch them. :(

Edit: Maybe I jumped the gun there. That's not a patch you linked me to, that's a zip file with an audio file and a powerpoint presentation.

My bad. Forgot it had given me a useless link at first. I'll fix that. So long as you installed a real current verison of GfWL rather than a bundled version, everything "should" work game wise. So far as the marketplace goes, I've never used it and really just pretended it didn't exist.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=201134

There's a huge difference there. GFWL is developed by Microsoft, whereas Skype was recently purchased by Microsoft and I'm not certain there has yet been a single release that was Microsoft-developed. Skype didn't just start working in the CP, either; there was an update for Skype that worked in the Dev Preview shortly after the Dev Preview was released. My daughter still Skypes regularly on the Dev Preview without issue as I haven't updated her laptop yet.

I had Skype crash just today, so it seems that the issues are still far from resolved. I appreciate that Microsoft only recently took over Skype but the deal was announced 4-5 months before the DP was even released, so you would have expected either Microsoft or Skype to have made accommodations for compatibility.

Also, if the compatibility issues you came across are limited to your machine then there wouldn't be any reason to expect a lot of complaints. In fact the lack of other complaints would strongly point to an issue with your configuration rather than a general issue. With Crysis 2 and LA Noire there are numerous forum posts discussing compatibility issues with the Consumer Preview.

You have a valid point there, but I have not jumped to that conclusion as a certainty because it's obviously a software issue and not a hardware issue. It would thus make sense that most everybody if not everybody who installs a clean install of the CP and then installs GFWL would run into this. Obviously that's not the case. I have heard of people having issues with LA Noire, but only in this thread. I have not heard of anybody having trouble with Crysis 2. That's not surprising because I don't have either of those games, and I never searched for issues with a specific game except Bioshock 2. Most of my searches were regarding GFWL once it became obvious that's where the problem lied.

As far as Skype goes, it's been known to crash from time to time (at least for me) regardless of which OS it's running on, so I would be hesitant to point the blame at Windows 8 for that.

I haven't read all the posts in this thread.. but I will post that Lord of the Rings online causes my Windows 8 to freeze up at random.. moving to the hot corners causes a 30-45 second lockup on the whole OS and makes the Charms Bar unusable. I wonder if anyone else has run into the same problems.

The 64 bit Aion client is being deprecated as of the next version anyway isn't it? As I understand it, it won't work at all in 3.0.

At any rate, forgot about Crysis 2. That was weird.

no actually they decided to allow access to it afterall after a lot of complaints that it is still supported in Korea.

That's weird, I didn't have any trouble with Angry Birds Space. If you can't get it to work (and this is more of a substitution than a fix or workaround) you can always check out the Bluestacks beta and install it from the Amazon app store.

  • 2 months later...

Indeed Omen. OP, don't forget that every time a piece of software crashes on WIndows 8, it sends an error report. These are extremely critical during an OS beta as it allows them to focus on the issues that most people are seeing. So make sure you choose to send error reports when prompted.

That said, don't forget that Windows 8 is in EARLY beta. The CP was it's progression from Alpha to Beta. Things like this are to be expected, and you can be sure that the Games for Windows Live stuff will be fixed maybe by RC, but certainly by RTM. In fact, isn't all the live stuff going to be built into Windows 8? I bet they'll patch all the GFWL games so they utilise W8's built in Live functionality.

Getting annoyed by the fact that beta software has bugs (shock horror!) is just stupid.

Who says we aren't reporting them? Do you even have the connect beta feedback tool installed? I use it every time a piece of software crashes on W8, AND I send an error report. Do you? I don't see the point in complaining about crashes in a forum that Microsoft doesn't keep track of.

The other problem is that game developers won't patch in support for a new version of Windows until *after* that version hits RTM - how many game publishers that aren't Microsoft would make sure their game works properly with prerelease versions of Windows? So far, I have found a grand total of ONE game that refuses to work under Windows 8 - Tera Online (neither the full client or the galkai-driven instant demo works - in any browser). I browsed the EnMasse (developer/publisher) forums on the subject, and the majority of users are just as harsh in their views about Windows 8 as some Neowinians are. Fortunately, such an attitude is far from representative (NCsoft and ArenaNet - both forums and technical support - are actually trying to help CP/RP users solve any issues they are having with their respective titles (which are, surprisingly, few and far between).

Still can't play LA Noire. I've seen that it seems it doesn't detect properly the video card, because I would usually receive a message about how many cores or threads (dunno remember well) I want running.

Are you using the special Windows 8 GPU drivers for whatever card you have?

  • 1 month later...

Well, that's interesting. However, I made this thread when the community preview was the latest version we were all playing with. Are you using the newly leaked RTM? Also, have you tried running the Sims 2 setup.exe as administrator? I don't happen to have that game so I can't try it myself.

No, I'm running the RP, however I am going to take advantage for the $40 upgrade offer for the RTM. But yes, I've tried to run it in compatibility mode all the way from XP SP2 to Windows 7. Tried with Run as administrator too. It seems as though the installer does not like a part of W8 or possibly W8 doesn't like the installer :p When I try to click next, the window just refreshes itself, and goes back to the "Select Install Destination" folder. I can't even click the cancel button to close the installer, I have to use task manager to kill it. However, it has never started installing anything so no damage is done by doing that

Hi, i new here :)

i'am using Leaked RTM windows 8 enterptise 64 bit

stil game with GWFL not work....:(

i was tried :

SF VI AE, SF X TEKKEN (crashed),

GTA IV, EFLC, DiRT Showdown (GFWL do not show up, even i press HOME button)

DiRT3 (not run at all)

~Sorry for my bad english~

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • US citizens are paying to their government, who could use that to fund healthcare and tuition and relieve the costs of these for citizens instead of making tax breaks that overwhelmingly favor the rich. I'm not saying that tariffs are the correct solution, but what else would they be used for? What else could Trump have in mind for wanting them, if he hasn't figured out that labor costs are higher in the US?
    • I’m in need of a new chair and it sounds like the backrest cannot be locked? I also sat on a Herman miller and was devastated that it couldn’t be locked also, what is going on with chairs. I want to be able to lock the backrest into any position but not even the Herman’s do that
    • Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2 Ergonomic Office Chair review: The Ikea of chairs by Steven Parker I've reviewed a few gaming chairs over the past three years or so and generally found them to score well in our reviews. SIHOO reached out asking if I was interested in taking a look at their flagship chair, the Doro C300 Pro V2. I never got the chance to check out its predecessor, but the V2 is described as an "Adaptive Ergonomic Chair." It became available to buy in April of this year. Let's get things rolling with a closer look at the specifications and features. Specifications Doro C300 Pro V2 Model Ergonomic Materials Mesh Back and Seat; Soft PU Coated Armrests Height adjustability 45.5 - 53 cm / 17.5" - 20.9" Seat (w+d) 52 x 43 - 47 cm / 20.5" x 16.9" - 18.5" (adjustable) Backrest 52 – 60 cm / 20.5" - 23.6" (adjustable) Lumbar support Mesh built-in (adjustable) Armrest adjustability 8D Bionic Armrests Rocking angle 105°, 120°, 135° (fixed) Neck support Mesh built-in (adjustable) Net weight 27.3 kg / 59.64 lbs Weight support 150 kg / 330 lbs Colors Black, White Warranty 5 years (upon registering) Price $499.99, $539.99 Introduction At first glance, it looks like a chair that in another life wants to be a Herman Miller; It certainly looks like my Aeron Remastered, but the Doro C300 Pro V2 has quite a few more features and costs quite a bit less. SIHOO says that it is made up of a "DynaCore" system that tracks your movement and synchronizes the headrest, backrest, lumbar support, and armrests as you shift, twist, or recline. They also say that the "SyncroFlex Backrest" molds to your spine, which kind of describes how the mesh fabric works in most ergonomic chairs, but anyway. Below are the meat and potatoes measurements for the chair. Here is the same tech sheet, but in inches. Durability I would be remiss to not talk about the various durability testing this chair underwent before coming to market, as this is claimed on the product page. First of all, the chair is BIFMA-, SGS-, and TÜV-certified. As for durability, the tests undergone were: 100,000 Castor cycles tested 120,000 Armrest cycles tested 120,000 Recline cycles tested 120,000 Gas lift cycles tested 60,000 Armrest durability cycles tested 120,000 Rotation cycles tested Nothing about weights testing, though. Now that's all disclosed, now onto my own personal findings. Assembly The Doro C300 Pro V2 came in two large boxes (1) (2), and everything was packed very well, protecting the different parts of the chair. In the box, there is a folded sheet that explains the 12 steps to assemble it; they are: Remove the bottom cover on the aluminum base; Insert the five legs into the aluminum base and use ten screws to fasten them; Insert the castors into the legs; Replace the bottom cover on the bottom of the aluminum base; Place the Class 4 Hydraulics gas cylinder into the aluminum base; Screw the bottom part of the arm rests, taking care of the orientation using two screws on each side; Use three torx screws to fasten the footrest to the bottom of the seat; Fasten the backrest to the seat using four torx bolts; Fasten the armrests to the backrest using four Torx bolts (two on each side), taking care to note the orientation; Place the chair onto the Class 4 Hydraulics gas cylinder; Insert the headrest into the top of the backrest; Use two torx screws to fasten the headrest to the backrest. There's also an online guide you can refer to. Carefully unpacking the two boxes took around 15 minutes because almost everything is wrapped in plastic and protective foam; the chair assembly itself took around an hour. I say in the above assembly steps to take note of the orientation, because it's not obvious which way around the bottom portion of the armrests go, and although there is an L and R on the bottom of the armrests, it also wasn't clear from the instructions which was actually left or right, facing the chair, or in the seated down orientation? Anyway, I ended up putting the bottom portions on the wrong sides, and after securing one of the armrests, I discovered that although it was on the correct side, the armrest base could rotate a full 360°, but not when bolted to the chair, so I had to remove it, rotate it, and then bolt it back on. Truly an Ikea experience! Also, to complicate things further, although all the parts are labeled from A to X (yes, that's 24 parts) unhelpfully, these letters do not appear on the parts themselves or the package with the bolts, screws, and washers. There's also a pair of protective gloves in the box, but I think they were made for much smaller hands than I have. Even my friend, who is 5.1, had difficulty putting them on. Once assembled, I needed to sit down. Anyway, as I said, it looks quite similar to my Herman Miller. And here is the back of it. If you look at the product page and on Amazon, it seems like a lot of thought has gone into the chair itself and what it's capable of, but there is no mention at all about the castors, and this is an area where I think the chair trips up quite quickly. I found it difficult to move the chair in any direction. I asked a friend who came to visit me earlier this week to test my findings, and she said that the wheels were "no good," so it definitely isn't just me. I am 6'2 myself and a big guy, I work from home and gained a few pounds from mostly staying in and the hell away from other people. However, the Doro C300 Pro V2 is rated for up to 150kg (330lbs), which in my case is used well within its max rating. Ergonomics The number of adjustments you can make, right up to setting it in nap mode — which I haven't fully tested yet — is what you'd expect from a premium chair. Yes, you can go up and down (max 7.5 cm adjustment), rock back and forth (with tilt adjustment), and lock the chair between three stages of 105°, 120°, 135°, which is not quite as flat as the AndaSeat I tested at 160°. Some thought has also gone into the "8D" armrests, too, which are cushioned but quite firm; you'll only know it if you press hard into the PU-covered tops, which give about half a centimeter, but it's enough to ensure your skin won't get awkwardly stuck to it in warmer (or sweatier) conditions. It almost feels like plastic and is very easy to keep clean. However, the armrest positions move far too easily, and I am not sure what that "elbow" function is. Maybe it is good for a short person with short arms, anyway, I never used it and kept it flat at all times. There are eight levels of adjustment for the armrests, they are: backwards, forwards, swing left/right, height up and down, tilt, and 360° rotation, which can be handy for desk clearance. As I said, the armrest pads shift far too easily, which could give off an ergonomic vibe, but who wants the armrest sliding when you are shifting weight? The height adjustability does lock into place when lifting and adjusting. Comfort This is ultimately what it boils down to at the end of the day, right? Quite a lot of reviews praise the comfort of this chair, and I don't disagree that the mesh seating is quite comfortable. I am used to the material from my daily Herman Miller. However, the backrest cannot be locked into place, and this is actually a feature; as you shift or recline yourself on the chair, the backrest moves with your body. It took some getting used to. The lumbar gives ample support, but I would have preferred an adjustable one built into the seat base, as this causes the backrest to move up and down at will. Again, as with my previous chair review, this chair is also rated for tall people, but nowhere in the product documentation does it say how tall. Being 6'2 myself, I'm happy to say that the backrest is tall and wide enough, and thought has been given to being able to adjust the neck rest, but as others have mentioned in their reviews, people as tall as 6.2ft is about the limit for the neckrest. Conclusion What I didn't like The footrest is rated for 15kg (33 lbs), which to me seems a bit light, and after looking online, it seems like a chair footrest for adults must be at least twice that rating. In all honesty, they are just hollow metal tubes, so it is not recommended to let a kid sit on them. I also feel like it doesn't really go out far enough for my height, so that kind of puts the dampener on me being able to use it regularly. I'll just have to continue to use my subwoofer as a footrest! I do not like the armrests being able to shift around as easily as they can, and they are a little too forward-positioned in the chair to comfortably sit close to my desk, because even in the lowest height position, they don't allow me to go under the desk like is possible with my Herman Miller. I also feel like this chair could have been delivered partially constructed, especially the armrests on the seat, and why the aluminum base wasn't already pre-constructed (without the castors) is baffling, considering it would have fit in one of the two boxes that way. The instructions also need to be clearer. On the pamphlet, there's an A to X listing (which is also used in the steps), but none of the physical parts use this lettering system! What I did like I'll be honest, I haven't used it for very long, just one week, and seating comfort is subjective after all! Any spills wiped straight off it, the stitching, and the lines look great, not a fray to be seen or stitch out of place. It looks kind of cool, too. My favorite feature of these seats is the nap mode. While you're not lying completely flat, it leans far back enough to make you easily doze off after a heavy gaming or working session. Overall, this chair offers plenty of comfort features. The MSRP does vary quite a bit depending on the region, at £549.99 in the UK, and €580 in Europe, and $599 before tax in the U.S. However, shipping is free, which is a bonus for such a heavy item. Is it worth it, though? At three years' warranty, I think it's a decent deal. Another firm out of Germany sent me a free replacement hydraulic gas spring for a chair that failed after almost four years, so it was well outside its two-year warranty. My advice is to always try, as you might have the same luck I did. If I could fault it at all, it would be the constant shifting of the armrests and backrest. Where to buy Although the footrest variant normally costs $539.99, it has been discounted to $469.99 on the official website in Black or White. In fact, the non-footrest variant is only $40 cheaper. On Amazon, it currently costs more at $499.99 links below. Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2 for $469.99 (official website) Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2 for $499.99 at Amazon US SIHOO provided a free sample without any review or pre-approval. Good to know This Amazon link is U.S. specific, and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • Making US citizens pay is a prominent tool? Joke of the week…
  • Recent Achievements

    • Conversation Starter
      jessse3334 earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • Reacting Well
      JuvenileDelinquent earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • One Month Later
      Excellence2025 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Excellence2025 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      flexorcist earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      506
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      207
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      151
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      73
    5. 5
      macoman
      62
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!