Windows 8 Support for SWTOR

[Sweeet]

I posted this in the "other" Windows 8 thread but as there are still so many people spreading mis-information, I guess I'll have to post it here too...

 

 

Don't listen to all the idiots who are saying NO to Windows 8 based on personal opinion, they have no idea what they are talking about.

 

Windows 8 and SWTOR get on very well together, I have been using the release candidate for the last couple of weeks. The game actually runs much better in Windows 8, it is far smoother than it ever was in Windows 7.

In Windows 7 I would always get this jerkiness whilst running in SLi, then I upgraded to Windows 8 with the same nVidia driver version & version of the game (I used the exact same installation files), and the game has been running smooth as silk. My FPS have improved too, probably because Windows resource management is far superior in Windows 8 than it is in 7.

 

My specs are;

i7 3820 @ 3.8GHz

8GB RAM

256GB SSD

2x GTX 480's running in SLi

 

For the record BF3 is running much better too. And this is the release candidate of Windows 8, after a few performance updates Windows 8 will be blowing Windows 7 out of the water.

 

Windows 8 & SWTOR are so far a match made in heaven. So if you want better performance knowing that it will only get better, get Windows 8 and don't listen to the people stating their opinion as fact when they haven't even tried it yet...

 

 

The fact of the matter is SWTOR DOES run faster in Windows 8 and is more stable too. So you can all hate on Windows 8 as much as you like, but if you want a faster more stable SWTOR, then Windows 8 is the only way to go.

[Goretzu]

A lot of gamers did switch to 2000 from 98 in order to get better 32bit drivers and performance (better USB! Fewer BSODs! NTFS!). Many of us used it until XP became stabilized (SP1/SP2).

 

Aye Win2000 was amazing, (XP was just basically Win2000SE).

 

It was still outperforming XP and Vista in certain areas right up until it became too outdated to use with new stuff (mostly because the new stuff didn't like the verision number).

[Goretzu]

The fact of the matter is SWTOR DOES run faster in Windows 8 and is more stable too. So you can all hate on Windows 8 as much as you like, but if you want a faster more stable SWTOR, then Windows 8 is the only way to go.

 

All the benchmarks show that Win8 is marginally faster in most game and gaming benchmarks (less that 1-2% in most cases faster), and a bit slower in some.

 

However to balance that small overall increase you've got to put up with the worst UI in Desktop PC history.

[Ifrica]

Working well enough for me, with the following caveats:

 

1. The game will occasionally crash repeatedly at startup which requires a full PC reboot to fix.

 

2. Voice chat overlays (mumble and teamspeak) do not work.

 

NVidia 680 GPU, if it matters.

 

TS not working might be the issue with 'administrator mode', under windows 7 i have to run both swtor and ts3 under administrator mode to make it work, if i don't run ts3 in administrator mode i can't talk anymore when ingame.

[DjSnazzyduds]

I must admit I was unsure of Windows 8 myself, but having gotten to test it out at he event in Times Square this past Friday really changed my view of the new OS. All I've seen people really complain about is the Metro Interface (the interface with all the colors and tiles). Some people aren't aware that you can use both the Metro Interface as well as the old fashioned and always loved start screen.

 

A lot of people really are just basing this new OS on the Metro UI. However we have to hand it to Microsoft the huge risk they took in order to compete on multiple platforms. Some may not be happy with their decision but it is a step in the right direction.

[Sweeet]

All the benchmarks show that Win8 is marginally faster in most game and gaming benchmarks (less that 1-2% in most cases faster), and a bit slower in some.

 

However to balance that small overall increase you've got to put up with the worst UI in Desktop PC history.

 

Well in SWTOR's case it is far more than 1-2% I can assure you, but then it is not just the speed, the game is more stable too. And you have to remember that this is the release candidate of Windows 8, after a few performance updates Windows 8 should be significantly faster than Windows 7. Just using the OS is already noticeably faster, there is absolutely no delay what so ever when switching between apps, compared to a fresh install of Windows 7 I did a month ago when I got my SSD.

 

And the UI really is not as bad as everyone is making out, it's basically just a glorified start menu that covers the entire screen... Switching between it and the normal Desktop view everyone is used to is extremely painless. It's a lot of fuss over nothing because people hate change, but when you get used to it really isn't that bad. It's actually growing on me and I love being able to fully customise it. I would never go back to Windows 7 now, not in a million years.

Edited October 30, 2012 by Sweeet

[Goretzu]

I must admit I was unsure of Windows 8 myself, but having gotten to test it out at he event in Times Square this past Friday really changed my view of the new OS. All I've seen people really complain about is the Metro Interface (the interface with all the colors and tiles). Some people aren't aware that you can use both the Metro Interface as well as the old fashioned and always loved start screen.

 

A lot of people really are just basing this new OS on the Metro UI. However we have to hand it to Microsoft the huge risk they took in order to compete on multiple platforms. Some may not be happy with their decision but it is a step in the right direction.

 

 

 

They aren't really taking a risk (in their eyes) they are doing what they've done a few times now which is throw money at things to try and achieve dominance. It doesn't help them to be the dominant force in Desktop PCs when the current growth market is in Tablets, but if they can push the same UI on both suddenedly that have a solid user base that might start buying their Tablets.

 

Of course there might be a massive backlash that forces them to sort out their stunted Desktop UI, but in their eyes the potential gains far outweigh the potential risks (this is why much of the backwards functionality was purposely removed before retail).

[Goretzu]

Well in SWTOR's case it is far more than 1-2% I can assure you, but then it is not just the speed, the game is more stable too. And you have to remember that this is the release candidate of Windows 8, after a few performance updates Windows 8 should be significantly faster than Windows 7. Just using the OS is already noticeably faster, there is absolutely no delay what so ever when switching between apps, compared to a fresh install of Windows 7 I did a month ago when I got my SSD.

 

And the UI really is not as bad as everyone is making out, it's basically just a glorified start menu that covers the entire screen... Switching between it and the normal Desktop view everyone is used to is extremely painless. It's a lot of fuss over nothing because people hate change, but when you get used to it really isn't that bad. It's actually growing on me and I love being able to fully customise it. I would never go back to Windows 7 now, not in a million years.

 

What FPS difference are you getting?

 

It should be faster in most cases because it's slightly re-engineered "under the hood" and significantly streamlined.

 

The UI is just plain horrible though (acceptable on a Tablet perhaps).

[morfius]

QFT.

Windows 1 & 2 ... I bet you never heard of them (may be said crap - they never sow mass production)?

Windows 3/3.11 ... a long time ago when PCs had less than 1MB RAM (not bad for a DOS shell)

Windows 95 - Good (at end of it's life maybe... but overall good) still DOS/16bit core

Windows NT3 (1 & 2 not survived to production) - first real OS ... very good for it's time but no media/gaming support

Windows 98 - Crap (I don't think so) still DOS/16bit core

Windows NT4 - stable OS for workstations and server (some servers still running) - very good for it's time but no media/gaming support

Windows 98SE - Good (98 SP1 nothing more) still DOS/16bit core

Windows ME - Crap - (better than 98SE if set correctly) still DOS/16bit core & some adds from NT.

Windows 2000 (NT5) - first NT based OS with proper media/gaming support, after SP1 grow at it's best.

(There was same bulling against 2000 ... and similar "patterns")

Windows XP - Good (core based on 2000)

Windows 2003 Server - better Xp if you tuned it correctly for home use and have guts to play cat & mouse with some drivers developers (25% more performance than Xp at least).

Windows Vista - Crap .... Not crap... released without proper optimization for current levels of existing/new low-middle class hardware. It was slow as hell on 512 MB Ram but on 2 GB with some tweaking was pretty viable.

Windows 7 - Good - Optimized Vista on 2 years newer hardware

Windows 8 - Crap? - don't agree... it is able to over perform Vista/7 on same PC (tested personally).

 

See the pattern?

 

Here we go again... there is no pattern - there is haters gonna hate

And stupid tablet interface of course ... Microsoft is trying to "force" some developers to start working for their tablets and phones.

 

Edit: Forgot to add 2008/2012 servers but they are not so important due to Microsoft hiding so deep their "workstation" tuning options.

As servers 2008 is better than 2003 already, 2012 still have not seen in real heavy load.

Edited October 30, 2012 by morfius

[Holocron]

Suggest you do a little research, there is internal stuff in win8 so you boot to your old desktop instead of metro. There are also 3rd party programs that do the same.

 

Lack of knowledge is a dangerous thing.......

 

People shouldn't have to disable half the features of the new OS in order to make it functional. Also, users should certainly not have to download 3-party programs to make the OS functional either! That is a big failure in my book. Hell, Microsoft removed the "Start Menu" for crying out loud! Apparently there are quite a few in the industry that would agree with me too.

 

Intel CEO

 

Game Front: Gabe Newell

 

c|net

 

ZDnet

 

More ZDnet

 

Digital Trends Survey

 

Daily Tech

 

RedmondMag

 

Yahoo: Users dazed and confused

 

Even Maximum PC review is dismal of Windows 8

 

c|net: Windows 8 is like a bad blind date, Google search suggest

 

 

It just keeps going on and on. Just wait until we are more into launch and MS tries to force people into Windows 8, that's when the real backlash will begin. They had a few people who liked Vista too, but that didn't make it anywhere near a success.

Edited October 30, 2012 by Holocron

[Sweeet]

What FPS difference are you getting?

 

It should be faster in most cases because it's slightly re-engineered "under the hood" and significantly streamlined.

 

The UI is just plain horrible though (acceptable on a Tablet perhaps).

 

On my fresh install of Windows 7 I was getting bewteen 45-60fps, but it was flashing red and green CONSTANTLY, like there was some kind of conflict in where it wanted to put the resources - either on the GPU or CPU, it couldn't make up its mind.

 

After installing Windows 8 Pro I now get between 60-80fps and it stays on green, only very occasionally flickering red for a split second. It knows exactly where it wants to put the resources, which is no doubt why my jerkiness has stopped.

 

All in all I've just found it to be a better OS than Windows 7, and I'll quite happily live with the UI if it means a more stable gaming experience.

Edited October 30, 2012 by Sweeet

[Iliac]

It just amazes me how negative people are about Windows 8 without actually giving it a shot with an open mind. Personally, the only real complaint that I have is that I want to be able to run the Windows 8(metro) apps in windowed mode instead of the full screen mode that they run in. It would make for a much improved multi-monitor experience.

 

Some of you have mentioned the sidebar as a problem. In game that is not an issue. When I am in game and my cursor is the SWTOR gold triangle, the sidebar will not come up. Only if I click out of the game and my cursor switches to the Windows cursor will the sidebar come up when hovering mouse on the right side of the screen.

 

Those that don't like the start screen, don't use it. Put your shortcuts on the desktop like you always have and run your programs from there. Anything you could install on 7 can be installed on 8. And don't kid your self, its the one start screen people are complaining about, not the UI as a whole. There are actually some really nice changes to the UI with the addition of the ribbon to file explorer.

[anstalt]

From everything I've seen and read, Windows 8 is basically a more streamlined version of Windows 7, which in itself was a streamlined version of Vista.

 

So, in terms of performance and stability, it *should* be better than 7

 

My main issue, as with most people, is the interface. Whilst I am aware that you can change the interface to be more traditional, the new Metro interface signifies an important design shift within Microsoft. MS are now fully, 100% jumping on the social / mobile bandwagon. They are no longer distinguishing between the different groups of people and instead they've designed an OS that is supposed to please everyone.

 

Well, as a person that really hates social networking and the move towards mobile devices, this seriously worries me. Social networking and mobile devices are aimed at the lowest common denominator. The functionality is dumbed down and simplistic. Whilst this makes sense for mobile devices which are supposed to be simply, this design philosophy should not be applied to desktop operating systems!

 

PCs are extremely powerful devices. They are extremely complex. If you start dumbing them down then you reduce their usefulness. Sure, make the UI intuitive, but don't dumb it down. Certainly dont copy mobile operating systems! The mobile market and the desktop market are completely separate! What works on one device wont necessarily work on another.

 

I really hope microsoft reverse this new direction. I don't want to be treated like an idiot. I dont like social media. I dont want a pre-school user interface. My desktop is not a mobile device. Even Apple, the kings of dumbing down software and selling it to idiots, recognise the need for vastly different operating systems between types of devices.

[Goretzu]

On my fresh install of Windows 7 I was getting bewteen 45-60fps, but it was flashing red and green CONSTANTLY, like there was some kind of conflict in where it wanted to put the resources - either on the GPU or CPU, it couldn't make up its mind.

 

After installing Windows 8 Pro I now get between 60-80fps and it stays on green, only very occasionally flickering red for a split second. It knows exactly where it wants to put the resources, which is no doubt why my jerkiness has stopped.

 

All in all I've just found it to be a better OS than Windows 7, and I'll quite happily live with the UI if it means a more stable gaming experience.

 

 

Yeah that's a nice FPS increase.

 

Personally I was going to change on Win8 on my gaming rig, but then they started changing Win8 releases to force you into the artist formerly known as Metro.

 

Now it's unlikely I'll change any machines, I'll wait and see if they revert Win8 or double back on their bad desicions with Win9 (as they did with many of Vistas bad decisions with Win7).

 

I can see an awful lot of people doing the same, and I can't see any business being mad enough to move to Win 8.

[thomasbaxter]

<<Try getting Fallout 3 GOTYE to work on Win 7 (you can but it's a royal PITA) even though it works fine on 2000, XP and Vista.>>

 

This is actually really easy. If you're talking about the constant crashes, this is a fault in the ini file when it tries to use 4 cores, switch it to work on 2 cores and hey presto. Never had any probs

[chaosmadness]

QFT.

 

Windows 95 - Good

Windows 98 - Crap

Windows 98SE - Good

Windows ME - Crap

Windows XP - Good

Windows Vista - Crap

Windows 7 - Good

Windows 8 - Crap?

 

See the pattern?

 

Lol..true !!

[Nezra]

Came from windows vista 32 bit on the same rig to 8. had a week to test it out after a partial upgrade.

 

ASrock Z77 Pro4-m

I5 3570K

8GB ram

64GB SSD for SWTOR only.

320GB SATA2 WD Green drive

Nvidia 8800GTS 512

 

In vista - FPS was ~25-40 dropping to .9 from time to time. all on medium settings.

 

In 8 - Cranked it all the way up to the highest settings, and it's consistant at 60 FPs - See VSYNC.

 

Firstly, i only installed the OS, and dragged the SSD with SWTOR on it over. 8 automatically installed all the drivers automatically, and for SWTOR did the c++, DX9, and .net installs all by itself just from me starting the game.

 

It is LEAPS and bounds better in terms of overall performance. the UI requires some getting used to, and because everything as far as vent, mumble, etc, are all based around a different OS require some owrk to play nicely. But, it's fairly minimal, and to be expected.

[macumba]

I totally understand why microsoft is going that way with windows 8 UI-Wise and I am open to something drastically new (although I'd like a UI that utilizes 3d hardware in a proper way^^)

But after Vista I am also afraid that it'll be bad technically speaking so I'll wait

[morfius]

I totally understand why microsoft is going that way with windows 8 UI-Wise and I am open to something drastically new (although I'd like a UI that utilizes 3d hardware in a proper way^^)

But after Vista I am also afraid that it'll be bad technically speaking so I'll wait

 

To have some bump in "metro" programing, if they keep separated desktop OS / tablet & phone OS ... they would never had a chance against iOS & Android.

Real 3d interface is going to be worst than Vista... it will have to rely on GPU ... what about servers and workstation that are not designed to have such GPU power?

Each office PC with at least middle class GPU ... I don't think so.

[Goretzu]

<<Try getting Fallout 3 GOTYE to work on Win 7 (you can but it's a royal PITA) even though it works fine on 2000, XP and Vista.>>

 

This is actually really easy. If you're talking about the constant crashes, this is a fault in the ini file when it tries to use 4 cores, switch it to work on 2 cores and hey presto. Never had any probs

 

Heh, what did I "fix" to get it to work? The core issue, the shader issue, supposed DX fix (+of course, making every part of it automatically run as administrator too), and even then it still will only run in 800x600 with low settings without instantly crashing (it now crashes about once every 15 mins with those settings), I've never worked so hard to get a game to run since Seal Team in Windows 3.11.

 

Now yes apparently some people have no problem with it (and I thought, "ah... it'll never happen to me, and if it does I'll just fix it", before I upgraded ) and Win7 however an awful lot of people DO, and the same game worked fine on XP and Vista on more or less the same hardware.

Edited October 30, 2012 by Goretzu

[Polebreaker]

Heh, what did I "fix" to get it to work? The core issue, the shader issue, supposed DX fix (+of course, making every part of it automatically run as administrator too), and even then it still will only run in 800x600 with low settings without instantly crashing (it now crashes about once every 15 mins with those settings), I've never worked so hard to get a game to run since Seal Team in Windows 3.11.

 

Now yes apparently some people have no problem with it (and I thought, "ah... it'll never happen to me, and if it does I'll just fix it", before I upgraded ) and Win7 however an awful lot of people DO, and the same game worked fine on XP and Vista on more or less the same hardware.

 

FYI... I have no problem with fallout 3 under win7 x64 in full rez, windowed or fullscreen, full detail, etc... so there you go 8) I've even piled in tons of mods like FOOK2 and darnified UI...

 

The few people reporting massive fps increases for swtor leads me to believe it has more to do with a clean OS install and new video drivers than anything else... because I dont know how it could be running so crummily on your old win7 install in the first place. My modest system (core i7 930, ati 5770) has never gotten anything less than 45fps, and the 1.4 shadow update improved that. /shrug. The amount of crapware thet gets almost insta-installed on a win7 do-over by most people is astounding... win8 will join that bloatware club soon enough once the market is filled with "solutions".

[Rafaman]

I was looking through MSDN not too long ago and they had a list of apps that were tested on Win 8... and lo and behold! SWTOR was on the list. Now... lets be clear. This was a list of apps that were tested. This was not a compatibility list; a big difference.

 

Nevertheless. Installed SWTOR on Win 8 beta and it worked fine. I have not tried it on Gold because I like to way a few months after an OS launch before I decide on a transition.

[Projawa]

QFT.

 

Windows 95 - Good

Windows 98 - Crap

Windows 98SE - Good

Windows ME - Crap

Windows XP - Good

Windows Vista - Crap

Windows 7 - Good

Windows 8 - Crap?

 

See the pattern?

 

There's some truth to this with Microsoft's enterprise products as well. Exchange 2003 was a big improvement over 5.5/2000. 2007 was a stepping stone to 2010 which is an excellent product. Sharepoint 2007 was a transitional product to 2010. OCS Livemeeting 2007 was definitely a flawed and transitory product compared to its successor Lync 2010. I expect the 2013 versions of all these products (wave 15) will be transitory as well- while they offer unprecedented levels of integration they are moving into more emphasis on the mobile experience plus some core shifts in which functions are assigned to specific server roles. The only way to move forward is getting it in customers' hands and gathering real world data/feedback for wave 16.

Edited October 30, 2012 by Projawa

[Sweeet]

Yeah that's a nice FPS increase.

 

Personally I was going to change on Win8 on my gaming rig, but then they started changing Win8 releases to force you into the artist formerly known as Metro.

 

Now it's unlikely I'll change any machines, I'll wait and see if they revert Win8 or double back on their bad desicions with Win9 (as they did with many of Vistas bad decisions with Win7).

 

I can see an awful lot of people doing the same, and I can't see any business being mad enough to move to Win 8.

 

Metro really is a non-issue. Like I said it is just a glorified start menu, a place to put your short-cuts where they are quickly accessible. You'll be using the Desktop View for EVERYTHING else.

 

People who are saying no because of the Metro UI are doing so based on other peoples opinions who in turn don't know what they are talking about. Use Windows 8 before passing judgement, it really isn't as bad as you and everyone else is trying to make out.

[JonathanCP]

As someone who has seen dramatic framerate improvement after installing Windows 8 (SLI setup, everything was messed up since 1.4 despite numerous attemps to fix the stuttering), I can definitely say Windows 8 is great.

 

I had tried it last summer and did'nt like the interface.

But after one or 2 days, it becomes a second nature, and it's great.