Hey fair enough, it's complicated to keep updating for old platforms, and I'm sure those diehards will be fine with the versions that run right now.
The Rockstar Games launcher received an update today which makes it no longer possible to open games if you’re using Windows 7/8.
Fuck right off, you thieving bastards.
You buy games that rely on an online component to run? You deserve what's coming for you at this point.
Nobody deserves to be abused for buying software.
Tell me 'it's not buuuying' and this will cease to be a polite interaction.
Abused?
We're talking about purchasing a software that relies on an online component to work and then deciding to keep using an OS that isn't safe when connected to the internet.
Extended support ended a year ago for both OS and that's for people who paid for it. How many of the people affected bought the extended support do you reckon? Because those who didn't have been without a security update for four years now!
Pulling bad takes out of a hat is neither relevant nor interesting.
Shoo.
Bad takes? If it's so bad you'll have an actual rebuttal, right?
"This is plainly irrelevant."
"Then you must have a response!"
Wrong.
Thing is, it's not irrelevant?
"People deserve to get fucked by DRM."
"No."
"But what about their operating system?!"
This is trolling.
I'm not interested.
If people buy games with DRM and don't update their OS to the point where it hasn't received a security update in years then hell yeah the problem is the consumer, not the company shutting the door to potential security issues!
From day one, the problem is the DRM.
When a company forcibly updates a product so oven the versions that would work fine on your machine, don't, that's not your fault.
When that company actively prevents you from running the version your machine could plainly still run, as well (and safely) as it did yesterday, that's an abuse.
Old OSes aren't inherently unsafe though. You can safely use XP online if you know what you're doing. You literally just have to be a bit more careful about what you download and where. Thankfully with places like archive.org it's much easier to not have to go to the dodgy download sites of old to get your abandonware and whatnot.
Win 10 was a free upgrade for what, 4 years? If you're still on 7 you asked for this.
If you're still on 7 it's because 10 is a frustrating mess of spyware, failed tablet schemes, and surprise forced updates. The free invitation to an aggressive downgrade was not a positive. My 7 machine installed a new goddamn operating system by itself at the peak of "10 is free!!!" malvertising, and the first thing I did was change it the fuck back.
Still - switch to Linux already.
If you're still on 7 it's because 10 is a frustrating mess of spyware, failed tablet schemes, and surprise forced updates
If you're still on 7 it's because you're dumb. Move to 10, buy a Mac, switch to Linux, whatever. There's no valid reason to stay on an unsupported OS on a goddamn gaming rig.
Still - switch to Linux already.
Ubuntu 9.04 released the same year as win 7. It was supported for 5 years, vs win 7's 14 years. Yet you don't see anyone bitching and moaning that third party devs aren't supporting it anymore. Strange, huh?
Support's not the issue - functional software was just yanked away. This game worked fine last week. Up-to-date and everything! Do these people get the choice to stick with that version? Do they fuck.
Nevermind that as long as your OS works for gaming, that is in fact a valid reason to keep using it on a goddamn gaming rig. Y'know. For gaming? Which it worked for? Until just now? It's obviously not the best decision, but you can stop pretending there's no reason to stick with the last properly good version of Windows. Cons outweighing the pros doesn't magically mean there are no pros.
functional software was just yanked away
It was updated. It wasn't yanked away, it still works fine on modern OS's. It's silly to assume devs will continue targeting an OS that is out of support and irrelevant. Do you expect it to run on DOS too?
Nevermind that as long as your OS works for gaming
It doesn't, lmao. That's what this article is about. Also, if your unsupported OS gets compromised and integrated into a botnet, now your dumb preference is everyone's problem. You're the technological equivalent of an anti-vaxxer.
the last properly good version of Windows
8 and 8.1 were significantly more stable and performant than 7 and did not include the ads or spyware that is in 10. They failed because babies didn't like the way they looked and threw a tantrum about it instead of just installing classicshell.
Cons outweighing the pros doesn't magically mean there are no pros.
The only pro you've mentioned is "I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT". Rockstar doesn't give a shit what you want. They want to stop wasting their devs' time accommodating a dead platform.
You're not listening and you're not being honest.
Running an unsupported OS on the public internet is like refusing the covid vaccine and going to work with a fever. Would you listen to someone who does that? I wouldn't, because any justification they come up with is going to be pants on head stupid.
I'm not arguing that 7 or 8 should be someone's daily driver but if someone wanted to use 7 or 8 for specific games because they have nostalgia of running them on those specific OSs then they're shit out of luck unless they want to get weird with it (like I currently do for some games on XP and Vista currently on my secondary PC).
That's a very narrow edge case that only applies to hobbyists. Luckily, those are exactly the sort of people who have the time and motivation to figure out how to get this working. It's not like being unable to play gta4 on a 15 year old machine is going to negatively affect your life, if you want to play it that bad use a modern machine.
Fair enough. I still think it sucks when companies do this though.
Why would they even spend time doing this, doesn't windows take care of compatibility?
New window versions try to be compatible with old versions. The older ones can't become compatible with the newer ones
It was already compatible though.
Edit: nevermind. It's because Windows stopped supporting those versions, and with no new security updates devs won't support them either.
Usually that ends up with Devs saying "if you have issues on these platforms we will no longer support you in fixing them and it will get no more updates from us". Sadly this is then going out of their way to stop people with old OSs from playing their games, even though they would still technically run.
Now if people want to use an old Os, for whatever reason, they will now have to pirate those games even if they do own them. And that itself is what would put those users to risk when using an old OS is they don't know where and what to download safely.
Sadly this is then going out of their way to stop people with old OSs from playing their games, even though they would still technically run.
There's not necessarily any malicious intent. Some features require breaking backwards compatibility.
Supporting old platforms is bad for everyone, it locks out stuff and takes dev time. People need to learn to update their OS.
That is why you put that remark there and then start disregard breaking the games I'm those versions as an issue to be fixed.
If they continue to work, good for everyone. If they happen to break them at some point, tough luck, but not a problem.
Actively stopping the games from running is terrible and entirely unnecessary though.
The old OSs don't need to be able to run new updated versions of the game though so they didn't have to fully gate out them running of the game on an old OS.
Also even though 7 and 8 currently don't really have any nostalgia going for them, they eventually will. It's nice that I can have a secondary PC with XP and Vista to play era-relevant games on to bring me back to when I used to use them myself as a kid.
It already annoys me theres a lot of XP games that are sadly locked behind Steam that I can no longer play on that machine. I could just play them on my normal gaming pc but when im on that I'd rather just be playing something else, if you get what i mean.
In these days of GAAS they won't let you run old versions of their games because of $. They want you tied to their launcher, advertisements and whatnot.
There's just no reason not to update your OS. Old devices run perfectly well on linux with its lower memory footprint. Running an old, unsupported OS and connecting to internet is asking for trouble.
The security issues of being connected to the internet on old OSs is wildly blown out of proportion if you just browse the internet safely and know exactly what you're downloading or just download files on another note secure device/OS
I'm not arguing that someone should have their daily driver be an old OS. This is for playing games or using software on the era relevant OS. Think like playing an actual N64 vs emulating on a Switch.
There's no such thing as using the internet safely.
Packets you send can be intercepted.
Websites you browse serve ads with malware.
You can be hacked.
All of these are made easier on outdated OSes.
I don't go on any old random website when on an old OS and I always make sure to use a modern browser designed to work with said OS to allow safe browsing. Like MyPal for XP
Old platforms are not a viable platform worth supporting. That's why they're old. This is different from old hardware support, like where Linux supports older hardware really well. Linux still does not support old versions however.
But this is not a case of the games now unable to run, they specifically gated out old OSs from running a game they could otherwise run. They don't need to support the games anymore for old platforms, and they could still run on them at the users discretion.
they specifically gated out old OSs from running a game they could otherwise run
This is a huge assumption. They release updates very frequently, and I'm sure they're eager to dump that legacy code.
Hey fair enough, it's complicated to keep updating for old platforms, and I'm sure those diehards will be fine with the versions that run right now.
Fuck right off, you thieving bastards.
You buy games that rely on an online component to run? You deserve what's coming for you at this point.
Nobody deserves to be abused for buying software.
Tell me 'it's not buuuying' and this will cease to be a polite interaction.
Abused?
We're talking about purchasing a software that relies on an online component to work and then deciding to keep using an OS that isn't safe when connected to the internet.
Extended support ended a year ago for both OS and that's for people who paid for it. How many of the people affected bought the extended support do you reckon? Because those who didn't have been without a security update for four years now!
Pulling bad takes out of a hat is neither relevant nor interesting.
Shoo.
Bad takes? If it's so bad you'll have an actual rebuttal, right?
"This is plainly irrelevant."
"Then you must have a response!"
Wrong.
Thing is, it's not irrelevant?
"People deserve to get fucked by DRM."
"No."
"But what about their operating system?!"
This is trolling.
I'm not interested.
If people buy games with DRM and don't update their OS to the point where it hasn't received a security update in years then hell yeah the problem is the consumer, not the company shutting the door to potential security issues!
From day one, the problem is the DRM.
When a company forcibly updates a product so oven the versions that would work fine on your machine, don't, that's not your fault.
When that company actively prevents you from running the version your machine could plainly still run, as well (and safely) as it did yesterday, that's an abuse.
Old OSes aren't inherently unsafe though. You can safely use XP online if you know what you're doing. You literally just have to be a bit more careful about what you download and where. Thankfully with places like archive.org it's much easier to not have to go to the dodgy download sites of old to get your abandonware and whatnot.
Win 10 was a free upgrade for what, 4 years? If you're still on 7 you asked for this.
If you're still on 7 it's because 10 is a frustrating mess of spyware, failed tablet schemes, and surprise forced updates. The free invitation to an aggressive downgrade was not a positive. My 7 machine installed a new goddamn operating system by itself at the peak of "10 is free!!!" malvertising, and the first thing I did was change it the fuck back.
Still - switch to Linux already.
If you're still on 7 it's because you're dumb. Move to 10, buy a Mac, switch to Linux, whatever. There's no valid reason to stay on an unsupported OS on a goddamn gaming rig.
Ubuntu 9.04 released the same year as win 7. It was supported for 5 years, vs win 7's 14 years. Yet you don't see anyone bitching and moaning that third party devs aren't supporting it anymore. Strange, huh?
Support's not the issue - functional software was just yanked away. This game worked fine last week. Up-to-date and everything! Do these people get the choice to stick with that version? Do they fuck.
Nevermind that as long as your OS works for gaming, that is in fact a valid reason to keep using it on a goddamn gaming rig. Y'know. For gaming? Which it worked for? Until just now? It's obviously not the best decision, but you can stop pretending there's no reason to stick with the last properly good version of Windows. Cons outweighing the pros doesn't magically mean there are no pros.
It was updated. It wasn't yanked away, it still works fine on modern OS's. It's silly to assume devs will continue targeting an OS that is out of support and irrelevant. Do you expect it to run on DOS too?
It doesn't, lmao. That's what this article is about. Also, if your unsupported OS gets compromised and integrated into a botnet, now your dumb preference is everyone's problem. You're the technological equivalent of an anti-vaxxer.
8 and 8.1 were significantly more stable and performant than 7 and did not include the ads or spyware that is in 10. They failed because babies didn't like the way they looked and threw a tantrum about it instead of just installing classicshell.
The only pro you've mentioned is "I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT". Rockstar doesn't give a shit what you want. They want to stop wasting their devs' time accommodating a dead platform.
You're not listening and you're not being honest.
Running an unsupported OS on the public internet is like refusing the covid vaccine and going to work with a fever. Would you listen to someone who does that? I wouldn't, because any justification they come up with is going to be pants on head stupid.
I'm not arguing that 7 or 8 should be someone's daily driver but if someone wanted to use 7 or 8 for specific games because they have nostalgia of running them on those specific OSs then they're shit out of luck unless they want to get weird with it (like I currently do for some games on XP and Vista currently on my secondary PC).
That's a very narrow edge case that only applies to hobbyists. Luckily, those are exactly the sort of people who have the time and motivation to figure out how to get this working. It's not like being unable to play gta4 on a 15 year old machine is going to negatively affect your life, if you want to play it that bad use a modern machine.
Fair enough. I still think it sucks when companies do this though.
This also gives the purchaser the moral obligation to pirate the game(s) and crack them wide open
Why would they even spend time doing this, doesn't windows take care of compatibility?
New window versions try to be compatible with old versions. The older ones can't become compatible with the newer ones
It was already compatible though.
Edit: nevermind. It's because Windows stopped supporting those versions, and with no new security updates devs won't support them either.
Usually that ends up with Devs saying "if you have issues on these platforms we will no longer support you in fixing them and it will get no more updates from us". Sadly this is then going out of their way to stop people with old OSs from playing their games, even though they would still technically run.
Now if people want to use an old Os, for whatever reason, they will now have to pirate those games even if they do own them. And that itself is what would put those users to risk when using an old OS is they don't know where and what to download safely.
There's not necessarily any malicious intent. Some features require breaking backwards compatibility.
Supporting old platforms is bad for everyone, it locks out stuff and takes dev time. People need to learn to update their OS.
That is why you put that remark there and then start disregard breaking the games I'm those versions as an issue to be fixed.
If they continue to work, good for everyone. If they happen to break them at some point, tough luck, but not a problem.
Actively stopping the games from running is terrible and entirely unnecessary though.
The old OSs don't need to be able to run new updated versions of the game though so they didn't have to fully gate out them running of the game on an old OS.
Also even though 7 and 8 currently don't really have any nostalgia going for them, they eventually will. It's nice that I can have a secondary PC with XP and Vista to play era-relevant games on to bring me back to when I used to use them myself as a kid.
It already annoys me theres a lot of XP games that are sadly locked behind Steam that I can no longer play on that machine. I could just play them on my normal gaming pc but when im on that I'd rather just be playing something else, if you get what i mean.
In these days of GAAS they won't let you run old versions of their games because of $. They want you tied to their launcher, advertisements and whatnot.
There's just no reason not to update your OS. Old devices run perfectly well on linux with its lower memory footprint. Running an old, unsupported OS and connecting to internet is asking for trouble.
The security issues of being connected to the internet on old OSs is wildly blown out of proportion if you just browse the internet safely and know exactly what you're downloading or just download files on another note secure device/OS
I'm not arguing that someone should have their daily driver be an old OS. This is for playing games or using software on the era relevant OS. Think like playing an actual N64 vs emulating on a Switch.
There's no such thing as using the internet safely.
Packets you send can be intercepted.
Websites you browse serve ads with malware.
You can be hacked.
All of these are made easier on outdated OSes.
I don't go on any old random website when on an old OS and I always make sure to use a modern browser designed to work with said OS to allow safe browsing. Like MyPal for XP
Old platforms are not a viable platform worth supporting. That's why they're old. This is different from old hardware support, like where Linux supports older hardware really well. Linux still does not support old versions however.
But this is not a case of the games now unable to run, they specifically gated out old OSs from running a game they could otherwise run. They don't need to support the games anymore for old platforms, and they could still run on them at the users discretion.
This is a huge assumption. They release updates very frequently, and I'm sure they're eager to dump that legacy code.