Help me have All The Games (computer version)
June 5, 2013 7:02 AM Subscribe
I would like to be able to play older computer games (from CD) on newer computers. You (or more accurately, I) would think this would be easy as long as the Operating System was the same, but in fact it is not: help me figure out why, figure out if what I want is possible, and help me do it if so.
We're blending households and are really excited about playing each other's games we missed, or re-playing favorite old games. In the house, we have a Macbook, two Windows-running computers, and one running Linux.
The games are largely from the late 90s and early 2000s. We're talking Grim Fandango, Bloodlines, KingsQuest, and several others. Sometimes they just won't open - other times, they weirdly say that we don't have enough memory to run the game (which I damn well know I do, game from 2001 computing era!)
Am I asking too much? If not, how do I make this happen? Childhood/teenage-reliving happiness awaits, with your aid!
We're blending households and are really excited about playing each other's games we missed, or re-playing favorite old games. In the house, we have a Macbook, two Windows-running computers, and one running Linux.
The games are largely from the late 90s and early 2000s. We're talking Grim Fandango, Bloodlines, KingsQuest, and several others. Sometimes they just won't open - other times, they weirdly say that we don't have enough memory to run the game (which I damn well know I do, game from 2001 computing era!)
Am I asking too much? If not, how do I make this happen? Childhood/teenage-reliving happiness awaits, with your aid!
Have you tried running in compatability mode?
If worst comes to worst, it may be easier to buy the games from gog.com (Good Old Games), which has done the work of getting it to run on modern computers for you. This only works if the games are available on GOG.
posted by Comrade_robot at 7:06 AM on June 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
If worst comes to worst, it may be easier to buy the games from gog.com (Good Old Games), which has done the work of getting it to run on modern computers for you. This only works if the games are available on GOG.
posted by Comrade_robot at 7:06 AM on June 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
A lot of DOS games should run ok in DOSBox. For old games that run under Windows, you might need to look at something like a copy of Windows 2000 installed within a VirtualBox machine.
posted by pipeski at 7:07 AM on June 5, 2013 [5 favorites]
posted by pipeski at 7:07 AM on June 5, 2013 [5 favorites]
GoG is really your best bet. They clean things up to where old games run smoothly. Period. Plus lots of GoG-tuned games work well with Wine, which is one way to get games working on your Linux machine.
As far as Windows to Mac to Linux; emulation through a Virtual Machine might be best. Any pair of those and you could probably come up with something independent; but between all three, you'll just want something standard to work with.
posted by CrystalDave at 7:12 AM on June 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
As far as Windows to Mac to Linux; emulation through a Virtual Machine might be best. Any pair of those and you could probably come up with something independent; but between all three, you'll just want something standard to work with.
posted by CrystalDave at 7:12 AM on June 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
If you want to run Windows 98 in a Virtual Machine to run older games, here's some information about a product key that will work for everyone, allegedly with Microsoft's blessing.
But generally, a combination of DOSBox, ScummVM, VirtualBox, and GoG/Steam who nicely repackage older games, should get you what you want.
posted by jozxyqk at 7:33 AM on June 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
But generally, a combination of DOSBox, ScummVM, VirtualBox, and GoG/Steam who nicely repackage older games, should get you what you want.
posted by jozxyqk at 7:33 AM on June 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
+1 for GoG. It may seem annoying to pay $5 for a game you already own, but if you do buy it from them you can be sure that it will run fine on a modern PC (which is harder than you might think, as you have found out). Their wrappers use DOSBox for most of the older games, so you might have some luck with that if you don't want to shell out again.
posted by richb at 7:33 AM on June 5, 2013
posted by richb at 7:33 AM on June 5, 2013
Grim Fandango and Escape From Monkey Island can be played in ResidualVM, a sister project of the amazing ScummVM. To be honest, I haven't yet tried it, but if ScummVM's anything to go by, it'll be stellar.
posted by Magnakai at 7:57 AM on June 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Magnakai at 7:57 AM on June 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
I ran into this problem when I got a new computer a year ago and had a working CD drive for the first time in about 5 years, and was all HELL YES, THE SIMS.
Have to run as an admin, have to run in compatibility mode.
I only found this out because I googled that game specifically and others had had the same problem (and found answers on their own, then posted about them).
It's still not perfect, but it runs OK. Takes a lot of trial and error in settings.
posted by phunniemee at 8:07 AM on June 5, 2013
Have to run as an admin, have to run in compatibility mode.
I only found this out because I googled that game specifically and others had had the same problem (and found answers on their own, then posted about them).
It's still not perfect, but it runs OK. Takes a lot of trial and error in settings.
posted by phunniemee at 8:07 AM on June 5, 2013
Yeah, nthing GoG here. They run sales practically every weekend, so you should have no trouble picking up those games for $3-5 a pop, plus they've got a extensive forum community that makes it very easy to track down the best mods for games like bloodlines and SS2.
posted by Oktober at 8:19 AM on June 5, 2013
posted by Oktober at 8:19 AM on June 5, 2013
Another possible source of good info is PCGamingWiki. Their page on Grim Fandango seemed pretty good, and when I've used them in the past for modern games they've been great.
posted by Lemurrhea at 8:27 AM on June 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Lemurrhea at 8:27 AM on June 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
Additional advice:
Some games can actually run "better" on modern hardware/Windows versions with some tweaks.
Taking Bloodlines as an example, the community is still very active with unofficial patches here: http://www.patches-scrolls.com/vampire_bloodlines.php
Also, the WideScreen Gaming Forum is an invaluable resource on getting quite a few pre-widescreen-era games running on widescreen monitors.
posted by jozxyqk at 8:28 AM on June 5, 2013
Some games can actually run "better" on modern hardware/Windows versions with some tweaks.
Taking Bloodlines as an example, the community is still very active with unofficial patches here: http://www.patches-scrolls.com/vampire_bloodlines.php
Also, the WideScreen Gaming Forum is an invaluable resource on getting quite a few pre-widescreen-era games running on widescreen monitors.
posted by jozxyqk at 8:28 AM on June 5, 2013
If it says you don't have enough memory running it from the Windows command line, installing DOSBox (on any of those computers or on a phone) will almost certainly give you enough memory.
If you download ScummVM, you'll have the ability to run any of these games without a huge amount of difficulty, as mentioned above.
posted by ambrosen at 11:02 AM on June 5, 2013
If you download ScummVM, you'll have the ability to run any of these games without a huge amount of difficulty, as mentioned above.
posted by ambrosen at 11:02 AM on June 5, 2013
Lots of incompatibilities (like the "not enough memory" error) might be because of 64-bit Windows. You might want to try installing Windows XP (32-bit) instead.
I can personally vouch that Grim Fandango will run on XP without a hitch. If you max out your graphics driver's 3D settings (especially antialiasing), it looks a lot better too.
VirtualBox might be a "good enough" option for games that don't require 3D acceleration.
posted by neckro23 at 11:09 AM on June 5, 2013
I can personally vouch that Grim Fandango will run on XP without a hitch. If you max out your graphics driver's 3D settings (especially antialiasing), it looks a lot better too.
VirtualBox might be a "good enough" option for games that don't require 3D acceleration.
posted by neckro23 at 11:09 AM on June 5, 2013
Another vote for GOG - they have been nothing but a source of trouble-free impulse-buy nostalgia for me. Most of the games run just fine under wine, occasionally I have needed to fire up an XP VirtualBox.
posted by Dr Dracator at 11:31 AM on June 5, 2013
posted by Dr Dracator at 11:31 AM on June 5, 2013
If you are willing to spend a little bit of money for convenience, GOG.
If you are not, get ready to do a lot of googling and go the emulator route following the directions above.
You might also look into modding communities for various games - some beloved games of yesteryear have done a lot of the work for you through mods (Deus Ex, Half Life, etc.)
posted by oblique red at 9:26 AM on June 6, 2013
If you are not, get ready to do a lot of googling and go the emulator route following the directions above.
You might also look into modding communities for various games - some beloved games of yesteryear have done a lot of the work for you through mods (Deus Ex, Half Life, etc.)
posted by oblique red at 9:26 AM on June 6, 2013
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posted by demiurge at 7:06 AM on June 5, 2013 [3 favorites]