Games are running slow... Is AGS compatible with Windows 7?

BubbleMonkey · Thu 08/04/2010 19:37:47

Hey, everyone.

So, I downloaded AGS the other day and tried to start making a game, just to test it out and see how I could do. Eventually, I managed to add a character and create a room, and I wanted to run the game just to see if it was working. The game itself ran, but very, very slowly. And it's not only my games... a few others that I tried playing didn't work well either. I know the games themselves work fine, because I've played them on another computer in the past.

I'm fairly sure the problem has to do with my computer, because the one I used to use never had a problem with AGS or the games. I used to have Windows XP, which worked fine. Right now, I have Windows 7, and it doesn't seem like its compatible. It keeps changing the color scheme every time I load a game, and saying the resolution isn't right. I tried changing the resolution, and the window size of the games, but no luck.

Sorry if this is a long question, but I'm bad with computers as it is, so I'm stumped. Also, I couldn't find a similar question to this anywhere in the forums. Does anyone else have this problem with Windows 7?

Danman · Thu 08/04/2010 20:31:39

Well I had windows 7 once. And it worked fine with me. Now I have vista and still works fine. Did you try putting it on the lowest res then full screen. Just I know some filters can give me issues. Is there no difference in speed with Directx9 and Direct-draw??

BubbleMonkey · Thu 08/04/2010 23:10:17

Hmm... yes, when the game settings box pops up, I chose 320X200 because it said it was the fastest, but for some reason, the game only reacts without full screen. If it's in a small box, though, I can't see it, so I can't play it anyway.

I tried searching for Directx9 on my computer, and it said something about "Windows Aero". I changed the theme to Windows 7 Basic, but I don't think that did anything. The game still runs as slowly as it did before. What exactly is Direct-draw? Do I have to download it or something?

Sorry to be a pain, but I'm really confused...

Crimson Wizard · Fri 09/04/2010 00:05:48

Quote from: BubbleMonkey on Thu 08/04/2010 23:10:17
I tried searching for Directx9 on my computer, and it said something about "Windows Aero". I changed the theme to Windows 7 Basic, but I don't think that did anything. The game still runs as slowly as it did before. What exactly is Direct-draw? Do I have to download it or something?

Erm... DirectDraw is a graphic library that Windows uses since Win95. Windows Vista has DirectDraw 10, Win7 should have DD 11 (as far as I know). It is certainly already installed on your computer with Windows.

What Danman meant, try to change graphic driver option in AGS game setup. Initially DirectDraw 5 is set. Try setting Direct3D 9.

Important note though, that older AGS games may not have this setting (not sure... well, honestly I don't know how old game must be).

QuoteI chose 320X200 because it said it was the fastest

I guess you may ignore that line about "fastest". I always set at least x2 or even x3 scaling and it plays good for me. At least, I doubt it may be cause of your problem.

Danman · Fri 09/04/2010 00:11:50

In the AGS game setup. I think you got "Run in a window instead of full screen" Ticked ( untick it)
Then run on lowest res 320x200. And see what happens. It should work fine.

Once you can see that works you can start messing with the filters.

Gilbert · Fri 09/04/2010 01:50:40

Try updating DirectX9. Right, 9.

DX10 or DX11 in Vista and 7 are actually different things from the earlier DX versions. They're not responsible for running software created to work with the earlier DX versions. So, Vista and 7 actually came also with DX9, but for some unknown reasons (probably stupid decision on M$'s side) the version of DX9 they provided was extremely outdated, so you may try updating DX9 also.

BubbleMonkey · Fri 09/04/2010 03:30:53

Quote from: Crimson Wizard on Fri 09/04/2010 00:05:48
Erm... DirectDraw is a graphic library that Windows uses since Win95. Windows Vista has DirectDraw 10, Win7 should have DD 11 (as far as I know). It is certainly already installed on your computer with Windows.

What Danman meant, try to change graphic driver option in AGS game setup. Initially DirectDraw 5 is set. Try setting Direct3D 9.

Important note though, that older AGS games may not have this setting (not sure... well, honestly I don't know how old game must be).

Yeah, I think the game is fairly old, since I remember playing it a few years ago. It doesn't seem to have that setting, so I can't change it.

Quote from: Gilbet V7000a on Fri 09/04/2010 01:50:40
Try updating DirectX9. Right, 9.

DX10 or DX11 in Vista and 7 are actually different things from the earlier DX versions. They're not responsible for running software created to work with the earlier DX versions. So, Vista and 7 actually came also with DX9, but for some unknown reasons (probably stupid decision on M$'s side) the version of DX9 they provided was extremely outdated, so you may try updating DX9 also.

I downloaded a recent version of DirectX9, but it didn't make the game run any better. I guess the game just isn't meant to work on my computer. I did download a more recent game, though, just to see if those settings were there. I ran the game without adjusting them, and it actually worked! It wasn't sluggish or anything! I'm really not sure how that happened, but I guess I can't play anything really old. It's sad, but at least I know some games work. Thanks for all the info, though, everyone! I appreciate it.

Khris · Fri 09/04/2010 07:57:29

If it said "fastest" next to 320x200, it's a really, really old game. You can try running those in DosBox.

Crimson Wizard · Fri 09/04/2010 12:03:26

Quote from: Khris on Fri 09/04/2010 07:57:29
If it said "fastest" next to 320x200, it's a really, really old game. You can try running those in DosBox.

But... DosBox can only run Dos executables, isn't it?

Khris · Fri 09/04/2010 12:09:32

Old versions of the engine were able to run under DOS, afaik.