American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)

A little early on this one but beginning to panic the more and more I hear about VISTA. Back in the club and playing the TS games again as well as HPS, I know it is inevitable that my next computer will likely ship with VISTA whether I want it or not. From what I am hearing, the TS games may not install on VISTA (it will be like chickamauga on win98 all over again)...has anyone with VISTA tried them?

I am already thinking of work-arounds. Keeping my current XP machine in operation as long as possibe, even installing the TS games on an old Win98 machine as a backup if the old XP goes south. I figure that, while a nuisance, I could play them on one machine, save to a disk, and then email from the new VISTA machine...if it comes to that. The only problem with my "backup plan" is what my opponents will do. The question being will the old TS games still be highly regarded enough for others to bother to go to such great lengths to keep playing them or finally just resign to only HPS.

So I hope I am over-reacting and there will be an easy solution or maybe a miracle of technical wizardry from Mssrs. Tiller and Hamiliton. Yes, yes,I am a worry wart...never one to leave things to the last minute and the older I get the less I like change and especially if it is a case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." I really get angry over this MS obsession with continually changing the plaform and especially after being "DOS Man" of the 80's and 90's (fortunately I missed the whole mess of Win2000 and Millieum between my win98 and XP) and now having to come to regard XP as the best OS yet. I have rarely had any problem of any signifcance with XP and it seems to me to have always been a friendly and very "self-fixing" program. Just when they finally work out all the bugs (like the new model of a car) they come out with something new.

So someone...please...tell me that I am worrying for nothing and that VISTA is not the nightmare I am hearing from discussions online and in the computer center in the library where I work and patrons are coming in from home to use our "old" machines...Because they can't use their new VISTA laptop to buy or sell their stocks, play their old games, and Wordprocessing software. One guy claims he lost $6000 in a matter of minutes because his VISTA at home wouldn't work with Schwabs online trading program!

LtCol.Tom Ciampa

2nd Bgde,1st Cav
XIV Corps, AoC
Games: TS/BG: AN,BR, GB,SH - HPS: GB, SH

This is nothing new with Microsoft. You should always wait at least 6 months for the first service pack before purchasing any new OS especially MS. Microsoft tends to release their software full of bugs and let the general public Beta test it for them. They will release a bug fix and call it a "Service Pack" in about 6 months or so.[:p]

Lt. Gen. Ed Blackburn
II/VI/AoS

"Forward Bucktails"

Col. Ciampa,

Realize, also, that the Talonsoft games are no longer under support. HPS is still a going concern and will undoubtedly continue to take steps to 'keep up' with Microsoft, but I'm pessimistic about the outlook for the old TS games.

I feel your pain, though. I'm one of those who has to be dragged kicking and screaming from one technological level to another. Why, I remember the good old days -- marbles & Tiddly-winks were good enough for us back then [:)] !


Your humble servant,
Gen 'Dee Dubya' Mallory


David W. Mallory
ACW - General, 3/2/I/AotM (Club President & Cabinet Member)
CCC - Lieutenant, Georgia Volunteers, Southern Regional Department, Colonial American Army

Hi Tom,

As noted, we have no involvement with the TS titles, so the only hope for them is if Matrix actually does re-release them and makes them Vista compatible in the process...which would be foolish not to make them compatible at this point...

For new machines, deal with local system builders in your town and you should be able to get XP on a machine for quite some time to come. Or, anyone who's worried about Vista and not wanting to run it...and has a new system looming in the next 6 to 18 months could always purchase a full version of XP now, so when you get a new system all you have to do is install that and away you go...

Multiple ways to get around the push Microsoft is putting behind Vista, if you want to...

[:)]

LGen. Hamilton
II Corps
ANV, CSA

Given that Matrix is well over a year overdue, I wouldn't put much faith in them.

BTW, the fact that they are so much overdue, is one good reason why HPS doesn't pre-advertize their products.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Rich Hamilton</i>
<br />Hi Tom,

As noted, we have no involvement with the TS titles, so the only hope for them is if Matrix actually does re-release them and makes them Vista compatible in the process...which would be foolish not to make them compatible at this point...

For new machines, deal with local system builders in your town and you should be able to get XP on a machine for quite some time to come. Or, anyone who's worried about Vista and not wanting to run it...and has a new system looming in the next 6 to 18 months could always purchase a full version of XP now, so when you get a new system all you have to do is install that and away you go...

Multiple ways to get around the push Microsoft is putting behind Vista, if you want to...

[:)]

LGen. Hamilton
II Corps
ANV, CSA

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Capt. Richard Walker
I Corps
Army of the Mississippi
2nd Brigade, 3rd Division
"Defenders of Tennessee"

Bill,

If you mean me, I don't care. I might be wrong, but I don't think John is helping them with the Vista problem. I only heard that he was providing the 32 bit upgrades, nothing more.

Rich


Capt. Richard Walker
I Corps
Army of the Mississippi
2nd Brigade, 3rd Division
"Defenders of Tennessee"

When I was trying to get the Battlegound Games to work on Vista I resorted to uninstalling them and then re-installing from scratch. After each step I would check to see if the game worked. After the initial install the game would work. Then, I applied the 16 bit patch (BGN 1.12, etc.) and the game would work. Then, I applied the 32 bit patch (along with all the appropriate .dll files) and that is when I had problems. I would get error with scenario messages.

So, pending an uncertain Matrix release the games appear playable in 16-bit but not 32-bit. I know it takes us back about 10 years, though.

Major General Dale Lastowicka
1st "Adirondack" Division
XXV Corps
Army of the James

Bill,

John only provided them with new compiles of the 32-bit engine about a year ago, he's not working with them in any other fashion...wish I would have saved the direct quote when I asked him that based on rumor if he was doing more, but essentially the response is "definitely not". So, they are on their own, if anything is to come of those games.



LGen. Hamilton
II Corps
ANV, CSA