outsiderartisan
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Windows 7 & 8 Support...
🕑 Added 2023-09-08 13:00:05 +0000 UTCUpgrading some of the software Succubus Stories uses internally apparently made it so the game no longer works on Windows 7 & 8. I will try to walk back to an earlier version of the software in question so that these earlier versions of Windows are supported once again. If you're wondering why the game suddenly doesn't work for you and you're on one of these older OSes, that's likely why.
As for Hex, this is more complicated. For now the Hex alpha will continue to support Windows 7 & 8, but for the full release, I may drop support for these older versions of Windows so I don't have to lock myself into using outdated software, especially since we're already having performance issues with some parts of the game. If this is a deal-breaker for you, feel free to let me know. If a lot of users are on these older versions of Windows (I was on Windows 7 until last year, so believe me, I get it) then maybe I'll reconsider, so feel free to weigh in!
Legacy support is good, but it's also a hard limitation that makes things difficult. For example, Succubus Stories supports a ton of browsers, including even IE, whereas for Hex I've trimmed support just to Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Making the decision to leave older browsers behind let me use more modern libraries and coding techniques to get the absolute best performance and quality out of every part of the game, in addition to saving tons of time I'd otherwise spend on testing and worrying about browser differences. Being stuck with older versions of Windows could wind up causing the same kind of problem. And dropping support for an OS mid-stream is also kind of a gross thing to do (I think it's okay in this case because Hex is an alpha), so it's a decision I want to commit to sooner rather than later. Note that the offline browser and web versions should be unaffected by this decision.
Anyway, let me know if you have thoughts or opinions!
Comments
Outsider Artisan
For SS, even though technically the game is "prerelease" it's really been out for a few years now, so I think continuing to support older systems makes some sense. I think for Hex though, you are right, and the browser version will should continue to be playable on these systems for the foreseeable future.
BMinor
Ok I am biased. I work in IT (InfoSec specifically). Anything less than Windows 10 is not even supported by Microsoft any longer. I think you really need to upgrade to more modern technology. Programming for legacy support is often just asking for issues and more time having to reprogram again later. You could do a poll I guess if you want to see how many patrons actually still use Windows 7 (15 years old) or Windows 8 (11 years old), but since you cant even get security updates or patches I would be worried about them just being hacking targets. I just really feel you would be limiting yourself to program to the lowest common denominator possible.
