Rumor: Sorry Folks, There Will be no DirectX 12 Support For Windows 7 - Update

[Magmarock]

Lol this isn't surprising, but seriously Microsoft it's like you want people to hate you.

Can we finally start moving away from DirectX perhaps and not be subject to this tomfoolery again and again?

Afraid not. Due to so many games engines being rigged to run directX over time would cause a plethora of problems. Some games may work on openGL via some work around but it would cause a lot of issues. I think MS will eventually gave in and release DX12 on 7. That or they will make Win 10 free for those who don't mind adds.

 

[Rellik San]

That or they will make Win 10 free for those who don't mind adds.

"We're sorry but you must purchase the ultimate version of Windows 10 to have full DX12 functionality."

We all know it's coming.

 

[Sol_HSA]

Most PC games still use DirectX 9, some use DirectX 10, and few use DirectX 11, so I don't think that it's going to be a problem in the foreseeable future.

And the reason why most PC games use DirectX9 is that game developers looked at the market shares and figured supporting windows xp was more important than whatever new features dx10 added.

Some time after that we were deep in the console port world where current-gen consoles were (approx) dx9 anyway.

Unless there's some technical reason (like the driver architecture revamp they did at vista which "kind of" explains the dx10 thing), microsoft is only harming itself by this move. Again.

All that said, I'm not surprised at all.

 

[Product Placement]

I was wondering when we'd move from DirectX 11 to 12.

As for upgrading my windows, my version history has been 95, 98, XP (once service pack 2 came out) and finally 7. In other words, I upgraded when you guys released an OS that was good.

Apparently, they wanted to call it Windows one but go figures windows 1 has already been done.

That was meant to be a tongue-in-cheek sort of joke.

 

[Strazdas]

Meh. DirectX12 will be similar to Mantle, and we saw that despite it looking great on paper it had very little effect for anything but old systems. so yeah, we will be fine with DirectX11 thank you very much.

There's actually a very sensible reason for this: Most windows 98 and 95 programs search for a "Win9x" command in the program to determine compatibility, to ensure legacy software still works, they had to skip 9 or else countless software (many out of business now) houses would have to patch near 20 year old code.

I think you meant to say a stupid reason. Any competently written program wont search for Win9x because it will search for windows number (which is NT x.x), so those are already out. all other programs that were incompetently written 20 years ago are either defunct or should be. there is no reason to support them when you drop XP support. So yeah, lets not pretend like its a legitimate reason.

And even if it was a solution would be extremely easy. just make the windows name return anything other than "Windows 9". Like, say, "MS Windows 9", "Microsoft Windows 9", "Windows Nine", "Windows 09" and countless other variants to stay consistent without invoking this problem.

Most PC games still use DirectX 9, some use DirectX 10, and few use DirectX 11, so I don't think that it's going to be a problem in the foreseeable future. I do hope that it'll encourage game developers to adopt OpenGL instead. It'll make paying for a new OS optional, and will make porting to other OSs much easier.

Most still use 10 or 11 yes, 9 however they do not anymore. know how system requirements suddenly turned to Vista or higher in last few years? thats because they dropped supporting directx9 and XP cant do 10/11. so majority of games now require at least DX10.

I too would like to see adaptation of OpenGL, however currently OpenGL itself is in very poor shape.

Well, what's the excuse this time?

Im guessing Kernel differences (8/10 is based on entirely different kernel than previus versions. Its why it works so differently). and thats as legitimate as reasons go.

Hey, MS, Steam OS and Open GL say hi. You might want Win 10's sales to rely less on forced obsolescence and more on quality UI and under-the-hood features.

and their voice echo in an empty chamber. Steam OS is just a locked down linux. Open GL is in much worse shape than people think, you may as well use Mantle instead.

Vista was garbage and win 8 was even worse... yeah I think i'll wait and see how it turns out.

No, just no. There is no worse than Vista.

I heard about DX10 running in some form or fashion on Windows XP, I wonder if anybody of a technical mindset would be willing to invest in creating a decent "unofficial" patch for WIN7. Yeaaahhhh, that would be nice.

Heres how that worked: the hack has tricked windows XP into thinking it had DX10, when it actually didnt. This mean that games searching for DX10 would return a true and launch instead of refusing to launch. Now, that worked as long as the game didnt need any features from DX10 that isnt in DX9. if they did - crash. So no, DX10 never actually worked in XP as it is not possible.

Can we finally start moving away from DirectX perhaps and not be subject to this tomfoolery again and again?

Agreed, what alternative are you going to offer? (note: OpenGL is not good enough, other alternatives are nonexistent)

Your ransom has no weight if no game developer is stupid enough to support it.

Yeah, as if we lack stupid game developers.....

 

[VoidWanderer]

One point for console gamers, I guess.

 

[J Tyran]

Most PC games still use DirectX 9, some use DirectX 10, and few use DirectX 11, so I don't think that it's going to be a problem in the foreseeable future. I do hope that it'll encourage game developers to adopt OpenGL instead. It'll make paying for a new OS optional, and will make porting to other OSs much easier.

Or wait for new cross-platform API to be made. I will say though: Microsoft has gone mad. They are repeating old tactics & expecting different results...

Seems Microsoft and Vaas have a lot in common, including the tantrums when it doesnt work.

Spoiler: Definition of insanity, NSFW

 

[Megamatics]

This is why PC Gaming needs the Steam OS to take off, Microsoft just uses directX to force PC Gamers to upgrade to a more expensive OS with barely any real new features over the last iteration. I don't think the SteamOS will take off though, it will most likely have a small group of dedicated enthusiasts; unless Valve decides to drop some exclusive games for it (HL3,Portal3,Team Fortress3, and so on) don't expect this trend with Windows Operating Systems to at all change.

 

[Daverson]

So, you know how Windows seems to have picked up "the curse of the Trek Movie"? (every other version being god-awful) Should we take this as confirmation that this whole thing is based on the name and not necessarily the actual iteration. Because, theoretically speaking, windows 9 should have been at least sort of ok, but it seems just calling it windows 10 has ruined everything.

Though, since they've managed to invert it (even numbered versions being terrible, as opposed to odd numbered ones), does that mean putting JJ Abrams in charge of Microsoft would actually make things better?

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Low blow Microsoft. Its not that I expected more from you, its just... You know what, fuck you. That's what I have to say to that.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Are Microsoft not aware that most devs don't like Windows 8? Surely they must know that a lot of people are also skeptical about Windows 10. I'd ask why they feel shooting themselves in the foot is a good idea, but it seems to be their Raison d'être.

 

[KisaiTenshi]

Well, what's the excuse this time?

This just seems like blatant forced upgrading.

When they did the DirectX 10 XP/Vista thing, they had this huge story about how it would be very difficult to implement DX10 in XP because they had rewritten the entire structure of how windows Graphics drivers were implemented...

Did they bother with a technical excuse this time, or is it just 'suck it'?.

Well the difference between XP/DX9 and Vista/DX10 is that they completely changed the driver model, and Vista/7 have 64-bit drivers.
A similar thing happened with the Audio drivers. Basically the difference between Windows 2000 and Windows XP is smaller than the difference between XP and Vista.

Windows 8 has touch input support, but that doesn't actually mean anything. What's more likely is that "DirectX 12" forces multithreaded rendering which may require such support in the graphics drivers.

So meanwhile AMD can just have Mantle on all platforms that Don't support DX12. Have a nVidia card? Tough noogies, DX9 or DX10/11 mode for you.

Though it is speculative right now. The way to find out is if old drivers install on new OS's. Someone who has a preview of Win10 right now could probably try and install the Win7 drivers on it and see if it falls over.

This is why PC Gaming needs the Steam OS to take off, Microsoft just uses directX to force PC Gamers to upgrade to a more expensive OS with barely any real new features over the last iteration. I don't think the SteamOS will take off though, it will most likely have a small group of dedicated enthusiasts; unless Valve decides to drop some exclusive games for it (HL3,Portal3,Team Fortress3, and so on) don't expect this trend with Windows Operating Systems to at all change.

Steam OS will never take off because it's Linux. It's an improvement on the "android" situation (where developers only put freemium games on it, due to extreme piracy,) but if you don't see games being ported to Mac OS X, you won't see them ported to Linux.

There's just no money in Linux. There's no cross-platform API's that have feature parity. And Wine is just a band-aid over missing limbs.

Like the effort has to come from the major game engine dev's. Crytek, Unreal, Source, Unity, etc first.

 

[Kahani]

Most PC games still use DirectX 9, some use DirectX 10, and few use DirectX 11

Indeed. Not many games even use DirectX 11, and I can't think of any that actually require it, so I don't see this being an issue at all. Developers will slowly add support for DX12 as it enters the mainstream, and before you know it it will be the outdated standard that everyone's complaining is about to lose support when DX15 is announced.

I also don't see why people seem to be getting so upset about this. Windows 7 is over 5 years old now, and support for it ends this coming January, while DirectX 12 won't be out until "holiday 2015" (Wiki doesn't actually specify which holiday, I think it's an American thing that the rest of us have to guess at). Of course Microsoft aren't going to make every new bit of software compatible with things that are two versions out of date and no longer supported. This isn't anything to do with ransoming or any bullshit like that, it's just a standard part of the release and support cycle.

 

[ForumSafari]

>quality UI and under-the-hood features.
>Open GL

Really, really not. OpenGL is a pig of a project, in fact the performance generally is pretty shite, much less trying to write software that uses it.

"We're sorry but you must purchase the ultimate version of Windows 10 to have full DX12 functionality."

We all know it's coming.

Actually Microsoft went through a phase with that but seem to be flattening their licensing model in newer versions.

 

[zidine100]

sooooo let me get this straight, a devolper either has the choice of limiting its target audience to people with a specific os, or developing for 12 and 11 both making this whole hostage situation completely null and void and increasing the amount of people who can use their product.

Good job!

 

[Steven Bogos]

Micro$oft keeps making the same mistakes. They piss their customers off with a crap OS, then they win them back with a better OS, just in time to piss them off again with another crap OS that sucks in the same ways as last crap OS. Micro$oft never remembers their hard lessons. Its like they suffer from a greed-induced amnesia.

Earth to Micro$oft: you don't have a monopoly anymore. Why do you act like you still do? You're only driving people to buy Apple instead, including me. No, seriously. This was the last straw on a pile of lead. I'm going to buy a mac asap. I don't care if Windows 10 turns out to not suck. I don't want to be later forced to "upgrade" to the next ME/Vista/8. I've had enough of the $tupid cycle. And you Micro$oft had plenty of chances to learn from the same old mistakes. I won't give you another. F*** off and die with a whimper like myspace.

As much as I dislike Microsoft for pulling shit like this... please don't write "Micro$oft" with the dollar sign as the S. It stopped being clever years ago and it makes people take you less seriously.

Also Microsoft still essentially has a monopoly. People think Apple is doing great because of its image, but that's only with private consumers. MS makes the vast majority of its money from businesses, and they are in no danger of switching to Macs.

 

[Something Amyss]

Well, what's the excuse this time?

This just seems like blatant forced upgrading.

Wasn't that the excuse last time?