News Future support for Win 32 and DX10

[xondk]

However forced updates and and an increasing role for the app store (which might well be forced on us at some point) are real and not everyone's cup of tea.
And I have not read that increased "phoning home" is a myth, if you could provide a source on that I would be grateful.

the 'forced' updates is not really a bad thing, and if you are referring to driver updates, then I can assure you, it doesn't do much other then if you don't have drivers, installs some for you, if you already have installed some it won't suddenly replace those. Though I have heard some people having this issue, it seems more a case of user error.

As for the store? how is it even a concern? you do not need to use it, you can, but you do not need to.

 

[Splendour]

If this goes ahead I'll have to replace my laptop to be able to keep playing Elite away form home, as the GPU is DX10 only, and while the CPU's onboard graphics supports DX11 it can't cope with Elite and double digit frame rates.

A pain, but one I'm willing to stomach to allow more improvements to the game going forward.

 

[Heavenly-Hammer]

Do it.

Forget 32-bit. Clearly it has no future and a game with a 10-year plan can't be bound to it.

 

[Ecthelion]

I say move on - it's really strange that 32-bit OSes still are around for PC at least.

 

[Cosmo]

Yes please change to 64bit and DirectX 11 as soon as possible. The 0.5% of the players who still have 32bit OS can easily upgrade to 64bit. It's also a tiny percentage. Gamers in particular upgrade their PCs and buy new PCs every few years anyway.

Elite Dangerous needs to evolve and stay with the times. Better graphics, effects, performance, and draw distance will benefit all players. [up]

 

[darkoff]

I would say drop 32bit if its affecting implementation of gameplay features with memory constraints.
If its mostly visual fluff then i would say keep 32bit. So that ppl with older machines could enjoy elite (its fantastically optimized game)

gameplay first visuals second.

 

[Arithon]

I use Windows 10 x64 and have used a x64 OS since Windows 7 dropped in 2009.

Win 10 is pretty fast and once the Windows 8 / Fisher-Price START menu is replaced with Start8 or Classic shell, you have a pretty good and stable OS.

I recently had the misfortune to use an old Windows 7 box. It was like watching everything in slo-mo. Never going back.

 

[Cosmos]

Hi Everyone,

As you know we spend a good deal of time planning for the future, and one issue (and opportunity) we are considering is the effect of supporting Win32 and DX10, and the benefits we would get if we were to drop them. As you know, we support leading edge technology like 4K, 8K, VR, and with things like compute shaders in Horizons we really push the boundaries overall, but there are restrictions with Win32 – particularly the amount of memory we can address at one time – and with DX10 in terms of requiring an alternative rendering solution in our code. Dropping these two would help us support high end effects with a better result – to make the game better.

I say go for it. Its helpful to ask and point out but it seems a bit silly to not be able to fully utilise the power of modern PCs. 8GB is pretty much bog standard these days. Its great that ED scales well on lower end machines but we shouldn't be limited to 32bit windows and dx10..

About 0.5% of players that have installed Elite Dangerous have used their game on Win32 at some time. Some of these machines are capable of running Win64 (ie the hardware would support it). With DX10 (fewer than 2% of players) it is more tricky as you may need to upgrade the graphics card on such machines.

Always a tricky one I suppose but the reality is folks need to update their equipment from time to time. DX10 cards are pretty much ancient tech in 2016..

 

[Dean Demon]

I totally understand why FDev would want to drop 32 bit support and DX10 really wouldn't be such a big effect as you imagine as a large number of gamers are at least with DX11 by now but many are still on 32 bit and just don't want to upgrade despite the benefits. For reference last year i did a survey to my own customers and of the 625 responses i had 318 still had a 32 bit system and had no to plan to upgrade, yes i know it's a small sample but found the results to be more than interesting and these figures wouldn't have any impact on FDev in the slightest so maybe a poll would be needed to gage interest maybe FDev?

 

[Pixeldemon]

I think dropping it is fair, especially if you give legacy users enough notice. Originally, I was actually surprised Elite supported 32bit in the first place.

 

[MC Madman]

Yes please change to 64bit and DirectX 10 or 11 as soon as possible. The 0.5% of the players who still have 32bit OS can easily upgrade to 64bit.

I'm all for the ditching the 32-bit and moving on, I just wish they'd then have the possibility of running 2 64-bit clients at the same time when needed.

 

[CMDR Reaper]

No need to keep supporting 32bit/dx10 for such a small percentage, especially if it means that you will free resources to other more important stuff.

People with 32bit/dx10 will just have to upgrade their OS if they want to keep playing Elite.

 

[recskabajnok]

i like prettier effects so drop the old tech tomorrow ^^ elaverick really hit the nail with his comment.

 

[Sylow]

In my eyes, this thread is mostly to make sure that people can't say they would not have been informed. There is no logical reason to stay with a 32bit client.
.
What I mean is, Intel hit the mass market with 64 bit processors in 2001, AMD followed up 2004. Those processors were a huge success at that time, so 64bit systems are the status quo since over 10 years. I know that some people over 10 years later still use 32 bit operating systems, but the only reason for that is to save a few bucks. (32bit OS are usually used on discounter PCs, any reasonable offer uses a 64bit OS. ) So I dare to say, anybody computer able to run this game actually has a 64bit architecture. In worst case, the user has to upgrade the operating system, and if somebody in our time still is on a 32bit system, he has to blame himself.
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My thoughts on DX10 is similar, but not as solid. I am under the impression that any GPU of sufficient performance to run this game also supports DX10, but there might be exceptions I am not aware of.
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That all being said, I think that support of such obscure legacy systems can not do any good for the game. It just holds it back and eats up additional development effort, which could be used in a different way for the benefit of the game.
.

 

[lysan]

Good time to get the party started, win32 is dead and holding the game back.

 

[Conman]

I signed up to play ED for the long term and if that means I have to upgrade my computer then so be it. I'd like to play the absolute best game it can be, rather than something held back because a tiny percentage of people can't (or will not) upgrade their technology.

 

[Ydiss]

All good. Onwards and upwards.

My system is about the minimum for 2.0 (still dx11 and 64bit ofc) so I will probably have to upgrade at some point, regardless of this change. But I appreciate this as progress.

If it is needed for the betterment of the game, do it.

 

[Riverside]

Happy to have the game move forward, and be a reason to upgrade. Anyone with 32bit hardware and ED is already aware their equipment is approaching obsolescence for modern gaming.

Thank you also for confirmation of the season 3 ETA and atmospheric landings

 

[TomasEkeli]

Drop win32 like a mike

 

[Jools]

excellent news, away with the old and hurray for the new