I have just upgraded my workstation to Windows 7 Pro 64. It installs fast (in a little under 15 mins.) with little fuss. It resists attempts at customization more than Vista, but I was eventually able to get what I wanted, more or less, with the help of some Registry edits and a couple of third party applications.

So on to the testing. Since there are few issues with DOSBox or ScummVM on Windows 7 and most of the Sierra classics are DOS games, I have started with some non-Sierra games, where there is more of a chance for problems. Eventually I will be testing the SHP installers, too, to see if there are any issues with them on Win7 that need to be fixed.

Here are my initial results. I have many more that I can check. Note that I only checked to see if the games started and that I could do basic game play, such as in game navigation and interaction with objects, etc. and did not play any of these games very far, so there may be specific bugs that may arise at later point in the games.

Works for me without issue:

A Tale of Two Kingdoms (AGS game)
Barrow Hill
The Black Mirror
Culpa Innata
Dark Fall
ECHO
Indigo Prophecy
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Keepsake
Dreamfall
Paradise
Penumbra
Sinking Island
Stargate Adventure (AGS game)
Syberia
Syberia 2
Sam and Max - Season One
Titanic: Adventure Out Of Time

Runs, but with tweaking and/or issues:

The Last Express - Compatibility issue message on close.
The Longest Journey - Requires the DLLs from the demo.
The Neverhood - Win 95 compatibility mode for installer, color artifacting.
Sanitarium (2nd release)- color artifacting.
Scratches - BSOD, but will run after editing Scream.CFG to change the "Rate" value from 0 to 60.

Requires XP Mode:

Obsidian
NOIR - Requires XP Mode to run 16-bit game on 64-bit Windows, had to disable integration features for compatibility mode to get 640x480x 256 colors.

Will not even start for me, even in XP Mode:

Crystal Key 2 - Does not work on XP/Vista, either
Still Life - Black screen only, game does not load.
The Legend of Lotus Spring - Does not work on XP/Vista, either
King's Quest: Mask of Eternity - Does not work in Vista, either

There is a thread about this on GameBoomers and thought I would start one here. Anyone here that has or is planning to get Windows 7 (Andrea?) can contribute their findings. Check out those Bioware games of yours. Also, it does not hurt to have multiple reports on the same games, as some may have issues with certain games and others not. This can eliminate Windows 7 specific issues and what may just be problems with hardware, driver or configuration differences.

I'll be getting Windows 7 next Friday. I'm still unsure about the version (32bit or 64bit), mainly because there are many people that keep recommending me the 32bit version, saying that the 64bit is only for those who plan to use advanced graphic programs. Anyway, as soon as I'll get it, I'll start testing it

Update, I got StillLife running by using the No-CD patch and setting compatibility mode to NT4.


The only real difference that bit depth will make is for the 16-bit Windows only games, but even those can be run on 64-bit Windows with XP Mode.

I've got the 64-bit version as well, and love, that I'm able to use all of my 6 GB RAM
Actually, I have the 32-bit too just in case I didn't like the 64, lol.

As for games - I haven't really installed that many except for those from BigFish.
And they play just fine - even Nikopol.
Also the new CSI - Deadly Intent plays without a hickup.
Same goes for Vampire Masquerade - Bloodlines.

One important difference is that 32-bit operating systems only recognize up to 2GB of RAM, whereas a 64-bit OS will easily recognize more. That alone might make the decision for you.

Thank you for the info, Deadpool! I hope to upgrade (or at least get rid of Vista) ASAP, but then again I've been hoping that for the past 2 years.

In theory, 4GB directly, but in practice a little less. A 32-bit OS can address more than 4GB through PAE, which while faster that virtual memory is considerably slower than the direct addressing that a 64-bit OS is capable of.

I strongly advise you go with 64-bit. It is forward looking. You can have your bases covered for backwards compatibility with XP mode (which can do 16-bit and 32-bit games that don't like Win 7 64), DOSBox and VMware. I imagine that future cutting edge games will soon be taking advantage of what 64-bit brings to the table, if for no other reason than the extra memory. Games in development can and have anticipated new hardware and the ways that that hardware will be addressed (new APIs and versions of DirectX,etc.) even before they are available.

I think that most of the myth of 64-bit Windows is not compatible is simply from its inability to run 16-bit code natively and the fact that older hardware may not have the required 64-bit drivers. These are really the only two disadvantages it has. But, so what? We have DOSBox and how many really need to run ancient peripherals on such a new machine that it is 64-bit?

I'll update this post as soon as I try different games out:

Running Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Works:

Dragon Age: Origins*
Jade Empire**

* There are problems with the DLC though. Two files must be deleted from the game directory and then the DLC work fine.
** To run on a wide-screen monitor, the game requires some tweakings

List what you had to do get any games running so thread can be a reference.

How large is your monitor? Maia ran Jade Empire just fine on her widescreen 22" monitor. I don't recall her having any problems. Then again, I may not have paid any attention to the problem if it was there.

And I had no problems with Dragon Age on my Windows 7 Ultimate upgrade. Its been running fine DLC and all.

I have Win7 Ultimate x86 installed.

I have Beyond Good & Evil running by use of a no-cd crack. These seem to fix a lot of issues.

The XP Mode VM isn't supposed to be used for gaming, but it will probably do wonders for those 16bit games that do not have DOS installers. This of course isn't to be confused with XP Compatibility mode set in properties.

There seems to be a lot of issues with the likes of StarF*ck, err... StarForce and other draconian DRM programs on Vista/Win7. The No-CD patches are an easy way around this. Better for your PC, too. Whenever I buy a new game I look up what kind of DRM that it may have and download the fix before I install the game. It's not theft, if I legally bought the game, I'm just protecting the investment of my PC.

Yeah I'm not crazy for Steam yet as I still spend a lot of time not connected to the net. So I buy hard copies of the game and then get the cracks. Slysoft Game Jackal is supposed to do this as well, but that's paid software.

PW, you can play single player games on Steam using their offline mode. You don't need an active connection for that.