Is this a new recompiled exe?

[Payne☣]

I'm wondering, does this version of SC4 not crash and works right on newer systems? Or are they just selling the same old compiled game exe from 20 years ago riddled with software rot.

[WhatWillTheNextDowndateBring?]

It's a sightly updated build, but still most of the same problems... :(

[Payne☣]

I guess its not, its listed on the sale page for Windows XP. So basically buy and use at your own risk if not using that OS. Some old games like Age of Empires 2, it says Vista, Windows 7, 8 . Becuase they actually updated the game.

So, not buying

[Stracci909]

There are hundreds, if not thousands who run this game just fine on new operating systems, myself included (Win10). All I need to do is check one box to run in compatibality mode. So no, there's not a new exe, but if you're having crashes, there's plenty of fixes or knowledge out there to help you.

[MGB]

The Steam .exe has only been modifed such that the two patches for the CD version are incorporated, the on-disk DRM is removed, then Steam's own DRM is added. There are literally no differences in terms of the game experience between this and any other Digital or (patched) Disk-Based release.

Lots of people seem to be under the false pretence that SC4 is somehow buggy and unstable, this couldn't be further from reality. If you want to chuck a game in a system and play, you'll be wanting a console, PCs are different. As is often the case when playing older games on newer systems, a little work is sometimes needed to get games running. But, take the time and you'll be rewarded with a stable experience.

The 2 most common issues are trying to run the game on a multicore machine (so pretty much any modern machine). You can solve this with a simple command in "Set launch options" within the Steam library:

-CPUCount:1

Adding this will tell Windows to only use a single CPU core, which eliminates the most common cause of instability. Needed because SC4 was made before Multi-core CPUs were a thing and the code simply wasn't designed to work with them.

The 2nd issue relates to your GPU, that in combination with the drivers/OS used can make a big difference in successfully getting the game working. Ideally, the default DirectX rendering option should be used, but not all modern machines support it. This is again because the age of the game means specific DX7 compatible instructions need to be supported by your GPU. Some setups simply don't support the legacy code, in which case switching to Software rendering should solve your problem. Albeit at the cost of some graphical fidelity and speed running the game.

There are other issues left behind, but few ruin the game. Almost all have been fixed by the community with mods/downloads. #1 recommendation, download the NAM (Network Addon Mod), even if you don't use the full mod, the basic traffic simulator fixes are a huge improvement and really a must have.

[Payne☣]

Originally posted by MGB:

That is great MGB. I already own SC4 on compact disc for 10 years. So I went got the no-cd exe off some dodgy website, since safedisc doesn't work anymore on windows 10. It used to play on Vista couple years ago and it would crash a lot still, so I since given up on ever playing it again. But the -CPUCount : 1, that got rid of that crash.

I see no point though buying it again on steam if really not updated beyound what I have did already. Its basically the same executable. I wouldn't be surprised if they just took the no-cd crack. Max payne 2 on Steam is very suspect to be doing this too. Ironic to say the least.

[Nicotine Warlock]

playing it perfectly on win10 with a fairly newish system
very surprised

[MGB]

Originally posted by Payne☣:

That is great MGB. I already own SC4 on compact disc for 10 years. So I went got the no-cd exe off some dodgy website, since safedisc doesn't work anymore on windows 10. It used to play on Vista couple years ago and it would crash a lot still, so I since given up on ever playing it again. But the -CPUCount : 1, that got rid of that crash.

Beware, the NoCD crack's out there are most commonly based on the unpatched version of SC4. So sure, you might have got it working in Windows 10, but you've just borked your game in so many other ways to do it. At the very least, you need the 1.1.638.0 .exe, which includes the EP1 patch. Bear in mind also, you must actually run the patch, because it updates other files. Doing this with the NoCD installed will cause the patch to fail.

Given the sale price of SC4, if you really care about the game, I'd invest the $5 this time. Although I'd recommend the GoG version, since it's DRM-Free, they include the -CPUCount:1 switch by default and it comes with multi-language support.

As a last resort, you can manually digitally sign the SecDrv.sys driver from a previous Windows version for Windows 10. That way you can still use SafeDisc supported games in Windows 10. Not for the feint of heart and I really couldn't recommend it, but it's an option.

Originally posted by Payne☣:

I see no point though buying it again on steam if really not updated beyound what I have did already. Its basically the same executable. I wouldn't be surprised if they just took the no-cd crack. Max payne 2 on Steam is very suspect to be doing this too. Ironic to say the least.

Absolutely not in the case of SC4. Because if they had done that, trying to install the SC4BAT tool, needed to make custom buildings would fail. For the same reason the patches fail with a NoCD hack, the checksum would then be wrong. In the case of most digital releases, the .exe was professionally modified, most likely by EA. Ironic, since the version on Origin is unpatched, but because they forgot to address the checksum issue, you can't run the patches even. So of all the digital resellers of an EA game, Origin's version is hands down the worst.