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Surface RT

Hello, I'm not sure if there are any other posts related to Windows RT so I'm starting one. I would love an Xbox enabled Windows RT version of Balders Gate Enhanced Edition. I have the Microsoft surface RT and would buy it instantly!

Comments

  • VintrastormVintrastorm Member Posts: 216
    AFAIK there is currently no plan to support Windows RT (Or Xbox) unless the windows version somehow already works. Sorry. :(
  • kunjal29kunjal29 Member Posts: 26
    I sincerely hope they port it to the Surface RT. I know they were considering porting the renderer to DirectX if need be. It would also probably help with the numerous issues they had with the Intel Graphics drivers since those tend to be a lot better behaved with DirectX.
  • bigdogchrisbigdogchris Member Posts: 1,336
    kunjal29 said:

    I sincerely hope they port it to the Surface RT. I know they were considering porting the renderer to DirectX if need be. It would also probably help with the numerous issues they had with the Intel Graphics drivers since those tend to be a lot better behaved with DirectX.

    Yes and Yes.

    Surface RT has sold just over a Million according to recent reports. The Microsoft app store is apparently fairly barren. I suppose as a developer you could look at that two ways. 1) Not enough people with the hardware to take the chance. 2) Wow, almost no competition, we're going to clean house!

  • uk_ukuk_uk Member Posts: 2
    Not just the RT. I own a Acer Inconia W700 Tablet... full Win8 64bit and I would instantly buy BG:EE when it appears in the Windows Store. I would even buy the games if I knew that the game has an tablet-mode, so it's playable without mouse or keyboard.
  • SirDarianSirDarian Member Posts: 7
    @ uk_uk

    It is. Myself, I own an Asus EEE Slate Tablet with Win7 on it, and I need neither mouse nor keyboard to play the BG1:EE.
    Window mode and (seldom, for example to type the name of a savegame) screen keyboard works fine.
    alnair
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    The problem as was told by the Devs a few months ago is the way Windows 8 implemented the touch interface and that it would require an entire rewrite of it just to be compatible.

    I'm not aware of any plans to implement a Windows 8 touch interface version right now.
  • uk_ukuk_uk Member Posts: 2
    Damn... so it means, that BG:EE is touch compatible on Win, but not on Win8? Damn -.-
  • SirDarianSirDarian Member Posts: 7
    @ uk_uk:

    I am talking of the normal BG1:EE which you can order via Beamdog.

    I installed it on my Win7 Tablet, and it worked without mouse and keyboard.
    What makes you think it would nor work on a (as you wrote) full Win8 on a touchscreen device?
    Why should it run on Win7 and not on Win8?
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    @SirDarian Windows 8 changed the way Windows deals with touchscreen interfaces. Basically it's not compatible with the game and the way Microsoft implemented it would require an entire rewrite of the game's touch interface to become compatible.
  • SirDarianSirDarian Member Posts: 7
    @ mlnevese:

    Do you speak of Win8RT, or full Win8, or both?
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    @SirDarian Both. Microsft just decided to change how Windows deals with touch interfaces in Windows 8.
  • SirDarianSirDarian Member Posts: 7
    Okay, that is strange. Thanks for this information.
  • ReijManReijMan Member Posts: 2
    Would love to play BG on the Surface RT!
  • davemodavemo Member Posts: 147
    Win 7 on touch screens was horrible. MS had to change that.
  • RannRann Member Posts: 168
    Touch-capability is mostly irrelevant to this issue. The issue is that WIndows 8 RT relies on a new API layer ("Modern"/"Metro") which is different from the full desktop version (WinAPI) and BG requires the old WinAPI layer. Non-RT machines have both this new API layer as well as WinAPI. If you run BG:EE on (for example) a Surface Pro or a Surface 2 Pro it will work fine because it has both the new and old API layers, but Surface RT is unfortunately out of luck in this case since it only has the new API layer. It would take a *significant* port of BG:EE to make this work on the RT machines. Win7 touch machines were running the original WInAPI-based OS (RT didn't exist yet), and so they "work" (insofar as the touch interface works cleanly).

    Incidentally, the touch interface is designed in such a way that gestures (at least the ones that aren't multi-touch) just map to normal mouse movements and clicks, and any app running on a touch interface can therefore be agnostic about being "touch."

    One thing I'm trying to do is to run BG:EE on my desktop running the full 8.1, and then remote-accessing to the game by connecting my new Surface 2 (RT) to my desktop. It didn't work with my Surface (1) RT, but I think this was because of a resolution mismatch. After I finish downloading the new patch I'm going to see if I can make it work, so that I can play BG from my couch.

    --Microsoft Rann
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