How We Test
One of the things that VistaGameDoctor.com prides itself on is that we test every
single game before it goes up on the site. However, because there are only a couple
of people actually doing the testing, it is impractical to do a full test pass on
every single game and hope to have a decent amount of information for our readers
before Windows 7 comes out. This should hopefully fill you in on how we test so
that you can replicate our success or failure on your own.
Installation
The first thing we do is install the game. Not all installers
work well with Windows Vista. Some are downright hostile.
Unless the situation dictates otherwise, the default installation path and options
are used for each game.
All games are tested from purchased or donated copies. For some games released between 1998 and 2000, review copies will be used. No illegal copies will be tested.
We check to see if the installer is hard-coded to a particular version of Windows,
and if so, if the compatibility modes in Vista work to "get around" the installation
issues.
We also check for installation of components (such as older versions of QuickTime) that are known to cause problems with Windows Vista.
Gameplay
While each game is different, these are common steps that we take with each game:
- Launch the game.
- Try to enable hardware rendering (if it is an option).
- Try to change resolutions (if it is an option).
- Start a new game.
- Save and load the game.
- Exit the game.
- Try Internet multiplayer (if it is an option).
- Try using an Xbox 360 Controller for Windows as an input device (if it is an option).
In short, we do a broad (if shallow) smoke test on the game to check for Vista compatibility.
UAC
We leave User Account Control (UAC) enabled in all of our Vista test sessions. It is our stance that a user should never have to disable system security to use their own machine.
What do those icons mean?
This icon means that we haven't done sufficient testing on the game to make a determination as to its suitability. We're still setting up a stable Windows Vista 64-bit machine, so you'll mostly see this on games that either are in the midst of being entered or on games that haven't been tested in 64-bit Vista yet.
This icon means that we have determined that the game works comparably to how it did on previous versions of Windows, or that any flaws unique to Vista have no effect whatsoever on gameplay.
This icon means that we have determined that there are issues with the game on Windows Vista that would affect gameplay, but that we have found workarounds to prevent these issues from causing headaches to players.
This icon means that we have determined that there are issues with the game on Windows Vista that would affect gameplay that we have not been able to find workarounds for.
This icon means that we have determined the game to be either completely or almost completely unplayable due to compatibility differences. While most DOS games will get this automatically, if there are working source ports for the game, we will evaluate those source ports and upgrade the rating to "Workarounds" in that case.
There may be times when a game has its status change. We may find a patch that makes the game work. We may uncover an issue that we didn't detect before. If we find a way to make the game work, we'll update any listed issues on the game page with instructions on the workaround. If we find new issues, we'll change the status and post the new issue on the game page.
Summary
We don't want VistaGameDoctor.com to be a "fire-and-forget" website. We want this to be the site you come to first for all of your Vista game compatibility needs.
In order to earn your trust, we will test every game that we show, going through the test cases listed here at a minimum on each game.
While we have access to a little over 2,000 PC games here, we don't have access to every game on the planet. If your game is not listed, please let us know so that we can try to move it up the queue or so that we can try to find a copy if we don't own one.
Thank you for your patience and patronage, and good gaming!