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what do i need for my specific game development on windows 95


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hi, i have several questions on what software i would need and what would be the newest compatible programming software for windows 95 to achieve what i want. i want to make a game that is compiled in directx 8.0b if that makes sense. i understand directx 8.0b wasn't ever a full update, but mainly for developers to create stuff from it, this always interested me because i wanted to test the limits on windows 95 and because directx 8.0b added some stuff so that you can create better / more realistic features in a game vs directx 8.0a which although was decent in what it could do, it was still a bit too limited, so i was hoping i could implement this directx 8.0b into a completely whole new game which would work on windows 95 since directx 8.0b itself is supported for windows 95. 

so here are some specific questions i came up with after already doing some research and google searching myself -

. do i need to install both visual studio express 2003 and visual c++ 2003 runtime redistributable to have all the necessary stuff to make my game, or does visual studio express 2003 already include the visual c++ 2003 runtime files so i dont need to install both but just the studio program? does visual studio express 2003 fully work on windows 95 as in fully supports all functions / runtimes, etc? from what i researched visual studio express 2005 installs on windows 95 but may not support everything that you want to do with it, etc.

. does visual studio express 2003 come with the latest visual basic 6.0 program or runtime files, excluding the latest service pack below? 

. following with the previous question, do i also need to install visual basic 6.0 full program or do i just need the files from "vbrun60sp6.exe" for creating my game for latest service pack? 

. what about the platform sdk, someone mentioned that it includes all the necessary visual c++ and / or visual basic files, do i need to install this, would the platform sdk have everything i need, assuming i also have all the directx 8.0b related stuff? is the platform sdk 2003 really the last version to work on windows 95? ( wikipedia mentions last to support vc6, but vc6 is a bit old as i would want to use Visual C++ .NET 2003 )

. what relevance does the directx 8.0 sdk have in all this?

. what about the windows 95 DDK, what relevance does this have in all this and do i need it in part of my game development? 

. are there any other programming languages / software i would need or could  be useful in my project?

. lastly, is there a particular order to which i should install what i need? 

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> directx 8.0b wasn't ever a full update
There is no 8.0b. Perhaps you're thinking of the 8.1b update. 8.0a is the last for Win95 (but it might be possible to mod 8.1 into working).

First you need choose your DirectX Game Engine for Win95. The requirements will probably be the following:
* Install MSVC 6 (VS98) (or maybe MSVC5/VS97 or MSVB6)
* Install the Win95 Platform SDK (if not included with VS)
* Install the DirectX 8.0a SDK
* Install the Game Engine SDK (Or modify DX8 samples)

VSE2003 might work for development (depending upon platform), but the runtimes might not (on W95; if not, static link instead).
Avoid .NET unless the Game Engine uses it.
Win95 DDK is not needed.

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14 hours ago, jumper said:

> directx 8.0b wasn't ever a full update
There is no 8.0b. Perhaps you're thinking of the 8.1b update. 8.0a is the last for Win95 (but it might be possible to mod 8.1 into working).

First you need choose your DirectX Game Engine for Win95. The requirements will probably be the following:
* Install MSVC 6 (VS98) (or maybe MSVC5/VS97 or MSVB6)
* Install the Win95 Platform SDK (if not included with VS)
* Install the DirectX 8.0a SDK
* Install the Game Engine SDK (Or modify DX8 samples)

VSE2003 might work for development (depending upon platform), but the runtimes might not (on W95; if not, static link instead).
Avoid .NET unless the Game Engine uses it.
Win95 DDK is not needed.
 

hi, thanks for the response, yeh i understand 8.0b wasn't ever a "full" update, i realized i probably won't need the DDK as that's for driver development. i am still confused though on which visual studio package to install. i was under the impression that windows 95 doesn't support .net. Was it not only for windows 98 and newer or isn't that the same thing as .net framework or are they different? but if they are, then why is that the visual studio .net 2002, specifically if you search "Microsoft Visual Studio .net Enterprise Developer 2002 sealed retail" on ebay or google image if any, it lists windows 95 as supported. i also attached a picture of the back of the box that lists windows 95. 

as for the other thing, when you say the vse2003 might work for developing depending on platform but the runtimes might ( on w95, if not, static link instead ), can you clarify on this in more detail on what you mean, and when you say vse2003, do you mean visual studio express 2003? 

for platform sdk, do you know which one is latest to work? some sources say up to 2003 works, but i don't want to install something newer if not everything is compatible / and or if a older version would already have what i need. the reason why i mentioned the platform sdk is because in one forum, it was mentioned that the sdk, particularly the older ones like 2003 and older would include visual basic, visual c++, etc, so then i wouldn't need to install multiple other programs, which would confuse me and overload me with stuff. 

i was hoping to do all this experimenting / programming on windows 2000 sp4 since from what information i've gathered, it would provide the best compatibility with what i want to do, etc. although i was gonna ask what difference would there be if i used windows 95 to do all the programming in it vs installing and programming everything on windows 2000? the reason why i would use windows 95 to do everything is that somehow i can be assured that everything should work fine since the fact that i need the game to work on windows 95. 

if using windows 95, this is what i assumed that i should install so far:

-visual basic 6.0 - for portions of the game that would otherwise need it / or it would be more practical to be used than other things

-c++ or c language - i mentioned these because appear to be the fastest if coded properly, although i am not sure what would be used, considering i would probably just use a third party created game engine like you said

-java - latest stable version that works on windows 95, i would rather not use it when possible as i heard it may slow down gaming performance / capacity

-visual c++ 7.1 - msvcrt71.dll? - appears to be latest working for windows 95. i wanted to know what significance the different visual c++ dll files have with one another and what it would be used for in the game development / programming

-directx 8.0a minimum - but i need the game to take advantage of directx 8.0b features or else it will be deemed too poor in graphics / quality of gameplay, and i probably won't be able to make it look good as i need it to, for example, having more realistic water may only be possible with the extra capacities from the directx 8.0b libraries that would not be possible in directx 8.0a. 

-i am trying to avoid python, because although it's said easier to use, i do not want it to be implemented in my game, considering the game i want to develop would be a rpg type game on windows 95, the game needs to be programmed as efficient as possible so that people can run it on windows 95. 

i have also came up with a hypothetical projected system requirements for my game-

-high clocked pentium 4 processor or similar performance or faster cpu

-512 MB ram, 1 GB recommended

-gpu with pixel shader 1.4 support and vertex shader 1.1 with 128 MB video memory, 256 MB recommended

-4 GB available storage space ( or however much can be used, factoring in expansions, etc ) regular mechanical hard drive should be fine, but having an ssd can help performance in some ways / areas

-1024x768 resolution should be fine, but 1200x800 or better resolution may be recommended

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You don't know how to swim yet, so please stay away from the deep end of the pool!

Install the 8.0a SDK and build some of the samples. Once you realize how much programming is involved in writing a game from scratch, choose a game engine.

(If you want more than 5-10 FPS with fancy shading, you will be limited to 640x480 [or less]. What you really need is a DX9 card in a Win98+ system for your DX9 game.)

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2 hours ago, jumper said:

You don't know how to swim yet, so please stay away from the deep end of the pool!

Install the 8.0a SDK and build some of the samples. Once you realize how much programming is involved in writing a game from scratch, choose a game engine.

(If you want more than 5-10 FPS with fancy shading, you will be limited to 640x480 [or less]. What you really need is a DX9 card in a Win98+ system for your DX9 game.)
 

i understand your analogy, that is why i would like to start with the sdk first, also what makes you say i can't get more than 5-10 fps with "fancy shading" unless limiting to 640x480? there are games such as return to castle wolfenstein that look pretty good in resolutions such as 1024x768 and do not require such high end hardware, normally a pentium iii higher clocked or lower end pentium 4 would suffice with 256 MB ram and 32-64 MB video memory. however, you haven't answered a lot of my other questions such as what relevance visual c++ 7.1 would have in being implemented in my game and / or what advantages would it have vs older versions of visual c++ such as that of vc6? 

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also does anyone know if the update "Vs6sp6.exe" (Service Pack 6 for Visual Basic 6.0, Visual C++ 6.0 with Visual Source Safe 6.0d) installs and works properly on windows 95? windows 95 and 98 are not mentioned but i don't see why it wouldn't work, i had also seen a windows 95 reference in the inf file. the reason why i would want to install this is because although the other "vbrun60sp6" is supported, "vbrun60sp6" does not seem to install all of the necessary files / updates for visual studio 6.0 or visual basic 6.0, as in, according to another forum poster, it only includes the basic runtimes files, but "Vs6sp6.exe" installs all additional activex controlls as well. source to which i got this info from below-

http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.php?397850-VB-crashes

that being said though, i would not want to use visual c++ 6.0 if i can use visual c++ 7.1, but there isn't any visual basic 7.0/7.1, the closest is visual studio .net 2002 or visual c++ 2003 express but these do not properly support windows 95 or do they? so i am really wondering would i go about using visual c++ 7.1 + directx 8.0a sdk + directx 8.0b libraries as that to me seems to be the most straighforward so far. i did look into opengl, however, since i would have to add third party software such as openal for sound, and glut ( whatever it's called ) for input, it seems like it would add too much complication and i do not have any assurance that it would be faster such as less strain on the cpu if i go with the opengl route, this is with the assumption that in general, that a properly made opengl game should be less taxing on the cpu without getting too much into detail..

Edited by cov3rt
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