WIN-10 the Future for XNA-4 and ORTS

[OTTODAD]

Will ORTS 1.0 be able to run in WIN-10, still using MSTS content, I am planning to get a new computer for ?

[trainbot1]

Maybe if you do everything correctly

[geekman]

Maybe if you do everything correctly

Did you understand what Otto is asking? ORTS is based on the XNA framework, and, if it is being discontinued in favor of something else, will the newer versions of Windows support the sim. Truthfully, I'm interested in knowing this as well.

[trainbot1]

I just noticed xna is for Xbox also so I guess train frontier express is dead but it may work if you install an older version of xna before it's gone or transfer it from your other computer onto that one

[seagoon]

Who cares? Things change as time moves on and we don't tread water when it comes to computer technology and gaming.

Keep your old computer platforms so that you can continue to play; that's what I've done over the years, as you can see from my signature.

[MCDemuth]

Who cares?

If you don't care, then add us all, and this thread to your ignore list. No one is forcing you to read it.

This is huge, and will affect many in the entire community, as well as the developers of ORTS and their plans for the future. Many of us a quite interested in what this now means, since this announcement might spell the end of ORTS all together...



Oh, BTW...

Windows 9 has not even been released yet... Still some time to worry about Windows 10.



Oops...

It seems that I was in error, apparently Microsoft is skipping "Windows 9" and going straight to "Windows 10"

[trainbot1]

Well like my cousins computer savvy dad told me that windows 7 May go out of support in late 2015 early 2016 since vista may go in a few months (he worked in the army as a tech professional to send info to the soldiers)

[crstagg]

If you read the whole Article Otto quotes, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_XNA, it appears that XNA Game Studio and XNA Framework are two separate things. Ending support for XNA Game Studio may not affect any affect on XNA Framework and therefore no affect on OR.

We need a comment from OFFICIAL OR team on this. Not speculation.

[MCDemuth]

windows 7 May go out of support in late 2015 early 2016

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7

Mainstream support ended on January 13, 2015
Extended Support until January 14, 2020.

[OTTODAD]

If you read the whole Article Otto quotes,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_XNA, it appears that XNA Game Studio and XNA Framework are two separate things. Ending support for XNA Game Studio may not affect any affect on XNA Framework and therefore no affect on OR.

What Microsoft have actually said, as posted by me earlier, is that the XNA PLATFORM is not going to be supported by them with further updates and will be discontinued !

Without their support there is no guarantee that gaming software using it will still work in WIN-10 !

YES, a comment on that from the ORTS management will be appreciated !

[baldwin]

I am not part of the ORTS management team, but I can assure everyone that they are well aware of the situation with regard to XNA. There are other options available but changing code to move to any of these options is not going to be an overnight job.

Far as a new flavour of Windows is concerned, I will not be in any great hurry to jump on the bandwagon. I am happy with Win 7 and have no plans to change anything any time soon. Certainly not within the next 5 years.

[R. Steele]

I also am not a part of the OR team, just a regular reader of many of the teams posts on all subjects.

I echo baldwin's statement. After reading much of the public posts and especially James Ross explanations when asked about the future of OR regarding this issue, I am quite confident the whole team is aware of all the possibilities and future approaches to any problems that may arise.

I'm just six months+ into WIN7 Pro and loving it, not about to switch to another OS for quite a few years (5+ at least).
Caveat - unless "ms" releases something that is just spectacular (not much chance of that).
This is a tempest in a teapot. Have a cuppa and relax. Go play with some trains.

Edit: And this I find especially endearing and funny ... all the kerfuffle about ORTS and support ending ... while many here are still running a 13+ year old MSTS (NOT Open Source Software!), that has been kludged, hacked, tinkered, Binned, tweaked, twisted, and worked-around, support of same stopped years ago (if it really ever existed) and we all are still using it.

ORTS is going to be just fine.

[OTTODAD]

Far as a new flavour of Windows is concerned, I will not be in any great hurry to jump on the bandwagon. I am happy with Win 7 and have no plans to change anything any time soon. Certainly not within the next 5 years.

You are aware of M$ having officially ended updating WIN-7 today ?

http://www.cnet.com/news/windows-7-support-ends-today/

You can carry on using it for a few years yet but are risking infections like a security bug in its code, having been discovered and made public by Google recently, M$ is supposed to have fixed today.

Does not concern me, not using my WIN-7 64-bit computer connected to the Internet !

The development team of ORTS consists mainly of programmers working on it part-time and am not sure how many of them are professionally employed MS C+ / XNA program coders, having to upgrade ORTS to whatever will be necessary to make it work in WIN-10 and DX-12 !

[MCDemuth]

And this I find especially endearing and funny ... all the kerfuffle about ORTS and support ending ... while many here are still running a 13+ year old MSTS (NOT Open Source Software!), that has been kludged, hacked, tinkered, Binned, tweaked, twisted, and worked-around, support of same stopped years ago (if it really ever existed) and we all are still using it.

ORTS is going to be just fine.

Actually there is a difference...

(I don't know all the technical mumbo jumbo, so I am using a generic "XNA" example to make my point here...)

MSTS was able to run on various newer Operating Systems that it was not designed for over the years, and still might actually be able to work on some new ones too... It did not rely on the "XNA Thing" to function, or at least it came with the "XNA Thing" that it needed to run. That version of "XNA" could be installed on newer operating systems...

Windows 10 may not include the current "XNA PLATFORM" that ORTS needs to function... And who knows if the current "XNA PLATFORM" will be able to be be installed on "Windows 10", or if it will even be compatible... Windows 11 and onwards might be even more iffy...

If the current "XNA PLATFORM" is not compatible with Windows 10 or even be able to be installed in to Windows 10. Then ORTS has a huge obstacle to overcome, to have a future past current Operating Systems out now...

[MCDemuth]

You are aware of M$ having officially ended updating WIN-7 today ?

http://www.cnet.com/news/windows-7-support-ends-today/

You can carry on using it for a few years yet but are risking infections like a security bug in its code, having been discovered and made public by Google recently, M$ is supposed to have fixed today.

Now, I know that Window 7 will not be able to have any new bugs fixed, and there will be no more updates to address compatibility issues... However WIN 7's programs are currently working at this time... well that is it... No new features or improvements...

But I thought extended support (Windows 7 through 2020!) means we will still get security updates for another five years...

At least I was still getting security updates with Windows XP in to the beginning of 2014... Aren't security updates supposed to take care of "risking infections like a security bug in its code"? If Windows XP was vulnerable to security risks back in 2009, we all would have stopped using it then... And if that was the case then, what were the updates that we were getting through 2014?



I also plan to keep Windows 7 for several more years too...



Update 1:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-term_support

"At the beginning of a long-term support period, the software developers impose a feature freeze: They make patches to correct software bugs and vulnerabilities, but do not introduce new features that may cause regression. The software maintainer either distributes patches individually, or packages them in maintenance releases, point releases, or service packs. At the conclusion of the support period, the product reaches end-of-life."



UPDATE 2:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2452702/dont-panic-yes-windows-7-is-leaving-mainstream-support-but-it-isnt-being-abandoned.html

"The confusion here stems from Microsoft's maddeningly obtuse naming conventions. Leaving mainstream support only means that Windows 7 won't be receiving any new features or product tweaks, such as the impressing-sounding DirectX 12 gaming technology slated to launch with Windows 10. You won't be able to call Microsoft for free help if you run into an issue with Windows 7 either.

Once a Windows desktop operating system leaves mainstream support, it enters the extended support phase—the very same support phase that Windows XP found itself in from early 2009 until its death earlier this year.

You'll still receive those oh-so-critical security patches during extended support, meaning that while Windows 7 won't be in active development beyond next January, it won't be tossed to the wolves of the Web, either. Hotfixes will still be provided, too, assuming they're security related. (Business can sign up for an extended hotfix support plan if your company wants hotfix support for non-security issues.) And those security updates will be coming for a long time, too: Extended support for Windows 7 lasts until January 14, 2020. Heck, commercial PCs with Windows 7 Professional will even continue to be sold for the foreseeable future."