Dragonmage, people are mean to Microsoft because Microsoft is mean to us. The people have been screwed from behind by MicroCrap for so long that most users don't know of anything else other than MS. The bad thing about this is they can get away with all kinds of stupid things, such as an operating system that hasn't had any good upgrades since Win95 and that still has code from the Win 3.1 days.
Hell, even Win32 programming requires you to wade through obsolete parameters deeply embedded in the functions that you MUST use to get a Windows program to work.
Also, your last remark is making Bill Gates smile (well, if he were to read these boards). It's exactly his way of thinking. It's like him saying, "If the average end-user wants to use my monopolized OS, they should also want to pay $200 more for a new GUI upgrade and a
slightly different kernal (NT over standard Win32).
I will however admit, if you HAVE to use a Windows OS, it should probably be XP. It's still full of MicroFluff, but at least I've never had a computer hard lock on me in XP. I have, however, had many problems with XP that I never had on 98SE, such as XP's "intelligence" that tries to install a 4-button gamepad driver for my new PS2-style gamepad. Also, XP simply took out the blue screen of death (hereafter referred to as BSoD) for "we'll try to fix the error, or simply leave it there and let it eat your RAM." Even though there aren't anymore BSoD's, XP still suffers from the same conditions that used to bring up a blue screen. Now, however, it just assumes you're smart enough to know to ctrl+alt+delete and kill a program that's chewing up RAM faster than Bill Gates sucks money off of people.
Anyway, back on topic. I would figure that anyone that would download a game made by a DarkBASIC user is either in the community or in the programming community. I have honestly never seen anyone that didn't know what DB was download a DB/Pro game. But that could just be me. Generally, the game development community tries to keep DX and Video/Sound drivers up to date. However, if you ever marketed a game, you would definitely have to include the runtime on the CD, or else you wouldn't sell much. Then again, it could also be said that anyone that would buy the game would already need DX9, and most people try before buying. So, it's really still a limitation either way. I personally say DBS should wait to change it until it becomes just a little more commonplace. Then again, by the time U5 or whatever update will update DBPro to DX9 comes out, it may already be commonplace
.
Just my few cents worth on the subject.
(Edit): Also, Dragonmage, XP is compatible with any program 98 and up. If it's older than that, I doubt it's going to work. I have tons of DOS games (Duke Nukem 3D especially, although it has Windows ports now, thank God) that do not run at all under XP or run horribly. I have a Windows 95 Magic: The Gathering game that doesn't even try to run on XP, it never even shows a window when you execute it. I've tried it in all of the "compatibility modes," but I really can't tell that those do much of anything.
