DayZ's Win32 error: A reasoned response

[Onearmdude 0]

So after a few months absence, I decided to reinstall DayZ after noticing the patch notes on my feed. Everything went smoothly until I encountered an error message. "DayZ.exe is not a valid Win32 app". I took to the internet, hoping to find some kind of fix that would allow me to play the game, and instead found the same response over and over again. Rather than invite the same responses here, I'll summarize and preempt them:

"The minimum reqs for DayZ never included XP, so you shouldn't be surprised when it grandfathers out. Upgrade to a modern OS if you want to play." Usually the responses are much more snarky and passive-aggressive; their authors demonstrating contempt for idiots who can't even read the requirements. Now, I make a point of checking out those kind of details. I purchased Bioshock: Infinite upon its Steam release only to find that I couldn't run it, and since then I've taken great pains to ensure I wouldn't make the same mistake twice. About 9 months later, I remember looking at the DayZ store and finding that the system requirements were in line with my computer. Obviously, this is only a recollection, and thus prone to error. It can be argued very easily that I simply don't remember right.

 

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Only I've found some evidence to the contrary. And while my recollection of the original minimum requirements can be dismissed as faulty, archived pages cannot. I've been able to find a couple mentions of the standalone game's original requirements that include Windows XP as a compatible OS.

 
[link removed]

While the screenshots are mostly from the DayZ mod, they refer to the game as "the full game developed by Bohemia" and "released on Steam".

 

[link removed]

Although the "free download" aspect seems somewhat shady, this is an even more clear example. The screenshots are of DayZ SA and the XP OS is mentioned explicitly.

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It's possible that these sites are merely reporting the minimum requirements that they were able to use to make the game run. But I also find it possible that Bohemia changed the minimum system requirements soon after release, perhaps in response to the increased scope of the game. In which case I'm extremely disappointed. While XP users like myself only form 4% of Steam's surveyed users, that still represents thousands and thousands of people. Given that over 3 million copies of DayZ have sold on Steam to date, it's clear that this change will have disenfranchised a not-insignificant portion of the userbase.

 

I understand the need for progress. If you talk to some people, they'd argue that if anything it's happening too slowly. Yet there are many instances in other games like Eve Online and World of Tanks that retain accessibility despite having been continually improved and expanded upon in the years since their release. I can't see why XP can't be similarly supported.

 

I could be wrong in my assertion that XP was supported originally. But even if that is the case, I see many reasons why it should continue to be supported. If you still feel a need to post a reply simply telling me to "upgrade to a newer OS" after all this, I'd ask you to please eat a dick refrain from doing so.

Edited March 9, 2015 by Dancing.Russian.Man
Links removed.

[FrostyKush 44]

I believe it was the new active Battleye that made Windows XP stop working. As far as if it was originally in the requirements I don't actually recall. I don't know the specifics but I know from some of the hacker forums that there are some security holes in Windows XP that would have allowed for hacks to pass the active BE protection. I agree it sucks that you can't play anymore but with XP users being such a minority and it being a large security risk plus Battleye already having their work cut out for them having to do active protection on Vista, 7, and 8.1 I do understand the reasoning behind it.

Edited March 9, 2015 by FrostyKush

[Dancing.Russian.Man 1631]

Neither of the links you provided are official, and extremely shady at best. The first one isn't even using actual screenshots of the game. (One isn't even an actual screenshot. It's an UI concept.)
While it was possible to play DayZ on Windows XP until recently, it was never actually listed as a compatible OS on the Steam Store. Only Windows Vista SP2.

Edit;

I believe it was the new active Battleye that made winxp stop working.

The -winxp parameter only forces Direct3D v9. DayZ is moving forward to use DX11, so having that parameter would probably cause more issues than benefits.

Edited March 9, 2015 by Dancing.Russian.Man

[Mancomb 131]

I totally get it, and feel your pain, as I was one of the first users of XP Pro 64-bit (essentially the FIRST 64-bit Windows OS), and was likewise one of the holdouts when Vista was released; however, I eventually realized that, as an avid PC gamer, if I wanted to be able to keep up with the ever-increasing required specs, I was going to have to give in and build a new PC, including a new OS, which was Windows 7 Pro. One of the main reasons for this (besides the fact that I knew XP was going to be phased out) was the fact that XP can only support a maximum of 4 GB of RAM, and you have to tweak the BIOS a bit to even get THAT. With 4 GB becoming the bare minimum for many games now, that obviously won't cut it, unless I want to play the game on the lowest settings possible; but then, who wants to do that? I'm not going to spend good money on a game when I can hardly even play it; it's just not worth it. I know many people don't necessarily have the ability to upgrade their systems, at least at the moment, but I definitely think that, if you are an avid PC gamer as I am, it's definitely worth the time and money to upgrade your system, if only to ensure that you can play the games you want to play at settings that don't make your eyes bleed or make you want to rip your hair out. Hell, if you want, I can even help you find decent components for decent prices online. The system I'm currently using is outline in my signature, and that cost me barely over $1000 to build, and that was over a period of time, replacing certain components as I could afford to (though most of the build came with my tax refund a couple of years ago). In fact, the 2 HDDs and GPU I have listed weren't in the original build; I replaced them later as I obtained the funds to do so. It's just a matter of figuring out what you need the system for, figuring out what components you want/need, and then starting with the most important ones first (case, motherboard, PSU, CPU, RAM). Then, over time, you can buy a new GPU, or a new HDD, or more RAM, etc.

So don't take this the wrong way, but I definitely think upgrading is your best option at this point; especially for DayZ, since the game is still far from being optimized, even for more current systems.

[tiadashi 262]

you can buy (build) game quality pcs for 500$ (obviously this varies based on where you live and willingness to research) its not that pricey

 

you can always do the squirrel method and buy a component here and there (although probably better off buying a bare bones first with OS for cheap) and build when you have the set, again this requires research to learn what works with what and some long termish relevance   

Edited March 9, 2015 by tiadashi

[Onearmdude 0]

Neither of the links you provided are official, and extremely shady at best. The first one isn't even using actual screenshots of the game. (One isn't even an actual screenshot. It's an UI concept.)

While it was possible to play DayZ on Windows XP until recently, it was never actually listed as a compatible OS on the Steam Store. Only Windows Vista SP2.

 I understand that they weren't the most reliable, but I could find very little documentation on requirements for the original steam release. If Vista was in fact always the minimum OS, then I stand corrected.

 

 

So don't take this the wrong way, but I definitely think upgrading is your best option at this point; especially for DayZ, since the game is still far from being optimized, even for more current systems.

I knew the day would be coming when I could no longer depend on my current computer. But since I'd prefer to keep it for older games, it means I'd need to build a new computer from the ground up. I knew what I was doing in 2007, but that was a long time ago. I could use any advice you can give me.

[boneboys 7988]

To the best of my knowledge support for Windows XP was never an option even though, I myself wrongly suggested that it would/should be, considering DirectX9 was the original platform.

I'm a little bemused as to why this Topic was made so soon after a recent discussion was closed.
This sort of comment is unacceptable "I'd ask you to please eat a dick refrain from doing so." and is certainly not the example to set.
 
Now to close this question once and for all I will quote from the Bug Tracker...

komin (Bohemia Interactive - developer) 2013-12-18 12:43
"We are very sorry, but support for Windows XP is not planned. Please try to run the game only on Windows Vista SP2 or higher."

****************************************************************************

 

Closed.