Windows 7 and 8.1 Fix Testers Needed

A new alpha version of the client has been released that should fix the issue Windows 7 users had with the client not being able to launch. I need testers who can verify that the alpha client can launch on windows 7 and 8.1. Additionally it would be great if you can verify that your .vmoptions has the line -XX:+UseG1GC in it after installation.

Note: That without any windows 7 and 8.1 testers windows 7 and 8.1 support will just be dropped

Second Note: Windows 7 and 8.1 users may experience increased client memory usage due to lacking new APIs available in Windows 10

https://github.com/FAForever/downlords-faf-client/releases/tag/v2023.6.1-alpha-1

Heyo, I can help out (tomorrow or something, busy today) - though I plan to cut off my Win7 addiction with the end of December 2023, since that's when Steam stops being supported on Win7, so you might want to consider doing the same? Might.

Understood. Although the change to memory also made it unable to launch on windows 8.1 so it isn't just a 7 issue it is a less than 10 issue

Honestly, idk if there's like 5 people out there using 8.1, unless it's a tablet or something that came with it. But I won't be the judge of that, might wanna do a poll or something for that, and see what people use.

the alpha client works fine and the line -XX:+UseG1GC is there

My computer was made in 2010 and I think it runs win 10 irc, hard to say anyone has an older cpu

ofc that's a yes to testing if needed

I have Windows 7 SP1.
I had a problem starting the client after updating it to version 23.6.0.
Having installed the alpha version of the client 23.6.1, the client started normally.
I found one problem: the client window is not captured by the mouse cursor and it is possible to drag it around the screen.

i played faf on windows 7 and windows 8.1 most of all on windows 7

@valiane said in Windows 7 and 8.1 Fix Testers Needed:

I found one problem: the client window is not captured by the mouse cursor and it is possible to drag it around the screen.

I don't know what this means

@sheikah said in Windows 7 and 8.1 Fix Testers Needed:

@valiane said in Windows 7 and 8.1 Fix Testers Needed:

I found one problem: the client window is not captured by the mouse cursor and it is possible to drag it around the screen.

I don't know what this means

The client window is not movable. I can expand, narrow the top/bottom/side borders of the FAF client window, the "minimize", "minimize to window/maximize" and "close" buttons also work, but by holding down the window title with the mouse, I can't move it. The client window cannot be moved. The previous client version 23.5.0 did not have this issue.

@valiane said in Windows 7 and 8.1 Fix Testers Needed:

I found one problem: the client window is not captured by the mouse cursor and it is possible to drag it around the screen.

I'm having this same issue. The window responds normally to maximize/minimize/restore down buttons/windows macros, but trying to grab hold of the client's top bar and dragging it with the goal of moving the window on the screen does not work.

Everything else seems to be in order. Though I didn't confirm the existence of the requested line since I got no idea where the mentioned .vmoptions file is located - maybe include a relative path to it in the original post?

EDIT: Now updating to 23.6.1. version to see if anything changes.
EDIT2: I'm blind and I've found the .vmoptions file location, but regardless, include a relative path to post :D. The required line is indeed in the file.
EDIT3: Updating to 23.6.1.-alpha does not fix the immovable window issue. I did some testing, and you can move the window normally by going to window options (Alt+Space -> Move), but trying to move the window manually with just the mouse on the title bar does not work at all. Note that resizing works as expected.

Note also that double-clicking the title bar does not result the client to switch between default/maximized window state. Though I think that doesn't work in the normal client either (at least not on win7).

EDIT4: Just checked for the ability to double-click on default client (v 2023.5.0), and I was wrong, double-clicking the title bar does change window state for the client. This could mean there is some issue with how the title bar is handled in the newer version.

I'd argue it's not a big issue, but not being able to move the window kinda is, and they could be related.

Yes I was aware of the title bar issue but it was fixed at least for windows 11 users. I am not sure what the difference is for older windows versions.

And on the path yes sorry i forgot to say in the installation directory.

Just installed 23.6.1 version over 23.5.0 on old (2013) Dell Inspiron notebook with Win 8.1 (factory preinstall). Autorization to FAF does not have any issues. So far so good. (If it still has some value.)

the client window not being "captured" by the mouse cursor glitch is an old one, i use my client minimized a bit so i can have a browser open next to it (equal sizes 1920x1080), if i stretch the client a small amount then i can grab the title bar and move the client around, however if i stretch it too much little squares of desktop wallpaper show up in the client window, this has been happening for a long time (more than a year?). There is another possible w7 glitch where the chat list is broken into halves, so i have some guys A-Z, and then another bunch of guys also A-Z, and then the chat only guys, this goes back to about client version 23, but i'm not too worried about either of these glitches tbh