Is there any way I can still play APB on Windows 7? :(

[Spirius 0]

Title. 

 

Thanks for your help xo

[Darkzero3802 582]

I would think APB could still be played on win 7 as the game hasnt had any true changes in a decade and still runs Unreal 3.0. Biggest issue is if win 7 will allow it as its no longer supported by Microsoft.

[BlatMan 657]

Currently no. EAC won't run on Windows 7.

 

From my experience, Windows 10 runs APB like crap. There's noticeable input lag and constant stuttering. I ended up trying Linux and surprisingly, APB runns better than it did on Windows 7. I went with Debian 12. I only installed the 525 Nvidia drivers, Steam, Proton EAC runtime (in Steam), and GE-Proton8-25 (added to Steam). I had to disable the CPU idle to stop my CPU from down clocking, and turn off all the settings for OpenGL in the Nvidia Settings app. Configs still work. Only annoying issue is the Nvidia display settings won't load at login. I have to open the app each time I login.

 

I don't recommend replacing Windows with Linux, most Linux software is lacking in features, but if you have an extra SSD, install Linux on that and see how APB runs. I'm currently on Debian 12, but if I were to start over I'd go with the latest Fedora or one of Fedora's spins.

[TheMessiah 424]

18 minutes ago, BlatMan said:

From my experience, Windows 10 runs APB like crap. There's noticeable input lag and constant stuttering

can confirm dat but not sure if is only win 10 because my specs overall are not high

[Darkzero3802 582]

APB runs like crap on anything cause the game isnt optimized. Its also on highly outdated software that hasnt been updated for newer stuff and the servers they use are low end that really cant handle the game. You will never get APB to run well so long as they dont fix these issues on their end. Ppl have resported to using other programs to make APB run decently but personally I just run APB as itself.

[MonkaS 212]

no eac doesn't like windows 7 since its eol and since its a lot easier to load unsigned drivers making cheating even easier

[cowhorseman 441]

9 hours ago, TheMessiah said:

can confirm dat but not sure if is only win 10 because my specs overall are not high

Even with a decent pc anything on win10 runs like trash, i get to deal with stutter, random freezes between 1-120 seconds and inputs just not working on keyboard mouse and controller.

 

Apb isn't the worst about this, but it's more noticable

[BlatMan 657]

11 hours ago, MonkaS said:

no eac doesn't like windows 7 since its eol and since its a lot easier to load unsigned drivers making cheating even easier

If that was the case, they wouldn't have Linux support. The reality is there's less profit supporting 7/8. They don't need to keep those old devs around who know the operating systems, and don't need to retrain new devs. I bet they wouldn't support Linux either if it wasn't for Steam deck existing.

 

15 hours ago, Darkzero3802 said:

APB runs like crap on anything cause the game isnt optimized. Its also on highly outdated software that hasnt been updated for newer stuff and the servers they use are low end that really cant handle the game. You will never get APB to run well so long as they dont fix these issues on their end. Ppl have resported to using other programs to make APB run decently but personally I just run APB as itself.

On Windows 7, I had the garbage collection stuttering, and if I turned that off, the fps would drop over time. Borderless and Fullscreen didn't have much of a difference with input lag.

On Windows 10, the fps drops over time regardless of what configs I use. There's noticeable input lag. Average fps is lower if I don't turn off fullscreen optimization. Borderless feels like 60fps with vsync.
On Linux, it's about the same as Windows 7, but with higher average fps. This probably due to DXVK spreading the CPU load more evenly across CPU cores.

 

Not an apples to apples comparison, since I can't test the latest APB patch on Windows 7, and I didn't test the older versions on Linux or Windows 10. Regardless, there's noticeable overhead with the way Windows 10 handles DX9 games. I wonder if EAC allows DXVK on Windows?

[Darkzero3802 582]

8 hours ago, BlatMan said:

If that was the case, they wouldn't have Linux support. The reality is there's less profit supporting 7/8. They don't need to keep those old devs around who know the operating systems, and don't need to retrain new devs. I bet they wouldn't support Linux either if it wasn't for Steam deck existing.

 

On Windows 7, I had the garbage collection stuttering, and if I turned that off, the fps would drop over time. Borderless and Fullscreen didn't have much of a difference with input lag.

On Windows 10, the fps drops over time regardless of what configs I use. There's noticeable input lag. Average fps is lower if I don't turn off fullscreen optimization. Borderless feels like 60fps with vsync.
On Linux, it's about the same as Windows 7, but with higher average fps. This probably due to DXVK spreading the CPU load more evenly across CPU cores.

 

Not an apples to apples comparison, since I can't test the latest APB patch on Windows 7, and I didn't test the older versions on Linux or Windows 10. Regardless, there's noticeable overhead with the way Windows 10 handles DX9 games. I wonder if EAC allows DXVK on Windows?

Ive never had an FPS drop over time personally. Its always been steady for me but was never the highest due to said lack of optimization. Both win 7 and 10. I just bring up steam and launch the game through the APB launcher.

[MonkaS 212]

On 12/28/2023 at 2:32 AM, BlatMan said:

If that was the case, they wouldn't have Linux support. The reality is there's less profit supporting 7/8. They don't need to keep those old devs around who know the operating systems, and don't need to retrain new devs. I bet they wouldn't support Linux either if it wasn't for Steam deck existing.

 

On Windows 7, I had the garbage collection stuttering, and if I turned that off, the fps would drop over time. Borderless and Fullscreen didn't have much of a difference with input lag.

On Windows 10, the fps drops over time regardless of what configs I use. There's noticeable input lag. Average fps is lower if I don't turn off fullscreen optimization. Borderless feels like 60fps with vsync.
On Linux, it's about the same as Windows 7, but with higher average fps. This probably due to DXVK spreading the CPU load more evenly across CPU cores.

 

Not an apples to apples comparison, since I can't test the latest APB patch on Windows 7, and I didn't test the older versions on Linux or Windows 10. Regardless, there's noticeable overhead with the way Windows 10 handles DX9 games. I wonder if EAC allows DXVK on Windows?

They used to block linux not sure if its still an option on eac to block it but I know rust did in the past. Also linux is harder to use for the avg windows user resulting in less cheating on that os in general and not every game runs on linux especially natively.  

[BlatMan 657]

9 hours ago, MonkaS said:

They used to block linux not sure if its still an option on eac to block it but I know rust did in the past. Also linux is harder to use for the avg windows user resulting in less cheating on that os in general and not every game runs on linux especially natively.  

That why I was wondering if EAC behaves with DXVK on Windows. Place 1 file in APB's binaries folder, and launch APB. Way easier than configuring a new OS.

 

I don't recommend Linux as a main operating system, just figured someone running Windows 7 is more up to tinkering.

Edited December 31, 2023 by BlatMan

[nancy37 0]

Playing APB on Windows 7 might face compatibility challenges as the game has higher system requirements. Consider running it in compatibility mode or explore community forums for potential workarounds. Upgrading to a more recent operating system like Windows 10 could provide a smoother experience, ensuring better compatibility and support.