Steam or GOG XWA version?

[Legion]

To date I've maintained a Windows XP 32-bit secondary boot partition with legacy AMD Catalyst video card drivers (for Radeon HD 6850 - I forget which driver version) pretty much just to run X-Wing Alliance. Now with all the great work by JeremyaFr on the Direct3D 11 DDraw.dll it looks like I no longer need this, so am looking to delete it when I do a fresh install of Windows 10 (64-bit).

So I'm going to find myself having to reinstall X-Wing Alliance. I have the retail pack with discs, but I can't be bothered with all the installation workarounds for 64-bit OSs I read about - ISOs, virtual drives and all that faff - so I was thinking of just buying one of the modern digital download versions.

So my question is, which one should I get: Steam or GOG? Is there any difference in terms of ease of using XWAUP / DSUCP, applying widescreen hacks, using JeremyaFr's DDraw.dll, potential for multiplayer, controller support, etc.?

If there's no practical differences (and depending on price) then I would probably go for Steam by default, but just wanted to know if there are any compelling reasons to go for GOG. Or indeed, if there's a reason to bite the bullet and install from discs.

[Trevor]

My suggestion would be to leave all your X-Wing files in-place OR move them to a seperate HDD.

Then go into the registry and copy (or copy from here I suppose, it makes no difference) the keys:

Code: Select all

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC\X-Wing Alliance]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC\X-Wing Alliance\v1.0]
"Executable"="D:\\Star Wars\\X-Wing Alliance\\XWingAlliance.EXE"
"Install Path"="D:\\Star Wars\\X-Wing Alliance"
"Source Path"="F:"
"CD Path"="F:"
"Analyze Path"="F:\\INSTALL\\SysCheck.exe"
"Source Dir"="F:\\"
"JoystickID"="1"
"Version"="2.0"
"InstallType"=dword:00000009
"Magic"=dword:00094e22
"SoundCard"="TRUE"
"JoystickGUID"="{6F1D2B70-D5A0-11CF-BFC7-444553540000}"
"LastPilot"="Ace Azzameen"

Where F is your CDROM drive, and D is your HDD (Default Install Path being C:\Program Files\Lucasarts\Xwing Alliance)
Install Type = Full
Magic = Unknown... Id definatly suggest looking at your own registry for that one.


This by the way is a great tip for ANY new windows installation.

I have installed many windows and overwritten regestries etc but maintained a seperate drive with XWA on it. Instead of having to wait to re-install all my games, I simply run these reg files and voualla, everythings back to normal in 2 seconds.

Trev

[Legion]

Thanks, but my original installation is corrupted, so I do need to reinstall. Can anyone help with my original question, i.e. are there any differences between the Steam and GOG versions, and if so, which should I go for?

[Forceflow]

In terms of compatibility I would suggest the GOG version. Steam will work as well, but due to the way the patch and steam works there's a higher chance of problems there. Plus there's no DRM in the GOG version, so that's always a plus if you ask me.

[Jaeven]

Yeah, I'd also recommend the GOG version. Easiest and most compatible.

[Legion]

www.gog.com/game/star_wars_xwing_alliance

XWA and the rest of the X-Wing series are on sale at GOG now. Time to make that purchase.