Do I need to be a computer programmer to use the unofficial Oblivion patch with Windows 10?

[Tardispilot]

Because it simply won't work for me. Says it "can't find permissions" etc. Tried the suggestions in the pop up window, no results.

 

[Striker879]

First, install the game (and if you use the Steam version of the game that means Steam and the game) outside of all protected folders such as C:\Program Files (x86) ... the recommended location is C:\Games\... unless you have more than one physical hard drive in which case I'd suggest you use the non-OS drive (on my own machine it's G:\Games\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion for the disk version of the game).

 

I don't know an awful lot about Win 10 (beyond the fact that I'll never ever use it ... I'll be a Linux guy as soon as the only option is Win 10 and it's derivatives ... long live Win 7). I do know that it takes obtrusive "protections" to a much higher level. Could be that even in C:\Games you'll need to finagle some higher permissions.

[zdswulyx]

I am starting to think to be a computer professional is becoming a necessity to use a computer at ALL.

It's years that the idea that the user is too dumb to use his computer is making everything outside "the usual" more and more difficult.

 

What I find really ironic and funny is that since the "the usual" is arguably becoming easier the press and advertisement underline only this and people actually believe it.

[Surilindur]

You can actually have Steam inside Program Files (x86) and the game elsewhere, using the Steam library directories. It works just fine. I have my Steam inside Program Files (x86) and all my Steam games on F drive (separate physical disk). I have no idea how recommended that is, but it works. As in, if, after installing a game, the OS disk (the Windows partition on it) needs to be restored to an older image, all records of the new game will be gone from there, and the game will be sitting on that other disk with no trace of it in Windows registry. Same goes for anything that might potentially be required for the game to work that was installed on the OS partition. Maybe Steam can fix some of it by recreating the necessary records in the registry somehow, maybe even reinstalling the prerequisites... ?

 

Linux is a great alternative, but it will probably require even more of that "unusual" stuff. On the other hand, it is a great learning opportunity. I installed Linux (Kubuntu 16.04) on this laptop of mine because doing all the course stuff is easier on it than on Windows. Steam also works on Linux, but the Windows games will probably require an emulation layer of sorts (Wine or such). I have not yet installed anything game-related on this, because I need to finish my programming assignments by Friday next week... :tongue: For example this version of Linux has a proper desktop environment, and only uses a bit below 0.5 GB of memory when no programs are open (with the desktop open and all that). Using the terminal is a must, though, and getting games to work might take a bit longer than on Windows - if the game works with the emulation layer thingy, that is. I hope the games I have planned to play will, lest I be bored to death if I choose to participate in a student exchange program and only have my laptop with me. :laugh:

Edited July 22, 2016 by Contrathetix

[zdswulyx]

Many games work fine including Oblivion. Unfortunately, some don't mainly because implementing the copy protections in Linux would require rootkit functionalities.

 

Read the last sentence again, yes the problem is of course also in Windows. But the lack of security in Windows in this context is abused as a feature and makes life of users and Microsoft much more difficult. Think about it, why in the hell so many programs require to be executed as Administrator? Every program need to install drivers? Of course not.

 

However, as usual, the real problem is between keyboards and chairs and I can only expect the situation to become worse if people don't start stopping buying such restricted software. Steam should not exist for one.

 

 

About "emulation of sort," the Windows emulation in Linux is of the same kind of Windows XP emulation in Windows Vista. However, the word "emulation" is hardly used in this context. The term "compatibility layer" is preferred to avoid confusion with project like MAME or DosBox where there is a full blown emulation of hardware.

 

Wine is the compatibility layer and it works fairly well, however the documentation is not so good making to begin quite difficult. So a few of third party interfaces has been written. One is pywinery.

[Surilindur]

Hmm... thank you. Looks interesting. :happy: I need to read up on it all before I start messing around. Windows was my main platform since I was a child, all the way until last year. It has its good sides, too, but with the new versions of Windows I think it is great to have an alternative. Linux feels more inviting and less clunky when doing things other than gaming. I still have Windows on my gaming desktop.

 

I am not really sure what to think about all the difficulties people seem to have with using a computer. Especially the older people - I have seen a few who have actually been just about to click some of those "U computer issue, click here FIX!!!!" type of flashing banners. It is a shame to see people fall for that, and I no longer want to use a public computer if I have a chance to avoid it. Software can only do so much, and indeed the more "easy" the basic stuff (open up a browser and roam the wilds) becomes, it does raise the question about whether the user is able to avoid falling for all the shady stuff. Or when there is an issue. And then the question of using Steam to install a game with a few clicks of a button, and mods with a few clicks of a button, and then removing and adding something semi-shady with a few clicks, and then some graphics drivers, and then wondering why their computer is getting slower and slower. And then the less obvious, almost invisible malicious stuff.

 

I am just a sort of casual PC user myself, I think, still learning, but the more I learn, the more issues there seem to be. If people do not know enough, they cannot see the issues - I did not before. And if they just want entertainment and maybe some casual office-level work, trying to make them learn might be tedious. The attitude of "it works, and it is all I care about" should be turned into "why and how does it work, could it work in another way, how to keep it working like this, what could cause it to not work in the future, and how could it possible work better" or something like that. Indifference to "why" and "how", as well as the potential unwillingness to spend time and effort learning, should be paid more attention to. Or maybe people just do not have the time. Maybe... ? I sometimes feel like I do not have the time, but when I feel like it, I cut down on entertainment first.

 

Oh well. The world has a lot of irrational, silly, shady and downright stupid things going on. Adding in the widespread use of computers, combined with people who do not necessarily pay enough attention to what they do with them, is just one more source of potential issues, despite being a larger one all the time. And I am not an expert, I know very little, and I do not think there is much I can do. I am not in the position of instructing others, either, as it would be just one uninformed person misleading another one. :laugh:

 

Anyway, happy modding and/or gaming. Enjoy the summer, too - it is only once a year. :teehee:

 

Edit: Sorry for the rant, you already said it all in a more condensed format. Typing something on a forum is just a nice way to spend time not doing anything productive while looking like doing something... but my assignments will not finish themselves, so I suppose I need to get back to them. :whistling:

Edited July 22, 2016 by Contrathetix

[zdswulyx]

 

I am just a sort of casual PC user myself, I think, still learning, but the more I learn, the more issues there seem to be.

 

Now, try to imagine to be a PhD in Computer Science and you know how I feel...

[Surilindur]

 

 

I am just a sort of casual PC user myself, I think, still learning, but the more I learn, the more issues there seem to be.

 

Now, try to imagine to be a PhD in Computer Science and you know how I feel...

 

 

Ouch. Oh well. Assuming everything goes as planned, in ten years or so, I do not need to imagine it. My first year of studying Computer Science at a university is now over, and the plan is to continue all the way to PhD, in spite of the very long way to get there. Of course it is just a plan, but everything has gone so well this far (in general) that I hope I will achieve it. It would be the icing on the cake for me, education is great, and considering how it is free here in Finland, I intend to use it to get as far as I can. Things can go wrong, of course, and all my plans can become a burning ruin as a result of all sorts of factors, but the hope lives.

 

Edit: It is, of course, better to be aware of things and be slightly troubled, than to not be aware and live in a false presumption of things being fine.

Edited July 25, 2016 by Contrathetix

[zdswulyx]

 

 

Edit: It is, of course, better to be aware of things and be slightly troubled, than to not be aware and live in a false presumption of things being fine.

 

 

That's weird, I have the feeling humanity works the other way around: "I am fine today, so it's fine. End."

[snuke12]

 

Edit: It is, of course, better to be aware of things and be slightly troubled, than to not be aware and live in a false presumption of things being fine.

 

That's weird, I have the feeling humanity works the other way around: "I am fine today, so it's fine. End."

Unfortunately you are probably correct.