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I've already posted this on Reddit, but I figured I'd share it here as well.
Brood War/Battle.net SourceForge Thread
DxWnd Homepage
Anyone who has tried playing Brood War online in Windows 8, 8.1, or 10 has seen how jacked up the Battle.net interface is. Since Windows 8 and above did away with DirectDraw in favor of an emulated solution, the text boxes that make up much of the Bnet interface overlap each other and make it impossible to read map names, map descriptions, and all sorts of other UI elements.
While the game is still perfectly playable despite this, you can imagine how much of a pain it is to find certain custom maps to play when all of the descriptions are overlapping each other as you scroll down your list.
But despite years having passed with no hope for a fix, one stalwart developer going by the alias ghotik on SourceForge is making strides toward making Bnet render properly in Windows 8 and above.
He is the developer of DxWnd, an impressive hooker program that allows you to play older full-screen PC games in window mode as well as fixing various compatibility issues associated with older games on modern versions of Windows.
If you want to see this fixed, please chime in on the SourceForge thread for this specific issue.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/KyINg.png)
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blizzard should fucking fix it themselves, i mean the game is still being sold in their battle net online shop, and last time i checked it was still being sold on the shelves in actual stores. Jesus, just go to gog.com They are selling games from as far back as 92 but they've updated it all to be compatible with Win10 yet blizzard cant even think about doing it.
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On October 02 2015 04:38 mca64Launcher_ wrote:
full screen or wmode?
Should work in either mode if he succeeds. The solution entails hooking certain DLLs and then emulating GDI panels or something to that effect. It's a bit over my head, but I understand the general concepts at play.
On October 02 2015 04:54 ICanFlyLow wrote:
blizzard should fucking fix it themselves, i mean the game is still being sold in their battle net online shop, and last time i checked it was still being sold on the shelves in actual stores. Jesus, just go to gog.com They are selling games from as far back as 92 but they've updated it all to be compatible with Win10 yet blizzard cant even think about doing it.
I agree, but we both know that's never gonna happen. The issue started with Windows 8 because the problem is caused by DWM (Desktop Window Manager). In Windows 7 DWM would be automatically disabled when Starcraft launched, so all the Bnet menus rendered properly. In Win8 and above, DWM has to be running all the time and cannot be disabled without serious OS-level issues arising. As long as DWM is running, what you'll see is the result of GDI and DirectDraw elements both trying to render on the same image (Bnet) but with the GDI elements (textboxes) overlapping one another indefinitely instead of being erased as needed.
I've probably butchered that explanation, but it's the best I can do.
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Wow amazing, I really hope this happens! Thank you so much for your contribution!
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On October 02 2015 04:54 ICanFlyLow wrote:
blizzard should fucking fix it themselves, i mean the game is still being sold in their battle net online shop, and last time i checked it was still being sold on the shelves in actual stores. Jesus, just go to gog.com They are selling games from as far back as 92 but they've updated it all to be compatible with Win10 yet blizzard cant even think about doing it.
To be fair, their game requirements specifically says it supports certain operating systems, which do not include Windows 8 and Windows 10, so you shouldn't be surprised or complaining if you bought the game without checking it.
And being sold physically in stores do not mean anything, there are no officially authorized/recognized retailers other than Blizzard themselves.
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on win 8 DWM can be disabled and problem is the same..
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On October 02 2015 12:40 mca64Launcher_ wrote:
on win 8 DWM can be disabled and problem is the same..
Oh, right. It's only on Windows 10 that DWM can't be disabled.
Either way, I hope gho is able to eventually find a way to draw the DirectDraw and GDI elements on the Bnet menus together properly. He seems pretty confident that he'll be able to crack it with some more time, so I'm remaining optimistic.
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On October 02 2015 11:34 xboi209 wrote:Show nested quote +On October 02 2015 04:54 ICanFlyLow wrote:
blizzard should fucking fix it themselves, i mean the game is still being sold in their battle net online shop, and last time i checked it was still being sold on the shelves in actual stores. Jesus, just go to gog.com They are selling games from as far back as 92 but they've updated it all to be compatible with Win10 yet blizzard cant even think about doing it. To be fair, their game requirements specifically says it supports certain operating systems, which do not include Windows 8 and Windows 10, so you shouldn't be surprised or complaining if you bought the game without checking it. And being sold physically in stores do not mean anything, there are no officially authorized/recognized retailers other than Blizzard themselves.
A substantial playerbase is more than enough reason to fix it. And im taking in the sales as a consideration, since they are still making a profit out of it, why not make the game more compatible with modern operating systems.
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On October 02 2015 23:04 ICanFlyLow wrote:Show nested quote +On October 02 2015 11:34 xboi209 wrote:On October 02 2015 04:54 ICanFlyLow wrote:
blizzard should fucking fix it themselves, i mean the game is still being sold in their battle net online shop, and last time i checked it was still being sold on the shelves in actual stores. Jesus, just go to gog.com They are selling games from as far back as 92 but they've updated it all to be compatible with Win10 yet blizzard cant even think about doing it. To be fair, their game requirements specifically says it supports certain operating systems, which do not include Windows 8 and Windows 10, so you shouldn't be surprised or complaining if you bought the game without checking it. And being sold physically in stores do not mean anything, there are no officially authorized/recognized retailers other than Blizzard themselves. A substantial playerbase is more than enough reason to fix it. And im taking in the sales as a consideration, since they are still making a profit out of it, why not make the game more compatible with modern operating systems.
because why waste so many hours on something that wouldn't change the sales by maximum 10 extra people?
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Each time i see a picture of Battle.net it makes me smile 
Especially when it's not blurry with rainbow pixels all over the screen.
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On October 02 2015 23:04 ICanFlyLow wrote:Show nested quote +On October 02 2015 11:34 xboi209 wrote:On October 02 2015 04:54 ICanFlyLow wrote:
blizzard should fucking fix it themselves, i mean the game is still being sold in their battle net online shop, and last time i checked it was still being sold on the shelves in actual stores. Jesus, just go to gog.com They are selling games from as far back as 92 but they've updated it all to be compatible with Win10 yet blizzard cant even think about doing it. To be fair, their game requirements specifically says it supports certain operating systems, which do not include Windows 8 and Windows 10, so you shouldn't be surprised or complaining if you bought the game without checking it. And being sold physically in stores do not mean anything, there are no officially authorized/recognized retailers other than Blizzard themselves. A substantial playerbase is more than enough reason to fix it. And im taking in the sales as a consideration, since they are still making a profit out of it, why not make the game more compatible with modern operating systems.
The playerbase doesn't generate additional revenue after the game is sold, if the game is even sold(note the highest population is at Fish, which doesn't require a valid cd key). How many people do you estimate will suddenly decide to purchase the game just because some gui bug in the battle.net menus are fixed? Does that amount of people * $20 USD cover the cost of 1-12 months of a(not even two or three) programmer's(with years of experience) time?
Also it wouldn't make sense to fix a gui bug that occurs on a operating that isn't officially supported by the game. If they're going to officially mark Windows 7, 8, and 10 as supported operating systems, I'm sure they would have to overhaul the game since it uses very outdated API's(namely DirectDraw, which was deprecated like 15 years ago), and then you'll get a wave of people asking why the newer Mac operating systems aren't supported either, and then a wave of more people asking why the other games aren't getting attention.
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oh wow cool news! I'm still on win7 but maybe I'll "upgrade" one day.
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On October 02 2015 11:34 xboi209 wrote:Show nested quote +On October 02 2015 04:54 ICanFlyLow wrote:
blizzard should fucking fix it themselves, i mean the game is still being sold in their battle net online shop, and last time i checked it was still being sold on the shelves in actual stores. Jesus, just go to gog.com They are selling games from as far back as 92 but they've updated it all to be compatible with Win10 yet blizzard cant even think about doing it. To be fair, their game requirements specifically says it supports certain operating systems, which do not include Windows 8 and Windows 10, so you shouldn't be surprised or complaining if you bought the game without checking it. And being sold physically in stores do not mean anything, there are no officially authorized/recognized retailers other than Blizzard themselves.
Meh, I don't think that's really fair. That's not a reasonable expectation to say people should have an OS that is not even being sold anymore to run your game. Most people will think 'well what I have is better right? and they wouldn't be selling it if it didn't run correctly." Unless they put a big warning before the user purchases it 'significant issues in Windows 8 and Windows 10,' like the user can't miss it or misunderstand it, it's underhanded / irresponsible. $15 is also not cheap enough in today's market to pretend they're giving it away. It's kind of at just that threshold where if you can't get it working, you're not invested enough to demand a refund.
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lol stop being such a negative nancy xboi, I think you are just jealous because you could never do this yourself. T_T
This is amazing, and I really hope this happens! Thank you for the work!
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i like all the people dissing on the opinions of an actual programmer (xboi209). Looks just like real life
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blizzard is a bitch. Selling a game when 99% users will have problems
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On October 03 2015 09:36 Chef wrote:Show nested quote +On October 02 2015 11:34 xboi209 wrote:On October 02 2015 04:54 ICanFlyLow wrote:
blizzard should fucking fix it themselves, i mean the game is still being sold in their battle net online shop, and last time i checked it was still being sold on the shelves in actual stores. Jesus, just go to gog.com They are selling games from as far back as 92 but they've updated it all to be compatible with Win10 yet blizzard cant even think about doing it. To be fair, their game requirements specifically says it supports certain operating systems, which do not include Windows 8 and Windows 10, so you shouldn't be surprised or complaining if you bought the game without checking it. And being sold physically in stores do not mean anything, there are no officially authorized/recognized retailers other than Blizzard themselves. Unless they put a big warning before the user purchases it 'significant issues in Windows 8 and Windows 10,' like the user can't miss it or misunderstand it.
Sounds like a decent thing to do, and pretty much the only reasonable thing imo.
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very nice we await the results
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Cool thanks for your work, it will be useful the day I'll leave my win7
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On October 03 2015 20:52 sabas123 wrote:Show nested quote +On October 03 2015 09:36 Chef wrote:On October 02 2015 11:34 xboi209 wrote:On October 02 2015 04:54 ICanFlyLow wrote:
blizzard should fucking fix it themselves, i mean the game is still being sold in their battle net online shop, and last time i checked it was still being sold on the shelves in actual stores. Jesus, just go to gog.com They are selling games from as far back as 92 but they've updated it all to be compatible with Win10 yet blizzard cant even think about doing it. To be fair, their game requirements specifically says it supports certain operating systems, which do not include Windows 8 and Windows 10, so you shouldn't be surprised or complaining if you bought the game without checking it. And being sold physically in stores do not mean anything, there are no officially authorized/recognized retailers other than Blizzard themselves. Unless they put a big warning before the user purchases it 'significant issues in Windows 8 and Windows 10,' like the user can't miss it or misunderstand it. Sounds like a decent thing to do, and pretty much the only reasonable thing imo.
It is reasonable, but right now it's not reality to have large warnings about system requirements before selling something. I remember shaking my head when people who complained that Windows Vista was crap because it was too slow found out that they can't run their brand new copy of Windows Vista on a system with half a GB of RAM because they didn't read the system requirements
On October 03 2015 09:36 Chef wrote:Show nested quote +On October 02 2015 11:34 xboi209 wrote:On October 02 2015 04:54 ICanFlyLow wrote:
blizzard should fucking fix it themselves, i mean the game is still being sold in their battle net online shop, and last time i checked it was still being sold on the shelves in actual stores. Jesus, just go to gog.com They are selling games from as far back as 92 but they've updated it all to be compatible with Win10 yet blizzard cant even think about doing it. To be fair, their game requirements specifically says it supports certain operating systems, which do not include Windows 8 and Windows 10, so you shouldn't be surprised or complaining if you bought the game without checking it. And being sold physically in stores do not mean anything, there are no officially authorized/recognized retailers other than Blizzard themselves. Meh, I don't think that's really fair. That's not a reasonable expectation to say people should have an OS that is not even being sold anymore to run your game. Most people will think 'well what I have is better right? and they wouldn't be selling it if it didn't run correctly."
Well whoever is buying the game should know that it was made in the 90's, anyone with that knowledge should at least check the system requirements. The "your computer is too new" saying has been around since Windows Vista/Windows 7 now
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Update: The developer of DxWnd is now looking into the issue directly, but he is based in Italy and can't seem to get any games going on Bnet to see what the problems are. He is requesting some screenshots of the Bnet UI errors that all of us on Windows 8/10 are seeing. I posted on there with some attempted screengrabs both in windowed and fullscreen mode, but they don't accurate reflect what's on my screen.
If you know of a way of accurately capturing how the messed up Bnet menus look, please post them in response to this comment in the thread. With everyone's help, we can work toward a fix to this nagging issue.
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On October 12 2015 15:45 Ty2 wrote:
How's the guy doing? He still need the pictures?
Well, he has hit a few snags along the way because he's running on Windows 7 and can't really simulate the Bnet UI problems that those of us on Windows 8/10 are seeing. That being said, he's now looking into separating some of his code out to be offered to the developer of mca64launcher. Code such as his fast/efficient bilinear filtering that can be applied to windowed mode.
It's not a perfect solution, but it would solve one of the biggest annoyances with w-mode in mca64: it's pixelated image quality. If that were to come to pass, at least we'd have the correct Bnet UI via w-mode and an improved image quality along with all of the other great mca64 features.
But yeah, the dream of fullscreen Bnet UI working without overlapping textboxes might not be coming to fruition it seems.
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EPT
