It states that you can install early versions of Windows in it (3.x, 95 & 98 were mentioned)

This is possible because Windows ran on top of DOS until 98/Me. It's only with Windows NT/2000 that the dependency on DOS was dropped, which is why DOS mode was also removed in that version.

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Most of those have been given away for free at some point. I guess most people will just never check what they have in other libraries.

I just checked my EGS library through Heroic and saw that I already have the first 5 Fallout games for free, except I haven't started any of them.

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Does Max Payne even work in Windows these days? I don't think it does without some major fiddling.

It works on Windows 11 and modern Linux with a community patch on newer CPUs, since they no longer have 3DNow! instructions. Check PCGamingWiki for details :)

Fun fact: a similar fix is needed for 3DMark 99/2000/2001, as they use the same engine as Max Payne.

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Very interesting, could it be a solution to play old Windows 95 games and other 16 bits Windows apps that are not Wine compatible?

Yes, that's what it's designed for :)

Personally, I used it to run the Drakan and 3DMark99 installers as these are 16-bit and are basically impossible to run as-is on modern Windows/Linux. I then moved the extracted files to the host OS and ran them directly (the game is 32-bit and works well on modern OSes with community patches). You can also use DOSBox-X for this, since it supports Windows 95/98/Me too.

I did try to use tools like cabextract on the installer but that didn't work for me.

Does the guest OS can benefit from host accelerated GPU?

No, the GPU emulation is 100% done in software to allow it to be as accurate as possible. There's no passthrough involved; the OpenGL support is only here for scaling and post-processing shaders.

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Still no native Linux build? :-/

I think Valve saw the not-great state CS2 on Linux is in and decided to go all-in on Proton this time.

Proton could actually run CS2 (and even CS:GO) quite well, but the issue was always that VAC was eventually broken in WINE/Proton so you couldn't play online. There was a small period of time where CS:GO was playable online both on native Linux and WINE (there was no Proton back then).

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I wish they would be using av1 instead of vp9, but hey, at least it's something.

I'm guessing Valve went with VP9 because it's more compatible with older macOS/iOS devices. Apple only supports AV1 in hardware, and only on devices sold after 2023.

These days on the web, it's fine to ship VP9 without any fallback format (it's supported by basically everything), but this is not the case of AV1 just yet.

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Thanks for sharing, I got Dusk + Amid Evil along with The Ascent and Hellbound :)

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Some older games have SERIOUS engine issues and simply don't even run well at 4k on 5090

Serious Engine games actually run very well on modern high-end PCs, in my experience. :P

...I'll see myself out.

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Talk about scope creep. Now they're adding action adventures?

Crusader: No Remorse already runs with ScummVM (with some enhancements compared to the original), so it's not the first time we see ScummVM run games that aren't point & click games.

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so you can raise hell on the D Bus

Just your average day in FreeDesktop land. :P

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