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FM8 on Windows 7

Ed_NBOSEd_NBOS
edited November 2009 in Fractal Mapper General
Not extensively tested yet, but so far it all looks to work normally.

Comments

  • MarkOlivaMarkOliva
    Ed_NBOS wrote:
    Not extensively tested yet, but so far it all looks to work normally.

    The vector map looks fine, but vector maps are more the industry standard of Windows 98 days. Raster maps fit better in the Windows 7 era. I hope you do some extensive testing in that area too.

    The three of us in the Vintyri (TM) Project have been too busy this summer (mostly with vacationing) to have had time to play with the various beta and RC versions of Windows 7. I'll wait until October and then install the final 64-bit Ultimate version on one of my partitions on my main work PC.

    From the technical data I've read on Windows 7, it seems highly unlikely to me that FM8 will have any serious issues with Windows 7. However, if anyone here has such issues with FM8 or any other program used for RPGing, the best alternative within the Windows environment is the more expensive Ultimate edition of Windows 7. Microsoft says it will have an XP mode, which Microsoft claims will run anything under Windows 7 Ultimate that runs under Windows XP. This mode will not be available however in other editions of Windows 7.

    From our side, we should be reporting back sometime in October, when we've all vacationed ourselves out. The mountains still are calling, and the hiking boots still are comfortable. But next month, we probably will start releasing more new free and open raster symbol sets for FM8. Our tutorial also is frozen at present in an advanced stage, waiting for us to come down from the mountains.
  • ralexpdxrralexpdx
    edited November 2009
    Well it runs ok, I have version 8.10f, Build 1380. I have UAC turned off on Windows 7 RTM and I am not seeing all of the PNG symbols I have. I own Dundjinni and have a HUGE collection of transparent PNG symbols and some show up but others don't. According to the FAQ, any version over 8.01b I think says it fixes the problem, but I still have it. I'll mess around with permissions and looking at the PNG's to see what's different about the ones that show up versus the ones that don't, but since it's 3am here now, I think I'll wait till tomorrow. I am really looking forward to using FM8, since Dundjinni is no longer updated or supported. And I like the fractals in FM8 a lot better than the ProFantasy Programs. Of those the only one I enjoy using is Fractal Terrains Pro.

    Thanks,
    Randy

    EDIT:

    Looks like my issue was nested folders. FM8 (And I suspect 7) is looking for the root MapArt folder then a symbol set folder that contains one or more category folders. Some of my PNG folders that I've collected have had a third, fourth or fifth layer of organization like Sci-Fi/Streets/floors/interior etc.... I'll go through and fix the hierarchy and things will be fine!
  • dcf6ddcf6
    I'm currently running FM8 on windows 7 and haven't noticed any problems yet. I'll post here if I notice any compatibility issues.
  • MarkOlivaMarkOliva
    ralexpdx wrote:
    Looks like my issue was nested folders. FM8 (And I suspect 7) is looking for the root MapArt folder then a symbol set folder that contains one or more category folders. Some of my PNG folders that I've collected have had a third, fourth or fifth layer of organization like Sci-Fi/Streets/floors/interior etc.... I'll go through and fix the hierarchy and things will be fine!

    Precisely. You need exactly the right folder structure for FM8.

    In my company, I had planned to install Windows 7 on one machine only for software-testing purposes, but otherwise avoid it and stick with Windows XP Pro. After working for two days with that test installation, I was so convinced by Windows 7 that I had it installed as the main OS on all of our computers (they also can boot XP and one can boot Vista as well).

    RasterSample.jpg

    I've now done really extensive raster mapping (as opposed to vector mapping) with FM8 under Windows 7 Ultimate in the 64- and 32-bit versions. To date, I've found only one trivial issue that occurs on all of our machines that are running the 64-bit version. If you look at the graphic above, you'll see that a number of symbols are missing from the left side of the toolbar. The problem is easy and quick to cure, if you run into it. Simply pull the left section of the toolbar down, to undock it, and then pull it back upwards, to dock it again. After that, all of the symbols will be there.

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