It’s really sad that games being released so close to the “Vista Epoch” are not vista compatible. It makes me wonder what the game developers are thinking. Sure I was able to get the game to run, but it took some tweaking and lots of trial/error.
Besides the crashing, even on XP, the game really stinks. The graphics have not improved much, and for some reason it won’t let me enable anti-aliasing. Good thing ATi lets me force AA on. I’m going to sit down tonight and play through the game, and maybe update this mini-review if it gets better, but what I saw a few minutes ago did not look very promising.
Update: 11-24-2006
I’ve noticed a lot of hits to this small article, and all the search engine terms point to people having trouble running Need For Speed: Carbon on Vista. The solution is quite easy.
Go find the .exe file in the programs folder. Right click on it and select properties. Next, click the compatibility tab and select the Windows 98 option. Any other version of Windows compatibility do not work correctly. This did fix a problem with the game crashing, but it does not fix the problem with memory programs coded into the game. I am still waiting for a patch from EA to resolve this problem. Let me know if you have any other troubles and I might be able to assist you.
Update: 11-25-2006
By the looks of it, EA has realeased a patch for Carbon, but does not fix any of the real problems.
This patch has been released to address the following issues:
- Client side EA Messenger crash
- EA Nation registration email field character limit to small for larger email addresses
- EA Nation registration CD Key field character limit issue
- Issue pertaining to launching Need for Speed Carbon PCCD
- Incorrect car names appearing in the Pursuit Tag leaderboards
All issues above will be resolved by installing the Need for Speed Carbon PCCD Patch.
Wow! EA sure did a wonderful job making the game run right. I will be sure to buy the next installment in the Need For Speed series.
Update: 12-29-2006
Thanks to Denzo for pointing out that if you rename the MOVIES folder in the Need For Speed Carbon program folder, the game will run flawlessly. You won’t get the pre-rendered videos, but you also won’t have to use the Win/98 compatibility mode. I just tested it and it runs very smoothly on Vista. I should point out that the videos need to be updated by EA if they are the problem.
