What the hell happened with getting rid of PS3 limitations?!

[Dzian]

Windows stopped making 32 bit operating systems a few years ago..

The operating system is usually one of the last things people upgrade on there computers. Less than 20% of the world's pcs use Windows 10 for example. And there still roughly 8% running Windows XP.

And apparantly there's still over 300 million computers running 32 bit windows 7. Based on connections to the windows update servers

[polyhedral]

I really don't understand why anyone would want to limit their ram to what was standard maybe, a decade ago by using a 32 bit OS... Whatever floats some peoples' boats tho.

[Hestzhyen]

I really don't understand why anyone would want to limit their ram to what was standard maybe, a decade ago by using a 32 bit OS... Whatever floats some peoples' boats tho.

A lot of people don't even know what RAM is or what it does. They just know that what they have works and that's all they really care about. And, truth be told, unless you're doing something WAY intensive and outside the norm you don't NEED to care, not right now. As programs grow more and more resource-hungry that RAM limitation will start to hurt. But we're not at the tipping point for that yet.

Apple's put their foot down and has told people to update to 64-bit or be left behind. Do you want to bet how many people will stick with what they have until it has a catastrophic failure? I'm thinking somewhere around "a lot", until the hardware that supports it becomes so obsolete it would be worth more for scrapping than refurbishing and trading in.

If you want to have mass appeal, you want your game to run as wide a variety of systems that you can reasonably support. SE learned that the hard way when 1.0 was STUNNING for the time but required a behemoth of a machine to run passably well. There will always be a lowest common denominator and right now it probably is the budget 32-bit PC. But like Tridus said, the biggest issue SE has right now is more on the NOC side of things- data transmission costs, data storage costs, and space constraints. That doesn't really have anything to do with the client's horsepower, it's all bandwidth and capacity. There's not enough and I'm willing to bet that whatever they have isn't used in an optimal way based on all the severe restrictions we've dealt with over the years.

[Texa]

I really don't understand why anyone would want to limit their ram to what was standard maybe, a decade ago by using a 32 bit OS... Whatever floats some peoples' boats tho.

I think you got it the other way around. They're using a 32 bit OS because they have a 32 bit processor.

[RaijinSupreme]

Lol these complain threads never get old, especially when the OP thinks they’re doing something revolutionary when they type in all caps,

“GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!!!”

It happens like what, 3-4 times every patch release right?

[AxlStream]

I really don't understand why anyone would want to limit their ram to what was standard maybe, a decade ago by using a 32 bit OS... Whatever floats some peoples' boats tho.

Many reason really. Legacy software and tools, CPU not being x64 compatible (yes they still exist and even though they are older, are still going strong) and I'm sure there are more. Also x86 computers are also extremely common in businesses and enterprises which, surprise surprise, usually hand down their used up PCs to employees at a heavily discounted price.

[MistakeNot]

I think you got it the other way around. They're using a 32 bit OS because they have a 32 bit processor.

Some maybe, but the vast majority are using what they have because it is what was installed on their computer when they bought it.

Most people never change their OS or upgrade their computer - eventually they will buy a new computer instead and then use whatever is installed on that.

[wizisi2k]

IF MS did what Apple has done (and is doing with high sierra being the last OS for 32-bit apps), there would be MASSIVE and I mean MASSIVE backlash. Those old games from GOG that don't use dosbox? won't run. Those games from Steam that are 32-bit in your library? forget about playing-they won't run. Those apps you use as a power user that are 32-bit? won't run. The LCD is the 32-bit (could be 2 GB could be 3.2GB depending on if a LAA patch is applied) RAM ceiling because SE knows that if MS updates it, there better be a emulator for 32-bit windows 7 that is free for people to use. MS knows people will actively find a way to permanently shut off any and ALL updates to the OS to keep that from occurring, even if that makes their copy not genuine (and it currently is) I gave examples but if MS did such an update, SE would have to shut FFXI down as it's 32-bit or do a code update to 64-bit which costs money.

[Tridus]

Those games from Steam that are 32-bit in your library? forget about playing-they won't run. Those apps you use as a power user that are 32-bit? won't run.

Yes they will. FFXIV is 32-bit and it runs just fine in Win64 right now. The hardware is by design backwards compatible with 32 bit programs and can run them natively.

Win64 removes the support for 16-bit execution that Win32 had, but not Win32 support.

[Tridus]

Some maybe, but the vast majority are using what they have because it is what was installed on their computer when they bought it.

Most people never change their OS or upgrade their computer - eventually they will buy a new computer instead and then use whatever is installed on that.

This. Plenty of computers game with 32-bit Windows long after the hardware went to 64-bit for various reasons (driver compatibility, software compatibility, laziness on the OEM, etc). We have a piece of lab equipment worth 6 figures where the drivers don't work in anyting past XP. So that's how it goes sometimes. But lots of people bought 32-bit home PCs and will take years to replace them as you said.