Is the windows 2000/XP compatibility patch absolutely necessary?

[Seleuceia]

So yeah, is the patch absolutely necessary?  Does it actually add anything to the game?

I have Windows 8 Pro (64 bit) and have absolutely no problems installing or running SMAX (with 2.0 patch) from CD...didn't have to do anything fancy at all....

Looking at the 2000/XP compatibility patch, all it seems to do is add a bunch of .pcx graphics and some text files in addition to the .exe...but since I (and I assume most) use an unofficial patch, it's not like having the officially patched .exe will mean anything...

If it fixes string or graphics errors, I suppose it is worth it...but if it doesn't, why is it needed?  I feel like I'm missing out on something here, some big secret about what this patch does....if it's only for MP compatibility, how does that work if everyone is using an unofficial .exe anyway?

[Yitzi]

If any of those .pcx files aren't in the pre-patched version, then you need them; if the program looks for a .pcx that doesn't exist, you're likely to get a freeze or crash.

[scient]

My patch (and everyone elses) are based off of 2000/XP exes.  I've actually rolled all text and pcx files from this patch into my future patch installer.  That way, all you need to do is install one thing.

But yes, I would recommend installing it even if you're not having compatibility issues.  It removes the DRM on SMAC as well as some fixes to resource files and such.

[Green1]

How does the GOG release affect this? I had to buy this because of a drive crash and original discs (Planetary Pack release) scratched beyond usability after a decade.

I have heard that installer includes the WIN XP patch. Not that I would even consider cranking up SMAX without at least Scient's patch or other "unofficial" patches as well.

[Petek]

The GOG release includes all official patches for both SMAC and SMAX, including the Win2k/XP update.

[scient]

Yah GOG release is same as if you applied SMACX v2.0, XP/2000 compatibility patch and removed DRM from SMACX exe so you're good and don't need to do anything beyond apply unofficial patches.