I'm actually playing the game on my old computer (bought 2006) on a Win98 partition, so I should be unaffected by WinXP problems. Despite this probably being the ops system under which the game was developed, I still find parts of the game very "tender". MM9 is the only one of the MM games I've patched since MM3, and the only reason I play a patched game on that is that the version I use is the one that was included among the "MM Classics" CD that came in the MM6 Limited Edition. I thought it played perfectly in the Win98 DOS shell, but I found last time I played it that the final cutscene aborted and crashed the computer. I didn't even get the BSOD, the whole thing just froze and I had to cut the power off to get out. I've got an old laptop dating back to about 2000, and I'm going to try it on that. Maybe the slower processor will allow it to run better.
MM6 & MM8 certainly run better on that machine than on the more modern ones. In MM6, can find the items hidden in the pews in the Silver Helm establishments, and in MM8, I can Jump successfully to the upper floors of the Hive.
To my sorrow, MM9 won't run on it. I can get through the training establishment and the initial visit to the Isle of Ashes, but the game hangs when I try to enter Sturmford. I've not tried MM7, it's my least favourite of the modern MM games. Being restricted to only one of Light Magic or Dark Magic really killed my pig in that game.
