Vista/VB6

[Pluvious]

Ok, I have been reading up on some of the threads on vista and vb6 and I plan on reading more after I finish posting this thread. However, I thought I would get some specific help here and try to cover my bases.

I have been working on a game using vb6 for 4 or so years. I was making it on my XP machine. However, I stopped working on it a few months ago to start a new business. Now that the new business is all set I have free time and I'm going back to my game.

So, I want to import the game to my Vista Premium laptop. And before I do that I need to know what I should do and what precautions I should take. I want to do it right and what to expect.

Oh, I have the VB6 professional edition on cd.

What I want to know is:

1) What is the best way to install and avoid problems?

2) How viable is it to import my old program? My program is very large but I use a lot of novice programming techniques. Not a lot of api's, not 3D, and simple animations. Also, it is multiplayer and I use winsock. Any issues with this and vista?

3) Any difficulties now having a commercial game when making a game with VB6 and people having Vista machines?

That's about it. I really want to continue making my game and hope to be able to develop it into a multiplayer client/server game. I just want to know if current technology changes may make this difficult. Thanks.

[Pluvious]

What about a virtual pc? I know nothing of what this is but is it something I should look into? Will it make things easier? If I develop using it then it will work on vista and xp machines?

[dglienna]

I have VB6 on Vista Ultimate, and it has problems. You'll need SP6 right off the bat, but VISTA has a few controls that replace VB controls. I seem to have problems with my old apps that use API's or Registry Settings.

Virtual PC is installed, but I don't have enough use for VB6 to install there.

(plus I lost my Active Resizer information, so 4 apps can't be compiles )

[Pluvious]

I have VB6 on Vista Ultimate, and it has problems. You'll need SP6 right off the bat, but VISTA has a few controls that replace VB controls. I seem to have problems with my old apps that use API's or Registry Settings.

Virtual PC is installed, but I don't have enough use for VB6 to install there.

(plus I lost my Active Resizer information, so 4 apps can't be compiles )

Thanks. Would you recommend for someone like me to use Virtual PC? Or just try to get VB6 to work on Vista?

What I mean by "someone like me" is someone who is trying to finish a large game. Not a lot of API's.

[oldguy1]

The big surprise for me was not having support for the Rich Text Box control on Vista. It is in the VB6 toolkit but requires distribution on any installs.

[WizBang]

There is a current sticky thread about a security update, which may cause winsock to fail. I would not be surprised if Vista will have this issue. I'd recommend going with CSocket or CSocketPlus, which you can Google to find the free source code. This replaces winsock, thus eliminating the dependency, and probably the issues with the update.

However, from what I'm hearing about Vista in general, and the fact that the next windows OS is supposedly not far away, I wonder just how much trouble we should go through to make any app run on Vista. Might that be like worrying about WinME?

[dglienna]

Windows 7 has the VB6 runtime library, but, so did Vista (with exceptions)

I'll have it (as soon as the DVD's get printed and mailed) and test it. I have over 500 short sample apps that do many different things.

Right now, about half fail to run, after not being able to load API's or something. I usually just need to copy/paste, so it isn't a big deal. They are samples.

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I'm running Vista Ultimate 64-bit. Not sure how to resolve, but, I'm listening...