MTA:SA, Windows XP/Vista, CEF components and you

[jhxp]

Multi Theft Auto: San Andreas 1.5.3 might be the last release that supports Windows XP and Windows Vista. This post should help you understand why this is so and what exactly does it mean for you.

 

Background

Google has announced last year that they will be dropping support for Windows XP and Windows Vista OSes from their Chrome browser and the Chromium/Blink platform. As some of you may know, this is already in effect as you can no longer install the newer Chrome builds on machines running XP or Vista. The oldest Windows version which can run Google Chrome is Windows 7.

For 1.5.3 release, we had to make a special build for players using Windows XP/Vista that would have the last released version of CEF that is compatible with those older systems, and a normal one for players with newer systems (Windows 7 and above). This normally would not be a big problem, but unfortunately several exploits were discovered that can compromise systems running older versions of Chromium (including the last one that works in XP/Vista). To ensure that our players are safe, we have updated CEF components to their newest version for the regular build, but we also provide a special build with outdated and insecure, but XP/Vista compatible CEF components.

 

Comparison table for MTA:SA 1.5.3

Here is a little comparison table to help you understand this change:

Operating System	Does MTA:SA 1.5.3 work on this OS?	Will MTA:SA work on this OS in the future?
Windows XP	YES	UNKNOWN
Windows Vista	YES	UNKNOWN
Windows 7	YES	YES
Windows 8/8.1	YES	YES
Windows 10	YES	YES

 

Questions and Answers

Google is dropping XP/Vista support for Chrome browser? What does this even have to do with MTA:SA?  

As you may know from our previous news posts, MTA:SA uses CEF (Chrome Embedded Framework) components for providing some functionality for the mod since version 1.5. Being Chromium-based, CEF components are also being phased out for users of older Operating Systems and will simply not work on them.

 

Does MTA:SA 1.5.3 work fine on Windows XP and Windows Vista? 

Yes, it works fine if you install it through the legacy build. We still can not really recommend using these systems anymore due to reasons listed below.

CEF compatibility issue aside, these Operating Systems (XP especially) are really old nowadays. You are putting yourself at risk if you use them as they are either no longer supported by Microsoft (XP) or the support will be discontinued soon (April 2017 - Vista).

 

What will happen if I try to use the regular build of 1.5.3 on Windows XP/Vista? 

MTA:SA installer will display an error and will not let you install the mod on such systems. You will be asked to download the legacy build from our website.

 

And what will happen if I try to use the legacy build of 1.5.3 on Windows 7 and above? 

Similarly, MTA:SA installer will display an error and will not let you install the mod on such systems. You will be asked to download the regular build from our website.

 

Why couldn't you just stick to the older version of CEF then so that XP/Vista would be still supported?  

What about releasing two versions of the mod? A regular one with newest CEF and a legacy one with the older CEF build that still works on XP/Vista? 

Hey, but we actually do provide a legacy build for MTA:SA 1.5.3 for XP/Vista users with an older version of CEF components.

The problem with sticking with either of these options is that we would have to continue providing a version that is vulnerable to any present and future security exploits that exist in Chromium and are already widely used. We do not want to put our users at risk because of that. CEF developers themselves do not want to provide a long-term security support for such a build either: http://www.magpcss.org/ceforum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=14187

 

I am playing the mod on Windows 7/Windows 8/Windows 8.1/Windows 10 or newer. Am I affected by this?  

No, you will not be affected at all. In fact, you will have a better experience with built-in web browser components than before due to security and performance fixes included in the newer CEF versions.

 

I am using Windows XP/Vista and I would still like to play future versions of MTA:SA. What can I do about it? 

If you are using Windows XP or Windows Vista, you should upgrade your OS to a newer one. You will likely be required to do a clean install for that, so backup your stuff first. You should use these tools first to see if your PC is capable of upgrading to newer OS:

• Windows 7: Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor
• Windows 8/10: Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant

Is your PC toaster-tier which does not support Windows 8 or even 7? That means it is probably the right time to buy something more modern.

But fear not, if you are already using Windows 7 or newer, just install the newest build of MTA:SA 1.5.3 and you are set! And if you don't want to upgrade your OS or PC, well, we will keep offering the legacy build that works on XP/Vista for a while...

 

Conclusion

Hope that this post has cleared your doubts about the status of support for Windows XP/Vista.

Sorry for any inconvenience for users of these older Operating Systems but there was little we could do about it. These decisions were already made elsewhere.

--MTA Team

[Winky]

I have created a Compatibility FAQ on the wiki based on this topic.

[Dutchman101]

12 hours ago, Winky said:

I have created a Compatibility FAQ on the wiki based on this topic.

Good job

[ManeXi]

Guys not giving support to windows XP it's really stupid, tons of our players have old PCs that doesn't support new generation games (that's the main reason why they still playing MTA), honestly giving our windows XP players just exchange a stupid browser it's really really bad idea, and very honestly it's a browser that nobody cares about, just by pressing windows button I can go to my browser why defuq I would need it in MTA?

Another point is that for example when I have no friends available to test a script for 1< n players I use virtual machines which are very useful, I haven't got very powerful PC but I can run windows XP in 2 virtual machines at the same time, by this way testing stuff it's always easier, if I would need to run a windows 7 in a virtual machine maybe I wouldn't be able to even run 1 properly...

Edited February 19, 2017 by ManeXi

[Jusonex]

3 hours ago, ManeXi said:

Guys not giving support to windows XP it's really stupid, tons of our players have old PCs that doesn't support new generation games (that's the main reason why they still playing MTA)

1) MTA still works on Windows XP, we just don't give support for major issues certain people have (which are most likely related to malware activity).
2) "Tons of players" is an alternative fact. In reality, we're talking about 2.2% of our players (as of yesterday).
3) Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP several years ago. Therefore, it's just a matter of time until people will get massive problems with malware.

3 hours ago, ManeXi said:

honestly giving our windows XP players just exchange a stupid browser it's really really bad idea,

Well, they can actually use the browser. The XP variant just uses an old, unsupported version of the browser. So apart from XP users being vulnerable to malware, the MTA variant runs fine with the exact same features.

3 hours ago, ManeXi said:

I haven't got very powerful PC but I can run windows XP in 2 virtual machines at the same time,

Feel free to do it

[Fabervox]

@Jusonex

1,3 New malicious applications, are created under mainstream OS. Holes are closed by antiviruses, many of which support XP still. XP use people who have seen the computer not yesterday and as at most somewhere at the time of Vista when it seemed rather heavy. And you are right that players in general upgrade to new versions Windows, including because of requirements of games. But just among remained more than that who better uses an antivirus, but doesn't think that his installation in itself will unambiguously protect. Or and that it is worse, thinking that safety of new versions, is enough also for work without antivirus.

2. This figure concerns directly players of MTA or in general in all games?

In general it isn't so terrible, but in certain cases, the dangerous tendency turns out. Many programs, in aspiration to the present, begin to spit not only on the fact that there were good OS, in something and remained the best, but also on advantages of the old versions.