PWO on ReactOS
ReactOS is an alternative, open source Operating System which aims to be binary-compatible with Windows software and drivers, and to feel as close to Windows as possible, but developed from scratch with the view of providing a free, open-source and secure alternative[1]. While PWO does not officially offer support for ReactOS, given that its eventual goal is to run Windows software as close to native Windows as is technically achievable, there may well come a point in time whereby PWO becomes by default compatible with the OS; and, through the use of Virtual Machines such as VirtualBox, other systems by extension.
Our resident Admin Jinji regularly beta-tests ReactOS via a VM; and has taken it upon himself to test new builds and determine the feasibility of PWO running on the system in the future. This article details the current results.
Current Status
Currently, while PWO can be installed on ReactOS and will attempt to run, the game is not playable in any form. This is due to both bugs in 3D graphics handling and in ReactOS's implementation of WinHTTP. Additionally, bugs in ReactOS Memory Management sometimes cause ReactOS to hang or blue screen if PWO is ran in addition to other software. With all this considered, attempting to play PWO on ReactOS is currently not recommended.
Latest observations (as of 27 March 2022)
- PWO can be successfully installed on ReactOS using the standard installer.
- The installed client will run if opened, displaying the login screen and playing the title theme.
- ReactOS's native Direct3D drivers are not compatible with PWO.
- This means attempting to login to the game will cause a Runtime error "Failed to Init Direct3D".
- Installing Mesa3D Graphics sometimes works, but seems to fail more times than it succeeds. Other alternatives are not directly offered by ReactOS and have not been trialled.
- ReactOS does not manage to successfully open a connection to the PWO Server. This means even if the game can somehow be persuaded to run beyond the initial login screen, and a player attempts to login, the game will appear to load but no data will be received - leaving the player on a black map with no Pokémon, no Trainer Info, no players and no way of interacting with anyone or anything.
- This is the same as attempting to run PWO via Wine on Linux.
- Sometimes, after PWO is quit or crashes, ReactOS will hang or blue-screen with a MEMORY_MANAGEMENT stop error. This becomes increasingly likely the longer ReactOS has been running or if additional software is ran at the same time.
