Games requiring specific graphics driver release

[Easy Rhino]

Okay, this is the first time I have in nearly 40 years of PC gaming come across a game that has forced me to update my graphics drivers before playing.

I tried to launch BF1 for the first time in about a month and received this error message. This is complete BS because as everyone knows updating drivers can actually break other games. Has anyone come across this and is there a way around it?

 

[Finners]

Dont think it's BS to be honest. They are not the latest drivers so there must be a specific reason why it recommends them drivers or above.

They are just trying to ensure the game works for you.

 

[Easy Rhino]

Dont think it's BS to be honest. They are not the latest drivers so there must be a specific reason why it recommends them drivers or above.

They are just trying to ensure the game works for you.

I see your point but why not let the person who owns the game decide which drivers to use? For instance, the game worked just fine on 375.57. Instead of forcing a driver update they could have a message that says they recommend a specific driver version. Historically it has always been on the person running the game to choose which drivers version to use because *GASP* that person probably plays more than one game.

 

[Papahyooie]

Whether it's BS or not would, I imagine, depend on their reasoning for forcing it... If it's to fix a bug, or support a feature of the game, then I suppose it's not really BS. Any other reason (marketing, deals with the graphics card manufacturers or some such other conspiracy theory) then yea, that's pretty lame.

 

[Crap Daddy]

Maybe I'm wrong but I remember that BF4 asked for the same "required driver" in order to work. BF1 certainly asked me to update driver at first run since apparently I was on an older one. Usually I am uninterested in driver updates since I go by the "if it ain't broken don't fix it" but had no choice, battlefield is the only game I play.

 

[dorsetknob]

Cometh the Day when no game will run without Ge-force Experience for Nvidia cards
Not Installed Game won't Start
Please download latest Driver pack (Ge-force Experience included and enabled by default )
Please Register with Valid Email As Ge-force Experience will need to be Validated with Valid Email Address Regulary


Tin Hat Time (Soon and Anti Static wellies Recommended ).

 

[eidairaman1]

Cometh the Day when no game will run without Ge-force Experience for Nvidia cards
Not Installed Game won't Start
Please download latest Driver pack (Ge-force Experience included and enabled by default )
Please Register with Valid Email As Ge-force Experience will need to be Validated with Valid Email Address Regulary


Tin Hat Time (Soon and Anti Static wellies Recommended ).

gf exp is bs.

 

[newtekie1]

I don't really have a problem with this. The minimum driver they are requiring is 6 WHQL releases old at this point. If not a single one of those 6 driver versions doesn't work with this mythical old game, then I guess you are SOL, because I doubt future drivers will work this said old game either, and you either have the choice of never updating graphics drivers again or updating drivers and moving on. Since it is more likely that a new game won't work with a old driver, I don't see a problem with keeping drivers up to date.

Also, I can't remember a single time when an new driver straight up broke an old game. Except for a few times where the new driver implemented a bug in the old game, in which case the next driver release almost certainly fixed the problem.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

There have been plenty of games that require a beta driver update to run without problems, and you usually have to find out about it via the grapevine or checking latest driver release notes.

At least they're telling you at launch of the game. Most would consider that if anything is a sign of having worked closely with the driver teams. It's also a sign they care about how well their game runs on your system.

It's still up to you whether you update or not. I really don't see fault on the game developers end. Now on Nvidia's end, if that new driver breaks other games, that's more on Nvidia than the game devs. It seems drivers only working with certain games happens more with Nvidia than AMD.

That said, both Nvidia and AMD have their software problems. With AMD it's things like scaling not working in Crimson/ReLive drivers, and ReLive capture files having compat issues. I think I actually prefer that to having to constantly change drivers depending what game you're playing though.

All I know is, come time to do a core platform upgrade, I'll be looking at both Vega and Pascal. I'd prefer Volta, but that probably won't come until 2018.

 

[neatfeatguy]

Not every driver works well with every build....

I've had it before a driver reeked havoc with my multiple monitor setup on my old GTX 280s, but others hadn't reported any similar issues.
I've had it where I had a lot of instability issues with one driver that others didn't with similar builds.
I've had newer drivers break things in games I was playing. I'm not a "buy a game as soon as it releases guy". I buy games when they're cheap(er), which means I'm usually anywhere from 6 months to 2+ years behind most other people since they've already played the games and have moved on to new stuff. I don't do much online playing (no MMOs or competitive games like CS:GO anymore) and stick to single player or co-op games with my younger brother. So newer drivers can break stuff in older games....it's irritating as hell when it happens, thankfully it's not often.

It's rather crappy to be forced to update a driver just because a game company forces you to so you can play their game.

If it's not broke, don't fix it. Me, I'd be screwed as well since I think I'm on a 372.54. I only upgraded to this one because of the inclusion of SLI support on No Man's Sky. I don't care about Battlefield 1 so I don't have to worry, thankfully. I feel your pain though.

 

[dorsetknob]

Easy Rhino

Under win XP-Pro you had the option of running different Hardware profiles ( and Different Drivers ) At Boot time
Don't know if this was Carried over into win 7 win8(8.1) win 10.
In your Circumstances if they did carry over Different hardware Booting Profiles would be useful and problem solving for you

 

[yogurt_21]

a message at the startup? that I've only seen in the old control panel days of ati drivers. Where suddenly a few games and aquamark/3dmark would do this. The difference then is it was a warning you could click "continue at your own risk" and be done with it. 3dmark wouldn't let your score be searchable other than that you would merely run into whatever bug they were trying to prevent you from seeing.

granted these were also the days of manual updates to games and any "gamespy" or online connected game wouldn't let you start until you updated. now we have steam and origin and updates just happen.

even still based on that auto update world what kind of app just has you say OK and then closes? Why not link them to nvidia's site where they can get the latest drivers?

 

[eidairaman1]

Easy Rhino

Under win XP-Pro you had the option of running different Hardware profiles ( and Different Drivers ) At Boot time
Don't know if this was Carried over into win 7 win8(8.1) win 10.
In your Circumstances if they did carry over Different hardware Booting Profiles would be useful and problem solving for you

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc959503.aspx
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...7/438f865a-6067-4f66-b901-f0e7eaafc7af?auth=1
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1058694-windows-7-and-hardware-profiles/
http://www.thewindowsplanet.com/317/hardware-profiles-missing-in-windows-7.htm
http://www.sevenforums.com/hardware-devices/24122-hardware-profiles.html

 

[rtwjunkie]

I've never paid attention to the "game ready" drivers put out JUST in time so that you can play a specific new game. I'm always a few revisions behind at least. I find a good stable driver, and that's what I use with wild recklessness and abandon on new games....and have to this day never had any performance problems or trouble with said new games.