[Windows 8 General] Bec07:
Since windows 8 is quite unpopular with touch enabled apps and games and Microsoft store is quite poor for the time being, I decided to make a list of apps and games and the required optimizations for touch, where necesary.

This is also the chance to replay some brilliant oldies! As we all know 10-year old PC games easily outshine modern tablet games in both gameplay and graphics. As most of them are forgotten by the developers and will probably never be remastered for the touch screen, there is no reason why they shouldn't be enjoyed on modern tablets.

I will list older (and newer) games and apps that either work flawlessly on Windows 8 or require some easy modding to get there.

My input will be based on the VitoTab TF810C but any input is valuable and will be added to the first post.

Please share your own experiences and I will try to keep this thread up to date with any news.

UI

Obly tile - Add new shortcut tiles on your Metro UI desktop in style!

Windows 8 Start Screen Customizer - set start menu wallpaper, sync it with the desktop one, add transparency etc.

INPUT

Comfort virtual keyboard pro - decent replacement for the built in OSK allows custom layouts, keys and app triggering

Comfort Hot virtual keyboard - the same as the above but this one allows macro buttons.

Comfort Keys Pro - a mix of keyboard, macro, clipboard etc.

I added my custom keyboards below. It should be compatible with all the programs listed above, but you should fiddle with the program a little to make it work.

For a gaming setup, go to: On-screen Keyboard > Typing aid and enable key repeat.

To switch different layouts (the examples I posted have the switch key included) go to Keyboard shortcuts > Set the list of keyboards

To make a custom keyboard run with a particular app, see the "Dependencies menu in settings".

If the keyboard gets closed during intro or while the game loads: On-screen Keyboard, enable "Lock"

The program is buggy esp. when resolutions get switched.

To get it back in place, try:

On-screen Keyboard > Docking

On-screen Keyboard > Advanced > Screen border

In case it's stretched:

On-screen Keyboard > Zoom

GAMES: Atom-based tablets

GREEN: fully playable, YELLOW: fully playable, custom OSK required or mild annoyances RED: has issues but is at least partially playable.

Unstoppable Gorg - available on Steam

Monopoly 2012 - available from bigfishgames.com

Westward 1-4 - playable, you need to disable any mouse device in device manager or you will get erratic input in-game - available from bigfish.com

Need for Speed 5: Porsche - stretched in fullscreen, custom OSK

Carmageddon TDR 2000 - custom OSK, mouse is ofset in menus: start dragging from the top left corner

Neighbors from hell - 800x600 only, delete cinemaware.exe to get rid of pesky intro D-pad keyboard recommended - available from gog.com

Mafia 1 - driving only, custom OSK, needs virtual joystick/mousepad app for aiming.

Fallout tactics - requires HiRes Patch, without proper right click game pace might be too slow.

Requests:

The keyboard I found so far seems to behave quite inconsistently when resolutions are switched. It also doesn't come cheap, so if anyone knows a better one or plans to make one, please let me know!

Any virtual keyboards, joysticks, joypads, touchpads news are extremely welcome!

More to follow