What is the effectiveness of using the compatibility feature for older operating systems in Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8?

Question

I've been trying to research why certain compatibility features differ based on operating system so I can program a patch. I'm using the compatibility settings in the registry for Windows 95 to run a game (that of which the game was produced on) in each system. In Windows XP, the game runs perfectly. None of the scenes lag, and the sound works just as well as the scenes. I'm unsure of how it runs in Windows Vista, but in Windows 7 & 8 the compatibility feature breaks the game. I used a VM to run XP, but that doesn't effect the game's playability; real XP users have tested it. Whenever I play the game using the Win95 setting for compatibility in 7 & 8, everything lags. The music doesn't slow down during gameplay, but the graphics do. During cutscenes, they literally break. Everything pixelates, white noise and static increases volume, and the video lags every two seconds.

I therein tested it in Ubuntu Linux via WINE, and it runs better than it does in XP. I just had to use the alsa sound driver. What changed? If so, is it programmatically fixable? I'm using an amalgamation of C++, Batch and Java. If it is necessary, the video game is entitled "The Neverhood." Thanks.

Answer 1

The compatibility feature available in the shell is just scratching the surface of the "Application Compatibility" subject in Windows.

There is a tool called "Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT)" (that exist since Windows XP exist I believe) that has much more to offer, so maybe that can help.

For example here are some compatibility settings for Graphics Control Issues