Are classic games released on Steam somehow optimized for modern computers?

I'm wondering if classic games (released earlier than say 2000) on Steam are somehow optimized to run on modern OS's and/or hardware?

I own one such game, but it always takes some time to set it up and run (installing latest patches, tuning compatibility, etc) even on a new Windows OS. Even with some latest patches it does have some minor graphics artifacts.

This game is currently on sale on Steam, and I think maybe it's worth it to pay a little to remove all these annoyances? Does Steam somehow guarantee that this game will run on all modern OS's (I'm using Windows 8 Pro x64 now), have all latest patches installed and maybe even have some tweaks or unreleased patches to run it better?

Or still having original CD + patches + etc. will eventually give me same result?

Solution 1:

Not all games available on Steam work with newer PCs.

While some old games "just work" on newer OSs, many other games have compatibility issues which make them buggy or unplayable when you don't have the "required" OS. For example, the Space Quest collection has trouble running on Vista/7.

I would say that if a game doesn't state your OS specifically, you should probably check for known compatibility issues before buying it, especially since you mention you're using Win 8.

An alternative would be Good Old Games, which specifically mention a game's compatibility with newer OSs, if you're unsure whether the Steam version is compatible or not, I'd go with them.

Solution 2:

Set the game to run in a compatibility layer for XP or even 98 depending on how old the game is. This will not guarantee success but you may have more luck on newer OS's.

You'll have to go into the games local folder by right clicking on it in Steam, clicking properties, and then browsing local game content. Find the .exe within the folder for whatever game you want and right click -> properties -> compatibility -> XP or 98.