[private_nobody]

ftp://ftp.idsoftware.com/idstuff/quake3/mac/quake3-macosx-129f-2.dmg

...and it still won't work with my b&w G3 with Radeon PCI
is anyone out there having success with this combination?

[SYN]

Well, I haven't got the same machine as you, but it seems to fix the lagging sound, and that's it.

[littlegreenspud]

I have a B/W G3 and a PCI Radeon and it does not work for me!
It starts, the screen flickers then quits.

[private_nobody]

Well, this certainly sucks because I bought my PCI Radeon specifically so this kind of crap wouldn't happen. In the xlr8yourmac.com forums, some guy with this combo noted that it works if you remove the Radeon and put the stock rage128 back in. I won't resort to that since I paid $179 for this "superior" video card. Why isn't this issue being fixed? I'm so sick of this constant crap from ATI.

[blizzard]

Seeing as how ATi doesn't even technically HAVE drivers for OS X yet, I think it would be hard to consider them 'at fault' for problems you're having with your non-standard video card. Updates from Apple are what you should be keeping your eye out for,at least until ATi pulls its act together and releases some drivers of its own.

In the meantime, Quake should continue to run just fine in OS 9, where it has its own drivers and everything.

[Chimpmaster]

Blizzard, the new beta is only supporting osx at this stage.

Most major servers are already v1.29f - so you certainly cant play q3a with os 9.x at the moment.

Actually, Im really angry at this because I play a lot of urban terror 2 on my ibook, and now Im left in a position where I either stop playing q3a completely, or purchase osx in order to continue playing it.

I think it really sux that they have done this - I suppose it forces me to upgrade to osx. Oh well, I guess i had to upgrade at some stage anyway.

That raises a second issue, how much ram will i need to run osx on my ibook (indigo). Ive got 192 mb now - is it enough for running it well? (Considering I am perfectly happy with my current os9 performance).

[blizzard]

I'm sure you already know, but as I write this there is a new Q3 129f for Classic that iD has released, so tromp on over and pick it up at your discretion. I assume the reason that the OS X version was released slightly ahead of the Classic version is that Devine and some of the boyz over at iD have settled upon X as a development environment - at least for the Mac version of the game. So it would make sense that an X version might be released a smidge before the Classic version. Don't get too worried about it; iD has pledged to support Q3 on the Classic platform, and I don't think they're going to abandon that any time soon. They've made it clear that Doom 3 will be X-only, but that's a ways off yet.

Anyways, now that that's off our shoulders...should you still decide to run X (and I say go for it - it's a pretty cool environment; a bit different to operate in but I've noticed that my computing habits are changing to suit it such that it now feels weird running around in OS 9 whenever I reboot in it to something) you WILL need more than 192 megs of RAM, especially if you are planning on running games. This OS takes an insane amount of RAM; I purchased another 128 to up my total to 256 the other day, and I'm still getting pageouts running what would be considered a light app load in any other system - web browser, ICQ, Mail, iTunes - if I fire up another app (say, the FreeHand demo). If I just have ICQ and Mail running and I open Quake 3 for a little fragging...pageouts. So, 256 would be what I consider a minimum for games...384 or even 512 would probably be near ideal for these applications. Now, don't get me wrong - X is perfectly useable with 256, and a little virtual memory never killed anyone - but it's the principle, y'know?

Hope you reach a decision that keeps you happy.

[Chimpmaster]

Thanks very much for your advice Blizzard - as always youve been very helpful.

I got that classic patch and it works, although its forcing me to use the q3 cd in the drive even though I have the full installation.

Weird, but Its not really a problem.

As for osx - hmm im holding out for now. I put my feelers out just today with an apple store thats offering a good trade in deal.

Ive got an indigo ibook with 192mb ram, airport card, base station, and 250mb external powered zip drive & an intellimouse optical and stm lapbackpack.

Im offering this for a trade in on a g4 cube with 330mb ram, 17" crt studio display monitor.

It sounds funny trading an ibook for a g4, but when you do the figures, my ibook should trade in at around $3500 AUS or $1800 US (cos of all the extras).

The cube is an ex demo one, so its dirt cheap at $2350 AUS + $300 AUS for the ram and $750 AUS for the monitor ($3400). I hope i get it, i feel like a power boost and Im willing to sell my portable to get it.

Eventually ill need to buy a radeon upgrade kit, and I will need to buy the applecare protection plan within the first 3 months as its an ex demo machine, but thats all ok.

What do you reckon blizzard? A good choice?

[blizzard]

Well, in all honesty it would depend on where your priority lies. Despite what other people think, I've always kind of liked the Cube - the main problem with it at first was the fact that it was more expensive than a Power Mac G4, even though it offered significantly less. But hey, that problem's gone now...
The baseline is, if you deem portability to be a big issue, then I can't recommend buying a Cube over the setup you have now (which seems decent to me, at least in everything besides gaming). However, if you have determined that you would prefer to sacrifice portability for raw power, then the Cube would seem to be a decent investment. Again, I'm sure you've heard all the plusses and minuses before...limited lifetime left in the Cube line (maybe), no PCI upgrade potential, and a few questionable design decisions...but overall, the Cube is a solid computer. People will tell you that the Power Mac G4 would be a better choice for games, and they would be right - but as a student, I feel the price pinch too, so I understand the weighing that you must be doing right now. All I can say is, I decided to hold out a couple more months for a Power Mac because I determined that upgradeability would be a big factor in a computer that I was planning to use all the way through university. So far, I haven't regretted my decision at all - I just have to replace the RAGE 128 with one of those flashed PC GF2MX's, or maybe even a flashed Radeon, if anyone ever figures out how to do that.
OK, now I'm blabbing. Bottom line; a Cube with a Radeon will last you a while for games, and will let you enjoy the OS X environment, rather than finding it potentially painful as it might on a G3 computer. A Power Mac would last longer, but would cost a lot more, so the decision will be yours as to which path you decide to take. You should be pretty happy either way. Until you do decide, I can't see your portable setup becoming a pain in the rear, so you do have the luxury of time on your side. All I can really recommend is that you do a lot of research and soul-searching before you make a final decision, because it's a big one and you want to wind up as happy as possible.
If you have any more questions, feel free to post them back here, or wherever - just glad I could help you

And thanks!

[Chimpmaster]

Well Blizzard, there has been a change.

The store weighed up my offer and decided they couldnt do the cube at that price (trade in) after all.

They are offering me

Imac DVSE 600, 256mb ram instead.

Its the current model in flowerpower with cdrw and 16mb ati rage ultra video.

What do you think? I had a look at macworld reviews and it seems that in terms of speedmark and q3 benchmarks, the imac is far better than the ibook.

But in terms of real world performance, maybe this isnt such a good trade. I love the portability of my ibook, and the airport is wonderful (ive got adsl at home and I love browsing or even playing diablo II outside in our alfresco area -- its great).

Maybe I should just save up and buy a playstation 2 or gamecube and save my ibook for what i bought it for, uni and work