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[email protected] · Mar 20, 2006, 11:44 AM

So now that Windows is working on the new Intel Macs, my question is whether WinXP games will work on Macs now. I'd love to get my hands on some of the recent shooters that have come out for the PC.

More specifically, how about Half-Life 2? I might be wrong, but doesn't it require on-line authentication before it'll run? I loved the first Half-Life back in university and I'm dying to play that game...

zwiebel_ · Mar 20, 2006, 12:08 PM

Long way to go until you can just load a Win compatible game. Audio, and graphics drivers would have to appear. My bet is that sooner or later it will certainly be doable.

zeebe · Mar 20, 2006, 12:10 PM

yeah, it will be doable, especially now that someone has won the contest and everyone is collaborating with each other to get it working better. Last I heard though, moving windows around is REALLY sluggish because of lack of drivers for video and stuff, so no games as of yet! But lets all hope and pray that it is SOON!

Horsepoo!!! · Mar 20, 2006, 01:04 PM

It'll happen eventually...only time and the ease-of-use of the patch to get WinXP running will determine how successful this hack will become.

mr breaker · Mar 20, 2006, 01:42 PM

I've got drivers installed on my mac mini...I dont have any 3D games to test, but everything is running great.

©öñFü$íóÑ · Mar 20, 2006, 01:46 PM

of course by then, Microsoft would have already noticed all of this and is probably going to release a service pack (SP3) to counter these guys's progress......

I don't see exactly how, but i just figured that it's something to think about.

Don't get me wrong... i mean, i've always wanted to play Windows games at native speed and full compatibility on a Macintosh...... add-on boards and emulators were never the way to go in my book.

Horsepoo!!! · Mar 20, 2006, 02:08 PM

Originally Posted by ©öñFü$íóÑ

of course by then, Microsoft would have already noticed all of this and is probably going to release a service pack (SP3) to counter these guys's progress......

I don't see exactly how, but i just figured that it's something to think about.

Don't get me wrong... i mean, i've always wanted to play Windows games at native speed and full compatibility on a Macintosh...... add-on boards and emulators were never the way to go in my book.

Why would MS stop them? It's not in their favor to do so. Being able to run Windows on Mac is just more money for MS...especially if it also means being able to sell the Windows office suite (Access and other apps that aren't available in the Mac suite.)

If MS isn't willing to cooperate with them, they should at least be ****in' smilin' right now.

MS sells software...not hardware...

[email protected] · Mar 21, 2006, 10:23 AM

Those wonderful, wonderful hackers are moving along even more quickly than we thought!

http://www.tuaw.com/2006/03/20/half-life-2-on-a-mac/

zwiebel_ · Mar 21, 2006, 04:18 PM

Gah
With this progress that we should, by years end, probably have native drivers available (or so I hope at least).

david_copperfield · Mar 23, 2006, 10:08 AM

It is said that the macintel would become extremely hot if you keep running WinXp for a long time. If it is true, I don't think we can play games long on it.

Leonard · Mar 24, 2006, 12:30 PM

I knew someone was going to pop this question. As those above have indicated, it's still a ways off before you'll be running Windows games on an Intel Mac and it probably won't be easy. As many reviews by people who have done this, your not going to do this unless your a computer geek. One guy spent all weekend and several reformats of his HD trying to get WinXP running on his Intel Mac.

torifile · Mar 26, 2006, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by Leonard

I knew someone was going to pop this question. As those above have indicated, it's still a ways off before you'll be running Windows games on an Intel Mac and it probably won't be easy. As many reviews by people who have done this, your not going to do this unless your a computer geek. One guy spent all weekend and several reformats of his HD trying to get WinXP running on his Intel Mac.

I'd venture to say more than one person did that (me included.

).

Big Mac · Mar 26, 2006, 12:29 PM

Originally Posted by david_copperfield

It is said that the macintel would become extremely hot if you keep running WinXp for a long time. If it is true, I don't think we can play games long on it.

That claim makes very little sense. If a system is going to overheat under heavy loads, it will do so regardless of the OS it's running. OTOH, I do agree that running Windows is detrimental - it's detrimental to the platform and to the user, not individual Mactels.

lothar56 · Apr 3, 2006, 12:09 PM

The reason it overheats is because XP does not have the software fan controls for the MBP that OS X does, so I'm guessing XP won't turn the fan on. That is bad.

Big Mac · Apr 3, 2006, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by lothar56

The reason it overheats is because XP does not have the software fan controls for the MBP that OS X does, so I'm guessing XP won't turn the fan on. That is bad.

Nahh, I'm pretty sure the fans work. Without software control they may not be controlled properly, but at worse they would just run at full blast continuously. If the fans weren't working at all on these machines with XP running on them, then we'd be seeing reports of dead Mactels all over the place.

FurionStormrage · Apr 5, 2006, 10:08 AM

Originally Posted by Big Mac

Nahh, I'm pretty sure the fans work. Without software control they may not be controlled properly, but at worse they would just run at full blast continuously. If the fans weren't working at all on these machines with XP running on them, then we'd be seeing reports of dead Mactels all over the place.

My understanding is that your viewpoint is correct. In the absence of the driver, the fan just runs flat-out. (This is the same situation with the PC world -- at least for the machines I am used to dealing with. Fan speed is lowered by the software driver, not raised.)

For all the naysayers above who are denigrating the lack of driver support, Apple announced Boot Camp (http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/publicbeta.html) which will address that concern. I don't have an Intel-based Mac, so I don't know how well it works, or if there are any hidden gotchas as Windows attempts to access hardware that may not have been designed with running it in mind.

However, if this works and works well, I for one would ditch my Windows PC for gaming in a heartbeat.

Horsepoo!!! · Apr 5, 2006, 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by FurionStormrage

My understanding is that your viewpoint is correct. In the absence of the driver, the fan just runs flat-out. (This is the same situation with the PC world -- at least for the machines I am used to dealing with. Fan speed is lowered by the software driver, not raised.)

For all the naysayers above who are denigrating the lack of driver support, Apple announced Boot Camp (http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/publicbeta.html) which will address that concern. I don't have an Intel-based Mac, so I don't know how well it works, or if there are any hidden gotchas as Windows attempts to access hardware that may not have been designed with running it in mind.

However, if this works and works well, I for one would ditch my Windows PC for gaming in a heartbeat.

On short term, I think game developers should start worrying...but this move by Apple may make a shitload of people switch to Macs.

It might be a smooth ride...but maybe not...but in the end, it will mean more Macs out there and more reasons to develop for it.

After critical mass, ports to the Mac may start being done simultaneously.

zeebe · Apr 5, 2006, 11:10 AM

Horsepoo (can't believe I started a sentence with that

), but are you saying the game developers for the Mac should be worrying? I think so, why convert a game for the Mac now, if you can run windows on your Mac. I am happy to see this though! I know a lot of people who said they love the Mac and would buy one, but didn't want to as the games they love to play aren't supported on the mac. Looks like I need to start saving my money for a new Intel Mac!

FurionStormrage · Apr 5, 2006, 11:37 AM

Originally Posted by zeebe

Horsepoo (can't believe I started a sentence with that

), but are you saying the game developers for the Mac should be worrying? I think so, why convert a game for the Mac now, if you can run windows on your Mac. I am happy to see this though! I know a lot of people who said they love the Mac and would buy one, but didn't want to as the games they love to play aren't supported on the mac. Looks like I need to start saving my money for a new Intel Mac!

I agree with your point, though I am more inclined to predict the decline or demise of the game porting community and not the game development community. For me, it's never been the lack of games on the Mac (by definition, most bad games don't make it over -- if it flops on the PC why would the Mac version be different?); it's been that some games that I would like to play on the Mac simply don't communicate with the PC versions. For me, having a dual-bootable Mac would be the perfect solution: use the best general purpose operating system for normal use (IMO OS X) and use the best gaming operating system (IMO Windows).

littlegreenspud · Apr 5, 2006, 01:32 PM

http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/

zeebe · Apr 5, 2006, 01:53 PM

Littlegreenspud, what is your point? If you look up 4 postings and READ all of it, it was listed there.

Horsepoo!!! · 09:53 PM

zeebe, I'm saying that now that it's super easy to boot into Windows and that working drivers exist for Windows on the Intel-based Macs, people might not hesitate to install Windows on their Mac to run games.

So in the short term, the Mac game market may suffer...but everyone who had an excuse to not buy a Mac because their apps and previous games wouldn't work suddenly *don't* have an excuse anymore. Those that thought Macs were expensive can start considering the benefits of having both computing experience within a single machine.

So I'd be very, VERY surprised if the Mac market share didn't double within the next 2 years (8%+ in 2008...mark my words)...at 8%, developers would be idiots to ignore that Mac market (even if the Mac users can boot into Windows).

We're not talking 1% market share Linux here...we're talking 8%+. I predict the Mac game market will bloom in 2 years.

zeebe · Apr 5, 2006, 05:31 PM

OK, just wasn't sure what you were saying, thanks for the update! I hope you are right, I am sure the market share is going to go up, I have talked at LEAST 5 people into getting macs today (no I am not a salesman). They were friends of mine who love the Mac but hate the amount of games and other programs on the mac. As far as I am concerned about the Mac Gaming market, if the games were there for the Mac, I would buy them for the Mac, and not the PC version, even if it meant I couldn't play with PC users. I don't understand how companies can use such stupid networking tools that both systems can't play together, I mean look at COD, that is a great game, why not use their example and use their networking tools (again, I know NOTHING about this stuff!).

Brad Oliver · Apr 5, 2006, 05:41 PM

Originally Posted by Horsepoo!!!

We're not talking 1% market share Linux here...we're talking 8%+. I predict the Mac game market will bloom in 2 years.

I think you are right on the money. It'll be a rough ride for Mac game ports in the short term, but I suspect in the long term it won't matter.

icruise · Apr 5, 2006, 09:05 PM

Yes, I think that Bootcamp has just changed everything for the Mac. Games are one area where having to dual boot isn't that big of a deal, so with this one move Apple has in essence opened up the entire world of computer gaming to owners of Intel Macs. Admittedly, there is the slight inconvenience of having to provide your own copy of Windows XP, but for switchers this probably won't be that big of a deal. Being able to having the best of both worlds (windows gaming and Mac programs/UI for everything else) is huge huge huge. In fact, a lot of people are going to start asking themselves why they would want to get a standard Windows machine instead of a Mac. Why be locked into running only Windows, when you can do both? Plus, the "comfort factor" for switchers will no doubt have a big influence as well ("I can always use Windows if I decide I don't like the Mac or I need to use a Windows program").

buffswin · Apr 5, 2006, 10:34 PM

Early reports have people playing Halo2, Star Wars Battlefront II, all kinds of PC only games - and they play great!

discotronic · Apr 5, 2006, 10:36 PM

With Bootcamp I will finally get to play and finish the original Homeworld game on my Mac with sound. I have been wanting to play it again but just don't want to deal with putting it on a PC.

Scooterboy · Apr 5, 2006, 11:00 PM

Well, that sinks it. My PowerBook value, at least for resale... It's still the best computer I've ever owned. And I do like gaming on it.

The MacBook Pros haven't appealed to me until Bootcamp was announced. 'Cause for me, this will be the best of both worlds. Gamez is all I'd run in Windows. Buying XP or Vista to run them will be far less expensive than building a gaming PC. We're finally let in to the world of PC gaming. It's a sad day for Aspyr and other Mac game porters, but Aspyr also develops for PC's. If a new game is available for OS X at the same time as for Windows, I'll still choose the OS X version. Just to avoid booting Windows. But I'd wager that the days of Mac gaming (in OSX) are numbered. And probably, for many other apps as well. C'est la vie. May the chips fall where they may.

Now, if the 17" MacBook Pro includes FireWire 800, then I'm in.

zeebe · Apr 5, 2006, 11:34 PM

Originally Posted by buffswin

Early reports have people playing Halo2, Star Wars Battlefront II, all kinds of PC only games - and they play great!

Did I miss something? When did Halo 2 come out for the PC? I thought it was an xBox only game?
hmmm

Helmling · Apr 6, 2006, 12:16 AM

He probably meant Half Life 2

Super Mario · 04:26 PM

Benchmarks and stories please! Anyone playing Fifa and racing games?

eevyl · Apr 6, 2006, 06:27 AM

Benchmarks, I don't have, but the Condemned demo runs really nice on my 2Ghz MacBook Pro

Super Mario · 04:26 PM

Originally Posted by eevyl

Benchmarks, I don't have, but the Condemned demo runs really nice on my 2Ghz MacBook Pro

Cool. Can you make some screenshots of that and others?

Wiskedjak · Apr 6, 2006, 08:47 AM

Originally Posted by ©öñFü$íóÑ

of course by then, Microsoft would have already noticed all of this and is probably going to release a service pack (SP3) to counter these guys's progress......

I don't see exactly how, but i just figured that it's something to think about.

Don't get me wrong... i mean, i've always wanted to play Windows games at native speed and full compatibility on a Macintosh...... add-on boards and emulators were never the way to go in my book.

Microsoft doesn't care if you're running Windows on an Apple computer or a Dell, just so long as you're buying Windows.

It's Apple that restricts your ability to choose which hardware to run MacOS on.

buffswin · Apr 6, 2006, 08:49 AM

Originally Posted by Helmling

He probably meant Half Life 2

Yes -- I did mean Half Life 2. Thank you for correcting me.

zeebe · Apr 6, 2006, 09:49 AM

OK, I wasn't trying to sound mean, I was actually kind of excited if they released it for the PC, especially now!

olePigeon · Apr 6, 2006, 02:47 PM

I'm curious about performance in a VM. Anyone try playing games in some of those beta VMs out there?

the_glassman · Apr 7, 2006, 02:02 PM

Originally Posted by zeebe

Did I miss something? When did Halo 2 come out for the PC? I thought it was an xBox only game?
hmmm

http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/halo-2/687231p1.html

zeebe · Apr 7, 2006, 02:23 PM

Originally Posted by the_glassman

http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/halo-2/687231p1.html

Well, so it will be out sometime late 2007? I mean Vista won't be out until late first quarter or later, know microsoft. Still, we all can play it on our new Intel Macs (when we get the money for them!

)

lordhamster · Apr 7, 2006, 04:08 PM

battlefield 2 works great on my macbook pro 2.16.

Better than my old PC actually

Super Mario · 04:07 PM

Originally Posted by lordhamster

battlefield 2 works great on my macbook pro 2.16.

Better than my old PC actually

Awesome. What settings did you use?

Anyone try the latest FIFA?

turk.o · Apr 10, 2006, 02:20 AM

Originally Posted by lordhamster

battlefield 2 works great on my macbook pro 2.16.

Better than my old PC actually

this is awesome news! bf2 is the only reason my PC hangs around. what setting are you running and what performance? please tell!

torifile · Apr 10, 2006, 10:23 AM

CoD2 and KOTOR2 both run fine on my Intel iMac. Well, CoD2 has significant problems when set to use DX9 but I don't think it's a lack of power (by significant, I mean 1 fps. yeesh.) I've read that there are problem with DX9 for a bunch of people with CoD2, so I'm not the only one. But using DX7, I get very good framerates even with everything turned way up.

KOTOR2, of course, runs perfectly.

Super Mario · 04:00 PM

Please someone try FIFA or any latest EA Sports games.

Horsepoo!!! · Apr 10, 2006, 11:33 AM

FIFA is for girls...sports games are for girls...real men actually go out and play.

torifile · Apr 10, 2006, 02:02 PM

Originally Posted by Super Mario

Please someone try FIFA or any latest EA Sports games.

I would but I don't have any. Plus I just spent more money on computer games ($60) in the past 3 days than I have in the past year. I could see this being a colossal money pit for me.

Alexey (rus) · Apr 10, 2006, 02:54 PM

nba live runs pretty good at clock speeds of 450/470 on my macbook. I must say though that for some reason, i cannot set the resolution higher than 1024x768. Outside of that, runs fine with everything high, not maxed, but high. I also run 4x AA though, so that might be it too. 1024x768 w/o AA looks horrible.

turbopants · Apr 10, 2006, 03:11 PM

My neighbor who has an 17" Intel iMac is a big World of Warcraft player. He's found that running the Windows version in XP on his iMac is actually a bit faster, and with higher quality settings for the graphics. Go figure.

Chinasaur · Apr 10, 2006, 04:08 PM

Would love to see some framerates for Battlefied: 1942, Quake4 and Doom3 Win versions. Anyone?

Super Mario · 04:01 PM

Originally Posted by Horsepoo!!!

FIFA is for girls...sports games are for girls...real men actually go out and play.

Oh ya real men should go out and kill demons with a BFG too