[kelso]

I just ordered a macbook. Im wondering if the original version of halo PPC version will run on an intel macbook?

Thanks

[Razgriz]

Yes it will run on a mac book i have it for mac

[Mac User #001]

It will run under Rosetta which many people say is very slow. It emulates a PowerPC so it will run on your Intel Mac. Lucky for you they just released a Universal Patch for Halo, which will work much better. You can find it at
Halo: Combat Evolved - Demos & Updates

[goMac]

Originally Posted by Mac User #001 

It will run under Rosetta which many people say is very slow. It emulates a PowerPC so it will run on your Intel Mac. Lucky for you they just released a Universal Patch for Halo, which will work much better. You can find it at
Halo: Combat Evolved - Demos & Updates

It's been out for a while actually. I remember downloading and testing the UB version last year.

It's also not free. You have to pay for Halo 2.0 and redownload the entire install cd.

[slpdLoad]

There was a recent 2.0.1 update to the universal, which supposedly fixes a lot of performance issues. It's only $5 if you download it.

[kelso]

What about half life, or any of the battlefield games?

[Madrag]

but is it "usable" (I mean, does it just lag becasue of the lack of the dedicated video card) on a macBook?

[Mac User #001]

Half-Life would have to run under BootCamp, but I'm not sure what kind of quality of game play you would get. Battlefield 1942 does not yet have a Universal patch, so you would be using Rosetta or you could use BootCamp with the Windows version. But then, if your MacBook can handle it, you might as well get Battlefield Vietnam or 2. Maybe even 2142.

[kelso]

I have battlefield Vietnam. I wasn't sure how fast it would run under bootcamp on a macbook. But any clue how fast half-life will run under bootcamp on a macbook?

[Mac User #001]

I really don't know, sorry. All I have is an iBook G4. I've never seen a MacBook before. Never tried it out. I would think Half-Life would run, just on low settings. My guess is even F.E.A.R. would run at low settings. I mean, low is incredibly low.

[Theodour]

Halo on the macbook is tolerable with the latest patch. I'm using 2.0.1, but 2.0.2 came out a few days after that.
I bought it from Amazon recently, and it was the UB version. (ver. 2), so I didn't have to pay for any upgrades.

The 2.0.1 patch sped things up dramatically from the original UB.

[kelso]

I have the original version of halo. Its not UB. Its running pretty slow, especially on online play. Its UB a lot better?

[Theodour]

I've never run the rosetta version, but I imagine the UB must be quite a bit faster.

With the latest patches: at native resolution, with most options scaled down to medium or low, and vertex shaders only, it runs smoothly.

The UB--out of the box--would stutter real bad at native resolution if there was heavy action (when you need smooth animation the most!), so make sure you get the latest updates.

I can live without the extra eye candy, but without the native resolution, it would suck.

[kelso]

Is rosetta native to Mac OS X? I know what it does. But is it an application I have to download or is it something running in the OS X background?

[TheoCryst]

Originally Posted by kelso 

Is rosetta native to Mac OS X? I know what it does. But is it an application I have to download or is it something running in the OS X background?

It's completely transparent, and you'll never see it. There is no "program" called Rosetta, and you don't need to download anything. As per Halo, the UB is very playable at lowish settings, and Half-Life 2 is very playable at even medium- to high-settings via Boot Camp.

Meanwhile, I have a question for Theodour: Since the 2.0.1 (and subsequently 2.0.2) update, I've been unable to play Halo at anything higher than Vertex Shaders only. No matter what the initial setting, it defaults back to Vertex only. I am used to playing on Pixel+Vertex, and the change is very jarring to me. Have you noticed this behavior as well?

[Theodour]

I always had vertex shaders only, for some reason. After the .0.1 update, I tried to add pixel shaders too ... it let me do it, but objects were invisible.

Like, the first scene on Halo, where you are rescuing/gathering all the dropship marines, at first I thought it looked a whole lot better, then I noticed that I couldn't walk everywhere. After I switched back to vertex only, I realized that all the large stones had been missing visually, but still blocking my way. Crazy.

Maybe the intel integrated graphics chip just doesn't do that kind of math, or something, so the places where the math is used are blank.

[TheoCryst]

Okay, I've confirmed it: any setting above Vertex-only on a MacBook, using 2.0.1 or 2.0.2, causes critical graphics glitches, including disappearing objects and seizure-inducing texture anomalies. I'll be writing MacSoft about this.

EDIT: If I can find their email address... what a god-awful website... anyone wanna help me out here?

EDIT #2: Found it - [email protected]

[TheoCryst]

For those who are curious, here is the response I received:

Hello Mike,

We are aware of the situation and are working towards a fix.

Andrew Leaf
Technical Support Representative
MacSoft / Bold Games / Destineer Studios
Welcome to Destineer

[Theodour]

Thanks TheoCryst.