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- Go to google and search how to open a file from an unidentifiable developer should give u instructs on how to change.
- A Mac looks expensive, but it's not if you look what you get for your money. It is entierly up to you if you buy one or not. I guarantee you'll have a lot fun with it, next to programming. If you want a cheap Mac, just buy a Mac Mini for 500 dollars, which you can connect to the Display you already own.
- Put the BOOM into BLOOM. Get swept up into spring with a petal-powered collection – and keep the bloom alive! The limited-edition lineup – featuring exclusively designed sakura-printed packaging – includes cherry blossom-scented Prep + Prime Fix+, High-Light Powder, Lipsticks, Lipglass and an Eye Shadow x 9 palette.
This item: Cosmic Byte Blazar Headphone with Flexible Mic for PC, Mobiles, PS4, Xbox One, Tablets (Red) by Cosmic Byte Windows Vista / 8 / 10 / XP / 7, Mac OS X 1 082,00 ₹ In stock. Sold by Cloudtail India and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.
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| Super Mario Galaxy | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Nintendo EAD Tokyo |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Series | Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Galaxy |
| Platform(s) | Wii |
| Release date(s) | JP November 1, 2007 NA November 12, 2007 EU November 16, 2007 AUS November 29, 2007 RU KO September 4, 2008 |
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, Co-op (2) |
| Input methods | Wii Remote + Nunchuk |
| Compatibility | 4 Playable |
| GameIDs | RMGP01, RMGK01, RMGJ01, RMGE01, RMGR01, RMGC01 |
| See also... | Dolphin Forum thread |
Super Mario Galaxy is a 3D platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the third 3D platformer in the Mario series, after Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. A sequel, Super Mario Galaxy 2, was released in 2010. The game follows the protagonist, Mario, on a quest to rescue Princess Peach from the game's primary antagonist, Bowser. Levels are galaxies filled with minor planets and worlds, while gameplay is updated with gravity effects and new power-ups. Super Mario Galaxy was first shown at E3 2006 and enjoyed a high level of pre-release awareness. The game has been hailed by several gaming websites as one of the best video games of all time.
Cosmic Bloom Mac Os 11
- 1Emulation Information
- 2Problems
- 3Enhancements
- 4Configuration
Emulation Information
Language Region Mismatch
Super Mario Galaxy might not start unless the Wii language setting is set to a value matching the region of the game. With Dolphin 5.0-10866 or newer, the language setting will automatically match the region of the game, and there is a new setting (Options > Configuration > General > Allow Mismatched Region Settings) used for optionally disabling this behavior. On older versions of Dolphin (or if Mismatched Region Settings is turned on), you may need to change the Wii language setting manually (Options > Configuration > Wii > System Language) and choose a compatible language by region:
- Japanese for NTSC-J (RMGJ01)
- English, Spanish, or French for NTSC-U (RMGE01)
- English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, or Dutch for PAL (RMGP01)
- Korean for NTSC-K (RMGK01)
Inverted Reflections
Certain materials that reflect Mario have inverted reflections, refer issue 3106. This issue actually also exists on real hardware, so it's not an emulator bug.
Wii Remote Lag When Collecting Starbits
Wii Remote slows down when collecting starbits. To remedy this, go to Dolphin Controller Configuration Window and disable (untick) Enable Speaker Data and this will mute the Wii Remote speaker, fixing the starbit slowdown problem. Seems like it might have something to do with the computer's Bluetooth dongle not granting enough bandwidth for the Wii Remote to receive the sounds and transmit controls at the same time. It's a problem bound to PC hardware and driver. This is fixed by using Bluetooth Passthrough.
Problems
Cosmic Mario/Luigi Holding a Shell
In Underwater Cosmic Mario/Luigi Race of Sea Slide Galaxy, the shell that Cosmic Mario/Luigi holds will have messed-up textures. To fix, uncheck 'Store EFB Copies to Texture Only'. See issue 9113.
Pictures on the Wii Message Board
When taking a photo in the Star Chart, 'Store EFB Copies to Texture only' must be disabled to allow the photo to be saved correctly and displayed on the Wii Message Board.
Boss Roars
Boss roar effects are not visible. See issue 8327. Fixed by 5.0-14041
Viewing the Sun
Viewing the sun will cause serious performance hits due to the way EFB is used. This was fixed in 5.0-9741 and 5.0-9735.
Enhancements
HD Texture Pack
Project was almost complete but now seems to be abandoned.
Bloom Effects
In the galaxy overview, Bloom effects are applied. These are not displayed correctly if a higher IR than 'Native (640x528)' is used. To display Bloom effects correctly, the improvement 'Scaled EFB copy' must be deactivated.
Configuration
Only configuration options for the best compatibility where they deviate from defaults are listed.
Graphics
| Config | Setting | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Store EFB Copies to Texture Only | Off | Support Wii Message Board images; fix Cosmic Mario/Luigi Shell; show Mii face icons |
Version Compatibility
The graph below charts the compatibility with Super Mario Galaxy since Dolphin's 2.0 release, listing revisions only where a compatibility change occurred.
Testing
This title has been tested on the environments listed below:
| Test Entries | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revision | OS Version | CPU | GPU | Result | Tester |
| r6505 | Windows 7 | Intel Core i7-930 @ 3.8GHz | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 | Super Mario Galaxy on Dolphin (720P) Full Speed | PSConsoleGamer |
| Ishiiruka-420 | Windows 7 | Intel Core i5-4460 @ 3.2GHz | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti | Played a few stages in the 2nd galaxy, using an HD texture pack. Excellent performance! 60FPS with rare, small FPS drops (that's just the nature of emulation). Here are my settings and DualShock 4 config: http://i.imgur.com/upIOz11.png | Jodeth |
| r6505 | Windows 7 | Intel Core i7-930 @ 3.8GHz | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 | Super Mario Galaxy on Dolphin (720P) Full Speed | PSConsoleGamer |
| r6782 | Windows 7 | Intel Core 2 Duo 6700 | ATI Radeon HD 4800 | 30FPS | |
| r7310 | Windows 7 | Intel Pentium E5300 @ 2.6GHz | ATI Radeon HD 5450 | Playable 30-35FPS(PAL)--> 50-65% speed with DX9 plugin,Open CL,Disable fog you can have a speed up of 5-6FPS with EFB to CPU access disable but you're unable to use the star pointer, reduce the resolution to have more speed | Markon89 |
| r7409 | Windows 7 | Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 @ 3.8GHz | NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT | 80%-100% FPS with LLE, HLE runs full-speed, but has sound issues | GothicIII |
| r7413 | Windows 7 | Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 @ 2.66GHz | NVIDIA GeForce 460 GTX | 50% - 70% in DX9 with settings described in this wiki + Frameskip 1 in 1280*720; 75% - 100% in DX11 with same settings and Frameskip 1 in 1680*1050 | AssAsSin |
| 3.0 | Windows 7 | Intel Core i7-920 @ 4GHz | AMD Radeon HD 5770 | Runs at full speed about 85%-90% of the time there are slow downs in certain parts of galaxys it depends some have more then others and slow down in more drastic way but fully playable and enjoyable. For graphics Using dx9 rendering with 2 times native resolution 1xAF everything else at stock. For DSP using LLE recompiler which is needed for music not to cut out. Using dsound backend and 48000hz. LLE of thread gives big boost in speed but makes the game very unstable with constant freezing. In the game properties I have accurate VBeam Emulation check on gives a speed boost and Disable Wii Remote speaker is checked. | DJHeadshot |
| r7670 | Windows 7 | Intel Core i5-2500K @ 4.1GHz | AMD Radeon HD 6850 | Runs 100% at 1x Native. Music occasionally will stop. | MegaJump |
| 3.0-201 | Windows 7 | Intel Core i5-2410M @ 2.3GHz | NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M | The game itself is seriously epic, but only Direct3D 11 can run the game with shadows. Direct3D 9 and OpenGL leaves the shadows imprinted in the same spot it appeared from save states. Aside from that, the FPS ranges from 30-60 depending on how many things are on the screen. | Doubled-revolutions |
| 3.0-415 | Mac OS X 10.6.8 | Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.13GHz | NVIDIA GeForce 9400M | Strangely, this is the only game where graphics are rendered better by turning lighting off. On makes most items look closer to original (glow), but Mario looks all weird with white patches on him. Game is completely playable, though slow; about 50-60%. Update: literally no music at all if not using LLE, which also reduces speed by 20-30%. Seriously. | Ac |
| 3.0-600 | Windows 7 | Intel Core i5-3570K @ 4.2GHz | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 275 | Runs great. With DX9, DSP LLE on thread, EFB to Tex, 3X native res, and 1080p; I get 100% speed. | MayImilae |
| 3.0-688 | Windows 8 RP | Intel Core i7-3770K @ 4.2GHz | AMD Radeon HD 7970 | DX9, 1080p, 4x internal resolution + above tweaks, DSP LLE (on thread), Lock Threads to Cores, Real Wii Remote. Game runs fullspeed all the time and looks absolutely gorgeous! | Alucryd |
| 3.0-688 | Mac OS X 10.7.3 | Intel Core i5 @ 2.5GHz | AMD Radeon HD 6750M | Very Slow 50-60% Playable. Runs OK at 1080p. Music plays for a few minutes then goes off. | JPS58 |
| 3.0-690 | Windows 7 | AMD Phenom 960T X4 @ 5.033GHz | AMD Radeon HD 6950 | OpenGL, 1680x1050, 3x internal resolution, Anti-Aliasing 16xQCSAA, Anisotropic 16x, Scale EFB copy, DSP LLE (on thread), EFB Copy to texture, OpenMP, OpenCL, Disable Per pixel depth, Real Wii Remote. Game runs fullspeed 100%,it looks awesome! | ChrisGamer |
| 3.0-799 | Windows XP | Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3GHz | NVIDIA GeForce 7300 LE | 35-20FPS Average. Seriously horrible slowdown issues, And Dolphin was actually on the verge of crashing one time when slowdown became really bad at the Beach Bowl Galaxy, Because my GPU got desynced. | |
| 3.0-845 | Windows 7 | Intel Core i5-2500K @ 4GHz | AMD Radeon HD 5770 | Fullspeed with Skip EFB Access from CPU ON (checked). However you'll have to switch it OFF in places where you forced to pull stars (will be slower). | Animus |
| 4.0 | Windows 8 | Intel Core i7-4700MQ @ 3.4GHz | NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M | Managed to get 1080p at nearly 60FPS at all times on Lenovo y510p. I use a cooling pad. DX9, LLE with to Thread checked, DSound. Vsync, 16xAS, no AA, scaled EFB, ignore format, skip CPU unchecked, EFB to RAM with caching checked speeds up in most cases in this game. all 'other' hacks checked except disable alpha. 3x IR. | Bobby |
| 4.0 | Windows 7 | Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4GHz | NVIDIA GeForce GT 210 | High FPS at low resolutions, 35-45FPS | |
| 4.0 | Windows 7 | Intel Core i5-3470 @ 3.2GHz | AMD Radeon HD 7870 | Full HD 1080p 60FPS with HLE audio plugin (~40FPS with LLE) + 4xAA, OpenGL, default settings and real Wii Remote | |
| 4.0.2 | Windows 7 | Intel Core i7-4770 @ 3.4GHz | AMD Radeon HD 7770 | Played the entire game and made videos of all 120 stars. Watch all the videos here: LINK to video playlist where I collect all 120 stars using Dolphin (1080p) | FreeEmulator |
| 4.0-817 | Windows 7 | Intel Core i5-2500K @ 4.4GHz | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 | In RMGK01(KOR Region), Wii Remote Cursor Twitching/Refresh cut off problem(when seems 'in-game overload', not Dolphin or system) is still remain since 2.0-xxx to now. it's Huge problem to can't play the game even frame late is perfect, i think it's some of lock or code change(for Anti Piracy/Emulating) gap from before Release Region's version (during 1 Years). it's same case like Twilight Princess (Wii) KOR Version(RZDK01) (this one is 2 and half Years), default settings and real Wii Remote plus | hong620 |
| 4.0-1857 | Windows 8.1 | Intel Core i5-3570K @ 4.2GHz | AMD Radeon R9 270 | Runs at 55-60FPS with these settings: Framelimit Audio, DSP LLE, DSP LLE on Seperate Thread, OpenGL, V-Sync, 3x Native Internal Resolution, 16x Anisotropic Filtering, Virtual External Frame Buffer, OpenMP Texture Decoder, Emulated Wii Remote | Argonitious |
| 4.0-3599 | Windows 7 | Intel Core i5-4690K @ 4.2GHz | AMD Radeon HD 7750 | Perfect emulation (minus Wii Remote speaker). 2 player works great too. 3x Native, No AA, 16x AF, DSP LLE on thread. | Keller999 |
| 4.0-5875 | Windows 8.1 | Intel Core i7-4790K @ 4.4GHz | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 | 60FPS all time with some slowdowns to 50FPS | boooi |
| 5.0-rc-34 | SteamOS 2.60 | Intel Core i3-4170 @ 3.7GHz | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti | OGL, 3x IR, no other enhancements, NTSC-U, DSP LLE. Slight slowdowns in busy situations, and the boss motion blur effect is still missing, but otherwise perfect. Use LLE audio or the borked audio levels will detract from the experience. | monojin |
| 4.0-6953 | Windows 10 | Intel Core i5-3570K @ 4.5GHz | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | Vitalicks | |
| 4.0-8120 | Windows 7 | AMD Phenom II X4 @ 3.7GHz | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 | Almost perfect! The only small tiny issue I have detected was the missing motion blur effect during the roar shock wave which can be seen in boss fights e.g. Dino Piranha scream after the egg shell broke. Instead of the motion blur wave the screen just gets a bit darker. | Kenny |
| 5.0 | Windows 10 | Intel Pentium G3258 @ 4GHz | AMD Radeon RX 480 | DirectX 12 16GB RAM 1080p Have Fun, 60 FPS Constantly (Ishiiruka Dolphin) | Xbrox |
| 5.0 | Windows 10 | Intel Core i7-3770 @ 4GHz | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 | It runs bloody perfect on this Build. With the new features of Dolphin 5.0 there are only two or three noticeable bugs left. I can play the game at constant full speed in 1080p without a problem. | DerFetteVonGamer |
| 5.0 | Windows 10 | Intel Core i5 4460 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 | Runs perfectly on DX12, 60FPS 100% speed. Minor slowdowns during bosses/super intensive areas with DX11/OpenGL. | destersmek |
| 5.0 | macOS 10.12 | Intel Core i5 @ 2.7GHz | Intel Iris 6100 | Playable at 50-60% speed. Using default settings, whenever you are moving between the planets or the space is within camera's reach, FPS drops significantly. The sound is constantly stuttering. Having more than 5 starbits on screen leads to unbearable performance drops. | DevilDimon |
| 5.0 | Windows 10 | Intel Core i5-6200 @ 2.3GHz | Intel | Completely playable ONLY IF YOU TICK 'Skip EFB access from CPU', without ticking this you will get frequent and big frame drops, (See section above though, this options prevents you from selecting level so you have to toggle it on and off when playing). 60fps@720p DirectX12. Some times you get a very small frame drop and audio stutter but no biggie, reduce resolution to native if you are picky. | Myusername |
| 5.0 | Windows 10 | Intel Core i7-6700k @ 4.5GHz | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 | Runs at a smooth 1080p 60FPS on DX12 with 8x MSAA and High-resolution texturepack. The only problem I've seen is a crazy amount of lag from the screen distortion you get when you jump into icy-cold water. Other than that, the game runs and looks great, almost like an official remake of the game. | PokerulerPlayz |
| 5.0-10413 | Windows 10 | Intel Core i5-4670K @ 4.3GHz | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 | 110FPS with Dual core, D3D12, 3x IR, 4x SSAA, 16x Anisoptropic filtering, HLE audio + Cubeb and EFB to texture only. Some visual issues (Same as wiki) but runs smoothly. Looking at the sun and jumping in icy-cold water don't cause massive lag anymore, though fps still dips a bit. | Miksel12 |
Gameplay Videos
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This post has not been edited by the GamesBeat staff. Opinions by GamesBeat community writers do not necessarily reflect those of the staff.
Editor's note: While I'm proud to have been a Mac ownersince the computers running HyperCard at my junior high school blew me away, I've always been disappointed by the state of gaming on the Mac. Richard's insightful and in-depth history of Mac gaming sheds light on why I — and most other Mac-owning gamers — feel that way. -Brett
The Mac isn't exactly known for its ability to play games. And given the repeated snubbing from big publishers and developers in recent years, you can easily understand why. But the Mac hasn't always been a wasteland for games, sparsely populated by a handful of the PC's sloppy seconds. Over the course of three articles, I will discuss the highs and lows of Mac gaming. In this first article, I'll look at the history of Mac gaming. In future articles, I'll look closely at the current situation and try to predict the future of gaming on the Mac.
The Early Days
In January 1984 Apple released the revolutionary Macintosh 128k computer, which featured an operating system that used a graphical user interface (GUI) instead of the command-line interface found in other personal computers at the time. The Macintosh's monochrome display and limited RAM restricted its potential as a games machine, and Apple instead marketed it as a productivity machine — they were very careful to avoid having the Macintosh labeled a 'toy.' The closest thing to a game available for the first Macintosh was a desk accessory called Puzzle.
But it wouldn't be a computer if it didn't have games, and entertainment software soon emerged on the system. Text adventures and Apple Lisa ports came almost immediately, with Lode Runner — ported from the Apple II in 1984 — hot on their heels. Highlights in 1985 included Chris Crawford's seminal work Balance of Power and a port of Wizardry, while the brilliant Dark Castle came a year later, amidst a growing number of ports and original titles.
However, the Macintosh simply wasn't built for the fast, exciting, and colorful games being made for other platforms — although technically it was capable (except for that whole 'color' thing). It was designed to be a productivity machine best suited to the emerging desktop publishing field. So Mac gamers would miss out on many high-profile arcade ports and other commercial twitch-based games. Instead they got slower-paced adventure, strategy, and role-playing games. LucasArts and Sierra graphical adventures, Ultima- and Wizardry-style RPGs, and Will Wright's Sim games all found a strong audience.
Still, impressive original titles continued to emerge. A number of notable Mac-first games came out in 1987, including Scarab of Ra, The Fool's Errand, Beyond Dark Castle, and Crystal Quest, which was the first Mac game that could be played in color. More original titles and games visually superior to their PC cousins were released in the finals years of the 1980s, including an impressive port of SimCity, first-person action game The Colony, and fan-favorites Shufflepuck Café and Glider. Together with some top-notch ports of popular Apple II games, these titles helped to soften the blow of the Mac being a low priority with many leading developers and publishers.
Struggling Against the Competition
The Mac received its share of multi-platform releases, but Mac gamers often had to wait months to years for the big titles to make their way over. And it only got worse as the Apple II lessened in popularity. Rather than migrate to the Apple II's more advanced cousin (the Macintosh), developers flocked to the Amiga, Atari ST, and IBM PC, with its new Windows operating system.
It didn't take long for Macs to get color monitors and higher-resolution graphics, but by then Windows — with its vast array of cheap (and customizable) IBM-compatible hardware options — had gained a very strong advantage in market share. This made it difficult for Mac gamers to be taken seriously: No matter how boisterous they were in preaching the merits of their favorite platform, they couldn't argue with the numbers. There weren't enough people using Macs to make it a worthwhile target platform for all but the niche genres already proven on the Mac. Worse still, the Mac had to compete with cheaper machines designed and marketed with games in mind, such as the Atari ST and Amiga, and the rejuvenated console market, which included the Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Master System.
From Stackware to Killer App
One application — bundled with all Macs from 1987 onwards — soon opened the door to a new kind of gaming experience. HyperCard was branded as an all-purpose software platform, with a simple-yet-powerful programming/creation interface built upon the idea of hypertext, later popularized by the Internet. It allowed for the easy creation of interactive multimedia applications, complete with sounds, animations, graphics, and user input. Its use of 'cards' and 'stacks' made HyperCard perfect for games that used a static background (e.g. adventure and simple arcade-style games). Software created using HyperCard was typically shared on bulletin board systems and Usenet, although there were also some disk releases for more commercial or polished applications. Notable HyperCard games include Cosmic Osmo, The Manhole, and Spelunx, all of which were created by Rand and Robyn Miller, who would go on to make Myst.
Building on their HyperCard experience, the Miller brothers released Myst on CD-ROM in 1993. The game cast players as the lone explorer of a lavishly detailed but apparently deserted island of the same name. Critics praised Myst for its graphics, mature story, and engrossing experience, but derided (especially in later years) it for its obtuse puzzle design and lack of characterization and interaction. Many consider Myst the beginning of the end of the adventure game genre, mostly due to the huge number of clones and sequels, none of which overcame the original game's shortcomings.
On its way to becoming the highest-selling game of the 1990s, Myst changed the video game landscape. Games immediately started coming out on CD, with better graphics, movie cutscenes, better sound, and voiced characters. But despite first appearing on the mac, the majority of sales came from the Windows version — released two years later. Worse, the Mac shared little of the consequential boon to the computer games market, for Apple was spiralling into financial crisis — attributable to some poor business decisions, the rise of Windows, and a horribly confusing product line.
Dark Days Ahead
Were it not for signs of mismanagement at Apple, gamers likely thought bright days were ahead for Mac gaming. In a rare twist, SimCity 2000 (Maxis and Will Wright's 1993 follow-up to the original SimCity) was developed on a Mac and then ported to Windows. Bungie proved their talent and commitment to the Mac with Marathon in 1994. The same year, Ambrosia Software was founded, following the success of a highly-polished Asteroids clone called Maelstrom. Spiderweb Software and Freeverse Software were also founded in 1994, releasing one-man-team projects Exile and Hearts Deluxe, respectively. Meanwhile, in-house porting teams at Brøderbund, Infogrames (MacSoft), Microsoft, and Interplay (MacPlay) ensured that most big Windows titles would be ported quickly.
Between three talented new shareware developers, support from big publishers, and a growing number of games made on a Mac, the Mac looked like a healthy platform. But the rosy picture wasn't destined to last.
Game Over
Microsoft released Windows 95 to ridiculous levels of hype in August 1995, touting 'new' and revolutionary features long present in Amiga and Mac operating systems. Mac sales fell while PC sales rose, further increasing the divide between installed bases. Apple had no answer. They tried licensing hardware-clones (too late in the game) and hurriedly put together a major upgrade (later canceled) to their operating system. Between mismanagement, poor finances, and retreating momentum Apple simply could not compete with Microsoft.
The Mac was never a particularly strong gaming platform, but these falling sales ensured it would not be considered by any except a few die-hard developers and publishers of games. Unfortunately for those companies, retailers began refusing to stock Mac software and games, citing low sales per square inch of shelf-space (compared to Windows 95 products). Thus began a vicious feedback cycle of declining sales leading to fewer orders, which in turn brought fewer sales (and so on). It took its toll Mac game companies. On April 29, 1998, MacPlay (by far the biggest Mac game publisher at the time) announced its closure by parent company Interplay.
Commentators and analysts wrote Apple off; market share was shrinking, the Mac operating system was outdated, and the company was bleeding money. The Mac was dead…or so they thought.
The Messiah Returns
Steve Jobs became interim CEO of Apple on July 9, 1997, having returned to the company as part of its purchase of NeXT in December the previous year. He immediately set about restructuring Apple to make it profitable again. Announced on May 6, 1998, the iMac (along with a new partnership with Microsoft) signified the return of Apple to mainstream culture. Market share continued to decline (albeit at a slower pace), but the company now had a chance of survival if its latest attempt at a major operating system rewrite could succeed. (Spoiler: it did.)
Mac Os Mojave
In the meantime, though, Mac gamers had slim-pickings. GameSpot lists just 28 Mac games released in 1998 and 37 in 1999 — consisting mainly of 'edutainment' software and ports of PC games released one or two years earlier. Undoubtedly, some games released for Mac in those years eluded GameSpot's list. But a few missing games mean nothing in the face of GameSpot's listing of 479 PC games released in 1998 and 543 in 1999. And despite the huge discrepancy in number of released titles, Mac games — whether port or original — continued to manage only an ever-shrinking fraction of the sales achieved by their PC counterparts.
While the iMac revitalized the Mac as a computer platform, it didn't do much for the Mac as a games machine. Even though the colorful new hardware was powerful enough to run the latest games, the installed base was much too low to justify continued support from the big publishers. The Mac gaming scene now consisted of little more than a few Mac-only publishers and porting companies, a half dozen successful shareware companies, cross-platform support from Blizzard, and Bungie (the popular independent developer of the Myth and Marathon games).
Then the tides began to shift. Finding a good (relatively) new game on the Mac became somewhat easier when MacPlay was revived in 2000 by United Developers LLC. They ported a flurry of Interplay games before becoming a software retail outlet in 2004. Other porting companies were also in relatively good health at the turn of the millennium, with Feral, Aspyr, and MacSoft all growing during this period. Apple even convinced id Software to release the Mac version of Quake 3 alongside the Windows version. And they promised to improve support for games technology. For a while, people believed them.
Bungie first announced Halo at MacWorld 1999. The game promised to be a third-person action/adventure for simultaneous Mac and Windows release that would prove the Mac's capacity for hardcore gaming. It wasn't to be, however, as Microsoft bought Bungie in 2000, and the game was released for Xbox in 2001 redesigned as a first-person shooter. The game eventually came out on Mac in December 2003, but that did little to remove the bitter taste in the mouths of many Mac gamers. One of the most successful, long-running, and dedicated developers of original Mac games had defected to the competition.
OS X Arrives
The long-awaited overhaul of the dated Mac OS came out in March 2001. Dubbed Mac OS X, it brought the necessary features of a modern operating system while dropping much of the baggage of its 17-year-old predecessor. It kept support for Mac OS 9 software through the 'Classic' environment (essentially, a software abstraction layer) and the Carbon API. For OS 9 games, as with other applications, compatibility with Classic was pretty hit-or-miss, with a majority of recent software working and a good chunk of older software not. Of course, that wasn't much of an issue until hardware revisions some years later dropped support for booting into Classic, by which time only a few die-hards still cared.
The changes brought by OS X were hugely significant for Apple's future and the operating system's functionality, but they had little immediate benefit to gamers. If anything, the arrival of OS X was bad for Mac gaming in the short term. Some games were not compatible with OS X without an update. Others required longer development time to ensure compatibility with both OS 9 and X.
Steve Jobs became interim CEO of Apple on July 9, 1997, having returned to the company as part of its purchase of NeXT in December the previous year. He immediately set about restructuring Apple to make it profitable again. Announced on May 6, 1998, the iMac (along with a new partnership with Microsoft) signified the return of Apple to mainstream culture. Market share continued to decline (albeit at a slower pace), but the company now had a chance of survival if its latest attempt at a major operating system rewrite could succeed. (Spoiler: it did.)
Mac Os Mojave
In the meantime, though, Mac gamers had slim-pickings. GameSpot lists just 28 Mac games released in 1998 and 37 in 1999 — consisting mainly of 'edutainment' software and ports of PC games released one or two years earlier. Undoubtedly, some games released for Mac in those years eluded GameSpot's list. But a few missing games mean nothing in the face of GameSpot's listing of 479 PC games released in 1998 and 543 in 1999. And despite the huge discrepancy in number of released titles, Mac games — whether port or original — continued to manage only an ever-shrinking fraction of the sales achieved by their PC counterparts.
While the iMac revitalized the Mac as a computer platform, it didn't do much for the Mac as a games machine. Even though the colorful new hardware was powerful enough to run the latest games, the installed base was much too low to justify continued support from the big publishers. The Mac gaming scene now consisted of little more than a few Mac-only publishers and porting companies, a half dozen successful shareware companies, cross-platform support from Blizzard, and Bungie (the popular independent developer of the Myth and Marathon games).
Then the tides began to shift. Finding a good (relatively) new game on the Mac became somewhat easier when MacPlay was revived in 2000 by United Developers LLC. They ported a flurry of Interplay games before becoming a software retail outlet in 2004. Other porting companies were also in relatively good health at the turn of the millennium, with Feral, Aspyr, and MacSoft all growing during this period. Apple even convinced id Software to release the Mac version of Quake 3 alongside the Windows version. And they promised to improve support for games technology. For a while, people believed them.
Bungie first announced Halo at MacWorld 1999. The game promised to be a third-person action/adventure for simultaneous Mac and Windows release that would prove the Mac's capacity for hardcore gaming. It wasn't to be, however, as Microsoft bought Bungie in 2000, and the game was released for Xbox in 2001 redesigned as a first-person shooter. The game eventually came out on Mac in December 2003, but that did little to remove the bitter taste in the mouths of many Mac gamers. One of the most successful, long-running, and dedicated developers of original Mac games had defected to the competition.
OS X Arrives
The long-awaited overhaul of the dated Mac OS came out in March 2001. Dubbed Mac OS X, it brought the necessary features of a modern operating system while dropping much of the baggage of its 17-year-old predecessor. It kept support for Mac OS 9 software through the 'Classic' environment (essentially, a software abstraction layer) and the Carbon API. For OS 9 games, as with other applications, compatibility with Classic was pretty hit-or-miss, with a majority of recent software working and a good chunk of older software not. Of course, that wasn't much of an issue until hardware revisions some years later dropped support for booting into Classic, by which time only a few die-hards still cared.
The changes brought by OS X were hugely significant for Apple's future and the operating system's functionality, but they had little immediate benefit to gamers. If anything, the arrival of OS X was bad for Mac gaming in the short term. Some games were not compatible with OS X without an update. Others required longer development time to ensure compatibility with both OS 9 and X.
On the other hand, the long term benefits were considerable. Apple improved support for OpenGL and Java, in addition to updating or introducing a number of other frameworks useful in game development. Then there's the addition of other features (such as memory protection and pre-emptive multitasking), which benefited games more indirectly by improving the stability and performance of the operating system.
Of course, what really matters to games is potential audience. Sales continued to rise as Apple improved their public image and brand exposure, thanks largely to the instant-hit iPod (also released in 2001). But it was generally business as usual for the Mac games industry, with a handful of developers releasing a steady trickle of games, most of which were old news for Windows or console gamers.
With market share creeping up and the Internet enabling a better distribution channel, Mac game development became slightly more profitable every year. Then Apple through a spanner in the works.
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New Beginnings: The Intel Transition
The switch to Intel architecture was met with mixed response by the Mac gaming community, far more so than previous transitions from 68k to PowerPC and from OS 9 to OS X. Some heralded the move as the savior of Mac games, as multi-platform development and porting to the Mac would be much easier — and cheaper — for developers of Windows games. This would soon be supported by the announcement that TransGaming had developed a wrapper technology, which would reduce porting time dramatically, with nothing more than some tweaking to Cider (the translation layer) required.
But others called it the final death-knell of Mac games. You could run Windows on a Mac, they argued, so why would companies bother to make Mac versions of their games? Perhaps the greatest fear of these doomsayers was that the few remaining Mac-focused developers would either run out of business or jump ship and later stop supporting the Mac — a precedent set and upheld sadly too many times by the likes of Cyan, Bungie, and Maxis.
Porting companies, among the few surviving bastions of Mac game development, feared the worst. Rather than make the turnaround for Windows ports faster, they expected a marked increase in development time, as they would initially need to support both PowerPC and Intel processors. Even when looking ahead a few years to when they could drop PowerPC support, the reduction in porting time was expected to be insignificant.
The crux of the problem was that Mac ports of Windows software tended to be slower, buggier, less-supported, missing features, partially incompatible with the PC version for mods or online play, or released months or years later — sometimes even all of the above. This was partly due to the fact that some popular middleware technologies were Windows-only, which meant that ports of games built with these tools had to use hacks and workarounds, or else drop key features. Worse still, in some areas it could be extremely difficult to find the Mac versions of popular games, which sometimes weren't available even in Apple stores. When you could find them, they were often more expensive.
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Uncertain Times
These days, you can finally run Windows on the Mac at full speed. The one big reason not to buy a Mac has been removed. Fans of the Mac operating system or Mac-only applications who need Windows for one reason or another can now have the best of both worlds, running the two systems side-by-side on the same machine. And it appears a lot of people were waiting for this possibility. Sales have risen markedly, especially for portable Mac systems.
Stay tuned for Part 2 (found here), which will look at the commercial games of the Intel Mac era and the impact of this transition on the Mac gaming landscape. You can also catch the final instalment, Endlessly Waiting For Tomorrow, which looks ahead to the future of gaming on the Mac.
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Originally published at MacScene.
