Problems with games?
I recently bought a new 20" iMac. I upgraded the RAM to 2g and the video RAM to 256mb. I want to get a few games and with the all the postings on software issues with Intel iMacs, I was wondering if anyone can offer some insight as to if I can expect any problems with the games I want. I am reffering to the Mac versions of these games, as I am not running Windows on my iMac.
1) Command & Conquer Generals Deluxe Edition
2) RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 by Aspyr
3) X-Plane 8 Deluxe by Graphsim
Thanks all.
1) Command & Conquer Generals Deluxe Edition
2) RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 by Aspyr
3) X-Plane 8 Deluxe by Graphsim
Thanks all.
Comments
as I am not running Windows on my iMac.
You should consider it. Your drive probably has about 250GB of space, you won't even miss say 32GB. If you walk into any PC store, just look at the 300 or more games on offer for Windows and the handful on the Mac that are very poorly supported.
My brother has an iMac and was flat out against using Windows but he gave in and he's loving Half-Life 2, Farcry and all the other PC games we never got on the Mac.
It doesn't affect how you feel about running OS X, you just get the best of both worlds now.
I cannot understand PC and/or Mac gaming. There is plenty of specialized hardware for just this, and while the games you listed are exceptions to this, most PC games that even look remotely interesting usually end up being ported to the Console world eventually.
While what you say is true for the most part, There are several reasons why.
Most people who choose PC gaming over console gaming do so for the input devices. A keyboard/mouse combo can be quite a bit more precise for action shooters. And obviously strategy games just don't work for the gamepads of consoles. Along the same lines, PC users have choice. You can buy gamepads for PC's. The Xbox 360's own high quality controller works with PC's in fact. However consoles do not have the option for keyboards or mice for the most part.
Another reason is that some casual gamers just don't see the point in forking out $400-$800 for a system they will only play on occasion. But chances are they already have a PC to play on.
Now I myself have played my share of both. I've been a hardcore gamer for 15 years. And while I actually prefer consoles myself due to a physical condition that limits me from using my fingers individually of each other, I can certainly see why PC gaming is preferred.
While what you say is true for the most part, There are several reasons why.
Most people who choose PC gaming over console gaming do so for the input devices. A keyboard/mouse combo can be quite a bit more precise for action shooters. And obviously strategy games just don't work for the gamepads of consoles. Along the same lines, PC users have choice. You can buy gamepads for PC's. The Xbox 360's own high quality controller works with PC's in fact. However consoles do not have the option for keyboards or mice for the most part.
Another reason is that some casual gamers just don't see the point in forking out $400-$800 for a system they will only play on occasion. But chances are they already have a PC to play on.
Now I myself have played my share of both. I've been a hardcore gamer for 15 years. And while I actually prefer consoles myself due to a physical condition that limits me from using my fingers individually of each other, I can certainly see why PC gaming is preferred.
I agree entirely. I've just used Bootcamp myself and the install times and crashes are far away from a console experience but I just love the keyboard and mouse. I honestly don't know why they don't officially support keyboards and mice on consoles.
I agree entirely. I've just used Bootcamp myself and the install times and crashes are far away from a console experience but I just love the keyboard and mouse. I honestly don't know why they don't officially support keyboards and mice on consoles.
The main reason is that as far as the hardware goes in recent consoles, they're basically PC's already. Aside from the mother board they've got multi-core CPUs, a dedicated graphics chip, and more system ram than the average user has in his PC running an OS.
The Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 are already more powerful than most gaming PC's you can build/buy today at a mere fraction of the cost. The PS3 has already been confirmed to run Linux. So if they have a keyboard and mouse, what's to stop millions of people from buying PS3's and 360's, and using them as their home PC?
In all honesty, the line seperating these two markets has steadily been thinning. I think Microsoft knows this, which is why the Xbox 360's goal is online play and media center experience.
But we've gone way off topic here...
To answer the OP, Yes, all three games run fine on an Intel based iMac. But I agree you're probably better off using Boot Camp. Wider selection of games. And while I hate to admit this, being an Apple loyalist.... 3D games is something OS X does very poorly. Which kind of baffels me at the same time as one of OS X's strong points is creative 3D rendering...
Here is a list of all Mac games that run on Intel Macs. Some have Universal Binary updates, while others have such low requirments, a patch isn't even needed.
http://guides.macrumors.com/Universal_Binary_Games
3D games is something OS X does very poorly. Which kind of baffels me at the same time as one of OS X's strong points is creative 3D rendering...
DirectX
Mac games are usually ported from PC games which are usually built for DirectX instead of OpenGL.
Sebastian
Why don't PC games just play off the CD/DVD like console games do anyway? It would save a LOT of hard drive space. Plus most games require the CD to be in the drive now anyway for anti-piracy reasons. I can't really see the loading times being much longer than they are now.
Obviously a lot of people would perfer to have it on the hard drive... But maybe give the option?
Actually... This brings something to mind that I'm unsure of...
Why don't PC games just play off the CD/DVD like console games do anyway? It would save a LOT of hard drive space. Plus most games require the CD to be in the drive now anyway for anti-piracy reasons. I can't really see the loading times being much longer than they are now.
Obviously a lot of people would perfer to have it on the hard drive... But maybe give the option?
I think they compress it to get it onto the Disc and then waste as much HDD as possible once you stick it in your drive.
The Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 are already more powerful than most gaming PC's you can build/buy today at a mere fraction of the cost. The PS3 has already been confirmed to run Linux. So if they have a keyboard and mouse, what's to stop millions of people from buying PS3's and 360's, and using them as their home PC?
The consoles make very bad general computers. They have really specialised hardware that is hard to program for. They benchmarked Linux on a PS3 and it came out slower than a single 1.6GHz G5 - they actually likened the performance to an 800MHz Pentium 3 I believe. They don't have much Ram either - the 360 has the most at 512MB and that is shared with the GPU.
I think eventually consoles may take over as home computers but probably not this generation. Can you imagine where that would leave Apple though or even Microsoft if they have Linux on them? Think if you could pick up a machine that played next gen games and performed competitively with high end desktops for a few hundred pounds.
Wouldn't it be funny if after all the Mac vs Windows debates that have gone on that everyone ends up running Linux on consoles and Apple and Microsoft are forced to sell just software for it.