Valve releases Counter-Strike: Source for Mac
The No. 1 online action game in the world, Counter-Strike: Source, is now available for Mac OS X via Valve's Steam distribution platform, and is free for those who already own it on Windows.
"CSS is a Steam Play title, so if you own it on the PC -- you own it on the Mac," the company said in a press release. "Besides PC Vs. Mac cross-platform play, this update also adds achievements, stats, engine updates and more."
To celebrate the launch of Counter-Strike: Source for Mac, the title is being offered on sale, with 66 percent off its regular price on Steam, Valve's online digital distribution storefront. Counter-Strike: Source can be had for both Mac and Windows for $6.80.
New features for the title include match and lifetime player stats and summary screens that allow players to track their kills and deaths, and compare themselves against other players. More than 140 unique achievements have also been added, covering everything from defusing bombs and winning pistol rounds to dominating a first foe.
"Always know who on your team is contributing the most with the end round MVP award," the release notes state. "And all your favorite Steam features have been added including avatar pictures, domination icons and more."
Counter-Strike-Source is an online competitive first-person shooter developed by Valve. It is a remake of the classic Counter-Strike game using the improved Source engine, which powers other popular titles like Half-Life 2, Portal, and Team Fortress 2 -- all of which are available on Steam. Counter-Strike Source was first released in late 2004, and has received numerous updates over the years, helping to keep an active community of players.
Steam for Mac got off to a strong start in May, when more than 8 percent of gamers on the system were using Apple hardware, according to Valve's monthly hardware survey. May was the first time Mac OS X users were able to officially used the Steam service within Mac oS X.
Steam is a digital game distribution platform which has more than 25 million users and offers access to 1,100 games on the PC. Developer Valve has said it will treat the Mac as a "first-tier" platform, meaning new major titles developed for the PC will release day-and-date with the Mac.
High-profile releases from Valve for Mac OS X so far have included Game of the Year award winners Portal and Half-Life 2. Valve has also made native OS X support for the Source engine available to licensees for use in their games. The company has also made its Steamworks suite of publishing and development tools available on the Mac platform, including product key authentication, copy protection, auto-updating, social networking, matchmaking, anti-cheat technology, and more.
"CSS is a Steam Play title, so if you own it on the PC -- you own it on the Mac," the company said in a press release. "Besides PC Vs. Mac cross-platform play, this update also adds achievements, stats, engine updates and more."
To celebrate the launch of Counter-Strike: Source for Mac, the title is being offered on sale, with 66 percent off its regular price on Steam, Valve's online digital distribution storefront. Counter-Strike: Source can be had for both Mac and Windows for $6.80.
New features for the title include match and lifetime player stats and summary screens that allow players to track their kills and deaths, and compare themselves against other players. More than 140 unique achievements have also been added, covering everything from defusing bombs and winning pistol rounds to dominating a first foe.
"Always know who on your team is contributing the most with the end round MVP award," the release notes state. "And all your favorite Steam features have been added including avatar pictures, domination icons and more."
Counter-Strike-Source is an online competitive first-person shooter developed by Valve. It is a remake of the classic Counter-Strike game using the improved Source engine, which powers other popular titles like Half-Life 2, Portal, and Team Fortress 2 -- all of which are available on Steam. Counter-Strike Source was first released in late 2004, and has received numerous updates over the years, helping to keep an active community of players.
Steam for Mac got off to a strong start in May, when more than 8 percent of gamers on the system were using Apple hardware, according to Valve's monthly hardware survey. May was the first time Mac OS X users were able to officially used the Steam service within Mac oS X.
Steam is a digital game distribution platform which has more than 25 million users and offers access to 1,100 games on the PC. Developer Valve has said it will treat the Mac as a "first-tier" platform, meaning new major titles developed for the PC will release day-and-date with the Mac.
High-profile releases from Valve for Mac OS X so far have included Game of the Year award winners Portal and Half-Life 2. Valve has also made native OS X support for the Source engine available to licensees for use in their games. The company has also made its Steamworks suite of publishing and development tools available on the Mac platform, including product key authentication, copy protection, auto-updating, social networking, matchmaking, anti-cheat technology, and more.
Comments
The difference between Half Life 2 in Bootcamp vs OSX is huge in terms of performance. Boot camp still gets much better textures, effects, framerate, stability, etc, but a non-intensive game like Counterstrike might be a little more on par.
Considering Windows 7 only takes about 25 seconds to load on my MB Pro, I'd still rather wait the extra 25 seconds and play games via windows. Considering most modern games are developed with DirectX 9 or 10 in mind (either developed for Windows, or Ported from Xbox360), the loss of detail and graphical- and sound- effects is just too huge to make saving that little bit of time worth it.
Anyone who doubts me should just do a comparison of Half-Life 2 in OSX (official port), OSX (gameporting team port), and Windows. I was pleasantly surprised when I could get Crysis to run with all settings on High with about 30 fps in boot camp, and also pleasantly surprised how quick and easy Windows 7 is...
I wonder how many of those 8% with Mac hardware were accessing Steam via OSX, and how many were in Boot Camp. I know lots of folks using Steam via boot camp.
The difference between Half Life 2 in Bootcamp vs OSX is huge in terms of performance. Boot camp still gets much better textures, effects, framerate, stability, etc, but a non-intensive game like Counterstrike might be a little more on par.
Considering Windows 7 only takes about 25 seconds to load on my MB Pro, I'd still rather wait the extra 25 seconds and play games via windows. Considering most modern games are developed with DirectX 9 or 10 in mind (either developed for Windows, or Ported from Xbox360), the loss of detail and graphical- and sound- effects is just too huge to make saving that little bit of time worth it.
Anyone who doubts me should just do a comparison of Half-Life 2 in OSX (official port), OSX (gameporting team port), and Windows. I was pleasantly surprised when I could get Crysis to run with all settings on High with about 30 fps in boot camp, and also pleasantly surprised how quick and easy Windows 7 is...
Are you really that stupid. If they were using windows in boot camp it wouldn't show up as OSx. It would show windows. People have been using steam in boot camp for years. This is about stream for Mac OSx
Valve makes me happy. Great job. It can only get better and better.
I hope Day of Defeat source comes out soon.
This is great news, bring it on.
I hope Day of Defeat source comes out soon.
the ship may sail by the time us mac heads get some good games
the ship may sail by the time us mac heads get some good games
I wonder how many of those 8% with Mac hardware were accessing Steam via OSX, and how many were in Boot Camp. I know lots of folks using Steam via boot camp.
Are you really that stupid. If they were using windows in boot camp it wouldn't show up as OSx. It would show windows. People have been using steam in boot camp for years. This is about stream for Mac OSx
My thoughts exactly.
There is a noticeable difference, but for me ripping Boot Camp off of my iMac is one less OS I have to maintain. Windows update is the biggest fail since cardboard canoes.
Valve makes me happy. Great job. It can only get better and better.
I couldn't agree more.
Are you really that stupid. If they were using windows in boot camp it wouldn't show up as OSx. It would show windows. People have been using steam in boot camp for years. This is about stream for Mac OSx
1) The rudeness of your response was completely unwarranted.
2) The article says "when more than 8 percent of gamers on the system were using Apple hardware," not "more than 8% of gamers were using OSX." OSX is not "hardware," so the statistic was stated poorly in the article.
3) The statistics were from a SURVEY. If people Boot Camped, it wouldn't "show up as" anything. It's a freakin' SURVEY that human beings FILL OUT.
Because of 2 & 3, it was a fairly reasonable question to ask — even if the answer to his question was a click away.
Are you really that stupid. If they were using windows in boot camp it wouldn't show up as OSx. It would show windows. People have been using steam in boot camp for years. This is about stream for Mac OSx
Hey, jackass, the article says "more than 8 percent of gamers on the system were using Apple hardware". Nothing about OSX there, and people using boot camp WOULD show up as using Apple Hardware, as the steam client scans for the full hardware profile, including keyboard, screen, audio, etc., all of which would show up as Apple hardware.
Are you really that stupid?
The difference between Half Life 2 in Bootcamp vs OSX is huge in terms of performance. Boot camp still gets much better textures, effects, framerate, stability, etc, but a non-intensive game like Counterstrike might be a little more on par.
Sadly, I agree with you. The difference between OSX and Windows 7 is very noticeable on a C2D/320M. Team Fortress 2 barely sustains 15fps with default settings at 1280x800. I won't be trashing my Windows partition any time soon.
You can see stats updated monthly at steampowered.com.
http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey