Portability engine promises Windows games for Mac
A company specializing in software portability technology has released a portability engine that is supposed to give game developers the power to deploy Windows-based games on Intel Macs almost instantly and without the need for traditional arduous porting.
On its Web site on Thursday, TransGaming introduced the "Cider" portability engine, proclaiming that: "No longer will Mac users be forced to wait months or years for the few top tier titles to get into their hands."
The Toronto-based company said Cider is so effective that publishers will be able to simultaneously deploy the Mac and Windows versions of their titles "with little to no effort", even with games already under development.
"Cider is a sophisticated portability engine that allows Windows games to be run on Intel Macs without any modifications to the original game source code," the company said. "Cider works by directly loading a Windows program into memory on an Intel-Mac and linking it to an optimized version of the Win32 APIs."
According to TransGaming's product information, developers need only to maintain one code base in order to target multiple platforms. Windows games wrapped in the Cider portability engine are said to use the same copy protection, lobbies, game matching and connectivity as the original title.
Additionally, the company said, games migrated to Intel Macs using Cider will also run on Linux under Cedega, allowing developers to forge a path to two game hungry markets at the same time.
On its Web site on Thursday, TransGaming introduced the "Cider" portability engine, proclaiming that: "No longer will Mac users be forced to wait months or years for the few top tier titles to get into their hands."
The Toronto-based company said Cider is so effective that publishers will be able to simultaneously deploy the Mac and Windows versions of their titles "with little to no effort", even with games already under development.
"Cider is a sophisticated portability engine that allows Windows games to be run on Intel Macs without any modifications to the original game source code," the company said. "Cider works by directly loading a Windows program into memory on an Intel-Mac and linking it to an optimized version of the Win32 APIs."
According to TransGaming's product information, developers need only to maintain one code base in order to target multiple platforms. Windows games wrapped in the Cider portability engine are said to use the same copy protection, lobbies, game matching and connectivity as the original title.
Additionally, the company said, games migrated to Intel Macs using Cider will also run on Linux under Cedega, allowing developers to forge a path to two game hungry markets at the same time.
Comments
They'd better port all the oldies too!
This is just the same as thier Cedega product for Linux.
Basically, the games will run, but there will be bugs, and they will be very slow! i.e. you wont be able to run them high res etc. They run about 5x slower than normal.
This is cool - but it will never brign PC gaming to the mac.
Sorry guys!
I hate to burst your bubble, but calm down everyone.
This is just the same as thier Cedega product for Linux.
Basically, the games will run, but there will be bugs, and they will be very slow! i.e. you wont be able to run them high res etc. They run about 5x slower than normal.
This is cool - but it will never brign PC gaming to the mac.
Sorry guys!
You just couldn't keep your mouth shut could you. Now look what you've done, now you made me cry. Thanks alot - DREAMKILLER.
You just couldn't keep your mouth shut could you. Now look what you've done, now you made me cry. Thanks alot - DREAMKILLER.
*edit* By the way, if you're curious, that comes out to be 7,218,473,938 Minutes, or 13724.38 years, just to get ONE game to work right!!!
Is it that wrong to think that gaming is a little silly when you're an adult? I mean, I don't think any less of someone who games, but when they start bitching about their computer because it won't game... It's just weird.
I hate to burst your bubble, but calm down everyone.
This is just the same as thier Cedega product for Linux.
That is not what their website says.
I have to say, I feel like an old fogey when people go on about gaming. Don't get me wrong, I was all about games... when I was 16.
Is it that wrong to think that gaming is a little silly when you're an adult? I mean, I don't think any less of someone who games, but when they start bitching about their computer because it won't game... It's just weird.
The two primary problems I've experienced with gaming are:
A) Experiencing a tendancy to loose touch with reality. I experienced this first hand when I was stationed in Korea in the Army. With nothing else to do really, (unless I wanted to go get drunk) I spent countless hours behind the computer engrossed in a fantasy world. It gets very hypnotic, to the point that if I now hear certain music that I played often while gaming, I remember with an almost obscene vividness the FANTASY WORLD that I was in at the time. No recollection at all of actual physical location, only the artificial location. It's kind of spooky. I suspect that may be similar in some way to what many Vietnam era veterans experience due to severe PTSD. So that's the first.
Ok, back to the dorm room chemistry! (Geeze! don't you HATE dorms?)
The two primary problems I've experienced with gaming are:
A) Experiencing a tendancy to loose touch with reality. I experienced this first hand when I was stationed in Korea in the Army. With nothing else to do really, (unless I wanted to go get drunk) I spent countless hours behind the computer engrossed in a fantasy world. It gets very hypnotic, to the point that if I now hear certain music that I played often while gaming, I remember with an almost obscene vividness the FANTASY WORLD that I was in at the time. No recollection at all of actual physical location, only the artificial location. It's kind of spooky. I suspect that may be similar in some way to what many Vietnam era veterans experience due to severe PTSD. So that's the first.
Ok, back to the dorm room chemistry! (Geeze! don't you HATE dorms?)
This is exactly how i feel about gaming. I spend enough time browsing the web, reading forums and digging articles. Thats my version of "gaming" for those who are into their games. In the end, its fun, but its all just more wasted time.
IMO consoles are best for the casual gamer, and lets face it - mac users are casual gamers. If you were a hardcore gamer, you WILL own a PC.
That is not what their website says.
Yep. Think that those who think it will be slow on Mac or Linux are wrong. I think that they are trying to get programmers to think about the way they are implementing API's so that they are compliant with all three systems. The two real catches here are that, 1) there is a lag between when Microsoft updates Direct X and when TransGaming adds support to do the same thing; and 2) Game makers like to make their games get the most out of the hardware and since there will be lag time in updating TransGaming's Cider game makers would have to be working with less than is available. But as to TransGaming being buggy I can only say that my mates think its great. And finally. If there is a way for me to run most of my Games under Mac OS, even if there was a performance hit I would. I really hate MS Windows... even though I do have boot camp.
I have to say, I feel like an old fogey when people go on about gaming. Don't get me wrong, I was all about games... when I was 16.
Is it that wrong to think that gaming is a little silly when you're an adult? I mean, I don't think any less of someone who games, but when they start bitching about their computer because it won't game... It's just weird.
Seconded.
b
Too bad that you need a AIO or a high end desk top to get good video on a intel mac.
Is it really that bad without a dedicated graphics card? seems such a pitty
However the fact that Cider is a developer product and not an end-user product has both good and bad aspects.
It is good in that it allows TransGaming to provide a more Mac like experience (for installing and running), but it is bad in that this is likely to make make 'conversions' more expensive than the 'PC' original, and it is very VERY bad in that you will not simply be able to get an off-the-shelf copy of say Halo2 and run it on your Mac. This last issue is particularly important because can anyone seriously see Microsoft working with TransGaming to allow Mac users to run their games? Never mind that logically this would increase sales (of games) for Microsoft, they absolutely will not do anything to hep Mac users even if it would make them more money.
My games have to be multiplayer for me to spend incredible amounts of time with them. Otherwise I get depressed thinking about what I'm doing.
Ha ha. I know the feeling. So here's a question for everyone: How many games do you own, and of those, how many have you actually played through to the end? Without cheating?
Me: 69 games, 24 completed, 14 of those without cheating. pretty sad, ne?
i think games are inherent to our human nature. we tend to play, to seek entertainment. playing video games is probably better than watching the tube. with games at least you're in command, making decisions, reacting. tv forces you to take a passive role.
games also come in handy when you are waiting for something/someone. ever been in an airport for two hours? one good cell phone game or a palm with games makes all the difference.
have you ever taken your wife/gf shopping? this week i went to the mall and i forgot my Palm in the car. waiting without nothing else to do is boring.
when i get home from work i like to play madden nfl 2006 on my nintendo gamecube. why? because i am not an nfl general manager/coach/quarterback/defensive tackle and it's entertaining to indulge in that fantasy world for a short period of time. it's just entertainment, just like going to the movies or dancing or posting on apple computer forums on the internet.
of course too much of anything can be a problem, but for the most part i think video games are an ok form of fun, as long as you don't forget to eat, sleep, work and shower.
I hate to burst your bubble, but calm down everyone.
This is just the same as thier Cedega product for Linux.
Basically, the games will run, but there will be bugs, and they will be very slow! i.e. you wont be able to run them high res etc. They run about 5x slower than normal.
This is cool - but it will never brign PC gaming to the mac.
Sorry guys!
Not really true. Ive used Cadega for years, even back when it was still called WineX. It works quite good for supported games. Now the main difference in Cider and Cadega is that Cadega is for end users to try to get games working. Its requiring you to do most of everything yourself. Cider is not the same thing, its a similair type package sold to the developer of the game, and the developer of the game will package it and test it and get it working right with Cider, before shipping it. The end user never even has to know Cider was invloved, itll work just like a standard OSX app. It just majorly cuts costs to make a Mac port of a WIndows game. Depending on how much time they spend making sure it runs right, it should run anywhere from 80 to 90% of the native speed it would in Windows on the same hardware.