Mac & Gaming


Recommended Posts

Well for the Sims 3, I have no doubt it'll be compatible with both Mac and PC. Spore is, and since it's the same company, I see them making Mac versions of every of their games again in the future.

I don't have the record of how many games are supported and are not, so I can't say if the support is better or not.

Honestly, I would install Windows as a Gaming OS only and OS X as a development and work environment. I just hope Snow Leopard will bring more benefits to game developers, because it's the only real huge downside I can find in OS X. The rest of the OS is just awesome, you won't regret it!

Much like Linux, Macs aren't and never will be a gaming OS. If you want to game, the only (and best) option is Windows.

Nahhh, the best (and different) way to game is to buy a video game console. ^^ It won't lag, you'll have a controller, not 256 buttons like on a keyboard, you don't really have to install them, to activate them and so on and you'll be able to play on your huge flat TV screen with native in-game resolution.

According to me, since the PS3, the Wii and the 360 were released it's the best time ever to game. In 1 year, PCs will start to dominate slowly again and then after a couple of years next-gen consoles will be out and PCs will go down for another couple of years.

Consoles are awesome in the beginning of their cycles :p

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/671398-mac-gaming/#findComment-589817122
Share on other sites

No I think it's really a technical issue. MS has made DirectX for their platform, which apparently is much better than developping OpenGL stuff. I have no knowledge in game designing, but that's what a couple of people said.

If Apple decided to invest a little more, they could develop an awesome platform similar to DirectX and better than OpenGL... because we know that when they really decide to work on something big and when they put all their effort in it, it succeeds. When they're not serious about it, it's not even worth looking at it, like games for Mac.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/671398-mac-gaming/#findComment-589818322
Share on other sites

Mac is a gaming platform, depending on what games you play :p Hopefully things will improve in future..

Sims 2 is available for Mac and the website might have said Sims 3 will be - look it up (I can't remember it exactly). You should also look up Bioshock on their website, look for system requirements.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/671398-mac-gaming/#findComment-589818344
Share on other sites

No I think it's really a technical issue. MS has made DirectX for their platform, which apparently is much better than developping OpenGL stuff. I have no knowledge in game designing, but that's what a couple of people said.

...

Well, It's different, but I wouldn't say it's better (e.g. OpenGL had better shaders before DirectX did)

That and OpenGL is cross platform, DirectX is Windows only (Well, Windows and Xbox, if you're developing for the PS3, you're using OpenGL)

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/671398-mac-gaming/#findComment-589818654
Share on other sites

There is no technical reason why OS X and Linux don't have many games, it's solely a market issue.

Yes, there is a technical reason, its called directX and its a propriety microsoft API and they will never allow it to be for anything other than Winblows and 360.

Although some games do get ported, and a lot of openGL games are available on OS X. Quake3 and Doom3 engines are openGL and many games based on those engines are on Mac like Call of Duty, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Doom 3 (obviously), Quake 4, Prey etc...

You would be surprised how many OS X games there are.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/671398-mac-gaming/#findComment-589818688
Share on other sites

Yes, there is a technical reason, its called directX and its a propriety microsoft API and they will never allow it to be for anything other than Winblows and 360.

Although some games do get ported, and a lot of openGL games are available on OS X. Quake3 and Doom3 engines are openGL and many games based on those engines are on Mac like Call of Duty, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Doom 3 (obviously), Quake 4, Prey etc...

You would be surprised how many OS X games there are.

All true. It's a shame really the MacPro is a beast of a machine and runs games really well. Apple have tried a few things in the past to push the Mac into gaming territory, but they ultimately don't seem that bothered about it.

I think that with the growing market share we will see more and more games on OS X but the lack of Direct X will always be a problem, especially for smaller studios who do not have the money to convert to Open GL.

The only way this would change, is for Microsoft to licence Direct X, which is never going to happen.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/671398-mac-gaming/#findComment-589818740
Share on other sites

Converting your renderer from DirectX to OpenGL is going to cause issues for anyone, even large companies.

Ideally you'd write your game using OpenGL from the very start, that gives you the best compatibility.

I was more thinking about the financial side of doing a conversion, but you make a valid point.

I don't know the differences of Direct X and Open GL. Is there a valid reason (from a technical point of view) for using Direct X over Open GL.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/671398-mac-gaming/#findComment-589819294
Share on other sites

But if OpenGL is the framework that is available on every single platform, I mean, even though it's a little more complicated, why just not develop every single game with OpenGL and then commercialize it on everything that exists?

Obviously one of the reasons why Mac games aren't popular is because Macs aren't popular enough. The thing is, their market is growing like 30-40% every year. But does the number of games grow that much too?

Also, even with those integrated video cards in MacBooks and Mac Minis, I'd be ready to say that Mac video cards in general are equal or better than those in PCs, in general that is. What I mean is, there are so many PCs that come with integrated crap that it lowers the average a lot, otherwise PCs would have the best hands down. On the other side, there isn't a Mac (except the Mac Pro) with an extreme graphic card, so maybe in fact both camps are equal, meaning that it is not a problem of "bad hardware on the Mac".

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/671398-mac-gaming/#findComment-589820106
Share on other sites

DirectX provides a complete framework to interact with the video card, just like OpenGL. EXCEPT that DirectX goes the extra mile: it provides ways to interact with the Windowing system, the input mechanisms (keyboards, mice, controllers, etc), audio devices and spacial audio. not to mention that it does that in a single package and in a very intuitive way.

OpenGL is just the 3D rendering backbone... it doesn't provide interaction with files for textures or windows or even input.

in this sense DirectX is way more complete and more well documented (Microsoft can write good documentation).

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/671398-mac-gaming/#findComment-589832446
Share on other sites

I'm not sure about "good documentation". I'm learning VB.net (console mode) right now for school and honestly, the PHP documentation is light-years better and more simple than what MS did with VB.net

But yeah I agree that at least MS can write a "complete" documentation, as for OpenGL... I'm not sure.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/671398-mac-gaming/#findComment-589833674
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Louis Rossmann suing Samsung over "990 Pro SSD warranty scam" by Sayan Sen Back in 2023, if you recall, Neowin reviewer Robbie Khan had a dispute with Samsung over his 990 Pro SSD, which was rapidly losing its health. After significant back and forth, the tech giant had finally released firmware to "stop" the issue. Interestingly, its previous flagship at the time, the 980 Pro was also facing problems leading to two consecutive sets of firmware fixes. Three years later, it looks like a similar conflict has now broken out between tech repair entrepreneur YouTuber Louis Rossmann and Samsung, as it has escalated into a threatened lawsuit after the company allegedly refused to appropriately replace a failing 990 Pro SSD that remained under warranty. According to Rossmann, a 4TB Samsung 990 Pro NVMe SSD purchased for approximately $330 less than two years ago, began experiencing major hiccups and issues, even though he claims it had been operated under ideal cooling conditions. It was installed in a RAID 1 array and cooled by a heatsink and dual high-speed fans. However the drive reportedly started dropping out of the array, exhibiting controller-level failures that eventually became not useable in any meaningful way. Rossmann said Samsung’s support process was marked by delays and confusion from the very start. After initially contacting the wrong regional support channel, he was redirected to Samsung’s memory support division where he submitted detailed diagnostics, logs, and proof of purchase. Rossmann runs a repair company and owns an ACE Lab PC-3000 machine, which is a professional-grade data recovery equipment. As such, he had been confident in his diagnostics. Samsung even seemingly acknowledged that later. Regardless, Rossmann claims that his initial support ticket was automatically closed before a full 24-hour response window had elapsed, forcing him to reopen the case and resubmit documentation. The controversy however intensified further from here after Samsung accepted the drive for warranty evaluation but later returned it with a repair report stating that the drive had passed its testing and that the SSD had been verified as functional. Rossmann strongly disputed those claims citing that his own independent testing on PC-3000 showed write speeds reducing to as low as 40–60 MB/s before the drive failed entirely. Samsung subsequently informed him that the SSD had been reset and reflashed, passing internal stress tests. However, the company also stated that replacement units were unavailable due to an industry-wide memory shortage and suggested that a refund process could be initiated if further testing confirmed the fault. Thus, to settle, the company offered a refund of $330, the amount that was initially paid by him to make the purchase. Here, Rossmann pointed out the seeming hypocrisy of the tech giant as in how no Samsung drive was apparently allocated for warranty replacements, but they were abundantly available for retail sales especially when using business accounts. As you can see, Rossmann is indeed right, there are Samsung 990 Pro 4TB SSDs on Amazon currently for $950 (shipped and sold by first-party Amazon US itself), and they are also available on Samsung's own store too, albeit for an even higher price of $1100. Thus Rossmann argues that Samsung’s inability or unwillingness to provide a replacement while the same model remains available for purchase at significantly higher market prices reflects a failure to honor its warranty obligations. He has issued a formal 60-day notice and says he intends to file suit in Texas small claims court, asserting that companies should face greater costs for denying legitimate warranty claims than for fulfilling them. You can check out the full video titled "Samsung's 990 Pro SSD warranty policy is a scam; I'm taking them to court," at the link below. Source and image: Louis Rossmann (YouTube) As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases
    • Was it too much to ask to show the icon in this article?
    • Frankly, I blame whoever is writing such articles. "A big improvement/update and/or new feature is now available to everyone! Also, use this unofficial tweak tool to enable it because it actually isn't available to you yet officially and might not in fact even be entirely ready or whatever, hence why it is perhaps not enabled for you*. But it's great and you should enable it!" I mean there's nothing wrong with sharing info about some feature you might need to enable via unofficial means, of course. It's just that these articles tend to essentially end up being two news pieces in one, and one of them tends to be a bit misleading. (*Yes, yes, the "it's a controlled rollout!" thing. Not a fan of that one either. The argument, not the actual rollout.)
    • Thank you. Will do. I read in the release notes that editor config might be at play here.
    • Actually, I think even Microsoft doesn't know how to control it
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      davidbazooked earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Jamswaz earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Jamswaz earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Rookie
      Marzoid went up a rank
      Rookie
    • Community Regular
      coch went up a rank
      Community Regular
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      508
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      185
    3. 3
      +Edouard
      157
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      83
    5. 5
      ATLien_0
      75
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!