Random Gaming Thoughts

[Hobie-wan]

The second image on this pages is a decent screenshot to compare with the DOS version. I think it looks way more smooth.

Ok, the Mac one is 640x480 when the DOS one is 640x400. There's really no reason the DOS version shouldn't have been 480 as well. Comparing with the most similar DOS one, the MAC is darker overall. Ah well.

[ExedExes]

The stark black screen and blinking white cursor of DOS used to intimidate me as a child. I thought I could "break" the computer by messing up the commands or something haha.

For me, DOS was like a playground. On our first PC, I'd try to find any EXE file I could to see if I could bring up something cool. I came up with the DOS Shell, and I also found the Qbasic, so I was playing Gorillas! and Nibbles before it was cool

[GSZX1337]

I've been playing Gratuitous Space Battles for the last couple of days and I've been stuck on one mission. I just kept getting my ass kicked by the enemy no matter how I change my deployment or configure my ships. I spent all day today playing the game off and on buying new components and tweaking my deployment, trying to find a winning strategy. Before I called it quits, I tried one last time with just one of my ships having a hull I haven't used before. I put this new ship in to see how it would alter my outcome and base tomorrow's strategy off that. I won with a nice portion of my forces remaining. Of course I win when I wasn't even trying.

[CRTGAMER]

I'm under the impression that Mac versions of games were generally superior to PC equivalents during the early 90s. While DOS games were generally limited to VGA graphics, Macs had way snazzier display capabilities. At least I remember playing Warcraft on a Mac and thinking it looked WAY better than the ugly DOS version. But once you get to the era of Windows 95 as the dominant platform for games, they became PRETTY EQUAL.

I don't really see how that's possible unless there was an EGA option and you were playing on a really old PC. 640x400 256 color VGA that the game ran in had been around for years by the time that came out. PCs were capable of higher by then too.

I think Macs had the initial lead in graphics and especially in the sounds since it had decent sound chips already inside. The PC played catchup with the optional lAdlib and eventually the Sound Blaster add on cards. Even Commodore 64s sounded better then the PC speaker IBMs and IBM clones of the day since the Soundblaster card was not a built in feature yet.

From what I gather, a lot of you folks played PC DOS and Commodore 64 games when you were young.

My family had a Mac LC.

I wonder how easy it would be to run some of this old stuff on a modern Mac computer...

Wow that is ancient, you made my iMac G3 feel like a modern computer which I still use for browsing and playing older games. As mentioned, there are emulators for the older black and white Macs.

Well I'm not talking about the Apple II, I'm referring to old ass Macs.

But you're right, it looks as if an emulator is probably needed.

If you have like, a PowerMac or PowerBook G4 or G3, early versions of Mac OS X have a OS 9 mode and/or ways to just load OS 9 outright; that should run a lot of titles even from the very early period of Macs.

Actually, the earlier version OSX did not come with OS9, just allowed OS9 to remain installed, once the BIOS is updated. Then you could have OS9 running simultaneously when needed, or reboot to just OS9. The G3 is the last of the series that can have both native OS9 and OSX coexist in the same hard drive. One of the reasons why I hang on to the G3 CRT iMac, for the older OS9 games.

[BoringSupreez]

I just realized that Splinter Cell and MGS are losing their main VA's at about the same time. It goes to show the difference in the strengths of each series' writing teams that I'm less upset over Snake's new voice than I am over Sam's. Ironside made his character, while Hayter filled a glove that someone else can adequately fill as well.

[isiolia]

The G3 is the last of the series that can have both native OS9 and OSX coexist in the same hard drive. One of the reasons why I hang on to the G3 CRT iMac, for the older OS9 games.

You can go quite a bit further than that. Power Macs could boot natively into 9.2.2 prior to the FW800 equipped MDD G4s. iMacs are harder to tell apart, but basically the G4s from 2002 and earlier can. Powerbooks swapped with the case design - Titanium shell G4s will, Aluminum won't.

Others are more varied. No Mac Minis can boot OS 9 natively, for example. You can look per-model on Everymac.

That being said, if someone is interested in having a classic Mac, I would say to look at G3s or earlier G4s. The older Power Macs and the like tend to use different voltage RAM than common PC part, and they often use SCSI drives (Performas and stuff usually use IDE HDDs and SCSI CD-ROMs though). When you hit the G3s, they're using PC133, IDE drives, that kind of stuff. Far easier to raid an old PC for donor parts.
B&W G3s did have a bad batch of IDE controllers in them though, and can be finicky about replacement drives and/or corrupt data.

Go too new on a G4, and you start "needing" more custom versions of OS9. As in, they came with versions that were updated past any retail/vanilla copies out there. So, if you don't have the system discs, it's a scavenger hunt to find the right system enablers, extensions, and so on.

'course, I favor the Quicksilver G4 design, so that's what I bought for classic Mac applications after my Powerbook G4 stopped turning on

[ExedExes]

I just realized that Splinter Cell and MGS are losing their main VA's at about the same time. Ironside made his character

Indeed. I was happy to see a new SC game as I'm playing through the series (I'm on Double Agent now) but no MI was a disappointment, as well as a shift to less stealthy gameplay in this installment.

[Xeogred]

We haven't heard the last of Hayter. My dad is Kojima, so I'd know.

[jinx]

> A v > A v

[Opa Opa]

Sometimes I find myself agreeing with that statement.