X3:TC 2.0 Now Available on MacOS

[Toastie]

Egosoft is pleased to announce the release of X3: Terran Conflict 2.0 for the Mac OS X operating system. This version of the game has been developed for OS X by Virtual Programming Ltd, a specialist software developer for the Mac platform. Mr Mark Hinton, the VP Ltd CEO and Director of New Business, stated that every effort has been made to make sure that their customers have a gameplay experience on the Mac platform as close as possible to that on the PC which, with Terran Conflict, has been quite a challenge.

Since the originally-planned release, the OS X operating system has seen the advent of the widely-acclaimed Snow Leopard update, which presented VP Ltd with further challenges in the game's development. With all challenges now overcome, VP Ltd and Egosoft welcome OS X users to the X-Universe and invite them to begin a journey of exploration, commerce and endless space adventure in the ultimate chapter in the X trilogy, taking the player from the furthest reaches of the X- Universe to Earth itself.

For more information about the game, system requirements please go to: www.vpltd.com/press/X3TC

and to purchase the game by digital download, please go to:deliver2mac.com

[bvschipper]

I have not tried the Mac version, but use Bootcamp and Windows XP exclusively for X3:TC. If you have the spare HD capacity, I would stay with the Windows version and just use Bootcamp. Though I fawn OSX, I am dubious about using it for non-native programs.

[SWAHILI!!!]

Finally! I've been waiting so long for this!
I was beginning to wonder if they would make X3TC for Macs..

[kurush]

I wonder if anybody is considering a linux port?

[ephemeron]

I'm another Mac guy who dual-boots into XP for gaming.

I also tried the Mac port of X3R and was disappointed by it. I really want to support Mac gaming, but between the problems with the Mac version of X3R and the X3TC port taking months longer than initially promised, I'm wary of Virtual Programming.

[KidDeath]

It's not the issue with VP, it is Microsoft's DirectX technology. It is difficult to emulate DirectX in an OS that utilizes OpenGL as the graphical back-end technology. That is why so many people 'hate' Microsoft, because they have a technology they will not allow another OS developer to use, they are not "open source."

If Apple got a license to use.. say.. DirectX 10 in MacOSX 11.1, then Microsoft would have a fully realized competitor. Microsoft doesn't want that. They want complete control over the markets they already own.

[xeon_1]

one word Bootcamp and the problem is solved.

[Sam L.R. Griffiths]

I wonder if anybody is considering a linux port?

If they have it ported to Mac OS X, getting it to work on Linux should be very little rework since Mac OS X is basically a *NIX (Mac OS X kernel is GNU Darwin which is based on BSD UNIX).

[Sam L.R. Griffiths]

Though I fawn OSX, I am dubious about using it for non-native programs.

As the company has released it for Mac OS X, I would guess that the 2.0 build they are using is native. Using bootcamp means you are using non-native programs

[KidDeath]

VP developed an in-house emulation software for X3:TC which they claim is far better than what they used for X3:R and they are considering re-releasing X3:R on this new technology.

[Sam L.R. Griffiths]

It's not the issue with VP, it is Microsoft's DirectX technology. It is difficult to emulate DirectX in an OS that utilizes OpenGL as the graphical back-end technology.

I think you have hit the nail on the head there.... but.... Cedega/WineX from Transgaming anyone???

That is why so many people 'hate' Microsoft, because they have a technology they will not allow another OS developer to use, they are not "open source."

Technically, OpenGL is not open source it is an agreed open standard that the graphics card manufacturers (amongst other people) have agreed upon. Since the DirectX standard is generally well published, there is little to stop other developers from writing a DirectX compatability layer for OpenGL (c/f Cedega/WineX). I think the main reason people 'hate' Microsoft, is because of how expensive it is to adopt their latest OSes and generally speaking if you want to keep using the latest games you have to keep up with the progression of Microsoft's OSs which generally have had backwards compatability issues.

If Apple got a license to use.. say.. DirectX 10 in MacOSX 11.1, then Microsoft would have a fully realized competitor. Microsoft doesn't want that. They want complete control over the markets they already own.

Apple have always had a problem.... software for their OS/Hardware was typically rather expensive.... with their move to Mac OS X they partially eliminated the problem by adopting a UNIX type OS (Mac OS X is based on BSD UNIX) so now they can benefit from (and help promote) the efforts to port to the mainstream alternative PC OS (Linux).

[Sam L.R. Griffiths]

VP developed an in-house emulation software for X3:TC which they claim is far better than what they used for X3:R and they are considering re-releasing X3:R on this new technology.

So basically they are using their own Cedega/WineX type solution.

[KidDeath]

I want to assume that, but then again, it could be something completely different. We shall see upon release.

[Azalyn]

I want to assume that, but then again, it could be something completely different. We shall see upon release.

Using Wine you can get the game to run with the loss of a few functions, notably sound. Characters don't talk and no bg music. Looking it up on the Cedaga site it lists as being 100% functional, though you've got to pay in order to use Cedega.

When a publisher ports/releases a game to be functional on a Mac, I've always wondered why they don't just go a bit further and finish the port to Linux since the kernels are very similar. I think the industry doesn't really realize the market potential for Linux gaming still. If a game were to be released (initially) for Linux, Mac and Windows the Linux and Mac sales would probably equate to at least 60% or more of the total sales.

[KidDeath]

Not that many people use MacOSX/Linux. Recent study showed only 15 - 20% of the market TODAY is MacOSX/Linux. Windows dominates -everything-, despite if they release an OS that fails (Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows ME, Windows Vista). I personally never had any issues with Vista, but that is just me.

Either way, if Apple gained a higher percentage of the PC gaming market share, I would surely switch entirely to their systems since I love how smooth MacOSX 10.5 runs compared to Vista/7.

Right now.. I'm still 60% Windows / 30% MacOSX / 10% Linux.

If you're curious I currently run a Windows 7 setup for my desktop. MacOSX 10.5 on my MacBook Pro. CentOS on my server.

[pjknibbs]

If a game were to be released (initially) for Linux, Mac and Windows the Linux and Mac sales would probably equate to at least 60% or more of the total sales.

I think you have a far greater estimate of the penetration of Mac/Linux into the home market than is actually the case there. I think even KidDeath's 15-20% is an overestimate, to be honest; Mac market share is currently in the mid single digits somewhere, and Linux is only used by people who are already technically competent enough to operate it. Oh, and Linux can also suffer from missing or poorly-supported 3D drivers for some graphics cards.

The other problem with Linux, of course, is the old free software question--since the OS is free, a lot of users expect all the software you install on it to also be free, which doesn't make for a good environment to sell games into.

[edit] Found this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_shar ... ng_systems

Now, that's relying on the user agent strings reported by Web browsers being accurate, which is a big if, but even so all but one of the tallies shows Windows market share to be in the mid 90% range. The other one shows only 85%, but note that not all of the remaining 15% is MacOS and Linux--presumably the "Other" includes paid-for UNIXes, mobile phones, and suchlike.

[Sam L.R. Griffiths]

Not that many people use MacOSX/Linux. Recent study showed only 15 - 20% of the market TODAY is MacOSX/Linux. Windows dominates -everything-, despite if they release an OS that fails (Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows ME, Windows Vista). I personally never had any issues with Vista, but that is just me.

15-20% may not be a majority but if you consider the number of computers then it is ALOT of people. I think you might find that number double if more investment was put into writing games/drivers for *NIX type systems (e.g. Mac OS X and Linux). Many people like myself only use Windows because they are forced to because of the software developers. But as long as *NIX type systems retain their hard to use/manage stigma (which is now v. unjustified - c/f MacOS X and OpenSUSE) the change is not likely to happen.

The problems many of us have had with getting Windows Vista to work is very akin to the primary issues that probably hinder the computer gaming community moving to *NIX type systems.

Because Microsoft have the bulk of the community by the short and curlies it is going to take alot of effort in producing the business cases across several companies before there is a major move to *NIX type systems... and the likelyhood of effort being expended is probably very small.

[Sam L.R. Griffiths]

If a game were to be released (initially) for Linux, Mac and Windows the Linux and Mac sales would probably equate to at least 60% or more of the total sales.

I think you have a far greater estimate of the penetration of Mac/Linux into the home market than is actually the case there. I think even KidDeath's 15-20% is an overestimate, to be honest;

Mac market share is currently in the mid single digits somewhere, and Linux is only used by people who are already technically competent enough to operate it.

I would tend to agree that the MacOS X is probably a marginal operating system, but the assumption about needing to be "technically competent enough" to operate Linux has been rather unjustified for about the past 5 years (approx.)... The ease of use and installation of Linux distros has come along in leaps and bounds over the past few years and IMHO the leader in the useablity stakes is probably Novell/OpenSUSE Linux. There are still very hard to use/install distros around so it comes down to the old betaMAX/VHS wars... with Novell (and others) on one side (BetaMAX) and Microsoft on the other (VHS).

Oh, and Linux can also suffer from missing or poorly-supported 3D drivers for some graphics cards.

There are two mainstream graphics chipsets nVidia and ATI/AMD. The nVidia drivers seem pretty well supported to me (at work we use alot of nVidia cards under linux) so you are probably refering to the ATI/AMD drivers, which could benefit from better support but do exist.

The other problem with Linux, of course, is the old free software question--since the OS is free, a lot of users expect all the software you install on it to also be free, which doesn't make for a good environment to sell games into.

This is probably not a fair assumption, Windows can be perceived as free because it comes with your computer... The operating system on a gaming station (PS/3 or Wii for example) can be perceived as free because it is embedded... same goes with mobile phones and their operating systems... There are OpenSource/FreeSoftware hard line elements of the *NIX community but I would say they are a comparatively small faction in the grand scheme of things.

[KidDeath]

Not that many people use MacOSX/Linux. Recent study showed only 15 - 20% of the market TODAY is MacOSX/Linux. Windows dominates -everything-, despite if they release an OS that fails (Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows ME, Windows Vista). I personally never had any issues with Vista, but that is just me.

15-20% may not be a majority but if you consider the number of computers then it is ALOT of people. I think you might find that number double if more investment was put into writing games/drivers for *NIX type systems (e.g. Mac OS X and Linux). Many people like myself only use Windows because they are forced to because of the software developers. But as long as *NIX type systems retain their hard to use/manage stigma (which is now v. unjustified - c/f MacOS X and OpenSUSE) the change is not likely to happen.

The problems many of us have had with getting Windows Vista to work is very akin to the primary issues that probably hinder the computer gaming community moving to *NIX type systems.

Because Microsoft have the bulk of the community by the short and curlies it is going to take alot of effort in producing the business cases across several companies before there is a major move to *NIX type systems... and the likelyhood of effort being expended is probably very small.

If MacOSX is becoming more and more mainstream amongst college students and so on, how come we aren't seeing any additional support from developers to add it to the list of gaming platforms? This would include developers working together to support software like Cedega in a way that fuses it with OSX, making it free, and putting so much more effort into it that Cedega is soon able to support a larger variety of games seemlessly.

It would be nice to see the developers of all sorts of games pull together and say, "Ok, OSX is becoming mainstream and since the Mac platform doesn't have nearly as many hardware configurations as a normal Windows PC would, lets pull together to make a software such as Cedega mainstream and give it the capabilities to run all our games."

Because really, the Mac platform doesn't have that many different hardware configurations. What you have in terms of hardware, thousands of others have that exact setup as well. OSX is built specifically for that hardware and that is why it runs so smoothly, it's like a console system with a mouse and keyboard.

I don't know, maybe I am just dream big, but I would love to see more effort put into OSX to give Apple a real competitive advantage over Microsoft. I know it can happen, it just starts with game developers creating a central point of support and sticking with it. So like, if all game developers looked at Cedega and said "Ok, we will work with this and perfect the software to work with our games so OSX users can play our games" then hell, you would be right on the spot, and game developers / publishers would have gained a significant market.

[pjknibbs]

I would tend to agree that the MacOS X is probably a marginal operating system, but the assumption about needing to be "technically competent enough" to operate Linux has been rather unjustified for about the past 5 years (approx.)...

You've never tried to set up a wireless connection in Linux, I guess--took me hours to get that working on my laptop when I put Ubuntu 9.04 on it a few weeks ago!