Parallels 3.0 gaming

[chex]

Parallels now has 3D support

If anyone has it can they comment on how games run/if they run at all.

thanks

[CyberPrey]

I am extremly interested in how EVE Online, Supreme Commander, and Command & Conquer 3 would work.....

[MacsRgr8]

Insidemacgames (http://www.insidemacgames.com/news/story.php?ID=15233) has a story on it now.

I wil be testing (eh.. playing.. :D ) with the following this weekend:

Parallels 3.0 and VMware Fusion Beta 4 on a MBP Core Duo 2 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 256 MB VRAM X1600

IIRC VMware Fusion only has DirectX 8.1 support, but we'll see.

I hope this thread will get to be the "post your 3D Windows gaming in a Virtual Machine experiences" collection!

We need iMac and Mac Pro testers!!!

[speakerwizard]

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=311555

[quigleybc]

I think this is a good spot for this thread, and that Quake thread isn't too useful.

I need to make a new VM with a lot more HD space so I can try my games.

like

-Lego StarWars II
-EA sports games
-Prey

and others.

I will post here when I find the time to sit through another God D**n windows install...

Or, is there a way to drastically increase the HD space of a currently installed VM???

[tominated]

when i get parallels (if i save up enough for it and an oem copy of vista) i try trackmania sunsrise, united and nations

[Aegelward]

on my macbook with 2gigs of memory, i've tried out...

system shock 2, total annihlation, master of orion 2 so far, all of which exibit some odd problems, like reverting to 16 colour, and becoming completly unresponsive...

i've tried half-life via steam, and its worked flawlessly.

i'm working up through my older games >_>

[quigleybc]

Lego Star Wars II wouldn't run

said I had an unsupported graphics gard. :(



i've tried half-life via steam, and its worked flawlessly.



Just Curious, what is steam? is it a separate install app?

[LaDirection]

Tried Half Life 2, F.E.A.R. & America's Army. The first two don't work at all, AA launches but the frame rate is so low it is unplayable (2-3 fps) Mac Pro 2.66GHz with Radeon x1900

[Veritas&Equitas]

AA launches but the frame rate is so low it is unplayable (2-3 fps) Mac Pro 2.66GHz with Radeon x1900
Really? That is pretty discouraging...considering how old the game is. I was thinking to install a few games on my MBP, but based on these terrible reports, I think I might have to skip it.

[Steve1496]

So far, gaming in Parallels is always a big guessing game whether or not the game will work. Half Life 2 runs, although the FPS could definitely improve. Battlefield 2 does not run for me, and I'm working on testing FFXI and The Sims 2.

when i get parallels (if i save up enough for it and an oem copy of vista) i try trackmania sunsrise, united and nations

If you go for Vista, don't forget you need Ultimate or Enterprise, as licensing prevents you from using Home Basic or Premium.

[iancapable]

Really? That is pretty discouraging...considering how old the game is. I was thinking to install a few games on my MBP, but based on these terrible reports, I think I might have to skip it.

I struggled with hl2 (which is the first game I've installed). What you need to do to get it and any other games working is tick the "enable directx" option in the VM Configuration, which will allow one to play games. I would also suggest pushing the memory up to 1GB. HL2 runs ok, then suddenly slows down once you're outside, but I think if you have bootcamp you can probably boost the speed a touch (meaning you can run parallels off the bootcamp partition).

[MacsRgr8]

Check out their own forums... (http://forum.parallels.com/thread12428.html)

I'm afraid 3D support means theoretical support, i.e. the 3D engines can access the 3D grfx card directly, but forget about performance ATM. :(

I just hope that either Fusion or Parallels will once get the performance as was expected.

[FleurDuMal]

Lets hope Leopard provides us with something more worthwhile...:apple:

[MacsRgr8]

Lets hope Leopard provides us with something more worthwhile...:apple:

I don't expect anything more than what we already have: Boot Camp.

[FleurDuMal]

I don't expect anything more than what we already have: Boot Camp.

I never expect anything from Apple. But we've been told there are some 'secret features' of Leopard to be revealed, so it's not beyond contemplation. Plus Parallels seems like it was rushed out before the WWDC, so maybe they knew something and wanted to make as much money ASAP?

[MacsRgr8]

I seem to recall Apple stating that they would not enter the virtualization world.
Not sure if this is a promise, but as you can read here (http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/06/12/01/apple_reiterates_no_interest_in_virtualization_for_leopard.html), it seems to be one...
OTOH.... you never know with Apple. (Video iPods...?)

[CyberPrey]

Well, I put Eve-Online onto my Parallels 3.0 Windows XP install. the game RUNS, but the mouse dissappears in certain area's of the login screen and there isn't any way to select feilds.... I was unable to go further from there... Anyone else able to make it work?

I am going to finish up my guild wars install tonight after work and try that as well.....

Quake 1 works fine though....

[SilentPanda]

Computer specs:

Mac Pro 2 x 2GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
2 GB RAM
ATI Radeon X1900 512MB
20" Widescreen Dell monitors

Windows XP Pro

Half Life - Runs at a constant 70 FPS with max graphics in OpenGL mode at 1680x1050. I think that's the max for the game.

Half Life 2 - Runs but is slower than a Powerpoint slideshow.

Freecell - Runs. I only added this because some people in the Parallels forums said it wasn't.

I don't really have a lot of Windows games anymore except MMO's and I'm not going to start one of those up.

[MacsRgr8]

Tnx, SilentPanda

But, again.... not very good news.
Half Life was a game I played on my P3 with Voodoo 3 card IIRC.

Half Life 2 would be the yard stick. DirectX 9, and ran perfeclty on a grfx card like the X800 XT. Having a Xeon with the X1900 XT, I would have expected better results than the "slide show of death" :D .

[Muffin87]

Tomb Raider Anniversary: totally unplayable, too low FPS
NeverWinter Nights 2: won't start up, incompatible hardware
Tomb Raider 2 : works flawlessly but you won't get any music only short sounds.
Max Payne 2: FPS is very good but the walls always result white a part from when you r shooting. Quite funny given that it is listed among the already supported games

[SilentPanda]

Anything that uses ActiveMark copy protection appears to not work. Gives a message about a debugger running.

When I put all the video down in Half Life 2 it ran but it looked like CGA colors. I *think* for some reason it was using software to render the graphics instead of hardware. I have DirectX enabled in the Parallels configuration but on the video area of Half Life 2 it said "Hardware DirectX 8.1" and "Software DirectX 9.0". Hardware appeared to be greyed out. I have the newest DirectX installed. Ah well.

[thefoo]

If you go for Vista, don't forget you need Ultimate or Enterprise, as licensing prevents you from using Home Basic or Premium.

I, for one, am not convinced this is strictly true. I am not a lawyer either, though!

Looking at the EULA for Home editions, it states that "You may not use the software installed on the licensed device within a virtual (or otherwise emulated) hardware system."

So pop into PC World/elsewhere, buy a retail copy of Home Basic. At this point there is no licensed device yet. Installation can proceed (in my untrained opinion).

The EULA specifically prevents you using the license key associated with your OEM installed desktop/laptop within a virtual machine as well. This is perfectly sensible as you'd essentially then have two installations having paid one OEM license.

Spot the difference with Business and Ultimate editions, where the same license key can be used on the OEM hardware, and in a single virtual machine who's image is on that same device.

I've searched for explicit explanations from Microsoft and found nothing specifically targetting this precise scenario. It would be expected that Microsoft would not wish make public that this scenario is explicitly allowed, hence why I can't find further commentary from Parallels on this either I suspect.

If you can post links to authoritative statements from Microsoft I'd like to read them.

[Dagless]

Just Curious, what is steam? is it a separate install app?

Steam is a digital content delivery system that was born alongside Half Life 2 and made by the same guys. Originally it was used for Valve games but it's fast becoming a great publishing platform.
Originally everyone hated it. Slowed down the process of just jumping into a game. But it sounds like it's grown on people. It's been great watching it evolve over the past few years.

yes.

BUT! The news that HL2 runs well has me very excited. Infact the progress with all these "Windows on Mac" solutions has me excited. How much better can it possibly get? :D

[Xavier]

The best part is that it only gets better. Pretty soon, the virtual solution will be just as good as the original (or as good as windows gets). Right now, Parallels is a much better option for me, and I am very pleased that 3D is finally supported.

What will happen in the next official release :eek:

[psychofreak]

The best part is that it only gets better. Pretty soon, the virtual solution will be just as good as the originalWell, unless they achieve some magical solution, the RAM and processor(s) are always split...

[quigleybc]

I struggled with hl2 What you need to do to get it and any other games working is tick the "enable directx" option in the VM Configuration, which will allow one to play games.

ya that's the key

Doing that allowed me to get Lego StarWars 2 to start, but then it just crashed.

all in all, I guess my bootcamp partition is staying where it is.....:(

[Dagless]

Okay. This is good. I bought Parallels a long time ago and it was a pretty terrible experience, just bought the update. It's so smooth now! It's running my games in development, which haven't even been optimised yet. Tormishire fliiiies :D

I'm too impressed! I cannot wait to see how HL2 runs. It's even recognised my Wired 360 controller!

Tomorrow I will get 30gb from my hard XP partition.

I'd use exclamation marks but my excited is dulled through tiredness :) this is just mind blowing. I actually cannot see how this could be made any better short of minute performance enhancements!

[Steve1496]

I, for one, am not convinced this is strictly true. I am not a lawyer either, though!
....
If you can post links to authoritative statements from Microsoft I'd like to read them.



Its true Microsoft is vague on this. Most articles are peoples interpretations, but, look at this link:
http://forums.parallels.com/thread11690.html

That would be enough to keep me from risking it. I would personally play it safe and go for Business or Ultimate. Then again, for virtualization, I prefer XP.

[thefoo]

Its true Microsoft is vague on this. Most articles are peoples interpretations, but, look at this link:
http://forums.parallels.com/thread11690.html

That would be enough to keep me from risking it. I would personally play it safe and go for Business or Ultimate. Then again, for virtualization, I prefer XP.

For me, Parallels are repeating the same misinterpretation, it's easy to do when you read legalese quickly and you're not a lawyer. I suspect Microsoft may have worded the EULA to introduce this FUD.

Has anyone actually asked Microsoft for clarification? I see no evidence of a reply if so. I might just email them myself.

[ViM]

Parallels 3.0 atm is not perfect, sure it can play games but that really depends on your definition of playability. If your definitions of playable is that 5 fps is ok then Parallels 3.0 is awesome :rolleyes: However 3.0 is a good upgrade however I think the marketing of 3D graphics capabilities is a hyperbole. I mean by advertising the ability to play Quake, WoW, HL:2 it really seemed like you could play almost 'any' game.

What I tried
Guild Wars barely playable very choppy
HL:2 / CS:Source a bit choppy
Pro Evolutions Soccer decent
Football Manager 2007 practically the same as native

[mcmadhatter]

Here is a selection of games I have tried on my macbook 1.8ghz with 1Gb ram, all memory split evenly between osx and xp, and parallels running with added importance over osx.

Command And Conquer Red Alert 1 (DX 3) - 256 colour, frame rate fine but colours make it unplayable.

Theme Hospital (DX 4/5) 16 colour, frame rate great but colours make it unplayable.

Railroad Tycoon 2 (DX 8.1), rubbish 256 colour problem again.


Chris Sawyers Locomotion (DX 9b) 256 colour, frame rate great but colours make it unplayable.

So all in all it was a pretty rubbish experience, all the games were working in very low colour which made them unplayable

[Aegelward]

the colours going wierd is definetly an issue with older games..

i just tried evil genius, it works, a little slow, and character models are buggy

[Dagless]

Half Life 2 runs perfect for me under Parallels 3, arguably its the only "3D" game I play. in bootcamp I'm playing in 1680*1050 and it's smooth, in OSX it's 1440*900 and it's smooth.

[azizane]

as expected f.e.a.r doesn't work, it loads and when you get to start a new game the game freezes on the storyline. also there doesn't seem to be full screen support for games. Well i couldn't go on without having the latest parallels version though i knew gaming won't be very good on it. well....

[DoFoT9]

hhmm why are the games working ok for you guys>>??<< for me cod2 runs like a dog. not even playable. literally 1fps

[failsafe1]

I like parallels and paid for the 3.0 upgrade like so many others sight unseen. Can't say I am thrilled. I have not been able to get any game running at all. I tried several demos downloads of first person shooters. Hell in Vietnam, and two others. Didn't try HL2 yet but was planning on it until I read some of these posts. Perhaps an update will be forthcoming to speed things up. Interesting side note now my WMV files don't play in Parallels but they did before the upgrade.

[Aegelward]

got some caps of red alert 2 running

http://tinyurl.com/2nmk78

http://tinyurl.com/2zwjud

runs quite well, key scrolling is sloow, but mouse scrolling works well

[weldon]

Has anyone tried Sims 2? I know there's a Mac version, but I've already paid for the Windows versions and don't want to rebuy so my daughters can play on the "other" computer.

[valiar]

Has anyone tried EVE Online yet?
I use it with Crossover Office now, but this solution kind of sucks (too many bugs to my taste).

[thefoo]

Just to finish off - I decided to call Microsoft UK about Vista licensing within a virtual environment. Even they didn't know the answer and had to get back to me. Anyway, I'm now awaiting a public statement to the effect that the EULA cause does indeed refer only to already-installed licenses, i.e. OEM only. Buy a full copy of Vista [any version] and you can run it. Just don't quote me until those in Redmond clarify it on their blog or wherever hopefully this week :).

[Spartan-117]

The update is good but not that good, there 3D abilities are not at 100% dont expect 100% native solution like bootcamp, Havent tried cnc3 via parallels but it works fine on bootcamp on my macbook.

on the plus side I have got 3ds Max9 to work in parallels but has to render in software mode, which is not optimal, but better than booting in bootcamp takes time and bad fan control....

[jono_3]

thanks for the screens

[TilJ]

Has anyone tried EVE Online yet?
I use it with Crossover Office now, but this solution kind of sucks (too many bugs to my taste).

It doesn't work under VMWare Fusion beta 4. It needs DirectX 9 but Fusion only have 8.1.

I haven't tried it under Parallels.

[Shadow]

Command & Conquer Generals: Zero Hour is playable!
Yes, that is right, C&C is playable on a MacBook with a GMA950 in Parallels! I am so impressed, it probably gets around 15-20 FPS. One little problem though: some of the ground textures do not appear, but that be the installation. I'll try reinstalling it tomorrow.

[Hannibales]

Setup:
Mac Pro 2.66 w. 7600GT and 1GB running 10.4.9

Installed Parallels 3.0 follwed by XP (SP2) and then popped in the Medieval 2 Total War DVD. Installed fine, apart from the battles not loading it plays pretty well too. Now that I've got half of europe it's slowed down a bit on the campaign map, apart from that it's fully playable. Is it possible to allocate more Video Memory to it at all? I've currently got the slider maxed out to 64MB (apparently M2TW shouldn't even start with less than 128MB!). Do you guys with better graphics cards get the option to allocate more than I do?

Cheers
Hannibales

[mcmadhatter]

Here are screenshots of C+C 3 running in parallels on my macbook, it is just about playable in skirmish mode if you don't mind 15ish fps

vm specs: 512mb ram 32mb video card
mac specs: 1gb ram , intel graphics

I think I'll wait to run it natively under OSX