Windows Starcraft on Mac? [Archive]

Nermal

Jul 18, 2003, 05:37 AM

Back in my PC days, I bought a copy of Starcraft. Basically I'm trying to get my Windows version of Starcraft to run on the Mac.

I downloaded the latest Mac updater from Blizzard's site and tried to run the game. It told me that it couldn't find the file "Starcraft Data". So I borrowed a PC, installed SC, and copied the installed version onto my Mac. I grabbed the stardat.mpq file, renamed it to Starcraft Data, and tried running SC again. Now it gets as far as the options screen then asks me to insert the CD. Unfortunately it doesn't recognise the Windows version.

So is it possible to run the Windows version on the Mac? It seems like I'm half way there, maybe if I construct a CD that "looks" like the Mac one it would work? To do this I'd need a list of the files on the CD. Is there a better way? Is it possible at all?

Catfish_Man

Jul 18, 2003, 06:50 AM

Windows programs do not run on Macs. Starcraft was pretty quickly switched to a hybrid CD that runs on both though. Do you have a 1.0.0 CD? Those don't work on Macs.

pretentious

Jul 18, 2003, 07:27 AM

Dude, SC cost like $10 new, $20 for the entire chest, even less if used. Nearly all of the boxes I have ever seen have been hybred.

Just go EB or whatever game store and pick one up, ok.

cubist

Jul 18, 2003, 08:26 AM

You also need a different updater for the Mac.

Maclarny

Jul 18, 2003, 11:52 AM

A WINDOWS game will not run on MAC. A hybrid copy of SC is like 10 bucks.

Nermal

Jul 19, 2003, 06:20 PM

I thought that since they use the same data files, it would be possible to use the Windows CD with the Mac patches, to make it run on the Mac.

You guys are lucky to be able to pick it up for $10. Cheapest I can find it over here in NZ is $40 :(

Catfish_Man: Yes I do have the 1.0.0 CD.

pretentious

Jul 19, 2003, 08:58 PM

$40? even used? Internet?

I'm sorry, but to buy it is the best I could tell you.
Even at $40 it might be still worth it, how much do you regularly buy a game to only find out that it's mediocre? To re-buy a game that you bought like 6-years ago that you know is one the greatest games ever I think would not be that bad. I've personally have bought SC like 3-4 times because of breakage and stealing, but its up to you if you think its worth it.

BTW how much DO games (new and used) cost down in NZ?

Nermal

Jul 19, 2003, 09:17 PM

It's so expensive because SC doesn't seem to be sold inividually anymore, I can only find the SC and Brood War combo. I looked on a local auction site similar to eBay and it didn't turn up any hits. New games tend to go for around US$50-60. I don't tend to buy used games so I can't really give you a price on them. I think the only used game I've ever bought was Final Fantasy 8 back in 2000, cost me $45. I miss that game but VPC runs it too slow.

On the topic of VPC, Starcraft isn't overly graphically intensive so I'll give it a go. I'd never thought of that until now.

Edit: Just tried to play in VPC, and the game runs very smoothly, and would be very playable, except for one small but important problem: I have to run the game in a window. While this itself isn't a problem, it makes it very difficult to scroll around the levels, as you have to move the mouse to the very edge of the window, without going too far and landing in OS X. It's just too tricky to be playable.

jimthorn

Jul 19, 2003, 09:48 PM

Originally posted by Nermal
Just tried to play in VPC, and the game runs very smoothly, and would be very playable, except for one small but important problem: I have to run the game in a window. While this itself isn't a problem, it makes it very difficult to scroll around the levels, as you have to move the mouse to the very edge of the window, without going too far and landing in OS X. It's just too tricky to be playable.

You can run VPC in Full Screen Mode, so that you won't see OS X at all. It's freaky looking, since it looks like Windows running on a Mac :) but with the game running, it should be more to your liking.

MrMacMan

Jul 19, 2003, 10:42 PM

Originally posted by jimthorn
You can run VPC in Full Screen Mode, so that you won't see OS X at all. It's freaky looking, since it looks like Windows running on a Mac :) but with the game running, it should be more to your liking.

Yeah Full Screen mode is a plus, now if VPC could only use hardware Viedo Cards, instead of Software based. :(

ZildjianKX

Jul 20, 2003, 12:05 AM

If you already own starcraft for windows and legally bought it and have a valid CD key... I don't see anything morally wrong with borrowing a friends copy or getting it by other means... since you already paid for it and they do offer it as a hybrid soon after manufacturing for the same price.

Nermal

Jul 20, 2003, 01:14 AM

If I run VPC in full screen then Starcraft won't run. Well it runs, I can hear the sound, but can't see the picture. I think this might have something to do with VPC trying to scale Windows to 1024x768 (I'm on an iBook), but Starcraft wants 640x480. I'll try a couple of things and see what happens.

I think one of my friends has got SC, so I'll see if I can borrow his, but with all my luck it'll be a pirated one with the Mac files missing :(

Xenophanes

Jul 22, 2003, 11:45 AM

Actually he isn't far off.

You can't run the .exe on a Mac, but you can steal the .mpq files to run the game off of.

Let me explain what I did and how this effects your question.

A long time back Blizzard took it's sweet time putting out the Mac version of BroodWar. I took it upon myself to find a way around their slow release.

I basically had to steal the .mpq which contained the BroodWar Data and replace the Mac patch.mpq with it. This now allowed the Mac StarCraft program to access the data. Fortunately for me Blizzard actually had already updated everyone's StarCraft program to handel the BroodWar Data... the only thing we were missing at the time was the .mpq. Unfortunately Blizzard decided to make it so the StarCraft application (this was for OS 9 at the time) check for the BroodWar CD. I then burned a CD which had the proper file structure (stealing from the PC BroodWarCD) and the proper name.

Guess what. It worked. An article was published on MacGamer describing how I was able to do it. Shortly after that Blizzard sent me an email telling me to stop spreading the word and Mac BroodWar was released about two weeks afterwards.

I had played through the entire BroodWar campaign before Mac BroodWar was released.

So.... your question.... is it possible to use the Windows StarCraft to 'build a Mac StarCraft'? The answer is yes, but it is difficult.

You will need all of the data files from the Windows StarCraft. You will need to change them to Mac StarCraft.mpq files so they are recognized. You will need the Mac Storm file and the Mac Application. Finally, you will need to build a CD with the proper file structure and name.

If you have more questions about this you can email me.

Nermal

Jul 24, 2003, 08:57 PM

It's the building the CD with the correct structure that's got me stuck. I've got BW for Windows too. It seems that the early purchasers get the lesser deal :(

I'll see if I can find the MacGamer article somewhere.

Xenophanes

Jul 25, 2003, 12:33 PM

Ok.... to do this you need to reproduce the Mac CD. Uh.... I havn't looked at the Mac CD for a very very long time, but I think basically you needed one .mpq file in the CD in the correct folder. The name of the CD was also very important (as is the filetype and creator codes of the .mpq file).

There is a way around burning a CD.

Why do you need the CD in your CD drive? Well... basically there is a very small (I think 62k file) which is "checked" by the program. If it isn't there... the program won't run. It is possible to put all data into the patch.mpq file and only have the program check for the small file. This is how some early Mac StarCraft "cracks" were made.

There are some .mpq files floating around (I think Infoceptor.com or just do a google search) which only contain this "CHECK" file (not the real name). If so you could be able to build a Disk Image with this modified .mpq in it.

Does this make sense? If you are still having problems then I will check to see what I did exactly.

Xenophanes

Nermal

Jul 27, 2003, 05:02 AM

Yes this does make sense. Whether I can actually do it is a different story though!

Xenophanes

Jul 28, 2003, 01:05 AM

Well..... It works. I had to burn three CD's to get the BroodWar CD to work. I didn't have the proper name for the CD and it took me 3 tries to get it correct.

I don't know if it is really worth it. You could buy a new copy for cheap off of Ebay or in the value section in Target (yes I saw it there).

Good luck.

Mercury

Jul 28, 2003, 01:34 AM

Dang! You mean, that whole time I was playing original SC, I could've just bought BW for PC and played with that?!

Did it work on battle.net?

wsteineker

Jul 28, 2003, 02:19 AM

On a related topic, does anyone know if StarCraft will run on OS X natively (no Classic) with a patch of some sort, or is it OS 9/Classic only? It's been forever since I played StarCraft, but this thread got me thinking about how effing great that game was. I'd be all about buying a new copy if it'll run in X. :)

And what about the original Diablo. I remember it being released around the same time as StarCraft and being a hybrid cd. Anyone know if it'll run in OS X without Classic?

Mercury

Jul 28, 2003, 02:24 AM

Yes! StarCraft absolutely will run natively in OS X(carbon) with a patch. You can download it here (http://www.blizzard.com/support/?id=msc0411p).

Unfortunately, the same is not true for the original Diablo. It's simply too old, at this point, for Blizzard to release an OS X patch for.

wsteineker

Jul 28, 2003, 02:50 AM

Originally posted by Mercury
Yes! StarCraft absolutely will run natively in OS X(carbon) with a patch. You can download it here (http://www.blizzard.com/support/?id=msc0411p).

Unfortunately, the same is not true for the original Diablo. It's simply too old, at this point, for Blizzard to release an OS X patch for.
Damn! I'm thrilled to find out that I can run SC in OS X, but that Diablo thing really sucks. That was such a fantastic game! Oh well, looks like I'll have StarCraft to ease the pain. ;)

ollywilson2003

Jul 28, 2003, 03:46 AM

Originally posted by pretentious
$40? even used? Internet?

I'm sorry, but to buy it is the best I could tell you.
Even at $40 it might be still worth it, how much do you regularly buy a game to only find out that it's mediocre? To re-buy a game that you bought like 6-years ago that you know is one the greatest games ever I think would not be that bad. I've personally have bought SC like 3-4 times because of breakage and stealing, but its up to you if you think its worth it.

BTW how much DO games (new and used) cost down in NZ?

You guys have it lucky, my 17" iMac cost me about NZ $4000.:(

Mercury

Jul 28, 2003, 04:07 AM

Originally posted by wsteineker
Damn! I'm thrilled to find out that I can run SC in OS X, but that Diablo thing really sucks. That was such a fantastic game! Oh well, looks like I'll have StarCraft to ease the pain. ;)

Well, to be honest, Diablo II really has matured and is quite a wonderful game, far deeper than Diablo ever was.

Some people say they still prefer the original, and it may be true that it was better-for its time. But, I think that if you can get past the hacked economy and a few weird things (all to go away with the upcoming and currently public beta tested 1.10 patch), you'll enjoy yourself quite a bit. I know I am. Anyone interested in TCP/IP 1.10 D2(the patch is only TCP/IP at this point), let me know!

Xenophanes

Jul 28, 2003, 06:31 PM

Mercury,

You could have played BroodWar about five months ahead of the Mac release if you knew what you should have done.

See.... Blizzard likes to keep the file structures consistent between the Mac and PC versions. When Blizzard released a patch for Mac and PC StarCraft (before the Mac release, but immediately following the PC BW release) I thought it was a little bit strange and.... timely. So.... I got the idea to try it because I started snooping around in the app (PC and Mac) using Hex edit (and ResEdit for Mac). (Please note that I did all of this using Virtual PC.... took a VERY long time on my poor beige G3 266).

I found that there were paths for BroodWar in both the Mac and PC updated versions of StarCraft!

So I felt that Blizzard may have updated the program in the Macs to handel BroodWar BEFORE the disks were released.

So I gave it a shot. It worked. I wrote a tutorial about it and got threatened by Blizzard.

After that I started making an Add-on for StarCraft (much like BroodWar) and again.... Blizzard told me to stop.

They hate me. =)

Mercury

Jul 28, 2003, 08:47 PM

Blast! I remember I was away camping at Bass Lake here in California when it came out, and I got back, and it was the neatest thing ever. A NEW DARK PURPLE TILESET, for a planet I can't even remember the name of. The home of the Dark Templar.. whatever it is. Oh well.

Yeah, too bad I didn't know, either. My long-time PC friend who had both SC and BW and I always played SC because BW for mac wasn't out. There's a happy ending, though. He recently bought a ghz TiBook, after 7 years of mac vs. PC.

Xenophanes

Jul 29, 2003, 12:18 PM

Shakuras.

Yup.... Blizzard took it's sweet time getting BroodWar to us. I'm not exactly sure why...... it probably has to do with something internal. Maybe resources were devoted to something else (like Diablo II expansion or something). I don't know.

Yup. I'm a Mac guy from now on. I love my 17" iMac G4.

You know..... we should have a list of all of the Apple computers we have owned in the previous years.

Lets see....

Apple IIc
Apple IIe
Apple IIgs
PowerMac 6500 (125Mhz)
Beige G3 Minitower (266Mhz)
Clamshell iBook SE (466Mhz)
iMac G4 17" (1Ghz)
Next stop.... Overclocked Watercooled G5!

Mercury

Jul 29, 2003, 10:10 PM

I've only actually owned a handful of macintoshes, personally, although I use Apple IIs in school all the time. My first mac was a Performa 610, I think. So:

Performa 610
Powermac 6200CD
Powermac G3/233
Powermac G4/733(w/o Super)
TiBook 667(high-end of 550..500?)
....was replaced with TiBook 667(low end of 800)

wsteineker

Jul 30, 2003, 06:49 PM

Ok, so I went out and bought Diablo II (hybrid disc). I downloaded both patches for it and am ready to roll. Only one slight problem, though. I don't have OS 9 installed (and therefore no Classic access either). Will I have to go through and partition my drive, install 9, and THEN do this install or is there an easier way to do this? Thanks for the quick help. I'm aching to get into this game!

thebossisback

Jul 30, 2003, 07:30 PM

At my local Staples, they sell Brood WAr but they only have one box, they also have a box of Warcraft 2 on a corner that his been sitting there for 2 years now. It even has a sticker that says "sneak preview: Warcraft 3."

Golem

Jul 30, 2003, 08:23 PM

Originally posted by wsteineker
Ok, so I went out and bought Diablo II (hybrid disc). I downloaded both patches for it and am ready to roll. Only one slight problem, though. I don't have OS 9 installed (and therefore no Classic access either). Will I have to go through and partition my drive, install 9, and THEN do this install or is there an easier way to do this? Thanks for the quick help. I'm aching to get into this game!

While you can play it in osx i suspect you will need classic or os 9 to Install it. Unless you can install it on another computer with os 9 and then copy it once installed. The only good part is their should be no need to partition your drive to install os 9.

wsteineker

Jul 30, 2003, 09:04 PM

Ok, can I install 9, install Diablo, patch it, and then uninstall 9? I'm running a bit short on disk space as it were. Thanks for the help! :)

Mercury

Jul 31, 2003, 12:10 AM

Originally posted by wsteineker
Ok, can I install 9, install Diablo, patch it, and then uninstall 9? I'm running a bit short on disk space as it were. Thanks for the help! :)

You most certainly can! Blizzard is especially focused on carbon and OS X these days, and once you install in OS 9, you just install the OS X patch for Diablo II, and you'll never need OS 9 again.

Edit: And yes, you WILL need to install OS 9 to install Diablo II. It's unfortunate, but, those were the times then. Eventually if Blizzard orders more CD runs, I'm hoping they'll change over to a carbon installer. I might even buy it again, just for that and the fact that my CDs are getting kinda scratched.