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roadbloc

macrumors G3
Original poster
Aug 24, 2009
8,784
215
UK
Apparently. Friend of mine purchased the game from the Mac App Store. We planned on having a good night playing the Death Sniper mod. After fixing the silly punkbuster problems we were first faced with, and had to resort to copy and pasting each other IP's and using the connect console command due to the server list not showing for him, when COD came to downloading map and mod files, he was presented with an error.

3I7bP.png


Well... I had a good night playing the mod because my Windows Steam version can download maps and mods perfectly. Due to the problems, I contacted Aspyr support for him. This was the reply.

iUfD3.png


The Mac version does not support mods. I simply don't believe Aspyr have decided to drop support for around 75% of the COD4 servers. An utterly stupid decision like this, along with the fact that it took an hour or so it get normal servers working due to punkbuster and the lack of a server list just shows to me even more that it isn't worth buying games for the Mac platform yet. Especially since the game was priced at £30 and I got my fully working (and graphically better due to directx) copy at £15 off Steam.

TL;DR version: Don't buy it.
 
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Venkman90

macrumors regular
Aug 3, 2009
101
0
I will never buy a game from a porting house. If a developer can't be arsed making their own native version then **** them frankly.

Aspyr and the like are all the same, they extort mac owners who don't want to have to buy windows / use bootcamp but due to that being a pretty small percentage of gamers no on gives a crap. On top of that they never provide support / after sale and you tend to get a ******** product at a higher price (performance gap not taken into account).

If Notch can release Minecraft for both platforms on day one and Runic can natively port Torchlight (and it's sequel) with limited budgets then devs can't argue it's too expensive, on top of that Blizzard have done it since day one and it's only helped their market share.
 

0098386

Suspended
Jan 18, 2005
21,574
2,908
I will never buy a game from a porting house. If a developer can't be arsed making their own native version then **** them frankly.

Aspyr and the like are all the same, they extort mac owners who don't want to have to buy windows / use bootcamp but due to that being a pretty small percentage of gamers no on gives a crap. On top of that they never provide support / after sale and you tend to get a ******** product at a higher price (performance gap not taken into account).

If Notch can release Minecraft for both platforms on day one and Runic can natively port Torchlight (and it's sequel) with limited budgets then devs can't argue it's too expensive, on top of that Blizzard have done it since day one and it's only helped their market share.

No no no. I do agree with Roadbloc (I either buy games on Steam or not at all), though.

Minecraft was built in java which is multiplatform. That's why it can be run on Linux, OSX, Windows and almost any previous or future platform that can run java. Essentially there is no porting involved.

Torchlight is also different from most games. It was built with excellent gameplay and below-average graphics (though with lovely art direction). A budget game like that can easily be ported without having to test it on multiple machines. If it was built in OpenGL (I haven't looked into it) then porting is pretty simple. Most games now are DirectX.

Creating a game from scratch for multiple platforms will take longer than creating a game for the most common platform. That's why publishers will usually just fund the development of a game for a platform, and then have the dev team work on a new game or sequel whilst a 3rd party team port the original. It's a very cost-effective (for the guys funding it) system which is why it happens all the time.
This is why OSX games cost more; because a whole new team has to spend a long time porting it. By the OSX versions release the PC version has already been out a while and its price has dropped considerably.

Now we're seeing engines being ported to OSX that will probably change.
 

Venkman90

macrumors regular
Aug 3, 2009
101
0
That maybe, but it's a **** system right now. Porting houses don't support their releases and they overcharge, along with Valve not being able to come to an agreement with them so they are all on Steam it's just a **** situation.

"lol bootcamp" should not be the answer to OSX gaming, it's 2011 ffs and iOS is one of the most vibrant development platforms in years, owned by Apple no less. With drivers for the latest OpenGL and developers not shunning us to some money grabbing 3rd party there is no excuse imho.
 

doh123

macrumors 65816
Dec 28, 2009
1,304
2
I don't play that game... but...

Aspyr has gone way down hill over the last 5 years... they used to be much better, but they are pretty crappy now.

also... "not supported" does NOT mean the same thing as "doesn't work" .... it just means they don't give a crap if it works or not and won't support you in doing it... your on your own.... it may or may not work.

I usually port my own games... porting it myself using the Windows version with Wineskin is a lot less problematic on most of the games I play... other than the fact many of them don't have a supported Mac port.
 

roadbloc

macrumors G3
Original poster
Aug 24, 2009
8,784
215
UK
Bit of an update... sent Aspyr support another email because I enjoy making them squirm.

Vz3YS.png


Personally, I think that is utter BS. Especially since the retail Aspyr COD4 supports all of the mods just as well as my Steam Windows version. I still don't understand why they have chosen to restrict COD4 in the App Store. It simply makes no sense.
 

doh123

macrumors 65816
Dec 28, 2009
1,304
2
Bit of an update... sent Aspyr support another email because I enjoy making them squirm.

Personally, I think that is utter BS. Especially since the retail Aspyr COD4 supports all of the mods just as well as my Steam Windows version. I still don't understand why they have chosen to restrict COD4 in the App Store. It simply makes no sense.

The app store has EXTREMELY strict rules to get in... many games and software packages are no eligible because of the rules... so they may have had to change a lot, including where information gets stored, to meet Apple's asinine rules.
 
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roadbloc

macrumors G3
Original poster
Aug 24, 2009
8,784
215
UK
The app store has EXTREMELY strict rules to get in... many games and software packages are no eligible because of the rules... so they may have had to change a lot, including where information gets stored, to meet Apple's asinine rules.

Aspyr suggested (as does the error) that it is due to the path of where the mods are kept being different to the PC version. Well, since the Mod/Map path on the retail mac version is different to the PC version, I don't see any reason on why Aspyr cannot simply get the program to redirect the path to somewhere where Apple allows.

Rushed and shoddy work in other words. If they can get it right the first time, why not the second time, just because Apple have denied storage to anywhere except the user's library folder?
 

doh123

macrumors 65816
Dec 28, 2009
1,304
2
Aspyr suggested (as does the error) that it is due to the path of where the mods are kept being different to the PC version. Well, since the Mod/Map path on the retail mac version is different to the PC version, I don't see any reason on why Aspyr cannot simply get the program to redirect the path to somewhere where Apple allows.

Rushed and shoddy work in other words. If they can get it right the first time, why not the second time, just because Apple have denied storage to anywhere except the user's library folder?

you might be able to do it yourself using a symlink or two.
 

doh123

macrumors 65816
Dec 28, 2009
1,304
2
I should have edited that, I meant a version of OpenGL that compares well to DX11, not drivers.

they have OpenGL 2.1 fully compatible... with most of the stuff needed for 3.

They really need to step it up and get OpenGL 4 going to compete good though... but it still wouldn't help much, as most game makers will still stick to DirectX... they have to actually make a game engine that used OpenGL 3 or 4... when they don't want to support Macs anyways, thats not much of an incentive.
 

whooleytoo

macrumors 604
Aug 2, 2002
6,607
716
Cork, Ireland.
Aspyr suggested (as does the error) that it is due to the path of where the mods are kept being different to the PC version. Well, since the Mod/Map path on the retail mac version is different to the PC version, I don't see any reason on why Aspyr cannot simply get the program to redirect the path to somewhere where Apple allows.

Rushed and shoddy work in other words. If they can get it right the first time, why not the second time, just because Apple have denied storage to anywhere except the user's library folder?

I think you MIGHT be wrong - if Aspyr made such a change the app could have been rejected from the App Store. It's not necessarily sloppy programming.

Certainly, either way it should have been clearer, there's no way the app should be sold without Mod support, without making the buyer aware of the fact.
 

roadbloc

macrumors G3
Original poster
Aug 24, 2009
8,784
215
UK
Solved it!

Okay. This is how to get the App Store version of COD4 to work like any other version.

UPDATE PUNKBUSTER
  • Pick up the Mac version here.
  • Right click on the Call of Duty 4.app and go to show package contents.
  • Right click on contents and click 'Show Info'
  • Expand the 'Sharing & Permissions' section and click on the padlock. Enter your password.
  • Set everything to read and write permissions. Click on the little spoke wheel thing and select apply to all encolsed files and folders.
  • Run pbsetup.run, let it to it's updaty thing.
  • Add Call of Duty 4. Set the path to /Applications/Call of Duty 4.app/Contents/
  • Click File -> Update
  • Let it update.

ENABLE MODS
  • In Finder, go to /Applications/Call of Duty 4.app/Contents
  • Move the Call of Duty 4 Data folder to /Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/Call of Duty 4
  • Open Terminal
  • Navigate to the contents folder inside the COD4 app (thanks flipngenious for reminding me about that)
  • Type in...
Code:
ln -s "/users/daniel/library/application support/call of duty 4/call of duty 4 data" "Call of Duty 4 Data"

Your maps should download now. Thanks for doh123 for the symlink idea.
 
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mac2x

macrumors 65816
Sep 19, 2009
1,146
0
Roadbloc, terminal does not support spaces in paths/filenames. There must be a backslash at each space thus, except in the name of the symlink:

Code:
ln -s "$HOME/Library/Application\ Support/Call\ of\ Duty\ 4/Call\ of\ Duty\ 4\ Data" "Call of Duty 4 Data"
 

roadbloc

macrumors G3
Original poster
Aug 24, 2009
8,784
215
UK
Roadbloc, terminal does not support spaces in paths/filenames. There must be a backslash at each space thus, except in the name of the symlink:

Code:
ln -s "$HOME/Library/Application\ Support/Call\ of\ Duty\ 4/Call\ of\ Duty\ 4\ Data" "Call of Duty 4 Data"

That is why there is quotes around the file paths. Backslashes are not needed.
 

mac2x

macrumors 65816
Sep 19, 2009
1,146
0
Ha! One learns something new everyday. :) Still your command should use $HOME for maximum portability. ;)
 

flipngenious

macrumors newbie
Feb 9, 2011
3
0
Thanks!

I wanted to add one more thing: move the symbolic link created to the original location of the CoD 4 Data folder.

Guys - sincerely and genuinely thank you for fixing this. CoD is a great series we all love the mods and the custom maps - it's part of the true enjoyment of the game and the only reason why I've not switched to console play.

I was besides myself having purchased the CoD 4 through the Mac App store and was livid that they were so against telling me how to fix the issue.

Thanks!

Flip!:cool:
 

AspyrRyan

macrumors member
Feb 9, 2011
42
0
Austin, TX
Aspyr is currently working on an application update that will address several multiplayer issues. We hope to have a release date soon. We have some workarounds in the knowledge base at http://support.aspyr.com/index.php/kb/browse/001005 . You can also contact our support through our 24 hour online ticketing system http://support.aspyr.com or by phone 512-708-8100 Mon-Fri 10AM-6PM CST.

Please note that this upcoming application update of Call of Duty 4 Mac App will require a full download of the game.
 
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Prom0dplz

macrumors newbie
Feb 9, 2011
1
0
Okay. This is how to get the App Store version of COD4 to work like any other version.

UPDATE PUNKBUSTER
  • Pick up the Mac version here.
  • Right click on the Call of Duty 4.app and go to show package contents.
  • Right click on contents and click 'Show Info'
  • Expand the 'Sharing & Permissions' section and click on the padlock. Enter your password.
  • Set everything to read and write permissions. Click on the little spoke wheel thing and select apply to all encolsed files and folders.
  • Run pbsetup.run, let it to it's updaty thing.
  • Add Call of Duty 4. Set the path to /Applications/Call of Duty 4.app/Contents/
  • Click File -> Update
  • Let it update.

ENABLE MODS
  • In Finder, go to /Applications/Call of Duty 4.app/Contents
  • Move the Call of Duty 4 Data folder to /Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/Call of Duty 4
  • Open Terminal
  • Navigate to the contents folder inside the COD4 app (thanks flipngenious for reminding me about that)
  • Type in...
Code:
ln -s "/users/daniel/library/application support/call of duty 4/call of duty 4 data" "Call of Duty 4 Data"

Your maps should download now. Thanks for doh123 for the symlink idea.

im unclear of what you do to enable the mods. the farthest ive gotten was to drag the folder to my user <Pyr0> in the cod4 folder, and whne i launch cod4, it says cannot locate the cod4 data folder. please make sure it is in the right place.
 

mac2x

macrumors 65816
Sep 19, 2009
1,146
0
Ok, that's the first step. Then you need to locate the Terminal application (/Applications/Utilities).

Copy and paste these commands on order, pressing "enter" after each:

Code:
cd "/Applications/Call of Duty 4.app/Contents"

Code:
ln -s "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Call of Duty 4/Call of Duty 4 Data" "Call of Duty 4 Data"
 

nyckylim

macrumors newbie
Mar 30, 2011
8
0
Hi guys,

I have COD4 from appstore and when i looked into the /Applications/Call of Duty 4.app/Contents/Call of Duty 4 Data/mods folder, I see:
1) ModWarfare
2) PeZBOT (I just installed that)

However, when I open COD multiplayer, and i click on mods, the list is empty.

Even after doing the steps above, created a shortcut in the Contents folder to link to /Users/<my username>/Library/Application Support/Call of Duty 4/, the mods still does not appear in my mod list inside the game.

Does anyone know what should i do ? I really want to play with mods.

P.S: I am running 1.7.549

Thank you
Nycky
 
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roadbloc

macrumors G3
Original poster
Aug 24, 2009
8,784
215
UK
Aspyr have fixed the modding problems it had before, so my fix is no longer needed. I recommend you move your mods folder back to it's original location.

How did you install the mods? Here is a screenshot of my MAS version of cod working fine with mods now. These mods were automatically downloaded from servers I just joined from the server list.

P3xfP.png
 

nyckylim

macrumors newbie
Mar 30, 2011
8
0
even before doing your steps listed above, the mod list (inside the game)was empty.

when i just downloaded the game, there is suppose to be a ModWarfare inside by default am i right ? Even ModWarfare is not in the mod list (inside the game)

Now that I moved the folder back into the /Applications/Call of Duty 4.app/Contents/ there is "OPENWARFARE" listed. But PeZBOT is not inside. Is openwarfare the same as ModWarfare ? If it is, could there be something wrong with PeZBOT ?

I'm referring to the PeZBOT that I downloaded from http://www.moddb.com/mods/pezbot/downloads/pezbot-011p-for-call-of-duty-4

Hope you're able to help me.

Thank you
Nycky
 
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