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CoD Black Ops for Mac announced!

El Awesome

El Awesome

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 21, 2012
471
0
Zurich
Hey guys,

I just saw that Aspyr is going to release CoD Black Ops for Mac! I know it's getting pretty old, but it's still fun to play.

Get more info here:

http://www.aspyr.com/games/call-of-duty-black-ops

What I find interesting is that the 650M in the brand new rMBP just hits the minimum requirements. Seems to be pretty hungry on the Mac.


Minimum System Requirements

Operating System: 10.7.4 (Lion), 10.8 (Mountain Lion)
CPU Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo (Dual-Core)
CPU Speed: 2.4 GHz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 15 GB
Video Card (ATI): Radeon HD 3870
Video Card (NVidia): Geforce 650M
Video Memory (VRam): 512 MB
Peripherals: Macintosh mouse and keyboard

Supported Video Cards:

NVIDIA GeForce® 650M
ATI Radeon HD 3870, HD 4670, HD 4850, HD 5670, HD 5750, HD 5770, HD 5870, HD 6490, HD 6750


NOTICE: We do not recommend that you play Call of Duty: Black Ops on any of the following unsupported graphic chipsets:

HD3000 (2011 Mac Mini, 2011 MacBook Air, 2011 13” MacBook Pro) or HD4000 (2012 13” MacBook Pro)
ATI Radeon HD 2000 series, HD 4670, HD6630M
NVIDIA 8000 & 9000 series, GT100 series, 320M, 330M
Intel Integrated GMA950, x3100
Click to expand...
 
Oh, boy! I just hope and pray this becomes available through Steam. I purchased it through Steam a few months ago in the hopes that it would be available on Mac. It would be great to not have to switch over to Windows every time I want to play... AND not have to buy the game twice! :rolleyes:
 
Steep system requirements. Especially RAM wise. The only problem with ports I guess.
 
Odd?

Look at the requirements posted... how can the ATI HD 4670 be supported and unsupported and not-recommened at the same time?

Or am I missing something?
 
Works great on high and low end machines.

Hi, I'm a staff writer for Inside Mac Games and have been playing Black Ops ahead of time to get a review out on release day.

I noted some concerns around different mac forums about the requirements so I did some testing.

If you don't meet the minimum system requirements, fear not! This game runs great even on my under-spec MBA. It ran very smoothly on the auto-detect settings, which was 1024x768 resolution and medium settings. The machine itself is "unsupported" in the processor, video card department and OS version. It wants 10.7.4.

My MBA Specs: 13" Mid 2011. 1.7 GHz Core i5. 4GB RAM. Intel HD 3000 (384mb) Lion 10.7.3.

I played through the first mission very smoothly..I may even try turning up a few things. Probably to 1280x720 and maybe a little AA. I didn't test out Multiplayer, but I'm sure it will be just as smooth. There's less going on than in parts of the campaign with all the explosions and dozens of enemy soldiers.

On my main machine, a 27" iMac, Core i5 Quad 2.8Ghz, 8GB RAM, ATI Radeon HD5750 1GB it runs perfect at High settings. So most anyone should be fine running this if you have something similar and/or in-between to one of the two machines above.

This game is awesome. The campaign is intense and the multiplayer is so fun. I hope lots of people get this.
 
bungiefan89 said:
Oh, boy! I just hope and pray this becomes available through Steam. I purchased it through Steam a few months ago in the hopes that it would be available on Mac. It would be great to not have to switch over to Windows every time I want to play... AND not have to buy the game twice! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Sorry to disappoint you, Black Ops will be on Steam but it will NOT be SteamPlay. Aspyr made that clear in one of their announcement posts. You can even buy it on Steam, it will just be the Mac only version. If you don't want the Steam version, you can get it from the MAS, which doesn't use Steam.
 
TheGreatWumpus said:
On my main machine, a 27" iMac, Core i5 Quad 2.8Ghz, 8GB RAM, ATI Radeon HD5750 1GB it runs perfect at High settings. So most anyone should be fine running this if you have something similar and/or in-between to one of the two machines above.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this info, Wumpus. I have a machine with nearly identical specifications, the only difference being that I have 12 GB of RAM. Glad to hear it will run well on this machine.

I assume the game will be available through the Mac App Store?? Anyone know for sure?
 
tgara said:
Thanks for this info, Wumpus. I have a machine with nearly identical specifications, the only difference being that I have 12 GB of RAM. Glad to hear it will run well on this machine.

I assume the game will be available through the Mac App Store?? Anyone know for sure?
Click to expand...

Yes, it will, but it won't be available there on the releases date. Probably a week or so later. Also keep in mind that there's no tax at MacGameStore.com and other online retailers. The Mac App Store does. I'll be getting the MAS version though. For me the experience has always been better directly from Apple.
 
TheGreatWumpus said:
Hi, I'm a staff writer for Inside Mac Games and have been playing Black Ops ahead of time to get a review out on release day.

I noted some concerns around different mac forums about the requirements so I did some testing.

If you don't meet the minimum system requirements, fear not! This game runs great even on my under-spec MBA. It ran very smoothly on the auto-detect settings, which was 1024x768 resolution and medium settings. The machine itself is "unsupported" in the processor, video card department and OS version. It wants 10.7.4.

My MBA Specs: 13" Mid 2011. 1.7 GHz Core i5. 4GB RAM. Intel HD 3000 (384mb) Lion 10.7.3.

I played through the first mission very smoothly..I may even try turning up a few things. Probably to 1280x720 and maybe a little AA. I didn't test out Multiplayer, but I'm sure it will be just as smooth. There's less going on than in parts of the campaign with all the explosions and dozens of enemy soldiers.
Click to expand...

Good to know. Based on your posting and how it plays on your MBA, here's hoping it will run well on my Mid-2011 Mac mini (2.7 GHz i7, 8GB RAM, AMD Radeon 6630M 256 GDDR5 VRAM, OS X 10.8.2).
 
monokitty said:
Good to know. Based on your posting and how it plays on your MBA, here's hoping it will run well on my Mid-2011 Mac mini (2.7 GHz i7, 8GB RAM, AMD Radeon 6630M 256 GDDR5 VRAM, OS X 10.8.2).
Click to expand...

I can't speak for your graphics card, but you definitely have enough specs otherwise. The PC minimum is a 256mb card, so you could probably get away with low/medium settings just fine. I can't promise it to you since I don't have a machine with a 256mb card to test on, but it does seem likely it would work.
 
TheGreatWumpus said:
Sorry to disappoint you, Black Ops will be on Steam but it will NOT be SteamPlay. Aspyr made that clear in one of their announcement posts. You can even buy it on Steam, it will just be the Mac only version. If you don't want the Steam version, you can get it from the MAS, which doesn't use Steam.
Click to expand...
SUPER lame! :( Oh, well... at least I can still play it through bootcamp.
 
For anyone using a MBP:

Keep in mind your fans will run and depending on what model Mac you have, the game could be too much for your Macs fans and could over heat your MBP. This has nothing to do with specs. You can have tons of RAM or a really good processor, etc, and have your Mac's fans run because of a game.
 
I'm really struggling to find a nice way to say this, since I have mad respect for Aspyr for even bothering to support Mac gaming in the first place, but let's be honest here...

Nintendo is about to release an entirely new system with Black Ops 2, which wasn't even released right after 1.

In the age of multi-platform releases, why can't Aspyr work with developers to get OS X ports out anywhere near the same time as the PC release?

(yeah, I know this has been asked and answered a million times on here already, but now that most games are released on multiple platforms simultaneously, with the help of external developers when needed, this really shouldn't still be happening anymore)
 
In the age of multi-platform releases, why can't Aspyr work with developers to get OS X ports out anywhere near the same time as the PC release?
Click to expand...

First off, thanks for the respect DrNeroCF. It really means a lot to us at Aspyr, especially on a product like Black Ops that we've worked so hard on. You've made a point that is near and dear to our heart as gamers, so I thought I would chime in.

Our #1 goal at Aspyr is to provide the absolute best user experience possible for the Mac audience on the coolest games we can get our hands on. Undeniably, part of that experience is releasing the game as close as possible to the original release.

In some cases, we can make it happen. We were able to launch same day as the PC for Civilization V: Gods and Kings, and we were only 2 months behind when we launched the original Civilization V. In other cases, no matter how hard we try, we are delayed further than we want to be. Sometimes its for technical reasons, and other times it may be for business reasons, but I can promise you (and I bet this goes for our talented friends at Feral too) it's always our goal to ship ASAP after the original release.
 
Aspyr got RAGE out about 3 months or so after the PC release. That's pretty awesome.

I don't have any golden insight or secrets, but I know from talking to some mac game devs that there's lots of reasons as Blair was saying above. Its more than just "we want to port this game to Mac" its the licenses/publishers on the other end who control it to begin with. Some of the releases by Feral were delayed because a publisher delayed them for a month or two when the game was already 100% done as an example. (leaving names out.)

Full cross-platform releases would be nice. You have to realize while a l lot of engines are cross-platform now, it doesn't mean "make it on PC, press a button to make it on Mac." And I imagine that an outside source like Aspyr/Feral, working to port a game that is still in development by the original devs would be difficult. The game/code/etc isn't complete and its two separate teams.

The reason we see pc/xbox/ps3 releases is because its almost always the same dev. Or the PC version comes a bit later either from the original team, or its outsourced. For Mac, its extended, sometimes a long time, but given our small market and only really 2 porting houses (Aspyr/Feral) its not like they port things with wild abandon. It has to be selective and probably popular. If it it doesn't sell, its a huge loss. PC has the market to support most anything. Of course there are other channels, Indie games, stuff that's SteamPlay, but strictly talking about Feral/Aspyr (VP seems kinda dead at the moment so I'm not including them) then its a different story. I think there is more work involved than the average gamer realizes and its easy to say "Why aren't you giving me the latest and greatest games???" Know they would like to, but its usually not possible for a variety of practical, financial and business reasons.

Realize that the PC/Console devs outsourcing the game port are *paying* someone to do it. But Feral and Aspyr have are the one's who PAY for the Mac ports. See the difference? They don't have Feral and Aspyr do it, Feral & Aspyr must pay themselves to do it, and then in turn sell the game to us. Its a huge difference and while they obviously stay in business, they certainly don't have the money to snap up anything and everything on a whim.

The upside is, while we may get things late, we often get GOTY editions or bundles which is a nice touch.

Sure, Aspyr could maybe start working on Black Ops 2, but its not even out yet for any platform. Maybe they could deliver it 6 months from now, or whatnot. But with every new release comes increased cost for Aspyr, and increased hardware requirements on Mac gamers. (and also game price.) But we're getting Black Ops *now* and its awesome.

People were already bitching about high the requirements were for Black Ops until I did some testing on my under spec MBA and posted that around to calm them down. Just imagine what the requirements for Black Ops 2 would be on a Mac. A lot higher to be sure.

As Mac Gamers of course we can always want more, and demand quality. Aspyr & Feral deliver that. We can't view this in the spectrum of "that is coming out on PC, why isn't it coming out on Mac?" The playing field is (literally and metaphorically) very different and cannot be judged in the same light. Whatever Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft is doing is completely irrelevant to our platform. They have different markets, different supply and demand, and different financial situations as a result.

No one is a Mac gamer to be on the cutting edge of gaming in general. You have to either go through other routes such as Cider/WINE to wrap a new PC game, or have Bootcamp. Personally I do all 3, but always of course, prefer a Mac port of my favorite games. If you look at the latest and greatest releases of other platforms, and lament they are not on ours (Mac) and in turn vent or complain to the Mac gaming devs/porting houses its just wrong. There's nothing wrong with asking for new games, its all a matter of attitude. Indies and Feral/Aspyr are doing everything they can to bring us new games, and if we all stay positive and receptive, I'm sure they will too.

My two cents on the whole deal.
 
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macuser1232 said:
For anyone using a MBP:

Keep in mind your fans will run and depending on what model Mac you have, the game could be too much for your Macs fans and could over heat your MBP. This has nothing to do with specs. You can have tons of RAM or a really good processor, etc, and have your Mac's fans run because of a game.
Click to expand...

Haha, i can guarantee you that that will not be a problem.
I have dont 6+ hour gaming sessions on my 2010 15" MBP 2.66 i7 with GT 330M 512MB. Sure the fans run at 6000rpm constantly and damn it gets hot. But its never slowed down due to heat build up or anything.
Nothing is overheating, I would turn itself of it it overheats before it causes damage.
 
The-Pro said:
Haha, i can guarantee you that that will not be a problem.
I have dont 6+ hour gaming sessions on my 2010 15" MBP 2.66 i7 with GT 330M 512MB. Sure the fans run at 6000rpm constantly and damn it gets hot. But its never slowed down due to heat build up or anything.
Nothing is overheating, I would turn itself of it it overheats before it causes damage.
Click to expand...

Well that's the thing. How do you know when it officially over heats? I wouldn't be surprised if the Mac couldn't handle more than an hour of that heat and fans running at 6000rpm.
 
macuser1232 said:
Well that's the thing. How do you know when it officially over heats? I wouldn't be surprised if the Mac couldn't handle more than an hour of that heat and fans running at 6000rpm.
Click to expand...

How do we know if the computer overheats? I all ready wrote that. When the internals overheat the computer will shut itself down, to prevent damage being caused. The thermal limit of the CPU's is usually different with each CPU family. But as far as I know the the i series intel CPU's have a thermal limit of 105°°C, where they will shut off. Of course "overheating" is seen differently by most people. Some freak out when their MBP reaches 70°C, either because they have no clue (dont blame them then) or because they are used to desktops, which run much cooler than notebooks.
On my friends Alienware M17x, despite some special thermal cooling design etc, the CPU reaches 85°C and sits around 70°C. Thats also quite hot. Seems fine with that too.

Apart form the gaming sessions my MBP is used as a rendering machine, that for at least 16hours a day, 6 days a week. The processor is at a constant 85-94°C and fans at 6000rpm, its been doing this since I purchased it back in late april 2010. Hasn't had any problems so far. So the CPU seems to be fine with running at an average of like 90°C.

Try it out on yours mate, it will be very hot and all but it wont overheat and shut off, unless something is damaged or broken.
 
The-Pro said:
How do we know if the computer overheats? I all ready wrote that. When the internals overheat the computer will shut itself down, to prevent damage being caused. The thermal limit of the CPU's is usually different with each CPU family. But as far as I know the the i series intel CPU's have a thermal limit of 105°°C, where they will shut off. Of course "overheating" is seen differently by most people. Some freak out when their MBP reaches 70°C, either because they have no clue (dont blame them then) or because they are used to desktops, which run much cooler than notebooks.
On my friends Alienware M17x, despite some special thermal cooling design etc, the CPU reaches 85°C and sits around 70°C. Thats also quite hot. Seems fine with that too.

Apart form the gaming sessions my MBP is used as a rendering machine, that for at least 16hours a day, 6 days a week. The processor is at a constant 85-94°C and fans at 6000rpm, its been doing this since I purchased it back in late april 2010. Hasn't had any problems so far. So the CPU seems to be fine with running at an average of like 90°C.

Try it out on yours mate, it will be very hot and all but it wont overheat and shut off, unless something is damaged or broken.
Click to expand...
Oh ok. Thanks. By the way, what score do you get with Geekbench on your Macbook Pro? Just wondering. Thanks.
 
macuser1232 said:
Oh ok. Thanks. By the way, what score do you get with Geekbench on your Macbook Pro? Just wondering. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Sure thing :)

No idea mate. But I recall reading something like 5900 (if thats from the correct benchmarking application) same as your 2.3 i5. Thats the difference between first generation i series CPU's and 2nd generation sandy bridge. :D
I was thinking about getting a new quad MBP but I allready have a quad core Mac Pro and an 8 core Mac Pro so I dont need it :D
 
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It's released, but has anyone gotten it yet, and how does it perform?


Is it available on the Mac App Store?
 
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