That the X3100 that is used in the new MacBooks cannot do 16-bit color and is having texture issues with numerous games, or are they just ignoring it?
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Well, I cannot play Age of Empires 2: Mac Edition since that runs in 16-bit color, so yes, some people do still use 16-bit color.
I agree, that is a major problem. They also need to fix the missing Serial port issue as well as the lack of a dial up modem and floppy drive.
Seriously though. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Hang on until you can get a simple fix for it. And you can always get AE3. I had serious trouble running Civilization 3 on my Intel Mac, and they weren't coming out with a UB for it, so I waited for Civ 4 to come to the Mac and picked up a copy and have never been happier.
I personally quite enjoyed age of mythology. But maybe that is just me...
-Josh
(currently I am waiting for my new MBP so I can play me some supreme commander)
-Josh
(currently I am waiting for my new MBP so I can play me some supreme commander)
The Intel X3100 is not intended for games anyway. Also, on the Windows side, Intel is offering crap support for it, such as incomplete drivers that in some cases, makes it slower than its predecessor, which was also horrible at playing games.
the arrogance of apple (which some of you seem to share) just makes me angry. is it asked too much for a new machine to let you choose your color depth? aoe2 & 3 and civ3 & 4 are just different games. i want to be able to play them all. i think the least apple could do was telling in the specifications that applications with 16-bit color are not supported.
when i bought a new macbook, i was aware that graphic intense games would have trouble running smoothly; what i didn't expect was that most of my older games (including aom) don't run.
my new macbook is the most expensive piece of useless plastic i ever had.
when i bought a new macbook, i was aware that graphic intense games would have trouble running smoothly; what i didn't expect was that most of my older games (including aom) don't run.
my new macbook is the most expensive piece of useless plastic i ever had.
Macs aren't for games. You bought it for a useless reason.
Granted, they play games. The Mac Pro and MacBook Pro handle Crysis, among others, quite well.
If you bought your MacBook with gaming as a selling point, one wonders why you bought your MacBook.
i use macs in different environments for different purposes.
this is not an issue of "macs aren't for games". i can play all these games even on a g3 imac. it's an issue of cutting backward compatibility without telling anyone. i don't ask for 3d graphics in billions of colors; if i did i certainly would have bought something else. is it really too much to assume that a new machine supports 16-bit color??
Innovation and improvement always requires cutting ties with the past and older technology at some point... hence the pain of dropping Classic support, et. al. and in the next generation... dropping PPC support.
The price of backwards compatibility becomes too high at some point.
You machine is capable of amazing things...
Woof, Woof Dawg
it wasn't a feature of classic. i was well aware that apple cut classic support (which is another issue)
what is the price of color depth options?
new games are no fun
I won't minimize the importance of this game or issue to you... because we all have our own things we find important and you are obviously passionate about this 16-bit support for your game
That said... I think for most users, this would be a non-issue and a blip on the radar hardly worth noticing... and certainly does not render their machine a useless piece of plastic
Woof, Woof Dawg
It's not about arrogance. It's about building computers that meet the needs of the majority of people, not everyone! No matter what they build, there will always be someone who still wants to use their Hollerith cards, paper tape, floppy drive, 8-track tape backup, 2400 baud modem, etc. who will be upset by newer, better technology.
As technology continues to advance, there are only two choices: embrace the changes or keep using an older computer that has the beloved antiquated features you cherish so much.
I understand your points but I really do not agree with you. Macs are not gaming machines, not even for older games (unfortunately, even though the oldest games were the best).
Having realized this after trying out Civ IV on the mac which kept crashing as well as numerous other games, I decided to simply spend some time setting up Boot Camp and Parallels with XP just like I wanted it.
The new Snow Leopard will completely kill off Carbon apps, and then your AoE2 will go down the drain just as well, just like all the classic Blizzard Games as StarCraft and Diablo 2 have done after 10.5.3.
This just made me realized how important and effective Boot Camp and XP really is, seeing as Vista as well doesn't support the older games anymore either. Even better, most PC games are way better supported and older games like Fallout, AoE and StarCraft has a much better modding community than on the Mac.
Software is moving forward and that means cutting some ties with the past, as already noted. I know you argue that it doesn't really cost much to add support for 16 bit (which might be true) but if Apple starts there, who knows what other small things they would also need to add support for (Carbon and Classic to name a few...)? Doing this will end up in the software jam that Microsoft ended up with after Windows 2000...
What I basically am saying to you is: stop your whining, you have plenty of options to play your beloved old games (Boot Camp being one of them).
i'm not talking of the technologies of past decades here. i'm talking about a whole range of software of the last few years that doesn't work because of a (possibly) small flaw. maybe i'm a technical idiot, but can it really be that hard for a graphic card to display thousands instead of millions of colors?
so i should just buy pc versions of all those? and hope that the flaw is only under os x? (how could i know; noone tells)
While my examples were ancient and extreme, the concept is ongoing and very current. Look at Blu-Ray vs HD DVD, Intel vs PowerPC, and note the MacBook Air, coming without an optical drive at all. The fact is, things are changing very rapidly and it's burdensome for a manufacturer to build capabilities that are cutting edge, while still maintaining functions that are becoming obsolete. Apple isn't being arrogant or trying to irritate you or anyone. They're just trying to build computers they believe will meet the needs of a majority of people. In the process, they eventually drop some functions that either conflict with newer ones, or that they see very small demand for.