WeegieMac
Guest
Nope. Unfortunately not.
Half-Life 2 Coming to Mac OS X Today
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Nope. Unfortunately not.
Sadly very, very true.
All the consoles are locked into their vendor's propreitary SDK and deployment platforms. Steam is without a games console - you never know Apple may buy Steam as their games delivery platform next to drive AppleTV/AppleGamesConsoleThing(tm) gaming.. although apple is moving with the money and that's in the mobile space rather than OSX.. so Steam could miss out here - but there's always GoogleOS.
OMIGOSH WINNI?!
Has your account been like,... stolen?!
But seriously. Amen!
(Is waiting with her PC copy of Half-Life 2)
ArcaneDevice
macrumors 6502a
Let's see ... every PC gaming publication.
If you've been sitting in front of a Mac playing games you might not have noticed publishers dropping PC game ports left and right. What ports do move over from consoles are badly done and heavily DRM'd.
With the exception of PC stalwarts like Blizzard game publishers are finding more and more reasons to not bring AAA titles to the PC platform.
As for Valve. They produce one major game every three years if lucky. That's not going to support the Mac as a gaming platform. If developers are not bringing content to the PC they sure as hell won't be swayed by the meager output of Valve on a Mac.
ArcaneDevice
macrumors 6502a
Bitter about what?
Being around when Mac gaming was in it's prime and enjoying hacking PC Voodoo cards to run them and the massive mod scene of UT?
Or that I play all my games now on consoles and an SLI equipped PC?
baryon
macrumors 68040
People saying "Meh, HL2 is old now": A good game never gets old. Half-Life 1 is still awesome and I still play Super Mario Bros on Nestopia from time to time, believe it or not. A game that only gets played because it has good graphics is not a good game, but a game that gets played because it has good narrative, great gameplay AND good graphics is a game that people won't stop playing once the graphics get old. I think HL2 is a great game. I first played it on a 950 MHz PC with 512 MB of RAM and a 64MB video card. It was on the lowest settings at 800x600 but I enjoyed it as much as I do now with all the settings on full. I sometimes stop and go like "wow it's shiny and realistic and amazing", but it's not the graphics that make the overall experience what it is. Same applies to movies by the way!
WeegieMac
Guest
Valve aren't the only developer or publisher who distributes via Steam.
You worded that reply as if Valve = Steam, when in actual fact and as I'm sure you'll be more than aware, games like Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, Bioshock 2, and Football Manager 2010 have come to Steam this year alone.
Ok, the first two of those are on Windows only, but they're regarded as Triple A titles in the videogame world and highly anticipated sequels ... hardly evidence that the end of PC gaming or indeed Steam is nigh.
That's sure a negative attitude ....
The big point here is really the option for game developers to sell their Mac titles via Steam. Valve has to illustrate that it's viable by porting their own stuff over ... but this is bigger than whatever Valve decides to release for OS X!
And PC gaming "scaling back" is a trend caused by the last generation of game consoles really stepping things up a notch, and drawing a lot of former PC gamers away from the computers. Game developers like releasing titles exclusively for Playstation 3 or XBox 360 because they know they can get a full $60 for each new release as the "standard price", and piracy is a non-issue too.
But especially in the current economy, I'm not so sure that's sustainable. A lot of the console gamers are primarily RENTING their games, because they can't justify the high cost to own them. If services like Steam allow small developers to release great game titles on a smaller budget and still achieve wide distribution, they could offer *affordable* titles that are "buy once, play on either Mac or PC platform" and do well, despite the downturn in PC gaming as a whole.
The big point here is really the option for game developers to sell their Mac titles via Steam. Valve has to illustrate that it's viable by porting their own stuff over ... but this is bigger than whatever Valve decides to release for OS X!
And PC gaming "scaling back" is a trend caused by the last generation of game consoles really stepping things up a notch, and drawing a lot of former PC gamers away from the computers. Game developers like releasing titles exclusively for Playstation 3 or XBox 360 because they know they can get a full $60 for each new release as the "standard price", and piracy is a non-issue too.
But especially in the current economy, I'm not so sure that's sustainable. A lot of the console gamers are primarily RENTING their games, because they can't justify the high cost to own them. If services like Steam allow small developers to release great game titles on a smaller budget and still achieve wide distribution, they could offer *affordable* titles that are "buy once, play on either Mac or PC platform" and do well, despite the downturn in PC gaming as a whole.
dscuber9000
macrumors 6502a
Half-Life 2 is literally one of the best games ever made. Every first-person shooter after Half-Life 2 was clearly influenced by it. Either by the way it tells the story, the atmosphere of the level design, or by the way physics impacts the gameplay.
So yeah, it's definitely front-page news when this game comes to Mac. Especially when Half-Life 2: Episode 3 should be announced this year (though you never know with Valve ).
So yeah, it's definitely front-page news when this game comes to Mac. Especially when Half-Life 2: Episode 3 should be announced this year (though you never know with Valve
).
AAPLaday
Guest
Half Life 2 is awesome. Go look at the huge market for retro games if you think anything over 2 years old isn't worth having. Its huge now. A classic is a classic for a reason. Plus having this on a mac is a huge deal. If you asked people a year ago if they thought they would get Steam on OS X how many would have thought it so?
Now if only i could make the space for a 27" iMac
Now if only i could make the space for a 27" iMac
Riemann Zeta
macrumors 6502a
It is kind of sad that a game that is around 6 years old represents the state of the art in gaming for Mac OS. Not to crap on HL2, however--the Orange Box edition on the Xbox360 still looks amazing despite the age, which is a testament to how ahead of the curve it was (HL2 was one of those generational benchmarks in 3D gaming).
My hope is that this forces Apple and/or NVIDIA to get their ass(es) in gear and actually put some effort into developing graphics drivers that don't suck. The OpenGL layer in Mac OS is unique, in that its virtual machine-like nature allows chipsets that lack any semblance of modern features (like the Intel integrated GMA series) to still have Quartz/CoreImage support, but it is real damn slow when using a modern GPU...
My hope is that this forces Apple and/or NVIDIA to get their ass(es) in gear and actually put some effort into developing graphics drivers that don't suck. The OpenGL layer in Mac OS is unique, in that its virtual machine-like nature allows chipsets that lack any semblance of modern features (like the Intel integrated GMA series) to still have Quartz/CoreImage support, but it is real damn slow when using a modern GPU...
ArcaneDevice
macrumors 6502a
Steam is a digital distribution platform.
It makes no difference what titles appear on the PC side - they are still PC games. They have to be ported to the Mac just as they would on a disc release.
And if you don't think PC gaming is in the decline then you aren't paying enough attention outside of the Mac sphere. PC gamers like myself are a dying breed. Software and hardware has reached it's zenith. At one time each pushed the other to progress, now with software being made for consoles first and PC gaming hardware development hitting limits neither is driving the PC to become the must-have platform for the maximum gaming experience.
It's the return on investment.. These are big companies attempting to make big money. They're not interested in delivering an amazing game that's akin to The Lives of Others. They're interested in the same tat that get peddled on consoles because it's low cost to produce (skills, engine reuse, less target variation of platform etc) and higher margin because of it.
It's true that you'll get the independents but they are the exception rather than the norm..
3rd Doctor
macrumors member
Not true, both the wii and the 360 suffer from piracy, maybe not on the same scale as pc games but still...
Dont Hurt Me
macrumors 603
Im looking forward to lost coast, a little minigame demonstrater that they made for some reason. what a great little level. Still waiting, nothing at steam as of this moment.
scottypeps
macrumors newbie
Yes. I think a lot of people who own a mac don't even know what a graphics card is, let alone the one that came in their brand new iMac is already outdated.
WeegieMac
Guest
Trust me mate, I've owned every platform possible of playing videogames since the day I owned an Amiga 500 and Atari ST side by side, right through to current day.
I built a PC gaming rig JUST for Half Life 2 back when it was due to launch, so I'm not some Mac fanboy who is heavily reliant on Steam.
I call things as I see them, and Half Life 2 on the Mac is a huge release.
PC gaming however, is not on the "decline". The only games that don't make it to PC are the system shifters from the PS3 and Xbox 360 such as Final Fantasy XIII and Gears of War 2 (although the first Gears game to Windows).
0098386
Suspended
I used to work in the PC gaming industry and no, it isn't winding down at all. I also read magazines (EDGE, various blogs and sites on the subjects) and they're not reporting about this "problem" either.
All that is happening are developers, now that computers and consoles are on equal performance and that SDK's are universal for all systems, are bringing their games to all markets. Console games get ported to PC, PC games get ported to consoles. Source, Unreal Engine, Crytek, GameByro and middleware products like Havok are as fully supported on PC and consoles.
This is why DRM is ever-present (I guess you're new to gaming because even old PC games had CD-checking DRM). The difference is now games don't rely on optical checking so there has to be another method. Nothing has changed in 15 years with DRM except for how obtrusive some methods are getting.
Oh and the quality of ports even varies across console games too (I don't think there is a console game that looks just as good on both consoles). Again... this isn't new nor limited to PC games.
One of the good bits of this is that you can do that, then enter the serial number on steam, and it'll work on your Mac. That's what this whole steamplay thing is about. Buy the orange box, and you'll get portal and the works. I bought it for under twenty quid a few years ago.
One of the bad bits about steam is that if you buy a secondhand copy, you won't be able to do this, as the serial number will be tied to someone else's steam account.
Dont Hurt Me
macrumors 603
The MacMini with the new specs must be on the way. A 320M puts everyone in the game as far as I can tell and if Apple makes this their base gpu then thats a huge step up from past history. Even a old iMac with a 2.4 and 2600 pro shouldnt have any problems running whats coming out on steam.Too bad Apple decided to use a crappy intel GPU in the first intel Mac mini and MacBook.
But now there is a new MacBook with a new nVidia GPU, where's the new Mac mini with the same specs?
edit: yes we know the game is 4+ years old but some of us never played it, so it's new to us.
a 320M should be close in performance to a 2600. This means all new macs are in the game.I wonder what time of day the release will be?
AAPLaday
Guest
Plus how many pc gamers out there have up to date rigs anyway? Mac gamers don't need the games to full maxed out with 32x AA etc. Medium to high will do most of us. Considering we wouldn't need to bootcamp into windows to play games is great. How many mac users install windows just for the purpose of playing games? Having it native would rock so much more.
+1
Wow, this game is so old. I passed it on a Windows machine YEARS ago.
This is the kinda of stuff that makes PC users laugh at Mac users.