I'll have to disagree with you on this one. It really depends on the FPS - COD, MW, Halo and L$D have been optimised for a game pad, and IMO they all play great on a 360 or PS3......
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Valve Releases 'Left 4 Dead' for Mac OS X
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I'll have to disagree with you on this one. It really depends on the FPS - COD, MW, Halo and L$D have been optimised for a game pad, and IMO they all play great on a 360 or PS3......
Valve would never put their titles on a competing digital distribution platform anyway.
Yes, they usually compromise the gameplay to make it work well with gamepads. i.e., when Halo was ported to Mac/PC, they turned off autoaim. Personally I don't like compromises like autoaim/aim assist. On the other hand, gamepads kill keyboard/mouse for third-person games.
--Eric
So I could start playing anything again (late 2006 macbook pro could barely run starcraft 2 on low quality), I looked into returning to my youthful system building days. Came up with a quad-core i7, Radeon 5770, 4GB RAM, awesome case, HDs, you name it, for a grand. Used my existing 23" HD display, voila. As much as I love my Macs, I can build a gaming rig that slams any mac laptop or imac that cost a fraction of the price (don't flay me Mac Pro people, but for a simple gaming rig it's overkill).
$500-$1000 for a solid gaming rig is WELL worth the hassle to put up with windows if you want to play any half-way decent games.
yeah, at least you can PLAY it in mac -- i have to use boot camp! evidently the vid card drivers for my imac are good in Windows, but not mac, so valve disabled the card altogether. but if you boot camp to XP....no problem.
nice, huh?
Under Bootcamp on my 9400M I used to get 40-60fps on L4D1 with everything set to medium-high at native resolution. I was using modded drivers and was overclocked a bit too. Even my 2006 iMac can run it at medium settings native res. It's not exactly a demanding game (L4D2 on the other hand...).
To say you shouldn't play L4D on it is a bit of a stretch.
Ouch, didn't think about the file size.
I know this will sound stupid, but I read the article and was like : man, 14.99 for both L4D title, why not. Especially since I felt a little retarded because I have no console (besides the Wii that is not even hooked up to the TV) and play pretty no game.
So came the download moment... Duh ! Both game make for a nice 30+ gb download package... not so good for me since I have a 40gb monthly limit ! Don't even ask me how am I gonna fit those 40gb on my HD either... Good buy Boot Camp partition !
Anyway, hope that can help some take their decision.
I know this will sound stupid, but I read the article and was like : man, 14.99 for both L4D title, why not. Especially since I felt a little retarded because I have no console (besides the Wii that is not even hooked up to the TV) and play pretty no game.
So came the download moment... Duh ! Both game make for a nice 30+ gb download package... not so good for me since I have a 40gb monthly limit ! Don't even ask me how am I gonna fit those 40gb on my HD either... Good buy Boot Camp partition !
Anyway, hope that can help some take their decision.
both l4d and l4d2 are based off the 6 year old source engine, since alot of l4d levels are now in l4d2, yes there is no point in even buying l4d1
its pretty freaking sad that all these macs costing well over $1800 can barely get 50FPS, my rig is already 2 years old and it costs $1400 at the time, the game is set to
2048x1536x32
16xAF
4xCSAA
all settings to very high or max detail
and i still get 180FPS at the lowest, sometimes it spikes to 300FPS looking at the floor.
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It is sad about Mac framerates, but not being able to play at all was sadder. Don't poo on our parade too much.
It is sad about Mac framerates, but not being able to play at all was sadder. Don't poo on our parade too much.
The final chapter on the bridge was impossibly hard. I had to set it to 'Easy' in order to win it. 
Eh, I don't really care about graphics or frame rates. I have to play L4D2 at a resolution of 1024 x something or something, all on low, but I still have a ton of fun playing it. Whether I'm playing on low or ultra, the game is still the same, and when I think back to when I was playing, I don't think about the graphics at all, but the gameplay. As long as the frame rate is stable, I couldn't care less about settings, whether it's low or high, I'm still having the same amount of fun and not paying attention to the graphics.
Yea, you L4D1 isn't a so hardware demanded game, but i would still prefer turn everything high, especially on AA. Graphic just look a lot nicer. But again, that just personal preference. L4D2 isn't so hard on game too. You can play on your iMac (Macbook, Mac Mini, NO WAY!!) with mid-setting too. But again, 4650 isn't designed for gaming, so its up to user ultimately.
The difference between L4D1 and 2 is roughly the same as the difference between Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead (Romero versions). Night of the Living Dead = tense, claustrophobic horror in dark surroundings. Dawn of the Dead expands on the world introduced in Night and gives it more colour and action. The set pieces in L4D2 are on a bigger scale than L4D1 but the characters are not as widely liked as the first version. Some people prefer L4D1 and some think that L4D2 has a bit more variety. I play both.
There is simply no comparison between an FPS on a console and a PC. Using a controller for an FPS is like trying to thread a needle with oven mits on. It would be impossible for me to aim as fast on a controller as I do with keyboard and mouse. I have long years of practice at FPS on a PC and when I play one on a console I feel like someone has drugged me. I can't stand these chimps who claim it is a matter of preference. It is the difference between using a scalpel or a kitchen knife.
The final chapter on the bridge was impossibly hard. I had to set it to 'Easy' in order to win it.
I struggled at first but after a few goes you get the hang of it. Of course that depends a lot on the quality of the 'team' you are playing with
Which graphics card is in your iMac? I have the one with the 2600 pro and it runs at full res on med-low settings fine
Which graphics card is in your iMac? I have the one with the 2600 pro and it runs at full res on med-low settings fine
The one just below yours, the 2400 HD. Kinda wish we had've gotten the next model up with the 2600, but too late now.
Ah right. Well at least when you get a new one there will be a huge difference
I just lucked out buying this one. I didn't know macrumours even existed when i bought mine. Had no idea about Apples refresh policy (not letting the customer know when new models are coming out), buying just after a refresh to get best value for money etc. I just walked into an Apple reseller and bought it. Its been ok for gaming. Vista made me do it Heh yeah, but as I said, as long as I can play the game, I don't care about graphics quality (and I have finished Crysis Warhead on this, so it can pretty much play any game I throw at it ). I'm just happy all these games are now coming out for Mac to save me booting into Windows.
(and I have finished Crysis Warhead on this, so it can pretty much play any game I throw at it ). I'm just happy all these games are now coming out for Mac to save me booting into Windows.