Macs Rule

AIDS · Post by **AIDS** » Sun Feb 16, 2003 1:11 am

I own a Power Mac from around 1996. It still works and has a bunch of great games on it. Bungie used to develop most of thier games for it. Some of my favorites include Marathon, Abuse, and Myth. I used to have a subscription to a magazine called Mac Addict. It was awesome because every issue came with a cd filled with tons of game demos and applications. Another one of my favorite games was Mortal Pongbat. It was a game like pong except you could obliterate your oppenent's paddle using lasers and stuff that your own paddle shot. I don't know exactly what this post is supposed to be about, I guess I wanna just say that I love Macs. Screw Micro$soft and thier Crap-Box (I being very hippocritcal because I am using a computer that uses Windows XP). I really regret having a PC. I'd much rather use a Mac. I use a Mac in one of my classes at school and I love it. Alright...whatever. Let the backlash ensue.

Evilmagicpirate · Post by **Evilmagicpirate** » Sun Feb 16, 2003 2:00 am

I played a PC version of Abuse, that game was pretty good. First game I ever played that allowed Mouse aiming (this was back in like 1995ish) and I thought it was the coolest interface I had ever used.. With games prior to it, like Jazz Jackrabit and even Doom you only used the keyboard to aim and to move your guy, in Abuse (I hope Im talking about the same game you are) you walked with keys, and could aim and shoot with mouse! Obviously, that system really took off!!

As I recall, I also got it from a Demo CD that came with a magazine... Magazine Demo CDs weren't something that was Mac exclusive you know.

Also, how long will it be until Mac releases a console? Or is that what the Imac is? I think its so funny (in a hippocritical sense) how some of the Mac users hate on Xbox and its cruddy games selection, when the mac is even worse off.. LMAO...

AIDS · Post by **AIDS** » Sun Feb 16, 2003 6:24 pm

Ya, I played the same Abuse you're talking about. Very innovative game from a very cool company. There's a more recent game that's similar to is called Soldat. Check it out, it's like a mix between Abuse and Couter-stike.

I know that other magazines come with CDs. I was just saying that the magazine came with one. Bottomline, magazines that come with CDs are cool.

I don't know why I like Mac so much, but, I do. I don't know, but from all the CDs I got from Mac Addict magazine, I noticed that alot of games that were on the CDs were from game companies I've never heard of. There were alot of really cool games and they seemed to be coming from very small companies. It could be compared to music, I guess. These games on the Mac are like indie bands on indie labels. And other games are like popular bands and big record labels. I don't know where I'm going here but I guess what I'm trying to say is that it was fun to play something different than most PC games.

RurouniQ · Post by **RurouniQ** » Mon Feb 17, 2003 9:56 am

Mortal Pongbat is one of the best games ever! My girlfriend still play that one with each other for hours on end.
No, Apple doesn't have a console, but they came up with the idea LOOONG ago, almost 10 years ago, in fact. It was called the Pippin, but it never got to the production stage. I don't know why they decided not to pursue it, the console itself was already put together and ready for production, but in either case, Microsoft was not the first.
Yes, Mac users hate the Xbox and its horrible game selection, but at least the Mac still gets a lot of really good games on it, like WCIII, D2, JK2, Sims, Ghost Recon, Everquest, Wolfenstein, Neverwinter Nights (soon)... Almost all the really good games still come out for Mac, if a little bit late, but patience is a virtue.
Either way, the general widespread use for computers is not gaming, it's computing. Things like surfing the web and photo & video editing and word processing, not games. Yes, games are an increasingly large part of it, but most adults will not put games on their list. The reason Mac people loves them their Macs is because they believe the Mac does all these things more efficiently and with more style than Microsoft ever will, and now that programmers have OSX to write for, this will start to apply to games as well. (Gamespy has an article on why Mac gaming is on the rise, http://www.gamespy.com/articles/february03/mac4/ ). That is where our loyalty comes from, and it won't ever die so long as Apple keeps doing these things better.

Post by **BreakmanX** » Mon Feb 17, 2003 5:21 pm

Rurouni Trelane wrote:The reason Mac people loves them their Macs is because they believe the Mac does all these things more efficiently

Cool, that's interesting. Where did you find the comparitive benchmarks? Because I've been looking all over for info like this.

Not to be an ass, but whenever I found benchmarks the PC always came out on top. Be it games, word processing, and even video rendering. The PC even came out on top in things that should be better on a Mac, such as Quicktime.

Anyway, I'd love for these benchmarks to get out, and give Windows some competition. Thanks!

Ruroini Trelane wrote:Yes, games are an increasingly large part of it, but most adults will not put games on their list.

Actually, 60% of gamers are over the age of 18. And the average age for a gamer is 28. It seems like adults are taking notice to games.

RurouniQ · Post by **RurouniQ** » Mon Feb 17, 2003 7:32 pm

BreakmanX wrote:Cool, that's interesting. Where did you find the comparitive benchmarks? Because I've been looking all over for info like this.
Not to be an ass, but whenever I found benchmarks the PC always came out on top. Be it games, word processing, and even video rendering. The PC even came out on top in things that should be better on a Mac, such as Quicktime.
Anyway, I'd love for these benchmarks to get out, and give Windows some competition. Thanks!

For one, all the benchmarks I've seen support Mac (although they're all Macworld or CNet). But I wasn't talking about raw speed. I was referring to the efficiency of the Mac file system. It's simpler and faster to navigate in general, at least for me, the result of which is I get things done quicker. Mac people all feel the same way.

BreakmanX wrote:Actually, 60% of gamers are over the age of 18. And the average age for a gamer is 28. It seems like adults are taking notice to games.

I was referring to people who are our parents' age. These people still consist of over half of the computer-owning populous.

Post by **BreakmanX** » Mon Feb 17, 2003 8:20 pm

Global Knowledge Group wrote:the average Internet user's age is 32. About one in 10 Internet users (more than 3 million) is a child under 18 who uses the Internet from home or school.

Seems like the Computer target audience is interested in games =)

Rurouni Trelane wrote:I was referring to people who are our parents' age. These people still consist of over half of the computer-owning populous.

What is your source for this? I couldn't find that.

And with the benchmarks, they were for equally priced machines, right?

FORUM ARGUMENTS RULE!

The Siege · Post by **The Siege** » Tue Feb 18, 2003 2:33 pm

YOU ALL SEEM TO BE FORGETTING ESCAPE VELOCITY, ONE OF THE GREATEST GAMES OF ALL TIME!!! OMG, if you haven't played this game, pay $40 for an old power mac and PLAY IT, it's old shareware so esssentially it's free. Anyone who has played this knows how much fun it is, and what's more the game would make the absolute perfect MMORPG. If they would pull there head's out of their asses and make a new Escape Velocity as an MMORPG it could be the greatest game ever.

Enought rant time for a description. Basically the game lands you in a large, starwars-esque galaxy torn by civil war and ravaged by space pirates. your goal is to, well, do whatever the hell you want. me, i became a trader and saved up enough money to buy an awesome ship, mod it out to hell and kick everyone's ass. eventually i fell in league with the rebels, and was able to purchase a rebel cruiser which was even more badass. then i conquered a lot of confederation planets, but i was never able to conquer earth before i eventually tired of the game. it was single player see, if they remade it as an MMORPG it would never get old and it would be so awesome, i swear it should be done. and done well, not in shitty 3d that's hard to control but keep the classic 2d space battle system, it was incredibly fun and challenging real-time combat.

Zukin · Post by **Zukin** » Wed Feb 19, 2003 5:36 pm

Escape Velocity is so hardcore... I should install it on my Powerbook so I can play it on campus and other random places. That's one thing that rocks about Macs: even though my Powerbook is nearly 8 years old, it still plays MP3's perfectly, and probably Escape Velocity too. I still need to play EV: Nova, and I will soon since they're porting it to PC

Evilmagicpirate · Post by **Evilmagicpirate** » Wed Feb 19, 2003 8:18 pm

You'll find that a Pentium 60 will also play MP3s fine...
Release date: March 22, 1993.
Almost 10yrs old.

Besides, your 8 year old Powerbook has what, a 70mb harddrive? With O/S, etc.. that gives you like room for one CD of MP3 compressed music.

Zukin · Post by **Zukin** » Wed Feb 19, 2003 9:22 pm

lol.... 70 MB.... it's a 1 GB hard drive - I use it because I had it laying around, rather than buying another portable MP3 player (my current one holds a whopping 16 MB! W00t!) or a Pentium 60. Overall, I'd prefer to have an iPod or 6GB Nomad, but the Powerbook works fine for now, even though I could get down with some hardcore original "System Shock" action if I had the Pentium 60

Evilmagicpirate · Post by **Evilmagicpirate** » Wed Feb 19, 2003 10:54 pm

I just assumed 70mb because my dad had a 'decked out' IBM laptop back in 1993, it only had 70mb harddrive (I thought it was fkn huge at the time). Did you upgrade to the gig harddrive later or did it come with that? I assume the powerbook origionally had <100mb of harddrive space, as was the norm at the time for laptops.

And yeah, Harddrive MP3 players are the way to go.

Edit: http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/2003021 ... ts-25.html
A listing of how long it takes certain processors to covert wav to MP3.. Funny how much faster the P4 really is.

Zukin · Post by **Zukin** » Wed Feb 19, 2003 11:21 pm

The hard drives on the powerbook 1400s originally ranged from 750 MB to 2 GB, which kind of surprised me. I've also picked up lots of random Apple stuff from computer maintenance/moving jobs I've had (legal moving, that is). Like the Apple IIGS "Woz Edition" with co-founder Steve Wozniak's signature printed on the case and the elongated Apple Portrait Monitor

Jack Burton · Post by **Jack Burton** » Thu Feb 20, 2003 12:34 am

Speaking of Escape Velocity....

I had it for my old power mac and it was the only game on mac (besides Duke Nukem 3d and Doom II) that I actually paid for. Ambrosia Software had to be the best developers on the macintosh (excluding bungie, of course). I mean how can people look past Maelstrom, Apeiron, EV, Harry the Handsome Executive, Bubble Trouble, Barrack, Swoop, Avara, Mars Rising, Chiral, and Cythera (I beta'd it)...at least that's all that were out by the time we had gotten rid of the Power Mac. But anyways, there are two new games that Ambrosia's coming out with that are gonna be on PC!!!! Yay! Those are: Deimos Rising (sequel to Mars Rising) and Escape Velocity: Nova!!!!

Definitely picking EV Nova up.

-Kevin

Evilmagicpirate · Post by **Evilmagicpirate** » Thu Feb 20, 2003 3:03 am

masterzukin wrote:The hard drives on the powerbook 1400s originally ranged from 750 MB to 2 GB, which kind of surprised me.

OMFG, are you kidding?!?!?! Wow! 8 years ago (in 1995) I had a 1.2gb harddrive.. and it was the top of the line at the time, it cost me a fortune. I didn't even know they made them in laptop size harddrives back then.. although, I could be wrong.