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GameRanger. It's not distributed, but it's free. It uses master server browsers if available, but it also keeps its own list of user-hosted games. It also hosts chat rooms where you can organize games with your friends. And it's not exclusive to GR users, either. You can hand out your IP and people can connect without signing in to the GR client.

Back when there were tons of problems with Borderlands multiplayer after launch (due to shitty GameSpy), my friends I shifted to GameRanger. Sadly it doesn't seem like too many games that are on that list are listed on the GameRanger supported game list, but it still is worth checking out.

Let's talk about some old games. Take, for one, Halo 2. It's now going to be permanently offline, as a result of it being connected to Microsoft's services. Let's go back though. Take a look at Jedi Knight. Can you play that online anymore? Nope. Microsoft service. Dead. Any of those other MSN/"Zone" games? Dead. At least DirectPlay supported LAN in the same manner as online, so the games all still support that.

You raise a valid point, though Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II and nearly all of the MSN Zone games can still be played online through GameRanger (see the list). You'd be amazed at how many games of Age of Empires II are being played each day -- it puts many recent games to shame.

Two things: There was little stress testing because GPG has a byzantine Internet policy, and forbids its workers from using anything but the Web at work. No holes were poked for them to test online.

Second, Scott Kevill's GameRanger quickly pulled the slack in for Demigod, and supported the game online just two days after launch. As I write this, there are around 100 people playing Demigod on GameRanger right now.

http://www.gameranger.com/

I use it to play Masters of Orion 2. It has a built in IPX simulator, so it makes multiplayer very easy.

You can actually play Master of Orion II online (the Win95 Orion95.exe) easily now with GameRanger.

It doesn't emulate IPX over TCP/IP, but rather tricks MOO2 into using DirectPlay for TCP/IP, rather than DirectPlay for IPX, so it should play smoother.

It's interesting to note that during that same era, one of the foremost Mac porting houses was Westlake Interactive, and they recently were purchased by MacSoft. They lasted a few years longer than Loki did, but ultimately, the same platform apathy took them out of the games game. I just wonder how long GameRanger will last. I still remember talking to the Westlake devs and owners(!) on that service back in the 2000-2002 era. Good times, they were. Gone, they are. Talking like Yoda, I am. Stop now, I will.

http://www.gameranger.com/

Mac only... I guess Americas Army etc will move to it.

Whatever, I am a ww2 online gamer :)

It's their loss. Mac gamers are just going to have to do what everyone who gets fed up with Gamespy does and switch to another server browser.

Then you don't really understand the point here. The issue here is that a lot of games are made on the PC use gamespy. They are then ported over to the Macintosh and the gamespy browser is also ported. This allows Mac and PC users to game against/with eachother. This is done in the game, its the developers choice to use this browser, not the gamers. It isn't as simple as the choosing Firefox over IE.

With Gamespy pricing themselves out of the Mac biz the pool of online players becomes considerably smaller. There already IS alternative game browsers for the Macintosh (http://www.gameranger.com/). But it only works on the Mac Platform, and its requires running a third party app (unless the Mac Developer decides to integrate it) to connect to games as opposed to doing it through the game interface. Get bumped from a server? Quit the game, launch Game Ranger, look for a game, launch the game... ad naseum. Even if Game Ranger was made cross platform, PC users in general won't download it just to game with Mac users, why would they?

So aside from being less than elegant, This means that games in the near and far future will lack the ability to challenge your buddies head to head if they use PC's. I game on my Mac, but a lot of people I know game on their PC's. I buy games so I can play with them online, now thats taken away from me. Why should I want to buy the games then?

A lot of Mac gamers will think the same way, so they won't buy those games anymore, or at least they'll buy less. Now the sales start to drop for Aspyr and Macsoft, so they port less games, so less sell etc etc, repeat as needed. Next thing you know the Mac Game market is drying up again and Gamespy is going "See?! We knew this would happen!", not admitting that they caused it.

What's needed is an Open Source alternative. Something that can be supported by the community and made 100% cross platform compatible. If that will actually happen though... well that remains to be seen.

(something interesting I actually found while researching this- Gamespy CHARGES to post on their message boards... wtf is that?!)

GPG actually ported DS to Mac OS X. It's playability was stronger due to a typical Mac's better-than-standard-issue video card (in my case, initially a GeForce 4MX 32MB).

It wasn't much different than Diablo II in playability, although I appreciated the ability to blend abilities to create characters, unlike in Diablo II where the character type is quite fixed.

I, too, was disappointed with the overall plot (the word "contrived" fits well) and lacked Diablo and Diablo II's storyline that kept its rigid universe interesting. Weapons, armor, and graphics were very nice, including the use of a true mule for loot (no other game since that has been popular enough for me to play on Mac OS X has duplicated this), the wide, wide world that had lots to explore (particularly the MP map), and showing definitive changes to the character's appearance as armor and weapons are added.

The bad news: The Mac version lacked an inherent MP game list system, since DirectPlay is not available for Mac OS X. Thankfully, GameRanger, a free game access service for some Mac games, worked well to link up Mac users. Next, while the Mac and PC versions essentially did and used the same resources, the use of DirectPlay for the PC version and coding changes with the Mac version made it impossible to play with PC users, nor was it possible to port character or game files from PC version to Mac, or vice versa.

That, and stability was a problem in some configurations. Overall, I enjoyed it for many months--it was actually the first game that broke my routine play of Diablo II, after I played that game and its expansion for almost 3 years.

Neither Diablo II nor Dungeon Siege hold a candle to Neverwinter Nights and its 2 expansions. Being an online adaptation of the D&D world, this game was designed for storylines, but does not slouch on game play in the slightest. And, although the official Mac versions of the two game expansions are not yet available, Mac OS X users can install the Linux game components to play both expansions without issue. Character and game files are easily transportable, and Mac, Windows, and Linux users can play and host without issue (only the Windows users can create worlds as the toolset was made only for this platform).

Still, I would appreciate a DS II if it arrives for Mac OS X. However, since GPG (and the Mac company, MacSoft, that ported the game) has not worked to bring its single expansion of DS I, called Legends of Arrana, to Mac OS X, I doubt it may show any earlier than 1 year--if at all--after DS II arrives for the PC. And, after enjoying the diversity of NWN, I'd be more cautious on the quality and usability of a GPS game.

Congrats on the purchase of the G5. For starters, check out GameRanger. GameRanger (aka GR) is the hub for most all Mac gaming outside of Bnet and MMORPGs. You can check the game list on the GR website, but you can find basically all the popular FPS and RTS games there. For the more popular games, finding a good host won't be a problem, but for older or lesser known titles it can be tough. That's just one of the downsides of the smaller Mac gaming community. However, being small can also be an advantage as you can get to know a large portion of the people you play with on a regular basis.

As for the actually games, I would recommend Raven Shield (aka Rainbow Six 3) for an FPS. It will look awesome on your G5, and the gameplay is quite addicting. Everyone I know who has tried Halo hasn't liked it. Ghost Recon isn't bad, but it feels much slower paced than Raven Shield. There are also the old standbys like MoH and Quake 3, and you can probably pick those up cheap if you shop around.

I'm not an RPG guy, so I can't really comment there. I know some guys who are enjoying NWN, but that's about it. However, one game I think you should definitely check out is Jedi Academy. It has both great single player and multiplayer action. Another highly recommend game is EV Nova. The Escape Velocity series has been a classic on the Mac for a long time now, and EV Nova does not disappoint. You should also take a look around Ambrosia's site. They are generally regarded as the makers of the finest shareware games for the Mac.

Wow. When I finish counting all the ways that statement was stupid, I'll yell at you. But before I spend the next three months of my life reciting numbers, here's a little useful feedback.

1 - Starcraft has been out for Mac for a long time. In fact, you don't even have to buy two copies to have both the Mac and Windows versions, as they're on the same CD.

2 - Only an idiot would pay "twice as much" for hardware upgrades. The only non-standard part in a Mac is the motherboard and the processor mounted on it.

3 - They don't lock up "once a day" any more than Windows does(more like once a week regularly and ten times in a single day when it's acting up), and judging by your time frame(before the release of SC), I'd wager you haven't even *seen* MacOS X. Don't bash it unless you've tried it.

4 - There are tons of games for the Mac. Unless you're looking for shitty games(like the latest no-name shooter or EQ clone), chances are, you'll find plenty of decent games on the Mac. Hell, there's even a game finder that puts GameSpy to shame called GameRanger.

Next time you troll, try trolling with one or two of your brain cells active.

Not much, Mac users just get GameRanger.

It's what GheiSpy wishes it could be.

I would hardly call the OS X market virgin anymore. If you look at the games most played on GameRanger (by far the biggest online gaming service for Macs), all of them besides Rogue Spear have OS X native versions. While there aren't as many games from big publishers on OS X, there is still a very hefty number. The games on that list are all ports of games made by big companies. Very few small companies have been able to put out fun, exciting, original titles. One notable exception is Ambrosia who puts out, among other things, the classic Escape Velocity series. Other Mac games from small, independent developers that I can think of that gained moderate notoriety are Airburst and Netfungus.

The common theme of these games is that they focus on the gameplay while using relatively simple looking graphics. It's unrealistic to expect a small company to put out a modern FPS given the complexity that such a project requires. However, a game with simple and fun gameplay can do well even if it doesn't have all the latest bells and whistles to wow the user superficially.