Slashdot Mirror
Doom 3 Announced for Mac
thelemmings writes "Aspyr today announced that it will (finally) publish Doom 3 for the Macintosh. The game is scheduled for release Q1 2005 and the system requirements indicate that a G5 processor will be required, which seems quite surprising as it will leave iBooks and Powerbooks owners on the side of the road. Too bad iD Software didn't release a free OSX client like they previously did for linux version of the game."
Well, Apple guys/gals... you'll need these...
Complete List of Doom 3 Console Commands
List of Common Doom 3 cheats
To Run it you'll need this...
Mac System Requirements:
Mac OS X 10.3.6 or later
PowerPC G5 1.5 GHz or faster
384MB RAM (512MB recommended)
2.2 GB free disk space
ATI Radeon 8500/nVidia GeForce 3 or better
32MB of Video Ram (VRAM)
DVD drive required to install and play
And you'll have to wait until..
Aspyr Media Inc. on Wednesday announced plans to publish id Software's Doom 3 for the Macintosh. The game is currently in development for the Mac by id, and will be released in February, 2005.
Source
Does reloading involve dragging the clip into the trash can?
Good to see that now that the election is over people move back to talking about the important things in life...like Doom 3 on the Mac?
Anyway, that's good for Mac users I guess. Now I guess my excuse of "I can't play any games that I want to on a Mac, so I use Windows instead" is not 100% correct. Except I have never been a huge Doom fan. Or a FPS fan in general. I did love FarCry though.
When is GTA San Andreas coming out on the Mac? That's what I really need to get me to switch to mac.
At least with the delay, we all know doom3 isn't worth it.
That's the only time it ever felt good to be a Mac gamer!
...indicate that a G5 processor will be required, which seems quite surprising as it will leave iBooks and Powerbooks owners on the side of the road.
Given the horsepower required by Doom 3, it's no surprise. Don't forget, you also need world-class video to run the game well.
Being that the gameplay sucks, it really doesn't matter.
It's funny they say you need 10.3.6... because it doesn't exist yet.
Nice thing is, this means the iMac G5 can play Doom 3.
I got nothin'.
I would like a small blurb on the Aspyr website as to why this very assertive requirement was necessary.
I hardly see why a 1.25 Ghz G4 with a 64MB or better video card could not handle this game.
A 1.25 G4 with 512MB RAM and a 64MB video card is equivalent to the PC and Linux requirements - at least as far as speed and price point equivalency (benchmark tests would indicate so)
I especially can't see why Aspyr can't write something for Dual G4 optimization like Unreal and Call for Duty have.
Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
Of course, the Linux client is an x86 binary, so running Linux on your mac won't help. That is, until we get really good binary translators, which might just happen, given the work that's being done for JVM bytecode and .NET IL.
Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
You do realise that Doom 3 was originally shown on a Mac, right? And a GeForce 3 IIRC.
For most other ID software games (afair) they've just released a Linux executable. You still use the same CD that came with the Windows package. So I guess the market is easy to reach once the game is developed.
Could it be that Aspyr/id only made the Doom3 client for Mac with 64 bit code? Would that be the reason to require a "G5 or better"?
I wish my lawn was emo, so it would cut itself.
..can I play this with my PowerBook which has only one-button (touchpad)mouse?
As a hardcore powerbook/iBook gamer I can assure you that the main obstacle is the touchpad itself. Touchpad is fine for GUI, but its nearly useless in 3D gaming. For my gaming pleasures, I always carry a tiny USB mouse with my iBook.
Actually, the system requirements are preliminary. We usually guess higher, and then readjust the requirements the closer we get to Final Candidate. I believe this happened to RTCW for Mac, but I would have to ask someone who was the project lead for RTCW for Mac.
This is done to prevent customers making a preorder for the game, only to find out that the requirements have been raised at the last minute.
I think there's a trend of the 'better' gaming companies to break through this circle. Another advantage is that at the time that Mac and *nix *will* have mature gaming support, they already have a significant advantage over competitors due to their experience with porting those games...
- Leon Mergen
http://www.solatis.com
Please read about Carmack's battle with D3D and Microsoft. The bottom line is that he's the main reason that we've still got OpenGL. This technology enables game developers to deploy 3D gaming engines to multiple platforms quite easily.
Make no bones about it - there is no substantial non-Windows gaming market. No sir. Carmack does this for two reasons - because he can and because it really throws mud in the eye of Microsoft.
As a side note, if you haven't purchased this game, then go out and do so... even if you won't use it. Without id software (and some other keys), gaming would be Windows-only right now.
Life is the leading cause of death in America.
What matters is profitability, not market share.
The costs of porting a game are significantly lower than creating the game in the first place. Aspyr need not worry itself with level design, for instance. (I'm not saying it is easy to port a game but it's easier.)
It is also possible that due to the relatively low Mac market share, warez isn't such a big issue in Mac gaming market. (Dunno about the numbers, I'm pulling this out of my hat.) And of course, if you can afford a Mac, then how can you not afford a game?
I am of course only speaking for myself, but if a suitable game (such as Rome: Total War or Star Wars Battleground) would be released for the Mac, I'd buy it in an instant. In the meanwhile I play Master of Orion 2 on an emulator :-)
[ Antti Rasinen ]
Doom 3...on a Mac?
Where's the surprise? Wolfenstein 3D was commercially ported for Mac. Doom I was commercially ported for Mac. Doom II was commercially ported for Mac. Quake was commercially ported for Mac. Quake II was commercially ported for Mac. Quake III was commercially ported for Mac. Return To Castle Wolfenstein was commercially ported for Mac. What's, exactly, so surprising in Doom III being commercially ported for Mac?
Too bad iD Software didn't release a free OSX client like they previously did for linux version of the game.
Don't be too confused; it's just because Mac users are willing to, you know, pay for software.
There is a good (heated) discussion on IMG (Inside Mac Games) about why Doom 3 for Mac has much higher requirements than on other platforms. Basically there are two sides:
i cl eID=10390
1) Because, as usual, the Mac port by Aspyr sucks rocks or
2) Becasue, as usual, the Mac port by Aspyr sucks great big rocks
Actually, there are also people who think it is "normal" for a port to require vastly more processing power, but those posts are from people who like bloated crappy software.
Here is the link:
http://insidemacgames.com/news/comments.php?Art
The number of good games on the Mac just doubled!
*I own a Powerbook, I'm allowed to love and hate it*
That same demo at MacWorld showed off how this game would use the amazing technology of that newfangled graphics card, the "GeForce3". Presumably, this was a card that would run the game flawlessly when it was released :-p
This does, however, make moving platforms easier. I have a copy of the original Quake. It came with a DOS executable. Later, I started using WinQuake and playing it in Windows NT 4. When I got a VooDoo^2, I downloaded the GLQuake executable and got 3D acceleration. When I started using FreeBSD on my `work'station I was able to compile and install the GLQuake executable for X, and continue playing. When I got a Mac, I downloaded another GLQuake executable and, again, continued playing. Since the game engine code (progs.dat / qwprogs.dat) for Quake 1 was interpreted bytecode, I was able to move between CPU architectures without any problems - at most a download and compile. No other game that I've bought has had this much portability, and since I no longer own a Windows machine, a lot of the games I own are useless.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
Make no bones about it - there is no substantial non-Windows gaming market. No sir. Carmack does this for two reasons - because he can and because it really throws mud in the eye of Microsoft.
As a side note, if you haven't purchased this game, then go out and do so... even if you won't use it. Without id software (and some other keys), gaming would be Windows-only right now.
Mmm...I suppose those PS2, Gamecubes, and Gameboys SPs are used to do text editing, web browsing and email only...
However you are right. The guy has almost singlehandledly keeped OpenGL support alive in the industry.
Doom has been anounced for Apple at least once a year since 1985.
An interesting question is, WHY should gamers switch to linux/Mac? For once the major criticisms levelled at Windows/x86 (often with some justification) seem to bounce back as strong arguments for why a Windows PC is the best option for games by a country mile:
./ for 'BSD' or 'Gnome AND KDE' for more details.
- bad at multitasking: I have one task, blasting hell knights in 3D
- controlled by evil Windoze Empire (tm): good, so the Evil Windoze Empire will make sure I have up to date drivers and a relatively good 3D API to run my games with for the widest possible range of gaming hardware
- boring beige boxes and huge market of faceless south-east asian technology clones: excellent, excellent. The priority is surely on getting the fastest technology at the best price as soon as possible, rather than longevity or overall build quality (although arguably that comes through careful component choice). But the average gaming rig is good for about 2 years of cutting edge games, tops, so it's really more important that the price is good and the market highly dynamic rather than everything being perfectly reliable
On the other hand, the key strengths of Mac and Linux are not so important for games.
E.g. Mac:
- border of LCD screen is artistically colour-neutral to allow perfect visual reproduction of colours on-screen (no shit, this is what it says on the Apple website, and yes, I'm being facetious but the point is, Mac features are clearly pitched at the graphic design/artiste market and people who colour coordinate their entire lives)
- entire computer can be crammed into a very small, white rectangle: well, that's bad for upgrading every 6-12 months, bad for cooling, and makes serious competition for upgrade components etc pretty unlikely. But it saves desk space and looks cool, not priorities for the average gamer (yes, case modding is supposed to be 'cool', but you know what I mean, how many case modders build beautiful white objects rather than glowing neon monstrosities?).
- computer is 'lifestyle' accessory: people who play Doom III typically have no discernable lifestyle other than cramming cheese doodles into their already-Mountain-Dew-filled maws and occasionally leaving to sleep or ablute
E.g. Linux:
- it's free: I'm springing $2000 for a games PC and $50 for every game... I think $200 for Windows is not too much of a stretch. Alternatively, I steal everything including the game, Windows, and possibly the PC if I've played too much GTA. Either way, not a big factor.
- run by a horde of nerds who all make up their own standards then engage in massive and endless wars about whose is the gre@test 3733t way of doing things: refer to Evil Windoze scenario above, or search
- most useful features hidden through inherent 'security' though obscurity (i.e. most non-programmer types can't run xclock, let alone install and configure Doom III): su>ors when U just wanna kill something
Anyway, just my thoughts. I see no real reason why people should be encouraged to move away from Win/x86 just to play games, other than the usual 'Bill Gates is satan' reasons.
Read Pynchon.
I already finished Doom3 over a month ago.
Remind me again how your having already finished the game will diminish
another's gaming experience
*sigh* back to work...
You misspelled "tolerance for redundant gameplay".
It would be cool if it didn't suck.
See this week's Foxtrot.
Although, if that Stephen Hawking shoot-em-up he's working on ever gets released, maybe whether or not we have Doom3 on Mac will be a moot question.
pi = 3.141592653589793helpimtrappedinauniversefactory7
Umm... the iMac G5's have GeForce FX cards in them.. a furhter 2 generations ahead of the GeForce 3.
Am I missing something here?
bash-3.00$ uname -a
SunOS panda 5.10 Generic sun4u sparc SUNW,Ultra-2