Too powerful for games?

[Red 5]

I had a G5 2.0 tower and when I would play Diablo 2 in it, it would crash as soon as I got into the game. Was there too much power for the game? I'm asking because I'm about to order a 2.6 MBP and I want to pick it up again to play.

[Zoolook]

I had a G5 2.0 tower and when I would play Diablo 2 in it, it would crash as soon as I got into the game. Was there too much power for the game? I'm asking because I'm about to order a 2.6 MBP and I want to pick it up again to play.

I highly doubt it's because it was 'too powerful'.

If I remember rightly, the PC version of Diablo 2 was very fussy in regards to the gfx card. Hold 'Option' while the game is loading and switch to software rendering to see if this fixes things.

As for running on an Intel Mac, it may do, but only under Rosetta which could cause issues.

[Lifeisabeach]

Yeah... I just read some user feedback on Versiontracker regarding Diablo II, and the performance of the Mac version is apparently pretty dismal. And it's coded for PowerPC, so it can only be worse on Intel Macs.

The GOOD news though is that I checked Codeweaver's database. The Windows version of Diablo II, though not expressly supported by Codeweavers, apparently works VERY WELL through Crossover, or at least it does through the Linux version. There's some current discussion about it still in their Diablo II forum that sounds promising. I've started serving as an advocate for a few of my favorite older games... I may see what I can do with this one in the next few days.

If you don't know what Crossover is, it's a commercial version of WINE, which is a project that works on getting Windows apps to work under Linux (and now OS X for Intel) without an emulator running Windows. It has very little ipact on the system, and for what works well through it, it works VERY well and without the performance hit that solutions like Parallels and VMWare bring.

[Red 5]

Life: thanks for that info. I'm not sure what all that means though. I am thinking about getting parallels anyways.

[Lifeisabeach]

Life: thanks for that info. I'm not sure what all that means though. I am thinking about getting parallels anyways.

Here's what it means:

Crossover lets you run Windows apps in OS X without installing or running Windows. Some apps run better than others. Crossover has a very low impact on the system because you aren't actually running a second OS. The apps that do work, do so with a very high performance.

Parallels lets you run Windows simultaneously with OS X. Most anything that runs in Windows natively will run on Parallels under Windows, but the performance is very poor.

[Zoolook]

Parallels lets you run Windows simultaneously with OS X. Most anything that runs in Windows natively will run on Parallels under Windows, but the performance is very poor.

That last part is completely untrue. Most applications will run at full speed, only games requiring OpenGL or Direct3D will run poorly.

BTW, Crossover will only allow applications to run that do not require any native Windows components or APIs (such as IE, or DirectX) for example.

[Corbri]

This may be somewhat unhelpful, but I used to play Diablo 2 all the time (on my pc) and I can tell you World of Waracraft: Burning Crusade is a million times better. Since you are getting a really nice new computer too, WoW:BC would run flawlessly and with high graphics. Perhaps you could ditch your idea of going with D2:ToD with it's constant duping, hackers, and no support and just WoW? Much more fun too... really.

[Lifeisabeach]

That last part is completely untrue. Most applications will run at full speed, only games requiring OpenGL or Direct3D will run poorly.

Ah yer right... bad choice of words. I've mostly been experimenting with a few older games, and they run awful under Parallels. Better under Fusion than Parallels actually, but still too choppy.

BTW, Crossover will only allow applications to run that do not require any native Windows components or APIs (such as IE, or DirectX) for example.

Now THAT is untrue. Support is by no means complete, but many DirectX games run very well. The Pro Pinball tables, which I am advocating myself, are very playable at full speed, with only a couple glitches, and they aren't being software rendered... they are using DirectX. The current nightly build has eliminated one of those glitches already. Many other DirectX games are known to work FLAWLESSLY. And Crossover lets you install the Windows version of Internet Explorer and use it.

[Zoolook]

Now THAT is untrue. Support is by no means complete, but many DirectX games run very well. The Pro Pinball tables, which I am advocating myself, are very playable at full speed, with only a couple glitches, and they aren't being software rendered... they are using DirectX. The current nightly build has eliminated one of those glitches already. Many other DirectX games are known to work FLAWLESSLY. And Crossover lets you install the Windows version of Internet Explorer and use it.

If you try and install an application that requires other components, such as network adaptors or DirectPlay, I have not been able to get the application or game to run. From what I have been able to tell, only entirely sandboxed applications will work. I might spend a bit more time playing with it to see what I can get working.

[Thyamine]

I actually just installed Diablo 2 not that long ago on my Intel MBP, and I found that it would load but I had bizarre video problems after the initial screen and it would just sit there until I quit.

I found I have to run it in windowed mode to make it work. So after/as the game is loading I hit Cmd-M (Apple-M? I call it 'that key') to go from full screen to window mode. Then it runs great.

[Discerptor]

I think the problems I'm seeing here stem from the fact Diablo II was initially released as a Mac OS 9 app. If you use the OS X native installer, available from here, you shouldn't have problems. It ran on my PowerBook G4 fine, and I hear it runs well through Rosetta if you set it to use "software" rendering instead of OpenGL. There should be no need to install Windows for a game as primitive as Diablo II.

[Lifeisabeach]

If you try and install an application that requires other components, such as network adaptors or DirectPlay, I have not been able to get the application or game to run. From what I have been able to tell, only entirely sandboxed applications will work. I might spend a bit more time playing with it to see what I can get working.

They have made a LOT of progress with games in the release of Crossover Games. Codeweavers doesn't officially support most anything in particular, but that's because they don't have the time or resources to test it all. That's where advocates come in. If Codeweavers has given something an "Honorable Mention", that's likely because someone submitted a screenshot showing it runs. Be sure to check out the compatibility database (be sure to filter for supported AND unsupported apps) and the forum for each application. Sometimes you'll see an advocate rating, which may be more accurate. You also may find tips and tricks to getting an app work better that others have already figured out.