[Shoal]

Hi all. It's been ages since I posted here. It's good to be back... feels a bit like coming home.

Since my last visit to Adventure Gamers in ye olde ages past, I've shed much weight in the form of Windows and have transformed into, yes, an annoying MAC GUY. [cue suave, hip music]

Problem is, I don't know about adventure gaming on a Mac. I have to admit, gaming in general wasn't at the top of my list of priorities when choosing a new computer. But, that said, does anyone know of (good) adventure games that will work on Mac OS X Leopard?

I have ScummVM and DOSBox, so anything those can do are covered. I also have VMware Fusion 2.0, but only with Windows 98 SE because I can't figure out how to freely and powerfully filter the Internet in Windows XP and I don't want to buy Vista.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[C Jkr]

Originally Posted by Shoal

Hi all. It's been ages since I posted here. It's good to be back... feels a bit like coming home.

Since my last visit to Adventure Gamers in ye olde ages past, I've shed much weight in the form of Windows and have transformed into, yes, an annoying MAC GUY. [cue suave, hip music]

Problem is, I don't know about adventure gaming on a Mac. I have to admit, gaming in general wasn't at the top of my list of priorities when choosing a new computer. But, that said, does anyone know of (good) adventure games that will work on Mac OS X Leopard?

I have ScummVM and DOSBox, so anything those can do are covered. I also have VMware Fusion 2.0, but only with Windows 98 SE because I can't figure out how to freely and powerfully filter the Internet in Windows XP and I don't want to buy Vista.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Easy. Run XP inside VMWare, it runs pretty much every game I've tried. Turn off the networking, so you don't have to worry about the Internet, besides why do you need it for adventure gaming? You can have multiple instances of Windows VMs, some based on older versions, newer, or whatever. Your gaming instance doesn't need the internet in all likelihood.

Problem solved. That said, turn on the firewall, turn off exceptions, and don't install anything other than you games off the CD. Make sure to install all XP updates and you'll be fine so long as you don't go surfing too much

Welcome to the Mac world. I'm also an ex-Windows guy

[Shoal]

Ah, I knew I should have explained my WinXP problem a bit more thoroughly...

The filter isn't for someone else, it's for me. I'm a recovering Internet pornography addict, and have been for the last 16 months. I simply can't currently be trusted on a non-filtered connection, or even possible connection. In my experience and the in the experience of all those who have truly and deeply conquered their addictions, the only way to build up endurance to temptation is to stay completely away from something for long stretches of time. Heck, I probably shouldn't be on the Internet at all if I wanted conditions to be ideal.

VMware Fusion has no option to password-block its ability to bridge the default network connection of my Mac. In other words, I can use it to get around any Internet filter. It doesn't matter if I can shut that off, because I'd be weak to the temptation to simply keep it on.

I have my filter settings passworded, and I don't even know the admin password to my Mac so I don't get tempted to simply uninstall the filter. I even have my browsers -- Firefox and Safari -- locked and passworded.

So, going back to my original statement, I know of no way to freely and powerfully filter an Internet connection in Windows XP. I can completely block the Internet in Vista thanks to the parental controls, but not in XP.

[tsa]

How about asking a second person to make a BootCamp install of WinXP for you? She can disable the network card after XP has been activated (thanks MS for treating honest customers like criminals), and make you an account that is not an Administrator. In this way you can play games but not get on the Interweb because you don't have the password to switch the network card back on.

[Shoal]

Hi Tsa, I remember you -- you're one of the people to ask for my Dreamfall movie, right? And mailed me the Dreamfall soundtrack I still listen to? It's good to hear from you again. Man, it's been forever.

As for your idea, it seems to be a sound one, but both copies of WinXP I own are not only upgrade versions, but also Service Pack 1. BootCamp requires a SP2 and fresh install version.

I might be able to pull off the same thing in VMware Fusion 2.0, though. So, if I disable the network as an administrator other users can't turn it back on? When you say "disable," do you mean just clunking it out in the Device Manager?

P.S. : Because I have upgrade versions of WinXP, I have to install Win98SE first on VMware and then install WinXP and change the emulation settings to WinXP. It's kind of sad.

[tsa]

Yep, that's me. I'm glad you still like the CD. And indeed, if you disable the network cards as Administrator, 'lesser' users can't turn it back on. That would be a neat solution for you I gather. The only problem is that you may have to ask the Administrator to install your games for you.

[Shoal]

[sigh], yeah, it sounds like it would work. But... it just makes me frustrated, the whole situation. The Internet is so all-pervasive and few if anyone in any authority that matters wants to acknowledge that the Internet can hurt a person as much as it can help them. I'm glad Microsoft took the initiative with its Vista parental controls. (Too bad the rest of the operating system is awful.)

Strong parental controls that are difficult and/or really annoying to get around should come as standard on every OS and device that can connect to the Internet. With Vista's parental controls as an example, maybe this will happen. I have hope. I've seen in person too many lives dismantled by the Internet to hope otherwise.

[GageBlackwood]

While emulation is always a stellar route, there are a few adventure games that run natively in OS X such as Secrets of the Lost Cavern and Ankh. As fond as I am of the Mac, most if it's adventure games are exclusively Classic, which poses a bit of an issue on an Intel...

[tsa]

Are you sure Ankh runs 'natively' on the Mac? I thought there was a Mac version made by a different company, that costs about 1.5 times the price of the Windows version.

<checks the 'net ...>

Yup, see here.

That's the problem with many Mac versions. They're so expensive it's cheaper to buy Windows with your Mac if you play many games. Maybe you should just buy Vista, Shoal. Then make a dual boot system, appoint an Administrator, and you will have much less graphical problems than when running in a virtual machine.

[Shoal]

The whole Internet blocking point is moot now. I accidently learned how to hack almost any password on a Mac. Sigh... so much for going out and exploring Unix-based command-line functions to get the most out of my Mac.

I just... well, this is going to wreak major havoc on my life for all sorts of reasons I'd rather not get into right now. If I suddenly "drop off the face of the Earth," so to speak, you'll know why.



...and VMware Fusion runs very little well that uses DirectX 9. And even if it did, it still means minimum graphics detail and a framerate maximum of 20-30.

BootCamp seems to be the only option. But it's not worth the money. I don't game enough -- or make enough -- for it to be worth it. I could buy an Xbox360 instead for about the same amount and get a whole lot more usage out of it. (But that's assuming I have the money to spend.)

And so again:

[tsa]

Originally Posted by Shoal

The whole Internet blocking point is moot now. I accidently learned how to hack almost any password on a Mac.

The Force is strong in that one...

But out of curiosity, how did you do that?