has anybody played both the windows version and the mac port? Does the osx client take a big hit to performance? Debating which one to buy. Have played on the Windows side and know it runs well, but would prefer it in OSX if it will run as well. Thanks : )
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Dragon age OSX as playabale as Windows?
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its good you can buy both because to answer the original question more specifically, the windows version does perform better.
Which is not to say the OSX version is rubbish or wouldn't be worth playing if that was your only option - it's still a great game.
but the other factor is at least as of now there are expansions and updates which exist only for the PC version and haven't come out yet for the OSX version.
More than performance this would motivate me to invest in the windows version if i had to choose.
So it's a good thing we don't!
Which is not to say the OSX version is rubbish or wouldn't be worth playing if that was your only option - it's still a great game.
but the other factor is at least as of now there are expansions and updates which exist only for the PC version and haven't come out yet for the OSX version.
More than performance this would motivate me to invest in the windows version if i had to choose.
So it's a good thing we don't!
Windows 7 64 bit seems to be slightly smoother, however...
DA:O in OS X 10.6.3 will yield the same exact performance as Windows 7, if you put DA:O into Windowed Mode. (either option+return or cmd+return, can't remember which.) Not exactly sure why this is, but it was a very noticeable difference to me.
DA:O in OS X 10.6.3 will yield the same exact performance as Windows 7, if you put DA:O into Windowed Mode. (either option+return or cmd+return, can't remember which.) Not exactly sure why this is, but it was a very noticeable difference to me.
I have reviewed both the PC and Mac versions, and played through both more than once.
I call the Mac version 'unsupported abandonware' ... and as we approach 6 months with no patch, no DLC, no expansion, no communication, no NOTHING ... I feel fairly justified in this.
The Mac version is INFERIOR IN EVERY WAY. From features to performance to support to extensibility, everything just screams 'rush-job money grab'.
I have read the 'buy the Mac version and show that you support Mac gaming'. But by doing so you are also saying 'I support rushed, unsupported, feature-hacked, performance hobbled Mac versions'
I love Dragon Age, and it is still a great Mac game ... but I thought that THIS was exactly the sort of thing we DON'T want?
I call the Mac version 'unsupported abandonware' ... and as we approach 6 months with no patch, no DLC, no expansion, no communication, no NOTHING ... I feel fairly justified in this.
The Mac version is INFERIOR IN EVERY WAY. From features to performance to support to extensibility, everything just screams 'rush-job money grab'.
I have read the 'buy the Mac version and show that you support Mac gaming'. But by doing so you are also saying 'I support rushed, unsupported, feature-hacked, performance hobbled Mac versions'
I love Dragon Age, and it is still a great Mac game ... but I thought that THIS was exactly the sort of thing we DON'T want?
Yeah I'd have to agree. What worries me in particular is the whole shift towards shipping a "near enough is good enough" product, and then spending the next year pushing out patches and "extra" content in the form of DLCs.
What seems to be happening in the case of DAO is we got an OSX port of the basic game, and that's (more or less) it.
I think there's a strong case, now that DLC is becoming a standard for bioware, that when you buy a game like DAO you are buying two things: the core game, and the promise of (access to) future content, for which what you just bought in a box is the gaming engine.
OSX users buy DAO thinking they are buying the same product as the PC users are buying. They aren't. They get the "core game", patched to what ever degree the Windows version was at the time of the mac release - and that's it. If you want to get future patches or DLC working, it's up to you/the community to hack it somehow.
I'm not saying it's deceptive and misleading advertising. Not quite. The more "core+DLC" becomes the bioware model though, the more of a swindle this kind of "mac port" is going to become.
It is disappointing. Makes me appreciate all over again the efforts companies like Blizzard go to to really write an OSX game. (Ok so the OSX SC2 performance isn't great but that's not for want of trying on Blizzard's part).
The only thing I will say - Bioware letting OSX keys work for Windows installs and vice-versa, is really really really good. It's depressing that we still live in a world where you have to have windows installed to "really" game, but at least they aren't trying to take our money twice. So credit where it's due, I think the dual keys decision was a very wise and fair one.
/end rant
You can't, you can only get both if you originally bought the Mac version. You will just have to wait and see if EA adds Steam Play to their games once Mac steam comes out.
Wow really is that true? That's pretty bleargh. Presumably this means "There is no official way to download the Mac version (even though your PC key would work on one if you had one)"; and not "If a copy of the Mac version fell of the back of a metaphorical truck it would not install correctly if you used your PC key"?
Or no?
Anyway this is beyond my level of knowledge. I had thought you were able to download and install either app version once you had purchased one of them but that appears not to be the case. Boo Bioware Boo. We love you but boo.
He means PIRATE.
EA is providing dual use keys ... but no one else is. So unless you buy from EA you either pay twice (as I did since I bought on Steam on day of release) or you are pirating.
Whether or not you care is your own choice ... but let's not get cute by saying 'obtain'.
I did not mean piratethere are torrents out there that contain the mac version and are not cracked, and require a valid CD key. I didn't know that the Steam Keys don't work with them. Disappointing.
I do know that the CD Key that you get from the Mac version at Direct2Drive will let you download the PC version from EA.
I do know that the CD Key that you get from the Mac version at Direct2Drive will let you download the PC version from EA.
Good grief really? Ok see it's this kind of thing that makes mac gamers weep. Multiple versions and keys and whatnot from multiple vendors and no one is really clear on what they are buying (game for one platform, or the other, or both; the game plus future updates and free dlc; the game plus future updates and free dlc and paid-for dlc; etc).
The FAQ on the Bioware forums says this:
"Q: I bought the PC version, do I also own the Mac version? Or vice versa?
A:
New Answer is: YES! The key that you receive for purchasing either the Mac or the PC version is good for the corresponding version of the game on the other platform no matter where you purchased it. There are a few very important catches to that however. Firstly there are two kinds of game keys: digital deluxe/collector's edition and the base game, no amount of fiddling can change that fact. Secondly there are two different kinds of dragon age on PC, the boxed and the digital edition. The keys are the same across both boxed and digital BUT the boxed version of the game requires the CD check (SecuROM if you care) and the digital version requires authorized log-in via your EA account. The difficulty comes in obtaining digital copies of both if you want to play both. At current I do not know a way beyond visiting certain shady torrent sites to obtain the Mac version of the game if you did not purchase and download it originally. It is out there on the internets if you have the key however but I won't be offering any help to find it, google is your friend (WARNING: only Mac keys have been proven to unlock and download the PC version, if you go the other way you do so at your own risk!) To get the PC version you can download the EA Download Manager and under the "activate" tab after you log in to your EA account, you should be able to download the PC client by entering your game key even if the version you purchased is Mac."
The sentences in bold seem to contradict each other, but buying the Mac version will definitely give you a CD key that works on both.
"Q: I bought the PC version, do I also own the Mac version? Or vice versa?
A:
New Answer is: YES! The key that you receive for purchasing either the Mac or the PC version is good for the corresponding version of the game on the other platform no matter where you purchased it. There are a few very important catches to that however. Firstly there are two kinds of game keys: digital deluxe/collector's edition and the base game, no amount of fiddling can change that fact. Secondly there are two different kinds of dragon age on PC, the boxed and the digital edition. The keys are the same across both boxed and digital BUT the boxed version of the game requires the CD check (SecuROM if you care) and the digital version requires authorized log-in via your EA account. The difficulty comes in obtaining digital copies of both if you want to play both. At current I do not know a way beyond visiting certain shady torrent sites to obtain the Mac version of the game if you did not purchase and download it originally. It is out there on the internets if you have the key however but I won't be offering any help to find it, google is your friend (WARNING: only Mac keys have been proven to unlock and download the PC version, if you go the other way you do so at your own risk!) To get the PC version you can download the EA Download Manager and under the "activate" tab after you log in to your EA account, you should be able to download the PC client by entering your game key even if the version you purchased is Mac."
The sentences in bold seem to contradict each other, but buying the Mac version will definitely give you a CD key that works on both.
The sentences contradict because ... THEY WERE WRITTEN BY A RANDOM FORUM MEMBER AND ARE NOT OFFICIAL STATEMENTS BY ANYONE OFFICIALLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE GAME.
Sorry to shout ... but waving around the Bioware Social forums like it is an official statement is misleading. I spent a fair amount of time there until it became clear that while it is the only remotely official hosted site, with developers who participate in some forums ... there is absolutely no official participation on the Mac forum. Therefore ... DO NOT believe that anything said there represents anything but opinion.
And those are, of course, officially sanctioned by the publishers, right? Otherwise it is little different. Torrents = Piracy - rounding error.
I know I'm nitpicking - but the fact that folks are being actively pushed towards 'gray market' solutions because EA/Bioware/Transgaming have completely screwed Mac gamers over is unfortunate but understandable. I just want to make sure that folks realize that what they are doing would not be seen by publishers & legal folks as any different than the typical pirate. If EA/Bioware/Transgaming say 'sure,grab the torrent and use the code' then fine ... otherwise it is piracy.
Torrents != Piracy.. Maybe in that case it could be.. But if you legally own a copy and want a back up, depending on your government it is allowed.
Torrents ARE often used for legal file distribution.,, Again in his case it is probably considered piracy, but don't go and say torrents = piracy.
That is like saying Crow bar = thug........ Or Gordon freeman
Not to get offthread but this is true, there are plenty of countries where it's perfectly legal to make or download copies of media you own. (Like for example when your DVD gets scratched up, you can torrent yourself a digital copy without breaking any copyright or IP laws.)
Torrents != Piracy.. Maybe in that case it could be.. But if you legally own a copy and want a back up, depending on your government it is allowed.
Torrents ARE often used for legal file distribution.,, Again in his case it is probably considered piracy, but don't go and say torrents = piracy.
That is like saying Crow bar = thug........ Or Gordon freeman
No ... it is more like saying Guns = violence. Or gangs = illegal activity.
Look - I put in 'rounding error' to say that there are certainly non-piracy uses, including the wonderful 'backup copy' mentioned by aki.
But are you *really* going to debate that >99% of all files floating around on torrents now and since the torrent protocol started are illegal in nature, and that those getting them are not proper holders of any sort of IP rights to the file?
Any way ... I am really just saying that it is a shame that the sorry state of the Mac version of Dragon Age has gotten us to the point where we are pointing to work-around solutions including morally suspect means ...
Morality is a standard based on followers. One group's terrorist is another group's freedom fighters.
My definition of pirating is obtaining a game without paying for it. I am against pirating. If you purchased a game and are getting it to run on your system, I don't see a moral problem with that. Same as using a NoCd patch to get your game to run without the DVD. The distributer might say that is against the user-agreement they forced on you after you purchased it, but so what. They would be unreasonable IMO.