OS Neutral OSX and Windows Gaming

[tgi]

Let's say you have a game that's Windows and Mac friendly. Would there be any advantages to installing the Mac version of the game, other than not having to reboot into Windows? I know you will usually get better performance in Windows. I have about 8 games that are Mac/Windows friendly so I'm just determining which partition to install them on.

 

[Nunyabinez]

Let's say you have a game that's Windows and Mac friendly. Would there be any advantages to installing the Mac version of the game, other than not having to reboot into Windows? I know you will usually get better performance in Windows. I have about 8 games that are Mac/Windows friendly so I'm just determining which partition to install them on.

Unfortunately, I see no advantages to installing the Mac versions, unless you don't have a Windows license. In fact, I'm a somewhat hard core gamer and I finally got frustrated with trying to play games in OS X. Because I end up having to boot into Windows for the games that aren't supported on the Mac, it felt like a waste to even have them loaded on the Mac side.

I suppose if you want to get a quick game in and then jump right back to your work in OS X, that could be an advantage, but games really do perform poorly on OS X compared to Windows.

I finally built a completely separate Windows box just to play games. That way I don't have to boot back and forth between OSes. I wish Apple would start taking serious gaming more seriously, because OS X is definitely not optimized to handle games as well as Windows does.

I hate to say it because I love OS X, but Window is still the way to go for games.

 

[tgi]

Unfortunately, I see no advantages to installing the Mac versions, unless you don't have a Windows license. In fact, I'm a somewhat hard core gamer and I finally got frustrated with trying to play games in OS X. Because I end up having to boot into Windows for the games that aren't supported on the Mac, it felt like a waste to even have them loaded on the Mac side.

I suppose if you want to get a quick game in and then jump right back to your work in OS X, that could be an advantage, but games really do perform poorly on OS X compared to Windows.

I finally built a completely separate Windows box just to play games. That way I don't have to boot back and forth between OSes. I wish Apple would start taking serious gaming more seriously, because OS X is definitely not optimized to handle games as well as Windows does.

I hate to say it because I love OS X, but Window is still the way to go for games.

Thanks for your reply, I have Windows 7 installed via Bootcamp so I guess I will just use that for gaming only and OS X for everything else.

How much did you end up spending on your Windows box?

 

[saturnotaku]

Would there be any advantages to installing the Mac version of the game, other than not having to reboot into Windows?

The only other advantage is an altruistic one. Feral and Aspyr do the majority of the porting of AAA titles. By purchasing an OS X copy of the game, either in the App Store or on the OS X Steam client, your money would be going to support those folks so they'll have more resources to port more games and/or improve what they've already done.

 

[Dirtyharry50]

Let's say you have a game that's Windows and Mac friendly. Would there be any advantages to installing the Mac version of the game, other than not having to reboot into Windows? I know you will usually get better performance in Windows. I have about 8 games that are Mac/Windows friendly so I'm just determining which partition to install them on.

I don't understand why you wouldn't try the Mac version first? Assuming that plays fine, who cares if it is a few more fps or whatever in Windows? It sure is nice not having to reboot or spend for another computer not to mention find a place to put it.

I play the Mac version of World of Warcraft daily at 1440p with Ultra settings and it's nice and smooth. Maybe I could get a few more frames per second in Windows but what for really? It works just fine and I love being able to just fire it up and play without rebooting.

Anyway, just my thoughts on the matter. People seem awfully quick to dismiss gaming on a Mac but I think you might want to try it and make your own call about whether it is good enough or not.

 

[tgi]

I don't understand why you wouldn't try the Mac version first? Assuming that plays fine, who cares if it is a few more fps or whatever in Windows? It sure is nice not having to reboot or spend for another computer not to mention find a place to put it.

I play the Mac version of World of Warcraft daily at 1440p with Ultra settings and it's nice and smooth. Maybe I could get a few more frames per second in Windows but what for really? It works just fine and I love being able to just fire it up and play without rebooting.

Anyway, just my thoughts on the matter. People seem awfully quick to dismiss gaming on a Mac but I think you might want to try it and make your own call about whether it is good enough or not.

Yeah I understand. I'm not opposed to gaming on the Mac and truthfully the only reason why I installed Windows via Bootcamp was because I was able to get BioShock 1 & 2 on the Steam Summer sale for super cheap. I may just beat those 2 and delete the partition. But if you have the option to get a better experience by spending 10 seconds rebooting, why not take advantage of it? I already have everything set up.

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The only other advantage is an altruistic one. Feral and Aspyr do the majority of the porting of AAA titles. By purchasing an OS X copy of the game, either in the App Store or on the OS X Steam client, your money would be going to support those folks so they'll have more resources to port more games and/or improve what they've already done.

That's a good way to look at it. I unfortunately haven't bought directly from Aspyr or Feral yet. I plan to do so in the future though.

 

[Dirtyharry50]

But if you have the option to get a better experience by spending 10 seconds rebooting, why not take advantage of it? I already have everything set up.

I think it takes around a minute and half or so on my system, maybe a minute and 40 seconds. It seems like a while when you are sitting there waiting on it. Then there is the time for the system to load everything once you are at a desktop which takes longer still. Then you are really ready to game.

This performance is with a 7200 RPM hard drive. If you are booting and rebooting on an SSD I'm sure it goes much faster although bootcamp doesn't support SSD does it? Or maybe I am getting confused about how the fusion drives work where only OS X can be on the fast part of the drive.

The other thing I don't like about it is sometimes I want to take a little break and I'd like access to my other apps... but no! I'd have to reboot for that.

It is admittedly a minor point. I certainly will do it for some games I already own but it will be rare for me to buy any more Windows games. There's plenty of good stuff for me on Mac. Of course, for all of us there is always going to be exceptions and that is why I'll keep bootcamp around although I made my partition a lot smaller recently. For me for example, playing Might and Magic X when it releases would be reason enough to have bootcamp - if it won't work in Wine or Parallels.

 

[saturnotaku]

That's a good way to look at it. I unfortunately haven't bought directly from Aspyr or Feral yet. I plan to do so in the future though.

The developers will still get their cut if you buy on the MAS, Steam and even EA's Origin. The MAS had Bioshock 1 and 2 on sale for $10 each right before the debut of Bioshock Infinite.

 

[tgi]

The developers will still get their cut if you buy on the MAS, Steam and even EA's Origin. The MAS had Bioshock 1 and 2 on sale for $10 each right before the debut of Bioshock Infinite.

That's good to know as the MAS & Steam are my go to places for games. I can't believe I missed out that sale.

 

[tgi]

I think it takes around a minute and half or so on my system, maybe a minute and 40 seconds. It seems like a while when you are sitting there waiting on it. Then there is the time for the system to load everything once you are at a desktop which takes longer still. Then you are really ready to game.

This performance is with a 7200 RPM hard drive. If you are booting and rebooting on an SSD I'm sure it goes much faster although bootcamp doesn't support SSD does it? Or maybe I am getting confused about how the fusion drives work where only OS X can be on the fast part of the drive.

The other thing I don't like about it is sometimes I want to take a little break and I'd like access to my other apps... but no! I'd have to reboot for that.

It is admittedly a minor point. I certainly will do it for some games I already own but it will be rare for me to buy any more Windows games. There's plenty of good stuff for me on Mac. Of course, for all of us there is always going to be exceptions and that is why I'll keep bootcamp around although I made my partition a lot smaller recently. For me for example, playing Might and Magic X when it releases would be reason enough to have bootcamp - if it won't work in Wine or Parallels.

Ok I apologize for the exaggeration on my part. I just timed how long it took from clicking restart, to choosing the Windows partition, until the Windows desktop was loaded and it took 58 seconds. This is running off an SSD. I guess to me that minute is worth the time, but I could definitely see it as a downside especially if the loading time is longer.

Also I can see it as a con if you needed to access something in OS X quickly, it would be hassle to reboot just for that reason. Maybe virtualization might benefit you?

 

[imacken]

Let's say you have a game that's Windows and Mac friendly. Would there be any advantages to installing the Mac version of the game, other than not having to reboot into Windows? I know you will usually get better performance in Windows. I have about 8 games that are Mac/Windows friendly so I'm just determining which partition to install them on.

I have a boot camp partition and never go into it now. Very happy with Mac versions of games like XCom, Bioshock Infinity, Deus Ex, F1 2012, Batman Arkham City, Witcher 2, etc.
All play really well @ 2560x1440 on my Mac.

 

[Nunyabinez]

I have a boot camp partition and never go into it now. Very happy with Mac versions of games like XCom, Bioshock Infinity, Deus Ex, F1 2012, Batman Arkham City, Witcher 2, etc.
All play really well @ 2560x1440 on my Mac.

I guess my biggest issue is that I play lots of games with friends. So when we get online and say "what are we gonna play?" and someone suggests a PC only game then I had to reboot and launch steam. Eventually it seemed better to dedicate a machine to gaming and leave my Mac up and running. If I was only playing single-player FPS games then I would likely play them on OSX.

In fact, I do play The Walking Dead on my iMac at work (I'm a professor, so I can use my time how I want). It plays just fine as does The Witcher 2.