58 replies to this topic

[macdude22]

Man I know it's a math compiler whatever thing but this "Cross-platform multiplayer is not an option" thing again is real lame.

[DirtyHarry50]

You want to play with the unwashed masses?

[the Battle Cat]

I think it's mainly the fact that another game comes to us out of the box gimped and kneecapped.  At least that's what bothers me about it, don't want the game myself, but I was still disappointed to learn that myself.

[Janichsan]

I'm actually more bothered by the lack of Mac v Mac LAN multiplayer than by the missing cross platform compatibility.

[DirtyHarry50]

I understand the issues with cross platform multiplayer due to the compilers, etc. but I don't understand why only mod support in the Steam version. I can guess though. I suppose they went with Steam Workshop for mod support cross platform as a single way to do that which would rule out MAS support for it.

It is unfortunate the math issues exist at all given the hardware is the same cross platform now but I have no background whatsoever in Mac programming or the tools used for it so what do I know? There is probably some reason for the difference(s) and it could date back a long time. If that is true, making a change would break a lot of apps so I could see why that's not happening over games.

Come to think of it, I think I've read in the past that one major issue can be what math library might have been used in making a game originally and whether that same math library is even available for use in Mac programming. I might be wrong about that but I think I have read that somewhere before.

I imagine I am in a minority here but if I was to play online and I might once in a while as time goes by, I kind of like the idea of playing other Mac players for some reason. I can't come up with a good explanation for that but it just seems kind of cool to me. Of course, I say this stuff now but in a couple years when I replace this iMac I might become a traitor and build a PC gaming rig and go with a Mac Mini as I've mentioned elsewhere. That isn't set in stone though until the time actually comes. I have a terrible time making up my mind and changing it too. I think I have mentioned before that I am crazy?

[jeannot]

I finally beat homeworld 2 remastered a few days ago. Good memories. I never finished the original. I played it like 11 years ago. I used cheats to have more chips and ressources, but at one point my iBook was too slow.
Some missions were a bit hard. It seems difficulty depends on your style of play and the fleet you have when starting a level. Resisting the Vaygr attacks while repairing the dreadnaught was difficult, so was saving captan Soban (not difficult per se, but it was hard not to lose too many ships). The next missions were piece of cake in comparison. I expected them to me difficult, but for some reason, they only sent frigates to destroy the gate. I easily dispatched their forces with my capital ships.
The final mission is a hard since you have to pay attention to every missile. Finishing it without having any missile hit the planet was stressful. Beating the game knowing that most of your home world population has been killed isn't exactly rewarding.

[DirtyHarry50]

jeannot, on 11 November 2015 - 03:04 AM, said:

I finally beat homeworld 2 remastered a few days ago. Good memories. I never finished the original. I played it like 11 years ago. I used cheats to have more chips and ressources, but at one point my iBook was too slow.

Wow. I didn't realize there was also an iBook version. So, you read about the game story or something?

[Janichsan]

DirtyHarry50, on 11 November 2015 - 01:03 PM, said:

Wow. I didn't realize there was also an iBook version. So, you read about the game story or something?

I think he means one of those:

[jeannot]

Indeed.
When I wrote "iBook", I thought that some wouldn't think of the computer. But I think DirtyHarry is just being facetious. He was already old when Macs got PPC processors.

[the Battle Cat]

I was 43 when that happened.  Still a spring chicken.

[Matt Diamond]

jeannot, on 11 November 2015 - 03:04 AM, said:

Some missions were a bit hard. It seems difficulty depends on your style of play and the fleet you have when starting a level. Resisting the Vaygr attacks while repairing the dreadnaught was difficult, so was saving captan Soban (not difficult per se, but it was hard not to lose too many ships). The next missions were piece of cake in comparison.

You are right, Homeworld 2 (and probably the original one) rebalances each mission based on what fleet you bring in. So the difficulty each person has with each mission can vary greatly.

My play style in strategy games is very conservative. I turtle and gather my forces as much as possible before any assault, because I don't trust my micro skills. This strategy backfired horribly when I tried HW2 years ago; i quickly reached a level where the force that was thrown at me was more than I could handle (me being a newbie.) I wanted to love the game but it got hard quickly, and I never got the hang of the camera.. I should give it another try one of these days.

[Frigidman™]

Matt Diamond, on 11 November 2015 - 08:28 PM, said:

My play style in strategy games is very conservative. I turtle and gather my forces as much as possible before any assault, because I don't trust my micro skills. This strategy backfired horribly when I tried HW2 years ago; i quickly reached a level where the force that was thrown at me was more than I could handle (me being a newbie.) I wanted to love the game but it got hard quickly, and I never got the hang of the camera.. I should give it another try one of these days.

I too hated this dynamic of the game. I like to amass an overwhelming force and squash the opponent. Then the game just penalizes me for it and slams me with impossible odds. And frankly, I hate starting from square one each round, having 'just enough' to win by 1 fricken ship, so the next round is the same sort of difficulty. This, is why I gave up on the game and cheated =p had they had the option to turn that crap off, I probably would not have.

[Thain Esh Kelch]

There's even more Homeworld coming up.

[Matt Diamond]

Homeworld Remastered on sale in the MacGameStore for $11.89, more than half off.

[Cougar]

The new ground-based homeworld RTS just released for the Mac today.

[Mr Pink]

Cougar, on 21 June 2016 - 12:15 PM, said:

The new ground-based homeworld RTS just released for the Mac today.

Yes, today 'Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak' was released on Steam for Mac.

[Janichsan]

Mr Pink, on 21 June 2016 - 03:38 PM, said:

Yes, today 'Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak' was released on Steam for Mac.

Wait – the port is not from Aspyr?

[Mr Pink]

Seems like Aspyr did not work on this one.
So I guess this will be only available on Steam, and not on the Mac App Store.

[DirtyHarry50]

I don't know this and could not be bothered trying to look into it but I wonder if Aspyr is not more involved with projects porting console titles to Windows. Haven't they done this kind of work previously? If they are not working on Civ VI, they'd better have found something noteworthy to do.

I have no idea what kind of success they've had financially bringing some titles to iOS. I imagine KOTOR did well. I am not so sure about Indigo Prophecy but who knows? They had a poll up to gauge interest in KOTOR 2 being ported to iOS but a serious issue there is the restored content mod many consider essential to the experience. Of course, it is always possible to work out an arrangement for something like that I guess but then it cuts further into profits and if they have to ask people if they want it to begin with it causes me to wonder how well even the original KOTOR sold.

There seems to be a trend where major games that were being delivered by specialty porting companies are being done in-house such as the Total War series, this Gearbox game and many others that just rolled their own from the outset. Probably the thinking is, if it sells well enough to keep a porting company afloat, why leave that money on the table? With enough proof of that seen over time I could see it being at least a partial reason for stuff like this game just being done in-house. The other thing of course is whatever tools/libraries, etc. were used to build the thing to begin with as that would make some decisions pretty simple. I am thinking that does not apply in this case but in some it does.

[macdude22]

That is odd considering they just did the remastered port. I am all for inhouse Mac development if that is what actually happened here. Just seems odd given they just ported the games progenitor