27 replies to this topic

[Janichsan]

It's hard to believe that it finally happened, but Half-Life 1 actually made it to the Mac.

[Eric5h5]

Well, whaddya know.  I finally gave up waiting a year or so year ago and played through it using Crossover, but it's good they did a native version for the sake of completeness.

--Eric

[Thain Esh Kelch]

I already went through a few years back using Crossover. Now I'll go with Black Mesa instead, thank you very much.

[Matt Diamond]

And only 10 years after Inside Mac Games was originally going to publish it.

[Frost]

So, Valve finally atones for their sin of boning Mac gamers just because they couldn't get cross-platform multiplayer working. (Or so they said, anyway; I remember Westlake balking at that explanation)

Nice.

[Thain Esh Kelch]

I wonder how early 00'es mac gaming would have looked it they had published it...

[uff0]

lol, better late than never I guess *;*

[Diablofett]

Janichsan, on 26 January 2013 - 01:46 PM, said:

It's hard to believe that it finally happened, but Half-Life 1 actually made it to the Mac.

I already played it at a windows-using-friend's house back in middle school. Thanks for making us wait 14 years and a little over two months. Good luck with the sales numbers. Pfft. Unreal was much better anyway.

[Coug-it]

Got kind of tedious about "half-way" through the single player plus lots of buggy issues with getting trapped in different areas; never was able to finish it on a friend's PC so no thanks.

[Matt Diamond]

Interesting. It seems like the average Mac user was happier with Valve BEFORE they released this. :-)

Amazingly enough I never played HL1. I know it's a classic of the genre but the screenshots look extremely dated. So not much urge to start now. (Yes I know about Black Mesa but I can't be bothered to boot to Windows for it, or run it mediocre-ly under Wine.)

[Wumpus]

Matt Diamond, on 26 January 2013 - 10:02 PM, said:

And only 10 years after Inside Mac Games was originally going to publish it.

Lol..I actually read most of that article thinking it was true until I read:

"Because the title currently lacks support for OpenGL, a 700 MHz G4 is recommended. "Any of the LCD iMacs should run it just fine, with frame rates in the mid-teens," Tuncer reassures gamers."

Then I was like..lol.

[Janichsan]

Coug-it, on 27 January 2013 - 09:51 PM, said:

Got kind of tedious about "half-way" through the single player ...

I kind of have to agree. I started playing HL1 Source quite a while ago, but quickly lost interest.

The problem is that HL1 was so revolutionary and successful at its time, that large parts of it simply got copied in other games. So, when I played HL1 much later, I always had the feeling of already having played it. And in a way, I had.

[Thain Esh Kelch]

Matt Diamond, on 26 January 2013 - 10:02 PM, said:

And only 10 years after Inside Mac Games was originally going to publish it.

Kind of scary how many people commented the story back then, compared to now...

[Matt Diamond]

Wumpus, on 29 January 2013 - 11:06 AM, said:

Lol..I actually read most of that article thinking it was true until I read:

"Because the title currently lacks support for OpenGL, a 700 MHz G4 is recommended. "Any of the LCD iMacs should run it just fine, with frame rates in the mid-teens," Tuncer reassures gamers."

Then I was like..lol.

Tuncer asked me to write that one on short notice- I'm still extremely pleased with it.

It's not as clear as it would have been back then, but each paragraph casually introduces some new letdown about the port. Mac-only multiplayer via GameRanger; the implication of crippled mod support; the Classic requirement (analogous to a game today requiring Rosetta); lack of hardware accelerated graphics; the steep system specs; crappy frame rates. I tried to include every "feature" I'd seen gamers complaining about in other games over the years.

The vague release date and non-committal promise of maybe patching the graphics later on should also have raised alarm bells for those gamers who had learned to read PR-speak. The ridiculous price was the final straw for anyone who hadn't figured out the joke yet.

Ironically, the "download only" contest prize which I'd intended to sound cheapskate ("What, they can't be bothered to send me a boxed copy?") is now the way most games are sold, and seems perfectly reasonable.

[andrewlennox]

Matt Diamond, on 31 January 2013 - 09:39 AM, said:

Tuncer asked me to write that one on short notice- I'm still extremely pleased with it.

It's not as clear as it would have been back then, but each paragraph casually introduces some new letdown about the port. Mac-only multiplayer via GameRanger; the implication of crippled mod support; the Classic requirement (analogous to a game today requiring Rosetta); lack of hardware accelerated graphics; the steep system specs; crappy frame rates. I tried to include every "feature" I'd seen gamers complaining about in other games over the years.

The vague release date and non-committal promise of maybe patching the graphics later on should also have raised alarm bells for those gamers who had learned to read PR-speak. The ridiculous price was the final straw for anyone who hadn't figured out the joke yet.

Ironically, the "download only" contest prize which I'd intended to sound cheapskate ("What, they can't be bothered to send me a boxed copy?") is now the way most games are sold, and seems perfectly reasonable.

Wow, even if it was before my time I still understand the anticipation. HL2 was something really special and HL was the one that started it all

[Frost]

Matt Diamond, on 31 January 2013 - 09:39 AM, said:

Tuncer asked me to write that one on short notice- I'm still extremely pleased with it.

...

HEH. You were the one who wrote that? Props. I remember it cracking me up back then.

[ikir]

Eheheh times for me to finish it one more time! I think i've finished HL1 like 4 times already... many years ago.

[trax]

14 years...

I still don't see a download/buy button

edit:  My Bad... it's just really really not obvious that it's available.  You buy the windows version of half-life and the mac beta pops up in your steam list as downloadable... like an unadvertised easter egg.

[TeK987]

Janichsan, on 29 January 2013 - 11:54 AM, said:

I kind of have to agree. I started playing HL1 Source quite a while ago, but quickly lost interest.

The problem is that HL1 was so revolutionary and successful at its time, that large parts of it simply got copied in other games. So, when I played HL1 much later, I always had the feeling of already having played it. And in a way, I had.

It's funny, when HL2 came out, I remember many people and commenters saying that it was a great game, but that it was a little disappointing because it was too short and not as revolutionary as HL1 was. Now HL1 has not aged so well and its revolutionary elements feature in every modern fps. On the other hand, HL2 is still a blast to play, and I don't know of any other game that can offer such an intense experience from start to finish. I guess that's the sort of tricks time plays on us.

[Mens]

I heard that they might make a HL3 on a new engine that their making...