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A recent article at GarageGames confirmed a Mac version of the simulation game Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa is in the works. As the name implies, Wildlife Tycoon is set in Serengeti, and the player is challenged to build a complete ecosystem with a diverse mix of plants and animals.

Wildlife Tycoon will feature 11 animals and 25 levels, with both story and challenge modes. Here's more on its feature set from the game's site:

In addition to the building aspects of the game, players can “Be the Animal”. Take control over a zebra and feed it to a pack of lions, lead a great wildebeest migration across crocodile-filled rivers, or circle above a starving elephant as a devious vulture.

Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa

GarageGames Post on Wildlife Tycoon

GameTunnel 2005 Indie Games Mid-term

Buy Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa

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On Sunday, July 10th I had the opportunity to attend the National Model Railroad Associations annual trade show in Cincinnati, with my six year old son, a big train nut. The show was last here about 20 years ago, so it was my first time going to the big show. Why is this interesting to Mac Gamers you ask? Because Auran Games was there, showing off their railroad simulator, Trainz.

I had read some blurbs about Trainz earlier this year, about how it was coming to the Mac sometime in the future. After looking at the screen shots, I was impressed. We had not too long before bought Railroad Tycoon 3, and were happy with it, but I wished for a more immersive feel to a sim. I always felt like I was watching from a tower with RT3, or a low flying airplane. I never felt like the engineer. Boy did Trainz fit the bill. The short demo I watched was incredible. Granted, this was on a PC, but it gave me high hopes for the mac version.

First off, apologies to the train techies out there. While I'm interested in trains, I don't know all the lingo.

In the demo, I watched as we sat inside a virtual steam engine, with all the controls accessible. You would open the coal chute, have the coalman shovel some coal in, and close the door again. Then, you would set the forward/reverse lever, then the break lever, and then apply some steam to the pistons. The train would slowly pickup steam, and you could see out the windows in the front as we started rolling down the track. The demonstrator then switched between several views, from the coalman and engineers interior views, to outside views alongside the engine or in the coal tender, to further away views more like RT3's.

That was very impressive, to say the least. It gave more of a flightsim feel to controlling every aspect of the train. I was reminded of A-10 Cuba in that everything had to be moved or switched by hand. But that was nothing compared to what came next. The demonstrator then proceeded to show me the terrain editor. We started with a blank piece of plywood, although it looked more like the Tron lightcycle landscape or the holodeck from Star Trek than a piece of plywood. But, belief fully suspended, I watched as he laid out a small oval with two bridges. Laying the track was incredible, as you would set points from which track would go from point a to point b, and it would develop bezier curves similar to what you would do in photoshop. Once set, he dragged them around a bit to form a more curved track. Then, he grabbed a landscaping tool that carved out a canyon like in SimCity 4. After doing that, he filled it with water, and then lowered the level so we had some shore on either side. Then he played with the water color, and chose the reflection mapping that it would use, a cloudy sky. He also played with some terrain painting, for grass and rocks, put in a few mountains, and a road, which was similar to the track laying. The crossings automatically went in wherever the track and road intersected. Cars automatically populated the road. Then he chose a black engine with a flame job on it, saved and started the simulation. Sandbox railroading, very cool. From what I've read on their website, I haven't even scratched the surface of what this software can do, such as controlling as a Yardmaster, Route Builder and Operations Manager. Personally I'll stick with Engineer.

All in all I was extremely impressed with the Trainz software. I can only hope the Macintosh version comes out in a timely fashion, of which they said it should be out late this year.

I can guess what I'll be buying for my son this Christmas...

Also, I spoke with a rep for a control attachment for Trainz (among others). He said they would most likely come up with Mac drivers for Trainz either when it comes out or within a month, depending on what they are provided by Auran. He hoped it would be out about the same time. At $150 US, it would be pricey, but it was a nice fit to having physical controls instead of virtual ones, although they were more suited towards diesel and electric engines, rather than steam ones.

Auran Games Trainz website

National Model Railroading Association

Trainz

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Aspyr Media has recently moved Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 out of the beta testing status and into final candidate. This implies the game has completed testing and is just seeking approvals before starting duplication.

Tiger Woods 2005 includes a new "Tiger-proofing" feature which allows you to dynamically change the difficulty of courses. Also included are more courses, enhanced face rendering, and more players, including many all-time greats. Here are the official system requirements from Aspyr:

• Operating System: Mac OS X 10.3.8 or later
  
• CPU Processor: PowerPC G4/G5
  
• CPU Speed: 1.2GHz or faster
  
• Memory: 256MB
  
• Hard Disk Space: 2.5GB free disk space
  
• Video Card (ATI): Radeon 9000 or better
  
• Video Card (NVidia): GeForce FX5200 or better
  
• Video Memory (VRam): 32 MB
  
• Media Required:DVD Drive required to install and play
  
  
  Recommended System Requirements:
  
• Tiger Woods 2005 runs best on a iMac G5 or Power Mac G5 with 512MB of RAM
  
• Memory: 512MB
  
• Video RAM: 64MB
  
  
  Multiplayer requirements:
  
• Internet (2-4 players) and LAN (2-8 players) play supported
  
• Internet play requires a broadband connection
  
• Internet and LAN play Mac to Mac only, via GameRanger

Aspyr Media

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005

Buy Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005

Audio Overload, a video game music player, has been updated to v2.0b6. The update has various changes including a complete overhaul of the .nsf, .gbs, and .sndh engines.

In partial celebration for my twenty fifth birthday, Audio Overload has been updated to 2.0b6. Here are the changes:

• Completely replaced the .NSF, .GBS, and .SNDH engines with substantially better-sounding and more-compatible versions. Big thanks to Shay Green (.NSF and .GBS, based on Game Music Box) and Benjamin Gerard (.SNDH based on the upcoming SC68 v2.3.0) for allowing us to use their code!
• CAB archive support. This is popular in Japan and many Japanese formats are commonly found in these containers.
• Fixed MOD note delay and note cut behavior.
• Added support for the S3M note cut effect.

Update Post

Audio Overload

Update Download

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C&C Generals mod Blitzkrieg 2, a WW2 conversion mod, has been released for the Macintosh at Macologist.org. The mod is not completely finished and has a single campaign with preliminary AI. The mod, however, should be fully featured for multiplayer gameplay.

Blitzkrieg 2: The Finest Hour, a WWII-themed full conversion mod for C&C Generals: Zero Hour, has been packaged for easy installation on the Mac. While not all the campaigns are finished (only the Axis campaign is available in this release) there are plenty of units available on all sides for intense multiplayer action.

Blitzkrieg 2 Release

Aspyr Media

i5works

Command & Conquer: Generals

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An update was recently released for freeware title Nexuiz, bringing with it beta Mac support as well as a number of bug fixes. A first-person shooter based off the Darkplaces engine, the folks behind Nexuiz designed it with the idea of bringing old-school deathmatches back for fans of the genre.

Nexuiz has been in development for 3.5 years by a team of amateur developers lead by Lee Vermeulen. It is a 3d deathmatch game made entirely over the internet. The purpose of the game is to bring deathmatch back to the basics, with perfect weapon balancing and fast paced action, keeping itself away from the current trend of realistic shooters.

Mac users interested in trying out version 1.1 can download it from MacGameFiles. The file is sized at 158MB and is under the GPL, making it free for play and use in other projects.

Nexuiz

MGF - Nexuiz 1.1

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Ubisoft has posted details for a special Limited Edition version of Myst V: End of Ages. Currently slated for a release date of September 2005, the LE package will include several bonuses, including the following:

• A 22-minute video, made by GameTap, offers a retrospective look at the making of the entire franchise.
  
• The original game soundtrack transports fans to the ambient worlds of Myst whenever and wherever they like.
  
• A collector’s art piece provides a frame-able keepsake from the worlds of Myst.
  
• The official strategy guide helps new and old explorers progress through this final adventure.

In addition, the initial Mac system requirements have been posted:

• Supported OS: OS X® 10.2.8–10.3.9
  
• Processor: 1 GHz G4 (1.6 GHz G4 or higher recommended)
  
• RAM: 256 MB (512 MB recommended)
  
• Video Card: 32 MB video card supporting 32-bit color (see supported list*)
  
• Sound Card: Standard
  
• QuickTime: Required for bonus content
  
• DVD: 4x DVD or faster
  
• Hard Drive Space: 4.1 GB free
  
• Peripherals: Mac-compatible mouse and keyboard

Ubisoft - Myst V: End of Ages Limited Edition

Cyan

Myst V: End of Ages

Buy Myst V: End of Ages

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