Click to enlarge

We've been receiving a variety of reports from users attempting to run the Beta version of theCocoa port of Heavy Metal F.A.K.K. 2 which was recently released by Omni Group. In our news item yesterday we missed a crucial detail that was needed for those trying to run the demo version of this game in OS X; in order for the console window to be brought down, you have to deliberately enable this ability in the advanced preferences. Our apologies to anyone confused by this issue. Here are complete instructions on how to run the demo version with the Omni OS X ported app:

Launch the FAKK2 Cocoa application. When a dialog box pops up asking you to locate the FAKK2 folder, you need to direct it to the folder that contains the original (Classic) demo app itself, not the fakk2 data folder inside that folder. Once the game loads, click on Video and Audio and then Advanced. On the far right side, put a check in the box next to "Console"; this will enable the drop-down console activated by the "tilde" (~) key on your keyboard. Make sure you hit Apply Changes and then go back to the main menu. You should now be able to drop the console window with the tilde key and type "map fakkhouse_demo" and hit return. You should be greeted by the intro cinematic for the game. One reader has reported excellent results and improved sound performance, but others (including several on the IMG staff) haven't been able to get past (or even to) the initial loading screen.

Other tips we have learned that may help in getting past the initial launch including launching another application first which initializes OpenGL (such as Omni's port of Quake 3 Arena) or switching your screen resolution down to a lower level before you launch the game. Yes, there is still a little "voodoo" in Mac OS X.

We've been in contact with Omni regarding the problems we have been having. Make sure you report your experiences with the beta version of this application in our OS X forums, so we can bring these issues up with Omni and help them to pinpoint trouble spots to work on. If you are having trouble and are curious about what is going on when OS X attempts to launch the application, open a Terminal window and type the following:

tail +0f /var/tmp/console.log

This will generate a log of all processes taking place, so launch the Heavy Metal app right away. It will take an experienced user (or programmer) to decipher these logs, but it may give advanced gamers a clue as to what aspect of their setup is presenting a problem. From what we have seen so far, we can't wait for Omni's versions of Alice and Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force, which are also in development. Presumably after these Quake 3-engine titles are complete, Omni will move on to a Cocoa port of Bungie's Oni.

Download FAKK2 OS X Beta (2.5 MB)

Mac OS X Forum

Heavy Metal F.A.K.K.2 OS X Beta

Gathering of Developers

Ritual Entertainment

Heavy Metal F.A.K.K. 2

Search for other Mac games news stories or browse our Mac Games News Archive.