Fun Stuff > CLIKC
Macs
mosfet:
i think I've said earlier in another thread that its all about the developers. Mac and PC hardware is about the same. Its mostly about who makes what software for what OS.
The only reason Macs aren't "gaming comps" is because people 1. don't make as many games for OSX as they do for Windows. and 2. When people do port games to OSX, they don't spend any time optimizing it and it ends up running like crap.
Personally I like OSX/Macs better than PCs. Too many years being a sys admin has me leaning towards the Linux/OSX side of things. I'll always keep a PC handy to do certain things with, but if at all possible I try to go mac.
Arent the X300 and 9600 essentially the same core?
nihilist:
Nah, the X300 is a cut down version of the new chip (R420?) and the 9600 is a cut down version of the prior one. And the X300 is PCI-e, though that doesn't really count for much.
The OpenGL implementation under Windows is pretty good, since it's had years of refinement. Also, with DirectX being built right into the OS, you can get a lot of goodness out of it. I wouldn't really blame developers for making games run poorly on OS X; I believe that a lot has to do with drivers, and the OS itself.
mosfet:
The big problem comes when developers port over games from directX to openGL, but they only do a rough job at translation, not spending time to find the optimum functions and reprogramming for OpenGL performance.
One example of this is WoW. Blizzard admits to the issue but is only slowly fixing it. Unfortunately its most likely a manpower and money issue, but this leads on to the next problem below.
The other big problem is the vicious cycle of the "stereotype"
People think Windows is better for gaming
So Management and Marketing focus on Windows.
Development then focus on Windows.
People see theres all these cool games for Windows but hardly any for OSX.
People then think "Windows is much better for gaming"
- repeat process -
Unfortunately this sort of goes for Linux as well. I'd like to see more games for that OS as well.
Apple has their own equivelent of DirectX which I wouldn't mind seeing people take advantage of as well.
nihilist:
I don't think that you can simply things down to a stereotype, as it were. Remember, OS <number/character here> has been around for longer than Windows. The stereotype was that consoles were for gaming, and that computers were for computing. It wasn't until Microsoft started building the DirectX API into its OS that things started to change. By giving developers lower level access to hardware, simplifying tasks, etc, they attracted developers to their platform. Sure, DX sucked at first, but MS kept pumping time and money into it, and look what they got out of it: a console. :) It also helps developers that they can target a console with a large audience, and roughly 90% of all computer users at once by using one API. It's not so much that 'Windows is better' it is that 'Windows is ubiquitous.'
Remember that OpenGL has been around longer then DirectX as well, and look where it is now, compared to DX. You have certain game development shops that swear by it (id springs to mind), but the majority go for the easy route. Take EA. They can cover a huge swath of people by using DirectX. So, at the end of the day, it's a money-driven decision that probably won't change for a while. Either OpenGL steps up and starts covering the entire media aspect instead of just focusing on graphics, or... Well, not much. There are things like SDL that cover what I'm talking about, but don't have the acceptance of the industry.
Unified API is pretty much the thing that drives the game development industry. (And by development, I mean idiotically large companies that care more about their bottom line, their stock price, and upper management then about games.)
mosfet:
I think we actually agree on most of this. I'm just bad sometimes at making points. :P
More marketing is whats needed. Market to the people and the developement companies. Make it worth developing for, and what not.
I guess it'd help if Apple sold more Macs then they do now, but then they need to make Macs more marketable with software in the first place. :p
Good news is, rumor has it that Apple is starting a gaming devision, that may help with making Macs more popular than they are now.
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