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 Post subject: Mac version of Domination?
PostPosted: Sun Mar 06, 2005 12:16 am 
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Sea Wolf
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According to my previous understanding, the Mac version of Domination is scheduled to be released sometime in Summer 2005. Is this still the plan? Also, who is doing the port?

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 5:32 am 
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The Mac version of Domination is scheduled for release in Summer 2005 and the porting will be done once again by Virtual Programming.

Best Regards,
Nick.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 5:02 pm 
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Sea Wolf
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Quote:
The Mac version of Domination is scheduled for release in Summer 2005 and the porting will be done once again by Virtual Programming.


:-(

Okay, it is your call, but... Please consider the following, as input from a Mac customer:

The bottom line is that I've been disappointed with VP's work with MA. To VP's credit, several major problems have been corrected so far. But patches have been very slow to appear. Several significant problems still exist in the latest patch. Even basic things like the mouse cursor are not yet functioning properly for many using OS X 10.2. Additionally, VP are not planning to solve some issues at all, such as bringing the map file type up to speed with the PC version (they say it would be "no small task," i.e., they aren't willing to put forth the effort).

Furthermore, consider this: The Mac demo of MA has been downloaded 21,900 times from macgamefiles.com, and surely many more times from other sites. But what impression do Mac users get of MA if they download this demo? This is very important. If the demo makes a bad impression of the game then obviously fewer users will buy it...and that means fewer users will be interested in MA-Domination and buy it.

Here's the thing: the Mac demo makes a very bad impression. Don't believe me? Let me drive this point home. Just read some of the comments Mac users wrote in their reviews of it at macgamefiles.com:

Quote:
"GET UR SPECS RIGHT!!! (11/9/2004 - version 1.1191)
I cant believe these ppl say is can pe used on a 256 G4!!! I may have only a 384 G4 eMac but this lag is crazy!!! It makes me wonder if they even tested it on a mac first =P"


Quote:
"Interesting backgound - big on ideas - looked really interesting. However! - plays like a sick cow on my dual 1.25Ghz G4,then it caused a kernal panic so I dumped it :) Sorry boys, not a good advert for your game"


Quote:
"...It's system requirements are absolute bull****, I have a 1 ghz G4 with 384 ram and this game chugs along like a snail. Not to mention that after turning one or two settings UP the water was no longer rendered properly..."


Quote:
"Pretty decent, but it crashed the first few times I ran it on my 2x1.8GHz G5; was sometimes a bit jerky too. Bombed out once when I was moving the camera..."


Quote:
"this game is excellent. i recommend it for ANY stratagy game fan. my only complaint comes from the game engine: i wish it performed a little nicer (its even slow on my g5"


Quote:
"system reqirements are optimistic at best, probably the results of a quij bord in al reality. runs badly on my 733mhz imac g4- expicaly when you consider this is a turn based stratigy game ( god only knows what data is holding everythin up.... )...fun game consept- but shurely not worth paying for."


Quote:
"Gets the award for the most optimistic requirements ever seen. This would get more sticks if the Mac version wasn't so slow."


Quote:
"I had high hopes for this game. PC reviews are in the 90's. I'll have to see why. I'm sure there is a lot more to it. I have only started but my initial impressions are slow..slow...SLOW!!!"


Quote:
"Bit offending when it asks: 'Are you sure you want to exit to Windows?'"


That's right. The Mac demo of MA was released in such a sloppy state that it still asked "Are you sure you want to exit to windows?" in good PC fashion as you press "quit" on your Mac. Whatever else you might say about it, you can't say VP released a polished product. Also, there are all sorts of bugs in the demo that aren't even mentioned in the reviews...unfortunately, this is probably because people trashed the demo before playing long enough to encounter them.

Note: the demo I'm talking about is still the demo people download today if they want to try the Mac version of MA! VP have not fixed any of the serious problems in the demo yet. Thus, in my opinion, the single best move to boost sales of the Mac port of MA-Domination this summer is to urge VP to get on the ball with their port of MA. Fix the full version. Fix the demo version. Make some happy Mac users with MA, and have us all drooling for the sequel.

Personally, I am already drooling for the sequel, but I'm the exception. I am one of the few Mac users who wasted countless hours enduring the bugs in order to play a game which I really enjoy. Clearly, most Mac users haven't done that.

Many are still asking about MA in strategy game forums, etc. Whenever others in the Mac gaming community ask about MA, I give them an honest answer: "Great game, terrible port. Wait to see if VP fixes it before buying. And don't try the demo, because then you'll never give it a fair shot." I am ready for MA-Domination, but I am anything but ready for another disaster of a port from VP. If they are going to do it, it is in everyone's best interest (including wargaming.net) that they do it right.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love the MA series, the gameplay is fantastic! I want to see it prosper on the Mac. That's why I have written this critical post; not to whine without cause, but to help users and gaming companies alike. Thanks for listening.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2005 12:56 pm 
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Thank you for such a long feedback on VP porting job.

Actually, VP is interested to deliver you the quality build which is free of errors. But it's impossible to get the game working on all computers correctly from the very beginning. That's why they release patches and that's what we do for PC version as well.

Please check out new Demo for Mac version - they told they have fixed it.

I hope they will do much better job on porting Domination on Mac, since they are already familiar with the code and possible issues.

Best Regards,
Nick.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 10:18 pm 
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Quote:
But it's impossible to get the game working on all computers correctly from the very beginning


This is the usual problem for the pc world. But the mac has not so many different manufacturers. It should be not so difficult to do a mac port. Lets face it, VP did a bad job in MA.

I did not buy MA on my mac platform because of the bad perfomance. I was forced to play it on a pc. :-?

VP should pay more attention to the quality control. Maybe the devs playtest the perfomance on their own macs before allowing VP to release the domination demo or the game itself. No ""Are you sure you want to exit to windows?" anymore. (very amusing if such a "blasphemy" appears on the screen of a holy mac :P )

enpeze


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Apr 17, 2005 9:32 pm 
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Levy
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Actually, I bought Massive Assault, because I thought the demo was very cool for the Mac. And considering I only have a 450mhz G4 Cube, and it runs fine, I think you guys are doing something wrong. Anyway, as soon as domination comes out I'll buy it as I loved Massive Assault, and the 3 unique units will rock. Whether I'll be able to play it, I don't know, but I'll buy it so when I get a new comp, I'll have it. :P


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 Post subject: mac port
PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 11:31 am 
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Conscript

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Well, summer of '05 has come and gone, and still no mac version of Domination! I have played MA on my g4 powerbook and the game ran fine, but the more you played it, the slower it got... though that might have had to do with overeheating. A few bugs/ crashes...
1) every now and then when i moved the camera, the map would keep spinning forever even after the button was released.
2) the last world war scenario, part 7 ALWAYS crashes when loading.
3) most of the replays that are posted online crash the game... 75% of them, only the original ones work all the time
4) Most of the support files, extra stuff are .exe files and wont work on macs.

After i applied the patch, everything seemed to run a lot faster, and i love the game and look forward to playing human oppenents, but i'd love to get Domination now that i've won all the single player MA scenarios!


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 Post subject: oh!!! forgot another bug!!!
PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 11:36 am 
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Conscript

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Location: nj
When switching sides during the world wars... and playing for the red team... it frequently erased all the units i had placed and put the money spent back in the treasury... at first i thought i had done something wrong and got wiped out, but then i realized a border i know i had fortified with units, had disappeared and then after they invaded with 4 untis, it was impossible to drive them back out! This happened 90% of the time... it got so bad that i found myself saving after each enemy placed (after getting a $20 indemnity, it was frustrating losing a country!)


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