Microconversions' Fate Sealed, iWonder Debuts

People using bogus and hacked Game Wizard drivers has had its [feared] effect... Micro Conversions has gone out of business. (This after providing award-winning Mac graphics and video solutions for 14 years!... Its a shame, I think we were the only remaining 'Mac only' hardware developer. Guess that should finally answer the issues as to our [allegedly] having had too much margin and whether or not we should have tried to protect our drivers!)

Those who have read our article on Voodoo II cards ('To Voodoo or Not Voodoo') already know that Mr. Archer is a man of strong and perhaps controversial opinions, and this quote seems right in line with his earlier statements. We think lack of product availability, high price, and lack of SLI (scan-line interleave) support were also a factor in Game Wizard sales.

Further statements support the idea that iWonder, a company composed of many former MicroConversions employees, will take over support and sales for the Game Wizard, iWizard, and future products. Older products and product rebates are now history, however, and there may be a significant gap in availability for the Game Wizard and iWizard products. iWizard seems to be a sleeker, more agile company than MicroConversions, and we can only hope they succeed where other companies have failed -- Voodoo II support on the Macintosh is vital. [Eilers]





Game Music Hits the Grammys
We've all been impressed and thrilled (and sometimes annoyed) by video game music--from the dark and mournful orchestrations of Myth II: Soulblighter to the light and poppy techno of Battle Girl or Pro Pinball: Big Race USA. Well, now those invisible composers who write the tunes that make the game complete may get some recognition, according to an article on GameCenter.

An excerpt from the article:

After a two-year campaign by composers in the game industry, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences announced yesterday that music from interactive games would be allowed to compete for Grammy Awards beginning next year.

Along with two new Latin Music categories, the academy announced a new field: Music for Film, Television, and Other Visual Media. In that field will be two categories: Best Song for a Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media and Best Instrumental Composition for a Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media.

What this means to game fans is that the efforts of game composers and groups that contribute music to games may receive mainstream recognition. It also may make it more attractive for established composers and groups to lend their talents to the game industry.

This seems like good news all around - game composers gain some legitimacy, and traditional composers suddenly have a new category to jump into and compete in. With many game soundtracks (such as Final Fantasy VII) being sold on music CDs in record stores, this seems to be a logical step. Read the rest of the article for details. [Eilers]





Preview of Heavy Metal FAKK2
Gamer's Alliance has posted a preview of Ritual's upcoming Heavy Metal FAKK2. The title, being developed for the PC and Macintosh and based on the Quake III: Arena engine, is slated to be released in the Spring of 2000. Here's a little tidbit from the preview:

[Ritual's] latest project is based on an upcoming movie license -- Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.2. Many people have eyed this license dubiously; a game based on an 80s animated cult hit? On an adult comic book? What were they thinking? On top of that, many have thought that Ritual needed a much stronger sophomore game to make up for the "failure" that was Sin, and making a game based on a dated, slim-niche movie license appeared to be some form of slow suicide.

After having seen the game in action at E3, though, I'm here to tell you -- Ritual are back. Boy, are they back. And with a vengeance.

We didn't get to see this game in action at E3 (though our news editor did get to meet Julie Strain) but from the look of the screenshots, Q3ATest isn't even a hint of the abilities of iDs new engine. We'll be anticipating this game just as highly! [Deniz]





Voodoo II Banshee gets RAVE
Owners of VillageTronic's VooDoo II Banshee cards have had to face the annoying problem of having limited 3D support, slow and with no RAVE. According to a short article on Accelerate Your Mac, this wait may be over. A reader sent them the following message from VillageTronic customer support:

Hi Ingo, We will have a new glide release maybe today. And the first RAVE release is just being worked on. The first RAVE release should be ready within the next 2 weeks I think.

Now all they need is OpenGL support, and they will be able to fill the hole in the market left by MicroConversions... [Eilers]





GameSpot Reviews the G3/400Mhz - and Likes It!
GameSpot has posted a somewhat glowing review of the Power Macintosh G3/400 giving it 4 out of 5 stars. Here's a little peek at the review:

Apple has finally pulled its head out of its...umm...out of the sand when it comes to gamers, and the G3 sends the message loud and clear. Apple's gaming woes are no longer hardware-related. But the Mac platform is still dogged by game scarcity--mostly due to past Apple strategies, which frequently left game developers in the lurch. If Apple wants to be any kind of player in the "consumer market space," it needs to realize that its future is inextricably linked to gaming.

While the make a few good points, this article is still full of the cynicism and cheap shots we have come to expect from PC magazines reviewing Mac products. Oh well, at least they admit Apple even exists -- that itself is a step up from a few years back. [Deniz]





Descent OpenGL Updated Again
Duane Johnson recently released Descent OpenGL/3Dfx 1.25, in the latest assault on bandwidth from the NASA rocket scientist. 32-bit (millions of colors) rendering is now optional in OpenGL mode, and many other minor bugs were addressed in this release as well.

Descent OpenGL/3Dfx is a modification to the original Descent series source code, which was released by Parallax Software, the original developer. These new versions allow the use of 3D accelerators in the game, along with implementing several other cool features. It is freeware, though the original Descent data files are required. See our Updaters page for downloads and details. [Daranciang]





MacMAME Hits Lucky Thirteen
MacMAME, the popular arcade emulator has been updated to 0.35b13, and includes the following fixes:

• In sync with DOS beta 13. [Brad Oliver, Aaron Giles]

That's it, we're not kidding! Here is a list of changes in the previous beta (12a) for those who skipped that one...

• The front-end artwork now supports .bmp files. Also, the artwork can be contained in one large .zip file (e.g. images.zip, cabinets.zip, flyers.zip). The main advantage is that the Win32 MAME artwork can be used as-is on the Mac now. If a piece of artwork is found in both the large zip file and as a standalone file, preference is given to the standalone. [John Butler]
• Several more glitches with InputSprocket have been fixed, particularly with devices only responding the first time through. Hopefully, it should now be on par, stability-wise, with 0.35b10. [Brad Oliver]
• The new RAVE code introduced in the last release would cause type 3 errors on ATI cards that were using the new OpenGL drivers. This has been fixed. [Brad Oliver]
• Breaker's Revenge is now working on the Mac. [Brad Oliver]
• New and updated folder icons. [Carlo Noben]

The MacMAME emulator requires a Power Macintosh to run. Check MacMAME.Org for details and mirrors. [Deniz]

MacMAME .35B13 (2.1 MB)





Interactive Mac Deal on Falcon 4.0
Following the release of this much-anticipated flight sim, Interactive Mac has an exclusive deal which should have Mac flight sim fans rushing to the telephone (or to their web site):

Interactive Mac (http://www.interactivemac.com) is now offering Falcon 4.0 for the absolute lowest price of $42.95 with FREE Shipping. Interactive Mac guarantees that its customers will not find a better deal anywhere else. In the unlikely event that a better price is found, Interactive Mac promises to beat or match that price. Some restrictions may apply.

In addition, now is the time to grab some of the best Mac games ever created, such as "Doom II," "Hexen," "Hornet 3.0," "King's Quest 6," "Star Trek: 25th Anniversary" and tons of other great titles for as little as $5.00! Interactive Mac has marked down many of its popular titles, including recent hits such as "Klingon Honor Guard" to unheard of new lows.

So stop by Interactive Mac today. But you'd better hurry. Supplies are limited and with prices so low, these deals won't last long!

If you'd like to know more about Falcon 4.0 see our preview and 'watch the skies' for an upcoming review of this exciting title. [Eilers]





Next Issue of IMG Coming Soon!
The next issue of IMG is fast approaching and will be shipping within the next 10 days. IMG Volume 7 - Issue 3 will feature previews of games like Fly! (Quicktime movie included), Caesar III, and reviews of hot new games like Starship Titanic, Imperialism II, Tomb Raider Gold, Civilization II Gold and more.

We're also proud to announce the return of an extremely popular feature, our video interviews. In 7-3 we video interview the folks from Aspyr Media who recently scored Madden 2000 for the Mac. Find out what's in store for Madden 2000 and what we can expect from Aspyr in the near future.

And of course we'll have the hottest new demos on the CD including Caesar III, Railroad Tycoon 2, Gungan Frontier, Freddi Fish 4, Tomb Raider Gold, and much more.

If you haven't signed up for a subscription, now's the perfect time! Subscribe today and you'll be guaranteed to get IMG 7-3. Subscriptions start at just $39 a year.

And get ready for our hardware extravaganza. IMG 7-4 will be shipping in late June and will cover all the latest hardware including USB joysticks, accelerated video cards, and more.