Air Warrior for Mac, the free online flight combat simulator from GameStorm, is currently in beta testing. A number of Mac users are playing the game and have organized a night for Mac users to unite in some air combat:
"Folks, some of us in the Mac AW community are hungry for semi-organized, roiling furballs and mass mahem. So we're working up the first Mac AW War Night On Game Storm to be held Sunday, March 7, at 3:00 pm EST in the Events Arena. We may have 20 peeps, we may have 50, but we will have fun!"
This is a perfect chance for those who haven't to give Air Warrior for Mac a try. System requirements include:
LC475 (68040) minimum, PowerPC recommended.
Mac System 7.1.2 or higher.
8 MB of RAM minimum, 16 MB of RAM with 4.5 MB free recommended.
27 MB free hard drive space (for minimum download and installation).
Monitor capable of 640x480 or greater resolution in 256 colors.
Apple USB DDK 1.2f2 is the latest beta version of this USB driver development kit. It includes extensions that may eliminate USB problems with the current drivers.
I've updated the FS:SDOE Faq with additional information on the Mac version
A note on the Mac version. Several web sites has posted updates that imply that the Mac version will be out in a couple of months. This is not accurate. We still have some obligations to Activision which will keep us busy on PC development for at least a few more weeks (although this is certainly subject to change, most likely it would be extended). We also have to go through the process of planning how best to port FS:SDOE over to the Mac. While a great majority of the code is highly portable, there has been enough divergence between the PC and Mac code over the last year that's it not simply a matter of rebuilding the game and shipping it off to beta sites.
Once we have a solid plan for, and begin the port we'll post new information here.
(on a personal note, I mailed Parsoft about the people who had been accepted as beta testers. I was told they would get back to those people later:))
Last evening at the first-ever MGL World Without Borders chat (a once-a-month event, 2nd Thursday each month, 10pm EST/7pm PST), special guest Russell Mirabelli of iMagic Online announced that their new online flight combat simulator, Dawn of Aces, will be released for the Mac early next week. Here's the press release:
Interactive Magic, producers of the World War II simulator WarBirds, is proud to announce that Dawn of Aces will be released on the Macintosh simultaneously with the new revision for Windows.
Dawn of Aces allows players to pilot 10 different World War I aircraft in an online environment. Using Interactive Magic's MEGAplayer technology, up to 300 players can test each others' mettle in a single air arena! Aircraft include 9 different airplanes, including the Fokker Triplane and the SE5A, as well as the first player-controlled lighter-than-air aircraft available in a flight simulator, a Zeppelin! Dawn of Aces also includes player-directed artillery, with spotting from Zeppelins or two-seater airplanes.
Macintosh programmer Russell Mirabelli is particularly excited about this new release. "The new aircraft, particularly the Zeppelin, make Dawn of Aces a truly unique simulation. This is too cool for words."
Subject: (cww) How to get USB support for Hornet: for Macs
Date: 19 Mar 1999 10:10:23 -700
I am posting this because GSC is so lame about support for everyone now, including the offline user. I haven't had a chance to test this out yet, but I will be soon
The following is taken from MacInTouch
Alessandro Levi Montalcini has released USB Overdrive 1.0, a universal driver that handles "all USB mice, trackballs, joysticks and gamepads from any manufacturer and lets you configure them either globally or on an application-specific basis." USB Overdrive will even work with joysticks and keypads that do not support Apple's InputSprockets. The $20 shareware utility is available now.
At long last, German graphics accelerator maker VillageTronic has publicly released 3D drivers for its Voodoo Banshee-based MP 850 card. The professional-level video card was released last December with 2D drivers only, and gamers who purchased the new board have been anticipating release of the 3D drivers since then. VillageTronic used CeBit, the pan-European computer trade show running in Hannover, Germany this week to publicly release the drivers. This initial release of the drivers enables Glide games to work only- RAVE support has not been incorporated into this release.
The initial release of the drivers is in German only. It is available for download from German Mac news resource MacNews.de (you'll find the link to the drivers about half-way down the page). For more information, including a performance comparison, check out Accelerate Your Mac's coverage of the driver release as well.
3Dfx Interactive's Voodoo Banshee differs from other released Voodoo products by offering integrated 2D and 3D support in the same card, solving one of the significant limitations noted by owners of other Voodoo products, which accelerate 3D graphics only. VillageTronic is the only company licensed by 3Dfx Interactive to produce Voodoo Banshee products for the Macintosh. A companion product designed specifically for gamers, the MacMagic Pro, is expected to debut soon.
VillageTronic has informed us that a localized English version of the drivers will be released on their Web site today. They also indicated we can expect more info soon on the release of MacMagic Pro, so stay tuned for details!
VillageTronic releases NextGen Glide drivers-- for real
VillageTronic offered pre-release 3D drivers for its NextGen line of Voodoo Banshee-based graphics accelerator cards at last week's CeBit trade show in Hannover, Germany. The drivers were posted to the Web by German Mac news resources Macnews.de, and VillageTronic later asked the company to remove the software. VillageTronic dropped us a line over the weekend to tell us that the drivers have been released to their own Web site this time, in 1.0 form.
The 3D Glide Driver archive will enable MP850 and MP750 card owners to play 3D games that support 3Dfx's Glide API. At this time, the drivers do not support Apple's RAVE acceleration or OpenGL, but additional software to do so is expected to be forthcoming.
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TRI on Fly! for Mac
One of the most eagerly anticipated releases from flight sim buffs this spring is Terminal Reality Inc.'s Fly! civilian flight simulator. The game puts you in the cockpits of several different propeller-driven light civilian aircraft and utilizes satellite-based terrain maps and the latest 3D hardware acceleration to provide a really immersive experience. Best of all, TRI (and publisher Gathering of Developers) plans to simultaneously release the game for Mac and PC users.
Recently, the company was queried about the likelihood of delays related to the game's Mac version. A company spokesperson said, "There are currently NO PLANS to release the Mac release later, or earlier, than the Windows version. Software Quality will determine what ships and when.
"Now, for the packaging question: The Mac and Windows versions will ship as two separate products. This means that you will have to buy both versions if you want to use Fly on both Mac and Windows. The reason for this is simple: Hybrid products often get displayed only in the Windows section. Now, Mac users can expect to find Fly in the Mac section and Windows users in the Windows section."
We're happy to see TRI and GoD take a pro-active approach to making sure that Mac gamers get an even chance at Fly! when it's released.
(Thanks to reader Chris Venable for info used in this article.)
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X-Plane v4.70B released
A new version of Laminar Software's remarkable modular flight simulator X-Plane is ready for download. 4.70B can be grabbed from the Web or FTP site for the software, either as a full download or as a mini-update for users of 4.60 or later. The new version sports a variety of improvements and fixes, including changes to the program's custom texture mapping support, improvements to helicopter physics, and other changes.
X-Plane is totally modular: the program supports customized terrain maps and provides you with all the tools you need to design your own aircraft. For more information, check out the X-Plane Web site.
Game Tool Technologies is looking for Mac programmers
Game Tool Technologies, LLC is a shareware flight simulation utility developer. They've produced software like Mac Camo Commander for Hornet, which enables users of GSC's popular Hornet: Korea F/A-18 flight simulator to apply customized camouflage textures to their aircraft.
The company is "looking to support the Macintosh sim community as well on a broader basis in 1999," according to a recent appeal posted to a Usenet newsgroup. GTT indicates that it's looking for "one or two top quality mac programmers to assist us in porting some of our PC products to the Mac platform and to help expand our market base in the Mac community for the future. This is a part time position with compensation drawn from a percentage of sales based on our Associate Developer program."
"Qualifications Include:
Fluency in English Language (required.)
Residency in North America or Western Europe (preferred.)
Minimum 2+ years of C/C++ coding (required)
Ability to work independently and meet agreed deadlines consistently. (required)
Passion for combat flight sim gaming. (absolutely required!)
Ability to show examples of prior C/C++ work. (required)
Strong communicator (written and verbal required)
"If you're interested in working on some cool stuff, have fun and extend the playability of your favorite games, let us know.
