ftp.pasteur.org/FAQ//ftp-pasteur-org-FAQ.zip/FAQ/macintosh/games-faq

Internet Message Format | 1996-10-07 | 34KB

Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!news-peer.gsl.net!news.gsl.net!howland.erols.net!agate!info.ucla.edu!unixg.ubc.ca!van-bc!n1van.istar!van.istar!west.istar!ott.istar!istar.net!tor.istar!east.istar!news.nstn.ca!newsflash.concordia.ca!newsfeed.pitt.edu!schulman
From: [e-mail] (Christina Schulman)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.games.action,comp.sys.mac.games.announce,comp.sys.mac.games.adventure,comp.sys.mac.games.flight-sim,comp.sys.mac.games.strategic,comp.sys.mac.games.misc,comp.answers,news.answers
Subject: comp.sys.mac.games FAQ
Followup-To: comp.sys.mac.games.misc
Date: 7 Oct 1996 03:07:21 GMT
Organization: St. Dismas Infirmary for the Incurably Informed
Lines: 724
Approved: [e-mail]
Expires: 01 Dec 1996 00:00:00 GMT
Message-ID: <539s59$[e-mail]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: unixs-eval.cis.pitt.edu
Summary: Answers to frequently asked questions about Mac computer games
Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu comp.sys.mac.games.action:36479 comp.sys.mac.games.announce:317 comp.sys.mac.games.adventure:18337 comp.sys.mac.games.flight-sim:19015 comp.sys.mac.games.strategic:12846 comp.sys.mac.games.misc:8893 comp.answers:21608 news.answers:83702

Archive-name: macintosh/games-faq
Last-modified: 1996/10/06
URL: http://www.ambrosiasw.com/csmg-faq/csmg-faq.html

comp.sys.mac.games Frequently Asked Questions List
(last changed October 6, 1996)

Welcome to the comp.sys.mac.games hierarchy!

If you're new to these groups, READ THIS.  All of it.  Please.

[  Changes to today's FAQ:

    Updated the tech support numbers for LucasArts.
]

This FAQ provides the answers to the most Frequently Asked Questions on
these newsgroups; readers new to this group should read it before posting.

It is posted twice a month to comp.sys.mac.games.*, comp.answers, and
news.answers.  New users of Usenet news should also be sure to read all
of the articles in news.announce.newusers to familiarize themselves with
the general etiquette of communicating on the net.

The comp.sys.mac.games.* subgroups are:

comp.sys.mac.games.announce     Announcements for Mac gamers. (Moderated)
comp.sys.mac.games.action       Action games for the Macintosh.
comp.sys.mac.games.adventure    Adventure games for the Macintosh.
comp.sys.mac.games.marketplace  Macintosh games for sale and trade.
comp.sys.mac.games.misc         Macintosh games not covered in other groups.
comp.sys.mac.games.flight-sim   Flight simulator gameplay on the Mac.
comp.sys.mac.games.strategic    Strategy/planning games on the Macintosh.

How to get this FAQ:
The latest version is available at the Usenet FAQ archive at rtfm.mit.edu as
<ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/macintosh/games-faq>.
If you don't have ftp access, send mail to [e-mail] with
the line "send usenet/news.answers/macintosh/games-faq" in the body of
the message.  You can also send email to <[e-mail]>; please
include "Games FAQ" in the subject line.

WWW users can find it in hypertext at <http://www.ambrosiasw.com/csmg-faq/>.

Corrections, suggestions, and large cash bribes are welcome; please send
them to Christina Schulman at <[e-mail]>.

------------------------------

Subject: Table of Contents

         Table of Contents
         0. A word about flaming.
         1. Where can I find Mac games available for anonymous ftp?
         2. What does .hqx mean?  What about .cpt and .sit?
         3. Where else can I get Mac games?
         4. What's the Patchlist/GPHL?  Could somebody please repost it?
         5. What's ResEdit?  How do I get it?
         6. I'm completely stuck in this game I'm playing.  Where can
            I get a walkthru?
         7. What's an easter egg?
         8. How do I fix the bug in Indiana Jones:  Fate of Atlantis?
         9. The 7th Guest keeps crashing on my Mac!  What do I do?
        10. I just saw this really great game called "X-Wing" on the PC.
            Is it available for the Mac?
        11. I just saw this really great game called "DOOM" on the PC.
            Is it available for the Mac?
        12. Where can I find a list of forthcoming games for the Mac?
        13. What's the cheat code in SimCity 2000?
        14. How do I play the game Maniac Mansion from within Day of
            the Tentacle?
        15. What happened to the guy who did "Fool's Errand" and
            "3 in Three"?
        16. Where can I find Wesleyan Tetris?
        17. How do I run Apple ][+ games on my Mac?
        18. I've done some programming on other machines, and I'd like
            to write a game on my Mac.  How do I start?
        19. I've written this terrific game for the Mac.  How do I get
            it out to the major ftp sites?
        20. What's "IMG"/"Inside Mac Games"?
        21. Are there any freeware chess games for the Mac?
        22. Are there any mahjong games for the Mac?
        23. Where can I find shareware games for young children?
        24. I always loved playing [Pacman, Star Wars, Frogger, etc.]
            at the arcade.  Is there a Mac version?
        25. What games will fail to run on my [AV Mac, PowerMac,
            bizarrely configured Mac]?  How do I fix them?
        26. What joystick should I buy for my Mac?
        27. Is there a FAQ for [FA-18, Sim City 2000, Civilization, Bolo,
            Pathways into Darkness, Spaceward Ho!, Marathon, 7th Guest...]
        Credits

------------------------------

Subject: 0. A word about flaming.

Every now and then some moron posts something along the lines of "Mac
games suck!!!!!  Get a real machine!!!!!"  And immediately 30 or 40
people take the bait and post long, vitriolic replies and exhort everyone
to mail-bomb the perpetrator.

Please, please, please don't waste your time and our bandwidth replying
to this kind of idiocy.  More often than not it was posted as a practical
joke from the account of some hapless user who left themselves logged in
in a public computer cluster.  The owner of the account then logs back
in a day or two later to find several megs of hate mail and uuencoded
core dumps in their mail spool.

If you feel that you absolutely have to share your witty, concise flame
on the complete superiority of the Mac above all other gaming platforms,
take it to comp.sys.mac.advocacy, where it will be appreciated.

------------------------------

Subject: 1. Where can I find Mac games available for anonymous ftp?

The 2 major sites for ftp'ing Mac software are sumex-aim.stanford.edu
(usually referred to as "info-mac") and mac.archive.umich.edu.

However, these two sites are so incredibly busy that they are nearly
impossible to connect to (in fact, info-mac no longer accepts direct
ftp connections), so you will need to use a mirror site such as
mirrors.aol.com.  A mirror site is a site that contains an exact copy
of the contents of another site, in the hopes of diverting some traffic
away from the more popular site.  Mirror sites are usually updated 1 to 3
days behind the "mother" site.

Other mirror sites of info-mac and umich exist at grind.isca.uiowa.edu
(North America), archie.au (Australia) and nic.switch.ch (Switzerland).
It's more polite and generally faster to connect to a site that's on the
same continent as you are.

Wherever this FAQ points to a file at info-mac or umich, the URL
(Universal Resource Locator) given is for that file's location at the
AOL mirrors.  This is because the AOL mirrors are fast, reliable, and
frequently updated.  It's also because the FAQ maintainer enjoys the idea
of Usenet taking advantage of AOL for a change, instead of the other way
around.

Bruce Grubb periodically posts a comprehensive list of Mac ftp sites
to comp.sys.mac.games.  It is available via ftp from info-mac in
<ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/info/comm/> and from umich in
<ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/mac/misc/documentation/>.  There is an HTML
version at <http://rever.nmsu.edu/~bgrubb/mac-ftp-list.html>.

------------------------------

Subject: 2. What does .hqx mean?  What about .cpt and .sit?

Files ending in .hqx are binary files which have been converted to
BinHex format so that they can be transmitted as ASCII text files via
the Internet.  There are various utilities that will BinHex and de-BinHex
files, among them Compact Pro and StuffIt (see below).  Some Mac ftp
clients such as Fetch will automatically de-BinHex files when you download
them.

Files ending in .cpt have been compressed by Compact Pro; files ending
in .sit have been compressed by StuffIt.  Compact Pro by Bill Goodman
and StuffIt Lite from Aladdin Systems are shareware; they can be ftp'd
>from  any of the major Mac ftp sites, and the registration fee for each
is $25.  Files ending in .sea are self-extracting archives; just double-
click on them to extract their contents.

StuffIt Expander is a nifty free utility from Aladdin Systems that will
uncompress StuffIt, Compact Pro, and Applelink archives.  It will also
decode BinHex 4.0 files without requiring you to first strip the
headers.  It's available at info-mac in MacBinary and binhex formats as
<ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/cmp/stuffit-expander-352.bin> and
<ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/cmp/stuffit-expander-352.hqx>.

------------------------------

Subject: 3. Where else can I get Mac games?

Well, you could buy them.  Most software stores have a section for Mac
games, but you can usually get better prices, a better selection, and a
better return policy from mailorder sources.  Each issue of MacWorld and
MacUser contains many, many ads for mailorder companies, between which
they occasionally sandwich articles.  The phone numbers for the biggest
sources in the USA are:

        MacConnection:  1-800-800-3333    1-603-446-5555
        MacWarehouse:   1-800-255-6227    1-908-370-3801
        MacZone:        1-800-248-0800    1-206-603-2400
        Mac's Place:    1-800-249-0009    1-406-758-8000
        (formerly Computer Outfitters,
         which was formerly Mac's Place.  Don't ask.)

They'll be happy to send you a complete catalog upon request.

There are also several mailorder sources on the WWW:

        Computer Express:  <http://www.cexpress.com/>
        Cyberian Outpost:  <http://www.cybout.com/>

Cyberian Outpost in particular has an excellent reputation on the
comp.sys.mac.games groups.  Both of these companies do overseas shipping.

NOTE:  Mailorder sources are NOT the most reliable source of information
about release dates for games.  Games are often advertised in their
catalogs, usually with preliminary screenshots, months before they are
actually available.  Also, the sales clerks generally have no idea when
the game will be released.  If they tell you it'll be available in "two
weeks," that could mean two weeks, two months, or a year from next Tuesday.

Local Mac User Groups are another source for games; often shareware and
freeware games are distributed on disk at meetings or are available for
downloading on their bulletin boards.  Contact your local MUG for details.

If you can't find a game anywhere else, you can always order it from
the company directly.

------------------------------

Subject: 4. What's the Patchlist/GPHL?  Could somebody please repost it?

The Patchlist is a list of fixes that the legal owners of certain games
can apply to the programs to bypass the irritating copy protection
schemes.  Anthony Chan used to maintain it; Geoffrey Peters now maintains
it and periodically posts the latest version to comp.sys.mac.games.

The GPHL is not currently available by email, although an auto-remailer
is in the works.  It is, however, available at lots of sites on the WWW:

   Geoff's home pages:
     <http://www.apanix.apana.org.au/~geoff/files/gphl-current.txt>
   Dave Stanworth's Games Domain:
     <http://www.gamesdomain.co.uk/info/gphl.html>
   Mark Lilback's GWU Gaming Society:
     <http://gwis.circ.gwu.edu:80/~gwugs/ghpl/>

------------------------------

Subject: 5. What's ResEdit?  How do I get it?

ResEdit is a utility from Apple that lets you edit the resources of Mac
files.  (Hence the name.)  You will need it if you want to patch games
or extract beep sounds.  You can severely damage your software this
way, so you really shouldn't use it unless you more or less know what
you're doing.  (And even if you do, it's a good idea to use it on a
copy of the file.)

ResEdit can be ftp'd from
<ftp://ftp.support.apple.com/apple_sw_updates/US/Macintosh/Utilities/>.

------------------------------

Subject: 6. I'm completely stuck in this game I'm playing.  Where can
            I get a walkthru?

Solutions and hints for many popular games are available via anonymous
ftp at <ftp://risc.ua.edu/pub/games/solutions/> and
<ftp://ftp.uu.net/pub/games/solutions/>.  There's also a large solution
site at <ftp://nic.funet.fi/pub/doc/games/solutions/>, but you will need
gunzip or MacGzip to uncompress these files.  (Gunzip is available from
the GNU archives at prep.ai.mit.edu; MacGzip is available at
<ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/cmp/mac-gzip-10b0.hqx>.)

If you can't find an answer there, post your question to the appropriate
subgroup--chances are *somebody* on comp.sys.mac.games has gotten farther
than you!

If someone posts a question for which you also want the answer, instead
of posting "Send me the answer too!" send email to the original poster
and ask him or her to relay the answer to you.

------------------------------

Subject: 7. What's an easter egg?

An easter egg--the kind you find in Mac games, anyway--is any sort of
hidden surprise (hence the name) that occurs when an unlikely set of
conditions are met.  For example, when the system clock is set to
December 25, Maelstrom displays Christmas ornaments in the title screen.
Another example is the very large literal easter egg suspended over a
remote lake in F/A-18.  A list of Macintosh and Newton easter eggs compiled
by Brian Kendig <[e-mail]> can be found at info-mac at
<ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/info/mac-newton-easter-egg-list-94.txt>.

Daniel Fanton <[e-mail]> maintains a comprehensive web site devoted
to Apple Easter Eggs at <http://users.aol.com/ixist/easter-eggs.html>,
and there's a cross-platform Easter Egg Archive page at
<http://weber.u.washington.edu/~davidnf/eggnorm.html>.

Of course, if the programmer didn't put it in on purpose, it's not an
easter egg, it's a "feature."

------------------------------

Subject: 8. How do I fix the bug in Indiana Jones:  Fate of Atlantis?

There is indeed a bug in Indy Atlantis.  On the Team Path, when you land
the balloon on the "X" in the desert, the game hangs.  A patch for this
bug is available via anonymous ftp at info-mac at
<ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/game/com/indy-foa-updt.hqx>.

It can also be obtained directly from LucasArts at:

    LucasArts Entertainment
    P.O. Box 10307
    San Rafael, CA   94912

    Phone (tech support only):  [phone]
    Fax:  [phone]

------------------------------

Subject: 9. The 7th Guest keeps crashing on my Mac!  What do I do?

The vast majority of 7th Guest crashes are caused by memory problems.
DON'T change the application's preferred memory size to anything other
than the suggested memory size (2300 k), or it will crash!  If virtual
memory or the Modern Memory Manager are available on your system, turn
them off and restart your Mac before starting the game.

If you are running 7th Guest on a Power PC, try using the PPC patch from
<ftp://www.cybout.com/cyberian/files/7thPPC.sit.hqx>.

Because the 7th Guest writes saved games into the application file, a
crashed game often causes the user to lose his or her saved games.
To recover saved games from a crashed copy of 7th Guest, rename the
original 7th Guest folder, then install another copy from the CD-ROM.
Run your new copy through the opening sequence, then before playing
anything, save a game at the ouija board.

Now use ResEdit to recover the original 7th Guest application file within
your renamed 7th Guest folder.  This will create two files, "T7GMac" and
"T7GMac(damaged)".  Open and allow verification of the recovered T7GMac
file.  Locate the resource labelled 'T7SG'.  Copy the entire T7SG resource
by selecting its icon and using the standard Edit menu functions, then
close the recovered T7GMac application file.

Now use ResEdit to open the newly installed copy of the 7th Guest
application.  Paste the copied T7SG resource into the application file
so that it completely replaces the existing T7SG resource; use the
same resource ID as the one you're replacing.  Save the file, quit
ResEdit, and run the new copy of the 7th Guest; the ouija board should
point you to all your old saved games.

[Thanks to Simon Boocock for this emergency surgery procedure.]

------------------------------

Subject: 10. I just saw this really great game called "X-Wing" on the PC.
             Is it available for the Mac?

Yes.

Dark Forces is also available, and Tie Fighter is in the works.  See
<http://www.lucasarts.com> for further details.  There is also a Usenet
newsgroup, alt.games.x-wing.

------------------------------

Subject: 11. I just saw this really great game called "DOOM" on the PC.
             Is it available for the Mac?

Yes.

While discussion of DOOM is appropriate in comp.sys.mac.games.action,
you will find much, much more discussion and information in the
rec.games.computer.doom hierarchy:

  rec.games.computer.doom.announce  Info/FAQs/reviews about DOOM (Moderated)
  rec.games.computer.doom.help      DOOM Help Service (new players welcome)
  rec.games.computer.doom.misc      Talking about DOOM and id Software
  rec.games.computer.doom.editing   Editing and hacking DOOM-related files
  rec.games.computer.doom.playing   Playing DOOM and user-created levels

The rec.games.computer.doom FAQ is available at
<ftp://ftp.mantis.co.uk/pub/doom/periodic/RGCD_FAQ>.

------------------------------

Subject: 12. Where can I find a list of forthcoming games for the Mac?

The CD-ROM magazine Inside Mac Games maintains a list of forthcoming Mac
games; if you're not a subscriber, you can download the latest demo issue
from <ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/per/img/> or from their web
site at <http://www.imgmagazine.com>.

There is a list of forthcoming game releases available from Computer
Express at <ftp://ftp.std.com/vendors/COMPUTER_EXPRESS/new.txt>.
This list has expected shipping dates for both IBM and Mac games.

Games almost invariably ship later than the expected shipping date;
to approximate the actual date of release, double the time between
now and the listed date, then add an extra month for good luck.

------------------------------

Subject: 13. What's the cheat code in SimCity 2000?

In version 1.0, type "porntipsguzzardo", which will give you $500,000,
allow all technologies and rewards, and prevent the military from
building a base.  Once you've used this code, you will receive an
additional $500,000 each time you type "ardo".

In version 1.1, however, this was changed; you need to open the map
window and type "pirn", then click on the status window (next to the
weather), then type "topsguzzardo".  After that, typing "ardo" will
still give you an additional $500,000.

For much more information on SimCity 2000, see Kevin Endo's SC2000 FAQ,
available at <ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/th/thx/>.

------------------------------

Subject: 14. How do I play the game Maniac Mansion from within Day of
             the Tentacle?

Go to Big Ed's room and use the computer there 5 times in a row to
play Maniac Mansion.

Why is it so difficult to find in the Mac version?  According to Aaron
Giles, "Since Maniac Mansion had never been ported to the Mac before,
and since we were on a fairly tight schedule for Day of the Tentacle and
wanted to concentrate our testing on the primary game, we compromised by
still including it, but making it a bit more of an easter egg than it was
in the DOS version."

There is a walkthru for Maniac Mansion at
<http://www.gamesdomain.com/spoiler/ADVENTURE/Lucas.Arts/maniac.1.txt>.

------------------------------

Subject: 15. What happened to the guy who did "Fool's Errand" and
             "3 in Three"?

Cliff Johnson, the author of the Macintosh games Fool's Errand, Puzzle
Gallery: At the Carnival, and 3 in Three, is now working at Disney
Interactive.  Prior to this, we was in the FunHouse group at Philips
Media, which produces CD-i games.  His titles there include Cartoon
Carnival, Merlin's Apprentice, and Labyrinth of Crete.  Cartoon Carnival
and Merlin's Apprentice are both available on CD-ROM for the Mac.
Labyrinth of Crete has not yet been released in any form, but a Mac
CD-ROM is forthcoming.

A sequel to Fool's Errand and more modules for the Puzzle Gallery were
planned at one point, but they were never completed.  3 in Three is still
available from Inline Software, but Fool's Errand and At the Carnival are
out of print.

------------------------------

Subject: 16. Where can I find Wesleyan Tetris?

You can't.  Wesleyan Tetris, also known as Obnoxious Tetris or Randall
Cook's Tetris, is NOT freely distributable, and it was removed from the
major ftp sites at the request of the author, Randall Cook.

More recently, someone deliberately and maliciously uploaded a copy that
was infected with a virus, so if you have a copy of Wesleyan Tetris, you
may want to check it with Disinfectant (available at
<ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/mac/util/virus/>) to make sure that it's clean.
Randall Cook is not to blame for the spread of the infected copy.

------------------------------

Subject: 17. How do I run Apple ][+ games on my Mac?

STM, an Apple ][+ emulator for the Mac, is available at
<ftp://cassandra.ucr.edu/pub/apple2/STM/>.  Note that STM runs ONLY
in 256 colors and will not work on black and white Macs.

STM will NOT let you use your old Apple ][+ disks on your Macintosh (and
you'd have trouble cramming those old 5.25" disks into a 3.5" disk slot,
anyway).  The comp.emulators.apple2 FAQ, which is available at
<ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/comp.emulators.apple2/>, lists several ways
to transfer disk images, most of which involve cables or modems.  There
are already lots of Apple II disk images available at
<ftp://minnie.cs.adfa.oz.au/pub/apple2/wktimages>.  You must use a program
like ResEdit to change each disk image's type to DSK5 and creator to A2EM
for them to work with STM.

------------------------------

Subject: 18. I've done some programming on other machines, and I'd like
             to write a game on my Mac.  How do I start?

To quote the Public Domain Mac Programming FAQ Answer sheet, you'll need
"a Mac, a lot of time, and a few hundred $."  Programming on the Mac
is not for the faint of heart.  Get the Programming FAQ via ftp from
<ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/comp.sys.mac.programmer/> and read it.

There is now a newsgroup devoted to programming games on the Mac:
comp.sys.mac.programmer.games is the best place to ask questions about
the subject.

Another excellent and comprehensive source of advice on the subject is
Will Iverson's document, I Want To Make a Mac Game, available at
<ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/dev/info/make-a-mac-game-faq-5.hqx>.
I strongly recommend that interested beginners read this from cover to
cover, as it were.

The book _Tricks of the Mac Game Programming Gurus_ from Hayden Books is
worth buying if you're serious about Mac game programming.  Contributing
authors include fellow comp.sys.mac.games inmates Ingemar Ragnemalm, john
calhoun, and Bill Dugan.  More information about the book is available at
http://www.mcp.com/hayden/mac_game-gurus/index.html.

You might also find Antreas Hatzipolakis's guide to Internet Shareware-
Freeware Programming Languages For the Macintosh useful; it's at info-mac
at <ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/dev/info/internet-mac-lang-30.hqx>.

And good luck!

------------------------------

Subject: 19. I've written this terrific game for the Mac.  How do I get
             it out to the major ftp sites?

Do NOT post binaries to the comp.sys.mac.games groups.  The best way to
release your game to the csm.gamers is to make it available at an ftp
site and then post an announcement about it to comp.sys.mac.games with
the site name and path.  You might want to offer to email it to people
who don't have ftp access.  For the best way to send your game to
info-mac and umich, see below:

[The rest of this answer was shamelessly stolen from L.H.Wood's
 Screensaver FAQ, with permission.]

If you want to spread good Mac shareware or freeware to the world, giving
millions of people, including me, the chance to see it, simply email a
binhexed copy of the compacted or stuffited archive to:
   <[e-mail]>
which will distribute it to ftp archives across the world, including
the big ones - info-mac, umich, their many mirrors, and comp.binaries.mac.
Remember to add a text description of the contents before that long binhex
column!

Don't send self-extracting archives (SEAs) - Compact Pro, Stuffit Expander
and Stuffit Lite are readily available from these ftp archives, and we all
know how to use them. Dial-up access to ftp sites is on the increase and
SEAs run up others' phone bills unnecessarily.

------------------------------

Subject: 20. What's "IMG"/"Inside Mac Games"?

IMG is Inside Mac Games, an almost-monthly CD-ROM magazine dedicated
to Macintosh Computer Games.  A Free Preview Edition of each issue is
uploaded to info-mac in <ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/per/img/>.
(It's also uploaded to AOL, Compu$erve, and GEnie.)  Previews are
also available in both HTML and downloadable format at the IMG website
at <http://www.imgmagazine.com>.

For subscription information, email [e-mail] with the subject
"Subscription Info?"  For the the latest status on the current and
next issue of IMG, use the subject "Status?"  For a copy of the IMG
FAQ, use the subject "IMG FAQ".  (Don't include the quote marks on the
subject line of your email.)

Please don't post to comp.sys.mac.games.* asking whether this month's
issue of IMG has shipped.  An announcement is posted to
comp.sys.mac.games.announce when each issue ships.  If you absolutely
have to ask someone, check their website or send email to [e-mail]
instead of posting.

------------------------------

Subject: 21. Are there any freeware chess games for the Mac?

Wim van Beusekom's MacChess 2.0, a freeware chess program that should be
Master strength on a Mac with a 68040 or faster chip, is available at
<ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/game/brd/mac-chess-20.hqx>

An unauthorized port of Gnuchess is available at umich in
<ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/mac/game/board/gnuchess4.0b4.sit.hqx>.

There's also "Chess Set!", a shareware chess stack for Hypercard,
available in <ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/game/brd/>.  Steve Bushell's
freeware "Chess++" is available in <ftp://ftp.std.com/pub/python/>.

------------------------------

Subject: 22. Are there any shareware mahjong games for the Mac?

Sort of.  Shanghai II and its shareware clone Gunshy are excellent games, but
they are not actually mahjong, although Shanghai does use mahjong tiles.
Rumor has it that there is a commercial version of japanese mahjong that
is only available in Japan.

There is a freeware Japanese-rules mahjong program called "Macjong 0.20a",
but it is reputedly buggy and incomplete.  It is available at umich in
<ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/mac/game/card/macjong0.20.sit.hqx>.

There is also a shareware mahjong game under development that uses Chinese
rules.  It is reportedly pretty good and at least as stable as Macjong.
It's available at
<ftp://ftp.luth.se/pub/mac/games/board/mahjong1.0.2.int.hqx>.

More information about traditional mahjong is available at Jonathan's Mah
Jong Page at <http://www.atdesk.com/jon/mahjong.html> and the Mah Jongg Home
Page at <http://www.cs.utk.edu/~clay/mahjongg/>.

------------------------------

Subject: 23. Where can I find shareware games for young children?

Games for young children can be found on any info-mac mirror in the
directory edu/yng.  If you have web access, you can check that
directory in MIT's Info-Mac Hyperarchive at <http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/
HyperArchive/Abstracts/edu/yng/HyperArchive.html>, which allows you to
read abstracts of the software before downloading it.

An excellent web page devoted to shareware games for children is
Tigger's Children's Shareware Page at
<http://www.gamesdomain.com/tigger/sw-kids.html>, which groups games
by the age they're intended for, briefly describes each one, and provides
links to download the games from multiple archives.  It also has a page
for children's shareware that will run on black and white Macs at
<http://www.gamesdomain.com/tigger/mac/oldmac.html>.

------------------------------

Subject: 24. I always loved playing [Pacman, Star Wars, Frogger, etc.]
             at the arcade.  Is there a Mac version?

Probably.  John Komp maintains a list of Mac versions of various 80's
arcade games, and Peter Cohen has made it available on the WWW at
<http://www.tikkabik.com/mac_arcade.html>.  You can also send email with
the subject "Mac Arcade List Please" to him at <[e-mail]>.

>From  John's Arcade List:
"If you can't quite remember how your favorite arcade game of your
childhood worked, check out KLOV (Killer List Of Videogames) on
wiretap.spies.com. It contains nice descriptions of the original
games, including information about who marketed each game, and
who received licensing from whom. I believe the directory is:
<ftp://wiretap.spies.com/game_archive>."

------------------------------

Subject: 25. What games will fail to run on my [AV Mac, PowerMac,
             bizarrely configured Mac]?  How do I fix them?

Brian Lev maintains a "Broken Games List" of games that break on AV and
PowerMacs and any known fixes.  It can be ftp'd from
<ftp://ftp.csua.berkeley.edu/pub/jwang/broken-games.txt>.

------------------------------

Subject: 26. What joystick should I buy for my Mac?

It depends on what games you want to use the joysticks with.  The
Thrustmaster (WWW site at <http://www.thrustmaster.com>) is generally
considered to be the best joystick for flight simulators, but it's rather
pricey, and it's not ideal for other games.  The Thrustmaster is reportedly
also virtually unusable for left-handed people, as it is molded to be held
in the right hand.  Thrustmaster offers a Flight Control System, a Weapons
Control System, and rudder pedals; you must have the FCS to use the WCS
or rudder pedals.

The Gravis MouseStick II has some problems, but it works well with many
games, it allows a second joystick to be chained up, and it's considerably
cheaper.  Gravis (WWW site at <http://www.gravis.com>) also makes the
Gravis GamePad, a lightweight, plastic Sega Genesis-style controller
with an optional screw-in joystick adapter.  Like the MouseStick, it's
inexpensive and allows chaining of ADB devices, and it can be used by
left-handed players.

The Flightstick Pro is also popular and less expensive than the
Thrustmaster.  CH Products (WWW site at <http://www.chproducts.com>),
which makes the Flightstick Pro, also produces the Jetstick, an
inexpensive but sturdy 2-button joystick.  CH will soon be releasing an
F-16 Flightstick, Throttle, and rudder/driving pedals for the Mac.

If you have Sega Genesis, 3DO, or Atari joysticks lying around, you may want
to consider the Choicestick (WWW site at <http://www.kernel.com>), an
adapter that allows you to use control pads from certain other game
systems with your Mac.  You can purchase it bundled with a control pad
or joystick if you don't already own one.

Similarly, if you have an Commodore/Atari compatible joystick, the MacEnjoy
adaptor from Fesh! ([e-mail]) will let you use it with your
Mac.  MacEnjoy also makes the MacEnjoy Style, a 5-button joystick molded
for a right-hand grip; it allows a second joystick to be chained up.

For current prices and pictures of most of these products, try the
Cyberian Outpost web site at <http://www.cybout.com>.

------------------------------

Subject: 27. Is there a FAQ for [FA-18, Sim City 2000, Civilization, Bolo,
             Pathways into Darkness, Spaceward Ho!, Marathon, 7th Guest...]

Probably.  Check the appendix to this FAQ, the Mac Game Resource Guide
at <http://www.ambrosiasw.com/csmg-faq/resource-guide.html>.  The Resource
Guide is posted to the comp.sys.mac.games hierarchy bimonthly.  You can
also ftp it from <ftp://ftp.ambrosiasw.com/pub/csmg-faq/resource-guide.txt>
or send your request by email to <[e-mail]> with the subject
"Mac Game Resource Guide."

------------------------------

Subject: Credits

This document is copyright 1996 by Christina Schulman.

Suggestions and additions to this FAQ have been contributed by:

Ian J. Ball <[e-mail]>
Simon K Boocock <[e-mail]>
Gordon S. Brooks <[e-mail]>
Anthony Chan <[e-mail]>
Timo Eloranta <[e-mail]>
Richard A. Fowell <[e-mail]>
Aaron Giles <[e-mail]>
Barry Klawans <[e-mail]>
John Komp <[e-mail]>
Hidetaka Mizohata <[e-mail]>
Milton E. Moskowitz <[e-mail]>
Rich "Akira" Pizor <[e-mail]>
Bill Rausch <[e-mail]>
Ingemar Ragnemalm <[e-mail]>
Jeff Strobel <[e-mail]>
Dave Stanworth <[e-mail]>
Sherman Uitzetter <[e-mail]>
Hans Widen <[e-mail]>
L.H. Wood <[e-mail]>
Kurt Yoder <kyoder.vt.edu>

Thanks, guys!