Over the past few months we've received numerous requests from a very vocal portion of our reader base - all of our hardcore gamers. With all the latest high-tech gadgetry and gizmos that have been introduced as of late that promise screaming, blazingly-fast graphics and animation, gamers have been anxiously awaiting the promised crop of Mac games that our peecee rivals taunt and tease us with. But until that time, gamers have been entertaining themselves with a whole other breed of gaming that breathes new life into games many of you may already have - and they want more.
These are referred to as "total conversions", and there are quite a few out there. For those of you unfamiliar with this type of gaming software, total conversions use the game engine of your own commercial games such as Doom II, Duke Nukem, Marathon Infinity, and Quake, to name a few, and replaces the original game's scenarios with new ones. Most conversions will give you a whole new story line, new levels, maps, enemies and monsters, weapons, landscapes and terrain, music and sound effects, and more. This month's disc features ten different total conversions including MacAddict exclusives MacGrune and MacCaldera. So dust off your old games and prepare for a whole new realm of terror and total destruction.
Also featured this month is another heavily requested item - LinuxPPC Live. This will replace your Mac OS with Release 4 of the LInuxPPC operating system. Visit http://www.linux.org for more information about Linux and for links to download software for this operating system. Keep in mind that this release will not save changes made to its interface, and need I remind you that much of your Mac-based software will not work on this OS? Good, I hope not...
Game and Linux phobes, don't fret... this disc is also packed with a bunch of other great wares pending your mood:
Feeling creative and inspired? Check out the icon package from IconFactory and learn how to design 32-bit icons, or break out one of Koblo's five software synths or BitHeadz's Unity DS-1 software sampler and immerse yourself in melodic merriment.
Want to join the ranks (and salary) of new media, but don't possess the knowledge of designing web pages? Dive into the HTML Tutorial and learn what HTML is all about and how to effectively use it. This one is truly a gem.
Need to get away from the stress of everyday life? Take a mental break with ClusterWorks or Nirvana Engine and let your mind wander.
Are you buried in a heap of organizational software that all do one thing or another really well, but not everything? Take ContactAssist Lite 2.5.1 for a test drive and see if this can help you consolidate everything easily.
Feeling just plain lazy? Read all about home automation in the print side of this issue and then check out the MouseHouse demo to see how you can have your Mac do things for you. C'mon, you can do it!
Need a vacation? Visit "virtual Vegas" and step onto the Hoyle Casino '99 floor and get ready to lose it all!
Want a really good scare (actually, make that "laugh")? Then check out this month's Staff Video, Automated Death, by Rob Capps starring the MacAddict team. 'Nuff said!
Until next month, enjoy The Disc!
Kris Fong
MacAddict, Digital Media Editor
"A better machine. A better magazine"
About the Disc
Documentation included with each program will make it clear whether it is shareware, freeware, a demo, etc. Please read all accompanying documentation prior to using any software contained on this disc.
Note that not all software contained on this cd is available/installable from the MacAddict Tour. Last minute changes and additions make it impossible to have everything listed there. Look through the disc in the Finder to access programs you can't find in the MacAddict Tour.
First, our standard disclaimer:
We are NOT RESPONSIBLE for any problems caused by using the software on this disc. We did not create the software, we have simply made a collection that we think is useful. If you have problems with any particular piece of software, please contact the author or company directly for help. We will not provide technical support for software.
If you use our disc, you are doing so at YOUR OWN RISK (please read the legal disclaimer and agreement of usage document at the root level of the disc). We test things out as much as possible before sending it out, but we can't exhaustively test out each piece of software on every type of machine and system configuration each month. If you lose data, or your system becomes corrupted, or your computer blows up, don't say I didn't warn you.
The MacAddict Disc Catalog
I have used a program called "DiskTracker," by Mark Pirri, to catalog each and every MacAddict disc back to #1. This program is located on most of the recent discs, in the "Utilities" folder in the "Software" folder. The catalog file itself is located at the root of the disc, and is named "MacAddict CD Catalog (1-x)." You will need to install DiskTracker on your hard drive, and then extract the catalog file (by double-clicking it) to your hard drive. Then use DiskTracker to open the catalog file.
If you continue to use the DiskTracker program, please register it. It is a great program, and the author deserves to be rewarded for his hard work.
Using the Disc
If you still have questions or problems with the disc after reading this file, visit our cd-rom help pages at the URL below. You can view problems reported by others, possible workarounds or solutions, send bug reports, and request a new disc from customer service if your disc is broken or missing. You can also use the phone number below to request a new disc in the latter case.
http://www.macaddict.com/cdrom/
The direct phone number for customer service is 1-888-771-6222. Please call them to request a new disc if yours is missing or broken, or for any issues regarding your subscription.
The MacAddict Tour
Pressing command + Q will quit to the finder from anywhere in the interface.
When you double-click on the "MacAddict Tour" icon, you launch our custom-designed REALbasic interface. BE AWARE before doing so that the interface requires Mac OS 7.6 or greater and AT LEAST 8 MB of real RAM (i.e. without RamDoubler or some other software ram, such as virtual memory). This is IN ADDITION TO the amount of RAM used by your system software. For example, if you have exactly 8 MB of real RAM installed and you are running system 7.6.x, you will not be able to reliably run the interface because your system software takes up some of that RAM. We also recommend installing QuickTime 3 (if you haven't already, the freeware version is in the Apple folder on the disc). We found that compressing our movies using the Sorenson codec resulted in better video quality and handling, and kept the file size down (especially with our bigger size format). This codec is supported in QuickTime 3. The upgrade to QuickTime 3 Pro is also recommended if you integrate multimedia files into your everyday work.
If you aren't sure what version of the system software you are using or how much RAM you have installed, select the "About This Macintosh..." menu item under the Apple menu in the Finder. The version of your system software and some memory details will be displayed. Without any applications running, look at the number labeled "Largest Unused Block." If it is 8,000K or greater you can run the interface.
If you don't have the required amount of RAM, launching the "MacAddict Tour" is just asking for trouble. It will probably launch, and then at some point your computer will freeze up or give you a strange error.
Okay, Wiseguy, I don't have enough RAM...is my Phat Disc useless?
No! You can still just use the ol' finder to look through the disc and install what you want, even if you can't run the interface. The disc software is organized by category, so you can easily find things.
I have included a software index in every software category folder that provides descriptions of each software title, as well as contact information, version #'s, and the type of software it is (demo, shareware, freeware, etc.). Many of the installers will give you information about a program when launched, with the option to cancel before you actually install anything. Also, many of our installers do NOT put extensions, control panels, etc. into your system folder for you. They simply install a folder on your desktop with all the necessary parts with instructions on where to put them. This way, you will know exactly what went into your system folder (because you put it there personally) and you won't have to go hunting to get rid of it.
Unfortunately, some of the installers are not made by us, and we can't control their behaviour.
A Final Note About Installing Stuff From The Disc
When you use the software from our disc, PLEASE be careful! We try to test everything before we put it on the disc, but due to possible installer corruptions, bad discs, conflicts with your particular system, a less tolerant cd drive (meaning it is less forgiving of minor flaws on a cd), and a myriad of other variables beyond our control, you may still have problems with some or all of the programs on the disc.
To avoid causing yourself frustration and possibly losing important data, the first thing you should do is BACK UP IMPORTANT FILES before using anything on our disc. Then, install things ONE AT A TIME and try them out to make sure they don't cause problems on your system before installing the next one. You will save yourself a great deal of trouble.
Keep in mind that none of the software on the disc is written by us, so we can only offer limited technical support if you call or email us. You should always try to contact the author or company directly, since they are the ones that wrote it. Again, any program you use from our disc is at your own risk (please read the legal disclaimer and agreement of usage document at the root level of the disc).
