Dear IMG: I was very disappointed to read in the December issue of IMG that the magazine is discontinuing subscriptions on disk and by e-mail. What are those of us who are avid, subscribers supposed to do to find this kind of quality publication devoted to Mac games without spending $200 US on a CD-ROM? If it costs more to publish on disk or to e-mail, then charge disk and e-mail subscribers more! It is a decision that leaves disk and e-mail subscribers with the impression that you are unwilling to treat all subscriber equally. It would be somewhat gratifying if you could inform those of us who will lose our subscriptions why this decision is being implemented. — Paul Kay via Internet
Dear IMG: Just wanted to say that I was disappointed to find out that you will not be offering subscriptions on floppy disk anymore. As I don’t have a CD-ROM Drive, I won’t be able to read your magazine after I receive the January/February issue. I always looked forward to receiving your magazine on disk each month. — AndyA55 via AOL
— We agree that we do need to offer some kind of explanation to our disk and e-mail subscribers. We made the decision to stop publishing shortly before the December issue and felt it necessary to at least mention it in that issue.
In any case, we decided to no longer offer subscriptions on disk or e-mail because of a lack of demand. Comparing new subscriptions, we receive only about 1 disk subscription for every 100 new CD-ROM subscriptions. The demand for the CD-ROM version has been spectacular and we’ve decided it is in the best interest of the magazine to concentrate our efforts, resources, and advertising on the CD-ROM version alone. Frankly, we did not anticipate such a rapid change and we do apologize for leaving out our disk subscribers. All we can say is get a CD-ROM drive, please! —TD
Can’t Run The QuickTime movies
Dear IMG: I think your magazine is by far the best thing I’ve ever invested in. It’s truly spectacular. However, I do have one problem with the magazine. For some reason, when I click on the QuickTime movies, it comes up and then just stops. Do you have any ideas how I could fix this?
— A few of our readers have had this problem. The problem might be in the way QuickTime initiates movie playback. Apple recently released the Multimedia Tuner 2.01 extension that supposedly fixes this problem and offers a number of enhancements (like faster and smoother movie playback). You can find the Multimedia Tuner in the Put in System Folder on this CD-ROM.
Star Trek: The Errors
Dear IMG: I just finished going through the December IMG CD. You guys are still doing a great job, keep it up. However, I feel that there was a major omission and one error on the review of Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Enhanced CD-ROM (can’t believe we got all that on the side of the box!).
Omission: As far as I could tell the addition of an on-the-fly smoothing filter for the blocky art was never mentioned. Since so much complaining about the art was made I figured that this would have been a big deal. Since it is the “Enhanced” version it would have been nice to have mention of this enhancement.
Error: In the CONS section there was mentioned 13 MB required hard drive space. It did not bother to mention that the README informs you that you can throw away 4-5 megs of movie files because they are played off the CD if not on the HD (although at a lower quality level). I think we even put a “Smaller Install” option in the installer.
All-in-all I think the review was fair and would encourage someone to check out the game. It might have, though, been neat to mention that there are nearly 6,000 lines of recorded dialog. That was no small undertaking.
Chris De Salvo
MacPlay, Inc.
Ask and You Shall Receive: A Windows Version
Dear IMG: Dealing with software producers / distributors and hardware manufacturers can often be a frustrating experience. Orders are delayed for months; 24 hour a day phone lines are never answered; or you get placed on permanent hold listening to dreadful muzak via long distance. I’ve had my history of such things like most people. Luckily these past experiences have been balanced out with dealings with many knowledgeable and efficient software and hardware companies. But my latest experience with frustration is one I’d like to share with you because it deals with a subject that I think lies at the paranoidal center of many Mac users - that Dos/Windows companies have a blind spot concerning the Mac world.
In early October, I came across an ad in a magazine stating that The Journeyman Project Turbo, an upgrade to the Journeyman Project was available for both Windows and Mac. Since I owned the Journeyman Project (though I never played it but my daughter did) I decided that I should upgrade. I called Sanctuary Woods first to be assured that such a product existed since I had learned to be doubtful of ad claims. It was available for the Mac, so I sent my CD disk and a check for $14.95 on its way.
After about a month, when I noticed that my check cleared and I hadn’t received anything, I began to get a bit anxious. My anxiety increased everytime my daughter asked where her disk was. With relief, I finally received the upgrade (no paperwork attached) and cheerfully sat down Macside with my daughter only to discover that I was sent the Windows version. So I packaged it up with a note and sent it back. I began wondering if a Mac version really existed. My wonderment ceased when I spotted a Mac Journeyman Project Turbo in a local Software Etc.
After waiting a reasonable number of weeks, I began to call Sanctuary Woods. I even called Presto Studios. I talked to people. I left messages on answering machines. No response. Finally, about 10 days ago, I got a hold of a very helpful man at Sanctuary Woods who said he’d mail one out immediately. Thank you, thank you! You don’t know how whinney my daughter can get. And so a few days ago, I received a package from Sanctuary Woods (no paperwork) and, sighing with relief, loaded the CD...and... Yes. It was a Windows disk version again.
So there it sits on my desk. And every now and then my daughter gives me this look. You know the look if you have children. And I wonder how much more I need to spend on this to get my $14.95 back or a disk that works on a Mac.
And I think about the other times that this very same thing has happened. During my Apple II days for instance. I wonder what it is about Apple/Mac among certain computer companies and computer gurus to whom if you mention the word ‘Mac’, it is like falling into a black hole. “A what? Isn’t that a toy computer not useful in the real world? Sorry, it’s not in my vocabulary so it doesn’t exist.”
Ok. I’m probably overreacting. But you know, when you have the same thing happen to you several times, you begin to wonder. Maybe Mac users should be paranoid! Les Kapler, Cedar Rapids, IA
Lack of Respect
Dear IMG: I recently purchased F117A for the Macintosh. I was very disappointed since it was no better ( or even worst !) than the F119 played four years ago on my PC. F117A is awfully slow on my PowerPC 7100/66. The graphics are of bad DOS port type. When I see that games like Fleet Defender are the mainstream of their products for the PC, I think it is time that companies like Microprose show more respect for the Mac community.
Many Software companies seem to prefer to develop superior software for an inferior machine: the PC. The Mac flight simulator market is without any doubt lagging behind the PC one when considering the features found on the latest flight simulators for the PC. It is a sad reality, even if games like Hellcats and Hornet demonstrate that quality FS can be developed for the MAC. I know the laws of the market, but what most software companies seem to forget is that they can contribute to the development and the success of the Mac by developing superior software for it, what in turn can contribute to their software sales. — Patrick from Belgium via Compuserve
— We believe that MicroProse had good intentions with F117A Stealth Fighter for the Macintosh. All of the artwork was completely redone in high-resolution just for the Mac version. Unfortunately, its seems not enough time was spend on the graphics engine to achieve higher frame rates. It’s biggest drawback, the horrid frame simply killed the game. Also not having a Power Mac version didn’t help. It goes to show that simply having high resolution graphics doesn’t make a game successful. —TD
Sports Games Not Dead
Dear IMG: I am writing to you because of the editorial in the December, 1994 issue of IMG. In looking forward to 1995, you state that, “we won’t see any major sports games on the Mac like Front Page Football, Hardball 4, NFL 95.” You continue by saying that, “there seems to be no relief in sight.” I respectfully disagree. I would say relief is here. PlayMaker, Inc. will be introducing the second of its PlayMaker Sports series in 1995 with the release of PlayMaker Baseball, a baseball simulation unlike any other. PlayMaker, Inc. also re-released the standard for Macintosh Football games, PlayMaker Football. If the market is right, then we may be developing PlayMaker Hockey and/or Basketball for future releases.
While PlayMaker, Inc. will not be limiting itself to sports simulations, we will be providing Macintosh users with the very best sports simulations on either platform.
Ian Klimon
Director of Product Management
PlayMaker, Inc.
p.s. - For those that would complain that PlayMaker Football cannot compare
with Front Page Football’s graphics...just wait for PlayMaker Football 3-D
Pushing Maxis to Update Robosport
Dear IMG: Myself and many others have been trying to convince Maxis to update Robosport for sometime now without much/any success. We feel that Robosport is one of, if not the best network game of all time, but it will not run on the new computers 040 & up. I don’t know if you have any pull with Maxis but any pressure/encouragement you could give them would be greatly appreciated by all or us loyal but discouraged Robowarriors. Wild 0001 via AOL
— We doubt a letter from an editor of a magazine would do much, but thousands of letters from many might encourage Maxis to update Robosport. Here’s their address:
Maxis
2 Theatre Square
Orinda, CA 94563
Letters to IMG. If you have a question, problem, comment, suggestion, or idea, just drop us a line. All letters become property of Inside Mac Games. We reserve the right to edit any letters.
