DirectX for Macintosh?

[TheMelodyMaker]

I need some input from some of you guys who use Macs because I know almost nothing about them. I understand from looking at a flyer the other day that there is some kind of program by Microsoft for the Mac called "PowerPC" (or something like that) which allows Windows XP applications to be run under the Mac OS. What I'd like to know is if that includes DirectX applications as well.

The reason I ask this is because I'm designing The Traveller's Guide for DirectX (more specifically--DirectDraw 7, DirectInput 7 and DirectX Audio 8; developed with Visual Basic 6) and would like to rest assured that it will be as compatible as possible to even non-PC users. I'd feel so bad if I knew you guys wouldn't be able to play it...

Anyway, any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks! ^_^

[shooraijin]

No, no, no. What you're referring to is Virtual PC, and it was originally made by Connectix before Microsoft bought the rights. I use VPC6 to run Windows 98SE (which is now no longer a supported option, thank you Bill Gates, pay no attention to the missile launcher aimed at your head ).

DirectX 9.0b installs and seems to work fine on my VPC6, but even with dual 1.25GHz G4s under the hood, the emulation chugs (it comes out to roughly a Celeron 660MHz based on some of my informal benchmark testing), and there is no Direct3D support (just DirectDraw). There is *some* DirectSound support, but not much more than SB16 emulation (5.1 sound, forget it).

Moreover, VPC is no longer optimized for gaming. The last VPC that had acceptable game performance (I was even able to coax Shogo MAD to run under it) was VPC3, and this is OS 9 only (so the G5 and the newest generation of Maccies can't run it; fortunately I can dual-boot). VPC3 runs most games that don't require 3D acceleration quite well, but VPC6's graphics update speed is abysmal, even with dual processors and one processor wholly dedicated to the Trio S3 emulation.

So, us Mac users will probably not be able to play your game well in the way that it was intended.

Why not use a cross-platform development system like RealBASIC? That can compile for Windows and Macintosh out of the box, and the next version will even support Linux. As soon as I get the green together, I'm going to invest in the Professional version.

http://www.realbasic.com/

[shooraijin]

I should point out, though, that VPC6 is intended first and foremost for 'serious apps' -- they gave up optimizing for game performance as far back as VPC4.

In this regard, VPC6 does very well (there are some Bink tools that only work in Windows, and VPC6 does the emulation flawlessly). Also, it lets me check how web pages appear in IE6, and it works nicely for that, as well as test applets and connectivity with PC applications. As well, I do some DOS application development and support, and DOS runs fine on VPC6 (at least it did until Bill Gates made only 2000 and XP supported options *fires rocket launcher*), and lets me do my app work w/o problems.

So, you just have to keep in mind the limitations. By the way, Bochs for OS X is even slower and has even worse support. At least it's free.

[TheMelodyMaker]

Thanks for your input! ^_^ (And my apology, I remember now that it is indeed called "Virtual PC".)

Having a look at the info you've given me...

(it comes out to roughly a Celeron 660MHz based on some of my informal benchmark testing)

The PC I'm developing on has a 300 MHz AMD K6-2 processor]and there is no Direct3D support (just DirectDraw). [/QUOTE]

No problem there; I'm not using Direct3D--just DirectDraw. (3D concepts are too hard for me to understand; 2D is hard enough. ^_~ )

There is *some* DirectSound support, but not much more than SB16 emulation (5.1 sound, forget it).

DirectX 7 will be required to actually play the game (will work without sound), but DirectX 8.0a will be required for sound support. (It will play DirectMusic run-time segments and wave files, and nothing more.)


I suppose that even based on this info, one can't tell if it will run unless one actually tries it]Draw Your Swords![/i] (which I made to "get my feet wet" with DirectX and Visual Basic 6) that works under the same template that The Traveller's Guide runs under. If you can get Draw Your Swords! to work, then The Traveller's Guide should work as well.

Thanks again for your feedback; I appreciate it! ^_^

[shooraijin]

Still, though, if you're considering how to make it accessible to as wide an audience as possible, why not make it cross-platform from the get-go?

[TheMelodyMaker]

This is already my third try at it (first and second tries were for C-64 and DOS, respectively) and I've already come too far to just start over yet again.

I had a look at that REALbasic link you posted and it looks like a promising product, but a bit on the expensive side. I will keep it in mind and maybe take a look at the trial version in the future, though.