Space Giraffe and other LS playable on Mac?

[lukwtwz]

How would I go about running Space Giraffe (or other LS games) on a C2D Macbook with 1 gig ram and x3100 chipset? Is it possible to buy the PC version on Steam and then use some non-bootcamp workaround to have a worthwhile go at it?

[Kasalic]

Quick guide to playing Windows games on Mac.

You have 3 options.

1. Bootcamp - you use Bootcamp Assistant in the Applications/Utilities directory to partition (split) your hard drive, and then install a full copy of Windows (XP/Vista/7 etc). Advantage - You get native performance and speed. Disadvantage - You need to reboot the Mac when you want to switch from Mac OS to Windows and you need a valid Windows disk & license.

2. Virtual Machines (Parallels, VMWare Fusion & Virtual Box). You buy the software (Virtual Box is opensource freeware IIRC), and install this, and then you install Windows. Advantage - You don't need to reboot the Mac to switch, better integration of Mac/Windows files for non-gaming tasks. Disadvantage - You don't get native speed, so Gridrunner Rev ++ for example is simply too slow on a Mac that comfortably runs it under Bootcamp and you still need a valid Windows disk and license.

3. Crossover Games - This is often mistaken as an emulator, but this is misleading. You download Crossover Games and buy a years license for it. You then install games directly into 'Bottles'. Advantages - Much better speed than using a Virtual Machine, in fact it's not far off what you get in Bootcamp, you don't need a WIndows disk or license. Disadvantages - Not all games work, and some that do can have issues of varying degrees.

Not sure on Space Giraffe, but I've tried Gridrunner Rev ++ on Crossover Games and I've so far failed to get it to work. With the graphics chipset you have there I'd doubt it would be playable even in Bootcamp though as the x3100 is an integrated chipset.


http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/
http://www.parallels.com/uk/
http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/
http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/

[governmentyard]

Not quite what you asked about, but probably worth mentioning that all the old Llamasoft games from the 8 bit and (subs please check) 16-Bit era are freely available to run under emulation from here: http://minotaurproject.co.uk/softography.php

Sort yourself a suite of emulators and a usb competition pro joystick and you are sorted for a whole lot of Llamasoft fix, running like a dream.

[buddh4sack]

Great to know; I thought that section was just descriptions of the games, not the games themselves!

[PVB]

BootCamp is the best way for SG and GRR to run on a Mac, but you do need a powerful Mac to run it on.