eve-online posts

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, Odds and ends

Warhammer Online coming to the Mac

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Jul 31st, 2009

More good news for MMO players on the Mac: Warhammer Online has joined the ranks of EVE and of course World of Warcraft by announcing the release of a Mac-compatible client. Most of you already interested were probably playing with Boot Camp, but that hasn't stopped Mythic from working on a Mac client. It's in beta now (and free to current players, with a free trial available for those who haven't stepped inside the MMO yet), and they're aiming for a release in the Fall. And how nice is this: Mac players will get two titles of their own, as well as an exclusive in-game trophy.

Unfortunately, the client doesn't run truly natively -- Mythic is owned by EA, so, you guessed it, Transgaming's Cider is behind this port, too. Cider isn't always the best way to run games (native would be the way we'd like to see it), but many of the problems we've seen with the technology are a few years old now, so hopefully it's gotten better (and that's likely what this beta is all about) -- hopefully they can work out all the kinks before the official release in the Fall.

Warhammer Online is an excellent MMO, especially notable for its heavy PvP elements and its innovative Public Quests and Tome of Knowledge feature (kind of like achivements, but even more in-depth). It's a little late coming to our platform, but it's good to finally see another big game take on Mac support.

Tags: boot-camp, cider, ea, eve-online, mac, mmo, mythic, port, tome-of-knowledge, transgaming, warhammer-online, world-of-warcraft

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Multimedia, Developer, iPhone, App Store, App Review

Capsuleer 2.0 for iPhone helps you track EVE Online status

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Apr 14th, 2009

Massively has a good look at an iPhone app that's a must-have for players of the space-based multiplayer EVE Online -- Capsuleer 2.0 isn't an actual client, but like the desktop app EVEMon, it allows you to monitor and track your EVE pilots from outside the game. It's also got skill queues built in (unlike other MMOs, EVE allows you to have your pilots level even while you're away from the game, so most of the strategy in leveling actually comes in choosing the next skill to work towards), a skill library, more pilot details, and even a mini-RSS feeder, incorporating a few popular blogs from around the EVE blogosphere.

The two developers of the app tell Massively that their biggest issues in developing the app were mostly by way of the limits CCP (the company behind EVE Online) places on what third-party apps can do with their info.. Most of the things they can't do are built into the game itself, and so it makes sense that a certain amount of functionality can't leave the game client (or else people might never log into the game). The app is currently free in the App Store right now, and the devs aim to keep it that way, but just recently added ads to the mix from the game's official magazine to cover server costs and bandwidth.

Finally, they say they're excited about the possibilities with iPhone 3.0 -- notifications are mentioned, and of course it would be cool to get a popup reminder every time a pilot is about to hit a skill. They're also working on a way to provide stats about the ingame Faction Warfare. Sounds cool -- EVE Tracker is still another possibility if you want to follow your EVE progress on the iPhone, but it looks like Capsuleer adds even more innovation to the mix.

Tags: ads, api, app, app-review, app-store, apple, capsuleer, ccp, download, e-on, eve-online, free, gaming, iphone, massively, mmos, pilots, skills

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, Odds and ends, Internet, Developer

City of Heroes comes to the Mac

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Jan 9th, 2009

Along with EVE Online and World of Warcraft, Mac users have another popular MMO to play with. It took a while, but NCsoft has finally brought their superhero massively multiplayer online game, City of Heroes, to OS X. When we heard the game was ported over by TransGaming, we flinched a bit, but NCsoft has assured us that there is no funny DRM on the release, and our colleagues over at Massively have tried out the client early, and put to rest any major questions about the quality of the port, saying that it runs well, save for a few bumps when the action gets crowded on screen.

As promised, the Mac "Special Edition" is a digital release, and comes with both the City of Heroes and the City of Villians expansion, as well as a month of game time (after that there's a subscription fee to play along), and two exclusive items: a Mission Teleporter power, to get you directly into missions, and a special "Valkyrie" costume set. The game is available for $19.99 over on NCsoft's site right now, so if you've been waiting to get some superhero MMO action underway, now's your chance.

Tags: city-of-heroes, coh, eve-online, mac, massively, mmo, ncsoft, osx, port, transgaming, world-of-warcraft

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Hardware, Software

City of Heroes coming to Mac under Transgaming's Cider

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Oct 30th, 2008

Yet another MMO on the Mac -- EVE Online and World of Warcraft are already there, of course, and now NCSoft has announced that City of Heroes is coming to the Mac. Unfortunately, they're using Transgaming's Cider software to port the game, and as we've said before, the software isn't only unreliable, but ~~it's got the dreaded SecuROM DRM attached~~*, as well. Not to mention that even the MacBook can basically run any game through BootCamp now, making a separate Mac version unnecessary in many cases.

But there is one thing we really like about this release, and that's that NCSoft is actually releasing the game on the Mac as a "special edition": players who buy the Mac expansion (which apparently will be a digital-only release) will pick up a free ingame teleporter item, as well as a special "Valkyrie" costume set usable on their superhero character. So if you do go for Transgaming's software, at least you can pick up some free ingame stuff for it. We're not so much for the ~~DRM-laden~~ emulation, but the free stuff we do like.

There's no set release date yet (they say it'll launch with the game's upcoming "Issue 13" update), but they're taking applications right now for an open beta, so if you're interested, sign on up.

[via Massively]

Update: NCSoft has contacted us to say that the Mac Special Edition of City of Heroes will not contain the SecuROM DRM. It was our understanding that all Transgaming releases would use the technology, but NCSoft says that theirs won't, so there you go.

Tags: bootcamp, city-of-heroes, drm, emulation, eve-online, ncsoft, securom, transgaming, world-of-warcraft

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Cool tools, Odds and ends, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

EVE skill training tracker for the iPhone

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Sep 16th, 2008

Previously, I mentioned Characters here on TUAW as one of my favorite iPhone apps, and here's another good iPhone app that will assist you with playing a great MMO. EVE Tracker is available in the App Store right now for free, and will let you track your EVE Online skill training (which can happen even while you're away from the game) from anywhere an iPhone can get online.

Just punch in your API account key, and just like EVEMon (a great EVE character tracker which isn't yet available for Mac -- hint hint EVEMon devs), you'll be able to see what your character is learning, where you're at in the skill trees, and so on. Also like EVEMon, you can't actually play the game from the app, but if you're away from the client and need to know just when that cruiser training will be done, it'll do ya.

It's too bad we haven't seen more official clients for the iPhone -- Blizzard and CCP both have been rumored to be working on mobile clients for at least parts of their games, but the App Store has only seen unofficial software for now. Someday, we hope MMO players will be able to play the AH or check their in-game mail from the iPhone, but for now, stuff like EVE Tracker is what we've got.

[via Massively]

Tags: app-store, developer, eve-online, eve-tracker, evemon, gaming, skill-training

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Retail, Software, Apple

CrossOver Games released, designed to play Windows games on Mac and Linux

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Mar 26th, 2008

Codeweavers has released CrossOver Games, a games-specific version of CrossOver, their Windows emulation software. Jeremy White has the story behind the release over on their blog -- apparently the application team wasn't working quite as quickly as they wanted, but the games team was chugging right along in terms of compatibility, so they decided to go ahead and ship what they'd done with games on its own.

The compatibility list isn't bad (most of the Steam stuff is on there, which is great, although it is a little weird that they brag about World of Warcraft and EVE Online, considering that those two run natively on Mac just fine; guess you Linux folks need your MMO fix, too) but nothing really jumps out here that might encourage you to use CrossOver rather than just, say, Boot Camp-ing the game up yourself. DirectX 10 is apparently causing problems, too, since neither Crysis, Gears of War, or Unreal Tournament III are on there.

Still, a valiant effort, and if you're desperate to get one of these games working and playable on your Mac (and don't have a spare copy of Windows sitting around to install with Boot Camp), CrossOver Games might be just what you need. TUAW is working on getting a copy of it, and as soon as we do, we'll run it through the grinder and see what we can get to come out the other side.

[Via DF]

Tags: crossover-games, eve-online, gears-of-war, unreal-tournament-3, windows, world-of-warcraft

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Macbook Pro

EVE Online Mac client works great

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Nov 5th, 2007

I was a little surprised to hear all the cheering over on the EVE Online post the other day-- I have to say, I had no idea you TUAW readers could get so excited about an MMO (and by the way, my name in game is Frank Dante, if any of you more experienced pilots want to take me on an Omber mining mission).

But now that I know you're out there, I've got even more good news for you. The Mac client has been available to download for a little while now in beta, and it supposedly works great. Plaguelands got it running terrific on a pretty well-fitted MacBook Pro running Tiger. There have been rumors about Leopard not working well, but considering that CCP (the company that makes EVE) specifically mentioned Leopard in their announcement, it should run just as well.

And tomorrow's the day-- EVE players are getting both the new patch, and the new Mac and Linux clients. I'll see you all out there among the belts, mining asteroids and fending off rats.

Tags: ccp, client, eve-online, gaming, linux, mac, plaguelands

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Leopard

EVE Online on the Mac next Tuesday

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Nov 2nd, 2007

The Weblogs, Inc. network of blogs (of which TUAW is a part) announced its newest member today, Massively (covering news about MMO games, and co-lead by yours truly), and right there on the launch page was great news for Mac MMO fans. CCP, the company that makes the great EVE Online, has announced the release of a Mac client for the game next week.

The update will come in the form of a new patch for the client (called Trinity), which will also feature new ingame ships, lots of new items, and updated graphics textures. I've only just recently gotten into EVE Online, but it's a good time for a space-based MMO-- really complex economy, harsh PvP, and excellent skill system. I know some Mac users have already been playing it with Boot Camp and Parallels, but it'll be nice to finally have a native Mac client.

The patch is supposed to drop next Tuesday, so the Mac client should be available on the site sometime soon after that. Get ready to head into low sec space on your Mac, but be careful-- the rats are out in force.

Tags: eve-online, gaming, mac, massively, mmo, new-client, pvp, trinity, tuaw, weblogs-inc

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