Conquest for mac

[dojoboy]

Originally posted by Sid
If Thinman's post is fair dinkum -- and I have no reason to doubt it -- it certainly confirms our speculation over the past few months. Lack of customer service is a form of communication after all.

My preferred Civ3/4 publisher is Aspyr, home of SMAC/X and Brad Oliver -- can't see it, unless Peter Tamte really does have our gaming community at heart. Otherwise, I agree with djb.

Does anyone know Peter Tamte's email address? Note: Tamte/Destineer and MacSoft will be having their hands full with the new modern warfare shooter games they recently announced (First To Fight, etc.).

Sid, I just sent an email to MacSoft Games asking if they would seek out a mac publisher for Conquests, and I recommended VPLtd. The only email I found was support@macsoftgames.com. I doubt they'd let the whole series go since Civ4 could always be a blockbuster.

It just seems to me that an opportunity to generate some revenue on an expansion they never intend to port would be a wise decision. Maybe they could even work with a third-party publisher as Firaxis did with Breakaway Games. I know the latter two are not publishers but.... you get the idea.

 

[Brad Oliver]

Originally posted by dojoboy
I feel our only chance for a mac version of Conquests is for MacSoft to sell the rights to another mac publisher, maybe Virtual Programming Ltd.

I'm hurt, dojo - why them and not, say, Aspyr? I could crank it out in fairly short order. It'd give me an opportunity to revisit the editor as well.

Also, you should realize that signing the rights to a PC title is expensive - it can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, which could mean $5 to $10 out of every sale goes towards just that. You have to be able to sell enough copies to cover your expenses, and for a lot of big-name titles on the Mac, that can be quite hard with steep licensing fees. I don't know what it'd be like for C3C, but that's part of the reason why most of the "big" titles go to "big" Mac publishers.

 

[dojoboy]

Originally posted by Brad Oliver

I'm hurt, dojo - why them and not, say, Aspyr? I could crank it out in fairly short order. It'd give me an opportunity to revisit the editor as well.

Sorry Brad, didn't mean it that way.

We'd definitely prefer you over anyone else. I just figured Aspyr would be in the same position as MacSoft re: cost-profit ratio. I was thinking a smaller company might be willing to risk it. Plus, I knew VPLtd. had tried to contact MacSoft about it, but never got a reply back.

Also, I didn't figure MacSoft Games would let a Civ title go to a competitor like Aspyr.

My thinking is, if you're not going to port C3C, why not make some money off of it. Even make it where its feasible for a smaller company. MacSoft doesn't have to ask for the moon.

Really, I appreciate the wink in your reply, but when I look at my post now.... I'm a little embarrassed by my lack of loyalty.

 

[Sid]

C'mon Brad. From my side of the planet it looks like all you Mac porters know each other. How about you and Glenda make a pitch to Al and Peter on our behalf. [If I could be bothered with those emoticon thingies, I'd include a wink -- and yes, I know it would have been quicker than typing all this].

 

[Brad Oliver]

Originally posted by Sid
C'mon Brad. From my side of the planet it looks like all you Mac porters know each other. How about you and Glenda make a pitch to Al and Peter on our behalf.

Typically, it's much easier for a company to say "no, we're never going to do that" and then one day announce a title as being in the pipe than it is to string you along for months (and years) on end only to let you down. Aspyr does this all the time - if you'd have asked us about Battlefield 1942 before it was announced, you'd have got the "no, never" response and we would have been flat-out lying to you.

I'm not saying this is what MacSoft is doing, but I feel that a little perspective is required.

 

[Brad Oliver]

Originally posted by dojoboy
Also, I didn't figure MacSoft Games would let a Civ title go to a competitor like Aspyr.

Well, they did let Zoo Tycoon come Aspyr's way. For competitors, I think we have a fairly close relationship. Aspyr and MacSoft shared a booth at MWSF 2004, for example. I know we also team up on "big-picture" issues like putting pressure on Apple or 3rd party libraries to give us the support we need for game ports. I believe there are also times where we've split costs on a few other things, but that's never something I've been directly involved with, so I can't say for sure.

 

[dojoboy]

Originally posted by Brad Oliver

I could crank it out in fairly short order. It'd give me an opportunity to revisit the editor as well.

Destiny, your's it is young Bradwalker. Strong, the code is.... in you.

 

[cpierce]

Its been a couple of months since the last post, any news in this arena? I certainly would be interested in C3C if it was ported to mac. I hate feeling like the neglected sibling when it comes to these games.

 

[dojoboy]

Its been a couple of months since the last post, any news in this arena? I certainly would be interested in C3C if it was ported to mac. I hate feeling like the neglected sibling when it comes to these games.

Nope, but you can get the GOTM mod which allows a mac player, if patched to 1.29b2) to play w/ many of the PTW/Conquests features, including new civs.

Go here.

 

[bloodycelt]

Is it possible to make a fan based patch that allows play by email?

I dont know how civ3 is built, but if one could set civ3 to autosave and have a background process take that autosave and email it, and then the other player loads it into his computer.

I think it still may need a source patch, but its worth a poke at.

W/o one you would need....
A program that knows to load an autosave file at a subsequent year, and checks every 15 - 30 secs for a new one to send. It then saves a file called update for instance, and that file must be made certain that the player civ is yours and not the oppoenents.

That would require knowlage of the actual .sav file format.

 

[AlanH]

Anything's possible, but I can't get enthusiastic about trying. I guess there *are* people who enjoy Play By Email, but in my opinion, and without having ever tried it, you're looking at a lot of work to achieve a game experience rather similar to watching paint dry.

I think the audience for a Mac PBEM version would be tiny. And it would be a Mac-only option, as I guess PBEM is currently played using the multiplayer options in PtW. If you really want to Play By Email your best bet is probably to buy a cheap PC and join the PBEM forum around here.

 

[Sid]

Thank you MacSoft. I bought a PC and find it really good for my strategy gaming. I'm now playing Conquests and Rise of Nations to my hearts content. My iMac is now used for my external communications and all my film work. Keeping my entertainment and serious work separate seems to allow me to focus more on the latter when it's necessary.

 

[JackA]

I dont want to buy a PC becaus i am hard-core mac and i will wait for civ4 thank you very much.

 

[Sid]

JackA -- I've been a Macintosh user since 1985. Loved 'em, used 'em for everything, but I've now realised that -- despite the efforts of companies such as Blizzard, Aspyr and VP; and individuals like Brad Oliver, AlanH and the GOTM crew -- I'll never get the community support for my favourite games via MacSoft. They just do not understand that a strategy game is more than the title they publish. Publishing is just the start point for a game like Civ3; the modding community supplies the verve that keeps a game going -- what would Civ be without CivFanatics?

 

[AlanH]

Thank you MacSoft. I bought a PC and find it really good for my strategy gaming. I'm now playing Conquests and Rise of Nations to my hearts content. My iMac is now used for my external communications and all my film work. Keeping my entertainment and serious work separate seems to allow me to focus more on the latter when it's necessary.

Well done, Sid. I think that puts Windows in about its correct location in the computer pecking order ... somewhere between X-box and Gameboy

 

[AlanH]

I dont want to buy a PC becaus i am hard-core mac and i will wait for civ4 thank you very much.

I don't either, Jack. But I honestly think you'll see hell freeze before Civ4 makes it to the Mac. Meanwhile I'm happy with Civ3 as it is ... I'm easily pleased. When I can play this game really well, to my own satisfaction, I'll worry about what else to do with my play time.

 

[JackA]

I think that Conquests is not worth buying a PC for me.I will wait until Civ4.Why?
Well there are GOTM mod made by bluebox that emulates C3C.

 

[AlanH]

I think that Conquests is not worth buying a PC for me.I will wait until Civ4.Why?
Well there are GOTM mod made by bluebox that emulates C3C.

Yeah, well when I said I was happy with Civ3 as it is, I did mean with the GOTM mods. But I vary rarely play a solo game. My kicks mainly come from the competition in GOTM and SGOTM, and the give and take in SGs, less from cool unit animations or beating my own best score. It's that sort of variety in the different ways you can get pleasure from this game that makes it such a drug for lots of people, of course.

 

[JackA]

Plus VPC7 is almost out.You can get the PC Civ3 and C3C and try it!

 

[AlanH]

Cash to M$ ???