Quality of Ghost Recon port(full)

[*DAMN Mauti]

Hi guys and gals,

I want to know from you how well done is the Mac port of GR in your opinion. I ask because I read at the ViRuS board that some guys think that the port is done very poorly(The demo isn't comparable with the full version).

Well I think it's a very well done job. GR runs in OS 9 and OS X. I played through the original campaign and DS campaign without a crash(in OS 9). Of course you need an uptodate mac to play it with all eye candy on. Don't mistake how GR runs on your Mac with the quality of the port because GR is a modern game that needs of course recent graphic cards. I also can't find anything that Aspyr didn't port for the Mac(except the mod editors) contrary to Rogue Spear where MacSoft didn't add the screenshot function and debugkeys  

Now Aspyr has to release the 1.4 patch and I am happy (I only need a new mac ). Btw the only bug I noticed that it doesn't play the end movie of GR Desert Siege. Have you experienced some other mac specific bugs?

Have fun,

Mauti

[a2daj]

There have been numerous reports of crashes while playing multiplayer games.  Scott Kevill has mentioned that he's working with the developers to make the game more solid with the upcoming patch.  Many of the known crashes have reportedly been fixed.  I'm hoping what I can only assume is a memory leak with the multiplayer code is fixed.  Also, occasionally in OS 9 and OS X, the app crashes when I quit the game.  OS X crash logs mention something about the event handling.
I'm a little disappointed at the performance of the game.  I have a G4 867 with a RADEON 8500.  I also have a Comcrap notebook I got from work which has a mobile 1GHz PIII and a Mobility RADEON.  With everything turned down all the way and the game running at 640x480 in OS 9 (it performs better in OS 9 than in OS X), my work notebook outperforms my G4 867 with a much more powerful video card.  I even went to my friends house to try her dual 1GHz G4 and my work laptop still outperformed it.
I used the demo app in each case because performance between the demo and the full version for the Castle map was identical.
I did my framerate tests by enabling the framerate disply, loading up a quick mission, clicking on FireFight, and then playing MP06 Castle.  I then walked one character toward the closest breach in the wall (after talking out the visible tangos).  The framerate display typically hung out around the same number.  In OS X on my G4 867, I got 20 fps.  In OS 9 I got 26 fps.  My friends dual 1GHz got 26 fps in OS X, 31 in OS 9.  My PC laptop got 37 fps.
Another issue I noticed while running the game in OS 9 is that the game does NOT hog the CPU.  It will give time to other apps.  Sure, I can quit everything including the Finder and trim my extension set, but I shouldn't have to do that.  A good game in OS 9 will hog the CPU to squeeze all the performance it can get without the user having to quit everything and cripple the OS functionality.

Even with these issues, I still have a lot of fun time playing the game.  Once the patch is released,  I'll reasses the issues I've mentioned.

One thing I do like about the game is that when played on a widescreen monitor, the game is rendered in widescreen and not rendered as a stretched image.  In other words, a circle is drawn as a circle and not an oval.  I'm not sure if the screen is cut down at the tops and bottoms or you have more peripheral vision.  I'll have to keep an eye out the next time I play.

[Typhy]

Well, I've had no problems whatsoever running Desert Siege in Mac OS 10.2.2. No crashes, no problems. I'm running it on an 800mhz Powerbook g4, but I've tried it on the 867g4, and my brothers dual 500g4 without any troubles. Seems fine to me.

My thoughts: "Good work Aspyr".

[Flame]

It seems fine to me, but i always lag (aka warp) on hosts with low pinsg, like 60 and NH's host. So, it's ok. (unless its the fact that im on osX)

[a2daj]

The fact that you guys are using OSX works around the memory leak due to the way OS X handles memory.  And I think the memory leak only occurs when playing online.  There have been numerous reports of the game quitting right after a round of multiplayer I've played many a game where the host crashes out or players exit in the middle and come back complaining the game crashed on them.

I've experienced the warping with OS 9 and OS X, so it's not OS dependent.

[.vooDoo.]

I have experienced these crashes. It either crashes right when u quit the gHr app or at the end of a multiplayer mission the game boots u out to game ranger then crashes.
As far as fps, the game runs very smoothly on my g4 400, with an ati 16mb rage video card. I will have a mac edition ati 8500 with 64mb at the end of december and i expect the game to run even smoother. btw, my frame rate is around 25fps outside and jumps up to around 50fps inside with all graphics set on low.   I couldn't be more happier with the game performance with my machine being lower then the system requirements. With the 1.4 patch and no more crashing...i think i will retire from RS all together.  

[Night Hawk]

Yes it needs fixing, but it is very well done and fun.

[Flame]

Yes it is annoying to see you have an ownage game, then after it ends, it crashes so you can't see your kills. Also what sucks more is that in osX they don't tell you what happened, just says it unexpectedly quit, same thing happens when you click the "gameranger" button on the multiplayer screen.

[ShadowBox]

   From what I assertained, the crashing issue with GhR and OS X is only when you join a game from gameranger. I don't know if it is an issue with GhR or the gameranger link, but I've only crashed once when I ip join the Agt dedicated server.

[[[EUR]] HoloGram]

This game is the best Tom Clancy Port!

It has higher system req. then RS and it runs on my G3 300 Mhz better then RS ever did!

The crashes come from GhR and GR, i had a network session  2 days ago and we play GhR in a mixed Network ( PCs and Mac ) with out a crash in 3 hours.

But when i join GhR games in GR it often crashes. So i would say it is b/c of conflicts between GR and GhR.

If u want to have games without Crashes try this:

1) open a GhR room in GR - Anounce your IP in room name
2) Start the game manualy ( not over GR - host button )
3) choose in MP options Internet and host a game out of GhR
4) let all people IP join the game.
5) have fun without crahes.

-> it worked by my host and my friends host for hours so it should work for u too. BTW it also reduses lag in Games.

[MacMan]

Ghost Recon is one of the least stable applications i have ever had the (dis)pleasure of "working" with.
For one: when i join a GhR game (i havent tried single player), and accidentally make GR or some other app (like launcher) active when the host starts, GhR will launch in the background.
Unfortunately GhR doesnt show anything when i make it active. Just a black screen. You can tab out, and do anything, but GhR will be there.
This is in OS 9. In OS X, there is the "Force Quit" option, so it is possible to maually make any running application quit, making this bug merely annoying in OS X, but in OS 9, i have found no other solution than to reboot my mac, the BAD way.
I'm running GhR on a G3 450Mhz iMac DV+, with 384Mb RAM, and an ATI Rage PRO (8Mb) video card.
It delivers approximately 15 fps when standing still, looking at the ground, and around 7 when moving about open terrain.
The framerate drops to around 5 or lower when someone shoots a full-automatic weapon, or there is an explosion.
Suffice to say that i am very much looking forward to my new Mac.

Last, but not least, GhR is no less buggy (in term of gameplay) than RS. In Rogue Spear, i have only stumbled across a few errors, but in GhR, a lot of buildings, walls, or small solids are...(i'm  searching for the english word)...(damn)...well, you can see through em and be inside a few when going prone (flat on the ground).

[Mr. Lothario]

     I've got your back, MacMan. : ) The term(s) you're looking for is either "clipping errors" or "geometry errors". AFAIK, the difference is that a clipping error is when the game is mishandling walls or other surfaces and is allowing objects (including players) to penetrate them, and a geometry error is when the walls or other surfaces are themselves improperly constructed or otherwise buggy. There's a "good" geometry error in the MP05 (I believe) Docks level. The building in the northeast corner has a window in its north side. I was unable to shoot OUT through that window and hit an opponent, but he was able to shoot IN through the window and hit me.

     I'm hoping that the 1.4 patch comes soon, and that Aspyr actually handles this like men and fixes many of the bugs while they're at it. However, given the previous handling of Red Storm titles on the Mac, it's just as likely that they'll fix the crash bug and almost nothing else, then never patch the game again. Well, we can hope for the best.

[PsYcO aSsAsSiN]

1.4 patch adds a lot of features to the gameplay (i.e. in-game ping, etc) and makes Ghost Recon a more stable game. I couldn't tell you how much gets changed with the patch however because I haven't played on 1.2 for a long time (1.4 has been out since IT was released).

[[[EUR]] HoloGram]

Hey MacMan, what u describe in the midle of your post is not a bug. It is your slow computer and a bad Gcard. Low FPS is no BUG - and it does not run better on a PC 450 Mhz and same Gcard . So it is not a bad port in this point.

Belonging the crashinf issue in MP Games - i already told in my post that it is b/c of GameRanger and GhR - they dont like each other - dunno why.

Those clipping errors I also often had in RS too. More often than i saw them in GhR.

cya

[MacMan]

Holo, i'm not calling my lousy framerate a bug.
And i spose that the black screen after tabbing out or being lagged into a game is most likely a bad Gcard issue.
1 more night till i can yell into the phone at the guy at the apple store to get me my f***ing Macs ASAP.

Loth, stop using thopse crazy acronyms. I'm not even such a Internet noob and dont understand wtf you mean. Thank god they're not important to the contents of your post  


PS. Thanks for covering my back  

[jn.loudnotes]

Come on, you couldn't figure that one out?

I'd never seen it either, but it's almost like doing a crossword puzzle. . .AFAIK.  I think it probably means "As far as I know"

[MacMan]

how right you are loudnotes...

[kos.viper]

1.4 patch adds a lot of features to the gameplay (i.e. in-game ping, etc) and makes Ghost Recon a more stable game. I couldn't tell you how much gets changed with the patch however because I haven't played on 1.2 for a long time (1.4 has been out since IT was released).

1.4 fixes "spawn camping," makes the player that has just respawned invincible for a short amount of time.  I know that's one of the major changes.

[*NADS Foxy]

I hate how you can't tab out of GhR period

That's really my only gripe that I can think of.....

[jn.loudnotes]

Yeah I'm looking forward to 1.4 as well.  But I just got the game yesterday, and it's amazing!

Of course, so is my new 1ghz G4 powerbook  

But I've been running it on the highest graphics detail settings and 1280X854 resolution, and it's wonderful.  I only have a couple gripes.  When you look far away, especially outside the playable boundaries in a map, the image sometimes has little orange pixels on it.  I'm not really sure what causes it, and it's only a slight annoyance.

Also, I remember the demo allowed sniper weapons several levels of zoom.  However, when I play now, the sniper gun zooms all the way in every time.  Do I have something in my options set wrong?

Otherwise the game is great.  Certainly a very high-quality port.  I haven't had a chance to play through the levels yet, but I'm enjoying them.  Also, multiplayer is fairly stable. . .crashes only seem to occur because of GameRanger, not the GhR app.  However, I have had the same timeout issues that seem to randomly occur in R6, RS, and probably every multiplayer game invented.