Illuminated Keyboard, originally uploaded by kpanic.

I’ve blogged a little about playing World of Warcraft on a Mac, and how Blizzard plans to continue to make OSX native versions of WOW despite the introduction of Boot Camp, the beta application from Apple that allows the new Intel machines to boot Windows XP.

I’m quite happy they’re going to continue to support OSX, but in the short term it might be worth giving Boot Camp and WOW a spin if you do have one of the new Intel iMacs or Macbooks.

Gabe over at Penny Arcade tried it out and noticed a visible improvement in performance over running it in OSX [pa].

I’m running WOW at 1440 x 900 with all my graphic settings jacked all the way up. I’ve got spell effects and textures and all that good stuff up as high as it can go. With these settings under OS X I hovered between 15 and 20 FPS. It was just barley playable but for raids and stuff I’d drop down to a lower resolution and take off a few of the fancy effects. Now on the same laptop, but running under Windows with the same crazy settings I averaged between 35 and 40 FPS. That’s a pretty fucking big difference in my book. It was even able to maintain that frame rate in major cities and in a raid out in SS.

Now since the Blizzard usage specs only mentions the G4/G5 Macs I’m pretty sure if you’re running WOW on an Intel Mac you’ll have to be emulating it through Rosetta which has to be taking a chunk of speed away, so that might account for some of the difference.

Might make it worth running through Boot Camp for a bit. However it still runs fine on my late model iMac G5 and Powerbook G4.

Powerbook keyboard, originally uploaded by Jeffery Simpson.

A few days ago I posted a postive note about Blizzard’s complete and unfailing support for the Macintosh OS as a game platform [mba]. From my days trying to play Warcraft III against my friends on my Mac LC 475 with a low baud modem and a screen refresh rate of like once per every thirty seconds to the pure sexy smoothness of WOW today on my G4 Powerbook and my G5 iMac, Blizzard has been one of the few companies to step up and continue to launch games for both the PC and the Mac at the same time.

I wondered how Boot Camp, the new beta software that allows users of the new Intel Macs to run Windows XP, would affect the future of Blizzard development on the Mac. It’s possible that a lot of software companies might abandon the Mac platform altogether given that soon, once Boot Camp is more stable, Macs will run Windows as well as PC boxes. (This is an offshoot from the John C. Dvorak argument that Apple will adopt Windows full time soon [pcm]).

If you haven’t been following the comment thread to that post, much like I haven’t been following the Blizzard FAQs, Blizzard’s Mac Team dropped by to set me straight [mba].

From the comment thread…

Q: Apple’s OS X Boot Camp software lets me boot Windows XP on my Intel-based Mac. Can I run Blizzard games under Windows using Boot Camp on these systems?

A: Yes, you can if you wish to do so. However, please note that as OS X Boot Camp is in beta form, we can’t offer technical support for Blizzard games run under Windows using Boot Camp at this time.

Q: What is Blizzard’s plan for native Mac OS support, now that Boot Camp is available?

A: We have a recognized track record of native Mac OS support, and we have no plans to break with that tradition. We understand that our Mac player base prefers native software whenever possible, and our cross-platform development practice addresses that.

So while nothing is on stone tablets in this crazy world, but that sounds to me like even once Boot Camp gets stable there will still be a Mac version of future Blizzard games coming. Hopefully that’ll include any follow ups to World of Warcraft.

Which in my book calls for a huzzah. Huzzah!

World of Warcraft, originally uploaded by Jeffery Simpson.

I’ve always had a problem staying in guilds. It’s not that I’m particularly unfriendly or unhelpful; it’s just they seem to fall apart shortly after I join them.

My first guild fell apart quicker than a party lead by Stockwell Day [cbc], and the next one I found lasted not even a week before all the level 60s (and their alts) decided they’d be better off in an exclusive level 60 (and their alts) guild.

When I finally did find a guild that I liked and that seemed stable I ended up leaving the game for about six months and they (understandibly) kicked me out from the guild.

So now it’s just me and my grey tabard. The game, especially since I enjoy playing on a RP server, is a lot more fun for me when I’m in a guild. Especially since all the friends I’ve made in game are now at level 60, and I’m still struggling along at level 53.

Powerbook keyboard

Originally uploaded by Jeffery Simpson.

As someone whose had an Apple since the IIe I’ve gotten used to living in a world where the coolest games never would reach my computer. For awhile the Lucasarts game were availble, but as Apple’s market share slipped so did game selection.

Soon the only games I could find were the ones that were built to be dual platform, and the Blizzard games were always Mac friendly.

I’m not sure why more game developers can’t be Mac complient like Blizzard. It might be hard for smaller companies to afford, but that’s an excuse that Eletronic Arts (for example) can’t use.

The Mac compatibility from Day #1 meant that I started playing WOW early. The fact that unlike some games, EverQuest (cough cough), Mac users aren’t living in their own servers, means that I get to interact with everyone else as opposed to those also confined in the Mac Ghetto.


Though I’ve always wanted to try games like City of Heroes, the Mac issue has held me back. However hopefully Boot Camp will expand my options when I finally shell out for an Intel Mac. However I am determined to stay loyal to Blizzard, because they stayed loyal to us Mac gamers for so many years.

I also hope that Blizzard will keep doing Mac builds, even when Boot Camp might mean it’s not as nessicary.