boxcar35billy
New member
Does anybody know if a Trainz version will ever be released for the Mac?
Thanks, Boxcar
Thanks, Boxcar
Trainz for the Mac
- Thread starter boxcar35billy
- Start date
http://bavaria.laprune.com/files/jun-2007.html
Trainz on mac?
07 June 2007 05: 55 in Filed: Trainz
It all starts in March 2005, when a post on the Auran site suggests that a version of Trainz, pc, train Simulator will make his appararition on mac os X, supported by a screenshot showing the game turn one a powermac G5
In January 2006, I heard speak on some forums that a test of trainz mac beta would be organized. Inside mac games is was echo, stating that a version specific mac MUI would see the day. Then the rumoured that Feral, small British box would help ensure porting to newsletter Auran dating from September 2006, and release date announced the end of the year. Since then, radio silence, more than new Auran is discrete.
If it continues, a new version (the 2008?) will come on pc, and the 2006 for mac version will still not seen the day...
Hope This helps,
JRT
Trainz on mac?
07 June 2007 05: 55 in Filed: Trainz
It all starts in March 2005, when a post on the Auran site suggests that a version of Trainz, pc, train Simulator will make his appararition on mac os X, supported by a screenshot showing the game turn one a powermac G5
In January 2006, I heard speak on some forums that a test of trainz mac beta would be organized. Inside mac games is was echo, stating that a version specific mac MUI would see the day. Then the rumoured that Feral, small British box would help ensure porting to newsletter Auran dating from September 2006, and release date announced the end of the year. Since then, radio silence, more than new Auran is discrete.
If it continues, a new version (the 2008?) will come on pc, and the 2006 for mac version will still not seen the day...
Hope This helps,
JRT
There were plans to make a Mac version and it even went into beta testing....it never got out of beta testing and since they are still under the NDA, we probably won't hear much more about it....
amigacooke
Well-known member
I believe Auran said it is on indefinite hold.
Don't hold your breath.
Don't hold your breath.
boxcar35billy
New member
Okay, thanks folks for the info. Very interesting. I switched to Mac couple of years ago on friends' recommendations and will never switch back. But maybe Bootcamp would be the answer. Or Paralells or VMware. Would be very interested in your test results julian97. Thanks, Boxcar35billy
kkopchynski
Member
Hi,
I have seen Trainz "06 run reasonably well on an iMac running Leopard. I don't have the machine at hand for the exact specs. I ran the built-in Marias Pass and the Scenarios. Also runs under Parallels on my Macbook Pro, but big layouts are a bit sluggish on FPS (its an older Macbook). This is just to run Driver. I have never done any work on these in Surveyor, and really not a whole lot of Driver either. These are just to use Driver whan away from home, where Trainz is on a windows PC.
Kevin
I have seen Trainz "06 run reasonably well on an iMac running Leopard. I don't have the machine at hand for the exact specs. I ran the built-in Marias Pass and the Scenarios. Also runs under Parallels on my Macbook Pro, but big layouts are a bit sluggish on FPS (its an older Macbook). This is just to run Driver. I have never done any work on these in Surveyor, and really not a whole lot of Driver either. These are just to use Driver whan away from home, where Trainz is on a windows PC.
Kevin
schweitzerdude
Active member
Ocala is right-best of both worlds
A review of the top-of-the-line MacBook Pro I read some months ago (Wired, don't remember which issue) called it "one of the best Windows PC game machines you can buy"
With so many Mac users using Windows to run PC games (and other Windows apps), there is just no incentive to bring out games specific for Mac OS. Why bother?
A review of the top-of-the-line MacBook Pro I read some months ago (Wired, don't remember which issue) called it "one of the best Windows PC game machines you can buy"
With so many Mac users using Windows to run PC games (and other Windows apps), there is just no incentive to bring out games specific for Mac OS. Why bother?
Not everyone that owns a Mac wants to run Windows. I switched to Mac several years ago to get away from Microsoft, giving up rail sims in the process until the Intel Macs came out. Never liked it. The only reason I have a boot camp partition is to run train simulators, thats all I run in Windows. A native Mac sim would allow me to get rid of that partition all together.
Not saying one is better than the other, purely a personal choice for some. Macs aren't a large market share but they are growing. Auran may be missing out on some sales, maybe not enough to justify a new version. But, I would take a step back to the previous Beta version if I could run it natively.
Dave......
Not saying one is better than the other, purely a personal choice for some. Macs aren't a large market share but they are growing. Auran may be missing out on some sales, maybe not enough to justify a new version. But, I would take a step back to the previous Beta version if I could run it natively.
Dave......
i have my copy of vista running in bootcamp which is basicly windows running nativly on mac hardware. it should work fine
I have a MacBook Pro 17" 2.16, 2GB Ram and x1600 256MB video card. With Fusion and Windoze XP, 2004 runs pretty well, had to slide a lot of the sliders to the left. TC 1&2 gave me a very nice slide show. I haven't used Fusion for Trainz in a long time but I think the video set up kills it. Having to "halve" my video card down to 128MB put the skids on everything. A better video card and more RAM might change all that.
Under boot camp all my versions of Trainz run great with the sliders cranked up. I only get very slight stuttering here and there if I max them out.
I have anti-virus software loaded up on the Fusion install though. I use it for a site or two that only works with Windows. My boot camp partition never sees the internet so I don't have the anti-virus junk loaded and slowing it down.
Hope that helps.
Dave.......
Under boot camp all my versions of Trainz run great with the sliders cranked up. I only get very slight stuttering here and there if I max them out.
I have anti-virus software loaded up on the Fusion install though. I use it for a site or two that only works with Windows. My boot camp partition never sees the internet so I don't have the anti-virus junk loaded and slowing it down.
Hope that helps.
Dave.......
There is a newer version of Parallels that has supposedly better graphics support. They've made great strides with this.
The idea of a native Macintosh-based Trainz is somewhat a mute point today considering the speed of the base machines, and the fact that they are Intel now and not PowerPC chip. The boot camp and the alternate Parallels Software approach work well with the newer machines because of the higher speed and better graphics capabilities.
If anything they should have developed a 'nix based platform instead. This would have been easily ported over to the Apple OS as well as other 'nix platforms. But since they are a small outfit, they don't have the resources to dedicate to a new platform such as this without pulling away from what they do best, or being able to support new staff. What we don't want is for them to neglect the current product in favor of a new one. We went through this before with the Fury team a few years ago.
John
The idea of a native Macintosh-based Trainz is somewhat a mute point today considering the speed of the base machines, and the fact that they are Intel now and not PowerPC chip. The boot camp and the alternate Parallels Software approach work well with the newer machines because of the higher speed and better graphics capabilities.
If anything they should have developed a 'nix based platform instead. This would have been easily ported over to the Apple OS as well as other 'nix platforms. But since they are a small outfit, they don't have the resources to dedicate to a new platform such as this without pulling away from what they do best, or being able to support new staff. What we don't want is for them to neglect the current product in favor of a new one. We went through this before with the Fury team a few years ago.
John
kkopchynski
Member
dhjdhj,
I tried Trainz 2006 on Vmware early in 2009. It did not work for me. Perhaps tweaking could be done, but it works with Parallels so I never tried. FWIW, last week I tried the Atrain 8 demo. In VMware it did not render properly but in Parallels it did. Parallels seems to be ahead of VMware in 3-D support.
I tried Trainz 2006 on Vmware early in 2009. It did not work for me. Perhaps tweaking could be done, but it works with Parallels so I never tried. FWIW, last week I tried the Atrain 8 demo. In VMware it did not render properly but in Parallels it did. Parallels seems to be ahead of VMware in 3-D support.
kkopchynski,
What are your machine specs for running Parallels? I hate rebooting back and forth with boot camp. I just ordered Trainz 2009 today and from what I understand it runs much better than 2006 and if you can run 2006, 2009 will run better.
I would be interested in Parallels if I could run 2009 with my machine. All I use Windows for is Trainz and MSTS. MSTS does great in Fusion so should be alright in Parallels. Be nice to gain back some unused hard drive space from the boot camp install.
Thanks for the heads up.
Dave....
What are your machine specs for running Parallels? I hate rebooting back and forth with boot camp. I just ordered Trainz 2009 today and from what I understand it runs much better than 2006 and if you can run 2006, 2009 will run better.
I would be interested in Parallels if I could run 2009 with my machine. All I use Windows for is Trainz and MSTS. MSTS does great in Fusion so should be alright in Parallels. Be nice to gain back some unused hard drive space from the boot camp install.
Thanks for the heads up.
Dave....
kkopchynski
Member
Dave,
The iMac is at work, so I don't have its specs handy. My Macbook pro is 2ghz, 2gb RAM, 128 mb video. It is maxed out at 2 gb RAM. The Parallels VM is running 1 cpu, 1 gig RAM, 256 mb video with 3D support checked.
I was just running the Merry XMAS2 session for my niece over the holiday. When a few AI trainz got on the map it could be slow to respond to keystrokes. This may have been complicated by the AI trainz holding each other up due to lack of signalling on the route.
I do wonder if having more RAM for the VM will help. I have a new Macbook pro on the way with 4 gb so I will be able to test in a couple of weeks.
You also have a better video card than me, so that should help.
I heard pretty much the same things about 2009 and bought it about a year ago. I would say my experience agrees with the comparison to 2006. I have had poor luck in porting a few routes, though.
I don't have MSTS. Are the 3D requirements similar? It is very possible that VMware has improved since my test (I don't think I ran the latest update on the A_Train test), or perhaps I missed a config checkbox somewhere. I would test VMware first if I were you since you already have it. If you setup a test VM with fusion, you should be able to port it over to Parallels if it doesn't work out. Both programs also let you import from your boot camp partition.
Best of luck to you,
Kevin
The iMac is at work, so I don't have its specs handy. My Macbook pro is 2ghz, 2gb RAM, 128 mb video. It is maxed out at 2 gb RAM. The Parallels VM is running 1 cpu, 1 gig RAM, 256 mb video with 3D support checked.
I was just running the Merry XMAS2 session for my niece over the holiday. When a few AI trainz got on the map it could be slow to respond to keystrokes. This may have been complicated by the AI trainz holding each other up due to lack of signalling on the route.
I do wonder if having more RAM for the VM will help. I have a new Macbook pro on the way with 4 gb so I will be able to test in a couple of weeks.
You also have a better video card than me, so that should help.
I heard pretty much the same things about 2009 and bought it about a year ago. I would say my experience agrees with the comparison to 2006. I have had poor luck in porting a few routes, though.
I don't have MSTS. Are the 3D requirements similar? It is very possible that VMware has improved since my test (I don't think I ran the latest update on the A_Train test), or perhaps I missed a config checkbox somewhere. I would test VMware first if I were you since you already have it. If you setup a test VM with fusion, you should be able to port it over to Parallels if it doesn't work out. Both programs also let you import from your boot camp partition.
Best of luck to you,
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for the input. I agree Fusion doesn't handle graphics very well at all. I'm sure with a better video card and more RAM it might be better, I can only max out to 3GB. I would like to upgrade my laptop but it isn't in the cards for awhile.
I'll give 2009 a whirl on Fusion when it gets here. Not expecting much though. At least it all runs very well through boot camp. May up my RAM and thinking of putting in a bigger hard drive.
MSTS is a pretty old sim, probably could run it on an abacus. Pretty low specs.
Thanks again and have a happy new year.
Dave....
Thanks for the input. I agree Fusion doesn't handle graphics very well at all. I'm sure with a better video card and more RAM it might be better, I can only max out to 3GB. I would like to upgrade my laptop but it isn't in the cards for awhile.
I'll give 2009 a whirl on Fusion when it gets here. Not expecting much though. At least it all runs very well through boot camp. May up my RAM and thinking of putting in a bigger hard drive.
MSTS is a pretty old sim, probably could run it on an abacus. Pretty low specs.
Thanks again and have a happy new year.
Dave....
It works on a Mac...kinda
I've just loaded 2006 into my VM Ware partition, and unlike the first time i did this (prior to increasing the RAM on my 2.4GHz iMac to 4Gb) it actually works...up to a point. I'm able to build layouts, and run trains on them, and other things. I have a couple of issues.
The first issue looks video related. Mouse clicking out of the VM Ware window (Trainz does not occupy the full screen and has black areas each side of the window) causes severe flashing of the screen from the Trainz window to black, to the Windows desktop then back to the portions of the Trainz window. It just keeps happening until I can get Windows to recognise <Ctrl>-<Alt>-<Delete>. Anyway, this is not the main problem, and it can be avoided.
The main problem is that I am not able to get access to the Download Station. I am sure I read somewhere that the Download Station requires OpenGL to work. Selecting OpenGL in the control panel then crashes Trainz. Select Direct X and Trainz works, not Download Station.
Has anyone a solution?
KD
I've just loaded 2006 into my VM Ware partition, and unlike the first time i did this (prior to increasing the RAM on my 2.4GHz iMac to 4Gb) it actually works...up to a point. I'm able to build layouts, and run trains on them, and other things. I have a couple of issues.
The first issue looks video related. Mouse clicking out of the VM Ware window (Trainz does not occupy the full screen and has black areas each side of the window) causes severe flashing of the screen from the Trainz window to black, to the Windows desktop then back to the portions of the Trainz window. It just keeps happening until I can get Windows to recognise <Ctrl>-<Alt>-<Delete>. Anyway, this is not the main problem, and it can be avoided.
The main problem is that I am not able to get access to the Download Station. I am sure I read somewhere that the Download Station requires OpenGL to work. Selecting OpenGL in the control panel then crashes Trainz. Select Direct X and Trainz works, not Download Station.
Has anyone a solution?
KD
Ask and ye shall receive!
Sorry to open an old thread, but I couldn't help noticing the announcement in today's newsletter: http://www.auran.com/newsletter/trainz/2011/Feb_11.html
Sorry to open an old thread, but I couldn't help noticing the announcement in today's newsletter: http://www.auran.com/newsletter/trainz/2011/Feb_11.html
