OK all this and run the game, it should be the correct aspect ratio for 1024x768.
The MacBook display can be configured to maintain aspect ratio (by adding black borders where necessary), to access this go to the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator Driver for Mobile tray icon (bottom right of the Task Bar) here choose Graphics Properties and Display Settings, there is a button for Aspect Ratio Options so click this and set Maintain Aspect Ratio. So far as graphics performance goes, this seems to run just fine on maximum detail and 1024x768, although it's a little annoying that the only resolutions available are of a 4:3 aspect ratio, as a result of this the game screen is squashed but it still looks and plays OK.
I think most of the hard drive space is probably taken up with the sound and video clips that are used throughout the game (mostly in campaign mode, but not intrusively). The voice acting is brilliant, the skirmishes fun to play (possible to play using the track pad quite easily) the campaign which follows the story of the films is hard but rewarding, containing set - pieces and powerful heroes.
NVidia GeForce2 GTS, nVidia GeForce FX, nVidia GeForce 6800, ATI Radeon 7500, ATI Radeon X800 Īlthough the graphics are not as complex or detailed as Warhammer 40,000 - Dawn of War, I probably enjoyed this game more, probably because of it's excellent Lord of the Rings setting. I think I read somewhere that a couple of hardware features of the X3100 were not supported in the Apple drivers, perhaps it is these that the game requires.
I assume this is because it is requesting some hardware feature that's not available (or supported in the drivers yet). This is a fun game but didn't hold the same appeal as the tabletop game did for me, it just felt like many other RTS games except with the familiar WH40k models and features.ĭid not run properly, it just gave the Blue Screen of Death at any time when 3D graphics were about to be shown. With a few of the settings on Medium I'm sure this game would run fine with a full-on battle, the CPU should be able to handle multi-player so long as the 3D hardware doesn't start to cook - there was a lot of fan activity and when a lot was on screen the heat did rise around the Esc key area and the vents under the hinge, but scrolling away from these intense areas seemed to give the fans a chance to clear the heat away quite quickly. Things only started getting choppy when moving to eye-level and there was more distance drawing involved, then the frame rate dropped a little but it wasn't too bad.
NVidia GeForce 3 or ATI Radeon 8500 or equivalent with 64MB video RAM Īll graphics details set to maximum, at 1280x800, 32 bit colour.įrom the default overhead kind of view the game ran happily in light skirmishes with probably at least 20, possibly 30 characters on screen at once, all fighting away and doing their thing, as well as structures and static scenery.
I've recently got several games to try out on my MacBook, I intend to report my findings here for anyone interested in performance etc.įirst up is Warhammer 40,000 - Dawn of War, a 3D RTS game.