This article, from Inside Mac Games is rather interesting:
http://www.imgmagazine.com/news/story.php?...?ArticleID=5461

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At the Electronic Entertainment Expo, TransGaming Technologies and Transitive Technologies will be unveiling a game-porting technology that can allow Windows-based x86 games to be simultaneously released onto multiple platforms including Mac OS X, PlayStation 2, set-top boxes, PDAs and wireless devices.

Transitive has have developed a technology called Dynamite that allows binary code compiled for one CPU architecture to run on another, completely different CPU architecture. The technology offers proprietary algorithms for optimizing the code to run at near native performance or even better. All of the translation and optimization is completely transparent to the user. The application will function exactly as expected with no awareness that Dynamite is even executing in the background.

Transgaming has developed a Windows compatibility layer that allows Win32 APIs to run on top of UNIX and X-Windows. Using this technology, Transgaming was able to shipp an optimized Linux version of The Sims in just eight weeks after receiving source code.

Here's more from the press release:
Vikas Gupta, President and COO of TransGaming stated, "Our portability technology allows applications originally designed for PCs to run seamlessly and transparently on alternate platforms without the need for an expensive and time-consuming overhaul of the source code. What other companies can accomplish in two years of re-engineering, our technology can accomplish within two months." Gupta made this announcement to game developers and publishers at the 2002 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), here.

"We are delighted to collaborate with TransGaming to expand their product market," says John Graham, Transitive's President and CEO. "It is a clear example of how Transitive's translation and optimization product, Dynamite, allows developers to migrate content to other platforms, reducing their costs and giving consumers wider choice and access to content."

TransGaming and Transitive have developed a technology that allows portability faster, cheaper, and better than anyone else. "Imagine being able to release an award-winning game on the PC, Mac, and PlayStation 2 simultaneously." Mr. Gupta remarked. "The solution leverages the large investment made in product development, marketing and content, while realizing deep market penetration for a fraction of the cost of developing for each platform independently. Now imagine taking games to set-top boxes, wireless and PDA devices."
IMG is heading to E3 and we'll be sure to bring you more about this exciting new technology in the coming days.

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So cool! Soon we shall have the entire glory of all mediocre Windows games at our fingertips!

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I may not have the strength to hold you up/ but if you fall/ I will fall under you/ and make it as soft as I can
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Resistance Web Page

I hope it lives up to its promise.

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"What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculties! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?" -- Hamlet, Hamlet, II.ii

An intrepid company could make use of such technology to release a host of budget ports of older Windows games never brought to the Mac platform.

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My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!
THE NEW Official Resistance Website

I'll do it! I'll do it! You can fund me. I'll manage my money very wisely, I promise.

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I may not have the strength to hold you up/ but if you fall/ I will fall under you/ and make it as soft as I can
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Resistance Web Page

Sure thing partner, just as soon as I find a pot of gold under a rainbow we can get started.

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My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!
THE NEW Official Resistance Website

Wow, this would be awesome for the Mac gaming community... not only is it easy to port, but it'll be cheaper, meaning that the lower profits of the Mac community no longer outweigh the cost of production. Woohoo.

I wonder if it's a two-way street, though; will we be seeing Deimos Rising for XP anytime soon?

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Isn't nova enough for you PC bastards!

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Desert-Rat a pro n00b
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I'm wondering if this will be available in time for Contraband to make use of it.

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-TheDarkDragon
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I hope someone gets round to porting Privateer II and Star Wars: Rebellion. *sigh*

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flargh: slank - you realize, of course, that you've just dragged about 40,000 volts of static electricity off the tip of your vacuum cleaner attachments over your CPU.
-The Construct, Gameranger

I want to see Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds go to mac. It uses the AoE engine but it is quite slick from what ive seen so far.

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"What were those czarzs thinking when they glued all these diamonds onto the world's ugliest hat?"

... And I would really really really like to play X-Wing Alliance.

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Non cognosco quo modo dicere linguam latinam bene.

Let's not forget that the Mac will now have a bad-ass version of Solitaire.

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Counterstrike and Max Payne. 'Nuff said.

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... Or Descent Freespace, or the Majesty Expansion! The latter would seem a tad farfetched, seeing as it was basically a patching app, but it still deserves to be ported. I'd buy it, just for the experience of having a hard time winning at Majesty.

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Non cognosco quo modo dicere linguam latinam bene.

I do believe this is already being ported


Max Payne is being ported. Halflife will probably never be ported, although I've heard Tacops for unreal tournament is just as good, I've never played it though.


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It's Difficult To Comprehend How Insane Some People Can Be. Especially When You're Insane.
visit the just games forum or die!

You know, though I'm no expert, I've thought exactly the same thing - why not translate the binary?

Too bad they did it before me, eh?

Sounds real spiffy. I've always wanted to try out Homeworld and do the rest of the MechWarrior games.

Of course I shal be getting a steal deal on a PC very soon (DVD drive, burner, Zip 250 drive, 900 mhz processor 256 mb ram + 21 inch monitor = $250) Drool you fools!!! It was my dad's old work computer. Out with old, in with the new! (I'll take the old, thanks!)

And I'll be getting my own olderish iMac soon (better than this Power Mac 6500).

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"You will find that your device is highly non-functional...." - Bad Guy
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Because getting it to run acceptably fast is pretty difficult. That's why it's so amazing that they can optimize it to run at native speeds or better.

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Visit my EVO web site at http://www.evoverride.com!
"What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculties! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?" -- Hamlet, Hamlet, II.ii

http://www.macslash.org/article.pl?sid=02/...221&mode=thread

Not exactly...it's already being shipped.

Guapo

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