Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 3:52 pm
I've written a brief article detailing the current state of running Allegiance on a Mac OS or Linux machine. Feel free to add it to the Wiki and update it as the situation develops.
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Introduction
To the disappointment of the Macintosh and Linux fans in the Allegiance community, it is unlikely that a Mac OS or Linux native version of Allegiance will ever be available. Allegiance was initially developed by Microsoft Research to experiment with Microsoft's (then new) DirectX technologies. Today's version of Allegiance is heavily dependent on DirectX for 3D graphics and network communication. For Allegiance to be ported to Mac/Linux, its graphical and networking components would first have to be successfully ported to a non-Microsoft library (like OpenGL). Given that our volunteer developers sometimes struggle to maintain our existing code base, this is unlikely. For the foreseeable future, Allegiance will remain tied to the Windows platform.
To add an additional hurdle, our anti-cheat software, ASGS, is heavily dependent on .Net. While the author of ASGS has expressed a willingness to develop a non-Windows version, no one has been able to get Allegiance working on a non-Windows platform. So, the matter is moot until someone gets Allegiance working on a non-Windows platform.
Nevertheless, there are a few glimmers of hope for people running non-Windows machines (especially on the Mac side). This article will run down the current options, and the status of each.
Allegiance under Wine
The current Allegiance client currently malfunctions at various places. The furthest anyone has gotten is the cockpit view with a crash immmediately following.
The most detailed discussion involving Allegiance under Wine can be found here ( http://www.freeallegiance.org/forums/index...howtopic=41235).
Allegiance under Virtualization
Allegiance does execute successfully in Windows environments running on virtual machines. However, its DirectX dependency means that Allegiance gameplay is very choppy to the point of being unplayable. Several virtualization venders have released products that provide near-native DirectX emulation, such as Parallels (link) and VMWare Fusion (link). Unfortunately, none of these appear to operate successfully with Allegiance.
Dual-booting
This is, by far, the best solution for people who prefer a Macintosh or Linux environment: Do your work under Mac OS or Linux, and reboot into Windows when you want to play Allegiance. There are many guides online for dual booting under Linux (just do a Google search for "linux dual boot xp").
Owners of Intel Macs can use the Bootcamp utility to repartition their drive and install/dual-boot Windows XP or Windows Vista. The Boot Camp Assistant can be found in your Utilities folder (which is in the Applications folder), and will walk you through the steps of installing Windows.
Owners of G4 and G5 Macs unfortunately have no recourse (other than to pay a couple hundred dollars for a cheap intel system and install Windows).
--
Introduction
To the disappointment of the Macintosh and Linux fans in the Allegiance community, it is unlikely that a Mac OS or Linux native version of Allegiance will ever be available. Allegiance was initially developed by Microsoft Research to experiment with Microsoft's (then new) DirectX technologies. Today's version of Allegiance is heavily dependent on DirectX for 3D graphics and network communication. For Allegiance to be ported to Mac/Linux, its graphical and networking components would first have to be successfully ported to a non-Microsoft library (like OpenGL). Given that our volunteer developers sometimes struggle to maintain our existing code base, this is unlikely. For the foreseeable future, Allegiance will remain tied to the Windows platform.
To add an additional hurdle, our anti-cheat software, ASGS, is heavily dependent on .Net. While the author of ASGS has expressed a willingness to develop a non-Windows version, no one has been able to get Allegiance working on a non-Windows platform. So, the matter is moot until someone gets Allegiance working on a non-Windows platform.
Nevertheless, there are a few glimmers of hope for people running non-Windows machines (especially on the Mac side). This article will run down the current options, and the status of each.
Allegiance under Wine
The current Allegiance client currently malfunctions at various places. The furthest anyone has gotten is the cockpit view with a crash immmediately following.
The most detailed discussion involving Allegiance under Wine can be found here ( http://www.freeallegiance.org/forums/index...howtopic=41235).
Allegiance under Virtualization
Allegiance does execute successfully in Windows environments running on virtual machines. However, its DirectX dependency means that Allegiance gameplay is very choppy to the point of being unplayable. Several virtualization venders have released products that provide near-native DirectX emulation, such as Parallels (link) and VMWare Fusion (link). Unfortunately, none of these appear to operate successfully with Allegiance.
Dual-booting
This is, by far, the best solution for people who prefer a Macintosh or Linux environment: Do your work under Mac OS or Linux, and reboot into Windows when you want to play Allegiance. There are many guides online for dual booting under Linux (just do a Google search for "linux dual boot xp").
Owners of Intel Macs can use the Bootcamp utility to repartition their drive and install/dual-boot Windows XP or Windows Vista. The Boot Camp Assistant can be found in your Utilities folder (which is in the Applications folder), and will walk you through the steps of installing Windows.
Owners of G4 and G5 Macs unfortunately have no recourse (other than to pay a couple hundred dollars for a cheap intel system and install Windows).
