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The Dark Mod on Mac OS X


kingers

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Hi,

 

The FAQ on the Thief's Den mission mentions that Mac OS X support is not provided at the current time however based on my brief study of what the mission installs, requires and the differences between the Windows and Linux installations, I think it won't take a lot of work.

 

It seems the problem lies in the use of a non-doom 3 file called DevIL. My guess is the team is using this file to provide read / write access to image files.

 

For Windows it's simply a case of copying a DLL file into the install directory.

Linux is a bit more complicated but basically involves the installation of two packages (libmng and libdevil1) these then provide (I assume) Linux with the equivalent of a DLL file presumably in the "system" so that calls made by the Dark Mod will work.

 

Since Mac OS X is based on Unix and so is Linux, I thought it might be possible to get DevIL installed on the Mac. The library is open source and platform independent but only exists as source code which needs to be compiled (out of my area of understanding)

 

Thankfully I found a compiled copy along with several other packages (including libmng). The file is available here:

 

http://rapidshare.com/files/149141201/DevIL_Binary.zip.html

 

Despite running the packages it doesn't seem to work though :(

 

I wonder if any of the developers working on Linux would consider helping me to get this working for the Mac community?

 

Cheers,

 

Matt

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We can try to provide help, but I have no experience with MacOS whatsoever.

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man." -- George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)

 

"Remember: If the game lets you do it, it's not cheating." -- Xarax

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Assuming the package installs all the correct files, which I believe it does in /usr/lib/ directory of the underling Unix operating system, it could just be a matter of modifying the code somewhere to allow D3 to recognize that the DevIL library is installed and can be used.

 

My question is how the linux setup works (as we may be able to backwards engineer something since Linux is Unix-like). When required to install libmng and libdevil1 what exactly does this do? Where are the files placed, what files are installed? Are they registered in some way (similar to say regsvr32 in windows).

 

Do you include additional code for linux D3 to access the DevIL framework. If so that may need to be altered for D3 Mac.

 

Basically a complete rundown of the linux DevIL side of things should help me to determine if I can work out a Mac solution.

 

P.S. Is there some sort of way I can get D3 to create a log file explaining why it shuts down when starting up the Dark Mod?

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P.S. Is there some sort of way I can get D3 to create a log file explaining why it shuts down when starting up the Dark Mod?

 

You could try a few things:

 

* see if strace is available, and run the mod under it, it is the best logging thing for syscalls available (maybe MacOS has a different package for this, tho)

* use ldd gamex86.so to see what libraries are linked in and found (maybe Macos has again a different tool for that)

* Look into darkmod.ini and see what logging options you can turn on (but that won't help if the .so files arent there and therefore the engine doesnt even load)

 

Edit: There is also the possibilit that D3 recognies Mac OS and just tries to load a completely different file than "gamex86.so", so it would be just a matter to compile the mod for MacOS to the right file name. (But nothing is ever easy :)

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man." -- George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)

 

"Remember: If the game lets you do it, it's not cheating." -- Xarax

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I'm going to try the recompile gamex86 approach since it is different for mac os x plus binary.conf needs to be set to 1 for mac as opposed to 2 for linux:

 

I've seen quite a few mods being released without a binary.conf file. Always include a binary.conf file when you release a mod with an updated gamex86.dll! The format is quite simple, it's a single character indicating which operating system the dll is for. 0 for windows, 1 for mac, 2 for Linux. In 1.1 and 1.2 it doesn't matter a whole lot because the windows version will load the dll anyway, but in 1.3, the dll will only be loaded from a pak file where there exists a binary.conf file and the number matches the operating system. If it can't find a binary.conf file, it will load the dll from base. This is probably not what you want.

 

Recompiling the code requires Xcode which I don't have installed at the moment but will try tomorrow.

 

EDIT: It seems the gamex86.so is included inside "game01-base.pk4".

 

Within the D3 base folder, game01.pk4 is indeed the linux version of gamex86

game02.pk4 in the D3 base folder contains a binary.conf set to 1 as well as game.dylib for the mac.

 

Thus I think we need game02-base.pk4 containing binary.conf (set to 1) and game.dylib.

 

While it seems possible to compile the SDK on the mac via the instructions here: http://www.modwiki.net/wiki/How_to_build_the_SDK_on_OSX

 

I think that this won't work on its own since i'll require the code you have written in order to compile it for mac.

 

Am I right with this? What are your thoughts?

Edited by kingers
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Certainly the mod would need to be recompiled specially for Mac. Especially if you have a PowerPC Mac, since the instruction sets are completely different on PPC vs Intel. But even if you have an Intel Mac, the instruction set may be the same but almost everything else is different; the operating system APIs, the executable file formats, and so on.

 

If that wasn't obvious to you, then you probably don't have the skill and knowledge required to port the mod to the Mac (either because you don't have enough programming experience, or because you don't know enough about Mac OS X). Sorry. :) What we really need is a programmer who works on the Mac platform day-to-day - someone with the necessary experience and motivation.

 

I actually do have a little Mac experience and access to a MacBook and could probably get it working if I tried, but I really don't have time to maintain a port all on my lonesome. (And make no mistake, maintenance would be required.) Especially since the mod hasn't even been released yet and there's no in-house demand for a Mac port.

 

Please note: This is not a promise to do anything. Ever. Doubtless I won't have time even after TDM 1.0.

My games | Public Service Announcement: TDM is not set in the Thief universe. The city in which it takes place is not the City from Thief. The player character is not called Garrett. Any person who contradicts these facts will be subjected to disapproving stares.
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If you do get this to work that would be sweet. A few of our moddb fans have been asking about TDM on OSX.

 

That will be worthy of its own update.

|=-=------=-=|

happycheeze.deviantart.com

 

Moddb

 

Gamers Outreach, a nonprofit that uses videogames to raise money for chairty.

|=-=------=-=|

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Maybe I can borrow a MacBook from a friend or something - I'd be interested in getting this to work on OSX, but then again, I probably won't have the time to do it. Therefore I agree with Crispy that we need a dedicated programmer with OS X experience who is willing to pursue this topic. Heck, we need a programmer with experience on any operating system.

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I do have programming experience but I guess it all depends on what type of programming you mean. I have mostly worked with the .NET framework and javascript for web design.

 

That being said I do have a grasp on the fundamentals of C++. Ultimately I was just trying to get the thief's den to work (mostly as test to see how difficult the port would be).

 

Anyway if you would like me to try something I'd be happy to help out.

 

It seems a shame to give up here and I find it a bit disheartening that a Mac port isn't on the agenda. Maybe after 1.0 right?

 

I guess for the time being it's D3 windows through wine (Crossover Mac Games).

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It's a free mod. What is on the agenda is what we want it to do. Since nobody with Mac experiernce showed up it's not (directly) on the agenda. Quite simple. We can hardly buy Mac machines just that this mod gets support for it. That's the nature of all free projects, isn't it? You make it sound as if we intentionaly don't support Mac which is certainly not the case.

 

And you need a bit more coding experience thane .NET or a basic idea of C++ to make a cross platform project compile on a new target platform. A lot of the code might compile, but then we changed it quite substantially, and since we don't have anybody with Macs, it's very likely that the code will not compile out of the box, because we can't verify it.

Gerhard

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You make it sound as if we intentionaly don't support Mac which is certainly not the case.

 

Sorry if it came across that way it wasn't what I meant. I fully understand you can't buy macs just to build a mac port :)

 

And you need a bit more coding experience thane .NET or a basic idea of C++ to make a cross platform project compile on a new target platform.

 

Thought as much, oh well maybe one day!

 

Still you might want to remember the mac compiled DevIL file linked at the top of the thread if you do get round to doing a mac port at some time in the future.

 

Good luck!

Edited by kingers
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If you want to be able to do anything with your computer, buy a PC. Period! I've never understood why one would buy a nearly non-upgradeable expensive computer with supposedly enhanced usability, on which you can only run applications "specifically designed" for that computer. You could just go ahead and buy a XBOX360 then. :D Aside from that, you can get eye-candy under Linux and Windows too.

 

Is there even any serious programmer/designer/musician who is using a mac these days? Sure, 10 years ago MacOS was a reference for music products, but I think those times are over. Today, Apple is a brand delivering mainstream consume products, instead of tools for the advanced user and I absolutely cannot stand to support that. In this regard, I am glad none of the team has a Mac! Cheers... :)

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I like Macs.

 

So there.

My games | Public Service Announcement: TDM is not set in the Thief universe. The city in which it takes place is not the City from Thief. The player character is not called Garrett. Any person who contradicts these facts will be subjected to disapproving stares.
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Is there even any serious programmer/designer/musician who is using a mac these days? Sure, 10 years ago MacOS was a reference for music products, but I think those times are over. Today, Apple is a brand delivering mainstream consume products, instead of tools for the advanced user and I absolutely cannot stand to support that. In this regard, I am glad none of the team has a Mac! Cheers... :)

 

For better or for worse, pretty much every serious professional artist, graphic designer or visual effects artist will be using a Mac. I don't know about music, but I'm pretty sure they're still popular in that field as well.

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Maybe it's just unreasonable prejudice on my side because so many Macusers face you in arrogance, hence my ignorance. Also, I just hate the company with it's marketing. ;) You must think now, I never sat in front of a Mac before, which I can asure you is not the case. I just don't get in what way it's handling is superior to normal PCs and since I upgrade my PC like once every half year, a Mac isn't an opportunity for me anyway.

 

So please do explain to me, why a professional artist would prefer a Mac over a PC under the assumption that the subject knows how to setup both correctly. Don't take this offensive, I'd just like to hear another point of view and maybe some solid facts.

Edited by STiFU
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For better or for worse, pretty much every serious professional artist, graphic designer or visual effects artist will be using a Mac. I don't know about music, but I'm pretty sure they're still popular in that field as well.

 

No, Macs are not necessary for graphic design these days at all. Why do people still think this? I know some friends who went through a design course and bought Mac's afterwards because they thought windows couldn't run the software they needed...'photoshop, illustrator, indesign'...but that's due to the myth...and due to their lack of knowledge about computers. Back in the early days Mac had an edge over PC, but it's simply not true anymore. It's just a hold over from days gone by. I do all of my work on PC using the exact same programs I could use on Mac. Plenty of the design houses here in town use PC's as well. The college here in town still uses Macs I think, but that's because the department is run by HUGE mac heads who don't use anything else themselves. I'm pretty sure they tried to convince a friend of mine that she 'NEEDED' to buy a Mac if she was serious, but she stuck with her PC and she's doing just fine. Same programs, same results.

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No, Macs are not necessary for graphic design these days at all. Why do people still think this?

 

I never said they were necessary, just that they tend to dominate in certain fields.

 

I have no doubt that this is largely due to marketing, fashion and ignorance of alternatives, just like when people insist on buying Microsoft Word to write simple documents because they can't imagine the existence of anything else that would do the job.

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I have no doubt that this is largely due to marketing, fashion and ignorance of alternatives, just like when people insist on buying Microsoft Word to write simple documents because they can't imagine the existence of anything else that would do the job.

 

lol So true. Yeah, I only find Mac's dominate in circles where Windows computers are considered garbage, or they just don't know any better. I've seen many of my Mac friends have a ton of issues with their lap tops over the years. Very recently, a friend of mind had the power supply and logic board go 'poof' on his Macbook Pro...same guy had problems with another mac laptop years ago, I think it was the screen dying that time. I know the Mac OS is good, Ijust don't have as much faith in their hardware.

 

It's just a matter of preference these days. Ideally, my goal is to eventually do all my work in Linux. I just haven't learned enough about the linux graphic apps yet to switch.

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Is there even any serious programmer/designer/musician who is using a mac these days?

Everyone I work with. I don't agree with it, but when I go to a meeting, it is generally 11 guys sitting around a table with 9 macs. Of course they're all running XP in Parallels, so it kinda defeats the purpose, but that's a separate point. I have a couple of macs I've had to work with for a few months on one of our projects, and I can honestly say it's a mixed bag in my mind, but by far mostly "meh." I see an advantage or two (installation/uninstallation cleanness, capabilities and security of *nix), but plenty of disadvantage that certainly wouldn't inspire me to buy; narrow selection of software, the expense and being so locked down as Apple's bitch, having to learn whole 'new' (old) control systems rather than having Apple just accept that input methodology has had more than a decade with Apple completely out of the picture, suffering with almost every Windows annoyance anyway just in different clothing, etc. And that's without mentioning the celebration of snobbiness that's attached to so much of it. "I use a Mac. I'm smarter/richer/better/more hip/younger/cooler/more free thinking than you." Uh, no. It's about time Microsoft (whom I have no strong love for either) got on with ads that directly attack this aspect of Apple's advertising.

 

(I realize that advertising direction has little to do with the product and more to do with bad marketing people and decisions, but it really is a nuisance, and probably hurts their business as much as it helps.)

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So it's basically just what I said: A Mac is a fashion product, giving the user the illusion he was somehow special and cooler than normal PC-users, like it's indirectly suggested by Apple's marketing and the UBER-design of their products. Sure they mostly look really nice, but is there really more to it than the looks at high costs? I doubt it!!

 

Most people probably know

criticising Apple and the US-Government. But for those who don't, have fun learning the dark truth about Apple! ;)
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Oooh waiting for class to start I see you guys discussing Macs and PCs and I have to jump in.

 

I spent the first five? years of my childhood using an old macintosh, the classic Apple IIci, which I loved and still have it in my basement and saddened by the fact that the video board is pretty much dead.

 

After that we got an IBM, with ms-dos. I loved dos and still love it today. I taught myself to type using dos and playing the old typing adventure games like Kings quest, quest for glory, zork etc.

 

Than came windows 3.1 which was horrible, win 95 was awesome, 98 even better, my dad had win2k on his laptops and finally we got a comp with XP. After years of not using Macintosh, I used one again in highschool, and those had OSX on them. One of the things I noticed was that OSX was very different from the classic system 6 I loved. OSX seemed to be too simple, it felt foreign, and almost fruity looking. Anothing thing very quick to notice was the lack of games. Since the majority of my computer usage as a child was with an OS that had awesome game support, OSX was like something old people would use.

 

 

I r

|=-=------=-=|

happycheeze.deviantart.com

 

Moddb

 

Gamers Outreach, a nonprofit that uses videogames to raise money for chairty.

|=-=------=-=|

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Oooh waiting for class to start I see you guys discussing Macs and PCs and I have to jump in.

 

I spent the first five? years of my childhood using an old macintosh, the classic Apple IIci, which I loved and still have it in my basement and saddened by the fact that the video board is pretty much dead.

 

After that we got an IBM, with ms-dos. I loved dos and still love it today. I taught myself to type using dos and playing the old typing adventure games like Kings quest, quest for glory, zork etc.

 

Than came windows 3.1 which was horrible, win 95 was awesome, 98 even better, my dad had win2k on his laptops and finally we got a comp with XP. After years of not using Macintosh, I used one again in highschool, and those had OSX on them. One of the things I noticed was that OSX was very different from the classic system 6 I loved. OSX seemed to be too simple, it felt foreign, and almost fruity looking. Anothing thing very quick to notice was the lack of games. Since the majority of my computer usage as a child was with an OS that had awesome game support, OSX was like something old people would use.

 

 

I remember

|=-=------=-=|

happycheeze.deviantart.com

 

Moddb

 

Gamers Outreach, a nonprofit that uses videogames to raise money for chairty.

|=-=------=-=|

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Oooh waiting for class to start I see you guys discussing Macs and PCs and I have to jump in.

 

I spent the first five? years of my childhood using an old macintosh, the classic Apple IIci, which I loved and still have it in my basement and saddened by the fact that the video board is pretty much dead.

 

After that we got an IBM, with ms-dos. I loved dos and still love it today. I taught myself to type using dos and playing the old typing adventure games like Kings quest, quest for glory, zork etc.

 

Than came windows 3.1 which was horrible, win 95 was awesome, 98 even better, my dad had win2k on his laptops and finally we got a comp with XP. After years of not using Macintosh, I used one again in highschool, and those had OSX on them. One of the things I noticed was that OSX was very different from the classic system 6 I loved. OSX seemed to be too simple, it felt foreign, and almost fruity looking. Anothing thing very quick to notice was the lack of games. Since the majority of my computer usage as a child was with an OS that had awesome game support, OSX was like something old people would use.

 

 

I remember going

|=-=------=-=|

happycheeze.deviantart.com

 

Moddb

 

Gamers Outreach, a nonprofit that uses videogames to raise money for chairty.

|=-=------=-=|

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