ChAiNz.2da Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Greets Everyone! After a small "Mac" problem arose, (look towards bottom of this page) a realization struck....there's not really a Mac user's guide here. So...with a helpful nudge from an unnamed moderator (till they wish to 'identify' themselves as a closet Mac-liker) Here it is... Mac users are KotOR Players Too Those who own a Mac are well aware that as far as installation of mods, uninstallation of mods and console controls go...they're identical to a PC. For the PC'ers...we Mac'ers drag-n-drop with the best of 'em Our Folders are named the same and our framerates can suck with the best of them The only real problem is modding is near impossible unless you have a program that runs Windows compatible files (as well as incorporate the .NET Framework). Macs do not understand, read or execute ".exe" files ergo - no tools Those programs can cost some serious ca$h and I'd be afraid that most users here wouldn't have those resources (I'm fortunate to be a big errmm 'kid', PLUS my job gives me access to the more powerful systems). If there are any Mac users here on the forums, I'd ask that you lend and share your knowledge involving KotOR to this thread. ALSO, if you have problems with KotOR and are using a Mac, ask here (or the Workbench). I know enough of Macs to be dangerous but I, plus hopefully others here on the forums, may be able to help out with any questions you have. PC'ers, if you have questions or are curious about Macs, please respond as well. This however, IS NOT an invitation to flame Macs, nor is it to wage a war with PC's (I own both types, and both have their advantages....and disadvantages). ------------------------------ For Starters, I suggest any Mac user to make sure they have StuffIt Expander either loaded on their machine, or get it here (it's free). It will solve any compressed file woes (zip & rar). There's also a PC version if anyone's interested. I'll leave the thread at this for the moment to see if there's any interest. If there is, perhaps we can add more tools and such later. I look forward to hearing from fellow Mac'ers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth333 Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Thanks, that could be useful also to modders who are non mac users to include the proper info in their mods readme. But just out of curiosity * cough* what about a tidbit on enabling and using cheats on a Mac? ( I know you use them - I mean not only Macs but cheats - ) Is it the same as for PC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChAiNz.2da Posted December 3, 2004 Author Share Posted December 3, 2004 Originally posted by Darth333 But just out of curiosity * cough* what about a tidbit on enabling and using cheats on a Mac? ( I know you use them - I mean not only Macs but cheats - ) Is it the same as for PC? ACK! ...first question. Pretty much the same as a PC except for the location. In order to activate cheats on the Mac version of KotOR: 1. Open the file swkotor.ini (located in the Library > Preferences > Knights of the Old Republic folder). 2. Under the heading [Game Options] type: EnableCheats=1 3. Save your file 4. While the game is running, activate the console by pressing the tilde ~ key (top left of keyboard). 5. Enter a cheat code and press Enter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheedee Posted December 11, 2004 Share Posted December 11, 2004 Just out of curiosity, what HW does the mac version of KOTOR run on? I've got one of those 12' iBooks with 512MB ram, Ati radeon 32mb and 1.2 ghz G4 CPU. Can I run it on that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChAiNz.2da Posted December 11, 2004 Author Share Posted December 11, 2004 Originally posted by sheedee Just out of curiosity, what HW does the mac version of KOTOR run on? I've got one of those 12' iBooks with 512MB ram, Ati radeon 32mb and 1.2 ghz G4 CPU. Can I run it on that? System Requirements (for MAC): Operating System: Mac OS X 10.3.4 or later CPU Processor: PowerPC G4 or later CPU Speed: 1GHz or faster Memory: 256 MB or higher Hard Disk Space: 4.2GB free disk space Video Card (ATI): Radeon 8500 or better Video Card (NVidia): GeForce2 MX or better Video Memory (VRam): 32 MB or higher Media Required: DVD Drive I'm pretty sure you'll be able to run it, your specs are within the req's. But don't go for all the "high end" visual settings. When there's combat with several opponents, your framerates are gonna struggle. However it's still playable. Your RAM will help you out My suggestions: 1) Disable Soft Shadows (you can still use shadows) 2) 2x antialliasing or disable 3) 2x anisoptropy or disable 4) 800x600, no larger than 1024x768 (60-75hertz refresh) 5) Grass (toggle to your preferences) 6) Disable Frame Buffer Effects (or lower other settings to make up the difference) 7) V-sync. Since this game is not a real fast paced FPS, enabling it doesn't make a huge difference. Toggle it to your preferences and playing style. Make doubly sure you patch KotOR with v1.03b (mac) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord_DarthRevan Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 I never knew that mac had decent games (no offense) question: Does the games codes have to be speacialy writen or can the game work on an PC and a mac? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChAiNz.2da Posted January 1, 2005 Author Share Posted January 1, 2005 Originally posted by Lord_DarthRevan I never knew that mac had decent games (no offense) question: Does the games codes have to be speacialy writen or can the game work on an PC and a mac? No offense taken, till recently Mac was "game dead" Mac did struggle to have any kind of decent games, until they found out that not all Mac users are dull & boring and the fact that "hey, we can make money doing games too! wow! (duh)" hehe The main problem they have (or did) was finding companies that could port script over from PC versions to a Mac usable version...Aspyr tends to be a big leader since 1996, but still...the release dates are something to be desired (they're getting better though)... As far as game codes. I know that the "cheat codes" are identical, however as far as game 'coding', I'm at a total loss. A programmer/scripter I'm not. I'd have better luck translating the "DaVinci Code" than I would trying to program. I think the last bit of coding I did went something like this: 10 ChAiNz is a programmer dork 20 goto 10 30 end That was several years ago on a computer that my engineering calculator has more memory than it had But yes, Mac games are specifically written for a Mac, a PC just looks at it and goes "huh?" (macs can't read .exe files) and vice versa. But as much as I love Macs, if you're more into gaming rather than Graphic/memory intensive apps (media editing)...I'd advise to go with a PC unless you just have 3 times the ca$h to blow on a grossly overpriced "Nintendo®" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnoliafan78 Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 I mentioned this on another thread and it was suggested I post the info here as well: For mac users who wish to use a control pad on KotOR, download USB Overdrive X. It allows you to map the keyboard keys to a pad and assign custom control schemes to individual aps. It works great with KotOR, once you find a control scheme that suits you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnoliafan78 Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 ChAiNz, you meantioned that there were certain "expensive" pieces of software that would allow for mac users to mod KotOR... If one were to have the means, what programs would you suggest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChAiNz.2da Posted January 19, 2005 Author Share Posted January 19, 2005 Originally posted by magnoliafan78 ChAiNz, you meantioned that there were certain "expensive" pieces of software that would allow for mac users to mod KotOR... If one were to have the means, what programs would you suggest? To be honest, there's only one that I personally would use and that's Virtual PC. The means, of course, isn't really that bad (as most mac users are used to by now), but when compared to a $40 game...big difference And while there are many PC emulators (freeware & shareware), "you get what you pay for" Virtual PC You might still find some copies of RealPC or SoftWindows out there, but trust me, if you want a commercial program that has support and an invariably better "lifespan" than the other 2 listed, go with Virtual PC (and RAM ) hehe However, in order to mod KotOR, the OS has to incorporate .NET Frameworks. I've yet to get this to work correctly on my Mac, so be warned before going out and spending some ca$h. If I happen to find out how to get KotOR Tool working on my mac, I'll be sure to let everyone know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnoliafan78 Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 I've got vpc... I just haven't had much luck getting Kotor tool to work under vpc yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChAiNz.2da Posted January 19, 2005 Author Share Posted January 19, 2005 Originally posted by magnoliafan78 I've got vpc... I just haven't had much luck getting Kotor tool to work under vpc yet. Same here. However there is hope (possibly). I stumbled upon this little tid-bit. http://www.itwriting.com/dotnetmac.php I'm going to have to try this when I get home. I have an old copy of Win98, and hell... the only pc prog I'm interested in running on my mac would be KotOR Tool anyways (I already have a pc). If it's slow, so be it... at least it's a start Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SothiHenson Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 Hi there... I just wanted to mention that I've actually been successful at doing a (minor) mod for KotOR on my Mac. I did a texture mod, where I altered the head texture for my character. I got tired of looking at his ugly mug in the cut scenes, so I removed his nasty scar (healed with bacta, perhaps? ) as well as his unfortunate soul patch beard. While I was at it, I also made his eyes green for good measure. Here's the result: Sorry about the poor image quality - for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to take an in-game screenshot, so I resorted to using my digital camera. I'll post more details about how I did it when I get a chance, but I will say that unfortunately, it did involve some work in Virtual PC. If we only had an ERF extractor for the Mac, I would have been able to do the whole thing in OS X. There may be some hope though.... like I said, I'll post back when I have more time. In the meantime, I'm glad to see there are other Mac users interested in game modding. More to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChAiNz.2da Posted February 12, 2005 Author Share Posted February 12, 2005 Originally posted by SothiHenson I'll post more details about how I did it when I get a chance, but I will say that unfortunately, it did involve some work in Virtual PC. If we only had an ERF extractor for the Mac, I would have been able to do the whole thing in OS X. There may be some hope though.... like I said, I'll post back when I have more time. In the meantime, I'm glad to see there are other Mac users interested in game modding. More to come, -Tone Greets SothiHenson! That looks great! and I'm glad to see that it is indeed 'possible'. I figured it was going to have to involve VPC, but hey.... I knew there was a reason I bought it hehe I've got another friend who is a big "Mac Nerd" that likes to deal with the Unix side of OSX, plus he's a big coder for PC's as well. I've 'drafted' him to the cause (with the help of an abundant amount of Girl Scout Cookies®) so maybe he might at least find a way to bridge the gap between the PC/Mac side of modding. I'm definitely interested however on how you were able to do what you did, so I'm eagerly watching the thread Thanks for the heads up, any amount of info you can 'leak' to us will be GREATLY appreciated by some... and a hero to others hehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witchfinder Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 Isn't there something called "GIMP 2.0" which emulates windows to allow you to play the game? Or is that just for Linux? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChAiNz.2da Posted February 15, 2005 Author Share Posted February 15, 2005 Originally posted by witchfinder Isn't there something called "GIMP 2.0" which emulates windows to allow you to play the game? Or is that just for Linux? It's not necessarily the playing part that interests us rather than the ability to extract the game files themselves. Fred Tetra's KotOR Tool by far is un-beatable for this task, but it incorporates Micro$oft's .NET Framework. For MAC users, .NET has limited functionality (even after it's figured out) But as most who read this can tell, we'll try anything if you could provide a link that's be great witchfinder (I'm not beyond begging at this point..hehe). I've only been able to find the GIMP image editing software, but nothing referring to emulator software. I'd almost bet money that UNIX is going to play a big part in it. I mean hell, if they can come out with Lindows (LinSpire), there's got to be a way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SothiHenson Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 Hey there, I just wanted to check in and say that I didn't forget about my promise to post more info. I've just been pretty busy and I'd like to experiment with a few more things first so I can make my information more comprehensive. More to come! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChAiNz.2da Posted February 23, 2005 Author Share Posted February 23, 2005 Originally posted by SothiHenson Hey there, I just wanted to check in and say that I didn't forget about my promise to post more info. I've just been pretty busy and I'd like to experiment with a few more things first so I can make my information more comprehensive. More to come! Tone My friend, you're on the verge of a miracle breakthrough so take all the time you need & want! I, and others, eagerly await your results (no pressure there huh? hehe).... and if I haven't said so beforehand, Thank You for providing a gleam of hope. You'll have all of my humblest gratitude and Hero-Worship I can offer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevanA4 Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 Originally posted by witchfinder Isn't there something called "GIMP 2.0" which emulates windows to allow you to play the game? Or is that just for Linux? I thought Linux used WINE X for emulation a windows OS becuase I like Linux I just Have no use for it right now. I though that KOTOR 2 was out for macs anyway I could be wrong the(wouldn't be the first time) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SothiHenson Posted March 18, 2005 Share Posted March 18, 2005 Hi again, Here's some general info on what I've done and what I'm trying to do. In Virtual PC, I've been able to use some PC-based tools to do some modding work for Knights. But it hasn't been easy and there are some problems preventing me from doing anything advanced. First, here's my setup: I have VPC running with WinXP Professional. I also installed the .Net framework, which is needed by KotOR Tool, one of the main modding utilities. I have a "Shared Folder" in VPC which points to a folder on my Mac Desktop. This basically shows up as a Volume in VPC (Z: drive in my case). I have my Mac installation of KotOR in this folder, so I can point KotOR Tool to it to access the data files (you could just drag your Mac installation into VPC, but then you'd be adding over 4GB to the size of your PC disk image, so I recommend the Shared Folder method I came up with). In KotOR Tool, you'll need to use "Manage Paths" to point to these files so it has something to work from. ** NOTE: One important issue I ran into is that the most recent version of KotOR Tool will not work this way. It was rewritten to support both KotOR and KotOR II, so it's more specific about where the data files have to live. I assume it would work if you move your Mac data files into the location they would be in a PC installation, but I haven't tested this. I don't have my setup in front of me, so I can't say which version of KotOR Tool I'm using, but I'll post the version number when I have a chance. So with KotOR Tool, you can edit and/or extract files (such as arrays, textures, dialog, etc...). Ocassionally, KotOR Tool has problems and reports .Net errors. *shrug* I usually just ignore them and Click "Continue." Usually it's fine. So here's what I've done successfully: I was able to extract files from KotOR's internal image format to TGA format. These can then be edited with Photoshop (or any image editor that supports TGA) and dropped into your Mac Install's "Override" folder. Luckily, you don't need to convert them back to KotOR's format - TGA's work fine. This is how I was able to do the head texture mod I showed in my earlier post. I also made my own custom Jedi Robes this way. A sweet platinum blue color... Now here's where I'm running into problems: I'm trying a bigger mod, involving new dialog, a newly-recruitable npc, and eventually some sidequests and other goodies. I've created a bunch of files using KotOR Tool and a few other utilities. It *should* be working. All the character info, scripts, and triggers should be in place for the recruiting part to work. But I'm running into a problem with Dialog files (.dlg). I need the custom dialog files for doing the story and for triggering the appropriate scripts. But when I play the game with my files in place, the dialog seems to be getting aborted if I use KotOR Tool to edit it. There's another tool for DLG work - "DLG Editor" - but it won't run at all on my setup (I think it's looking for the PC installation of KotOR, and failing when it can't find the master dialog file). So at the moment, I'm stumped - without these dialog files working, my mod is dead in the water. I'm going to do some research on the topic and see what I can do, but in the end, it may wind up being an issue with using VPC... which would obviously ruin my chances of making a more advanced mod. That would spell doom... More to come, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SothiHenson Posted March 19, 2005 Share Posted March 19, 2005 Originally posted by SothiHenson I don't have my setup in front of me, so I can't say which version of KotOR Tool I'm using, but I'll post the version number when I have a chance. I checked my setup - I'm using version 1.0.1863.39252 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevanA4 Posted March 19, 2005 Share Posted March 19, 2005 Originally posted by SothiHenson Hi again, Here's some general info on what I've done and what I'm trying to do. In Virtual PC, I've been able to use some PC-based tools to do some modding work for Knights. But it hasn't been easy and there are some problems preventing me from doing anything advanced. First, here's my setup: I have VPC running with WinXP Professional. I also installed the .Net framework, which is needed by KotOR Tool, one of the main modding utilities. I have a "Shared Folder" in VPC which points to a folder on my Mac Desktop. This basically shows up as a Volume in VPC (Z: drive in my case). I have my Mac installation of KotOR in this folder, so I can point KotOR Tool to it to access the data files (you could just drag your Mac installation into VPC, but then you'd be adding over 4GB to the size of your PC disk image, so I recommend the Shared Folder method I came up with). In KotOR Tool, you'll need to use "Manage Paths" to point to these files so it has something to work from. ** NOTE: One important issue I ran into is that the most recent version of KotOR Tool will not work this way. It was rewritten to support both KotOR and KotOR II, so it's more specific about where the data files have to live. I assume it would work if you move your Mac data files into the location they would be in a PC installation, but I haven't tested this. I don't have my setup in front of me, so I can't say which version of KotOR Tool I'm using, but I'll post the version number when I have a chance. So with KotOR Tool, you can edit and/or extract files (such as arrays, textures, dialog, etc...). Ocassionally, KotOR Tool has problems and reports .Net errors. *shrug* I usually just ignore them and Click "Continue." Usually it's fine. So here's what I've done successfully: I was able to extract files from KotOR's internal image format to TGA format. These can then be edited with Photoshop (or any image editor that supports TGA) and dropped into your Mac Install's "Override" folder. Luckily, you don't need to convert them back to KotOR's format - TGA's work fine. This is how I was able to do the head texture mod I showed in my earlier post. I also made my own custom Jedi Robes this way. A sweet platinum blue color... Now here's where I'm running into problems: I'm trying a bigger mod, involving new dialog, a newly-recruitable npc, and eventually some sidequests and other goodies. I've created a bunch of files using KotOR Tool and a few other utilities. It *should* be working. All the character info, scripts, and triggers should be in place for the recruiting part to work. But I'm running into a problem with Dialog files (.dlg). I need the custom dialog files for doing the story and for triggering the appropriate scripts. But when I play the game with my files in place, the dialog seems to be getting aborted if I use KotOR Tool to edit it. There's another tool for DLG work - "DLG Editor" - but it won't run at all on my setup (I think it's looking for the PC installation of KotOR, and failing when it can't find the master dialog file). So at the moment, I'm stumped - without these dialog files working, my mod is dead in the water. I'm going to do some research on the topic and see what I can do, but in the end, it may wind up being an issue with using VPC... which would obviously ruin my chances of making a more advanced mod. That would spell doom... More to come, -Tone virutal machines are tricky in nature some don't always support all the things need to run every program the best VM i've found is VM ware I don't know if it is avalible for macs but is supports every OS i know of including Mac OS's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SothiHenson Posted March 20, 2005 Share Posted March 20, 2005 Man, I tell ya... all this trouble is almost enough to tempt me to join the darkside... LORD WINDOWS: There is no escape. Don't make me destroy you. You do not yet realize the Star Wars mods you can make. You have only begun to discover the power of KotOR Tool. Join me and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to computer gaming! TONE SKYWALKER: I'll never join you! LORD WINDOWS: If you only knew the power of Microsoft. Steve Jobs never told you what happened to your operating system... TONE SKYWALKER: He told me enough! He told me you stole it! LORD WINDOWS: No. I am your operating system. -- Shocked, Tone looks at WINDOWS in utter disbelief. TONE SKYWALKER: No. No. That's not true! That's impossible! LORD WINDOWS: Search your feelings. You know it to be true. TONE SKYWALKER: No! No! No! ... must resist. I will find a way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChAiNz.2da Posted March 20, 2005 Author Share Posted March 20, 2005 Originally posted by SothiHenson Man, I tell ya... all this trouble is almost enough to tempt me to join the darkside... ... must resist. I will find a way. -Tone :lol: Well, just the progress alone you've made so far is a giant leap man! I'm amazed at your determination and skill (or luck, but hey as long as it works right? ) If worse comes to worse, and assuming GFF Editor will work in the VM environment. You can create dialogs with that tool. It's more of a pain in the arse, but it might 'revive' your mod... I'll have to experiment with all of the steps you've shown so far... this is almost to good to be true. Now I'll never get any work done at my job hehehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevanA4 Posted March 21, 2005 Share Posted March 21, 2005 Originally posted by SothiHenson Man, I tell ya... all this trouble is almost enough to tempt me to join the darkside... LORD WINDOWS: There is no escape. Don't make me destroy you. You do not yet realize the Star Wars mods you can make. You have only begun to discover the power of KotOR Tool. Join me and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to computer gaming! TONE SKYWALKER: I'll never join you! LORD WINDOWS: If you only knew the power of Microsoft. Steve Jobs never told you what happened to your operating system... TONE SKYWALKER: He told me enough! He told me you stole it! LORD WINDOWS: No. I am your operating system. -- Shocked, Tone looks at WINDOWS in utter disbelief. TONE SKYWALKER: No. No. That's not true! That's impossible! LORD WINDOWS: Search your feelings. You know it to be true. TONE SKYWALKER: No! No! No! ... must resist. I will find a way. -Tone um windows sole purpose is to keep the world STUPID becuase each and every new version is just makes it so people have to think less and less. I my self perfer LINUX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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